D20 SYSTEM✦ Normal

The Shattered Aegis of Thorn Hold

# Combat# Magitech

The fortress of Thorn Hold, a bastion against the encroaching Miasma Wastes, has fallen into disarray. Its legendary automated ballista network, the 'Aegis Salvo System,' has gone haywire, firing lethal salvos indiscriminately into the surrounding valleys and even at allied patrols. The cause: the 'Antiaircraft Readiness Directive,' a complex magical protocol, was misconfigured during a drunken lapse by the now-disgraced Defense Captain. With the fortress's defenses turned against its own people, two factions clash over how to resolve the crisis—one seeking immediate, destructive mercy, the other demanding a perilous, methodical salvation. Veteran players must navigate a fortress under self-siege, making choices where every action has bloody consequences.

Chronicle Prelude

Players arrive at the refugee-choked Waystation of Ashenvale, a day's travel from Thorn Hold. The air is thick with smoke from distant, automated fires and the moans of the wounded. Haggard soldiers from the fortress mingle with desperate civilians, all bearing tales of metallic storm and betrayal. The true nature of the crisis is revealed in fragments, forcing players to piece together the tragedy before deciding their approach.

Environmental Traits

The core conflict is the rogue Aegis Salvo System, a network of arcane repeater ballistas that now targets all movement in the Thornspire Valley. The fortress is effectively under a self-imposed siege. The ultimate goal is to reach the Central Command Spire within Thorn Hold and either disable, recalibrate, or subvert the system, deciding the fate of the hundreds of soldiers and civilians trapped within.

Legendary Archetypes

Rayan

HP:45

STR:16

WIS: 12

CHA:11

Key Factions & Autonomous Nodes (7)

Drunk Captain Kael
A haggard man in mud-caked, insignia-stained officer's armor, slumped against a collapsed pillar. His eyes are bloodshot, and he reeks of cheap spirits. He was once the proud commander of the fortress's defense grid.
High Keeper Vaelen
A gaunt woman in soot-stained plate armor, a cracked greatsword slung across her back. Her eyes burn with a feverish, pitiless light. The emblem of the Ashen Covenant, a pyre, is branded onto her pauldron.
Chief Sapper Orin
A wiry dwarf with goggles pushed up on his forehead, his hands stained with grease and arcane reagents. His face is a mask of exhaustion, but his eyes dart with frantic energy. Tools and blueprints hang from his belt.
Flameguard Elara
A tall, armored sentinel standing rigidly before the fortress armory. Her helmet's visor is down, but the heat radiating from her greathammer makes the air shimmer. The pyre sigil of the Ashen Covenant glows faintly on her chestplate.
Gutter Run
A scrawny, wide-eyed human in the tattered rags of a scout, crouched in the rubble. His skin is pallid and covered in sores, and he smells of the Miasma Wastes. He clutches a rusty dagger.
Wounded Ballista Crew (D7)
Three terrified soldiers huddled behind the broken frame of a large ballista. One is applying a crude bandage to another's leg. They look at you with a mix of fear and desperate hope.
Spire Guardian Golem
A towering humanoid construct of pitted iron and granite, standing motionless before the massive blast door of the Central Command Spire. Its eye sockets glow with a dull, red light. Cracks run along its limbs, leaking a faint, acrid smoke.

Chronicle Prelude

Environmental Traits

Legendary Archetypes

✦ Related Cases ✦

The Sunken Alchemist's Reckoning

The Shattered Runway