D20 SYSTEM✦ Normal

The Shattered Sky-Keep

# Aerial# Combat# Intrigue# Economic

The ancient Greatwood Keep, a self-propelled aerial fortress, has suddenly veered off its centuries-long patrol route, its IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) gears scrambled by the desperate actions of its last Defense Adjutant. Now, its automated ballista batteries fire indiscriminately upon the valley below, threatening the trade routes and settlements of two rival powers. You are not heroes called to save the day; you are mercenaries, opportunists, or agents hired by one side to secure the keep's technology—or ensure its destruction. Every choice you make will shift the balance of power in this grim, resource-starved region.

Chronicle Prelude

The frontier town of Wayward Rest, built from the salvaged hulls of past aerial vessels, sits in the shadow of the looming, malfunctioning Greatwood Keep. The air hums with tension and the distant thump of ballista bolts impacting the hillsides. Merchants barricade their stalls, and armed representatives from two factions eye each other warily in the central plaza, each seeking capable hands to aid their cause.

Environmental Traits

The Greatwood Keep's erratic course is causing escalating collateral damage. Its core IFF mechanism is tied to a failing Heartstone, a magical power source. Reaching and controlling the Heartstone is the only way to stop the keep, but its control must be wrested from the corrupted adjutant or the keep's own failing automata. The valley below faces ruin if the keep is not intercepted, but its capture promises untold power.

Legendary Archetypes

Rayan

HP:45

STR:16

WIS: 12

CHA:11

Key Factions & Autonomous Nodes (8)

Kaelen 'Kael' Ironwright
A middle-aged human man in a stained Covenant engineer's coat, goggles perched on his forehead. His hands are calloused and often smudged with grease. He carries an air of exhausted determination, constantly checking a complex, multi-geared pocket watch.
Lyra Thornveil
A sharp-eyed elven woman clad in leather and camouflage, her armor woven with living vines. A longbow is slung over her back, and her expression is one of fierce, sorrowful resolve. She moves with a predator's grace, constantly scanning the treeline.
Spectral Echo of Adjutant Marcus
A shimmering, translucent figure in ancient military dress, his form flickering like a dying candle. His face is gaunt, etched with lines of pain and profound sorrow. The air around him is cold and smells of ozone and old parchment.
Corrupted Sentinel Unit
A humanoid construct of polished bronze and greenish crystal, moving with jerky, unnatural precision. Its single ocular lens glows with erratic red light, and its chassis is scarred and vine-strangled. It patrols with a repeating, glitching patrol pattern.
Gorv the Servant
A stout, dwarven man in the tattered remains of a Covenant servant's uniform. He is hiding in a collapsed alcove, eyes wide with terror. He is thin and bruised, clutching a stolen piece of machinery like a weapon.
Defense Adjutant Marcus - Heartstone Fusion
A towering, semi-mechanical horror. The upper body of a man in shattered armor is fused with a mass of pulsating, green heartstone crystal and twisted machinery. His face is a mask of agony, one eye human and terrified, the other a glowing red lens. The chamber itself seems to bend and distort around him.
Skrix 'Shiny-Stealer'
A wiry goblin with large, bat-like ears and a permanently nervous grin. He wears a patchwork vest covered in stolen trinkets: gears, buttons, and a single, shiny Covenant medal. He smells of rust and old cheese.
Covenant Elite Guard - Inquisitor Varek
A towering human woman in heavy plate armor bearing the Covenant gear-and-anvil. Her face is hard, set in a permanent scowl. She wields a massive warhammer and carries a manifest slate. She treats the Keep like a hostile territory to be conquered.

Chronicle Prelude

Environmental Traits

Legendary Archetypes

✦ Related Cases ✦

The Stolen Zephyr: Heist of Balloon Port

The Viscount's Aerie: A Skyward Siege