Hall of Ascension like a cat, uncaring and lazy, dormant, but when adventur-

Three Indigo toil here, making but she is a demon brought ers first enter a room contain-
ash bricks and assembling the back from beyond the middle ing monoliths, there is a 3-in-6
Basilica’s 20th monolith. silence. The construction of chance that one of the mono-
the monoliths is her project. liths has reached Stage 2. • Perceive its environment
A cavernous hole in the
She moves backwards, fol- with perfect clarity
ground is used by Ormina to
lowing the tip of her tail like • Communicate telepathically
enter the sewers below the city. the Sleepers Awaken
a bizarre, furred snake. Her with other alert monoliths
There’s a 3-in-6 chance the and undead (e.g., the
head comes last, peering over
Mourner’s Gate her shoulder with a golden, lid-
most alert monolith advances Basilica’s Quietus)
Mulpitus, a round-bodied husk to the next stage whenever any • Launch and sustain psychic
less eye.
of a monk with deeply set eyes, of these things happen: attacks (which feel like
Anyone bitten by her is
lives in this reeking alley and • A monolith is physically having a boulder gently
cursed—any attempt at speech
guards the second way into the damaged (puffs of white ash lowered onto your self-
comes out as gray smoke.
Basilica. and grit) for the first time esteem)
Occasionally she slips
His long tenure grants him • A spell is cast
through the sewers into the
the right to allow three deserv- • An intelligent being is killed
city, invisible, to bring her
• Ormina dies stage 3—Ascended
ing mourners into the Hall of plague to someone prominent Ascended monoliths are demi-
Purification each day. He chosen by Husmanna. gods. Torn between the tempo-
gives a blue token to those he stage 1—Dormant
ral reality of the Basilica and
admits, for use in the market. The monolith is a riot of terri-
Each morning, d20 mourn-
Three Silences their higher destiny, roll ran-
fied, independent souls slowly domly for each action they take
ers will be lined up at the gate, The huge statues here repre-
pairing and combining into (see table).
hoping to be selected. Some sent the silence before creation,
greater entities. As a whole, it
have been coming for months. the silence after all has ended,
is not aware of its environment,
and the middle silence: the
but it radiates powerful magic. Monolith Destruction
death that comes for everyone. Monoliths smash in minutes
Quietus Once potent idols, they
Attempts to commune cause a
harmful psychic backlash. with maces or similar weapons.
Chain-armored skeletons with are inert. Two centuries ago, Doing so sends a psychic
razor-sharp halberds act as Husmanna completed the ritu- shockwave that destroys d2-1
guards. They sense without al that brought Ormina, fulfill- stage 2—Neodeus
other monoliths in the Basilica.
seeing, so their helmets com- ing the purpose of the silence The dominant entity emerges The shockwave hits the
pletely enclose their skulls and cult that made them. and the entire psychic struc- living like an overwhelming
shoulders in a smooth ovoid of ture crystallizes, remaking it-
Husmanna the Lich identity assault. The players of
polished steel. Quietus are dry self. This produces an audible
He stands among twelve iden- affected PCs exchange charac-
and brittle—they break easily, pop, and a psychic shockwave.
tically robed skeletons; he ters (really). This reverts after
but fight until smashed. The monolith is now tran-
uses ventriloquism to disguise d10 minutes as long as both
scendantly intelligent and can: PCs are still alive.
which is him. The rest of his
the Indigo
magic is gone, spent summon- d6 Actions of Stage 3 (Ascended) Monoliths
Indigo robes signify a wealthy ing Ormina.
plague-afflicted who remains Husmanna peddles influ- 1 Rise two paces up into the air and begin slowly rotating.
here as a servant, their life ence and Indigo status for gold. The monolith emits an ozone smell and a static crackle.
extended by Husmanna. (Bluetongue is made from sap- 2 Attack the ancestral host of Owlshade. This causes
Their eyes, noses, and mouths phire, which is costly.) d10+10 ghosts to become briefly visible before being torn
are stained with refined blue- He will happily use the influ- apart. Their essence is drawn into the monolith. If this
tongue paste to keep them ence he commands in exchange happens 3 times, d2 demons arrive, sensing the weakness
alive. The newest are fiesty or for large gold donations. of the host.
sad, retain their names, and After two centuries culti-
advocate for their house. The vating this empire, he secret- 3 Telekinetically slam into the nearest lower-stage
longest-lived have had their ly fears the world Ormina’s monolith, absorbing its power. Anything caught between
affairs assigned to the proctor monoliths will bring. is crushed. If a large stone or metal object is in the way,
and are barely more animate then both monoliths are destroyed.
than the Quietus. 4 Catalyze a new spell from the void. The entire monolith
the Gray Monoliths
flashes like lightning. Runes for the spell are flash-burned
Assembled from thousands of
Choir bricks of compressed funerary
into all surfaces (including clothes, skin, and eyes) within
A statue made of curved clay line of sight. The monolith can now use the spell effect at
ash, the monoliths stand 10
pipes emerges from the floor. will.
paces tall. The outer surface
Air hisses through them; in its is a plastered with ash, then 5 Emit a deafening, nauseating base hum. All distances
susurrus can be heard the un- painstakingly embossed with inside the Basilica (heights, room width) multiply by
spoken wishes of everyone in rectangular runes. d6. (In practical terms, it’s like the monoliths and living
the city. Ormina sleeps at its The spell they form is repet- things all shrink.) The effect is permanent, but only inside
base, listening. itive, but powerful, apparently the Basilica.
binding many spirits into a sin- 6 Teleport to its appointed place in the world, d10x100
Ormina gle being. leagues away, to begin displacing the regional deity. A
A horse-sized ermine with Most of the 19 complete portal to the monolith and its new surroundings can be
sleek, gray fur. She behaves monoliths in the Basilica are seen (and used) for d20 seconds.

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