Issue

20

Monarch of Misery:
The Gourd Empress
Harrowing
Haunts

The Labyrinthine Extra Witchy:

Pleasing Pacts and
Library Intriguing Invocations for
Witches and Magicians

Perverse Contamination:
Corruption Mechanics
Welcome!
H
ello again, readers, we’re glad you could make it again
through that creaking door and down the crypt stairs to
meet with us. We’ve been watching as the days become
colder, darker, and just that bit more creepy here, and this
month we’ll help you bring a little bit of the same to your table Credits
in this issue of the Gate Pass Gazette, the official publication for
Editor:
all things Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition! Starting off, we have
Savannah Broadway
a set of rules focused on the creeping force of cosmic evil with
a new tracked condition, corruption, and how best to introduce Cover Art:
(and inflict) it at your table. Stalking after is a whole graveyard’s Hannah Seakins
worth of exploration challenges, with hungry shadows, grasping
trees, and unsettling dolls looking for their next victims. And Interior Art:
Hannah Seakins, Rachel
speaking of victims, we can’t forget the dread Gourd Empress—
Maduro, Júlio Rocha, Indi
because to ignore her would be very foolhardy indeed. This Martin, pixabay.com
monster entry details the monarch herself, as well as her
servants and heralds, the gourdlings and squashlings. Graphic Design:
Xanditz
If you feel like you need a rest after all that unsettling content,
why not sit down for some light reading—just make sure Gate Pass Logo:
you’re still in the Material Plane and haven’t wandered into the Xanditz
Labyrinthe Library, home to its own culture, background, and EN Publishing - PO Box 1945
mysterious organization. But wait, this month there’s even more! SOUTHAMPTON, SO18 9QW
We’re wrapping up this issue with a set of new pact options for
the warlock class for those who want to cook up a bit of trouble,
as well as new Eldritch Invocations to use them with.
©2023 EN Publishing
Of course we have something interesting brewing for future
issues, featuring new archetypes, combat traditions, heritages,
challenges, and more! Until then, I suggest you avoid the
shadows, keep an eye on the trees, and as always…
Level Up!

-Savannah Broadway

Harrowing Haunts By Andrew Engelbrite..................................................................................................................... 5

Monarch of Misery: The Gourd Empress By Mike Myler ............................................................................................ 10
Perverse Contamination: Corruption Mechanics By Jessy Mullins............................................................................ 14
The Labyrinthine Library By Clarke Peterson.............................................................................................................. 19
Extra Witchy: Pleasing Pacts and Intriguing Invocations for Witches and Magicians By Boo Ludlow................. 24

3
4
By Andrew Engelbrite

Harrowing Haunts
S pectral residue can manifest in numerous
twisted distortions of reality, often
twisting and distorting the people around
makes another Constitution saving throw,
suffering an additional level of corruption
on a failure.
it in the process. The following haunts are Finally, Narrators may choose to allow
hazards and challenges that adventurers the party access to consecrated objects,
might face while delving into haunted lands particularly if there is corruption involved.
tainted by death. These are also detailed in “Perverse
Narrators wishing to pit adventurers Contamination”, but the Narrator may rule
against an additional layer of horror should that possession of such an object grants its
consult “Perverse Contamination: Corruption bearer an expertise die or similar advantage
Mechanics”, which is also featured in Gate against non-corruptive exploration challenges
Pass Gazette Issue #20. Suffering a level of involving the undead or similar phenomena.
corruption can be substituted for an adventurer
suffering a level of fatigue or strife in any of the
following challenges. Narrators may also add
Blood Storm
the following trait to the challenge: 1st tier (supernatural)
Corrupt. Upon entering the area, each Challenge 5 (1,800 XP); DC 15/14
adventurer must make a Constitution Area Greater (1 Day)
saving throw. On a failure, they suffer one
Worrying clouds gather and roil above and the
level of corruption. At the end of each short
first drops reveal its sanguine nature: blood falls
or long rest in the area, each adventurer

5
from the sky, soaking the ground in a charnel adventurers’ vision they might be seen crawling,
maelstrom and invigorating the local undead. shifting on twisted roots and scowling from faces
Disturbing. The unnatural blood weather of twisted bark. The forest is not to be trusted.
soaks into both clothing and minds. While Carnivorous Roots. The trees and their
within the storm living creatures are rattled roots creep slowly but constantly towards
and are considered to be roughing it on any the adventurers while they sleep, stabbing
rests they make. into them if allowed close and dealing 7 (2d6)
Slippery. The deluge turns the area into points of piercing damage. They’re slow
difficult terrain. enough to avoid if one stays awake, but the
party can’t gain the benefits of a long rest in
Undead Weather. The blood storm’s effects the area. Adventurers with access to magical
spread across the landscape in a 20-mile effects that ward off evil (such as protection
radius, filling the area with howling winds from evil and good) or that perpetually emit
and blood. The maximum range of any sight- flame may be immune to this effect at the
or hearing-based senses is 30 feet (except for Narrator’s discretion.
especially loud, booming noises).
Disorienting. With the shifting trees,
In addition, undead creatures gain 5 (1d8) progress is difficult and all Survival checks are
temporary hit points at the start of every turn made with disadvantage.
while within the storm if they have at least 1 hit
point. Splintered Reach. Every hour spent traveling
in this area a sharp tree branch suddenly
lurches into a randomly chosen adventurer’s
Possible Solutions path. This adventurer must make a Dexterity
The party can build and sanctify a shelter by saving throw, taking 7 (2d6) slashing damage
combining a group Engineering check and an on a failure. Adventurers that are immune to the
individual Religion check. Or they can simply effects of Carnivorous Roots may be immune to
press onwards and endure the downpour of this effect at the Narrator’s discretion.
blood by making Wisdom saving throws.
Critical Failure. A day soaked in blood douses Possible Solutions
both morale and equipment. Each party member A group Nature check can allow the party
suffers a level of strife and 4 (1d6) Supply are to note and avoid the cursed trees, spotting
soaked in blood and destroyed. out their unnatural corruption. Alternatively,
Failure. Grossly soaked but still pressing on, 3 determined adventurers can fight back or outrun
(1d4) Supply is soaked in blood and destroyed the encroaching trees with individual Athletics
and each party member suffers a random short- or Acrobatics checks.
term stress effect from the ordeal. Critical Failure. One by one the trees steal
Success. The adventurers keep out of the worst away a tithe of blood, snapping roots buried
of the storm and suffer no further effects as it into nourishing flesh. Each adventurer takes
passes. 7 (2d6) slashing damage and suffers a level of
fatigue.
Critical Success. Braving the storm fills the
adventurers with confidence in tackling the Failure. A randomly chosen adventurer
supernatural. The party members make saving that failed their check is accidentally cornered
throws against the frightened condition with in a grove of corrupted trees and loses a
advantage for the next 24 hours. considerable amount of blood before they’re
able to escape. The adventurer takes 7 (2d6)
slashing damage and suffers a level of fatigue.
Creeping Woods
Success. The forest is menacing but slow,
1st tier (supernatural) and the adventurers manage to pass through it
Challenge 4 (2,900 XP); DC 15/14 without further incident.
Area Greater (30 miles) Critical Success. The party makes their way
The trees here never quite seem to be where the safely through the woods and spots a great old
adventurers remember them. At the corner of the tree that looks even more corrupt than the rest,

6
 grown over skeletal remains. Upon cutting
down or burning the tree, the entire forest
Grasping Fog
shudders and shakes as the haunt shrivels 2nd tier (supernatural)
away, leaving a normal, verdant clearing and Challenge 7 (2,900 XP); DC 16/14
something amidst tree’s remains. Roll on the
Boons and Discoveries table. Area Intermediate
A massive fog bank filled with grasping
spectral hands rapidly claws its way towards
Ghostlights the adventurers, forcing them to either quickly
1st tier (supernatural) flee or be gripped by the encroaching fog.
Challenge 3 (700 XP); DC 14/10 Fly Away. The use of natural flight, or fly
Area Local and similar magic (except levitate) triggers a
success for that adventurer.
The area is rife with glowing wisps that float
always just beyond reach. Occasionally they Hazy Vision. The maximum range
whisper with the voices of those long dead, of any sight-based senses is 60 feet. In
and visions of lost loved ones flash in the addition, Perception checks are made with
distance, beckoning for adventurers to follow. disadvantage, and all passive scores (including
passive Perception) are reduced by 5.
Unholy Visions. An adventurer can make
a Religion check to recall and recite an
appropriate prayer or hymn, causing the Possible Solutions
ghostlights to waver. This gives the party an The adventurers can simply keep ahead of the
expertise die on ability checks made against grasping fog outrunning it with an Acrobatics
this challenge. or Athletics check. They might also seek out
higher ground with a Survival check and wait
Possible Solutions for the grasping fog to pass.
The adventurers must make a group Insight Critical Failure. The adventurers
check to see through the ghostly distractions are enveloped by the fog and dragged
and keep on path, or a Religion check to away, where they are tossed around like
disrupt the ghostlights. Alternatively, the playthings and their belongings are rifled
group could blindfold and tie themselves through. Each party member suffers a level
together and let one person lead the group, of fatigue and loses 3 (1d6) Supply, if they
making a single Insight check and a Survival were carrying any.
check to keep moving the right way. Failure. The fog tears at the adventurer’s
Critical Failure. The welcoming visions gear, rending supplies—and something
once followed turn to nightmarish portents more precious. The party loses 2 (1d4)
of death. Each party member suffers two Supply and a randomly chosen a magic item
levels of strife and become separated. They carried by one of the adventurers is caught
lose 4 (1d6) hours regrouping. by the fog, snatched away as the mists
recede. This magic item can be recovered
Failure. Two randomly determined in place of a boon or discovery the party
adventurers wander off and are shown would have obtained in the same region. It
nightmarish portents, suffering two levels can be also recovered if the party spends 6
of strife before being found or returning to (1d12) hours searching for it.
the party.
Success. The adventurers avoid the fog
Success. The adventurers shut out the without further incident.
ghostly visions successfully and traverse
the area without incident. Critical Success. Either by spotting their
goal from the higher vantage point or
Critical Success. The adventurers spot happening upon a faster route in their rapid
a ghostlight that seems to act differently flight, the adventurers find themselves
from the others, hovering over something considerably farther than anticipated and
important. Roll on the Boons and have shaved 3 (1d6) hours off their journey.
Discoveries table.

7
 Deadly Shade. The party must carefully
Hungry Shadows avoid crossing into any shadows cast, even
3rd tier (supernatural) by each other. Such thinking is difficult and
Challenge 14 (1,800 XP); DC 20/16 many shadows seem to suddenly shift without
warning or a light of origin. Every 15 minutes
Area Local (1 hour) spent traveling in this area each creature must
Something is wrong with the shadows here. make a Dexterity saving throw, taking 28 (8d6)
They are darker, shifting, watchful. Hungry. necrotic damage on a failed save.
A small animal passes into the shade before Lightbringers. The party may fight back the
being suddenly devoured by the darkness itself, deadly shade by making clever use of magical
leaving behind only gleaming white bones. daylight, if they do, they make checks and
saving throws against it with advantage.
Alternatively, with a Survival or Nature
check the party can similarly gain
advantage if they travel within 1 hour
of noon, while the shadows are shortest.
Conversely, the party makes these saving
throws at disadvantage if traveling within
1 hour of dawn or sunset.

Possible Solutions
A group Perception check is required to
keep vigilant watch for hungry shadows
as they travel.
Critical Failure. A moment of
carelessness sees a the party stray too
close to a shaded gully, where they are
swarmed by the hungry shadows, taking
56 (16d6) necrotic damage. In addition,
any nonmagical armor, weapons, or gear
they were carrying become damaged,
breaking after
Failure. A sudden shifting shadow
catches the party off-guard and two
randomly determined adventurers
suffer 28 (8d6) necrotic damage. In
addition, any nonmagical armor they
were wearing and any non-magical items
they were wielding are damaged and
become broken after the first time they
are used (see Maintenance, in Chapter 4:
Equipment of the Adventurer’s Guide).
Success. With vigilant eyes the
party traverses the area without being
devoured by darkness or any further
incident.
Critical Success. The party expertly
maneuvers around the supernatural
threat but also spots a sparkling clean pile
of skeletal remains alongside similarly
cleaned treasures. Roll on the Boons and
Discoveries table.

8
 Insidious Plaything. Every 6 (1d12)
Insidious Paranoia hours while within the region the doll will
2nd tier (supernatural) suddenly appear to a randomly determined
Challenge 8 (3,900 XP); DC 17/15 adventurer, filling their mind with strange
whispers and haunting laughter. That
Area Local adventurer makes a Wisdom saving throw,
Has he always had that tic? Have they always suffering a level of strife on a failed save. If
talked like that? Her stride is wrong. They’re an adventurer destroys the doll, the doll will
all acting strange and will surely cut your appear to them next rather than randomly
throat at any moment. The party is hit by an the next time it appears. The doll will
insidious paranoia that the other adventurers are continue appearing until the adventurers
possessed, traitorous, or otherwise corrupted. leave the region or they achieve a successful
No Trust. For the duration, party members solution, even if they previjously failed
can’t use the Help action and can’t voluntarily against this exploration challenge.
accept beneficial effects from one another (such
as healing) unless they succeed on a Wisdom Possible Solutions
saving throw.
Destroying the doll only draws the ire of the
spirit residing within it, and the doll reforms
Possible Solutions and persists throughout the entire region. The
A group Insight check is required to clearly party must hold a seance or similar ritual to
judge one another’s intentions and keep from truly free the malicious ghost, which requires
overreacting. a group Arcana or Religion check. Use of
spells like hallow or remove curse cast using a
Critical Failure. The adventurers’ trust is 5th-level spell slot trigger an automatic success
shattered as they quarrel, potentially coming or a critical success if the party would have
to dangerous blows Each adventurer takes 21 otherwise succeeded on the group check.
(6d6) psychic damage (or appropriate type
from a physical fight). They also each suffer a Alternatively, if the party would gain a
level of fatigue and strife. discovery within the region, they might
stumble upon a young girl’s grave. If the doll
Failure. The constant suspicion and fighting is laid to rest within the grave, the soul once
wear the adventurers down. Each suffers a trapped within the doll appears briefly to
level of fatigue and strife. thank them before ascending to the afterlife
Success. The adventurers calm down, talk without further incident. This triggers an
things out, and clear the suspicions without automatic success.
further incident. Critical Failure. The soul housed within the
Critical Success. The adventurers do more doll lashes out, filling the adventurer’s minds
than clear the air: they dispel their paranoia with an incessant echoing childhood rhyme
and come out of it with a stronger bond. For the and each adventurer suffers a level of strife.
next 3 (1d6) days, the first time an adventurer The spirit also haunts their dreams, preventing
uses the Help action to grant advantage, they them from gaining the benefits of resting for
additionally grant an expertise die. the next 24 hours.
Failure. The attempt seems to empower the
Stalking Doll doll and copies of it briefly appear everywhere.
Each adventurer must save against Insidious
3rd tier (supernatural) Plaything.
Challenge 12 (2,900 XP); DC 19/16 Success. The spirit within the doll is
Area Region (time varies) exorcized, leaving it no more than a simple
The party stumbles across an odd, broken doll, child’s plaything without further incident.
one eye missing and the mouth broken into a Critical Success. The spirit within the doll
silent scream. Whether they leave the toy or take appears briefly, thanking them for freeing her.
it with them, it chooses to follow at its own pace. Roll on the Boons and Discoveries table.

9
 By Mike Myler
Monarch of Misery:
The Gourd Empress
W aiting for the holiday of Rivengate, when
the Bleak Gate and the Material Plane are
closest, the Gourd Empress slowly rises in power
Bane of the Southwest. Blighted places
dot the Hinterlands, the ruins of settlements
nearby as abandoned by life as their neglected
throughout the harvest month as her squashlings fields. These are echoes of the Gourd Empress’
prepare a royal welcome for her in Elissar. Those fury and feared by all but foolish travelers
who do not sufficiently aid them see her in the unversed in the region’s history. Though
most terrible glory, enraged as she fully emerges, they may seem vacant, these places are not
eager to wreak havoc and mayhem upon those entirely deserted, for her gourdling servants
who failed to show her due reverence. Narrators might still linger there beneath the spoiled soil.
who wish to explore Elissar further should People local to the Hinterlands know better
consult www.worldofelissar.com and the To than to interact with her underlings, however,
Save a Kingdom adventure path. as slaying them can bring their mistress’s
attention back to a region she’s previously
Court of the Gourd Empress deemed unworthy.
Endless Worship. So far there are no known
The oldest myths talk of an angry and spiteful
giantess that appears during the harvest: the ways to sate the Gourd Empress’ desire for
Gourd Empress. Those who pay her great devotion. At first her minions might make her
reverence and respect by giving tributes are tribute seem paltry and small, only growing to
spared her wrath—any that dare deny her an abundance by sheer volume in the final days
are decimated, their lands left blighted and before her arrival as her squashlings persist on
abandoned by the time her anger is sated. ever more—a few scores of harvested vegetables

10
 and picked fruits to start. She subsumes these The Gourd Empress is not a god, only
in but a few moments then demands more from an extremely dangerous spirit. Once
the folk of a settlement. Those that refuse watch defeated she departs to find new
her capture and devour loved ones (young and DC 20
victims next year, but settlements that
old) until she’s witnessed enough suffering, give in to her dire demands begin a
melting away into the wilderness where she horrible cycle of suffering.
disappears with the winter snows. The next
year collections of gifts for the Gourd Empress
are more aggressive, her lesser minions come Gourd Empress Encounters
accompanied by gourdlings that simply take It’s hard to say where the Gourd Empress will
what is not freely given until at least half of put down her horrid roots next, but she has been
a settlement’s harvest awaits their empress. known to appear in forests, grasslands, hills,
Any years that follow (if the people nearby jungles, mountains, ruins, and swamps.
are not smart enough to flee) are even harsher,
inevitably driving her to new villages to spread CR 0–2 squashling; 2 squashlings
despair in. Treasure coins totaling 100 gp or gallow hand

Spooky Arrival. In the evening of Rivengate CR 3–4 3 squashlings; gourdling; squashling and
(the 28th day of Thynar), the green and purple gourdling
mist that’s been roiling around the realm at Treasure coins totaling 160 gp and dust of
midnight seeps up out of the ground with the sneezing and choking
setting of the sun. As the witching hour draws CR 5–10 2 squashlings and gourdling; 2
nearer, this unnatural miasma gathers at the gourdlings; 4 squashlings and gourdling; 2
spot the empress’s underlings have marked squashlings and 2 gourdlings; 3 gourdlings;
for her arrival, forming into magenta leaves 4 squashlings and 2 gourdlings
that the Gourd Empress emerges from when Treasure coins totaling 250 gp, pumpkin bomb
the moment of the Bleak Gate’s rivening is at CR 11–16 Gourd Empress or 5 squashlings and 2
hand. Attempting to burn, cut, or remove this gourdlings; Gourd Empress and squashling
growth is impossible, as it is insubstantial like or 4 gourdlings; Gourd Empress and
shadows, but this dismays and angers her gourdling; Gourd Empress, 2 squashlings,
minions, who in turn reveal those that tried to and gourdling
interfere with her coming. When the moon is Treasure coins totaling 1,080 gp, 4 amber
at its highest point the Gourd Empress sprouts (worth 100 gp each), death’s essence pendant,
from the ground with demands for adoration pearl of power, potion of growth, skull liqueur
on her lips, fury behind her words, and an
insatiable desire to take all she can from the CR 17–22 Gourd Empress and 2 gourdlings;
world around her—starting with anyone Gourd Empress, 3 squashlings, and 2
daring enough to oppose her. gourdlings; Gourd Empress, 2 squashlings,
and 3 gourdlings
Treasure coins totaling 2,000 gp, 3 sapphires
Legends and Lore (worth 1,000 gold each), +3 hide, necklace of
With a History, Nature, or Religion check, prayer beads
characters can learn the following:
Wilderness Signs
As a wrathful god from ancient times
DC 10 that demands considerable sacrifice, to Strange and indecipherable patterns of
1
defy the Gourd Empress is madness. flattened stalks in unharvested fields.
Trails of blood that disappear into the
Squashlings are heralds of the Gourd 2 wilderness, sometimes replaced by the
Empress. Though they appear benign tracks of very small vined-feet.
and even friendly, they can warp the
Leaves falling early after turning a dark
DC 15 mind to force people to help them in 3
and troubling shade of purple.
their often grisly tasks; sometimes
they are accompanied by much larger A green and purple mist briefly appears
plants that do as they command. 4
for an hour around midnight.

11
 Behavior Vines. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 20 ft.,
one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) bludgeoning damage
Squashlings or gourdlings gathering and
plus 2 (1d4) necrotic damage and 2 (1d4) psychic
1–2 stockpiling the corpses and bones of slain damage. If the target is Large or smaller it is
humanoids. grappled (escape DC 16).
Minions of the Gourd Empress building
BONUS ACTIONS
3–4 gruesome effigies of their mistress that
are part corpse and part plant. Sap Life (Recharge 6). When the empress hits
Gourdlings mashing corpses into ground a creature she is grappling with her slam, she
5–6 regains hit points equal to half the damage
cover to create a macabre, verdant carpet.
dealt. No mundane plantlife grows in a 5-foot
radius around the creature for the next 1d100
GOURD EMPRESS CHALLENGE 11 years.
LEGENDARY LARGE PLANT 7,200 XP
REACTIONS
AC 16 (natural armor) Psychic Contortion. Melee Spell Attack: +9 to hit,
HP 161 (17d10 + 68; bloodied 81) reach 0 ft., one grappled creature. Hit: 7 (2d6)
necrotic damage plus 7 (2d6) psychic damage.
Speed 50 ft., burrow 30 ft., climb 40 ft.
LEGENDARY ACTIONS
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
18 (+4) 17 (+3) 18 (+4) 19 (+4) 20 (+5) 21 (+5) The Gourd Empress can take 2 legendary actions,
choosing from the options below. Only one
Proficiency +4; Maneuver DC 16 legendary action can be used at a time and only
Saving Throws Str +8, Dex +7, Con +8, Int +8 at the end of another creature’s turn. She regains
spent legendary actions at the start of her turn.
Skills Deception +9 (+1d4), History +8 (+1d8),
Insight +9 (+1d6), Nature +8, Perception +9 Seedling. The empress plants seeds within 20
feet that grow into 3 (1d4 + 1) squashlings
Damage Resistances cold; damage from
which emerge at the start of her next turn.
nonmagical weapons
Vine. The empress attacks with her vine.
Damage Immunities necrotic, poison, psychic
Senses darkvision 200 ft., passive Perception 19 Dance of Ruin (Costs 2 Actions). The empress
twirls and bounds, moving up to 25 feet
Languages Common, Draconic, Dwarvish, Elvish, without provoking opportunity attacks. At
Squash, Sylvan the end of her movement each non-plant
Legendary Resistance (2/Day). When the creature within 60 feet makes a DC 17
empress fails a saving throw, she can choose to Intelligence saving throw, taking 13 (2d12)
succeed instead. When she does so, leaves wilt necrotic damage and 13 (2d12) psychic
off of her body. damage on a failure, or half damage on a
Mistress of Despair. Each time the empress deals success.
16 or more necrotic and psychic damage to a Growth (Costs 2 Actions, 2/Day). The empress
creature it becomes frightened of her. At the tears a piece of herself free and throws it onto
start of each of its turns a frightened creature a patch of earth or soil within 60 feet. At the
repeats the saving throw, ending the effect on start of the next creature’s turn it grows into a
itself on a success. gourdling that immediately attacks.
Regeneration. The empress regains 10 hit points
at the beginning of each of her turns as long as
she has at least 1 hit point. Gourdlings
ACTIONS
Lacking in intellectual prowess but utterly
loyal to the squashlings commanding them,
Multiattack. The empress attacks twice. gourdlings are incredibly strong and have a
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 remarkable capacity to work together on difficult
ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d10 + 4) bludgeoning tasks. With the right direction they have been
damage plus 3 (1d6) necrotic damage and 3 known to build entire temples in honor of the
(1d6) psychic damage. Gourd Empress in only a few nights.

12
GOURDLING CHALLENGE 3
Squashling
MEDIUM PLANT 700 XP Always the first of her underlings to be seen,
squashlings are in charge of preparing for the
AC 14 (natural armor) arrival of the Gourd Empress. They often charm
local humanoids to help with their work, leaving
HP 60 (8d8 + 24; bloodied 30)
them to toil alongside gourdlings and unaware
Speed 40 ft., burrow 20 ft., climb 30 ft. of the terrible importance of the task.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
17 (+3) 9 (–1) 16 (+3) 7 (–2) 10 (+0) 8 (–1)
SQUASHLING CHALLENGE 1
Proficiency +2; Maneuver DC 13 TINY PLANT 200 XP
Saving Throws Str +5, Dex +1, Con +5
AC 13 (natural armor)
Skills Athletics +5, Perception +2 (+1d8)
HP 36 (8d4 + 16; bloodied 16)
Damage Resistances necrotic, poison,
Speed 25 ft., burrow 15 ft., climb 20 ft.
psychic
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
16 8 (–1) 9 (–1) 15 (+2) 12 (+1) 14 (+2) 13 (+1)
Languages Squash Proficiency +2; Maneuver DC 9
Natural Artistry. When making an ability Saving Throws Int +3, Cha +2
check, the gourdling gains an expertise die Skills Athletics +1, Nature +3, Performance +2
for each gourdling working alongside it to (+1d8), Persuasion +3 (+1d6), Religion +3, Survival
accomplish the same task (maximum 1d12). +4
ACTIONS Damage Resistances necrotic, poison, psychic
Multiattack. The gourdling attacks twice. Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 12
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, Languages Common, Squash
reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d10 + 3) ACTIONS
bludgeoning damage.
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +1 to hit, reach 5
Vines. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit,
ft., one target. Hit: 1 (1d4 – 1) 1 bludgeoning
reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3)
damage.
bludgeoning damage. If the target is
Medium-sized or smaller it is grappled Seed Shot (Recharge 3–6). Ranged Spell Attack:
(escape DC 13). +4 to hit, range 50/200 ft., one target. Hit: 5
(2d4) necrotic damage plus 5 (2d4) psychic
BONUS ACTIONS damage. A creature that takes 12 or more
damage is rattled until the end of its next turn.
Dread Rend. When the gourdling hits a
creature it is grappling with its slam, the BONUS ACTIONS
creature takes 3 (1d6) necrotic and 3 (1d6)
psychic damage and it makes a DC 13 Charming Aspect (2/Day). A creature within
30 feet that the squashling can see makes
Charisma saving throw or is rattled until the
a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or becomes
end of the creature’s next turn.
charmed for 1 hour. At the end of each minute
REACTIONS and whenever it takes damage the charmed
creature repeats the saving throw, ending the
Root Down (1/Day). When the gourdling would effect on itself on a success.
be reduced to 0 hit points, if it is touching
a patch of earth or soil, it instead is reduced REACTIONS
to 10 (4d4) hit points. No mundane plantlife Fell Sustenance. When the squashling takes
grows in that patch for the next 1d10 years. necrotic or psychic damage it recharges the
use of Seed Shot.

13
 By Jessy Mullins

Perverse Contamination:
Corruption Mechanics
C orruption is often an intangible thing,
manifesting as the slow decay of one’s morals
in the name of fame, fortune, and power. But in
hands are blackened and a twisted mouth gapes
from the back of the left. The whispers coming
from the blade are so soothing.
dismal, forgotten places, corruption manifests as While one may be tempted to write off
something far more tangible—and awful. It is an corruption as a particularly virulent curse,
evil so raw that it blights everything it touches, from it’s quite different and has the potential to be
single items to the very lands themselves, creating more far-reaching. Unless the surrounding
an environment that warps not only one’s mind areas are purified by powerful holy energies,
but their body as well. Like a lingering disease, it corruption left unchecked can and often will
eats away at even the most stalwart of adventurers, spread, overrunning and infecting everything
presenting as madness and, if allowed to continue in its path. As it has the potential to permeate
unabated, mutation. And unlike normal maladies the very land in which it is found, simply
and curses, simple spellcasting is not enough to traveling through corrupted lands can be
dissipate it; only ritualistic purification may save enough to twist an individual’s mind or body.
one from corruption’s destructive touch. Corruption bound to an object often has some
form of powerful abjuration magic attached
New Tracked Condition: Corruption to it that keeps the evil confined, but any
who willingly open their minds up to such
The rogue coos as they clean a wicked-looking evil often find themselves a victim of both
dagger, its pommel a luridly crimson jewel. Their corruption and a curse.

14
But for some, giving one’s self up to corruption TABLE: Corruption
holds within it some benefits that can outweigh
the costs. There are some who willingly take Status
Effect
on corruption, hoping to leverage it to their Level
benefit—be that in pursuit of power or out of
sheer desperation. Some truly believe that what You start to lose some of yourself and
they lose of themselves can be replaced with who you used to be as the corruption
something greater; whether or not that is the enters you and begins to alter your
case is left to individual interpretation. very mind. You lose one skill, tool,
or language proficiency gained from
It is important to note that truly corrupted lands, your background of the Narrator’s
creatures, or items are extremely rare and the choosing. That proficiency is replaced
result of a series of very traumatic or heinous with a different proficiency of the
events. The violent death of a god, a book bound 1 same type (a skill is replaced with a
in the flesh of a tortured solar, a powerful skill, a language with a language, etc.).
ritual intending to contact those amorphous This replacement proficiency should
beings who linger in the spaces in between reflect the narrative nature of the item
planes gone awry, or a precious item bound to or area in which you are traveling.
a particularly evil archmage are some examples Any expertise dice that are attached
of the extreme amount of malice and evil energy to a skill or a tool kit proficiency are
that is necessary to create corruption. Narrators retained, though any specialties you
who choose to incorporate corruption into their have may change.
games should do so sparingly.
To determine the effects of corruption, refer to the Your joints and ligaments become
table below. The change may be immediate or it unnaturally flexible. You suffer a –2
may take hold over a period of time, at Narrator’s penalty to Strength checks, but your
discretion. Narrators may choose to follow this 2 disconcerting flexibility grants you
table in order as characters fail their saves, or they some benefits. You have advantage on
may choose to roll 1d6 to determine an effect at checks made to escape the grappled or
random, as level 7 of corruption should nearly restrained conditions.
always be saved as the last effect on the track.
Your mind is tormented by dream
Note that a character can have only one instance
visions of both the past and the future,
of each level of corruption. If you roll the same
though when you awake you cannot
result twice, roll again until you roll a new result.
remember any concrete details. You
Like all tracked conditions, a creature suffers the
must rest for a full 12 hours to achieve
effect of its current level in a tracked condition
3 the benefits of a long rest (a regular
as well as all lower levels. In the case of a rolled
8-hour rest only counts as a short rest for
effect, the creature still suffers the effect of all
you). However, these visions grant you
active corruption results.
some measure of prescience. You have
advantage on either your first attack roll,
ability check, or saving throw of the day.
Safety Tools:
Veins on one or more of your limbs
Corruption and Body Horror begin to blacken as your blood
It is important to note that not everyone turns foul. You have disadvantage
has a similar tolerance for horror elements, on Constitution saving throws, but
particularly body horror. Narrators should your blood takes on a caustic trait.
make note of what players want to avoid and Any time you are hit with a melee
tailor the presentation of the more disturbing 4
weapon attack, the attacker must
elements of this condition to create a game make a Dexterity saving throw against
everyone can enjoy. The effects listed in your maneuver DC or take 2d4 acid
the Corruption Effects table are merely damage. Any creature who consumes
suggestions and can be adjusted or omitted as your blood (such as a vampire)
necessary to ensure everyone is comfortable automatically takes 4d4 acid damage.
and still having fun.

15
 The whispers of unknowable beings or party will need to roll a Constitution saving
fill your mind. You have disadvantage throw every 1d4 days to determine whether
on Wisdom saving throws. However, or not a new level of corruption takes hold. If
the chaos of your mind shields it from the source is an item, the effect takes hold far
5 unwanted prying. Any creature who more slowly, as cursed items are often sentient
attempts to read your mind (as in and wish to exert their insidious control over
the spell detect thoughts) must make a time. A character attuned to an item touched
Wisdom saving throw (DC 12) or take by corruption will need to make a Constitution
2d6 psychic damage. saving throw once every 1d4 weeks.
Abnormal growths sprout on your Corruption can also be inflicted through
body—both within and without. a wound dealt by a creature touched by
These may be small, malformed limbs, corruption. Often, these creatures are
eyes or mouths where there should encountered in corrupted lands, though some of
6 these tortured beings make their way out of these
be none, or other horrific mutations.
Your Charisma score is reduced by 2, places and into other dark corners of the world.
but you gain immunity to poison and A Narrator may choose to graft corruption-based
necrotic damage. attacks onto existing stat blocks. Attacks that
inflict corruption most often are through the use
The corruption fully takes hold of you,
of a creature’s natural weapons (i.e. claws, bites,
warping you into an avatar of evil.
gore attacks, etc.), though powerful entities like
You radiate an Evil aura, and good-
dread knights may wield weapons that inflict
aligned creatures (such as a solar or
corruption upon a hit. To alter an attack, see the
other celestial) react to your presence
following example from a corrupted wolf:
with hostility. Any time you attempt
to enter a hallowed place dedicated to Corrupted Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit,
a good-aligned force, you must make reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6+2) piercing
7 a Wisdom saving throw (DC 15). On a damage. On a hit, the target must make a DC
failure, you cannot enter the area for 12 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the
1d4 days, after which you may repeat target receives one level of corruption. Once a
the saving throw. However, you learn creature receives a level of corruption in this
the vampiric touch spell. You can cast way, it cannot gain any successive levels from
it once per day without expending additional attacks by the corrupted wolf.
a spell slot. When you cast it in this It is important to note that while corruption
way, the spell is considered to have contracted in this way may resemble a disease, it
been cast using a 5th-level spell slot. is still corruption and cannot be cured through
any other means other than purification as
The Spread of Corruption outlined in Curing Corruption below.
While it lingers until truly cured, corruption
only progresses so long as the individual is Preventing and Detecting Corruption
continuously exposed to the source of the Whether an item or land is simply blighted,
corruptive forces. For example, a party who cursed, or actually corrupted cannot be
is traveling through a forest corrupted by determined at a glance. Spells such as detect
the untimely death of a nature god will only evil and good registers the item or area as
continue to acquire levels of corruption so long being desecrated in some fashion, but cannot
as they remain within the area; once they leave, determine the exact nature of that desecration.
they cease to gain levels in the status, as seen As with cursed items, spells such as identify do
on the Corruption Effects table. Conversely, an not immediately register an item as corrupted,
individual who is in possession of a cursed item though a Narrator may rule that such a spell
that also imbues corruption will continuously allows the caster to know that there is something
acquire corruption levels until they become off or unusual about the magic that imbues the
unattuned to the item or it is destroyed. item in question. Knowledge that a particular
How quickly corruption takes hold is area or item is corrupted often necessitates
dependent on its source. Because blighted lands prior research. A successful Arcana, History,
are more pervasive and oppressive, a character Nature, or Religion check will often provide

16
some context for whether something is truly
corrupted. A critical success provides a key piece
Corrupted Items
of information that indicates that the area or Only items of extreme evil have corruption
item is corrupted and that utmost caution should attached to them. These are often legendary
be used in dealing with the situation. artifacts that are (understandably) kept locked
away or hidden out of fear or an abundance
In terms of prevention, corruption cannot be
of caution. Some are blessed by evil gods,
entirely avoided if one is exposed to it over a
while others are created by evil archmages
prolonged period of time, but some steps can
or the most powerful liches. Items that are
be taken to stave off the effects temporarily.
listed as Legendary or as an Artifact are the
Consecrated objects can deflect environmental
only rarities that are likely to have become
corruption, though this concentrated form of
corrupted over time by their continued
holy energy is rapidly sapped by the corruption
exposure to some form of irredeemable evil.
and is eventually destroyed by it. What form
these objects take is entirely dependent on the If an item has the “cursed” tag, the effects
faith that provided it, though they all share the of the curse and the corruption happen
following characteristics: they are small objects concurrently, though the curse always takes
that are easily worn or carried in one hand; they precedence. If a character in possession of
have been blessed by a high-ranking member an item that is both cursed and corrupted
of a holy order or clergy; and they cost at least must make simultaneous saving throws, they
100 gold. If a character is carrying a consecrated first make the saving throw for the curse.
object and fails their Constitution saving The Narrator then rerolls the 1d4 in secret to
throw to fend off corruption, the object instead determine how many weeks pass before they
absorbs the negative energy and is destroyed. A must make the saving throw for the corruption.
character may only carry one consecrated object
at a time. Consecrated objects only work on
environmental corruption; corruption caused
Corrupted Exploration
by an item is transferred via the attunement
and cannot be prevented in this way. Challenges
When using existing exploration challenges,
Curing Corruption suffering a level of corruption can be substituted
for an adventurer suffering a level of fatigue
Similar to fatigue and strife, corruption is a
or strife. Such challenges are most often found
status that, if left unchecked, can negatively
in the Haunted Lands or Blasted Badlands
affect a character over time. And, like these
regions, but could result nearly anywhere
other two conditions, higher levels of corruption
where the tendrils of evil are trying to take
require additional steps or specific conditions to
hold. Of course, corruption by nature is rarely
be cured.
limited to one area, and the party is likely to
The first level of corruption, if detected encounter other such challenges in the region,
early enough, can be cured with a lesser be they environmental or monstrous in nature.
restoration or greater restoration spell. The following is an example of an exploration
Subsequent levels, however, will require challenge that incorporates corruption.
ritualistic purification in a safe or hallowed
place to remove the corrupted energies.
In a location marked as a haven, it takes
The Blighted Battlefield
7 consecutive days and a daily casting of 2nd tier (terrain)
one of the listed spells to cure one level of Challenge 7 ( 2,900 XP); DC 16/14
corruption. Any penalties and advantages
granted by that level of corruption are Area Greater (1 day)
systematically removed in the order in which The party comes across a large, open field. The
they were acquired. If the purification is ground is blasted and cracked, and grass is dry
taking place in a hallowed space (as per the and brown. The trees gnarled and devoid of
hallow spell or similar magic), the amount of leaves, their trunks seemingly split by lightning
time needed to purify a level of corruption is strikes. It is oddly silent here—there are no birds,
reduced by 1d4 days. no insects, no other signs of life. A pervasive fog

17
 hangs over the land, and no amount of breeze of the eye. Perception checks made in this area
seems to displace it. This is a blighted battlefield, are made at disadvantage.
corrupted long ago by the death of an ancient
evil from beyond the stars.
Possible Solutions
Corrupt. Upon entering the area, each
The party must minimize their exposure to the
adventurer must make a Constitution saving
evil that pervades the area. Each adventurer
throw. On a failure, they suffer one level of
decides for themselves how to best do so as part
corruption. At the end of each short or long
of a group check.
rest in the area, each adventurer makes another
Constitution saving throw, suffering an • A Nature or Survival check reveals that some
additional level of corruption on a failure. areas of the battlefield appear to be more
withered and desiccated than others.
Dousing Light. The bizarre energies of this
place cause light sources to be less effective. • A Religion check allows an adventurer to
Torches, lanterns, and spells that provide light properly chant an appropriate hymn or use
have their ranges reduced by half. a divine focus or similar item to ward off the
corruption.
Hurry Through. If the party chooses to travel
at a fast pace, they may traverse the corrupted Critical Failure. The corruptive energies of
area without contracting any additional levels this place are overwhelming. While in the area,
of corruption from environmental factors—at the party can only travel at a slow pace, and
the risk of their own safety. The party’s next the amount of time it takes them to traverse
combat encounter or exploration challenge has the area is doubled. While in the region,
an encounter element (see Table: Encounter Constitution saving throws against corruption
Element Challenge Ratings in Chapter 3: are made at disadvantage.
Encounter Design of Trials & Treasures) Failure. The corruptive energies here are
determined by the Narrator. stifling. While in the region, Constitution
Well-Informed. A successful saving throws against corruption are made at
Arcana check reveals that the disadvantage.
forces necessary to corrupt Success. The group
such a large swath of land avoids the worst of the foul
would need to be incredibly energies. While in the region,
powerful, and that traces of adventurers gain an expertise
that power likely still linger. die on Constitution saving
An adventurer who makes throws against corruption.
a successful History check
Critical Success. The
reveals that this was the site
adventurers deftly avoid the
of a mighty battle, and that
bulk of the area’s corruption,
the history books write of a
and along the way find a
powerful artifact that was
less fortunate creature on
said to be lost here. Parties
the battlefield. Roll on the
with this knowledge gain an
Boons and Discoveries table.
expertise die on ability checks
Constitution saving throws
made against this challenge.
against corruption are made at
Adventurers may decided
advantage while in the region.
to seek out the source of this
corruption, which may be as
straightforward as defeating Leave It Be
a night hag guarding a foul Adventurers may choose to
magic item or a quest all its go around the area, though
own. doing so costs an extra 2
What Was That? Strange days of travel time and they
shapes move through the gain no experience from the
mists, though they’re only exploration challenge.
glimpsed out of the corner

18
By Clarke Peterson

The Labyrinthine Library

S omewhere between the Astral Sea and the

Ethereal, its boarders somehow touching
countless planes around it, exists the
Mysterious Origins. There are two
prevailing schools of thought regarding the
origin of the infinite twisting demiplane that
Labyrinthe Library. A strange, twisting demi- is the Labyrinthine Library. The first, favored
plane, the Library is so ancient even many by non-natives, is that the Library began as
gods do not remember a time before it and so the private residence of an unknown ancient
wizard. Upon their passing, the wards which
vast as to house its own population of native
protected the Library from extraplanar
creatures, humanoids included. This article influences slowly decayed, permitting essences
details but some of the aspects of the endless from the Far Realm, the Dreaming, and the
stacks, including the native Lexican culture Astral Sea to warp and stretch the demiplane
and the mysterious organization known as into the network of paradoxical passageways
The Silence, itself a common source of the that exist today. The second theory, however,
Keeper background. posits that the Library is eternal, and the sole
non-contingent dimension upon which the

Enigmatic Stacks existence of all others is predicated, with some

even going so far as to identify the Library
A strangely ordered jumble of countless with the mind of a deity.
architectural styles, the Labyrinthe Library is Unknowable Order. The one point on which
a unique demiplane where the usual laws of all are agreed is that the Library as it exists
physics do not always apply. now cannot possibly be the mere product of

19
 any mortal intelligence. Its architecture, while Nonetheless, the course of millenia have
not precisely in defiance of the rules of logic, provided sufficient time for the Library
appears to operate according to a unique to collect a permanent residents and self-
set of axioms. Accounts speak of hallways sustaining populations, collectively known
that run inside of themselves and chambers as the Lexicans. Although Lexicans are of
ornamented with temporal tessellations: all sorts, minotaurs and spiderfolk have
sequences of events that seamlessly reproduce found their natural advantages best suited
themselves in an endless cycle. Spiral stairways to navigating the Library’s maze-like
wander endlessly upward, only to conclude in passageways.
the same chamber they began in, and explorers Perhaps the most distinctive hallmark
who have returned describe the experience of Lexican culture is a certain nonchalance
of traversing the demiplane as “attempting to regarding planar travel. Even Lexicans
navigate an optical illusion.” who spend their entire lives in the Library
Legendary Collections. If the structure inevitably read about a plethora of worlds,
of the library is strange and dangerous, its both real and imagined, and constantly
contents are no less so. Certainly, several encounter a wide variety of characters from
magical tomes described in legend can be realms of both kinds. In fact, Lexicans are often
found somewhere among the Library’s markedly indifferent to and sometimes even
shelves, but many of its greatest (and most unaware of the difference between truth and
terrible) treasures have no discernable magic fiction. Lexicans encountered outside of the
about them. There are volumes whose pages library have sometimes admitted that they
drive people to madness, and others that the simply believe themselves to be particularly
sane read, only to then swear they have just engrossed in a book, although that does not
been cured of madness. stop them from treating the threats they
encounter in the world as any less significant.
Many have been alarmed to find exact
descriptions of their impending death, only Hungry Minds. The Library lacks a
to grow confused upon finding another six traditional ecosystem, making normal food
and drink hard to come by. However, one
accounts of the same event, each contradicting
of the special properties of the demiplane
the last. There are precise transcriptions of
is the equation of physical and intellectual
private thoughts, exhaustive bestiaries of
hunger, permitting travelers to satisfy their
imaginary worlds, and autobiographies that
nutritional needs by reading. The efficacy of
exclude anything recalled by the subject,
this substitution depends on the quality of
mentioning only those events they had
the material “consumed” as well as length of
forgotten. And scattered among all of these are
one’s sojourn; the Library’s many temporary,
innumerable shelves of seemingly ordinary
unintentional residents often simply discover
books, although one would be hard pressed to
that they have “forgotten to eat” for several
find them in any other collection. hours, but Lexicans retain this adaptation
Patrons and Residents. Entering and exiting permanently, regardless of which plane they
the Library is not challenging per se, as find themselves on (although they are still
passageways manifest themselves wherever capable of eating and drinking normally).
knowledge is collected in sufficient quantities.
The Library receives countless transitory
visitors every hour, the majority of whom are Lexican (Culture)
entirely unaware of having visited. Instead, Whether they stumbled upon the demiplane
most merely report having no recollection of by accident as a child or were born among
the last several paragraphs they were reading, the towering shelves, Lexicans are those who
or swearing that they had found a particular have been brought up within the interplanar
section of a bookshop on a previous visit, yet Labyrinthe Library. Nearly as unmoored from
never being able to locate it again. Remaining reality as the library itself, the very being of
in the Library after entering and then such humanoids interacts strangely with the
recollecting one’s lucidity, however, is fairly Material Plane.
difficult for the uninitiated, and few are able to Lexican adventurers have many reasons for
accomplish the feat without magical assistance. leaving the Library. Some become enamored

20
with tales of danger and glory and, either skill until the end of your next long rest. If
knowingly or not, pursue these interests onto the you roll the same result twice, pick a different
Material Plane. Some have attempted to returned speciality in that skill.
an errant visitor to their original plane and TABLE: WIDELY READ RESULTS
become trapped themselves, while others choose
to venture forth for the good of the Library D6 SKILL
itself. A few merely made a wrong turn or read
1 Arcana
too deeply into the wrong book and found
themselves somewhere else entirely. Regardless 2 Culture
of their circumstances, many Lexicans are sure
they’ve never left and are merely reading a 3 Engineering
particularly gripping tale. Not that this makes 4 History
them foolish—even one’s imagination can be
hazardous within the Library. 5 Nature
Characters raised in the Lexican culture share 6 Religion
a variety of traits in common with one another.
Languages. You can speak, read, write, and
Food for Thought. You can sustain yourself
sign Common and one other language of
on knowledge alone. In place of consuming
your choice. You can read an additional three
Supply, you can read a book you have never
languages of your choice.
read before over the course of a short or
long rest. A book generally contains enough
original content to provide the equivalent
of Supply for a number of days equal to 1/5
Keeper (Background)
Your life has been chiefly defined by your
its gold value and must be read each day to
charge to protect a great treasure or secret
gain the benefits of eating. You may not gain
which must be kept from the prying eyes of
this benefit from spellbooks or from books
outsiders. Whether you were tasked with
that are also magic items. This does not affect
protecting a sacred artifact, concealing the true
your ability to eat or gain sustenance from
heir to the throne, or maintaining the seal on an
mundane Supply.
ancient curse, the time has come to step into the
Impossible Pathways. You can easily wider world.
navigate paradoxical paths. You gain a climb
How have events conspired to make you
speed equal to your speed. In addition,
leave your post? Will the forces that threaten
starting at 5th level, you can cast spider climb
your charge overwhelm you unless you
on yourself once per long rest. While you are
actively seek them out? Did other members of
in a library or similar place of learning, this
your order banish you for disgraceful actions?
effect does not require concentration and lasts
Or have you realized you were deceived into
until you leave the library or choose to end
defending a great evil and are now seeking to
it, whichever comes first. Your spellcasting
make things right?
ability for this spell is Intelligence, Wisdom, or
Charisma (whichever is highest). The Keeper background can be used to
represent membership in the Silence (see
Orbis Tertius. The world you call home
Notable Organizations: The Silence), but it may
exists at the nexus of several others. You gain
also be used to represent enrollment in other
an expertise die on checks to recall information
secret societies with similar goals.
about other planes of existence, as well as on
checks to locate and interact with gateways Ability Score Increases: +1 to Wisdom or
between planes. Charisma and one other ability score.
Widely Read. You have read so much you Skill Proficiencies: Two from Deception, Insight,
couldn’t possibly keep it all in your head Intimidation, and Perception.
at once. At the end of each long rest, roll a Language Proficiencies: One of your choice
number of d6s equal to your proficiency bonus
Tool Proficiencies: Disguise kit
and compare the results to the following
table. For each result you rolled, you gain Suggested Equipment (Cost 33 gold): Common
one speciality of your choice in the associated clothes, disguise kit, signet ring, vestments

21
 Feature: Duty of Care. You may select 4. The adolescent who stumbled into your
an object, location, or creature other than secret, whom you must now bring into your
yourself to serve as your charge, working confidence.
with your Narrator to make sure that 5. Your equal and opposite in the ranks of
your choice fits well within the game. the enemy organization who always seems
You gain an expertise die on Insight and to have a leg up on you.
Perception checks to identify direct threats
to your charge, as well as on Deception 6. The small child who serves as your charge
and Intimidation checks made to directly and who does not understand their
protect your charge. You may change your importance.
charge with permission from your Narrator, 7. The thief who stole one of the treasures
though keep in mind such a change in your charge and whom you are now
likely involves a significant shift in your hunting.
circumstances, morals, or goals. 8. The small business owner who is secretly
Adventures and Advancement. There a member of your order.
are those in the world who would seek 9. Your former comrade and friend who
to abuse, destroy, steal, or profane the betrayed their charge.
secret your protect. If you are a member
of an order, other members are willing 10. The disembodied voice that has haunted
to provide you (and potentially your you ever since you took up your charge.
party) with a lifestyle dependant on their
own, and potentially with other forms Keeper Mementos
of assistance on your travels, as long as 1. A tome in an unknown language containing
doing so does not endanger their own the secrets of your charge.
mission. If you keep your charge faithfully,
you may be promoted through the ranks, 2. A single piece from a once-renowned
artifact, now shattered.
gaining a cover identity that provides
you an appropriate lifestyle as well as the 3. A rough charcoal sketch of a family
free service of up to 2 acolytes or 1 scout, member: your only remaining possession
depending on your needs. from your past life.
Alternatively, if you are acting on your 4. A false tooth filled with an ingestible poison
own, you may need to selectively bring that you are instructed to break upon
others into the fold in order to assist capture.
you with keeping your charge. As your 5. An ornamental board game piece which
reputation spreads in certain circles, you can identify you to other members of your
gain the free services of NPCs relevant order.
to your mission and skills and whose 6. A historical document that proves the
maximum total CR is no more than 1. identity of the true heir to a kingdom or
Examples include: 2 apprentice mages, large organization.
scouts, or soldiers; 4 acolytes; 8 bandits,
cultists, guards, or warriors. 7. Scars from when you withstood torture,
either to keep your charge secret or to prove
Connection and Memento. Roll 1d10, you could be trusted upon induction.
choose, or make up your own.
8. An exhaustive list of the names of everyone
who knows your charge—now if only you
Keeper Connections knew who they were...
1. The elder who first inducted you into your 9. A locked box containing your charge which
charge. resists all attempts to open it. Someday,
2. The amateur sleuth who suspects your you’ve been told, someone will come to you
secret. with the key.
3. The love interest you must not reveal your 10. A music box whose melody serves as the
charge to for their own protection. password to your order’s headquarters.

22
Notable Organization:
The Silence
Many Lexicans are enrolled in The Silence, an
interplanar organization devoted to preserving
the Library and its treasures.

The Silence
Structure: Secretive lodge, elected council
Symbol: A sphinx clutching a scroll
Base of Operations: Grade 5 library,
consisting of a small subsection of the
Labyrinthine Library, itself a Grade 8 pocket
dimension library.
Beliefs: Knowledge must be safeguarded. The
Library must not be violated.
Goals: Vet those who make their way into the
Library, preserve endangered texts, disrupt
attempts to create stable paths into the
Library.
Not all who enter the Library do so with
awe and reverence. Many see its position at
the nexus between realities for its strategic
potential and wish to use it as a base of
operations from which to launch invasions
of other realities. None have been more
ambitious in this regard than the khalkoi,
or mind wasps, and it was on the occasion
of their first foray into the Library that the
Silence was founded, initially as an ad hoc
organization that orchestrated the defense of
the demiplane.
After accomplishing their initial goal of
exterminating the invader’s hive (forestalling
the invasion of countless other planes),
the Silence began to operate proactively,
establishing enclaves on other planes to stand
guard in places where the barrier between the
Library and another reality was particularly
weak, as well as to vet new candidates for
their order. These extraplanar enclaves were
also the first step in the next evolution of the
Silence’s mission: the preservation of at-risk
texts. On the eve of the extinction of cultures
or during great purges and inquisitions,
members of the Silence can be found quietly
absconding with the final copies of ancient
epics and heterodox scriptures, giving them
a final, eternal home in the Library’s endless
shelves.

23
 By Boo Ludlow

Extra Witchy: Pleasing Pacts and Intriguing

Invocations for Witches and Magicians

F amiliars are great, and so are ensorcelled

swords, and magic tomes can make any
warlock grin with every rotten tooth, but
Pact of the Censer
Approving of your desire to obfuscate and
some just want a cauldron to help them make deceive, your patron has granted you a magical
a brew or to stare into the murky future. censer. As a bonus action, you can summon a
Others consider themselves more magicians Tiny censer; it appears in your hand or hanging
than practitioners of darkness, relying on from your clothing. This censer is destroyed if
smoky obfuscation to delight or distract. This you use this feature to create another censer. You
article details two new pacts that, with your can also dismiss this censer without an action.
Narrator’s approval, are new options for the The censer will burn any magical or mundane
warlock’s Pact Boon class feature, as well as incense placed in it, but otherwise you can use
several new eldritch invocations to help you a bonus action while holding it to cause it to
get the most out of your pact. produce smoke as a mundane censer, lightly
obscuring your space for 1 round. Any effects

New Warlock Pacts that cause the censer to spread smoke do not
increase the area of effect for anything burning
When you reach your third warlock level, you within it. Anything burning within the censer
can choose one of the following features for your moves with it when you dismiss the censer, and
Pact Boon. it is left behind in the censer is destroyed.

24
 As a bonus action, or as part of the bonus • You can use your cauldron as a
action used to create the censer, you can spellcasting focus for your warlock spells.
order the censer to fly to an unoccupied space • You learn one cantrip of your choice from
you can see. The censer has a fly speed of a the Divination, Enchantment, or Illusion
number of feet equal to 10 × your proficiency school. It is considered a warlock spell
bonus and can’t be commanded or used for for you and does not count against your
any abilities if it is ever more than 60 feet number of cantrips known.
away from you or if you can’t see it (though
you do not need to see it for the entire • While your cauldron is within 5 feet of
duration of the effect, just to initiate it or give you, you can cast any warlock spell you
further direction). know as a ritual if it has the ritual tag.
You can cast spells with a target of Self and • You can use your cauldron in place of
an area of effect that centers on you (such as reasonable artisan’s tools, such as an
burning hands, color spray, or antilife shell) as alchemist’s kit or a brewer’s kit. This does
though you occupied its square. This does not not grant you proficiency with such kits.
apply to spells that require a body, such as gaze The cauldron has an AC of 10 and hit
attacks or spitting, such as with cobra’s spit. points equal to 10 × your proficiency bonus.
Your censer has an Armor Class equal to 8 It is destroyed if its hit points are reduced
+ your proficiency bonus + your spellcasting to 0. Your cauldron regains hit points equal
ability modifier and a number of hit points to 1d10 × your proficiency bonus at the end
equal to your warlock level. It is destroyed of a long rest. If it is destroyed, you can’t
if its hit points are reduced to 0. If you lose use any spells granted by it or by eldritch
your censer, you can perform a 1 hour ritual invocations with this pact as a prerequisite
to receive a replacement. This ceremony until you replace it. You can perform a 1 hour
destroys the previous censer. If your censer ceremony to receive a replacement from your
is dismissed or destroyed, any spell or effect patron. The cauldron and any of its contents
that it grants ends. You can only use one are collected by your patron when you die.
eldritch invocation or secret of arcana that
utilizes your censer at a time. Using a second
feature ends the first. The censer and any
New Invocations
of its contents are collected by your patron The following invocations have the preceding
when you die. pact boons as prerequisites. If an eldritch
invocation has prerequisites, you must
meet them to learn it. You can learn the
Pact of the Cauldron invocation at the same time that you meet its
Aware of your knack for divination, your prerequisites. A level prerequisite refers to
patron bestows on you a mystical cauldron. your warlock level.
As an action, you can summon a cauldron,
which appears in an unoccupied square
adjacent to you. If there is no such square, it
Cauldron of Holding
can’t be summoned. The cauldron is Medium Prerequisites: Pact of the Cauldron feature
and can contain a Medium creature if it While your cauldron is summoned, you can
squeezes. The cauldron is always filled with store items within it as if it were a bag of
a mist-like substance, which you can use a holding, except where stated otherwise here.
bonus action to order to heat up, allowing If your cauldron is dismissed, these items
you to cook with it as though it were water, are shunted to a timeless extradimensional
although the mist itself doesn’t provide space along with your cauldron, but may be
any sustenance and can’t be used to inflict accessed when your cauldron is resummoned.
damage. You may dismiss this cauldron
The mouth of the cauldron is 5 feet wide for
without using an action, though anything that
the purposes of fitting items inside it and can
was inside it remains behind unless otherwise
store one appropriately sized item with the
stated.
Bulky quality. Only you can add or remove
While summoned, this cauldron provides you items from your cauldron’s extradimensional
with several benefits: space. Living creatures are expelled from

25
 your cauldron if it is dismissed or destroyed. You can also use your cauldron to brew any
Supply cooked in your cauldron does not lose potion or poison you can craft and for which
its nourishing qualities. Using your cauldron you have the material components for in half
does not affect the stored items, but you can’t the time and for half the cost. You also gain
access them while your cauldron is being a 1d6 expertise die on ability checks to brew
used to cook, brew, or cast spells. You can’t it. Your cauldron can also “store” a brew in
teleport items stored in this extradimensional progress. As a reaction, you can render your
space using Dimensional Cauldron unless you cauldron empty for the purposes of cooking,
first remove them from the space. casting a spell, or using a feature that requires
You can select this invocation whenever you your cauldron to be empty. If you store
learn a Secret of Arcana. a brew in this way or if your cauldron is
dismissed while brewing, the crafting process
is halted, resuming when you summon your
Dimensional Cauldron cauldron again or use your reaction to return
Prerequisites: 9th level, Pact of the Cauldron the brew to the cauldron. If the cauldron
feature is destroyed during this time any material
components are left behind, intact.
A number of times per day equal to your
spellcasting ability modifier, you can teleport
willing creatures or objects within your Path of Ashes
cauldron as if you had cast dimension door Prerequisites: 5th level, Pact of the Censer feature
without spending spell points. The same
restrictions of the spell apply, except the As a bonus action, or as part of the bonus
creature must be Medium size and stand action to direct your censer to move, you can
within the empty cauldron, and you do have your censer produce a thick cloud of
not need to also transport yourself (though smoke in your square or leave a number of
you must be adjacent to the cauldron). Not them in its wake. Each cloud of smoke fills
doing so does not allow you to transport a 5-foot cube, heavily obscures its area, and
an additional creature. If you do transport lasts for 1 hour. A creature can move through
yourself, the cauldron is dismissed after a cube, treating it as rough terrain, stand on
you pass through. You can always teleport the cube, or even climb its semisolid side
yourself in this way, even if you would not with a DC 10 Athletics check. The cubes can
otherwise fit inside your cauldron. support up to 500 pounds and do not block
attacks or provide cover beyond obscuring
the area.
Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble You can create a maximum number of
Prerequisites: 5th level, Pact of the Cauldron cubes equal to your proficiency bonus and
feature can dismiss any number of them as a bonus
Over the course of a long rest, you can action. You regain all uses at the end of a
summon your cauldron and produce a short or long rest. The cubes can be dispersed
single potion of healing or a vial of common by a moderate wind (at least 10 miles per
poison (see Common Poisons in Chapter 4: hour).
Equipment of Adventurer’s Guide) without You may select this invocation whenever
material components (including a vial). You you learn a Secret of Arcana.
can produce a potion of healing or greater
healing in this way, as well as basic and
advanced poisons. At 11th level you can
produce a potion of superior healing and potent
poison, and at 15th level you can produce a
potion of supreme healing. Potions and poisons
produced in this way disappear if they are not
used before your next long rest. You can also
do so even if you are cooking or brewing with
your cauldron.

26
 concentrate on the spell. However, the spell
Part the Veil immediately ends if your censer leaves your
Prerequisites: 7th level, Pact of the Cauldron feature hand or if you spend any additional charges.
Choose a number of spells from the
Divination school equal to your proficiency Shade of Smoke
bonus. You must cast these spells through
Prerequisites: Pact of the Censer feature
your cauldron and they must be of a level
you are able to cast through Pact Magic and As an action, you may cause your censer
have a range of Self. You are able to cast each to billow a dense cloud of colorful smoke.
spell once per long rest. At the Narrator’s This forms into a smoky shade of yourself in
discretion, some spells may not be cast in this an adjacent square. This shade can’t create
way, such as those that create physical objects sound, light, scent (aside from a faint, smoky
or alter your perception. The spell ends early fragrance), or other sensory effects, though
if your cauldron is destroyed or dismissed. it can be the target of spells that create such
effects. As a bonus action or as part of the
You do not need to provide material
bonus action to move your censor, you can
components (including those with a specified
mentally command this image of smoke to
cost) when casting a spell in this way, though
act however you wish (including interacting
you must provide spell components that are
with a smoky version of any item in your
consumed by the spell and any that require
possession when the shade was created), but
part of a target (such as some of the target’s
it always remains centered on the censer.
hair). You can choose any spells you can cast
through this feature when you gain another The shade is revealed as smoke with any
warlock level and replace them with another physical interaction, as physical objects and
Divination spell. These spells are considered creatures pass through it, though it grants
warlock spells for you when cast in this way. your censer total cover. An Investigation check
You can choose additional spells whenever against your spell save DC also reveals the
your proficiency bonus increases. shade is an illusion. The shade holds its form
in light and moderate winds, but distorts in
strong winds, revealing it to be an illusion.
Smoke Cloud Conjurer The shade only grants half cover to your
Prerequisites: 7th level, Pact of the Censer feature censer against attacks made by creatures that
Your censer now has a number of charges have seen it as an illusion. The shade remains
equal to your spellcasting ability modifier for a 1 minute, until you dismiss it (no action
and regains all spent charges after you take required), or if leave your censer’s range.
a short or long rest. While your censer is Once you have used this feature a number
summoned, you can expend 1 charge to cast of times equal to your spellcasting ability
fog cloud without spending spell points. You modifier, you can’t do so again until you
can also expend 3 charges to cast stinking finish a long rest.
cloud without spending spell points.
You must be holding your censer to cast Trail of Embers
these spells, which visually appear to be
Prerequisites: 15th level, Pact of the Censer
smoke. You may expend an extra charge
feature
when you cast one of these spells through
your censer to grant yourself the ability to see You can cast incendiary cloud once by
in these clouds as if the area were only lightly spending 7 spell points. You can’t do so again
obscured or two charges to grant yourself and until you finish a long rest. You can spend an
a number of creatures up to your spellcasting additional 7 spell points to center the spell’s
ability modifier within 30 feet the ability to effect on your censer, which allows the area
see in these clouds as if the area were only of effect to move as your censer moves. Your
lightly obscured. censer’s Speed is halved while this spell is
active and it is not damaged by the spell’s
When you cast one of the above spells
effects.
using this feature you are not required to

27
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