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<blockquote data-quote="Fuzzybear" data-source="post: 9152866" data-attributes="member: 6917259"><p><h3>The Truth of a Vision</h3><p>This review will be for the whole of the Temple of Echoed Souls (save the discussion afterwards). I waited to do a write up for a good section to be completed rather than every session; hopefully that is an improvement and not a disappointment, but we shall see.</p><p></p><p>With a fiery burst, the group arrives at the Temple hidden just off the coast of the ocean. Built into the wall of a cliff facing away from the water, it has stayed mainly unnoticed through the years since the genocide that occurred in its proximity in the past. As they start heading inside, they remember about Three Weeping Ravens' warning about how the temple worked and realized they needed to go up with an even number of people on each side. With Jack's owl familiar, Puck, (who technically shouldn't have counted but was more fun to count), they had to try a second time before the correct number of bells were ringing on each side and they crack open the doors.</p><p></p><p>Inside they immediately got suspicious, though not of Haathon. Listening to the story of what happened at the temple, and then the interruption by 41, they assumed the worst. Rev explored the side rooms, but wouldn't go inside or touch anything fearing that there would be punishments instead of benefits for doing so. Instead they stood on their spots and merged into the mirror to begin the trials right away.</p><p></p><p>The first vision they got was of Rev back when he was Rayland, before his original death, running for his life. Looking over his shoulder he sees a ghostly dragon closing in and knows it is futile. As a last resort, Rayland turns around and yells to his companions Leska and Etinifi to run while he stalls it. A haunting song fills the air, the claws rake and jaws snap, as the sound of a sonorous bell rings and draws them back to the present. </p><p>[SPOILER="Secrets behind this vision"]Rayland joined with Etinifi in searching for the heart for his master Aemon Ming who has been searching for a cure for a wasting disease his daughter has. When Leska came to Seaquen to search through records in the past of the Aquiline Heart, Rayland joined with eventually ending with them at the Heart of History. Here Rayland sacrifices himself against Time to give them some time prior to any betrayal between the other two later.[/SPOILER]</p><p></p><p>Back in the present, they take a bit of damage from the bell by talking at first but quickly figure out the door and get it opened without too much trouble. They get separated into 2 groups here for the sinister/righteous paths, Bryn and Winry among the lava, Myetharia, Jack, and Rev in the rain. The next vision plays of young Bryn walking at night with her father home. They run out of lantern oil in the dark and she gets scared, but her father teaches her not to be afraid of the dark and navigate by the stars. This forged Bryn's connection to the twilight that manifest in her cleric subclass now.</p><p></p><p>Shockingly it is Rev who accidentally solves the problem here by sacrificing himself. While he had misunderstood one of the previous statements on the way in, it effectively worked out for them. Rev drops dead immediately upon thinking of sacrificing himself and once Winry figures out what happened, she does the same. Honestly I was shocked, they didn't explain things until afterwards, the rest of the party was terrified they had just lost friends... it was a great time honestly. But they successfully got the keys required and pulled their friends' bodies through the portals and into the next room where they are revived and the next vision plays.</p><p></p><p>The next vision is of them working together in the hurricane, fighting Lee Sidoneth to save Seaquen before it transitions to the entrance of the temple and the other party arriving. No one thought this was real. Between Rayland's vision about Leska and then this, they were convinced that 41 was screwing with the visions they saw to get a rise out of them (and honestly it is a really good fear). It was then quit ethe shock when after another couple of visions, the other party is in the room with them and ready to fight.</p><p></p><p>Before they arrive though, Myetharia appears as a younger girl back in Calanis. As she bumps into an older human man she starts to apologize before meeting his eyes. Recognition occurs and in the blink of an eye, swords are drawn from both in the middle of the city street. Swords clash, but it is clear that she is young and lithe while his body is betraying him in age, so it isn't long before his sword slashes her ribs, hers pierces his neck. As he collapses, Myetharia does as well, overwhelmed with emotions. She drops her sword as the guards circle in, tackling her to the ground, and places cuffs upon her.</p><p>[SPOILER="Secrets for this vision"]This was Myetharia's former love Alram. In a complicated backstory, Myetharia fell in with a human rogue in her early life before a heist went bad and ended with Alram killing her father, Rydel. Many years pass in grief before she meets him again on the streets randomly and kills him without thinking. She surrenders herself and serves her time before leaving Calanis and heading to Gate Pass. This was not talked about with the rest of the party until now, so I am interested to see what everyone thinks of her past.[/SPOILER]</p><p></p><p>Katrina is then exposed as working for Leska in the next vision which was unchanged, but did get some good responses around the table, and then the battle is on. I did make a few small changes to the visions in the battle - Myetharia was visible in the vision of Taranesti fighting as she was there, there was a vision of the line at Gallo's Fend, and I put some more information in the purge vision to give the party more hints towards Phorros Irrendra since they haven't been there yet. I also took some time to cement Shaaladel as ruthless and desperate here, combining a vision of him watching Taranesti tied to a tree with another of him ordering Innenotdar's burning. Partly this was to make sure everyone saw this side of him, but also it was to explain for Shalosha why she was still here but changed sides fully. </p><p></p><p>The combat was chaotic and frenetic. For GMs running this, good luck. There are simply a ton of unique enemies with a lot going on and it is nearly impossible to not get bogged down in honestly. It was though very memorable for the party and they did enjoy it greatly. Katrina and Shalosha took the first turn looking shocked, not realizing who they were here to get until now, before turning on their companions. Shalosha then got overwhelmed with the visions of her father and cemented her turn. Katrina will be dealt with afterwards where we will see how the party decides to deal with her, though I think it will be favorably. In the end, half of the enemies were dead, half were mass suggested to run away, and we entered the climax of this section.</p><p></p><p>One last round of visions before 41 appeared, these were mainly just a small piece of their past for fun, but the one that really got everyone going was of Myetharia playing with Shalosha as a child while in the background their father's talked. "She is my daughter", Rydel says before Shaaladel retorts "She is my blood".</p><p>[SPOILER="Once more, secrets for this vision"]So this one was sort of a "yes and" for my players. 2 of them had been speculating that Myetharia was Shalosha's sister instead, so I ran with it. In reality, Shaaladel needed an heir, badly, and was not unsuccessful with his wife. He took a mistress only for his wife to immediately become pregnant, causing concern for the succession. As a result, the mistress was sent away and married herself to an understanding man to live in Court, but never as royalty. In the meantime, Shalosha is born, Shaaladel's wife dies, Myetharia's father is killed, and it ends with Shaaladel supporting Myetharia's broken mother financially in secret (as he isn't heartless) as Myetharia spirals away.[/SPOILER]</p><p></p><p>The last visions are not any different than normal, and the fight with 41 proceeds. It was not obvious to them that the initial 41 was an apparition, so I had Haathon show up to direct them deeper towards a hidden door. It wasn't obvious if I should, but I made the portcullis not visible immediately and had a hidden doorway there to prevent them leaving during the previous combat. After a few searches, the door opens, the portcullis lifted, and the party moves in to finish things off. I make this all sound simple, but in reality the projection was ripping them apart - casting Hypnotic pattern on more than half of them, stealing Bryn's 7th level spell slot as a brutal spiritual weapon, casting her Twilight Sanctuary for himself... it was great fun. It was also cathartic for them in the end to destroy him once they were all awake and got to the real one.</p><p></p><p>And that is where we left things off as 41 dies. I haven't gotten any of their responses in character to the visions yet as the events have been frantic and fast paced for the 3 sessions we've played here, so I am very much looking forward to letting them have a more chill session next time to talk things through and figure everything out. They are all very excited and enjoyed this section though for sure, so I would recommend doing all you can to prepare meaningful and interesting visions here as it made for a great spectacle. I know I said it last time, but I will say it again now - I was looking forward to this section for a long time in order to get a lot of reveals in, so I'm glad that it worked out as well as it did.</p><p></p><h3>Changes from the module - </h3><p>I wrote my own visions of course where the module recommended it, but beyond that it played very close to what was written. The real changes were what the visions told of - Rev's past with Leska herself and Myetharia being of Shaaladel's blood. We will see how those changes ripple in the future, but for now they are fascinating to watch the responses of.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Fuzzybear, post: 9152866, member: 6917259"] [HEADING=2]The Truth of a Vision[/HEADING] This review will be for the whole of the Temple of Echoed Souls (save the discussion afterwards). I waited to do a write up for a good section to be completed rather than every session; hopefully that is an improvement and not a disappointment, but we shall see. With a fiery burst, the group arrives at the Temple hidden just off the coast of the ocean. Built into the wall of a cliff facing away from the water, it has stayed mainly unnoticed through the years since the genocide that occurred in its proximity in the past. As they start heading inside, they remember about Three Weeping Ravens' warning about how the temple worked and realized they needed to go up with an even number of people on each side. With Jack's owl familiar, Puck, (who technically shouldn't have counted but was more fun to count), they had to try a second time before the correct number of bells were ringing on each side and they crack open the doors. Inside they immediately got suspicious, though not of Haathon. Listening to the story of what happened at the temple, and then the interruption by 41, they assumed the worst. Rev explored the side rooms, but wouldn't go inside or touch anything fearing that there would be punishments instead of benefits for doing so. Instead they stood on their spots and merged into the mirror to begin the trials right away. The first vision they got was of Rev back when he was Rayland, before his original death, running for his life. Looking over his shoulder he sees a ghostly dragon closing in and knows it is futile. As a last resort, Rayland turns around and yells to his companions Leska and Etinifi to run while he stalls it. A haunting song fills the air, the claws rake and jaws snap, as the sound of a sonorous bell rings and draws them back to the present. [SPOILER="Secrets behind this vision"]Rayland joined with Etinifi in searching for the heart for his master Aemon Ming who has been searching for a cure for a wasting disease his daughter has. When Leska came to Seaquen to search through records in the past of the Aquiline Heart, Rayland joined with eventually ending with them at the Heart of History. Here Rayland sacrifices himself against Time to give them some time prior to any betrayal between the other two later.[/SPOILER] Back in the present, they take a bit of damage from the bell by talking at first but quickly figure out the door and get it opened without too much trouble. They get separated into 2 groups here for the sinister/righteous paths, Bryn and Winry among the lava, Myetharia, Jack, and Rev in the rain. The next vision plays of young Bryn walking at night with her father home. They run out of lantern oil in the dark and she gets scared, but her father teaches her not to be afraid of the dark and navigate by the stars. This forged Bryn's connection to the twilight that manifest in her cleric subclass now. Shockingly it is Rev who accidentally solves the problem here by sacrificing himself. While he had misunderstood one of the previous statements on the way in, it effectively worked out for them. Rev drops dead immediately upon thinking of sacrificing himself and once Winry figures out what happened, she does the same. Honestly I was shocked, they didn't explain things until afterwards, the rest of the party was terrified they had just lost friends... it was a great time honestly. But they successfully got the keys required and pulled their friends' bodies through the portals and into the next room where they are revived and the next vision plays. The next vision is of them working together in the hurricane, fighting Lee Sidoneth to save Seaquen before it transitions to the entrance of the temple and the other party arriving. No one thought this was real. Between Rayland's vision about Leska and then this, they were convinced that 41 was screwing with the visions they saw to get a rise out of them (and honestly it is a really good fear). It was then quit ethe shock when after another couple of visions, the other party is in the room with them and ready to fight. Before they arrive though, Myetharia appears as a younger girl back in Calanis. As she bumps into an older human man she starts to apologize before meeting his eyes. Recognition occurs and in the blink of an eye, swords are drawn from both in the middle of the city street. Swords clash, but it is clear that she is young and lithe while his body is betraying him in age, so it isn't long before his sword slashes her ribs, hers pierces his neck. As he collapses, Myetharia does as well, overwhelmed with emotions. She drops her sword as the guards circle in, tackling her to the ground, and places cuffs upon her. [SPOILER="Secrets for this vision"]This was Myetharia's former love Alram. In a complicated backstory, Myetharia fell in with a human rogue in her early life before a heist went bad and ended with Alram killing her father, Rydel. Many years pass in grief before she meets him again on the streets randomly and kills him without thinking. She surrenders herself and serves her time before leaving Calanis and heading to Gate Pass. This was not talked about with the rest of the party until now, so I am interested to see what everyone thinks of her past.[/SPOILER] Katrina is then exposed as working for Leska in the next vision which was unchanged, but did get some good responses around the table, and then the battle is on. I did make a few small changes to the visions in the battle - Myetharia was visible in the vision of Taranesti fighting as she was there, there was a vision of the line at Gallo's Fend, and I put some more information in the purge vision to give the party more hints towards Phorros Irrendra since they haven't been there yet. I also took some time to cement Shaaladel as ruthless and desperate here, combining a vision of him watching Taranesti tied to a tree with another of him ordering Innenotdar's burning. Partly this was to make sure everyone saw this side of him, but also it was to explain for Shalosha why she was still here but changed sides fully. The combat was chaotic and frenetic. For GMs running this, good luck. There are simply a ton of unique enemies with a lot going on and it is nearly impossible to not get bogged down in honestly. It was though very memorable for the party and they did enjoy it greatly. Katrina and Shalosha took the first turn looking shocked, not realizing who they were here to get until now, before turning on their companions. Shalosha then got overwhelmed with the visions of her father and cemented her turn. Katrina will be dealt with afterwards where we will see how the party decides to deal with her, though I think it will be favorably. In the end, half of the enemies were dead, half were mass suggested to run away, and we entered the climax of this section. One last round of visions before 41 appeared, these were mainly just a small piece of their past for fun, but the one that really got everyone going was of Myetharia playing with Shalosha as a child while in the background their father's talked. "She is my daughter", Rydel says before Shaaladel retorts "She is my blood". [SPOILER="Once more, secrets for this vision"]So this one was sort of a "yes and" for my players. 2 of them had been speculating that Myetharia was Shalosha's sister instead, so I ran with it. In reality, Shaaladel needed an heir, badly, and was not unsuccessful with his wife. He took a mistress only for his wife to immediately become pregnant, causing concern for the succession. As a result, the mistress was sent away and married herself to an understanding man to live in Court, but never as royalty. In the meantime, Shalosha is born, Shaaladel's wife dies, Myetharia's father is killed, and it ends with Shaaladel supporting Myetharia's broken mother financially in secret (as he isn't heartless) as Myetharia spirals away.[/SPOILER] The last visions are not any different than normal, and the fight with 41 proceeds. It was not obvious to them that the initial 41 was an apparition, so I had Haathon show up to direct them deeper towards a hidden door. It wasn't obvious if I should, but I made the portcullis not visible immediately and had a hidden doorway there to prevent them leaving during the previous combat. After a few searches, the door opens, the portcullis lifted, and the party moves in to finish things off. I make this all sound simple, but in reality the projection was ripping them apart - casting Hypnotic pattern on more than half of them, stealing Bryn's 7th level spell slot as a brutal spiritual weapon, casting her Twilight Sanctuary for himself... it was great fun. It was also cathartic for them in the end to destroy him once they were all awake and got to the real one. And that is where we left things off as 41 dies. I haven't gotten any of their responses in character to the visions yet as the events have been frantic and fast paced for the 3 sessions we've played here, so I am very much looking forward to letting them have a more chill session next time to talk things through and figure everything out. They are all very excited and enjoyed this section though for sure, so I would recommend doing all you can to prepare meaningful and interesting visions here as it made for a great spectacle. I know I said it last time, but I will say it again now - I was looking forward to this section for a long time in order to get a lot of reveals in, so I'm glad that it worked out as well as it did. [HEADING=2]Changes from the module - [/HEADING] I wrote my own visions of course where the module recommended it, but beyond that it played very close to what was written. The real changes were what the visions told of - Rev's past with Leska herself and Myetharia being of Shaaladel's blood. We will see how those changes ripple in the future, but for now they are fascinating to watch the responses of. [/QUOTE]
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