Campaign Overview
Vordrak’s skies have bled black since the Great Rite—an unholy ritual that bound the dying souls of countless victims into crystalline prisons to fuel an immortal tyrant’s power. Under the eternal eclipse, warlocks roam battlefields and ruined cities, capturing essences to feed void–hunger that grows with each passing day. You awaken amid this horror, your soul already half–harvested, haunted by echoes of stolen lives that whisper cruelty and self–doubt. Each breath risks drawing the tyrant’s gaze closer, each victory compounds the darkness.
The Boneyard’s shattered plains will be your first crucible. Here, in half–alive catacombs and desecrated ossuaries, you will reclaim stolen memories, band with desperate rebels, and decide how far you’ll go to break the eclipse’s grip. Will you gamble with forbidden soul–alchemy to boost your power, or honor the cost of every life bound in crystal? The Soul Market in Kurr’hal will test your convictions: infiltrate its illicit auctions, unravel hidden schemes, and liberate captured spirits at the edge of your blade or via whispered bargains.
At the Academy of Bone and Echoes, you’ll confront the darkest teachings of soul magic, stealing forbidden lore and dodging infernal inquisitors to learn rituals that could shatter the tyrant’s nexus—or consume you in madness. In the shattered heart of the city, alliances will form and fracture, loyalties will be tested as rebel leaders hide their own secrets, and enemies may yet become uneasy friends in the war to come.
Finally, at the foot of the Crystal Nexus—a spire of soul–glass that resonates with the tyrant’s heart—your choices converge. Destroy its pylons in a symphony of arcane violence, lure the immortal Arvak Voss with a fragment of your own essence, and confront the court of undead nobles feasting on captive spirits. Success frees the captured souls, dissolves the eternal eclipse, and offers a chance to restore life’s light to Vordrak. Failure condemns you to become the next predator in a world that has known only despair.
This is a tale of sacrifice and salvation, of soul–forged power and shattered innocence. Every decision ripples through the eclipse’s shadow—will you become the heroes who shatter the Crystal Nexus, or will you slip into oblivion and let the harvest continue? The eclipse awaits your choice.
Starting Location
The Boneyard
Secrets
- A hidden ritual ledger in the War Camp names a high priest in the tyrant’s court.
- One obelisk conceals a tunnel leading directly to the Slave Market’s back entrance.
- Shards from the shattered soul–crystal can temporarily restore a PC’s stolen memories.
Key Locations
The Central Altar
This enormous stone dais, carved from black basalt, rises two feet from the ground and is inscribed with concentric circles of draining runes. At its heart is a crystalline prism that pulses with green light whenever a soul is harvested. Warlocks conduct mass–grave rituals here, chanting in hideous tongues. The prism’s glow intensifies as more souls are bound, and its light is rumored to warp the battlefield itself—corrupting the land, raising undead horrors, and driving mortals mad. A group of half–insane survivors once claimed the altar “speaks” to them, promising power in exchange for more sacrifices.
Additional Notes
DM: The Central Altar serves as the site of the PCs’ awakening. Use its pulsing glow to signal the eclipse’s intensifying power and hint at the tyrant’s growing strength.
Forsaken Catacombs
Beneath a cracked cairn lies a winding tunnel system, pitch black except for spectral lanterns. Pools of stagnant water reflect shifting ghost–lights, and the walls bleed oily ichor when touched. Iron–bound cisterns contain fragments of shattered soul–crystals, each still humming with trapped life. Murals depict warlocks binding souls into prisms—faces frozen in sorrow. Ghastly phantoms drift through corridors, lamenting stolen memories and begging for release. One chamber holds a sealed vault: inside, dozens of children’s souls weep silently in tiny crystal orbs. Opening it without a proper ritual triggers a spectral onslaught that can swarm PCs.
Additional Notes
DM: These catacombs connect to several side quests and hide the secret entrance to the Slave Market beyond the Boneyard’s eastern rim.
Rusted War Camp
A circle of collapsed canvas tents, their poles bent and rust–stained from arcane corrosion. Scattered around are broken tables, overturned chairs, and scattered weapon racks. Journals and charred parchments litter the ground—some written in Infernal detailing soul–yield extraction procedures. A crashed siege engine stands at the camp’s edge, its wooden wheels splintered. Within a wrecked tent lies the skeletal remains of a veteran warlock lieutenant clutching a blood–soaked grimoire bound in human skin.
Additional Notes
DM: PCs can recover the lieutenant’s grimoire, unlocking forbidden spells—at the cost of risking madness checks.
The Hollowed Obelisks
Five towering monoliths encircle the Boneyard, each engraved with arcane siphon runes. Between them, swirling crimson fog distorts perceptions; footsteps echo unnaturally loud, and shadows move out of sync. Approaching any obelisk requires a DC 15 Wisdom save or suffer nightmarish visions of one’s own death. At the base of the northernmost obelisk, a hidden panel opens to a narrow shaft leading to the Marsh of Hollowed Whispers.
Additional Notes
DM: Use the obelisks to hamper travel and inflict psychic damage; they also conceal multiple secrets and trapdoors.
Desecrated Ossuary
A domed stone structure half–buried in earth, its entrance sealed by a warded iron door. Inside, hundreds of skulls are mounted on spikes, each engraved with a name. A faint hum resonates as an unseen conductor siphons residual soul energy. In the center is a shattered soul–crystal, its shards spiking the floor and radiating malevolent aura. A secret lever in the door frame lowers the ward—only discovered by a DC 18 Investigation check—revealing a hidden stairwell down to an infested crypt.
Additional Notes
DM: The ossuary holds clues to the tyrant’s origin and the ritual needed to break the eclipse’s power.
The Shattered City of Kurr’hal
Secrets
- A hidden elevator under the Academy leads directly to the tyrant’s palace sublevels.
- One mansion basement contains a living trophy—an untouched soul–crystal holding a member of the royal family.
- A rebel safe house is hidden behind a mausoleum in the Noble District.
Key Locations
Soul Market
An open plaza ringed by iron bars and chained stone slabs. Warlock guards display imprisoned souls in ethereal cages—luminous orbs hovering over sacrificial altars. Buyers brand crystals with runic glyphs to claim ownership. Auctioneers call bids in guttural tones. Occult coin—made from petrified hearts—is exchanged for spirit prisms. Amid the crowds, rebel informants slip papers of safe houses to sympathetic bidders. Beneath a false floor lies a cellar where traders butcher living subjects between sales.
Additional Notes
DM: This location is ideal for infiltration or social intrigue; disguise options and skill challenges abound.
Academy of Bone and Echoes
A sprawling fortress–library carved entirely from white marble stained red by soul–blood. Classrooms overlook bone–riddled courtyards where cadavers are dissected for ritual sacrifices. Warlock instructors lecture from podiums of soul–glass. Laboratories contain crystalline vats where living subjects are held in suspended agony. Students practice siphoning ethereal remnants using hooked rods. A hidden vault behind the main lecture hall holds an ancient tome—The Codex of Unraveled Spirits—which details the tyrant’s ultimate ritual.
Additional Notes
DM: Allow PCs to pose as students for a semester–long infiltration or break in to steal the Codex.
Noble District Ruins
Opulent mansions once housed high–born families; now their facades are pocked with magical burns. Crystal ruins litter the streets—remnants of noble’s soul–prisms destroyed during the city’s fall. Secret tunnels beneath lead to wine cellars and armories. One partially intact ballroom holds a crystal chandelier made from hundreds of micro–prisms—each containing a single soul. Locals believe smashing it at midnight weakens the eclipse’s hold over the region for an hour.
Additional Notes
DM: Can be used for high–stakes infiltration to rescue captive nobles or retrieve a piece of the chandelier.
The Crystal Nexus
Secrets
- A hidden ritual circle behind the Abyssal Court’s throne can reverse the nexus’s energy flow for a brief moment.
- One noble’s weapon stores a fragment of the tyrant’s soul—usable to banish him permanently.
- Mirrors in the corridors can be angled to reflect psychic blasts into the Nexus core.
Key Locations
East Pylon: Matron of Sorrow
A voluptuous silver prism containing the soul of a beloved matriarch. Her screams echo through the hallways, causing PCs to make DC 16 Wisdom saves or be frightened for one round. Destroying her pylon shatters those fears into a rallying cry for the living.
Additional Notes
DM: Use fear effects and illusions; allow PCs to glean emotional strengths from the matron’s memories.
South Pylon: Betrayer’s Egg
A smoky obsidian crystal harboring the soul of a traitorous general. Within, he plots and whispers to PCs, offering power if they break the pylon under his influence. Destroying it risks his vengeful echo latching onto the party’s darkest impulses.
Additional Notes
DM: This pylon can attempt a charm on the PCs; if they resist, they gain insight into the tyrant’s vulnerabilities.
West Pylon: Child of Dawn
A pale rose–tinted prism containing an ancient child–saint’s soul. Its pure aura protects PCs—granting a one–time HP and temp HP bonus if they free the child before destruction. But breaking it before liberation brings divine retribution: radiant backlash.
Additional Notes
DM: Offer a moral choice—free the saint then destroy, or shatter the prism for power at a steep cost.
North Pylon: Fallen King’s Prism
Once the heart of Vordrak’s monarchy, this pylon holds the soul of the last human king. Encased in transparent crystal, his tears still stain the prism’s core. Breaking it unleashes regal wrath—spectral knights who rise and attack friend and foe alike.
Additional Notes
DM: Spectral knights use charge and aura abilities; PCs can parley with the fallen king if they free his soul.
Abyssal Court
Below the spire is a vast obsidian hall, lit by floating soul–orbs. The tyrant sits enthroned on a crystalline dais, flanked by undead nobles feasting on spirits drained from prisoners in iron cages. Each noble wields a unique soul–forged weapon. The tyrant himself bears a crown of living souls in a rotating prism, granting him regeneration and psychic lances. Entering triggers minions—soul–wraiths and death knights—to defend their master. PCs must coordinate simultaneous pylon strikes and descend to face the tyrant before he can restore fallen pylons.
Additional Notes
DM: A multi–stage final battle; as pylons fall, the tyrant weakens but gains desperate new abilities.
NPCs in The Shattered City of Kurr’hal
Lady Vyra Kalquen
Ex–court noble who escaped enslavement. She leads the city resistance and wears a soul–forged gauntlet that leaks her own essence.
Professor Zhurim
An ivory–skinned warlock lecturer addicted to soul–alchemy. He secretly experiments to create a soul–immune subject.
Cormac the Wraithbinder
A hulking enforcer who uses a living spectral hound to hunt down soul–runaways. Rumored to be the tyrant’s former friend.
NPCs in The Boneyard
Merrith Blackflame
A half–mad tiefling seer haunted by her own harvested soul. Pale eyes glow green whenever she speaks of the eclipse’s advance.
Grunor the Hollowed
A war–scarred dwarf warrior whose soul is half gone, reduced to a hollow shell. He leads a small rebel band in the Boneyard.
Seraphine of the Veil
A human warlock operative working for the tyrant’s court. Polite and composed, she hides her true cruelty.
Old Thayl
An aged druid who once tended the battlefields to heal the dead. Now he moves among the ruins, whispering to the ghosts.
Jaxan Riftwalker
A half–elf smuggler specializing in soul–forged contraband. Charming and roguish, he trades in illicit information and forbidden charms.
NPCs in The Crystal Nexus
High Examiner Arithal
An undead noble and former inquisitor. He seeks a successor worthy of his frozen seat of power.
Tyrant Arvak Voss
An immortal being whose body is skeletal and crowned with writhing soul–shards. His voice echoes with thousands of stolen memories.
Spectral Liberator Sira
A spirit–bound champion freed by a previous hero. Trapped within the Nexus walls, she can guide PCs if they release her.
Factions
The Eclipsed Court
Goals
Relationships
With Other Factions
Dominate the Slave Lords through direct rule; contempt for the Resistance; neutral but suspicious toward the Free Circle.With Players
Primary antagonists—PCs may infiltrate or oppose them, risking soul corruption.The Free Circle
Goals
Relationships
With Other Factions
Secretly allied with the Slave Lords when convenient; actively fights the Eclipsed Court; wary of the Unbound Scholars’ experiments.With Players
Allies—offer quests, safe havens, and resources; demand proof of loyalty.Unbound Scholars
Goals
Relationships
With Other Factions
Ostracized by the Eclipsed Court; tolerated by the Free Circle for their potential cures; grudgingly cooperates with local rebel cells.With Players
Neutral with potential alliance—will trade knowledge or arcane devices for rare soul–samples.Main Questline
Awakening in the Boneyard
Given by: None (Emergent)
Goals
• Clear surrounding phantoms (CR 2×3) • Unlock catacomb exit (DC 15 Arcana) • Reach the surface aliveReward
• 1,000 XP • Temporary Resistance: +1 to saves vs. fear for next 24 hoursSecrets
- A hidden ritual ledger names the tyrant’s palace sublevels.
- One survivor retains full memories and can guide the party.
DM Notes
DM: Emphasize horror; use environmental damage (poison gas, psychic tremors) to push PCs forward.Infiltrate the Soul Market
Given by: Merrith Blackflame
Goals
• Secure forged passes (Dex check DC 15) • Set three rune–bombs without detection • Exfiltrate with the crystal mapReward
• 2,000 XP • Map to Kurr’hal’s hidden passages • Ammunition: 3 Soul–bombs (deals 4d6 force in 10-ft radius)Secrets
- The market’s overseer attends the Academy’s secret council.
- Some spirit cages contain illusions masking living inmates.
DM Notes
DM: Balance social vs. combat options; failure triggers a wave of soul–wraith enforcers.Crack the Academy Vault
Given by: Professor Zhurim
Goals
• Gain entry to the vault • Disable three anti–intrusion glyphs (Arcana checks DC 17) • Retrieve the page and return to rebel HQReward
• 2,500 XP • Forbidden Spell: Soul Ward (ritual) • Partial favor from rebel networkSecrets
- The stolen page reveals the tyrant’s vulnerability to divine energy.
- Zhurim has embedded a curse that slowly drains the user’s soul.
DM Notes
DM: Introduce a timed clock—ward pulses every minute, summoning more fiends.Rally the Rebel Forces
Given by: Lady Vyra Kalquen
Goals
• Escort three rebel squads to gate control points • Destroy two seal foci simultaneously • Defend till breach occursReward
• 3,000 XP • Rebel Champion Title: +1 bonus to saving throws vs. mind control • 2d6 days of safe quarters and suppliesSecrets
- A gate seal device contains a slave–harvested core—destroying it frees dozens of captured souls.
- One rebel captain plans to betray Vyra for personal gain.
DM Notes
DM: Use massive battle scenes; allow PCs to cut off flanks or rally panicked troops for morale boosts.Shatter the Crystal Nexus
Given by: Spectral Liberator Sira
Goals
• Destroy four pylons simultaneously (Strength or Dex checks DC 18) • Survive psychic and radiant/necrotic onslaughts • Sacrifice soul fragment to bait Arvak forward • Defeat Arvak (HP and legendary actions)Reward
• 5,000 XP • One Magical Item of choice from the campaign list • Titles: Heroes of the Eclipse (land renown) • Opportunity to restore freed souls to lifeSecrets
- Offering a soul shard opens a portal to the realm of lost spirits, granting aid if used correctly.
- If PCs fail, they become new High Warlocks under the eternal eclipse.
DM Notes
DM: Final encounter should be epic—use environment hazards, ongoing pylon effects, and multiple phases for Arvak.Side Quests in The Shattered City of Kurr’hal
Smuggling Shadows
Given by: Lady Vyra Kalquen
Goals
• Obtain forged passes • Deliver arms past three checkpoints • Report safe houses to VyraReward
• 1,200 XP • Resistance Safe Passage: one free infiltration per region • +1 to Stealth checks against warlock patrols for next two missionsSecrets
- A checkpoint commander can be bribed into revealing patrol schedules.
- A hidden resistance cipher in Vyra’s notes points to a hidden armory.
DM Notes
DM: Use a timed skill challenge with Insight, Deception, and Dexterity (Stealth).Codex of Unraveled Spirits
Given by: Professor Zhurim
Goals
• Penetrate the Academy vault • Bypass soul–glass wards • Retrieve a single Codex pageReward
• 1,500 XP • One chapter of forbidden soul–alchemy (learn a new ritual spell) • Zhurim’s partial loyaltySecrets
- The Codex contains an unfinished ritual that can imprison a tyrant’s soul.
- Removing one page curses the remover with fleeting insanity.
DM Notes
DM: Build tension by having patrols time–gate the vault; shadow fiends guard the inner chamber.Side Quests in The Boneyard
Echoes of the Lost
Given by: Merrith Blackflame
Goals
• Enter the Forsaken Catacombs • Locate and reclaim Merrith’s soul–crystal shards • Defeat or banish lingering phantoms guarding the shardsReward
• 500 XP • Prophetic Insight: Advantage on one Insight or Arcana check per long rest • Map fragment to Side Quest “Ashes of Valor”Secrets
- The crystal holds a hidden prophecy about the tyrant’s vulnerability.
- Merrith once served the tyrant and betrayed her allies to save herself.
DM Notes
DM: Use shifting corridors and ambushes to heighten tension; reveal Merrith’s betrayal gradually through recovered memories.Shadows in the Ossuary
Given by: Old Thayl
Goals
• Decipher the rune puzzle on the ossuary door • Navigate the specter–infested vault • Retrieve the ossuary ledger from insideReward
• 750 XP • Druidic Ward: Once per short rest, cast Warding Bond on a willing creatureSecrets
- One skull in the vault bears the tyrant’s true name.
- The puzzle’s correct solution desecrates the tyrant’s own soul–crystal.
DM Notes
DM: The puzzle uses simple word–match riddles; specters use hit–and–run tactics to harry PCs.Rust and Ruin
Given by: Jaxan Riftwalker
Goals
• Infiltrate the Rusted War Camp • Bypass wards on the siege engine • Retrieve the engine without destroying its coreReward
• 600 XP • Arcane Wrench: Grants +2 to tool checks for disabling magical devices • One free passage through Jaxan’s black marketSecrets
- The engine’s core holds a recipe for a greater soul–harvesting spell.
- One statue’s soul was a beloved child; releasing it causes the others to falter.
DM Notes
DM: Animated statues obey simple command words; if PCs learn the child’s identity, they gain advantage on Diplomacy checks.Whispers in the Gloaming
Given by: Grunor the Hollowed
Goals
• Venture into the fog around an obelisk • Dispel or survive the possession attempts • Release the phantom–spawn trapped in crystal prismsReward
• 800 XP • Spiritwarden’s Blessing: Summon the freed spirit as a one–time ally in combat • Grunor’s loyalty and one piece of rebel–forged armor (+1 half plate)Secrets
- The spiritward of the north obelisk knows the location of a hidden cache of soul–prism shards.
- Grunor’s own rebellion was founded on freeing phantom–spawn he once commanded.
DM Notes
DM: Use ethereal phase shifts—phantoms disappear and reappear unpredictably to unsettle PCs.Memories for Freedom
Given by: Jaxan Riftwalker
Goals
• Identify and track the warlock patrol • Steal back the memory–crystal from its pouch • Safely return it to the matronReward
• 900 XP • Amulet of Remembrance: Once per day, restore 2d6 HP to an ally and grant advantage on saving throws against fear • Access to the rebel hideout and its resourcesSecrets
- The boy provides coordinates to a secret crossing under the altar.
- The patrol’s leader has doubts and can be bribed into defecting.
DM Notes
DM: If PCs choose stealth, require multiple Stealth and Sleight of Hand checks; if combat, risk alerting nearby camps.Side Quests in The Crystal Nexus
Shatter the Looking Glass
Given by: Spectral Liberator Sira
Goals
• Locate and break three Nexus mirrors • Survive psychic backlash each time • Return to Sira for final guidanceReward
• 2,000 XP • Sira’s Blessing: once per long rest, gain advantage on saving throws vs. psychic effects • Quickening of Spirit: +10 ft movement while within the NexusSecrets
- One mirror holds Sira’s own fractured soul; destroying it fully restores her temporarily.
- A backlash can be redirected to damage nearby constructs instead of PCs.
DM Notes
DM: Use short-term fear conditions and illusions of PCs’ backgrounds to heighten drama.Crown of Shattered Souls
Given by: High Examiner Arithal
Goals
• Engage Arvak in melee • Remove the crown mid–battle • Keep the crown intact and present it to ArithalReward
• 2,500 XP • Crown of Shattered Souls: Summon 1d4 wraith helpers once per day • Arithal’s uneasy alliance for future rebellionsSecrets
- Crown removal weakens Arvak’s regeneration by half.
- Arithal covets the crown and may betray PCs afterward.
DM Notes
DM: Offer a contested Strength (Athletics) check against Arvak’s Constitution save to remove the crown.Encounters
Catacomb Wailers
MediumSuggested Level: 3–5
Creatures
- Wraith
- Specter
- Ghost
Terrain Features
Narrow passages; difficult terrain from rubble; low ceiling imposes disadvantage on ranged attacks.
Treasure
Phantom’s Ring: grants +2 to saving throws vs. charm.
DM Notes
Scale number to party size; wailers can retreat into walls.
Market Surprise Raid
HardSuggested Level: 4–6
Creatures
- 4 Warlock Acolytes
- 2 Hellhounds
Terrain Features
Crowded stalls; cover from crates; magical sigils on walls causing wild magic surges.
Treasure
3 Minor Soul–Prisms (1d4 radiant each)
DM Notes
Use crowd illusions to mask reinforcements.
Library Shadow Fiends
DeadlySuggested Level: 5–7
Creatures
- 2 Shadow Fiends
- 3 Shadows
Terrain Features
Reflective floors cause disadvantage on stealth; dark zone blocks darkvision.
Treasure
Scroll of Soul Imprisonment (rare spell)
DM Notes
Limit rest options inside vault; timed ward pulses add tension.
Rebel Camp Defense
MediumSuggested Level: 6–8
Creatures
- 6 Soulbinders (warlock fighters)
- 4 Animated Armors
Terrain Features
Palisade walls; burning fires create smoke screens.
Treasure
Warbinders’ Bracers: +1 AC against necrotic damage
DM Notes
Allows PCs to command defenses; success grants morale bonus for main assault.
Nexus Mirror Guardians
HardSuggested Level: 8–10
Creatures
- 3 Mind Golems
- 2 Psychic Sentries
Terrain Features
Mirrored walls reflect spells; narrow walkway over abyss causes potential falls (save or drop).
Treasure
Crystal Mirror Shard: can reflect one spell back at caster
DM Notes
Encourage creative use of reflection; constructs highly resistant to non–psychic damage.
Magic Items
Ring of Soul Recall
RareLocation
Hidden in the Desecrated Ossuary vault.
Attunement
Yes, a fragment of your own soul
Soul–bomb
UncommonLocation
Jaxan Riftwalker’s Smuggler Stash.
Attunement
No
Crown of Shattered Souls
Very RareLocation
High Examiner Arithal’s treasury.
Attunement
Yes, to a creature with shattered memories
Spiritwarden’s Amulet
RareLocation
Reward from Grunor the Hollowed’s quest.
Attunement
No
Spectral Lantern
UncommonLocation
Merrith Blackflame’s quarters.
Attunement
No
Soulforge Wrench
UncommonLocation
Rust and Ruin quest reward.
Attunement
No
Shattered Mirror Shard
RareLocation
Nexus mirror guardians loot.
Attunement
No
Codex Fragment
Very RareLocation
Stolen from the Academy vault.
Attunement
Yes
Druidic Soul Ward
UncommonLocation
Old Thayl’s Ossuary reward.
Attunement
No
Amulet of Remembrance
RareLocation
Memories for Freedom quest reward.
Attunement
Yes
Player Characters
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