The Halls of the Awakened (Patreon)

The Halls of the Awakened is a cultists' lair hidden deep in the Black Loch. If you're interested in my version of the lore, I've written a giant wall of text about it in the DM notes here. I'll have an unfurnished version of the map for you tomorrow.

A bad guy lair with an entrance inside a cavern isn't anything new, but I intentionally made the caverns here pretty big. As the party makes their way through, it gives them time to get a little paranoid. And to start asking questions, like, "Is this the right place?" And, "What if that person lied to us?" And, "What if this is a trap?" It creates some tension and makes them feel like they're someplace dangerous, which is the mood I like to create in a dungeon.

If you read the lore I wrote about this place in the last post, it has a lot to do with psionics. I expect most people will probably use this map for something else, but, in case you're interested in inserting the Architects of the Awakened into your game, I wrote some ideas for psionic powers into the DM notes.

Of course, you can use the rules for the unofficial Mystic class if you want, but that's not what I'm looking for in a psionic NPC. What am I looking for? Darth Vader. No, seriously. If I'm introducing a powerful force the players are unfamiliar with, I want it to scare the hell out of them. I want them to get telekinetically flung across the room like a rag doll. I want to have stone walls flying at them and ceilings coming down on their heads. I want stuff to happen that isn't in the Players' Handbook.

If you throw a fireball at the party, they know what that does. "It's fine, no big deal, we've got the HP to handle it." But when you tell someone they can no longer breathe? They don't know what that does. There are rules, of course, but they don't know what they are because I made them up. The unknown can be pretty scary, especially for experienced players who aren't used to surprises.

Anyway, I'll get the unfurnished version of this up tomorrow, along with the updated Black Loch map that has the location marked on it. I'll also talk about what's next. Until then!