13th age compatibility icon.

> Compatibile with the 13th Age Roleplaying Game requires the 13th Age Roleplaying Game from Fire Opal Media Inc. and Pelgrane Press Ltd. See 13thAge.com for more information on the 13th Age Roleplaying Game. Fire Opal Media Inc. does not guarantee compatibility, and does not endorse this product.

Read the main adventure document first, then use this document to help tailor it to 13th age.

While not written for the 13th Age Roleplaying Game specifically, it ties into themes of that game system. Players uncover the consequences of the actions of powerful figures in another kingdom, another age. Their choices in this adventure will reverberate through this age, and each icon will likely have their own agenda.

It’s also a good way to introduce a new, world-threatening power that could be a recurring threat throughout the campaign.

It’s also a story where the party faces a danger too powerful to defeat. The 13th Age Roleplaying Game has mechanics, such as campaign loss, which allows players to go up against threats too powerful for them, and if they fail, live to fight again.

If building a larger campaign, this adventure would fit well with other content based around exploring what happened in previous ages.

# A Suggested Age

If you don’t have a particular previous age in mind, here are some ideas for what it might have been like.

A possible set of icons to have been active: * The kingdoms: The Ivory Throne, The Mageflame, The Lord of the Forge * The corruptor: The Tempter or The Conqueror * The antagonist: The Devourer, The Deathless One or The Council of Scales. Or a less obvious one like The Elven Court. * (Optionally) The Dweller Below

Using icon rolls to pick which icons were involved can make the player characters more invested in the events of the adventure.

## What happened:

In this previous age, the icons of the kingdoms worked together to fight the forces of an outside army (the antagonist). Another force (the corruptor) induced them through trickery or bad council to dig deep into the earth to find some great power that they only saw hints of.

In doing so, they released an ancient evil. This might have been The Dweller Below, if you are using that icon, or a precursor to the Tempter, or some separate icon now lost to time.

Alternately, this strange being might have been tamed into something more familiar after some ages spent on the surface – The Devourer, or maybe even The Elven Court, in the distant past, although this would make for a somewhat more sinister interpretation of the Elven Court.

Some other possible events:

- Perhaps the Gatekeeper had to step in to seal the breach.
- This incident led to deep mistrust between the Lord of the Forge and the Ivory Throne, with each blaming the other for what happened, although perhaps the reasons for this mistrust were forgotten.

# Icons and the story

For each icon, there are several possible angles as to how they are involved, or why they care about these events.

A helmed warrior on a stark red background with a black sun. The warrior’s clothes are made of a city of spiky towers, matching their spiky helm.

## The Conqueror

The Conqueror wants to break into the place beneath the earth and take control of the immense and uncontrollable power that exists here.

Or;

The Conqueror is the only one who remembers how badly this went last time. His mistrust of that which is hidden beneath the earth makes him right, for once.

Or;

The Conqueror has the strength of will to save his followers from the temptations of the voice of the jyraxa.   ## The Mageflame

The Mageflame is especially susceptible to the temptation of limitless arcane power promised by the voices below.

Or;

The Mageflame is the only one whose endless troves of knowledge can prepare the players for what the jyraxa is and how to fight it.

## The Tempter

The Tempter wants to bring forth evil from another world and tear a hole in reality; in fact, perhaps this is how it all begins,

Or;

Only the Tempter has delved deep enough to know what this is and how to fight it – and better the devil you know.   ## The Lord of the Forge

Only the Lord of the Forge would dare to delve this deep, and break through to uncover things that should be locked away

Or;

Only the Lord of the Forge has the hard-won experience to fight this thing and win. Only he has seen this thing before.

## The Elven Court

A person who is also a tree, covered in ferns and foliage.

Only the Elven Court would treat with such strange beings as these; in fact, perhaps the elves are distant kin to the fey jyraxa.

Or;

Only the Elven Court can remember their magic and match it.   ## The Ivory Throne

The Ivory Throne stood at the side of the Mageflame as they broke through to this hidden world in their thirst for power. Perhaps they no longer remember. Perhaps it’s coming for them.

Or;

The Ivory Throne remembers its old war against this thing and has the only weapons that can defeat it.

## The Gatekeeper

The jyraxa or its allies are the thing that weakened the Gatekeeper in a past age. It is one of the few things the Gatekeeper truly fears.

Or;

The Gatekeeper is the only one who knows how to seal this gate, once and for all.

## The Wildwalker

The things that hide beneath the earth, strange and unnatural as they are, were civilization’s most deadly weapon against nature, the thing which turned this land to a wasteland.

Or;

The things that hide beneath the earth will end civilization and the Wildwalker is waiting for them.

## The Deathless One

This thing that comes from realms beyond ours is the only thing the Deathless One fears, the limits of his power, and he will enter in an unlikely alliance to stop it.

Or;

The Deathless One wishes to release it as part of his scheme to bring an end to the rule of the living.

## The Devourer

This thing was used as a weapon against the Devourer’s ancestors, and they will never forgive anyone who seeks to free it – or who just gets too close to it.

Or;

It is the voice of a thing such as this that speaks in the ear of the Devourer and drives them to furious hunger.

A shadowy humanoid figure with tiny eyes. In the background an abstract sun and vertical lines

## The Godspeaker

Only the holy and pure of heart may stand against the jyraxa’s temptations, and so the Godspeaker is your most natural ally.

Or;

The thing here comes from where the gods come from, from the very first age when the world was formed, and the Godspeaker must conceal this secret.

## The Faceless

The Faceless thinks they are clever enough to steal from the strange things that live beneath the world. Perhaps they’re right.

Or;

The agents of the Faceless, who also hide in the darkness, are being corrupted, one by one, by the voices beneath.

## The Council of Scales

Much like the Deathless One, perhaps the power beneath the earth was used as a weapon against it and it will side with whoever opposes it.

Or;

The Council of Scales was once allied with the Ivory Throne, and betrayed it after attaining immense power from that which is hidden below the earth.

## The Dweller Below

The jyraxa is one of its creatures.

# Other Icon Associations

These are not exhaustive – there are reasons any icon might have influence anywhere – but here are some ideas to get you started. ## Locations

### The Magic Elevator

Created by the Mageflame, The Lord of the Forge, or The Deathless One.

### The Camp on the Surface

The Godspeaker, the Gatekeeper, or the Ivory Throne have influence here.

### The descent – first third

The wards are most likely the work of the Gatekeeper or the Conqueror, maybe the Mageflame, the Deathless One or the Lord of the Forge.

The other constructions are the work of the Lord of the Forge, a precursor to the Ivory Throne, the Conqueror or the Deathless One.

A cloaked figure with a red blob where their face should be. Holds a dagger and staff.

### The descent – second third

This is the domain of the Wildwalker, perhaps, or the beginning of the domain of the Dweller Below. The Lord of the Forge may still have influence.

### The descent – final third

The Tempter, the Wildwalker, the Dweller Below, or perhaps as a surprise twist, the Elven Court, might have influence here. Or perhaps you are beyond the influence of icons.

## NPCs

### Svathix

On the positive side, an association with The Mageflame.

On the negative side, the Tempter, the Deathless one, or a more sinister side of the Faceless or the Elven Court.

### Yidi-Myana

Most likely The Wildwalker, the Ivory Throne, the Godspeaker, or some combination. If The Wildwalker is rolled, emphasize the wildness of the place she is from; if the Ivory Throne, then even here in the wasteland, mpires have their influence.

### Gazu-Nyezi

The Godspeaker, the Wildwalker, the Mageflame or the Elven Court. They most likely are associated with two icons that seem to be in tension with each other.

### Dedazeh

The Gatekeeper most of all, likely also the Ivory Throne. Perhaps in moments of weakness he is tempted by the Conqueror, his enemy.

A skeleton with decaying clothes and red eyes.

# Encounter ideas

There isn’t a specific level associated with this adventure, but it is meant to happen at the adventurer tier, as they are meant to be a bit in over their heads, and this is meant to be a first encounter with something immensely powerful that they might defeat later.

## Supplementary random encounters

The intention is for the adventure to be combat light, but it could easily be extended into a longer adventure by adding some additional encounters

### First third

If at level 3, Azer Soldier (normal 4th level troop), redone as constructs guarding the tunnels from a previous age. At lower levels, there might be some skeletons remaining, standing guard to prevent the jyraxa from coming back, though the players won’t know that as they destroy them.

Alternately, Ettercaps or Fungaloids might have taken up residence in some of the abandoned tunnels.

At the forge, you might find items like Destroying Swords (normal level 2 wrecker), or Enduring Shields (normal level 2 blocker).

### Second third

In the tunnels, good options are Magma Brutes (normal 3rd level wrecker) or Ochre Jellies (Large 3rd level wrecker).

For the elevator failure, some options are Swarm of Bats (normal 1st level spoiler), Dire Bats (normal 2nd level troop), or stirges (level 0-1).

### Last third

Intellect Devourer (normal 3rd level spoiler), Hungry Star (normal 3rd level wrecker), or other similarly weird creatures.

If you need stats for the mesmerizing lights, make them Dawn Zorigami (normal 3rd level spoiler), and the Haunting can be a Whispering Prophet (normal 5th level leader).

### Final battle

Use a bunch of Chaos Beasts (normal level 4 troop), possibly with Chaos Glorps.

A shadowy tentacled figure with red eyes, enshrouded in blue fogs.

# Legal

Copyright 2021 Seedling Games, except for the art. Art copyright Perplexing Ruins, licensed via the Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/perplexingruins

13th Age is a registered trademark of Fire Opal Media Inc., and the 13th Age Roleplaying Game and the 13th Age Roleplaying Game Compatibility Logo are trademarks of Fire Opal Media Inc. under exclusive license to Pelgrane Press Ltd., and are used under the 13th Age Roleplaying Game Compatibility License. See 13thAge.com for more information on the compatibility license.

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