Open the Seal Before the Eclipse Passes
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Vault StairsRune FloorSeal Chamber
Roleplay EncounterDND5E 2024Party L19 · 5 PCs
Open the Seal Before the Eclipse Passes
Read Aloud
The stairs drop under the temple like a throat swallowing sound. Below, bronze doors wait behind three turning rune discs, and the air above them hums with divine pressure. A shadow from the eclipse crawls over the floor marks one handspan at a time. The ward will open by rite, or it will break the wrong way.
The Scene
NEUTRALNEGOTIATIONBase DC 19Stakes If the seal fails, the temple loses control of whatever the eclipse has pinned beneath it.
20-40 minutes
NPC Goal
The ward-keeper wants the seal opened only by the old rite, with no one inside when the pressure breaks.
Leverage
The party knows the eclipse is the last safe window. The ward-keeper knows the seal is weakening and hates being the one to break it.
Player Approaches
- Promise to leave the seal untouched after the rite
- Name the old temple law that forbids breaking a sanctuary door before the eclipse
- Offer to carry out the keeper's duty if the rite goes wrong
- Show respect for the dead names carved on the discs
NPC Gambits
- Appeal to duty
- Cite temple law
- Read the rune pattern
- Offer a safer rite
- Expose a hidden risk
- Swear an oath on the threshold
NPC Reactions
- Wary silence
- Sharp correction
- Reluctant respect
- A sudden, careful warning
- A final, firm refusal
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