The Descent
The Descent
Read aloud
The Long Bell descends for three hours, its cable humming through iron as cold gives way to the immense pressure of the sea. Basalt slides past the glass, hung with hundreds of little bells that ring one after another; below, an amber-lit dock smells of broth, and the bell over its door sounds twice. Everyone stops, and a girl whispers, “Second bell.”
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Earn the Navy's sign-off by investigating Lane Nine.
- 2Earn the Custodians' sign-off by repairing the failing chamber.
- 3Earn the crews' sign-off and decide who may use Lane Nine.
- 4Decide who learns that hostile scouts reached the Bastion's outer approach.Optional
The clock
The second bell signals that a rescue team has not returned. The Wrong Bell can draw a Deep-Current Stalker after three tolls. Separately, maintain the campaign's secret Silence Clock: at the end of the Act, advance it once if Lane Nine was closed or the Navy sign-off was not earned. The Count advances according to the campaign's Act rules; do not disclose either secret track to the players.
Scenes
- 0:00The Second Bell
- 0:40Who Goes Down?
- 1:40Forty-One Minutes
- 3:20The Warm Seam
- 5:00The Cup at the Door
- 5:25The Cable Ferry
Cast
- High Admiral Vrak Ash-PeltQuestgiver and Navy signatory
- IbaraCustodian ally
- OskarBellwarden representative
- TzikiCurrent-Keeper representative
- Trench-Warden Oskeld MarnFaction liaison and wildcard
The hook
Set the scene
Begin in the descending Long Bell car. Let the cable hum, the iron chill the characters' hands, and the sea's pressure settle around them. The basalt wall passes close beyond the thick glass, its hanging bells giving off small, separate notes. At the dock, the amber light and broth-scented air meet them as the entrance bell rings twice. Everyone stops moving. Explain only if asked: the second bell means the first rescue crew has not returned.
How High Admiral Vrak Ash-Pelt asks
High Admiral Vrak asks for the party's help after the descent and second bell, once the dock's silence has made the stakes plain.
He does not begin by offering unrestricted authority. Instead, he explains that a Descent Writ requires three independent endorsements: the Navy's order, the Custodians' safety certification, and the crews' consent. He requests that the party earn each endorsement by doing the work that authority demands.
Rumours
Scenes
about 6 hours0:00
40 min
socialThe table is here
1. The Second Bell
The Long Bell car and the amber-lit dock of Trench-Crown Bastion.
The party arrives as a second bell stops the dock in its tracks. Once they learn what it means, Vrak explains the missing diver, the failing chambers, and the three endorsements required for a Descent Writ. Keep the scene rooted in sensory details: broth steam, oil on warm iron, and the distant, uneven throb of the fissure.
NextVrak's request leads the party into the Bastion's public corridors, where the decision about Lane Nine has already divided the crews.
0:40
60 min
social
2. Who Goes Down?
A round chamber of bent iron ribs, where the three powers can see every speaker.
Hold the Writ hearing in the Three-Cargo Hall. The party can ask for the relevant sign-off now, gather evidence first, or return after completing other work. Resolve the crew challenge using the four-success, three-failure structure. A success produces the Second-Latch Rule: Lane Nine stays open for two certified crews, each with the right to refuse. Failure closes the lane and advances the Silence Clock.
The Lane Nine Writ HearingNextThe hearing's decision changes who will accompany the party. With the arguments still echoing in the iron, the party can follow either the missing rescue team or the old heat line.
1:40
100 min
combat
3. Forty-One Minutes
A basalt ledge 640 feet down, approached in Pressure Suits, then a yellow-lit station with a bell braced to the hull.
Travel through the marked lane to the pressure-sealed station. Ragna Pell is alive in the supply locker, while Edrin Cask and her Legionnaires defend the Wrong Bell. The bell's timed tolls create a choice: silence the signal quickly, fight through the patrol, or risk drawing the Stalker. After the confrontation, Ragna identifies the mistake in the distress code and reports that the station wall knocked back.
The Wrong Bell at Lane NineNextAs the suit lamps find the ascent markers, the party notices fresh scoring on a warning-stone at the lane mouth and carries its evidence back toward the Bastion.
3:20
100 min
exploration
4. The Warm Seam
A sealed maintenance passage beneath Chamber Four, running through the cleft wall to a flooded outer lock.
With Navy leave, Ibara, Kell, and Jory guide the party through the old service passage. Run it as four short stages: open the unusual pressure door, notice or pass the tally-wall, cross the vent lip, then remove the siphon plug from the flooded outer lock. Each failed check costs resources or time but does not stop progress. At the tally-wall, mark the first Heard Track box: three knocks sound through the stone, followed by a pause. If anyone knocks back, the next pause is shorter. The passage reveals scout traces and the source of Chamber Four's uneven heat.
The Sealed Warm SeamNextOnce the plug is free, the party returns to Chamber Four with steam on their clothes and a technician's lamp shaking in the draft.
5:00
25 min
social
5. The Cup at the Door
The old refuge chamber's stone doorway, older than the surrounding iron fortress.
If the party visits the Warm Seam Room before the hearing, they meet Sunna Vael leaving a cup of heated water for kin omitted from the Bastion's founding story. A Wisdom (Insight) check reveals the reason for the offering. A Charisma (Persuasion) check, or simply sitting with her until the cup cools, earns her family's cargo slate, advantage on the party's first History check at the hearing, and a Favor with Navy ratings. Taking, moving, or drinking from the cup gives disadvantage on Charisma checks with Bastion residents until the next dawn.
NextAs the water cools in its cup, Sunna's cargo slate offers the party a different account of what the Bastion believes it owes its people.
5:25
40 min
exploration
6. The Cable Ferry
A sealed cable ferry traveling Marked Lane Three toward the Cleared-Shelf Market.
When the party has secured the Writ decision and concluded its work, Vrak asks them to carry the lane log and the Bastion's thanks to Barge-Lord Orak Tide-Cutter. Give the eight-hour journey a full scene: a convoy captain asks to touch the Ember and then offers a Favor; the crew sings the Answering Current as the barge enters the Market's lamp-field. In the quiet after the last verse, something beneath the hull makes a sound almost like a note. No one looks up.
NextThe ferry's guide cable slackens as the Market lights draw near, carrying the party toward a dock where several factions are already gathering.
Behind it
What people believe
At Trench-Crown Bastion, a false distress call has cost the Navy a convoy escort and left rescue diver Ragna Pell missing.
Meanwhile, strange heat failures are cracking inhabited chambers, and a sealed passage may hold the cause. The party must earn the trust of the Navy, the Custodians, and the crews before it can travel below the marked ledges. Their choices will determine whether Lane Nine remains open, who is permitted to descend, and what knowledge the Bastion carries to the Cleared-Shelf Market.
Background
Trench-Crown Bastion hangs within a three-thousand-foot basalt cleft beside the Roaring Fissure.
Its iron chambers shelter thousands, and its Navy, Custodians, and working crews share authority over the marked routes below. A distress call from Lane Nine diverted a rescue team from convoy duty; diver Ragna Pell has not returned. At the same time, uneven vent heat is splitting chambers inside the Bastion. The party has arrived carrying the Unbanked Ember, whose warmth may restore one of those failing chambers.
The stakes
A false rescue signal has drawn the Navy away from its convoy duty and left a diver missing.
Closing Lane Nine protects crews from a route the charts call unsafe, but it also restricts trade. Leaving it open preserves access only if crews have a genuine right to refuse a dangerous descent. At the same time, Chamber Four's cracks threaten people who depend on the Bastion's heat. The party's authority to go below, and what the Bastion chooses to protect, depend on whose trust it earns.
Encounters
3The Wrong Bell at Lane Nine
Combat
A pressure-sealed, 40-by-30-foot station on a basalt ledge, reached through open water in Pressure Suits. Inside are bolted iron grating, an airlock, a supply locker, and a 10-by-10-foot moon-pool open to the sea. A creature knocked prone on the grating slides five feet toward the pool unless it succeeds on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw. Hull sections are strong; do not let incidental attacks breach them.
Foes
Siphon-Warden Edrin Cask
Void-Ice Legionnaires, three for a party of three, four for a party of four, five for a party of five
Deep-Current Stalker, optional
ComplicationThe Wrong Bell rings at initiative count 20. After its third unanswered toll, a Deep-Current Stalker enters through the moon-pool. The party can silence the bell by destroying it, stopping its clapper with a DC 15 Tinker's Tools check, or jamming it with a DC 14 Strength (Athletics) check. If the Stalker arrives, it attacks the nearest bleeding or noisy creature, regardless of allegiance. When the bell is silenced, it retreats after its next turn.
ScalingFor three characters, use two Legionnaires. For five characters, add one. The Stalker makes the encounter substantially more dangerous; use it only if the party fails to silence the bell before the fourth round. Use the named campaign stat blocks if available. If they are unavailable, substitute suitable 5e creatures and preserve the bell objective, pressure hazards, and parley opportunity.
The Sealed Warm Seam
Exploration
A sealed, two-hundred-foot service passage linking Chamber Four to an outer lock on the Roaring Fissure. It contains an old pressure door, a tally-cut corridor, a hot vent lip, and a flooded lock with a small Vanguard heat-tap.
ComplicationThe passage's challenges consume time and resources but do not block progress. At the Seal, a failed attempt releases steam; creatures within 10 feet make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw or take 3d6 fire damage. At the Warm Seam, each traveler makes a DC 12 Constitution check or suffers exhaustion; a DC 14 Dexterity check avoids a scalding steam patch that deals 2d6 fire damage. In the Outer Lock, a dropped tool or torn suit costs ten minutes of air refill or one hour of suit air.
ScalingNo combat is required. Characters can divide tasks among themselves and the two technicians. Thermalists and Vent-Tempered characters have advantage on the Warm Seam Constitution check. Use the campaign's pressure and exhaustion rules where applicable.
The Lane Nine Writ Hearing
Social
A round hall of bent iron ribs, with no place to stand behind a speaker. Vrak presides while the Bellwardens, Current-Keepers, and other crews decide whether Lane Nine remains open.
ComplicationThe party needs four successes before three failures. Each character can contribute once using an approach. A successful Intimidation check secures a success but costs the Navy's goodwill; if the party has a Favor, lose one. A close gives the Bellwardens their sign-off but not the Current-Keepers' sign-off, and advances the Silence Clock.
ScalingUse DC 15 for Persuasion, Insight, History, and Navigator's Tools or Survival; DC 16 for Investigation; DC 17 for Intimidation. Evidence from the Lane Nine station makes the Investigation success automatic. Sunna Vael's family cargo slate grants advantage on the first History check.
Cast
5High Admiral Vrak Ash-Pelt
QuestgiverQuestgiver and Navy signatory
WantsKeep the Bastion and its marked routes defensible, even if that means closing a dangerous lane.
“A lane is a promise. I will not make one I cannot keep.”
Ibara
Custodian ally
WantsRestore Chamber Four, identify the cause of the heat failure, and regain access to a passage she has maintained for decades.
“Someone built that door expecting the people inside to find their way in the dark.”
Oskar
Bellwarden representative
WantsProtect rescue crews from being ordered into lanes they cannot safely enter, while ensuring they are never abandoned.
“A bell tells you someone needs you. It does not tell you the water is safe.”
Tziki
Current-Keeper representative
WantsKeep trade moving and secure at least one convoy passage through the disputed lane.
“A closed lane has a cost too. It is paid by the people who never get their cargo.”
Trench-Warden Oskeld Marn
Faction liaison and wildcard
WantsPersuade the Bastion to close Lane Nine and conceal what the bell's answer may mean. His immediate concern appears sincere, but his deeper reasons remain unclear.
“If you hear a second bell down there, tell me before you tell the Admiral. I would rather be the one who has to explain it.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
A copy of Edrin Cask's Lane Log, with Lane Nine listed as a test lane and the officer initials H. C-V.
A copy of the Vanguard lane schedule if the party does not already have it.
Pressure Suits, loaned to each character with a Full Writ.
On a win
On earning all three endorsements, the party receives a Full Descent Writ: access to marked lanes and lower ledges, rescue priority at bells, a Pressure Suit loan for each character, and access to the chart room.
With two endorsements, the party receives a Restricted Writ, limited to marked lanes and requiring a Navy escort across unmarked stretches; Pressure Suits cost 50 gp each per week. With zero or one endorsement, the lower doors remain shut, though each Favor can purchase a supervised trip. The Unbanked Ember relights Chamber Four if the plug is removed; by the next dawn its cracks have warmed closed and the heat gauge stirs. The party reaches level 9 at the Act's milestone.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party does not find Ragna or establish that the Lane Nine call was false.
- The Navy does not sign until the party presents convincing evidence of the false call. Without Ragna's testimony or evidence from the station, the party cannot earn the Navy sign-off during the hearing.
- The party leaves the Vanguard plug in place or does not restore the heat feed.
- Chamber Four remains unstable, the Custodians withhold their sign-off, and the Navy seals the passage. Ibara can still certify the repair if the party brings her the removed heat-tap.
- The hearing reaches three failures before four successes.
- The lane closes, the Current-Keepers refuse their sign-off, and the secret Silence Clock advances. If the party has fewer than two sign-offs, the Bastion grants no Writ; supervised trips require one Favor apiece.
- The party earns zero or one of the three sign-offs.
- The full Writ remains out of reach, limiting access to marked routes and the chart room. The party may still continue toward the next chapter through favors and supervised travel.
Complications (d6)
- 1A convoy captain asks to touch the Ember before the next descent. If refused, she accepts the answer but withdraws a promised crew testimony from the hearing.
- 2A pressure door cycles early while a character or technician is in its threshold. A nearby ally can catch them, but doing so costs that ally their next action or a carried tool is crushed.
- 3A cracked vent releases a sudden sheet of steam. Creatures in the affected area make a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw or take 3d6 fire damage.
- 4A fresh chalk arrow appears on a route wall, pointing toward a sealed service hatch. It is a scout's mark, not a Bastion navigation sign.
- 5A bell sounds once from behind a wall, then a second time after an uneasy pause. Nearby workers stop and wait; the delay costs ten minutes and unsettles the party.
- 6A crew member recognizes a party member's face from the hearing and asks them to publicly state whether rescue priority or convoy access comes first.
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