The Star Beneath the Ash
The Star Beneath the Ash
Read aloud
The Nether Star has vanished from Emberfall's reliquary, and Villager 284 says the Ash Regent stole it to tear open a permanent gate to the Overworld. Beyond the fortress walls, lava lights the sky and a chain of fresh explosions marks the Regent's trail. Villager 284 offers a reward for the star and one demand: kill the Regent before the final portal pulse.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Cross the Searing Causeway and enter the Ash Regent's fortress.
- 2Locate the Starforge and uncover what the Nether Star is doing.
- 3Kill the Ash Regent and stop the portal engine.
- 4Retrieve the ledger that records the Nether Star's history.Optional
The clock
The portal engine reaches its final pulse in 12 hours of in-world time. Each major delay, loud alarm, or failed attempt to bypass a trap advances the clock by 1 hour. At the final pulse, the Regent opens the breach, though the party can still fight through the portal and attempt to shut it down from the other side.
Scenes
- 0:00A Bargain at the Portal Yard
- 0:45The Searing Causeway
- 2:00The Galleries of Falling Stone
- 3:30The Reliquary Engine
- 5:00The Starforge Throne
Cast
- Villager 284Questgiver and wildcard
- Sister CinderAlly and witness
- The Ash RegentAntagonist
- Grusk ChainbreakerWildcard
The hook
Set the scene
Read the hook aloud. Villager 284 waits beside a sputtering portal in Emberfall, under guard by nervous piglins. The trader presents a scorched map to the fortress and warns that its passages are protected by pressure plates, fire-charge dispensers, and old mechanisms that do not distinguish intruders from residents. Sister Cinder watches from the edge of the crowd and asks to speak privately before the party leaves.
How Villager 284 asks
Villager 284 gives the party a scorched route map, a small pouch of gold, and a direct offer: destroy the Ash Regent, recover the Nether Star if possible, and return with proof.
The trader does not initially volunteer the ledger's existence. Sister Cinder seeks out the party separately and asks them to question the purpose of the star before handing it over.
Rumours
Scenes
about 7 hours0:00
45 min
socialThe table is here
1. A Bargain at the Portal Yard
Emberfall's portal yard, a basalt market sheltered beneath a cracked obsidian canopy.
Villager 284 hires the party. Sister Cinder privately warns that the star's purpose may be more complicated than the trader admits. The party can question either NPC and prepare before setting out.
NextVillager 284 activates the route portal, depositing the party near the fortress causeway.
0:45
75 min
combat
2. The Searing Causeway
A basalt causeway over a lava river, with broken pillars, hanging chains, and warning marks.
The party crosses the narrow bridge under attack. Pressure plates and unstable tiles make movement dangerous, while the foes attempt to shove characters toward the lava.
The Searing CausewayNextA service hatch beneath the far bridge leads into the fortress maintenance galleries.
2:00
90 min
exploration
3. The Galleries of Falling Stone
Fortress maintenance galleries lined with basalt ribs, dispensers, lava sluices, and half-buried archival plaques.
The party follows a trail of redstone-like circuitry and ancient inscriptions through a series of trapped galleries. They can disable the alarm, rescue a pinned worker, and find evidence that the star was once part of a binding mechanism.
NextA surviving worker or a recovered access seal points toward the reliquary engine.
3:30
90 min
combat
4. The Reliquary Engine
The circular reliquary chamber around the Nether Star's empty mounting cradle and the active portal engine.
The party confronts the Netherbound Warden and its guards among rotating bridges and shifting heat lanes. Control crystals can be attacked or manipulated to weaken the defenses.
The Reliquary EngineNextThe warden's access seal opens the route to the Starforge Throne, where the Ash Regent awaits.
5:00
120 min
combat
5. The Starforge Throne
A suspended foundry above lava, with a portal frame, chain-linked platforms, and the Nether Star at its center.
The party faces the Ash Regent as the engine draws creatures toward the Nether Star. Grusk can help if the party earned his trust, and the party must decide whether to preserve, destroy, or claim the star as the fight ends.
The Starforge ThroneNextWith the Regent defeated, the party chooses what to do with the star and returns to Emberfall or pursues the consequences of their decision.
Behind it
What people believe
The Ash Regent has stolen Emberfall's Nether Star and is using it to power a portal engine in a fortified foundry.
The party must cross a trapped basalt causeway, penetrate the fortress, and defeat the Regent before the engine opens a permanent breach to the Overworld. Villager 284 offers payment for the star's recovery, while a piglin archivist urges the party to learn what the star is before deciding its fate.
Background
A Nether Star has been stolen from the sealed reliquary beneath the basalt citadel of Emberfall.
Villager 284, a Nether-born trader known for impossible bargains and precise records, claims the thief is the Ash Regent, an ancient blaze sovereign gathering power to open a permanent breach into the Overworld. The party must cross fortress ruins, navigate lethal traps, and destroy the Regent before the star completes its work.
The stakes
If the party fails to stop the engine, a permanent portal breach opens and the Ash Regent's forces can raid the Overworld.
If the party succeeds, their handling of the Nether Star determines whether Emberfall gains a powerful tool, loses its portal network, or faces the consequences of weakening an ancient seal.
Encounters
3The Searing Causeway
Combat
A narrow basalt bridge spans a lava river. Broken pillars provide half-cover, chains hang at uneven intervals, and several bridge tiles conceal pressure triggers.
Foes
4 Magma Hounds
2 Piglin Chain-Throwers
ComplicationEach round, one visible floor tile sinks into lava unless a creature uses an action or equivalent to jam its mechanism. The tiles are marked with a distinctive three-notch pattern.
ScalingFor a party below the intended maximum level, remove two hounds. For a highly optimized party, add a second wave of two chain-throwers after the first round, or increase the number of sinking tiles. Keep a clear escape route so the hazard creates pressure rather than an unavoidable defeat.
The Reliquary Engine
Combat
A circular chamber surrounds an elevated pedestal. Four rotating bridges connect the outer ring to the center, with lava vents, chains, and removable control crystals around the room.
Foes
1 Netherbound Warden
3 Ashen Blades
ComplicationThe engine intermittently steals heat from one side of the chamber and concentrates it on the other. At the end of each round, a rune-marked lane becomes dangerously hot; a creature can learn the pattern by observing the runes or investigating the mechanism.
ScalingFor a smaller or less experienced party, use two Ashen Blades and let the warden's engine control affect fewer targets. For a highly capable party, add two Ashen Blades or give the warden one additional defensive reaction. The warden is a custom foe, not an official D&D 5E creature.
The Starforge Throne
Combat
The throne room is a vast foundry suspended above a lava sea. The Nether Star hangs above a portal frame, connected by four chains to platforms that can be raised, lowered, or broken.
Foes
The Ash Regent
2 Cinderbound Heralds
ComplicationAt the end of each round, the portal engine pulls one creature toward the star unless it braces, anchors itself, or disrupts a control crystal. A creature pulled to the inner ring is exposed to the Regent's attacks.
ScalingFor a party that is struggling, remove one herald and allow Grusk to interrupt one engine pulse if he has been persuaded to help. For an exceptionally strong party, add one herald or have the Regent activate an additional trap cycle. The Ash Regent and heralds are custom foes; select or build high-level D&D 5E statistics suitable for a deadly boss encounter.
Cast
4Villager 284
QuestgiverQuestgiver and wildcard
WantsVillager 284 wants the Nether Star recovered and the Ash Regent stopped, but also wants to reclaim a sealed ledger hidden in the Regent's fortress.
“I can tell you where the Regent is hiding. Whether that answer is worth what I ask in return is another matter.”
Sister Cinder
Ally and witness
WantsSister Cinder, a piglin archivist, wants the party to destroy the star rather than return it to Emberfall, where she believes it will be used to control the Nether's portals.
“The star is not a weapon. It is a lock, and you are being sent to break it.”
The Ash Regent
Antagonist
WantsThe Ash Regent wants to bind the Nether Star into a portal engine and extend its dominion beyond the Nether.
“You crossed all that fire just to die in my hall. At least you have made the journey entertaining.”
Grusk Chainbreaker
Wildcard
WantsGrusk, a piglin sentinel, wants to survive the Regent's rule and protect the fortress workers, even if that means betraying his commander.
“I was told to guard the gate, not decide whether the people behind it deserve to burn.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
The Ashen Route Map, a custom one-use map that reveals a safe passage through one Nether hazard.
A set of four Chain Anchors, custom climbing devices that can secure a creature or object to a suitable surface.
Optional: the Nether Star, if the party recovers it. Its powers and risks are deliberately undefined until the GM decides its role in the campaign.
On a win
The Ash Regent is dead and the portal engine is stopped.
The Nether Star is recovered, destroyed, or secured according to the party's choice. Emberfall is spared an immediate invasion, but the party's decision about the star and Villager 284's ledger determines who holds power over the portals next.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party does not reach the Starforge Throne before the ticking clock expires.
- The Regent completes the portal engine and opens a stable breach into the Overworld. The party can still pursue the Regent through it, but must deal with an incursion spreading into a settlement.
- The party defeats the Regent but fails to secure or safely disable the star.
- The Nether Star is damaged or lost in the lava. The portal engine shuts down, but the resulting surge destabilizes the surrounding region and makes Emberfall's portal network unreliable.
- The party returns the star to Emberfall without confronting Villager 284 about the ledger or the star's intended use.
- Villager 284 disappears with the recovered ledger, leaving the party without the promised route back and with an unresolved question about what the ledger contains.
Complications (d6)
- 1A marked basalt tile drops 20 feet into a lava channel when a creature weighing more than a small pack steps on it. A nearby chain offers a visible handhold, but reaching it requires a quick reaction or a successful system-appropriate agility check.
- 2A pulse from the portal engine reverses gravity in the room for one round, sending loose gear and unanchored creatures toward the ceiling before gravity returns.
- 3A cracked dispenser launches three fire charges down the corridor. The party can spot the tripwire with careful inspection or use cover before the charges detonate.
- 4A trapped piglin worker is pinned beneath a fallen basalt beam while a lava sluice begins to open. Rescuing the worker costs time but earns Grusk's trust if he learns of it.
- 5A warped fungus alarm draws a patrol of two magma hounds within minutes unless the party silences it or creates a convincing distraction.
- 6The Nether Star's pulse briefly animates nearby gold armor and tools, which lash out at whoever is closest before collapsing into inert metal.
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