The Long Hoist
The Long Hoist
Read aloud
The lift car above the Citadel hangs motionless, its chain ticking in the cold like a clock. A Keeper points to the only route onward, Needle Span, where a cut tether has left an eight-hundred-foot crossing trembling above the gorge. “If the hoist closes,” she says, “Zephyria may as well be on another world.”
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Survive the crossing to the Bastions and secure the House cutter-plate as Proof 9.
- 2Obtain the cable-load logs, Proof 7, and determine whether the hoist should reopen, be repaired, or remain halted.
- 3Earn the Cable and Ledge Keepers’ trust and secure the anchor-drift records, Proof 8.
- 4Borrow the Third Rope for the journey to Zephyria.Optional
The clock
Every delay leaves the Long Hoist closed and brings more pressure from Rennick to shut the route permanently. During the Hanging Car fight, track the chain’s Strain from 0 to 3; at 3, the car drops 90 feet and everyone aboard takes 9d6 damage. Keep altitude strain in view from the Citadel upward. Above 12,500 feet, the party enters the Thin Air band; characters who are not Oreads or Stratabounds need acclimatization, a breathing bladder, or the DC 10 Constitution saving throw described in the campaign’s Chapter 3.
Scenes
- 0:00Eight Beats Above the Gorge
- 1:15The Chain and the Count
- 2:30A Cable’s Measure
- 4:00The Car That Would Not Rise
Cast
- Gevan KeldQuestgiver and Master Cable-Wright of the…
- Hesper Cold-StrandAlly and Chief Wright of the Cable and Ledge…
- Rennick MarrowgateAntagonist and House envoy
- BrannocWitness and Senior Span Rigger
The hook
Set the scene
At the Citadel of Terraces, the air tastes thin and metallic, and every breath catches in the throat. Above the lift queue, the Long Hoist hangs still, while a chain knocks softly against its housing. Gevan Keld waits beneath the cable drum with a rolled inspection slate in one hand. “The Keepers say my halt proves their case,” he tells you. “Rennick says the answer is to close everything. I need someone who can look at the chain and report what is there, not what a House wants it to be.”
How Gevan Keld asks
Gevan Keld asks the party to inspect the Long Hoist’s chain and help settle whether the lift can safely reopen.
He offers access to the Brotherhood’s cable-load logs if they earn his trust or make an honest inspection. The Keepers at Split Ridge will separately judge whether the party can be trusted with their records.
Rumours
Scenes
about 5.5 hours0:00
75 min
explorationThe table is here
1. Eight Beats Above the Gorge
Needle Span, an 800-foot footbridge between the Mist-Belt and the Bastions, suspended 600 feet above a gorge.
The party approaches Needle Span with warnings of sabotage already circulating. Establish the span’s Strain, capacity, the eight-beat crossing, and the danger of carrying too much weight. At beat 6, a Intelligence (Investigation) check identifies the cut tether and its stamped cutter-plate, Proof 9. The party can pause, brace the span, or take measures against the weather, but every delay gives the heights more time to grow hostile.
Needle Span, Eight Beats Over the GorgeNextThe far end of the bridge shudders beneath their boots, and beyond it the terraces climb toward the cable hub.
1:15
75 min
social
2. The Chain and the Count
The Tri-Peak Cable Hub, where lifts, inspection platforms, waiting travelers, and chain housings crowd the terraces.
At the Tri-Peak Cable Hub, Gevan has halted ascents and Rennick is urging the Keepers to shut the spans as well. Give the party a clear choice: argue for reopening, recommend repair, or support the halt. Honest inspection or earned trust yields the cable-load logs, Proof 7. If a character repairs the chain during a short rest with an appropriate tool check, the hoist can reopen for the climax and the party earns 1 Standing with the High Council of Needlepeaks.
The Long Hoist DisputeNextThe party leaves the clamor of the hub behind and follows a narrow stair that winds upward toward Split Ridge.
2:30
90 min
skill
3. A Cable’s Measure
The Crest Bridge-House at Split Ridge, at 12,200 feet, with a heated shelter, a taut test cable, and knot-marked posts recording the spans under the Keepers’ care.
At the Crest Bridge-House, Hesper Cold-Strand and Brannoc require the party to complete the Cable Test before granting an audience. The test asks one character to walk a taut cable 60 feet over a drop, make a Dexterity (Acrobatics) check, and retrieve a flag with a Strength (Athletics) check. Success earns 1 Standing with the Keepers. Once the party reaches +1 Standing, the Keepers reveal that their measurements showed anchor-stones drifting before any public warning was posted. They give Proof 8 if the party shows the Ledger and promises to carry the truth to Zephyria. At +2 Standing, they may loan the Third Rope.
NextAs the Keeper’s final knot is read aloud, a vibration travels through the posts, and the party follows it back toward the waiting hoist.
4:00
90 min
combat
4. The Car That Would Not Rise
A suspended lift car, exposed gantry, and winding drum above the dark fall below the Bastions.
The party boards the Long Hoist. Cult saboteurs strike the winding drum as magma-crag crawlers scramble from vents beneath the hub, fleeing toward cold. Run the encounter with the chain as a three-strain clock. Characters can fight, shore up the chain, protect passengers, or lure crawlers from the mechanism. A captured saboteur or recovered House-marked scrip can supply Proof 9 if the cutter-plate was not found at Needle Span.
The Hanging CarNextWhen the chain steadies, the car begins to climb again, carrying the party toward the lower tethers of Zephyria.
Behind it
What people believe
The party must travel through the Terraced Bastions toward Zephyria while the Long Hoist remains shut.
A damaged span, a dispute among the liftwrights and bridge keepers, and an attack on a suspended car threaten to cut off the only route upward. The party can gather the cable-load logs, the anchor-drift records, and evidence of sabotage, then seek permission to borrow the Keepers’ Third Rope.
Background
In the Terraced Bastions, every safe crossing depends on cables, counterweights, and the people who inspect them.
Needle Span links the Mist-Belt to the high terraces, while the Long Hoist carries travelers from the Citadel toward Zephyria’s lower tethers. Its Liftwright Brotherhood has suspended ascents over a chain’s condition, and the Cable and Ledge Keepers have cited that decision as reason to close the spans above. House Marrowgate’s envoy, Rennick Marrowgate, has pressed for a closure that would leave the high city isolated from the lowlands.
The stakes
If the Long Hoist closes, the lowlands lose their only route to Zephyria just as evidence of the false count is gathering.
If it runs without repair, its overloaded chain may fail with passengers aboard. The party’s choices determine which records reach the next act, whether the Keepers entrust them with the Third Rope, and whether the people operating the routes believe the party is carrying evidence or merely another political demand.
Encounters
3Needle Span, Eight Beats Over the Gorge
exploration
An 800-foot footbridge, 600 feet above a gorge, with narrow planks, exposed tethers, crosswinds, and a severed cable at beat 6.
ComplicationThe span begins Strained, with a DC 15 Span Reader check at the start of each of eight 100-foot beats and a Strain Limit of 4. A failed check adds 1 Strain. At beat 3, a gale-shear forces a DC 15 Strength saving throw or pushes a creature toward the edge, and adds 1 Strain to the span. At beat 4, a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check can brace it and remove 1 Strain. At beat 6, the cut tether adds 1 Strain. At beat 5, a DC 12 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check avoids a plank gap, or a slipping character takes 2d6 bludgeoning damage before their line catches them. If Strain reaches 4, the span fails; use the local span-failure rules.
ScalingThe crossing is a hazard, not a combat encounter. A party of five can cross in two groups; the span sheds 1 Strain for each full hour without a load. Avoid bringing a laden mule across with the party, since its additional load can rapidly exceed capacity. A character with a line-hook, or holding the casket and Ledger together during the gale-shear, has advantage on the applicable check or saving throw as described in the local rules.
The Long Hoist Dispute
social
The Tri-Peak Cable Hub, a crowded station of winding drums, chain housings, inspection walkways, and queues of travelers waiting beneath the hoist.
ComplicationThe party may inspect the chain honestly, make a case for reopening, recommend repair, or support the Brotherhood’s halt. Gevan gives them the cable-load logs if they succeed on a DC 14 Intelligence (Investigation) check while inspecting the chain or a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check to earn the Brotherhood’s trust. The logs show that the chain has carried more than its marked load for years. A character can attempt a DC 15 check with smith’s tools, mason’s tools, or tinker's tools during a short rest to repair it. If repaired, the High Council of Needlepeaks grants 1 Standing and the hoist reopens for the climax.
ScalingThis is a social and practical challenge, not a required fight. The party can choose whether reopening, repairing, or continuing the halt best serves the people at risk. Siding against the Keepers costs 1 Standing with the Cable and Ledge Keepers.
The Hanging Car
combat
A suspended cable-lift car above the lower tethers, with a narrow gantry, exposed chain housing, winding drum, vents below, and a long drop into darkness.
Foes
Three Cultist Fanatics
Four magma-crag crawlers
ComplicationThe hoist chain is a span in Failing condition with a Strain Limit of 3. Each time a saboteur’s attack hits the chain or a crawler damages it, add 1 Strain. A creature can use its action to make a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check and remove 1 Strain. At 3 Strain the car drops 90 feet, dealing 9d6 damage to everyone aboard. The crawlers are fleeing, not hunting; spilled water or a cold effect can draw them away from the chain. A captured saboteur carries House scrip bearing Marrowgate’s mark, which counts as Proof 9 if the party has not already found the cutter-plate.
ScalingThe provided encounter is Moderate for four 6th-level characters, at 4,150 XP. For a smaller or depleted party, remove one Cultist Fanatic. For a larger or especially capable party, add a hazard beat in which a crawler reaches the chain housing, or give the saboteurs a protected route to the winding drum. The crawlers retreat toward the nearest cold source if lured away.
Cast
4Gevan Keld
QuestgiverQuestgiver and Master Cable-Wright of the Liftwright Brotherhood
WantsKeep travelers alive and make the Brotherhood’s records reflect the actual strain placed on its equipment.
“I stopped the car because the chain is carrying a lie as surely as it carries passengers.”
Hesper Cold-Strand
Ally and Chief Wright of the Cable and Ledge Keepers
WantsProtect the people under the Keepers’ care, and decide whether the party will carry the truth to Zephyria.
“A span is a promise made of stone and rope. Show me you know how to keep one.”
Rennick Marrowgate
Antagonist and House envoy
WantsKeep the Long Hoist shut and strengthen the isolationist position favored by House Marrowgate.
“No one needs to be thrown from a bridge. A closed gate can do the same work more quietly.”
Brannoc
Witness and Senior Span Rigger
WantsLearn whether the reports he has faithfully delivered were ignored, altered, or used to conceal the drift.
“We sent the numbers every spring. The Registry never sent a single answer back.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
The Third Rope, loaned for Act IV if the party has at least +2 Standing with the Cable and Ledge Keepers. It is a borrowed campaign item; its special properties are defined by the campaign material.
On a win
The party reaches the high routes toward Zephyria with the records it earned and, if it has gained sufficient trust, the Third Rope in its keeping.
The Long Hoist may reopen if its chain is repaired and the Brotherhood accepts the party’s findings. Whether or not the party wins every Keeper’s confidence, it can carry the evidence of false figures and deliberate interference onward.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- The party fails to settle the Liftwright Brotherhood’s dispute or cannot establish the chain’s condition.
- The party must wait for repairs, take a longer route, or seek another way to reach the hoist. The Brotherhood is less willing to reopen the lift without further evidence.
- Needle Span reaches its Strain Limit during the crossing.
- The party reaches the far end with the span damaged or loses time rescuing a fallen traveler. Proof 9 may be lost if the cut section breaks away before it is examined.
- The chain’s Strain reaches 4 during the Hanging Car fight.
- The hoist car drops, injuring passengers and delaying travel. Even if the party survives, Zephyria’s lower tethers may be harder to reach, and the sabotage evidence may be scattered or destroyed.
- The party fails the Cable Test or refuses to promise to carry the truth to Zephyria.
- The Keepers withhold the anchor-drift records and do not loan the Third Rope. Their suspicion becomes a continuing obstacle at the heights.
Complications (d6)
- 1A Strong Wind reaches Needle Span. Add 1 Strain at the start of each beat until the party waits for calmer weather or finds shelter.
- 2A Keepers’ line-checker asks to see the party’s Load Mark. Showing the casket earns a nod and directions; refusing costs time as the checker calls for a supervisor.
- 3Ice hides the markings on a route cairn. A character who fails a DC 13 Wisdom (Survival) check leads the group to a longer exposed ledge.
- 4An altitude checkpoint demands breathing bladders for everyone above 10,000 feet. The Keepers can lend equipment to a party in good standing, but otherwise the party must wait, make the DC 10 Constitution saving throw described in the local rules, or find another solution.
- 5A lift queue turns hostile when rumors spread that the party intends to force the hoist open. A DC 14 Charisma (Persuasion) or Charisma (Intimidation) check calms the line; failure costs an hour and alerts Rennick’s agents.
- 6A griffon fledgling is tangled in a cable near Split Ridge. If the party attempts the rescue, run the Rope-Walkers’ Dare as a skill challenge requiring 3 successes before 2 failures at DC 14.
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