1. 0:00

   60 min

   explorationThe table is here

   1. A Warmth Beneath the Stone

   Upper Depths, Room 1 or an alternate published entry point from Aethelgard Sourcebook, Chapter 8.

   Use the sourcebook's Room 1 and the chosen entry route as written. If Act III's Siege was lost, Room 1 is already breached and the party may begin at the Guardian Barracks or the Ember-Wrought Archive. Establish the Vault's sensory atmosphere through the printed room details, then let the medallion's first faint warmth register without explanation.

   The Breached or Sealed Threshold

   NextAs the party leaves the entrance behind, the warmth fades, and the Vault's corridors draw them toward the Ember-Wrought Archive.

2. 1:00

   45 min

   exploration

   2. What the Vault Protects

   Upper Depths, Room 3, the Ember-Wrought Archive.

   Run Room 3 exactly as published. The sourcebook's DC 18 check reveals that the Vault was built to protect something else from what's inside. Add the response of Mors Imperiis: for the first time in three books, the medallion becomes genuinely warm. This is a clue that whatever waits below is not simply hostile.

   NextThe party carries the Archive's unanswered implication onward, following the published route toward the deeper rooms.

3. 1:45

   120 min

   combat

   3. The Guardians and the Keeper

   Middle Depths, Rooms 6–8, including the published Ossuary if the party chooses to visit it.

   Run Rooms 4–7 and any optional content the party visits exactly as published. Room 6, the Corroding Guardian's Hall, is a combat-bearing room and needs no adjustment for this overlay. At Room 8, if visited, a DC 18 Religion check identifies one set of remains as distinctly more recent than the rest, perhaps only a few centuries old. The keeper seems to have died of age with no successor, not in a struggle against the Ember.

   NextWith the published rooms behind them, the party continues toward the lower inscriptions, carrying either the Ossuary clue or the silence where it might have been.

4. 3:45

   75 min

   exploration

   4. The Newest Warning

   Middle Depths, Rooms 9–10, then Room 11, the Warning Antechamber.

   Run the remaining Middle Depths through Room 10 as published, including their optional content, faction stakes, and hazards. At Room 11, the Warning Antechamber, the sourcebook identifies a carving only about a century old. If the party examines it and succeeds on a DC 17 Investigation check, they notice the wording differs from the older warnings: earlier carvings urge visitors to turn back because the place is dangerous, while the newest says it is lonely, and that is worse.

   NextThe warning follows the party toward the Lattice Forge, where the medallion's long-obscured marks are waiting to settle.

5. 5:00

   60 min

   exploration

   5. The Name in the Forge

   Lower approach, Room 12, the Lattice Forge, followed by the threshold of Room 13.

   At Room 12, run the Lattice Forge as published, then apply the overlay. Mors Imperiis goes warm, then still, and the remaining glyphs resolve into one legible phrase. Read aloud: "Mors Imperiis. The death of empires, or, translated with slightly more care than the obvious reading offers, what empires leave behind when they end." A DC 20 Intelligence (Arcana, Religion, or History) check, or a scholar's help, identifies the script as older than the Sundering and distantly related to fragments found in the Archive; do not confirm Nyxareth. If Kaelen is present and the party has pieced together enough of Appendix A's truth, let them tell him plainly that his hesitation cost no one anything because sacrifice was never the true answer. Then the Forgotten Regent's voice returns: "Mors Imperiis. I remember when it was whole. Twenty years, and you have found its name before you have found what to do with it. I am watching what you do next."

   NextThe voice fades as the party moves toward the Unbound Ember's Sanctum, carrying the resolved inscription and the weight of a choice not yet made.

• The Breached or Sealed Threshold

  Combat or exploration, according to the selected published room.

  The Sealed Threshold or an alternate published Upper Depths entry room, with its exact terrain and features from Chapter 8.

  Foes

  • Use the foes listed in Aethelgard Sourcebook, Chapter 8, for Room 1 or the chosen entry room.

  ComplicationRun the room's published hazards and encounter details exactly as written. The encounter serves as the first test of whether the party can enter the Vault without sacrificing the investigation's pace.

  ScalingUse the sourcebook's intended level range and its printed scaling. If Act III's Siege was lost, Room 1 is already breached; skip to the Guardian Barracks or Ember-Wrought Archive, using the sourcebook text for the chosen entry point.

• Corroding Guardian's Hall

  Combat

  The Corroding Guardian's Hall, using the dimensions, hazards, and terrain in Aethelgard Sourcebook, Chapter 8.

  Foes

  • Corroding Guardian, as presented in the sourcebook's Room 6.

  ComplicationKeep the published room's encounter and any active hazards intact. The party must contend with the threat while deciding whether to protect companions, resources, or an opportunity to examine the Vault.

  ScalingRun Room 6 exactly as published for the intended level range. Do not add creatures or alter its encounter budget for this overlay.

• The Ossuary of the First Wardens

  Exploration, with combat only if the published room calls for it.

  The Ossuary of the First Wardens, with its published remains, terrain, and hazards.

  Foes

  • Use any foes specified in the published Room 8 encounter; do not add foes for this overlay.

  ComplicationThe Ossuary is optional. If visited, use its published contents and faction stakes. The overlay adds a clue only if the party succeeds on the listed Religion check.

  ScalingUse the sourcebook's exact encounter and scaling. The additional clue requires a DC 18 Religion check and does not change the encounter.

• Maelin Orr

  Questgiverally and scholar

  WantsA Sovereign Council archivist accompanies the expedition to interpret the Vault's inscriptions and preserve a reliable account of what the party discovers.

  “The archive was designed to guard something from what lies deeper. That is not the same as saying what lies deeper is our enemy.”

• Kaelen

  ally and witness

  WantsKaelen wants to face the Vault and understand what Varkas began. He has carried guilt for twenty years over failing to complete the work, and needs the party to tell him plainly if their discoveries show that his hesitation cost no one their life.

  “I thought my hesitation had left the work unfinished. If the sacrifice was never the answer, then perhaps I have been carrying the wrong part of that day.”

• The Forgotten Regent

  wildcard and distant judge

  WantsThe Forgotten Regent watches the party's approach to the Vault's deepest chamber. It wants them to understand that their decision at the Ember's Sanctum will be judged, but does not yet disclose its terms.

  “Mors Imperiis. I remember when it was whole. You have found its name before you have found what to do with it.”

• Ilse Thornwick

  optional ally and scholar

  WantsIf present, Ilse Thornwick can help interpret the unfamiliar inscription and compare it to fragments found earlier. She seeks understanding, not a premature conclusion about the Ember's nature.

  “A mark made by someone who turned back can still tell us what they understood.”

No images yet.