The Arcane Congress
The Arcane Congress was established by King Galifar I in 15 YK. The Arcane Congress was tasked to study the mysteries of magic and place these powers at the service of the kingdom.
The Congress has its seat in four floating towers above the village of Arcanix and also uses the Starpeaks Observatory to study the moons and stars. The members of the Congress oversee the towers of wizardry, advise Aundair's monarch—on all things magical, and confer with colleagues in the other nations—despite a rivalry with the wizards of the dragonmarked houses.
Extradimensional space: Although the towers are vast on their own, years of planar manipulation has created pockets of vast extradimensional space within the towers. A tight hallway at the top of a tower can open into a vast arena, while a closet can sit right next to a porthole.
Library of Robideur: This library is arguable among the top five libraries (and a close rival with Korranberg for top public library) of magical knowledge. Named after the Robideur family, who first assembled the stacks 600 years ago, and whose descendents strictly regulate it today.
Gate of Xabra: A point of contention for the citizens of Thrane, this portal allows extraplanar access, and has been used to speak with beings such as angels and fiends.
White Arch: Much of the schooling at the Congress has been romanticized in novels for children and adults, and no book is complete without a scene with the iconic entryway to the school’s main courtyard, and towering arch of white marble.
Wizard Academy; Temperate Plains
As you soar upward, you see four castles, each floating on a rocky island thousands of feet above the verdant fields of Aundair. Each castle is a crazy-quilt of different architectural styles, each more outlandish than the last. Periodic flashes of light illuminate the windows, and every so often a gout of flame or eldritch energ y bursts forth from a door or chimney.
The Arcane Congress, one of Khorvaire’s greatest collections of arcane minds, operates out of the floating towers that hover above the village of Arcanix. Over the centuries, the Arcane Congress has turned its Aundair headquarters into a showcase for the power of magic. Visiting the floating towers means seeing wonders undreamt of by most Aundairians—from baffling illusions to animated contrivances to captured creatures from other dimensions.
The floating towers are at once a college of wizardry and the personal laboratories of some of the most powerful wizards in the Five Nations. Many a would-be magewright or wizard comes to the village
The Arcane Congress devotes two of the towers, Glarehold and Amberwall, to training the next generation of magewrights and wizards. Nocturnas and Skyreach, the other two towers, are the residences, libraries, and laboratories of Arcane Congress members. From these two towers the Congress advises the Aundairian crown on magical matters and schemes against its rivals, the Twelve (described on page 245 of the EBERRON Campaign Setting).
Environment: Everburning torches light every corner of the floating towers, unless a member of the Congress has a specific reason to prefer darkness. Some everburning torches burst into flame only when someone enters the room, dousing themselves instantly when the room is vacant. Others burn with strangely colored fl ame, adding a bluish or reddish tint to everything they illuminate. The fl oating towers are a quiet place; distracting noise is conducive to neither study nor political machinations. The temperature is always mild within the floating towers, no matter what is happening outside.
The Arcane Congress built the floating towers over eight hundred years, so their walls have known many architects, both mundane and magical. Within the floating towers, there’s always a strong aura of transmutation (the spells that keep the towers aloft) and at least one other aura.
Terrain: Arcane architects aren’t constrained by the square footage within the floating towers’ walls; some rooms exist extradimensionally, and each tower has far more space on the inside than a conventionally made castle would. In general, the floating towers have smooth stone floors, superior masonry walls, and 15-foot-high wood-paneled ceilings (with 30-foot-high vaulted ceilings in particularly large chambers). There’s no consistency to the doors within the Towers. Consult Table 3–17 in the Dungeon Master’s Guide to determine the qualities of a particular door.
The floating towers are too vast to completely map, and such map would be out of date by the time it was completed. Especially in Nocturnas and Skyreach, the wizards are always making magic alterations to their demesnes. If characters are wandering through a floating tower, use Tables 3–11 and 3–12 in the Dungeon Master’s Guide to determine each room’s features, then roll or choose a room type from the accompanying table.
Half of the hallways that connect rooms are normal. The other half possess some strange effect, rolled or chosen from the table.
Features As a DM, you have four extradimensionally augmented castles to play with, so there’s plenty of room to put whatever features you like within the fl oating towers. The following features are those known to almost all Aundairian wizards, regardless of whether they’ve received schooling from the Arcane Congress. Arcanix: This village of 800 people lies directly beneath the fl oating towers. The residents of Arcanix owe their livelihoods to the Arcane Congress, from the innkeeper who boards the parents of would-be wizards during the Autumn Entrance Examinations to the stablemaster responsible for exercising the steeds—both mundane and exotic—of some Arcane Congress spellcasters.
Most of the important wizards and sorcerers of the Arcane Congress live in the fl oating towers themselves, but a few reside in Arcanix. Raulo ir’Trannick (LN human male wizard 9), for example, is the lord mayor of Arcanix and a member of the Arcane Congress. His family has long had holdings on the AUNDAIR 39 southeastern banks of Lake Galifar, and his position as Trannick patriarch demands he live earthbound and board a hippogriff when he’s needed for the business of the Congress. Raulo and other members of the Trannick family are the proctors of the Autumn Entrance Exams, determining which of Aundair’s brightest will get a chance to become magewrights and wizards. Raulo also serves as a de facto ambassador between the Arcane Congress and any wizards who arrive at Ar can ix unannounced. The Trannick family offers trained hippogriffs that can ascend to the floating towers for visitors unable to get there under their own power. The Trannicks collect a 25 gp per person transit fee, which they use to fund scholarships for deserving young mages. Arcanix is also home to the Tower of Alchemy, one of the Five Nations’ premier colleges for the alchemical arts. Its senior mentor, Tzandro Kavalant, has created the alchemical golems that act as servants and guardians within the fl oating towers. Arcanix’s unique position makes it one of the Five Nations’ most magically aware places. Many of the residents are downright blasé about powerful arcane magic, while others take great delight in the astonishment on visitors’ faces when a carpet of fl ying alights on the town square or an aged wizard turns into a glorious dragon and fl ies away. The White Arch: Visitors to the fl oating towers often ascend (via magic or the Trannicks’ hippogriffs) to Glarehold Tower, where an outcropping of rock has a massive white marble arch that leads to a white marble courtyard. The White Arch is also the traditional gateway that new students use when they begin their studies; many an Aundairian youth dreams of walking under the white arch, clad in the brown robes of a fi rst-year student. The courtyard beyond the White Arch is the largest outdoor space on any of the four fl oating towers. Magically animated topiaries in the shape of boars (described on page 173 of Monster Manual III) stand at the corners of the courtyard. Library of Robideur: Near the top of Skyreach is one of Khorvaire’s finest collections of arcane lore—although librarians in Korranberg would argue the point, and who knows what dark lore lurks in the libraries of Ashtakala? The library takes up the top four fl oors of Skyreach’s tallest spire, with bookshelves running from fl oor to ceiling. Only the doors and the stained-glass windows interrupt the walls crammed with spellbooks, tomes, and grimoires. A unique spell not unlike unseen servant controls the books within the library. An arcanist of the Arcane Congress need only state the title and author of a book, and it slides from its shelf, opens wide, then slowly descends to the arcanist’s waiting hands, lazily fl apping its cover open and shut in imitation of a bird. The half-elf sorcerer Robideur died more than 450 years ago, but his descendant Tanila (LG half-elf female sorcerer 8) is the head librarian. The library forbids checking out books even to the most powerful members of the Arcane Congress; examination of a book at one of the library’s oak desks is the only option. Tanila has an initial attitude of unfriendly toward anyone who even asks about checking out a book, and she won’t bend the rules unless her attitude is improved to helpful (as described on page 72 of the Player’s Handbook). The Library of Robideur is a terrific research tool. A PC using the library to research a specific question gains a +4 circumstance bonus on Knowledge (arcana) checks and a +2 bonus on Knowledge (the planes) checks. The library has a few books on other topics—histories, gazetteers, and the like—but they aren’t comprehensive enough to provide a bonus on the skill check. Adal’s Demesne: At the center of Nocturnas are a series of chambers that Adal ir’Wynarn, Royal Minister of Magic and brother to Queen Aurala, calls home. Adal (described on page 18) splits his time between the floating towers and his palace at Fairhaven. He regards the fl oating towers as a place where he can be free of court intrigues and free to direct his staff as they conduct magical research and build weapons of arcane destruction to defend Aundair or extend its reach. Adal is more politically connected than most of the Arcane Congress. He has the queen’s ear at a moment’s notice (although the trust between them is far from complete). Adal isn’t a great wizard in his own right, but he’s a consummate power broker and charismatic leader. Most of the researchers on his staff are higher-level wizards than he is, and the many agents in Adal’s employ are likewise among the most elite in Aundair. At any one given time, Adal has three or four major research or weapon-development programs under way within his chambers. Each is kept separate from the others, and only Adal knows the extent and progress of all the programs. One team might be trying to reverse-engineer House Cannith’s creation pattern for warforged. Another team works on a system of weather control, and a third is breeding wyverns that shoot fi ery rays from their tails. Maze of Shadowy Terror: In the lowest level of Amberwall Tower is a maze intended to humble young apprentices confident of their ability to meet any threat with magic. The Maze of Shadowy Terror spontaneously generates monsters from the summon monster II and summon monster III lists with a shadow conjuration effect. The denizens of the Maze of Shadowy Terror thus have 20% of their normal hit points, and characters who succeed on DC 17 Will saves realize that a maze monster is only quasi-real and take only 20% of normal damage from it. Each AUNDAIR 40 maze monster also has a lower Armor Class, as described in the shadow conjuration spell on page 276 of the Player’s Handbook. The Amberwall instructors intended that the maze, which looks like a typical set of twisting dungeon corridors, serve as a final test for wizards and sorcerers before they head out into the world or become members of the Arcane Congress. But brave and foolhardy students eager to prove themselves are always sneaking into the basement and entering the maze on their own. Gate of Xabra: Near the top of Nocturnas is an astronomical observatory and one of the great artifacts of the Arcane Congress: the Gate of Xabra. This circle of menhirs, transplanted from a Q’barran ruin shortly before the start of the Last War, has graven glyphs that correspond to no known language or code. The glyphs hold overwhelmingly powerful conjuration magic suffi cient to send everything within the circle to another plane of existence. When a would-be traveler uses a fi nger to trace certain glyphs on the stones, they glow slightly. When all the correct glyphs are lit, everything within the Gate of Xabra disappears and a whoosh of air fi lls the void that remains. Finding the correct sequence of glyphs is no easy task. Fortunately, failed attempts don’t have negative consequences—or at least they haven’t so far. The glyph sequence can’t be learned by rote, because the correct glyph sequence depends on both the destination plane and the alignment of the stars around Eberron. In general, it takes a DC 25 Knowledge (the Planes) check to open the Gate of Xabra to a specific plane. Uli Blackthatch (NE male gnome wizard 7/ loremaster 2) studies the Gate of Xabra for the Arcane Congress. He has a Knowledge (the planes) modifi er of +18 and will direct planar travelers in what he believes is the correct sequence. The Gate of Xabra only opens for an instant, although in most cases it leaves a circular impression on the other plane that allows a return trip. Travelers appear within the circle at the moment they arrive; once they step back inside it, they reappear in the gate chamber in Nocturnas. On the plane of Irian, the return circle might be marked with crystals, while it might be a circular glade on the forest plane of Lamannia. Encounters Most encounters within the walls will be with students and arcane instructors (in Glarehold and Amberwall) or higher-level wizards and their assistants (in Nocturnas and Skyreach). But the hallways also have monstrous guardians, and out-of-control summoned creatures from conjurations gone awry happen at all four towers. In addition, the towers are plagued with gargoyles and arcane oozes that sometimes ambush weak-appearing prey. Sporadic attempts by one wizard or another to wipe out the pests haven’t been successful thus far. The Arcane Congress has a pragmatic attitude toward spellcasting, so it’s not uncommon to see both demons and celestials making pacts with the arcanists of the fl oating towers. While individual denizens of the towers might be paragons of good or evil, the Arcane Congress as a whole places no stigma on affi liation with either fi ends or celestials. Two encounter tables appear below, one for the towers devoted to education, Glarehold and Amberwall, and another for Nocturnas and Skyreach, the towers where the higher-level wizards of the Congress live and scheme. In either of these areas, the chance of a random encounter is 10% every 30 minutes. GLAREHOLD/AMBERWALL ENCOUNTERS d% Encounter Average EL 01–10 1 8th-level sorcerer 8 11–15 1 Huge elemental (any) 7 16–21 1d3 phase spiders 7 22–25 1 phasm 7 26–36 1 5th-level wizard, 1d3 3rd-level wizards 7 37–44 1d3 gargoyles 6 45–48 1d3 summoning oozes* 6 49–53 1 will-o’-wisp 6 54–63 1d4+2 2nd-level wizards 6 64–67 1d3 Large animated objects 5 68–72 2d4+3 dedicated wrights** 5 73–79 1 Large elemental (any) 5 80–86 1d3 Medium elementals (any) 5 87–96 1d4+2 iron defenders** 5 97–100 1 ravid 5 *Described in Monster Manual III. **Described in the EBERRON Campaign Setting. Characters will have more challenging encounters in the towers where the Arcane Congress itself lives and works. NOCTURNAS/SKYREACH ENCOUNTERS d% Encounter Average EL 01–07 1 glabrezu demon 13 08–13 1 iron golem 13 14–23 1 11th-level wizard, 1d4+2 7th-level wizards 13 24–31 1d4+2 erinyes devils 12 32–40 1d3 clay golems 12 41–47 1d3 guardian nagas 12 48–57 1 12th-level sorcerer 12 58–65 1 11th-level wizard, 1 shield guardian 12 66–74 1 elder elemental (any) 11 75–82 1 alchemical golem* 11 83–92 1 half-dragon celestial lammasu 11 93–100 1d3 arcane oozes* 11 *Described in Monster Manual III. AUNDAIR 41 Development If characters trigger an alarm within the floating towers, they face an array of magic traps, summoned guardians—and wizard after wizard keen on defending Congress and home. The internal layout of each tower magically changes at the direction of senior wizards, so intruders may fi nd that the hallways along their escape route don’t lead to the same places they used to. Treasure Some of Khorvaire’s greatest magical treasures are found within the walls of the fl oating towers, mostly in secure vaults within Nocturnas and Skyreach. A typical vault is a lead-lined chamber with multiple magic traps, each CR 7 to CR 10, on its door. Beyond the door lies the treasure—and undoubtedly a guardian of at least CR 10. The vault guardians are often outsiders, constructs, or undead because the wizards of the fl oating towers can create or control them somehow. Alarm spells, contingent versions of the whispering wind spell, and other alarms typically guard the vault’s most precious contents. It’s a lot of trouble to get into a vault, but the effort can be worth it. A typical vault holds a CR 12 treasure with double items. Some vaults hold still greater treasures—and have commensurately more deadly guardians. Adaptation The fl oating towers offer both low-level play (among the arcane scholars in Glarehold and Amberwall) and high-level play (among the leaders of the Arcane Congress in Nocturnas and Skyreach). Emphasize whichever aspect of the fl oating towers—wizard college or cabal of eldritch schemers—best fi ts the needs of your campaign. Floating Towers Lore Characters with Knowledge (arcana) can research the fl oating towers to learn more about them. DC 10: The fl oating towers, on the southeastern shore of Lake Galifar, are an arcane academy that trains many wizards and magewrights. DC 15: The Arcane Congress runs the fl oating towers and many powerful wizards live there. DC 20: Two of the towers, Glarehold and Amberwall, are for students. The other two, Nocturnas and Skyreach, are for the powerful members of the Arcane Congress, including Adal ir’Wynarn, Aundair’s First Warlord and Minister of Magic. DC 30: Adal ir’Wynarn has top-secret laboratories in the Nocturnas tower where his staff develops weapons of arcane destruction. Knowledge (local) is the relevant skill for learning about Arcanix and its connection to the fl oating towers.
The Congress has its seat in four floating towers above the village of Arcanix and also uses the Starpeaks Observatory to study the moons and stars. The members of the Congress oversee the towers of wizardry, advise Aundair's monarch—on all things magical, and confer with colleagues in the other nations—despite a rivalry with the wizards of the dragonmarked houses.
Arcanix
Extradimensional space: Although the towers are vast on their own, years of planar manipulation has created pockets of vast extradimensional space within the towers. A tight hallway at the top of a tower can open into a vast arena, while a closet can sit right next to a porthole.
Library of Robideur: This library is arguable among the top five libraries (and a close rival with Korranberg for top public library) of magical knowledge. Named after the Robideur family, who first assembled the stacks 600 years ago, and whose descendents strictly regulate it today.
Gate of Xabra: A point of contention for the citizens of Thrane, this portal allows extraplanar access, and has been used to speak with beings such as angels and fiends.
White Arch: Much of the schooling at the Congress has been romanticized in novels for children and adults, and no book is complete without a scene with the iconic entryway to the school’s main courtyard, and towering arch of white marble.
FLOATING TOWERS OF ARCANIX
Wizard Academy; Temperate Plains
As you soar upward, you see four castles, each floating on a rocky island thousands of feet above the verdant fields of Aundair. Each castle is a crazy-quilt of different architectural styles, each more outlandish than the last. Periodic flashes of light illuminate the windows, and every so often a gout of flame or eldritch energ y bursts forth from a door or chimney.
The Arcane Congress, one of Khorvaire’s greatest collections of arcane minds, operates out of the floating towers that hover above the village of Arcanix. Over the centuries, the Arcane Congress has turned its Aundair headquarters into a showcase for the power of magic. Visiting the floating towers means seeing wonders undreamt of by most Aundairians—from baffling illusions to animated contrivances to captured creatures from other dimensions.
The floating towers are at once a college of wizardry and the personal laboratories of some of the most powerful wizards in the Five Nations. Many a would-be magewright or wizard comes to the village
The Arcane Congress devotes two of the towers, Glarehold and Amberwall, to training the next generation of magewrights and wizards. Nocturnas and Skyreach, the other two towers, are the residences, libraries, and laboratories of Arcane Congress members. From these two towers the Congress advises the Aundairian crown on magical matters and schemes against its rivals, the Twelve (described on page 245 of the EBERRON Campaign Setting).
Environment: Everburning torches light every corner of the floating towers, unless a member of the Congress has a specific reason to prefer darkness. Some everburning torches burst into flame only when someone enters the room, dousing themselves instantly when the room is vacant. Others burn with strangely colored fl ame, adding a bluish or reddish tint to everything they illuminate. The fl oating towers are a quiet place; distracting noise is conducive to neither study nor political machinations. The temperature is always mild within the floating towers, no matter what is happening outside.
The Arcane Congress built the floating towers over eight hundred years, so their walls have known many architects, both mundane and magical. Within the floating towers, there’s always a strong aura of transmutation (the spells that keep the towers aloft) and at least one other aura.
Terrain: Arcane architects aren’t constrained by the square footage within the floating towers’ walls; some rooms exist extradimensionally, and each tower has far more space on the inside than a conventionally made castle would. In general, the floating towers have smooth stone floors, superior masonry walls, and 15-foot-high wood-paneled ceilings (with 30-foot-high vaulted ceilings in particularly large chambers). There’s no consistency to the doors within the Towers. Consult Table 3–17 in the Dungeon Master’s Guide to determine the qualities of a particular door.
The floating towers are too vast to completely map, and such map would be out of date by the time it was completed. Especially in Nocturnas and Skyreach, the wizards are always making magic alterations to their demesnes. If characters are wandering through a floating tower, use Tables 3–11 and 3–12 in the Dungeon Master’s Guide to determine each room’s features, then roll or choose a room type from the accompanying table.
Half of the hallways that connect rooms are normal. The other half possess some strange effect, rolled or chosen from the table.
Features As a DM, you have four extradimensionally augmented castles to play with, so there’s plenty of room to put whatever features you like within the fl oating towers. The following features are those known to almost all Aundairian wizards, regardless of whether they’ve received schooling from the Arcane Congress. Arcanix: This village of 800 people lies directly beneath the fl oating towers. The residents of Arcanix owe their livelihoods to the Arcane Congress, from the innkeeper who boards the parents of would-be wizards during the Autumn Entrance Examinations to the stablemaster responsible for exercising the steeds—both mundane and exotic—of some Arcane Congress spellcasters.
Most of the important wizards and sorcerers of the Arcane Congress live in the fl oating towers themselves, but a few reside in Arcanix. Raulo ir’Trannick (LN human male wizard 9), for example, is the lord mayor of Arcanix and a member of the Arcane Congress. His family has long had holdings on the AUNDAIR 39 southeastern banks of Lake Galifar, and his position as Trannick patriarch demands he live earthbound and board a hippogriff when he’s needed for the business of the Congress. Raulo and other members of the Trannick family are the proctors of the Autumn Entrance Exams, determining which of Aundair’s brightest will get a chance to become magewrights and wizards. Raulo also serves as a de facto ambassador between the Arcane Congress and any wizards who arrive at Ar can ix unannounced. The Trannick family offers trained hippogriffs that can ascend to the floating towers for visitors unable to get there under their own power. The Trannicks collect a 25 gp per person transit fee, which they use to fund scholarships for deserving young mages. Arcanix is also home to the Tower of Alchemy, one of the Five Nations’ premier colleges for the alchemical arts. Its senior mentor, Tzandro Kavalant, has created the alchemical golems that act as servants and guardians within the fl oating towers. Arcanix’s unique position makes it one of the Five Nations’ most magically aware places. Many of the residents are downright blasé about powerful arcane magic, while others take great delight in the astonishment on visitors’ faces when a carpet of fl ying alights on the town square or an aged wizard turns into a glorious dragon and fl ies away. The White Arch: Visitors to the fl oating towers often ascend (via magic or the Trannicks’ hippogriffs) to Glarehold Tower, where an outcropping of rock has a massive white marble arch that leads to a white marble courtyard. The White Arch is also the traditional gateway that new students use when they begin their studies; many an Aundairian youth dreams of walking under the white arch, clad in the brown robes of a fi rst-year student. The courtyard beyond the White Arch is the largest outdoor space on any of the four fl oating towers. Magically animated topiaries in the shape of boars (described on page 173 of Monster Manual III) stand at the corners of the courtyard. Library of Robideur: Near the top of Skyreach is one of Khorvaire’s finest collections of arcane lore—although librarians in Korranberg would argue the point, and who knows what dark lore lurks in the libraries of Ashtakala? The library takes up the top four fl oors of Skyreach’s tallest spire, with bookshelves running from fl oor to ceiling. Only the doors and the stained-glass windows interrupt the walls crammed with spellbooks, tomes, and grimoires. A unique spell not unlike unseen servant controls the books within the library. An arcanist of the Arcane Congress need only state the title and author of a book, and it slides from its shelf, opens wide, then slowly descends to the arcanist’s waiting hands, lazily fl apping its cover open and shut in imitation of a bird. The half-elf sorcerer Robideur died more than 450 years ago, but his descendant Tanila (LG half-elf female sorcerer 8) is the head librarian. The library forbids checking out books even to the most powerful members of the Arcane Congress; examination of a book at one of the library’s oak desks is the only option. Tanila has an initial attitude of unfriendly toward anyone who even asks about checking out a book, and she won’t bend the rules unless her attitude is improved to helpful (as described on page 72 of the Player’s Handbook). The Library of Robideur is a terrific research tool. A PC using the library to research a specific question gains a +4 circumstance bonus on Knowledge (arcana) checks and a +2 bonus on Knowledge (the planes) checks. The library has a few books on other topics—histories, gazetteers, and the like—but they aren’t comprehensive enough to provide a bonus on the skill check. Adal’s Demesne: At the center of Nocturnas are a series of chambers that Adal ir’Wynarn, Royal Minister of Magic and brother to Queen Aurala, calls home. Adal (described on page 18) splits his time between the floating towers and his palace at Fairhaven. He regards the fl oating towers as a place where he can be free of court intrigues and free to direct his staff as they conduct magical research and build weapons of arcane destruction to defend Aundair or extend its reach. Adal is more politically connected than most of the Arcane Congress. He has the queen’s ear at a moment’s notice (although the trust between them is far from complete). Adal isn’t a great wizard in his own right, but he’s a consummate power broker and charismatic leader. Most of the researchers on his staff are higher-level wizards than he is, and the many agents in Adal’s employ are likewise among the most elite in Aundair. At any one given time, Adal has three or four major research or weapon-development programs under way within his chambers. Each is kept separate from the others, and only Adal knows the extent and progress of all the programs. One team might be trying to reverse-engineer House Cannith’s creation pattern for warforged. Another team works on a system of weather control, and a third is breeding wyverns that shoot fi ery rays from their tails. Maze of Shadowy Terror: In the lowest level of Amberwall Tower is a maze intended to humble young apprentices confident of their ability to meet any threat with magic. The Maze of Shadowy Terror spontaneously generates monsters from the summon monster II and summon monster III lists with a shadow conjuration effect. The denizens of the Maze of Shadowy Terror thus have 20% of their normal hit points, and characters who succeed on DC 17 Will saves realize that a maze monster is only quasi-real and take only 20% of normal damage from it. Each AUNDAIR 40 maze monster also has a lower Armor Class, as described in the shadow conjuration spell on page 276 of the Player’s Handbook. The Amberwall instructors intended that the maze, which looks like a typical set of twisting dungeon corridors, serve as a final test for wizards and sorcerers before they head out into the world or become members of the Arcane Congress. But brave and foolhardy students eager to prove themselves are always sneaking into the basement and entering the maze on their own. Gate of Xabra: Near the top of Nocturnas is an astronomical observatory and one of the great artifacts of the Arcane Congress: the Gate of Xabra. This circle of menhirs, transplanted from a Q’barran ruin shortly before the start of the Last War, has graven glyphs that correspond to no known language or code. The glyphs hold overwhelmingly powerful conjuration magic suffi cient to send everything within the circle to another plane of existence. When a would-be traveler uses a fi nger to trace certain glyphs on the stones, they glow slightly. When all the correct glyphs are lit, everything within the Gate of Xabra disappears and a whoosh of air fi lls the void that remains. Finding the correct sequence of glyphs is no easy task. Fortunately, failed attempts don’t have negative consequences—or at least they haven’t so far. The glyph sequence can’t be learned by rote, because the correct glyph sequence depends on both the destination plane and the alignment of the stars around Eberron. In general, it takes a DC 25 Knowledge (the Planes) check to open the Gate of Xabra to a specific plane. Uli Blackthatch (NE male gnome wizard 7/ loremaster 2) studies the Gate of Xabra for the Arcane Congress. He has a Knowledge (the planes) modifi er of +18 and will direct planar travelers in what he believes is the correct sequence. The Gate of Xabra only opens for an instant, although in most cases it leaves a circular impression on the other plane that allows a return trip. Travelers appear within the circle at the moment they arrive; once they step back inside it, they reappear in the gate chamber in Nocturnas. On the plane of Irian, the return circle might be marked with crystals, while it might be a circular glade on the forest plane of Lamannia. Encounters Most encounters within the walls will be with students and arcane instructors (in Glarehold and Amberwall) or higher-level wizards and their assistants (in Nocturnas and Skyreach). But the hallways also have monstrous guardians, and out-of-control summoned creatures from conjurations gone awry happen at all four towers. In addition, the towers are plagued with gargoyles and arcane oozes that sometimes ambush weak-appearing prey. Sporadic attempts by one wizard or another to wipe out the pests haven’t been successful thus far. The Arcane Congress has a pragmatic attitude toward spellcasting, so it’s not uncommon to see both demons and celestials making pacts with the arcanists of the fl oating towers. While individual denizens of the towers might be paragons of good or evil, the Arcane Congress as a whole places no stigma on affi liation with either fi ends or celestials. Two encounter tables appear below, one for the towers devoted to education, Glarehold and Amberwall, and another for Nocturnas and Skyreach, the towers where the higher-level wizards of the Congress live and scheme. In either of these areas, the chance of a random encounter is 10% every 30 minutes. GLAREHOLD/AMBERWALL ENCOUNTERS d% Encounter Average EL 01–10 1 8th-level sorcerer 8 11–15 1 Huge elemental (any) 7 16–21 1d3 phase spiders 7 22–25 1 phasm 7 26–36 1 5th-level wizard, 1d3 3rd-level wizards 7 37–44 1d3 gargoyles 6 45–48 1d3 summoning oozes* 6 49–53 1 will-o’-wisp 6 54–63 1d4+2 2nd-level wizards 6 64–67 1d3 Large animated objects 5 68–72 2d4+3 dedicated wrights** 5 73–79 1 Large elemental (any) 5 80–86 1d3 Medium elementals (any) 5 87–96 1d4+2 iron defenders** 5 97–100 1 ravid 5 *Described in Monster Manual III. **Described in the EBERRON Campaign Setting. Characters will have more challenging encounters in the towers where the Arcane Congress itself lives and works. NOCTURNAS/SKYREACH ENCOUNTERS d% Encounter Average EL 01–07 1 glabrezu demon 13 08–13 1 iron golem 13 14–23 1 11th-level wizard, 1d4+2 7th-level wizards 13 24–31 1d4+2 erinyes devils 12 32–40 1d3 clay golems 12 41–47 1d3 guardian nagas 12 48–57 1 12th-level sorcerer 12 58–65 1 11th-level wizard, 1 shield guardian 12 66–74 1 elder elemental (any) 11 75–82 1 alchemical golem* 11 83–92 1 half-dragon celestial lammasu 11 93–100 1d3 arcane oozes* 11 *Described in Monster Manual III. AUNDAIR 41 Development If characters trigger an alarm within the floating towers, they face an array of magic traps, summoned guardians—and wizard after wizard keen on defending Congress and home. The internal layout of each tower magically changes at the direction of senior wizards, so intruders may fi nd that the hallways along their escape route don’t lead to the same places they used to. Treasure Some of Khorvaire’s greatest magical treasures are found within the walls of the fl oating towers, mostly in secure vaults within Nocturnas and Skyreach. A typical vault is a lead-lined chamber with multiple magic traps, each CR 7 to CR 10, on its door. Beyond the door lies the treasure—and undoubtedly a guardian of at least CR 10. The vault guardians are often outsiders, constructs, or undead because the wizards of the fl oating towers can create or control them somehow. Alarm spells, contingent versions of the whispering wind spell, and other alarms typically guard the vault’s most precious contents. It’s a lot of trouble to get into a vault, but the effort can be worth it. A typical vault holds a CR 12 treasure with double items. Some vaults hold still greater treasures—and have commensurately more deadly guardians. Adaptation The fl oating towers offer both low-level play (among the arcane scholars in Glarehold and Amberwall) and high-level play (among the leaders of the Arcane Congress in Nocturnas and Skyreach). Emphasize whichever aspect of the fl oating towers—wizard college or cabal of eldritch schemers—best fi ts the needs of your campaign. Floating Towers Lore Characters with Knowledge (arcana) can research the fl oating towers to learn more about them. DC 10: The fl oating towers, on the southeastern shore of Lake Galifar, are an arcane academy that trains many wizards and magewrights. DC 15: The Arcane Congress runs the fl oating towers and many powerful wizards live there. DC 20: Two of the towers, Glarehold and Amberwall, are for students. The other two, Nocturnas and Skyreach, are for the powerful members of the Arcane Congress, including Adal ir’Wynarn, Aundair’s First Warlord and Minister of Magic. DC 30: Adal ir’Wynarn has top-secret laboratories in the Nocturnas tower where his staff develops weapons of arcane destruction. Knowledge (local) is the relevant skill for learning about Arcanix and its connection to the fl oating towers.
FLOATING TOWERS ROOMS
d% Room
01–08 Summoning Chamber:
This chamber has a magic circle spell holding an elemental or outsider of 6 HD (Glarehold/Amberwall) or 12 HD (Nocturnas/Skyreach). The creature will plead or bargain for its freedom. [Moderate conjuration]
09–15 Private Library:
Books provide +2 circumstance bonus on any one Knowledge skill, and magical reference tomes are equivalent to a wizard’s spellbook of level 1d6+4. Some of the important books (10%) are trapped with sepia snake sigil or fire trap. [Faint conjuration or moderate abjuration]
16–22 Construction Area: Dedicated wrights, 1st-level mage wrights and artifi cers, and possibly more powerful spellcasters are working on a magic item (70%) or golem (30%). [Varies depending on item]
23–30 Meeting Room:
Room has a magic trap of CR 1d6+2 on the entrance. Room has a Mordenkainen’s private sanctum and/or detect scrying spells active within it [Moderate abjuration and/or moderate divination]
31–38 Storage Vault: As described in the Treasure section below. [Varies]
39–46 Portal Chamber:
Teleportation circle connects this room to one of the other Floating Towers (50%), another portal chamber within the same tower (40%), or an Arcane Congress facility elsewhere in Aundair (10%) [Strong conjuration] 47–54 Divining Chamber:
Room has a polished silver mirror (80%) or functioning crystal ball (20%) [Dim divination]
55–61 Necromantic Laboratory:
Room has cadavers, embalming equipment, and 1d6+3 ghasts [Dim necromancy]
62–69 Classroom:
Typical lecture hall; 20% chance a class is in session [None]
70–79 Private Residence:
Home of a 1st- through 3rd-level student (Glarehold/Amberwall) or 7th- through 12th-level master (Nocturnas/Skyreach 50% chance that resident is home. Masters’ homes are likely to be trapped and guarded; student dorms aren’t. [Varies]
80–84 Shrine:
To Aureon (50%), Onatar (40%), The Shadow (5%), or a Cult of the Dragon Below (5%). Entrance has a magic trap of CR 1d6+2. [Varies]
85–89 Exhibit Hall:
Chamber devoted to lasting displays of arcane magic. Roll 1d8 for school (with examples): 1 is abjuration (inscribed magic circle, antimagic fi eld), 2 is conjuration (summon monster, Evard’s black tentacles), 3 is divination (arcane sight, scrying), 4 is enchantment (deep slumber, confusion), 5 is evocation (darkness, wind wall), 6 is illusion (hypnotic pattern, major image), 7 is necromancy (scare, gentle repose), and 8 is transmutation (pyrotechnics, animal growth). [Faint or moderate]
90–96 Mundane Area:
Kitchen, pantry, etc. [None] 97–100 Manifest Zone
: Roll a random plane on page 92 of the EBERRON Campaign Setting. Reroll if you get Dal Quor. [Strong conjuration]
FLOATING TOWERS HALLWAYS
d% Hallway
01–08 Moving Pictures:
Portraits on the walls are programmed images that move when approached. [Moderate illusion]
09–16 Statue Gallery:
Marble statues of famous arcanists, some with magic mouth spells on them. [Faint illusion] 17–29 Vertical Lift:
Magic elevator, escalator, or platform takes characters up or down swiftly [Strong transmutation]
30–38 Phase Door:
As the spell on page 261 of the Player’s Handbook; triggering condition is “humanoid.” Originally built to contain out-of-control summonings. [Strong conjuration]
39–48 Spatial Distortion
: Hallway appears to be half (50%) or twice (50%) as long as it actually is. [Strong transmutation]
49–55 Magic Trap:
Trap has CR of 1d6+3. Choose from among those in Chapter 3 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide or invent your own. [Varies]
56–64 Blind Corridor:
Hallway section has darkness (70%) or fog cloud (30%) that obscures vision. [Faint evocation or faint conjuration]
65–76 Unusual Walls:
Walls are mirrored, detailed mosaic, wood-paneled, or provide view of outside. [None]
77–86 Dispelling:
Every other round, an area dispel magic (10th-level caster) goes off in the hallway. Another feature built to contain out-of-control summonings. [Moderate abjuration]
87–93 Visible Aura:
Magic items and active spells glow with visible auras, as if everyone had an arcane sight spell active. [Moderate divination]
94–100 Reconfi gurable:
Copper plaques mounted on wall show two or three possible maps of immediate vicinity. If an arcane spellcaster presses a plaque, the hallways arrange themselves into that confi guration one round later. [Strong transmutation]
d% Room
01–08 Summoning Chamber:
This chamber has a magic circle spell holding an elemental or outsider of 6 HD (Glarehold/Amberwall) or 12 HD (Nocturnas/Skyreach). The creature will plead or bargain for its freedom. [Moderate conjuration]
09–15 Private Library:
Books provide +2 circumstance bonus on any one Knowledge skill, and magical reference tomes are equivalent to a wizard’s spellbook of level 1d6+4. Some of the important books (10%) are trapped with sepia snake sigil or fire trap. [Faint conjuration or moderate abjuration]
16–22 Construction Area: Dedicated wrights, 1st-level mage wrights and artifi cers, and possibly more powerful spellcasters are working on a magic item (70%) or golem (30%). [Varies depending on item]
23–30 Meeting Room:
Room has a magic trap of CR 1d6+2 on the entrance. Room has a Mordenkainen’s private sanctum and/or detect scrying spells active within it [Moderate abjuration and/or moderate divination]
31–38 Storage Vault: As described in the Treasure section below. [Varies]
39–46 Portal Chamber:
Teleportation circle connects this room to one of the other Floating Towers (50%), another portal chamber within the same tower (40%), or an Arcane Congress facility elsewhere in Aundair (10%) [Strong conjuration] 47–54 Divining Chamber:
Room has a polished silver mirror (80%) or functioning crystal ball (20%) [Dim divination]
55–61 Necromantic Laboratory:
Room has cadavers, embalming equipment, and 1d6+3 ghasts [Dim necromancy]
62–69 Classroom:
Typical lecture hall; 20% chance a class is in session [None]
70–79 Private Residence:
Home of a 1st- through 3rd-level student (Glarehold/Amberwall) or 7th- through 12th-level master (Nocturnas/Skyreach 50% chance that resident is home. Masters’ homes are likely to be trapped and guarded; student dorms aren’t. [Varies]
80–84 Shrine:
To Aureon (50%), Onatar (40%), The Shadow (5%), or a Cult of the Dragon Below (5%). Entrance has a magic trap of CR 1d6+2. [Varies]
85–89 Exhibit Hall:
Chamber devoted to lasting displays of arcane magic. Roll 1d8 for school (with examples): 1 is abjuration (inscribed magic circle, antimagic fi eld), 2 is conjuration (summon monster, Evard’s black tentacles), 3 is divination (arcane sight, scrying), 4 is enchantment (deep slumber, confusion), 5 is evocation (darkness, wind wall), 6 is illusion (hypnotic pattern, major image), 7 is necromancy (scare, gentle repose), and 8 is transmutation (pyrotechnics, animal growth). [Faint or moderate]
90–96 Mundane Area:
Kitchen, pantry, etc. [None] 97–100 Manifest Zone
: Roll a random plane on page 92 of the EBERRON Campaign Setting. Reroll if you get Dal Quor. [Strong conjuration]
Type
Education, Magic
d% Hallway
01–08 Moving Pictures:
Portraits on the walls are programmed images that move when approached. [Moderate illusion]
09–16 Statue Gallery:
Marble statues of famous arcanists, some with magic mouth spells on them. [Faint illusion] 17–29 Vertical Lift:
Magic elevator, escalator, or platform takes characters up or down swiftly [Strong transmutation]
30–38 Phase Door:
As the spell on page 261 of the Player’s Handbook; triggering condition is “humanoid.” Originally built to contain out-of-control summonings. [Strong conjuration]
39–48 Spatial Distortion
: Hallway appears to be half (50%) or twice (50%) as long as it actually is. [Strong transmutation]
49–55 Magic Trap:
Trap has CR of 1d6+3. Choose from among those in Chapter 3 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide or invent your own. [Varies]
56–64 Blind Corridor:
Hallway section has darkness (70%) or fog cloud (30%) that obscures vision. [Faint evocation or faint conjuration]
65–76 Unusual Walls:
Walls are mirrored, detailed mosaic, wood-paneled, or provide view of outside. [None]
77–86 Dispelling:
Every other round, an area dispel magic (10th-level caster) goes off in the hallway. Another feature built to contain out-of-control summonings. [Moderate abjuration]
87–93 Visible Aura:
Magic items and active spells glow with visible auras, as if everyone had an arcane sight spell active. [Moderate divination]
94–100 Reconfi gurable:
Copper plaques mounted on wall show two or three possible maps of immediate vicinity. If an arcane spellcaster presses a plaque, the hallways arrange themselves into that confi guration one round later. [Strong transmutation]
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