First Sky-cable of Sheljar

When the goblins and the Lorebook Hunters decided to make Sheljar into a Free City, where all thinking peoples were respectedm there was a vast, several mile separation between the suburbs and caves that the goblins discovered and the former City Center with its library, temples, city hall and palace.

The First Sky-cable was constructed to connect these places without worry about bridges, or Tunneling Nightmares, or frightening island of zombies. Now it is the most travelled sky-cable. The gondola rides high, so high that its towers peak above the frequent fogs.

So high the weather is different.

As the players ride this sky-cable gondola they are in their first “hallway.” This path is dangerous. They are in a space where weather is different. There are creatures that may threaten them. This fastest route to the City Center may not be the shortcut they expected.

Hazards

Roll 2d4 about halfway through the journey in the sky.

2. Uninvited guest — There is someone aboard the gondola with the party. The illusioned elf works for the Proctors of Grace. It casts Detect Magic while Invisible. If it detect magic it attacks. Use the stat block for the Evoker Wizard if the party is in Tier 2. If they are only Tier 1 use the Evil Mage.

3. Frayed cable — The character with the highest Passive Investigation notices the cable is frayed. The group will need to discover a way to get the gondola to the next tower 100′ away or fix the cable. Tinker’s Tools, Vehicles (air), Vehicles (water) offer some solutions. The DC should be 15. If no one succeeds in fixing the cable and it does break there are rudimentary parachutes that reduce the falling damage to one half on a successful Dexterity save of 10. They are 60′ in the air.

4. High winds — The gondola shakes violently. Each character should make a Strength saving throw (DC 13) or take 2d6 HP of damage and fall prone. Those that save take half damage and suffer no other effects. This is frightening but should have little impact on their ability to travel.

5. Freezing rain — Though it was a moderate day beneath the fogs there is freezing rain up in the sky. Each character suffers 3d6 damage. A successful constitution saving throw (DC 10) results in half damage.

6. Isle of horrors — With a Wisdom Check of 10 the party makes out a small island in the bog-city that seems to be overtaken by skeletons with a leader on a skeletal boar. This island is not hosting a tower.

7. What’s that? — 0ff in the distance, at the statue there is a large, white winged creature. An Intelligence Check, DC 20, recognizes it as a white dragon. Ken would role with advantage. Skills that could apply are Culture (Ken), Arcana. A player could convince the DM of other skills being applicable. The dragon does not attack. It lurks, watching.

8. Sabotage — The group notices the tower they just passed being attacked by group (party size +1) of zombies. If half of the zombies are destroyed the others retreat. The characters start 90′ from the zombies. They are able to stop or reverse the gondola. If the zombies are able to do 65 hit points of damage to the tower (AC 12) the tower falls.

If they complete the trip they stop at the bell tower of a semi-abandoned temple in the City Center.

Our intrepid heroes have discovered the the Free City of Sheljar isn’t a place of safety. Sheljar may be a dreamy government of respect for all, it is also a place of undeath, dragons and technology too fragile to survive with not enough people in the city to maintain it.

I’ll admit these DCs and language probably don’t match the standard D&D style. Today’s Dungeon 23 exercise came up against a my go-to-bed soon deadline.