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The Great Cities Waterdeep, once the City of Splendors, is now the City of Eternal Twilight. Its towering spires remain, but they're twisted and warped, having grown like pale coral over thousands of years of wild magic exposure. The city exists in layers - the deepest parts still contain functioning Undermountain technology, while the surface is a maze of crystallized buildings where masked nobles maintain a mockery of the old customs. Baldur's Gate has become a titanous mechanical city-state, burning the corpses of the dead in enormous furnaces to maintain warmth as the sun dies. The Sword Coast itself is no longer recognizable as a coast - the sea has partially crystallized into a sheet of black glass that occasionally liquefies without warning.

The Nature of Magic As the sun dims, magic has become more visceral and dangerous. The Weave has partially collapsed, creating "knots" of wild magic that float like spectral tumors across the landscape. Spellcasting requires blood sacrifice or the burning of valuable materials - the age of casual magic is long gone. Many spellcasters have resorted to binding fragments of dying gods into their flesh to maintain their powers. The color of magic has changed too - most spells manifest in blacks, grays, and pale blues, as if the magic itself is suffering from cosmic frostbite.

The Old Pantheons The gods are dying, but cannot truly die. They exist in a state of perpetual agony, their essence crystallizing into god-shards that fall from the sky like meteors. Some gods have merged together in desperate attempts to survive - Lathander and Kelemvor are now one entity, a terrible thing that represents both dawn and death, neither of which have meaning anymore. Mystra's death long ago caused the initial collapse, but her essence still pervades reality like a virus, causing spontaneous magical mutations.

Survival Methods People cluster around "hearth-crystals," shards of the original sun that still emit weak heat and light. Communities are usually small, heavily fortified, and deeply suspicious of outsiders. Many have resorted to consuming the flesh of magical creatures to survive, leading to widespread mutations. Water must be thawed before drinking, and most food is grown in underground fungal gardens. Some communities have turned to worshipping the machines left behind by the gnomes and artificers of old, maintaining ancient technologies they barely understand.

Monsters and Creatures Most of the iconic D&D monsters have evolved or devolved into horrific new forms. Dragons are blind, pale things that nest in thermal vents, having lost their color affiliations millennia ago. Mind Flayers have returned from the far realm, but they're different now - more mechanical, having fused with ancient Netherese technologies. Beholders have multiplied and shrunk, becoming swarms of floating eyes that serve as organic surveillance systems for the larger settlements.

The Planes The planar boundaries have grown thin and unstable. The Shadowfell is slowly merging with the Material Plane, while the Feywild has become a frozen wasteland of eternal twilight. Fragments of other planes occasionally crash into the material world, creating zones where reality behaves according to alien rules. The Nine Hells have frozen over, and demons now seek warmth in the material plane, sometimes offering their essence as fuel for the desperate.

Ancient Artifacts The legendary artifacts of the past have grown in power as the world dies. The Blackstaff has become a living entity that consumes its wielders. The Ring of Winter is sought after not as a weapon, but as a tool of mercy - it can grant final death to those who otherwise would live forever in the twilight. Many new artifacts have been created from the crystallized remains of gods, each carrying a fraction of divine power and madness.

SITUATION A hearth-crystal powering the settlement of Coldhearth is dying. The crystal's dimming has caused panic among the inhabitants, who know they have perhaps two weeks before the cold claims them. However, the local Crystal-Speaker has had a vision - one of the dying gods, a merged aspect of Gond and Oghma called the Brass Scholar, is falling from the heavens. Its crystallized divine essence could serve as a new hearth-crystal, if it can be claimed. Unfortunately, others have sensed its imminent arrival too - including the machine-cult of Baldur's Gate and a desperate band of god-flesh scavengers.

SETTING Coldhearth sits in what was once a coastal village near Waterdeep, though the black glass sea is now several miles away. The settlement is built into and around an ancient lighthouse, its beacon replaced with the current (dying) hearth-crystal. The surrounding area is a wasteland of crystallized trees and frozen earth, with occasional patches of liquidized ground where wild magic has temporarily thawed reality.

The nearby "Shattershore" - where the black glass sea begins - is a maze of geometric shapes and broken reflections. The glass occasionally liquefies without warning, swallowing the unwary. Scavengers risk these dangers to harvest valuable resources from ancient ships trapped within the glass. Several miles inland lies the ruins of a pre-twilight trading post called Wayward's Rest, now home to a colony of devolved mind flayers who trade memories for warmth.

The predicted impact site of the falling god-shard lies in the Thornmaze, a crystallized forest where the trees have grown into impossibly sharp geometric patterns. The local mutation-touched say the trees still grow, just too slowly for normal eyes to see. The maze is home to various geometric predators - creatures that have adapted to move and hunt along perfectly straight lines and right angles.

CAST The Settlement of Coldhearth Vara Nightbridge, Crystal-Speaker and unofficial leader. Her eyes have been replaced with shards of a fallen god, allowing her to see divine essence. She speaks in temperatures rather than words. Ghkss the Thawed, a mutation-touched merchant whose flesh periodically liquefies. He maintains the settlement's fungal gardens and knows more than he shares. Pock, a child who never seems to feel the cold. The other children follow her lead, and she knows all the settlement's secrets.

The Machine-Cult of Baldur's Gate Archimandrite Kex, a cyborg priestess who has replaced her blood with heated oil. She leads the local machine-cult expeditions. Brother-Operator Finn, a former street thief who maintains the cult's warmth-engines. He's secretly planning to steal the god-shard for himself.

The God-Flesh Scavengers The Twins, Voss and Vess, who share a single mutation-touched body but alternate control. They're known for eating anything that glows. Skrike, their enforcer, who has bound frozen demon-flesh to his bones. He can only move in straight lines but hits like a runaway cart.

INITIAL CONDITIONS The hearth-crystal is dimming noticeably each day. The settlement's outer rings have already been abandoned as the warmth recedes. Most residents have crowded into the lighthouse proper, creating tensions and using up stored resources faster than anticipated. The Crystal-Speaker's vision has given hope, but also attracted unwanted attention from outside groups.

The machine-cult has already established a forward camp near the Thornmaze, using salvaged warmth-engines that leave trails of black smoke. The god-flesh scavengers are more mobile, using trained geometric predators as mounts to patrol the crystallized forest's edge.

The god-shard is due to impact in approximately ten days. The cold is getting worse. Strange lights have been seen in the Thornmaze, suggesting the area's wild magic is intensifying in anticipation of the divine arrival.

GOALS Vara Nightbridge seeks to save her people and maintain order during the crisis. Ghkss wants to preserve his secret collection of pre-twilight artifacts, even at the cost of lives. Pock intends to lead the other children to safety if the adults fail. Archimandrite Kex plans to use the god-shard to create a new type of warmth-engine. Brother-Operator Finn dreams of becoming a god himself by consuming the shard. The Twins aim to feed the god-shard to their geometric mounts, believing it will create perfect predators. Skrike simply wants enough divine essence to fix his condition.

TOOLS/RESOURCES Vara has her god-shard eyes and the loyalty of most settlers. Ghkss maintains a hidden cache of thawed water and preserved food. Pock knows secret ways through the Thornmaze. Archimandrite Kex commands several warmth-engines and trained technicians. Brother-Operator Finn possesses a pre-twilight device that can supposedly contain divine essence. The Twins control a pack of geometric predators. Skrike has demon-enhanced strength and durability.

SAMPLE SOLUTIONS Navigate the Thornmaze using Pock's knowledge, reach the impact site first, and defend it until the god-shard arrives. This requires surviving the geometric predators and wild magic surges.

Ally with Brother-Operator Finn, use his device to safely contain the god-shard, then betray him before he can consume it. This means dealing with both the machine-cult and his personal ambitions.

Convince the Twins to help clear a path through the Thornmaze using their geometric predators, then deal with their inevitable betrayal at the impact site.

Use Ghkss's secret resources to outlast the other factions, letting them fight among themselves before claiming the god-shard from the survivors.

AD&D/OSR:

In the shadowed corners of forsaken ruins and rust-eaten dungeons, the clatter of metal hints at a menace unlike any other. Behold the colonial mollusks, a curious form of life that thrives unseen within the hollows of abandoned armor. Individually, they are but soft-bodied creatures, seeking refuge within iron shells. Yet together, they achieve a bizarre unity of purpose, moving the armor as if it were their own body. The elder colonies, more ambitious and adorned, shift into grander armaments, echoing the vanity of hermit crabs in their endless quest for the perfect shell. With clusters of their kind nestled in helms to serve as scouts and sentries, they seem nothing more than empty suits of armor, save for the rare, ghastly glimpse of a tentacle through a visor. Woe betide the unwary adventurer who trespasses during their mating season, for the living armor, normally docile, turns fiercely protective of its nascent brood. STATBLOCK Living Armor (Colonial Mollusk)

Armor Class: 2 (due to the hard metal armor)

Hit Points: 5d8 (individual mollusks within have 1 hp each, but damaging them requires piercing the armor)

Movement: 20' (6')

Attack: 1 weapon attack (by weapon type, typically 1d8 for a sword)

Damage: By weapon type

Special Attacks: None

Special Defenses: Regeneration – Any "killed" armor piece regenerates in 3d4 rounds as mollusks pull it back together. True death only comes if all mollusks are killed or armor is completely destroyed.

Magic Resistance: Standard

Size: M (6'+ tall)

Alignment: Neutral

Intelligence: Animal (cluster intelligence when acting as a colony)

Pathfinder:

In the derelict halls of forgotten crypts, adventurers whisper of armor that moves of its own volition, clanking and grinding with the eerie echo of non-life. Yet, within these metallic shells are not spirits nor necromantic energies, but a clever congregation of colonial mollusks, thriving unseen. The Mollusk Armor, as it's known by those few who've peered beneath its guise, is an ecology unto itself—a symbiotic assembly of creatures that have found unity in animating the empty husks of warriors long gone. The eldest of these colonies sport grotesque, calcareous growths, a grim heraldry only nature could craft.

STATBLOCK Mollusk Armor N Medium vermin (colony) Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +0

DEFENSE AC 20, touch 10, flat-footed 20 (+10 natural, armor varies) hp 45 (7d8+14) Fort +7, Ref +2, Will +2 Defensive Abilities: Armor Reformation, All-Around Vision; DR 5/slashing; Immune mind-affecting effects

OFFENSE Speed 20 ft. Melee Weapon Attack (e.g., longsword) +8 (1d8+3/19-20), Slam +3 (1d6+1) Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.

STATISTICS Str 16, Dex 10, Con 14, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 1 Base Atk +5; CMB +8; CMD 18

SPECIAL ABILITIES Armor Reformation (Ex): When a Mollusk Armor is reduced to 0 hit points, the mollusks within quickly retreat and begin reassembling their protective shell. After 1d4+1 rounds, the Mollusk Armor re-forms with half its maximum hit points. Destroying the armor or exposing the mollusks to salt water prevents this reformation. All-Around Vision (Ex): The colony's mollusks are well-distributed within the armor, especially in the helmet, giving the Mollusk Armor a 360-degree field of vision. This makes it immune to flanking and sneak attacks.

D&D 5e:

In the twisted corridors of an abandoned citadel, a clanking sound echoes with a rhythm as precise as clockwork. A suit of armor, ornate and bearing the scars of many battles, patrols the area. But within this iron carapace, a colony of intelligent mollusks lurks, controlling the metal shell as one. These creatures, resembling nautiluses with their soft bodies and tentacles, have bound together, forming a collective consciousness that animates the armor. Their helmet-cluster acts as the brain, with the visor serving as their all-seeing eyes. The older the colony, the more grand the armor they command, sometimes adorned with intimidating spikes or gilded edges. Beware the mating season, for during these desperate times they will fiercely attack anyone who ventures too close to their hidden brood. STATBLOCKLiving Armor ColonyMedium swarm of Tiny monstrosities (colonial mollusks), unaligned

Armor Class: 18 (plate armor)

Hit Points: 60 (8d8 + 24)

Speed: 25 ft.

| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA | |------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-----| | 16 (+3)| 11 (+0)| 16 (+3)| 3 (-4)| 10 (+0)| 1 (-5)|

Skills: Perception +2

Damage Immunities: poison, psychic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks not made with adamantine weapons

Condition Immunities: charmed, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned

Senses: blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 12

Languages: —

Challenge: 5 (1,800 XP)

Traits

Regeneration. The Living Armor regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn. If the Living Armor takes fire damage, this trait doesn't function at the start of the Living Armor's next turn. The Living Armor dies only if it starts its turn with 0 hit points and doesn't regenerate.

Mollusk Vulnerability. When exposed to fire damage, the Living Armor has disadvantage on all saving throws and its Regeneration trait is suppressed for 1d4 rounds.

Immutable Form. The Living Armor is immune to any spell or effect that would alter its form. False Appearance. While the Living Armor remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from a normal suit of armor.

Shell Game. If a piece of the Living Armor is removed or destroyed, the mollusks inside can use their action to reassemble or replace the piece, restoring the Living Armor to its full hit points.

Actions

Multiattack. The Living Armor makes two melee attacks.

Longsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 2) slashing damage, or 9 (1d10 + 2) slashing damage if used with two hands.