seafootgames
patreon
Celestial Crystal Prison 40x30 Battlemap | VTT and PDF
🕑 Added 2021-09-29 11:24:12 +0000 UTCIf there is a cleric or paladin in your party, one fine afternoon a beautiful celestial woman will walk out of a shining portal. She has hair like gold, and matching flecks through her white wings. She is wearing a simple white dress with a golden belt around her waist, and carries a long silver spear taller than her body.
The celestial, Ayil, will tell the cleric / paladin that she is inviting them to the annual celebration of the celestials, on behalf of their god. This is their thanks for all the good deeds they have done in the god’s name on the mortal planes, and it is a great honor.
If the cleric / paladin accepts, she will tell you that you have an hour to ensure you have everything you need, then she will take you and any friends you wish to bring to the holy city.
After traveling through another shining portal, you arrive in sumptuous quarters built from gold and silver, and accentuated with blue crystals. Looking out the large, glass windows with intricately leaded designs you can see shifting clouds and blue skies, with gold and silver walkways glinting further down.
Ayil tells you that the celebration is tomorrow morning and she will return to summon you when it is your time to attend—for the start of the ceremony is for celestials only. She also informs you that you must not leave the room until she calls on you, as these are sacred grounds.
That night, while sleeping in gold silk sheets on a featherdown mattress, the cleric / paladin in your party has a vision. They see the sun in the sky at the time of the celebration, and a celestial prison where one of the confining crystals lays broken. There is the silhouette of a celestial before the broken crystal, bowing before a freed celestial with corrupted skin and demonic horns.
The cleric / paladin’s mind’s eye knows where the location is, and they can lead the party there. But if they tell Ayil about their vision the next morning, when she comes to serve your group breakfast, she will stiffly inform you that such things are impossible. Her brothers and sisters would never do such a thing—everyone knows the story of the Fallen One, and none would dare release him.
After she leaves, if you try find the place in your vision instead of attending the ceremony, it will lead you through the empty city and down into the prison sections. All the celestials have gone to the ceremony already, and none stand guard or at their post. But once you arrive at the place of your vision, you find a group of celestials who haven’t gone to the ceremony.
At the heart of the group is the crystal containing the horned prisoner known as the Fallen One; his wings black, and his skin illuminated by glowing red tattoos. The leader of the group is chanting a complicated spell to release him from his crystalline cell.
The acolytes in the group don’t want you approaching the spellcaster, and command you to stay back. If you don’t heed their words, they will use non-lethal force to stop you.
Even if the spellcaster dies, he is too far into the spell and the crystal will still break; shattering around the Fallen One. He’ll stagger out from the shards, catching himself on some of the rubble as he falls to his knees and breathes deep, gasping breaths.
Once the crystal is broken, the surviving acolytes will attempt to reason with you; explaining that this celestial, Zazriel—who others call the Fallen One—was wrongfully imprisoned. His writings were even banned, all because he refused to follow the laws of the celestials.
Their laws, you see, say that they cannot interfere with the mortal realms—even if it’s for good—but Zazriel did.
At this point Zazriel will be recovered enough to speak and will talk with a loud and carrying voice, explaining that it was because he saved a town of mortals from death by brutal invaders that he was imprisoned.
He explains the celestial laws are old, and it is time for a new age to be upon his people; an age where they can shed the bindings that prevent them from doing true good, regardless of ancient scriptures. Following the law is not always the right thing, and their leaders don’t realize that.
If you side with the Zazriel’s celestials, they will help you get back to the mortal realm before going into hiding and formulating their plans to change the culture of their people.
If you side with the traditional celestials and defeat the group, Ayil will find you once the fight is over—initially mad about you having left the chambers, but then shocked at what has occurred. She will then fervently believe that your divine vision came directly from their god, saying it was clearly their god’s master plan as the celestials would have never suspected such a betrayal. That must have been why they were told to invite you to the ceremony! It all makes sense now.
She will then take you to the Council of Elders, who will reward you greatly and dub you all Champions.
GMs Note:
If the cleric or paladin in the party became such after having their village saved from attack by divine intervention, the Fallen One Zazriel was the celestial responsible. He might even recognize that player’s character, and know their name.
Comments
Thank you both for your feedback! I did try some new things with these maps, so it's good to know what everyone thinks of them. I also tried out shadowing the creature in the crystal and you guys are right it does look much better, I don't know why I didn't think of it at the time but I'll keep it in mind next time I do something similar! :) ~ Luke
Parker Test
I really like these, and their theme is going to be super useful for an upcoming session of mine, but I agree with Adron that some of maps look kinda like they are pasted in oddly. I think the artist(s?) was going for that astral/angelic look that would obviously stand out due to its radiant illumination which is why I personally think it looks good/fine. But that is my own personal rationalization for it and I can definitely see where some criticism can be fairly applied. I definitely agree that it'd be cooler if the figures trapped in the crystals were more vague and distorted. Great maps tho!
Adron Buske
Please accept this as a well-intentioned piece of critical feedback, but I really don't care for this particular group of maps. Most of them look pasted onto their backgrounds, with some strokes/outer glows around them. The angelic portal outcropping has a big drop shadow around it, which I don't think makes sense with it hovering so far in the air. Some of the design elements look very incongruous (even cartoony) with the rest of the map—like the tentacles, gems/shards, and some structural elements. The Celestial Prison variations are the best of the lot, but stark outlines clash with the more textured background, and the heavy drop shadows on the crystals and confusingly placed (hovering?) angel statues feel at odds with the rest of the design. Again, I don't mean this to be harsh—I'm a happy patron and enjoy your team's work—but I don't think this group is at the usual level of quality or usability. (I do like the creatures encased in crystal, though—but I think they'd be aesthetically improved, and more game/setting agnostic, if their shapes were less distinct and distorted by the crystals.) Just my personal opinion.
