There is an ancient land which borders the Evening Sea. Beyond its broken and stony coast, countless deltas and riverways wind their way through fetid jungles and dank, dreary marshes. Death and decay are rife there, constant companions that shape everything that dwells within - and the sagging trees lie blanketed in a burial shroud of mist. If one follows the riverways into that dark place, past tangles of grasping mangroves, weeping banyans and eerie, crumbling stone stelae - they say one will find an old city. Hewn from rock and wood, timeless edifices to forgotten gods are honored in sombre temples and ziggurat towers. The winding, narrow streets are paved with bones and the wailing song of a sorrowful requiem mourns each passing day. This is the city of the dead: Var’anass. They say that it was erected upon the very entrance to the Underworld itself in testament to an eon-old compact, and that the reclusive faelynn who dwell here worship the shrouded god Erashi and guard the mortal world from deathless horrors that would break free and steal the very breath of life.
Why would anyone journey to such a horrid place, you ask? Vile marshes, dark things that hunt in the mists, bloodthirsty natives and terrors from beyond the grave - to go there is madness you think. Come closer, young friend and listen to an old man. Legend has it, that the god Erashi likes games… she is lonely in her pale realm. Those who pass through the Shrouded Arch and challenge her are welcome. Those who triumph… well… they are given a boon. Anything the mortal heart desires… so the story goes.
You have that look about you… it is more than simple greed or ambition. There is desperation, yes… perhaps you will consider what I have told you. Perhaps you will sail out with the Mourning Isabel come dawn to find those strange shores.
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The Shrouded Arch is a stark take on the mythic journey to the underworld by those determined to face death itself.
I’m looking for 3-6 players to take the roles of troubled adventurers setting out find the gates of the underworld.
Your character is seeking something that mundane and even magical means alone cannot offer - and is willing to risk everything to attain it. What could it be, and will he or she truly have the determination and fortitude to see the quest through?
A handful of cards have been created to give a sense for the flavour and suggested aspects of the story, but players are welcome to add their own cards - subplots in particular, as befit their character.
Hosted and narrated by:
Elan Isenberg (Rhanite)
Started 06/12/14.
Scenes played: 3
License: Community License
