RQG 4Thought Special

## Content Warnings

Part 1 Intrusive telepathy, imprisonment, arguments, loss of control over own body (consensual and nonconsensual), magical slow dying (inc. symptoms), physical violence/combat, injury, auditory hallucination, mind control. Mentions: faeces, capital punishment/execution
Part 2 Slowly dying, loss of control over own body, arguments and insults, discussion of faeces and diahorrea, auditory hallucination, mind control. Mentions: exhumation and experimentation on corpses
Part 3 Auditory hallucination, mind control, slowly dying, loss of control of body, arguments. Discussion of: desecration of a tomb, self-sacrifice. Mention of: suicide, natural disaster (tsunami) and mass death. SFX: high frequency sound effects
Part 4 Auditory hallucination, mind control, arguments, loss of control over own body, murder (stabbing), death, physical violence/combat, poisoning, nudity, temporary loss of vision

## Plot Summary

Join GM Bryn with Alex, Helen, Ben and special guest Lowri Ann Davies in this 4-part D&D 5e adventure: 4Thought!

## Character Summary

### Arian

Arian is a thief. She has lived in the City all her life.

### Femi

Femi is a priest from an old culture; she is one of the three voices in Arian's head.

### The Nameless One

The Nameless One (also known as Brian) is a self-important wizard who is rude and short-sighted.

### Saran

Saran Yonson Bonson was once the leader/chief of his clan. Upon his death, he was the first soul to enter the necklace.

## Synopsis

### Episode 1

The special opens on the thief, Arian, waking up in jail after having failed to steal an elaborate neckpiece from a museum in the city. She's in an uncomfortable bed in a small room, with three stone walls and iron bars keeping her locked in. There is a tray of food and water inside the bars. Arian explores the room a bit, investigating, and calls out a hello to see if there's someone nearby. She hears a response, and assumes it's one of the guards, until she realises that the voice is coming from inside her head.

   She freaks out a bit, but the voice just tells her that they need to get out of the room. Arian tries to figure out what's going on, and the voice asks if she's wearing the necklace. Arian explains that she's not, and then the second voice appears, sounding snarky. Arian is incredibly taken aback, but instead of explaining, the two voices begin to argue with each other, ignoring her. She finally gets frustrated and gives up, asking if they know where she is. At this point, a third voice appears, lower and calmer than the other two, who continue arguing in the background. Arian starts to break a little bit, getting desperate as she is continuously ignored by the three strange voices in her head. They keep arguing until she finally addresses them directly, asking how they're in her head, but doesn't get an explanation beyond that it's magic. She gets frustrated, saying that she thought they would know what was going on, but instead they just start arguing over how the necklace works and which one of them is correct.

Arian, believing that this can't be real, dumps the entire jug of water over her head. However, the voices are still there when she resurfaces, and then the voices start demanding for her to give them control over her body. Suddenly, a door opens nearby, and all four of them hear footsteps as a guard comes into the prison. The second voice demands that Arian give them control of the body, but instead, Arian picks up the jug of water to use as a weapon. Frustrated, the second voice attempts to control Arian's body, but ultimately fails. Arian feels a strange constriction on the back of her head, but the feeling passes - however, she can still tell what was happening and who was causing it, and yells at the second voice for what they did. They start ranting about their power and how their plan was to turn themselves invisible. Arian seems interested, but the voice says that it took her too long to decide and that everything is ruined.

The guard appears, seeming confused by Arian talking to the air, and she desperately asks him what's going on. He explains that she was caught in the museum, and that robbing the museum is considered a capital offence. Arian asks how the guard found her, and he explains that she was passed out. She tries to use this as an excuse, but the guard isn't buying it. The first two voices that Arian heard begin to argue again, fighting to convince Arian to give one of them control of her body. The guard asks if Arian needs more water, and she says yes, giving him the jug. He leaves, and Arian retreats to the back of the cell, starting to speak to the voices and try to figure out what's going on once more. She asks them if she'll die if they die, and the final voice tells her that she most likely will. Arian doesn't seem incredibly affected by that, telling the three of them that they need to stop arguing and listen to her. She asks their names; the first voice identifies herself as Femi, the third voice introduces himself as Saran Yonson Bonson, and the third refuses to give his name (referred to as the Nameless One). Saran explains that he was the first soul to be tied to the necklace, and has been here the longest. Arian asks them to explain who they are, and what they did before they ended up trapped in the necklace.

They start to argue again, and Arian asks if there's a way to get the three of them out of her head. Femi and the Nameless One say that there isn't, while Saran says that there probably is. Arian says that she likes him more than the other two, and then asks about what 'taking control of her body' means, and how long it lasts for. The Nameless One says five minutes, but Saran immediately calls him out for lying, and Arian says that she doesn't trust him. Femi promises to give control back to Arian, and Saran says that he doesn't want it in the first place. They explain that, to use their powers, they do have to have control of Arian's body. Arian asks them what the best way to get out is, and the Nameless One repeats that they need to be invisible to escape; Femi counters him, saying that she can freeze the guard so that Arian can steal his keys and escape. Arian decides to trust Femi instead, and the guard returns. Saran says that he doesn't condone a jailbreak from a guilty party, and requests that they don't harm the guard when escaping. Arian passes control of her body to Femi, who does a little shake and then casts Hold Person on the guard. The guard is paralysed, and Femi reaches out to take the key, letting them out of the cell. She pushes the guard over and starts to leave.

The prison, which contains five cells, is your standard prison, with barred windows and a small section of chairs for the guards at the end. Femi starts to go though the door, and Arian tries to stop her, telling her to go through the window and up to the roofs. Femi ignores her, and instead casts Thaumaturgy, causing herself to look like a large shadow creature with glowing eyes. She terrifies the guards; one flees, but two of them remain, backing up slowly. At this point, the Nameless One attempts to take control of the body; Femi resists, and Arian tries to regain control, causing a three-way struggle as the body stumbles. Arian regains control, and immediately starts running while the voices in her head begin shouting and arguing again. She says that she has the most experience with her own body, and ignores the others as she runs up the stairs. The two guards are shouting, trying to alert the rest of their group, and Arian runs into three guards, one of whom appears to be a spellcaster.

Arian manages to escape the guards, although not unscathed, and runs along the roofs until she finds a safe spot she can hide behind. She asks which one of them can heal her, and Femi offers. However, before she can start, Arian's hand begins to shake; Femi realises that without the necklace, the presence of the three of them in Arian's body is starting to drain her life force slowly.

### Episode 2

The episode opens with Arian having to face the fact that she is slowly dying due to the presence of the other three in her mind. She tells them all to leave, but Femi explains that they can't. She says that she can heal Arian's physical wounds from the fight, and Arian reluctantly gives her control over her body. After being healed, Femi and the Nameless One explain to Arian that they need to get the necklace back and put it on so that she doesn't die. The necklace is still back in the museum, so they decide to return and attempt to steal it once more. Femi, still in control of the body, begins to set off toward the museum, but is quickly distracted by the thought of going to a temple to check on her gods. The Nameless One and Saran quickly encourage Arian to take her body back, and Femi resists but ultimately loses the battle. Arian regains control of her body, and resumes heading toward the museum, conversing with the others along the way. Femi isn't upset about losing control for long, and her and the Nameless One get into another argument along the way.

Shortly, Arian realises that she's still in her basic outfit, having had all equipment removed, and retreats to one of her safe locations to change and pick up more weapons, including a set of thief's tools. After outfitting herself, Arian heads back to the museum; security has tightened since her break-in last night, and since it's mid-afternoon, there are a number of people going in and out and enjoying the museum. She asks how long invisibility will work, and the Nameless One explains that it can last up to an hour. Arian seems to view that as the best plan, and gives control over to the Nameless One *incredibly* reluctantly. He goes down an alleyway and casts invisibility over Arian's body, which she seems delighted and intrigued by. The Nameless One returns to the museum and heads inside, dodging the crowd all around as Arian guides him toward the room with the necklace. Upon entering, the Nameless One notices the necklace in the corner, and then realises that the room itself has a number of magical items in it - five distinct things.

The first is a sword, which he has no interest in, a tapestry, a set of vases, and astronomical equipment. The tapestry is the most interesting, as it seems to have magical writing woven into the fabric of the tapestry itself. Arian notices that something is off about the room but can't figure out what it is; the Nameless One dismisses her concerns, however, saying that it's just magical alarms. The voices all devolve into arguing again, and Arian keeps trying to get them back on track, finally asking what the plan is for getting the necklace. The Nameless One returns to the task at hand, evaluating the protections around the necklace. Arian is hesitant to do anything now, however, because the museum is full of people. Saran suggests using the sword on the wall, and the Nameless One immediately starts mocking him for choosing a non-noble option; Saran calmly explains that he was not suggesting Arian kill the innocent museum patrons, but it just devolves into another argument between the three of them while Arian tries to figure out a better game plan. Saran suggests approaching the museum curator and asking to take the necklace, which Femi and the Nameless One immediately shoot down.

Arian decides to return later that night, since the invisibility will be expiring soon, and the Nameless One asks if she would be able to hide herself in the room. She says that she could, and then asks the Nameless One to give control of her body back. He refuses, telling her to direct him where to go, and Arian readies herself to gain control back before asking if that will get rid of the invisibility. The Nameless One lies, saying that it will; Femi challenges him, but Arian just tells him where to go and they end up heading toward a storage room. There's a single guard at the door, and the Nameless One says that he won't be able to attack the guard without the invisibility dropping. Each of them start to offer their own suggestions, but Arian decides to distract the guard by kicking one of the boards over. When he goes over to look at it, the Nameless One turns into a gaseous cloud, heading in through the storage room door. He floats up high under Arian's direction, hiding up on a bookshelf.

As they wait for the museum to close and for most of the guards to leave, they all relax, having a brief meditation session while Saran sings quietly under his breath. Eventually, it becomes mid-evening, and the Nameless One asks Arian what they should be doing next. Saran says that he should give control back to her, but the Nameless One refuses, saying that it will break the spell. Femi says that he's lying, again, and they both devolve into another argument as Saran tries to convince Arian to gain control of her body back. Arian interrupts the argument and tells the Nameless One to turn them invisible so that she can open the door; he explains that doing so will break the invisibility. Arian tells him to give back control and the Nameless One relents, so that she can unlock the door. As she does, Femi hears footsteps in the distance and alerts Arian to the noise. Arian returns control to the Nameless One so that he can make her invisible, which he does. They step out into the corridor, and she tells him to go get the collar.

They return to the room, and Saran realises that the sword that had been hanging on the wall is actually his sword; at the same time, Femi realises that the vases and the astronomical equipment are from her people.

### Episode 3

The Nameless One is still in control of the body; he decides to dissipate the magical field around the collar, but Femi distracts him, saying that she wants to look at the vases. He asks why, and she says that they're hers; at this revelation, the Nameless One realises that the artefacts all belong to one of them: the vases for Femi, the sword for Saran - however, there is also a tapestry that belongs to none of them. He asks if it's Arian's, but she tells him that it isn't. He goes over to investigate the tapestry, bickering with the others, and checks the plaque to see where it's from. However, there are no specifics; he's able to figure out that it's part of a spellbook, but he doesn't recognise either of the two spells that have been woven into it. He can tell that it refers to the weather and the environment, but that's it. Femi looks at it as well, and realises that one of the spells is about controlling the wind, while the other is most likely to do with controlling coldness.

They move on to looking at the vases; Femi realises that they depict one of the great stories from her culture. She treats everyone to a rendition of the tale (Note: Helen recites *Antigone*). The figures on the vase begin to move as she tells the story, and everyone gets caught up in the story. When she finishes, they all go over to the sword next; they learn that the sword was found in a tomb, where a single body lay. The Nameless One realises that he desecrated the tomb and stole the artefact from Saran's body, mocking him for not being remembered. Saran says that it isn't about that, which the Nameless One seems incredibly sceptical of. He continues mocking Saran, and Saran quietly gets angry until he attempts to take control of Arian's body. Saran is unable to take control, and the Nameless One continues disparaging him while Femi defends him.

They move on to the final artefact - the collar - and the Nameless One drops his invisibility and casts Dispel Magic on the case. He and the rest check it out again after the effect has been dispelled. There are three layers of magical protection, and they realise that the Nameless One has only gotten rid of one of them. He casts Dispel Magic again, this time on the rope, and then starts to reach for the item. Femi stops him before he can, however, telling him that there's a third barrier. He covers his mistake, pretending to have noticed, and casts Dispel Magic to get rid of the third level of protection.

All they have left to deal with is the glass. The Nameless One passes control back to Arian so that she can break through the glass. She successfully does so, and carefully reaches in and grabs the necklace, avoiding the gem. Femi and the Nameless One cajole her to put the necklace on, and Arian does - however, it feels much less than the effect she'd gotten the first time she'd grabbed it, and she asks if everyone else feels the same. Everyone seems confused, and Femi and the Nameless One realise that something is wrong, with Saran finally asking if it's a fake. The Nameless One asks for control so that he can inspect it, and Femi and Saran both discourage Arian from giving him control. Saran instead tells Arian to take the sword, as the sword is the only thing in the room that can destroy the artefact. The Nameless One and Femi are against this idea, as it would destroy the three of them as well, but Saran doesn't see that as a problem. They continue arguing for a while, and Saran tells Arian again to take the sword. He promises not to take control if she takes the sword, and Arian isn't sure if she believes him, but does go to take the sword anyway.

While she's starting to take the sword, the Nameless One and Femi are still arguing. She isn't able to break the enchantment around the sword that will trigger an alarm, and starts arguing with the other three as they try to figure out the best plan of action. Eventually, she asks if there's a compelling reason to take the sword, and Saran tells her that the sword can get rid of the gem, and feasibly save her life. Arian goes for the sword, and the Nameless One attempts to take control; Saran aids Arian, keeping his word, and Arian maintains control of her body.

   She goes for the sword again, listening to Saran, but triggers the trap, and is dragged into the air. Saran asks her to give him control, so that he can get them out of the situation, but Arian refuses, attempting to cut the rope with her shortsword. She is unable to, since the rope is magic, and then starts to hear footsteps as they try to figure out what to do next. She tries to swing for the case, but just misses, and Saran again asks her to pass control to him. She gives up and does, and Saran begins to rage. He is able to successfully pull Arian's foot out of the rope, getting rope burn, and lands on the ground. The guard appears in the room, but Saran punches the glass, sending a sonic wave through the room that kills the guard and badly wounds Arian's body. Once he has the sword in hand, he returns control to Arian without prompting.

The Nameless One demands that Arian give him back control so that he can make them invisible, and Arian does. He takes control, and then throws away the sword before starting to run. Saran and Arian both attempt to regain control, but it's been too soon and they aren't able. Arian desperately tells Femi to take control and grab the sword, and she tries, but isn't able to do so. The Nameless One runs to the door, asking if there's a better way out, and Arian directs him to a side exit that they can escape through. The door is locked, and so the Nameless One casts knock, which dispels the invisibility, and they escape.

Arian immediately tries to regain control as they get outside, and does so. She's tempted to go back for the sword, but doesn't, and continues running. Something is wrong with the necklace, and the four of them need to figure out what is is. She asks Femi to figure out what's wrong with it, while the Nameless One continues arguing in the background. Both her and the Nameless One investigate it, and realise that the gem is a fake.

### Episode 4

The party tries to figure out who could have stolen the gem, and where the original would be. The Nameless One and Femi believe that the Empress might have the jewel, and Saran says that they are not allowed to steal from the leader. Before it can devolve into more bickering, Arian cuts them off and says that they're going to need to break into the palace in order to get the gem. They all decide to go back to one of Arian's hiding places so that she can heal and rest up before they break in.

The next morning, Saran and Arian can feel a tugging coming from the necklace, pulling them in a specific direction - *not* toward the palace. They inform the other two of the feeling, and they decide to follow it in that direction as opposed to going toward the palace. Arian follows the pull (while the others, once again, argue), and it leads her through the city toward the temple district. Femi is excited to see that it's taken them here, but the Nameless One is unimpressed. It takes a while, but eventually Arian is able to narrow it down to a particular temple: the goddess of knowledge, and the goddess of history. Arian gets up onto the roof of the temple, and starts evaluating the best way to get in. The Nameless One says that he can make her invisible again, and that Arian will be able to remain invisible if he relinquishes control to her. Arian doesn't really believe him, but to everyone's surprise, he just makes her invisible and then returns control to her.

She enters the temple, climbing down to the window. The floor of the temple is a mosaic with an altar at one end. There's a spiral staircase, and a massive diorama built out of silver. A priest is cleaning the altar, which has a number of gems set into it. Arian can tell that one of the gems is from the necklace, but can't figure out which one. She enters the room and gets a bit closer, and all of them are able to identify the gem, apart from Saran. A second person walks into the room, and the Nameless One recognises him as one of his old acolytes from back when he was alive: Shendu.

Shendu pulls out a dagger; only Arian realises what's about to happen, and then Shendu stabs the priest. After a brief fight between him and Arian, in which he reveals the Nameless One's actual name to be Brian, he is finally felled by Brian. Saran goes on an extended monologue about the victory, and Brian continues to stamp on Shendu's neck until he's dead.

Brian casts Magic Missile on the diorama to blow the gem out, but it doesn't actually affect the diorama. He and Femi realise that it's an anti-magic diorama. Femi quickly heals Arian for 18HP and then returns control to Arian. They work as a team to get the gem out, and successfully do so; Arian puts the gem in the necklace, and can feel herself binding closer to it as she begins to feel stronger. She feels another tugging from the necklace, and pulls at it until three ghostly forms appear. Revealed are Femi, Saran, and Brian. It isn't going to last very long, but she is able to see the rest of them for a moment. The moment they appear, Saran immediately begins throttling Brian. Brian tries to cast a spell at him, but it is mostly very superficial.

Arian escapes out of the window and the astral forms are pulled along with her, getting out of the temple before the guards and priests can catch her.

## Dice rolls and Mechanics

(Editor's note: on multiple occasions, the checks being made are not specified.)

**Note:** When one player "takes control" of the body, one other player is allowed to **hinder** (triggering disadvantage) or **assist** (triggering advantage). Arian always gets advantage on her rolls to not lose control of her body, since she is the most used to it.

Everyone makes a perception roll to hear the guard: Arian gets 18, Femi gets 2, Saran gets 12, the Nameless One gets 5

The Nameless One attempts to take control of Arian's body with a wisdom save: The Nameless One gets 10 (disadvantage, from Saran hindering), Arian gets 22 (advantage)

The Nameless One attempts to take control of Arian's body with a wisdom save again: The Nameless One gets 14 (disadvantage, from Saran hindering), Arian gets 16 (advantage), and Femi gets 5

The Nameless One and Femi make a Knowledge Arcana check to see what 's going on with Arian's hand: The Nameless One gets 9, Femi gets 15

Femi heals Arian for 18 HP.

Arian makes a wisdom save to regain control of her body from Femi: Arian gets an 18 (advantage) and Femi gets a natural 1

Everyone makes a perception/investigation check when inside the necklace's display room: Arian gets 7 (perception), Femi gets 9 (perception), Saran gets 12 (perception), the Nameless One gets 19 (investigation)

The Nameless One makes a Knowledge Arcana check about invisibility: nat 20

The Nameless One makes a dexterity check to cast the cloud spell quickly: 19

The Nameless One makes a deception check to lie about the spell: 15

Saran, Femi, and Arian all roll an insight check to see if the Nameless One is lying: Saran gets 11, Arian gets 11, Femi gets 18

Arian makes a check to unlock the door (dex? it's not said): 16

Everyone makes a perception check upon leaving the room: Arian's isn't said, Femi gets 21, Saran gets 12, the Nameless One's isn't said

The Nameless One and Femi make a knowledge arcana check on the tapestry: The Nameless One gets 13, Femi gets 21

Saran attempts to take control from the Nameless One: Saran's roll isn't said, the Nameless One gets 21 (disadvantage)

Everyone makes an investigation check on the collar: Arian gets 16, Femi gets a nat 20, Saran gets 3, the Nameless One gets 20

The Nameless One casts Dispel Magic for the third time (the first two automatically worked): 22

Arian makes a check to break the glass (again, not said, but dex?): 15

Arian makes a check to disable the trap around the sword (again, not said, "thieve's tools checks"): 11

The Nameless One attempts to take control of Arian's body with a wisdom save: The Nameless One gets 18 (disadvantage), Arian gets 22 (advantage)

Arian goes for the sword again: 10

Arian tries to cut the rope on an attack roll: 16

Arian makes an acrobatics check to get the sword: 11

Saran makes a strength check to get out of the rope: 13

Femi attempts to take control of the body with a wisdom save: Femi gets a 9 (advantage), the Nameless One gets a 15 (disadvantage)

The Nameless One makes a stealth check to escape: nat 20

Arian tries to regain control with a wisdom save: Arian gets a 17 "plus things" (advantage, the Nameless One gets a nat 1 (disadvantage)

Femi and the Nameless One make a knowledge arcana check on the necklace: Femi gets a 25, the Nameless One gets a 25

Everyone makes a charisma-based perception check: Arian gets a nat 20, Femi gets 14, Saran gets 22, the Nameless One gets 4

Arian makes an athletics check to get into the building: 19

The Nameless One and Saran make a perception check to figure out which gem it is: both get 14

Arian rolls a stealth check to get into the temple: 11

Everyone makes a perception check to ID the gem: Arian gets 22, Femi gets a nat 20, Saran gets a nat 1, the Nameless One gets 23

Everyone makes an insight check: Arian gets a nat 20, Femi gets 11, Saran gets a nat 1, the Nameless One gets 10

Brian and Femi make an arcana check on the diorama: Brian gets 15, Femi gets 12

Everyone makes an investigation check: Arian gets 22, Femi gets a nat 20, Saran gets a nat 1, the Nameless One gets 16

Brian makes a knowledge arcana check on the diorama: 20

Femi makes a knowledge religion check on the diorama: 18

Femi makes a knowledge history check on the diorama: 19

Arian makes a thief-tools check: 19

## Combat breakdown

(Note: all damage taken is to Arian's body and HP, regardless of who is in control at the time.)

**Arian fleeing from the guards**

Initiative: Arian gets 6

One of the guards attempts to tackle Arian, and successfully does so. They end up in a pile on the floor.

The captain draws their sword.

Arian Disengages, rolling away from their grip, and then calls for the Nameless One to make her invisible. He refuses, telling her to grovel, and so she keeps running.

The unarmored guard casts Hold Person at Arian, but she shakes it off with a wisdom save of 22.

The first guard pulls out their sword and chases after Arian. He hits her, dealing 6 damage.

The captain attempts to hit Arian but misses.

Arian continues to run, and steps through a door onto the roof. She attempts to jump to the roof of the next building, and gets 15 on the athletics check, slamming into the side but still holding on.

The wizard appears and casts Magic Missile. Arian takes 11 damage.

The first guard runs to the edge of the roof.

The captain runs to the edge of the roof and doesn't attempt to jump.

Arian attempts to jump to the next roof, and makes it with an athletics check of 15.

The wizard casts Magic Missile again, and Arian again takes 11 damage, but she makes her way out of range of the guards and wizard.

**Arian stealing the artifact**

Initiative: Saran (as Arian) gets 5

The guard yells, draws their sword, and runs to Saran.

Saran stands, triggering an attack of opportunity that misses. He punches through the glass case with the sword on an attack roll of 18. Thunder booms, and Saran makes a reflex save of 13. He takes 28 sonic damage. The guard drops dead.

**Arian fighting Shendu**

Initiative: Arian gets 14

The priest collapses.

Arian attacks Shendu, breaking her invisibility. She hits on a 16, and deals 4 damage.

Shendu steps back and laughs, and then casts Darkness. The room is sent into blackness.

Arian gives control to Saran. He immediately enters a rage.

Shendu laughs again, and then Saran feels a dagger plunge into him. He takes 2 damage, and 6 fire damage.

The Nameless One takes control from Saran on a wisdom check of 24. He retreats away from Shendu.

Shendu attacks, and misses.

The Nameless One casts Dispel Magic.

Shendu casts Mind Spike. The Nameless One makes a wisdom save of 17, and avoids the attack. He still takes 6 psychic damage.

The Nameless One casts Mind Spike. Shendu passes his will save, and takes 6 psychic damage.

Shendu casts Mind Spike again. The Nameless One makes his will save with 15, and takes 7 damage.

The Nameless One casts Vampiric Touch, successfully attacking on a 22. He deals 9 damage, and heals Arian's body for 4 damage. He gives control to Saran.

Shendu stabs Saran, dealing 8 damage.

Saran attacks Shendu, hitting on a 21. He deals 6 damage.

Shendu casts Eldritch Blast at Saran. He takes 6 damage.

The Nameless One casts Chill Touch, but misses on a roll of 12. We learn that his name is Brian.

Shendu casts Eldritch Blast again, but misses.

The Nameless One casts Chill Touch, and hits on a 26. He deals 10 damage, and Shendu dies.