Player version: Chrysalis City Direct Start Arriving in Chrysalis Player Version
Prerequisite
Brave adventurers looking for adventure.
Quest Content
Characters arriving in Chrysalis for the first time will immediately notice:
On the main roads:
- Campaign posters and literature covering walls and notice boards
- Street debates between supporters of different candidates
- City militia in higher numbers than usual, maintaining order
In the districts:
- Fine black dust settling in Dawn Town’s streets
- A young child with visible crystallisation begging near the river
- Anti-dwarf sentiment expressed openly in conversations
- Workers in Dawn Town wearing cloth masks over their mouths
At the Feygarden Tavern (common stopping point for travellers):
- Frank the goblin offering cigars and local information
- News that Morlock, a high priest from Malachite, arrived recently escorting someone important
- Rumours about the silver being on the Highland Plateau
- Warnings that parts of the old mine network are now sealed
At any faction office:
- Job postings for escorts, investigators, explorers, and specialists
- Recruitment for the election campaigns
- Notices about the upcoming election on Rhaan 9th (three weeks away)
Characters can choose which thread to follow, or circumstances can force their hand—a child collapsing from oripathy in front of them, a campaign worker pressing a leaflet into their hands, Frank offering them a drink and “some friendly advice about the current situation.”
Hooks:
- Characters drawn to politics or social causes can be pulled into The Election Campaign almost immediately
- Characters with medical, scientific, or compassionate leanings will notice the crystallised child and the masked Dawn Town workers — a soft entry point into The Public Health Crisis or Outbreak on the Farm
- Characters interested in rumours and exploration will gravitate to Frank at the Feygarden Tavern, who can point toward Disturbed Tribes in the Mountains (the silver being) or the sealed mine network (Echoes from the Deep Dark, if not already encountered)
- Characters curious about Morlock’s arrival, or who already know him, can be steered toward Titania’s recovery and the wider Ad Astra thread once it’s ready to surface
- Anti-dwarf sentiment in the streets is a hook for dwarven characters or anyone affiliated with the Dwarves Union, and can seed later tension around Town Malachite’s politics
Starting Point:
This scene works as a true session-zero arrival or as a soft reset whenever a new group of characters first reaches Chrysalis City. No quest giver is required — the city itself does the inviting. Run it as a guided walk from the city gates through the main roads, into whichever district or faction office the party gravitates toward, ending at the Feygarden Tavern if they haven’t already arrived there on their own.
DM-Notes:
This page is a sandbox primer rather than a quest with a single resolution — its job is to seed several entry points at once and let player curiosity (or a forced inciting incident) pick the thread. Don’t feel obligated to resolve all four observation categories in one sitting; a few will likely be enough to hook the table, and the rest can resurface later as background texture or rumour reinforcement.
The crystallised child near the river is a recurring NPC beat across several quests (Public Health Crisis, Outbreak on the Farm) — keep her consistent in description and fate across sessions, since attentive players may track her condition over time as a barometer for whether the party is making things better or worse.
The election (Rhaan 9th, three weeks out) gives this scene a built-in clock. If the party doesn’t engage with the campaign hooks directly, the election can still resolve in the background and shape which faction holds power going into later acts — useful leverage if you want consequences to land even on players who ignore the thread.
Morlock escorting “someone important” from Malachite is a deliberately vague breadcrumb — it refers to Titania’s recovery arc and should only pay off once the party has reason to encounter her or ask after her condition. Don’t over-signal it here; let it sit as background colour until it’s relevant.