Encounter

Courtyard of Passage

Combat

Area TH1 — Courtyard of Passage

Steel on steel—that's the first thing hitting the party's ears before they even clear the doorway.

The courtyard is a total war zone. Winged psychopomps struggle to maintain a desperate defensive line against a surge of twisted echoes. The whole mess stems from a jagged tear hovering in the middle of the yard, leaking sickening pale gray light across shattered flagstones. Every few seconds, the tear twitches and splits open just a bit wider.

Spotting the party, a morrigna defender named Veyl breaks away from the line to reach them. She gets out a few choked words before a massive, looming echo slams her out of the sky, pinning her hard against the ancient stone.

"The Judgment Chamber... don't let it... touch the shard..."

Bloody and barely breathing (dying 1), Veyl crawls toward the steps of a ruined shrine. The monster that brought her down—the Veilbreaker's Champion—turns away from her and locks eyes with the party.

Environmental Hazard: The Widening Tear

The planar rift is volatile, expanding by 5 feet at the end of every round (initiative count 0). The ground within 10 feet counts as void-warped hazardous terrain.

  • Gravitational Pull: Any creature starting its turn within 10 feet of the tear's edge must attempt a DC 22 Will save.
    • Critical Success: Unaffected.
    • Success: Takes a -10-foot status penalty to all Speeds for 1 round.
    • Failure: Dragged 10 feet directly into the tear.
    • Critical Failure: Dragged 20 feet directly into the tear and knocked prone.
  • Swept into the Gray: Getting pulled into the rift's center banishes the target straight out of the material world into the planar void. They are removed from the battle map instantly.

Threshold Guardians

The rest of the psychopomps are tied up holding off secondary waves. At the start of Round 3, two of them finally break off to join the fight as allied Threshold Guardians (Creature 3), acting on their own initiative.

Aftermath & Roleplaying Veyl

If anyone uses Battle Medicine, a healing elixir, or a spell on Veyl, she stabilizes enough to talk. She can't fight, but she can give the party critical intel:

  • Layout: Confirms the Judgment Chamber sits past the Hall of Weighing and the Gallery of Faces.
  • The Corruption: Explains how the main shard turned the Boneyard crossing into a raw Void rift.
  • Pharasma's Blessing: Veyl blesses the party before they push on. Every hero gets a +1 status bonus to Will saves against fear, death, and Void effects for the rest of Act 3.