Courtyard of Passage – The Shattered Veil (SV1) (Act 1 + 2) (gemini) (KEEP)

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.

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Map Overview

The map depicts the enclosed courtyard at the entrance to the Threshold of Souls. The heroes enter through the broad archway in the southern wall. Two exits stand opposite them to the north, but reaching either one means crossing a battlefield already slipping into chaos.

The jagged shape near the center of the courtyard marks the Widening Tear. The dashed circle around it shows the tear’s initial 10-foot hazard zone. This boundary does not remain fixed. As the rupture expands during the encounter, move or redraw the edge of the danger zone to match its new size.

Important Locations

Party Entry: The heroes enter through the southern archway. From here, they can see Veyl lying near the ruined shrine, the Veilbreaker’s Champion waiting ahead, and the larger battle raging around the central tear.
Widening Tear: The planar rupture hangs above a patch of shattered flagstones near the center of the courtyard. Creatures that stray too close feel it pulling at their bodies and thoughts. Anyone dragged into the heart of the tear disappears into the Gray.
Ruined Shrine: The structure along the western wall is all that remains of a small funerary shrine. Its cracked pillars, low walls, and broad steps provide cover and break lines of sight. The shrine also offers the safest route to Veyl without approaching the tear directly.
Northern Exits: The two archways in the northern wall lead toward the Hall of Weighing and the deeper portions of the Threshold. Both are visible from the entrance, though the Champion and the widening tear make a direct rush across the courtyard dangerous.

Map Tokens

Marker	Represents	Starting Position
V	Veyl, wounded morrigna defender	Collapsed on the steps of the ruined shrine
C	The Veilbreaker’s Champion	South of the tear, between the heroes and Veyl
P	Psychopomp defenders	Holding the western side of the courtyard
E	Twisted echoes	Pressing into the courtyard from the east
G	Threshold Guardians	Engaged on the eastern side until Round 3

Using the Battlefield

The courtyard is deliberately open. Its danger comes less from walls and narrow passages than from the shrinking amount of safe ground. As the tear expands, the heroes must decide whether to engage the Champion, reach the wounded Veyl, or push toward the northern exits before their route is cut off.

Scattered rubble and broken flagstones can be treated as difficult terrain where marked. The ruined shrine provides the best cover in the courtyard and gives cautious characters a route around the western edge of the tear. The Champion understands this and may move to block the shrine if the heroes attempt to reach Veyl.

GM Note: The Larger Battle

The psychopomps and echoes shown around the courtyard are part of the battle’s backdrop. Do not roll initiative or track Hit Points for each of them. Their struggle explains why the heroes initially face the Veilbreaker’s Champion without help and keeps the rest of the courtyard feeling active.

Describe fragments of the conflict at the end of each round: a guardian driven back toward the tear, an echo scattered by a psychopomp’s blade, or another section of the defensive line beginning to fail. These moments should add urgency without changing the encounter mechanically.

At the beginning of Round 3, two Threshold Guardians marked with G break away from the eastern fighting and join the heroes. Remove their background markers and place their combat tokens in the nearest open spaces along that side of the courtyard.

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Severe encounter

1× Veilbreaker's Champion (level 5) + 5× Corrupted Echo (level 3)

Environmental hazard: Expanding tear pulls creatures toward the Gray.

Reinforcements (Round 3): 2× Threshold Guardian (level 3) join the party's side.

Total XP: 200 (Severe for level 5 party, reduced to Moderate with reinforcements)

VEILBREAKER'S CHAMPION CREATURE 5

[RARE] [LARGE] [INCORPOREAL] [SPIRIT] [UNDEAD]

A towering, hulking amalgam of fallen souls infused directly with the Veilbreaker's void essence, commanding the lesser echoes spilling from the tear.

Perception +12; darkvision, tremorsense (imprecise) 30 feet

Languages Common, Necril (cannot speak, only emits low, guttural grinding sounds)

Skills Athletics +14, Intimidation +13, Religion +10

Str -5, Dex +3, Con +3, Int -1, Wis +3, Cha +4

AC 21; Fort +12, Ref +10, Will +14

HP 65 (void healing); Immunities death effects, disease, paralyzed, poison, precision, unconscious; Resistances all damage 5 (except force, ghost touch, or vitality; double resistance vs. non-magical)

Void Aura (aura, emanation, void) 10 feet. Any living creature that starts its turn inside the aura takes 1d6 void damage.

Speed fly 30 feet

Melee ◆ Shatter-Greatsword +14 (reach 10 ft, magical, shove), Damage 2d8+6 spirit damage plus 1d6 void damage.

Pulse of the Tear ◆◆ (divine, void)

The champion slams its spectral sword into the earth, sending a ripple of void energy toward the tear. All creatures within 15 feet of the champion must make a DC 22 Fortitude save. On a failure, they take 3d8 void damage and are knocked prone (half damage on a success, double damage and pushed 10 feet on a critical failure).

Drag to the Abyss ◆ (incorporeal, manipulate)

Requirements The champion has a creature grabbed or prone within reach. Effect The champion violently hurls the creature 15 feet toward the nearest edge of the planar tear.

CORRUPTED ECHO CREATURE 3

[UNCOMMON] [MEDIUM] [INCORPOREAL] [SPIRIT] [UNDEAD]

A distorted spirit torn from the soul-streams of the Boneyard, its form constantly flickering as it lashed out with void energy.

Perception +9; darkvision

Languages Common, Necril (understands, but can only emit distorted echoes)

Skills Acrobatics +10, Intimidation +8, Stealth +10

Str -5, Dex +3, Con +1, Int -2, Wis +2, Cha +3

AC 18; Fort +6, Ref +10, Will +9

HP 32 (void healing); Immunities death effects, disease, paralyzed, poison, precision, unconscious; Resistances all damage 3 (except force, ghost touch, or vitality; double resistance vs. non-magical)

Speed fly 30 feet

Melee ◆ Void Claw +10 (agile, finesse, magical), Damage 1d6+3 spirit damage plus 1d4 void damage.

Distortion Step ◆ (teleportation, void)

The echo blinks through the fraying boundary of the Veil, teleporting up to 15 feet to an open space it can see. Its next Void Claw Strike before the end of its turn gains a +1 status bonus to attack rolls.

Spike of Dissonance ◆◆ (emotion, fear, mental)

The echo projects a agonizing burst of broken memories into the mind of a target within 30 feet. The target must attempt a DC 19 Will save.

Critical Success: The target is unaffected.
Success: The target takes 1d6 mental damage.
Failure: The target takes 2d6 mental damage and becomes frightened 1.
Critical Failure: The target takes 4d6 mental damage and becomes frightened 2.

THRESHOLD GUARDIAN CREATURE 3

[UNCOMMON] [MEDIUM] [MONITOR] [PSYCHOPOMP]

A masked, winged steward of Pharasma bound to defend the sacred crossings between the Material Plane and the Boneyard.

Perception +11; darkvision, spirit sense 60 feet

Languages Chthonian, Diabolic, Requian

Skills Athletics +10, Boneyard Lore +8, Religion +9, Stealth +8

Str +3, Dex +3, Con +2, Int +1, Wis +4, Cha +1

Spirit Sense (divination) The guardian senses undead, spirits, and incorporeal creatures within 60 feet.

AC 19; Fort +9, Ref +10, Will +11

HP 42; Immunities death effects, disease; Resistances vitality 5, void 5

Speed 25 feet, fly 30 feet

Melee ◆ Grave-Glaive +11 (reach 10 ft, force, magical), Damage 1d8+3 slashing plus 1d4 spirit damage.

Ranged ◆ Spiral Bolt +11 (range increment 30 ft, spirit), Damage 1d6+3 spirit damage.

Spirit Ward ◆◆ (abjuration, divine)

The guardian traces Pharasma's spiral in the air. Allies within a 15-foot aura gain a +1 status bonus to AC and saving throws against spirits, undead, and incorporeal attacks for 1 round.

PSYCHOPOMP DEFENDER CREATURE 2

[UNCOMMON] [MEDIUM] [MONITOR] [PSYCHOPOMP]

A masked, raven-feathered guardian bound to Pharasma's service, holding the western line against the encroaching echoes.

Perception +10; darkvision, spirit sense 60 feet

Languages Chthonian, Diabolic, Requian

Skills Athletics +8, Boneyard Lore +6, Religion +8, Stealth +7

Str +2, Dex +3, Con +2, Int +0, Wis +4, Cha +1

Spirit Sense (divination) The defender senses undead, spirits, and incorporeal creatures within 60 feet.

AC 18; Fort +8, Ref +9, Will +10

HP 30; Immunities death effects, disease; Resistances vitality 3, void 3

Speed 25 feet, fly 30 feet

Melee ◆ Spiral Spear +10 (magical, reach 10 ft), Damage 1d8+2 piercing plus 1d4 spirit damage.

Ranged ◆ Scythe-Feather +10 (agile, range increment 20 ft, spirit), Damage 1d6+2 spirit damage.

Disrupt Incorporeal ◆◆ (divine, spirit)

The defender sweeps its weapon in a wide arc stamped with Pharasma's seal. Make a melee Spiral Spear Strike against a target. This Strike bypasses up to 5 points of the target's resistance to incorporeal or non-magical damage. If the Strike hits an incorporeal creature, that creature is slowed 1 until the end of its next turn.