Scattered throughout Faerûn are places of temporal magic so powerful they allow travel through space and time. This chapter details two such time gates leading to cities in ancient Netheril.
You might want your characters to travel to these time gates and into their linked Netherese cities as part of specific adventures. In this case, examples of such adventures are detailed below. If you wish to skip the time gates and start a game in ancient Netheril, 4 provides adventures that take place in x and x.
Time gates are powerful game mechanisms, and you should allow them in your game only to facilitate the stories you want to tell. Feel free to change any details about the time gates in this chapter as you see fit.
About Time Gates
Time gates are little-known and ancient magical portals similar to a planar portal (see the Dungeon Master's Guide), except they are permanent, stationary connections with a portal that links two specific times and places on the Material Plane. The earliest texts tied to gods of magic mention time gates' existence, though their locations are well-kept secrets.
Time gates are magical objects that have Immunity to all damage. A time gate might have a literal doorway built around its portal, or a time gate's portal might be at the bottom of a pit or open through a shimmering veil in the air. Regardless, time gates' portals are always visible. The "other side" of the portal might look as conspicuous or as subtle as the portal's location in the present day, though both sides of the portal need not look the same.
Such a portal commonly looks like a shimmery blue mirror. Instead of a reflection, however, the portal usually shows a faraway image of the place the time gate leads to.
Relative Time Gates
The time gates described below are relative—they connect two locations that are separated by a fixed interval of time. The time gate called x, in the Anauroch desert, leads to the flying city of Eileanar exactly 1,839 years in the past. For example, if characters step through the gate on the first day of Tarsakh, 1501 DR, they emerge in Eileanar on that same date in the year–338 DR (which is 3520 in the Netheril Year calendar). The time gate in the High Ice, called the x, leads to the port city of Conch, also 1,839 years in the past. The year–338 DR is one year before Karsus's Folly.
Relative time gates allow for travel in both directions. A character in the past who enters the portal is transported forward a fixed interval in time (1,839 years, in the case of the portals in this chapter).
Other Time Gates
Other time gates in Faerûn connect two points in time in different ways. Some transport travelers to a random time and place. Others respond to the wishes of the traveler, so those who travel through the gate while thinking about a specific time and place in the past are transported to that location. Still others always lead to a specific day or even moment in time. You can use such a time gate in your game to transport characters to any location at any time.
Time Gates' Environments
The existence of a time gate warps the surrounding area. The following effects persist within 1 mile of a time gate:
Nature out of Time. Long-extinct creatures, such as Mammoths or Saber-Toothed Tigers, wander the area. Other creatures in the area might be heavily evolved and strangely shaggy or oddly patterned.
As a Study action, a character can examine the surroundings and make a DC 10 Intelligence (Arcana or Investigation) check. On a successful check, the character realizes the signs of a nearby time gate. Spellcasters can also seek knowledge about the time gate and where it leads by casting spells such as Commune with Nature, Speak with Animals, or Speak with Dead.
Severe Temporal Effects
The closer characters come to a time gate, the stronger its temporal magic swirls, creating even more potent effects. Roll or choose an option on the Weird Time Gate Effects table below to determine the effects within 60 feet of a portal:
| 1d4 | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Extreme Weather. The area has one environmental effect: extreme cold, extreme heat, heavy precipitation, or strong wind (see the Dungeon Master's Guide for details about each). |
| 2 | Dulled or Warped Magic. The area is a dead magic zone or wild magic zone (see the Dungeon Master's Guide for details about both). The presence of either zone doesn't affect the time gate. |
| 3 | Fast Movement. All creatures' Speeds are doubled. |
| 4 | Slow Movement. All creatures' Speeds are halved (round down). |
Fool's Needle
In the wilds of Anauroch, nestled among the Plain of Standing Stones, a time gate at a place called Fool's Needle leads to the flying Netherese city of Eileanar, 1,839 years in the past. Also known as Karsus's Enclave, Eileanar is detailed in 1.
Fool's Needle is a towering structure made of quartz and granite. It stabs from the sky into the desert floor, narrowing as it descends. The desert's inhabitants, who named it, say it is a cursed place to be feared and shunned. Their tradition tells that only death awaits those who attempt to scale it.
Fool's Needle is shown on 3. The sections below provide general information appropriate for creating adventures of any level here; simply fill in your encounters with appropriate creatures from the Monster Manual. An example adventure follows later in this chapter.
The Needle's Ascent
A steep, spiraling, rocky path winds from the desert floor up the spike, as shown on the inset. The path's treacherous nature makes it Difficult Terrain. The path is 5 feet wide. Travelers attempting the climb are exposed to rockslides (see the Dungeon Master's Guide), as well as the predators roosting atop the structure, described further below.
Near the top of Fool's Needle, strange ferns grow from the rock, and brightly colored songbirds feed on jeweled dragonflies. Flickers of magical light dance harmlessly at the edges of one's vision.
The Needle's Summit
The top of Fool's Needle is a wide, flat area about 90 feet across. In the northeast corner, flying predators have built a roost. The northwest corner is piled with rocks, while the southern half holds a 10-foot-deep pool of bright-blue water. In the center of the plateau is a 30-foot-wide, 10-foot-tall mesa atop which stands the portal that leads to x. A distant view of the flying city is visible from either side of the portal.
Into Eileanar
Those who pass through the portal step onto a marble walkway surrounded by electric-green shrubbery, colorful flowers, and floating marble statues of imposing mages. This is the Court of Fountains in Eileanar, described in 1.
Adventure at Fool's Needle
The following adventure sends characters to Fool's Needle and into Eileanar beyond.
A Point of Pride
Adventure for Level 3 Characters
Encounters
If needed, Krazbrax arranges for the characters' transportation to the base of Fool's Needle. The trip is uneventful. The adventure then consists of the following encounters, which take place on 3. Throughout this adventure, the characters are subject to the desert's extreme heat (see 2 of the Dungeon Master's Guide).
Desert Floor
Two Giant Scorpions lurk near the base of the spiraling path at Fool's Needle. Characters with a Passive Perception score of 12+ notice the creatures buried in the sand. When a character comes with 15 feet of a scorpion, the creatures begin combat.
Early Ascent
Due to the winding nature and Difficult Terrain of the ascending path, it takes 3 hours to navigate the first 85 feet. During this journey, the characters are subject to a rockslide (see the Dungeon Master's Guide) that carries the characters back down the path. After the rockslide is resolved, roll or choose an effect from the 3 table earlier in this chapter. This effect is present for the rest of the characters' climb.
When the characters are 40 feet from the summit, three Griffons roosting there fight them. When the characters are 20 feet from the summit, another rockslide carrying back down the path occurs (see the Dungeon Master's Guide).
Summit
Once the characters reach the top of Fool's Needle, they discover one or more strange creatures lurking near the portal. Roll or choose an option on the Fool's Needle Gate Creatures table below. All creatures are Hostile toward the characters and fight until destroyed.
| 1d6 | Creature | Details | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flameskull | The remains of an overzealous Netherese mage, this creature is enraged and confused after accidentally floating through the time gate. | Moderate |
| 2 | Two Basilisks | The result of irresponsible summoning, these aggressive creatures wreaked havoc in Eileanar until their summoner accidentally shoved them through the time gate. | Moderate |
| 3 | Helmed Horror | A magical bodyguard to a low-ranking mage, this creature wandered through the time gate and thinks the characters threaten its creator. | Moderate |
| 4 | Beholder Zombie | This magical experiment gone awry doesn't seem to know or care that it wandered through the time gate; it wants only to destroy everything it can. | Moderate |
| 5 | Eldritch Eddy (6) | This dangerous magical storm originated in Eileanar and now rampages on Fool's Needle. | High |
| 6 | Virvos Magen (see appendix B) | This confused Netherese servant took a wrong turn on the way to a party; it's convinced the characters have killed its master. | High |
Conclusion
Once the way to the gate is clear, the characters can travel through time into Eileanar. When they do, each character earns 400 XP.
The flying city is the site of the characters' next adventures, as you see fit. Providing Krazbrax with proof the characters visited Eileanar might be as simple as describing the wonders the characters saw at the Court of Fountains. Or perhaps Aurivyl, the elf in charge of the court (see 1), offers the characters a Common or Uncommon magic item from appendix A in exchange for the characters' retrieval of an important tome or spellcasting components found elsewhere in the city.
Once the characters return through the portal to the present, they can easily make their way back to Dagger Falls, where Krazbrax gives the characters their reward.
The Forgotten Chamber
In the western High Ice north of the Oume Rift lies a time gate nestled in what sages call the Forgotten Chamber. The time gate leads 1,839 years in the past to the ancient Netherese city of Conch, which was once a central river-port city that thrummed with commerce. In Netheril's waning days, civil unrest against the ruling mages, as well as attacks from phaerimm, made Conch a volatile place. For more about x, see 1.
The Forgotten Chamber lies inside a dormant volcano's caldera along a path called the Road of Gems, which winds through the High Ice. The Forgotten Chamber is shown on 3. The sections below provide general information appropriate for creating adventures of any level here; simply fill in your encounters with appropriate creatures from the Monster Manual. An example adventure follows later in this chapter.
The Road of Gems
A natural glacial rift, the Road of Gems spiderwebs through the region, cutting through solid ice that often rises over 30 feet on both sides. Over the centuries, miners have discovered many caves full of precious stones and minerals near the Road of Gems.
The Road of Gems section of 3 shows the road's layout in the area surrounding the Forgotten Chamber. Where the road dead-ends, the path dips underground into mines or caverns. Exploring these is outside the scope of seeking the time gate in the Forgotten Chamber. If you'd like to include these areas in your game, consider using the Mine and Underdark Warren maps in 12 of the Dungeon Master's Guide and populate them with creatures from the Underdark Monsters list in 2 of the Monster Manual.
The Caldera
The caldera surrounding the Forgotten Chamber's time gate is accessible from three points via the Road of Gems (or from overhead for flying characters). The caldera slopes downward at a steep angle, making the caldera's lip Difficult Terrain. The bottom of the caldera is flat and surrounds a 10-foot-deep chasm that holds the time gate's portal. A distant view of the port city is visible from either side of the portal.
Into Conch
Those who pass through the portal from the Forgotten Chamber emerge from a wall just inside the mouth of a mineshaft in x. Stepping outside reveals a busy quarry filled with Low Netherese laborers toiling under the close eye of an angry, despotic human spellcaster named Jharsinius (Medium, Neutral Evil Mage).
Adventure at the Forgotten Chamber
The following adventure sends characters to the Forgotten Chamber and into Conch beyond.
The Missing Gnome
Adventure for Level 3 Characters
Encounters
Graevelwood lies in the eastern reaches of Arn Forest. The journey from the forest, across a narrow strip of cold desert, and into the High Ice is uneventful. Vigglestern has several days' head start on the characters, though remains of recent campfires suggest the characters are close on the gnome's trail.
Allow the characters to approach the Forgotten Chamber from whichever direction they wish. The characters run into trouble once they reach the section of the road shown on the bottom of 3.
Unwitting Prey
Two Winter Wolves begin stalking the characters. Any character with a Passive Perception score of 16+ notices the wolves, whose den is in a nearby cavern of your choosing. If no characters notice the wolves, the wolves ambush the characters, staying near each other to take advantage of their Pack Tactics ability.
Surprise
Once a character is within 100 feet of the caldera's lip, a Young Remorhaz bursts from the ground. The remorhaz retreats if it is Bloodied.
A Bloody Scene
This encounter takes place in the central portion of 3. Once the characters reach the bottom of the caldera, they find a few drops of blood leading into the portal. The blood belongs to Vigglestern. Before the characters can climb into the chasm, a strange creature confronts them; Vigglestern tripped and injured himself while running away from this creature before the gnome jumped through the portal.
Roll or choose an option on the Forgotten Chamber Gate Creatures table below. All creatures are Hostile toward the characters and fight until destroyed.
| 1d8 | Creature | Details | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yeti | Unaware of the time gate, this yeti lives in the caldera and defends it from intruders. | Low |
| 2 | Hook Horror | This confused predator wandered through the portal from a nearby mining tunnel in Conch. | Low |
| 3 | Ghost | The remnants of a High Netherese shift commander who was poisoned by her workers, this furious Undead assumes the characters are responsible for her death. | Moderate |
| 4 | Ettin | This obstinate creature was indiscriminately killing miners when it accidentally wandered through the portal. | Moderate |
| 5 | Black Pudding | High Netherese mages released this creature into Conch's mines to punish disobedient miners, but it mistakenly trudged through the portal. | Moderate |
| 6 | Giant Axe Beak | This oblivious creature wants to build a nest in the chasm that holds the portal. | High |
| 7 | Otyugh | This creature gorged itself on trash from Conch's mining tunnels before accidentally lumbering through the portal. | High |
| 8 | Troll | A scout for a larger band of trolls, this creature wants to clear the caldera of all threats before its companions move in. | High |
Finding Vigglestern
When the characters step through the portal and emerge in Conch, they can easily follow the trail of Vigglestern's blood into a nearby alcove inside the mining shaft. When the characters find the gnome, each character earns 400 XP.
The injured Vigglestern has 5 Hit Points remaining. Although the shouting from the mines' overseers terrify him, the gnome refuses to accompany the characters back to Graevelwood without some proof of his journey to Conch.
Any character can argue that describing Conch's mines is proof enough for Graevelwood's villagers to believe Vigglestern, who should stay hidden due to the place's dangers. The gnome readily agrees and asks the characters to explore the area, take note of details, and return to him when they're ready to go home.
At your discretion, the characters might also confront Jharsinius, the overseer of this section of the mine (see "x"). Jharsinius is outside the mineshaft shouting at four human Low Netherese Commoners, whose productivity the mage finds lacking. Jharsinius carries a Magen Handbell (5).
Conclusion
Once the characters return Vigglestern to Graevelwood, Zalneen gives them their promised reward.