Elemental Adventure (A D&D Meditation)

Note: I haven't had the opportunity to play DnD much, and this is the first time I've tried to write anything like this so I leaned HARD into the cheese to make it easier to write...

Need: elemental charms (5 for each player), pens, paper, pre-made maps/diagrams/code, 4 sided dice, coin

The evening is calm, a gentle breeze teases through your hair, the moon is rising over the mountains in the distance, and the stars begin to wink into existence far above; the whites of clouds and blues of sky are drifting into pinks and purples and black.

You find yourself in the heart of an ancient verdant and wood, a place where the boundaries between the mortal world and the realm of spirits blur. The world is thick with the scent of earth and greenery, and a soft, ethereal light filters through the dense canopy above. You hear rustling though the dense woods around you and through the flowers and leaves you see your friends appear - your comrades – your fellow adventurers.

 

With laughs and smiles and embraces, you all gather in the centre of a small grove, trading excitement and boasts of what is to come.

In the centre of the grove, before you, stands a massive, ancient oak tree, its bark is inscribed with runes that pulse faintly with a greenish light. The ground is covered in a carpet of soft moss, and in the distance, the sound of a babbling brook can be heard.

From behind the massive, ancient oak tree a man emerges… or at first you think he is a man; from his waist down he has has the shaggy legs of a goat, as well as the ears and the horns. His eyes are like deep forest pools of and his voice carries the weight of centuries,… a faun, you realize!

The Faun speaks: “Welcome, brave souls. I have called you here because the balance between the realms is faltering, the elements are no longer known and no longer worked with, and only by completing the Ritual of the unification can we restore harmony.

But beware, for this path is fraught with challenges. You must answer riddles, make choices, and gamble on the roll of the dice. Are you ready to embark on this sacred quest?”

(WAIT FOR ALL TO SAY YES, prompt if needed)

To begin the ritual, you must first unlock the door hidden within the Great Oak. Answer this riddle to proceed. - Until I am measured, I am not known. Yet how you miss me when I have flown. What am I? (TIME)

The runes carved into the great oak begin to glow, and a portal opens. Roll a D4 to see which land the door opens to (it’s gonna be air)

Your party passes through the doorway and you find yourselves in a swirling mist…….tossed and turned around. You can not tell up from down…...this from that, left from right… yet you can sense (but not see) the others in your group around you…. until...finally….

You hear a voice, booming through the confusion:

“I lift the birds, I push the clouds,
A gentle touch or shrieking loud.

I carry voices but I have no tongue,
From mountain tops and bells I've rung.
In spells and chants, I weave my way
In ancient rites, they call my name.
Who am I?”

(WAIT for and encourage participants to answer. Prompt if needed….AIR)

AIR! The answer rings out and you find yourself standing with your party on a butte in a desert. The oranges and tans of the sand give way to a dusty grey blue sky as the heat of a stark white sun beats down upon your faces. Breezes spin sand up into dust devils and they play around your ankles, butterflies flutter around your heads and you can hear the light and pretty sound of birdsong filling the air.

Each of you, individually, wander upon the windswept hilltop. Some of you are entranced by the shifting shapes of clouds in the sky, others follow the path of flower petals as they dance on the currents in the sunlight, some by the eddies left in the sand by blowing breezes. But all feeling the air about you. All reveling in the beauty of the element of air.

After a time of exploration, you hear a roar, and each of you turn, you see and stare at a whirlwind gathered upon the crest of the hill before you all. Trading glances, you all come together before the maelstrom, in awe of its beauty and its power.

“Who among you shall speak for those gathered here? The whirlwind demands. “Choose a representative to speak to me… choose which one among you most embodies the qualities of air?”

(group chooses one among you to answer the air)

“Why were you chosen?” The maelstrom asks you. “What do you know of air? What are the qualities that you embody that belong to the element of the east?”

(wait until air correspondences are described)

“You do know the element of air” the swirling winds say to you. “I am impressed.
I have a task for you and your party… write a chant extolling the powers of air.”

(wait)

You have pleased me. In exchange I would give to you all one of the strengths of air one gift, one blessing. Of the powers of air, of the gifts of air…. Choose four. Four blessings of air that you would wish could be bestowed upon you, upon you and upon the …. and one shall be given to you
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These are powerful gifts and powerful blessings…. I will grant you and your journey mates one of them…. But which...which one… which one….. (choose another person, make them role the D4)

Ahhhh….. the blessing of ____________ shall be upon you. May it bring you joy. GIVE AIR CHARM

With a flash of light your group returns to your start. The faun appears again and with a smile says to you “the imbalance of this world caused by the forgetting of the power of the elements threatens all life, BUT YOU, You have passed the first test and received the blessing of air… you have honored air, and in honoring you have passed he first step in the healing of this world, in returning this world to balance… but this is the first step only. There are many more to go. Are you brave enough to try to bring balance back into the world???”

(wait for an answer)

“Then choose next where you will travel to”. And with a wave of his hand 3 doors appear before your party. Which do you choose? Left, right or centre?

(let them choose…. But it’s gonna be water)

You pass though the door and Once again you find yourselves tossed and bandied about and a booming voice comes from every direction:

“Without me and within me is death assured, but within you I am life most pure, I can run but never walk, I can babble but never talk. What am I?” (wait for answer)

“WATER!” The voice thunders…. But what water? There are so many kinds of waters. Calming brooks and ravaging seas, hurricanes and soothing showers. What face will water wear when you walk with that element? Raging floods destroying all in its wake, or an oasis’ spring bringing life to the desert? Wild or calm? Let us flip a coin and discover. Heads or tails… Wild or calm….. heads is wild, tails is calm. (Have participant flip coin)

(Calm option) You find yourselves standing on beach speckled with shells and bits of flotsam and driftwood all caked in dried sand and dried seaweed. The sun, beginning to set over the water, turns the sea to a molten gold and you can hear seabirds calling in the distance. Waves break upon the shore around your ankles and leave bits of bubbles and foam in their wake.

(Wild option) You find yourselves standing on the wooden deck of a ship. It heaves and tosses under your feet and you stagger to catch your balance, you grip tight onto rope or railing or anything in reach trying desperately to keep your footing. The sea swirls angrily around you, as if offended that you dare to sail upon its surface; water surges and crashes upwards falling upon the deck, coating everything in a slick and salty brine.

A wave appears on the horizon confusing your mind – it looks so close, so huge….and yet you can see the vast distance it lies away form you. It must be the biggest wave that ever was. It moves towards your party at an incredible speed, closer and closer, looming larger, until it blocks out all from your sight and all there is is only the wave. It seems to hang in the air for an incredibly long time, almost mocking gravity. And then, without warning, it falls, crashes, crashed down upon you and your party and drags all of you down into the sea.

You thrash about, seeing nothing but bubbles and blue- dark blue beneath, light blue above. In your panic you try to shout and to your surprise you do not choke on the water… in fact, you find you can breath with no issue. Your heart rate begins to calm, you relax, and you see the rest of your party swimming around, just as bewildered as you. You come together in a circle, holding hands, floating in the heart of the ocean. What do you do?

(encourage them to look around. Describe things and answer questions… eventually they find a cave)

There is a rocky outcrop to your right, covered in anemone and corals, fish of every colour float lazily by and here and there octopuses hunt for crustaceans and jelly fish fly by like fairies of the sea. There is a small crevice, large enough for one to swim through tucked away between the stones. Chimney like structures rise overhead and spew forth boiling and churning gas, so hot it warms the waters even far away. Wale-song calls from the distance, an eerie melody distorted by the deep. What do you do?

(encourage them to go into the cave)

The floor of the cave is littered with bones and broken shells, sharp enough to draw blood. A strange luminescence glows on the walls, some kind of seaweed or algae; turning the whole cave a misty blue-green. Your party swims about, exploring, and as you turn a corner, he glittering black eyes of a shark stare back at you blocking your way. Its open maw is big enough to swallow one of you whole, but the mouth of menacing teeth make you realize that you would not remain whole for long. What do you do?

(encourage them to use bones or shells as a weapon, make them roll dice to see if they’re successful….. of course they are)

You manage to drive the shark off and you check yourselves for injury. Thankfully no one is hurt beyond a scratch here or there. You have two choices. You can return the way you came or carry on deeper into the cave. (Of course carry one, if they go back, there’s a cave-in and they have no choice)

You swim further and deeper, and you hear drifting on the current as if on a breeze, the sound of singing. It is a voice unlike any you have ever heard before, at once creating a feeling of deep and unfulfillable longing and an unimaginable sense of peace. Without having to ask, you know that all of your company will follow that sound with you and so you swim towards it, drawn towards it, pulled.

Within moments you come to a fork in the tunnels, do you go left or right?

(continue them through maze - they’ll have pen and paper – if needed let them know they can leave arrows or marks in the sand - - - R C L R L R R C C L L R if they hit a dead end they magically get transported back to the beginning)

The corridor opens up into a vast cavern, filled with gems and jewels and more treasure than your mind can comprehend. Pools and piles of prizes and coins and glitterings of silver. Upon the largest pile, scattered through with chests of opals, and crates of gold, and random emeralds, and rubies, and sapphires blue as the sea rests a woman…. but no…. not a woman you realize. You stare at each other in amazement as you realize you wait before a mermaid, a real and true mermaid!

Her thick hair floats about her and ropes of diamonds and pearls encase her, reflecting both the light of the caves and the glow of the mermaids ethereal beauty.

“Greetings mortals” she says to you, “you have journeyed far to make it to my realm. It had been untold time since ones such as you have come into my caves and honored the power of water… and so I ask of you, what of water do you know …. what is water, what is the element of the west, how does water show itself in the lives of mortals?” (make them describe and elaborate their answer, descriptions/ correspondences, etc)

“You do understand water!” The mermaid cries. “So long has it been since mortals have acknowledged the wonders of water. You have passed waters twists and trials to be here, and here you have proven waters' worth. I would grant a blessing upon you and yours…. But what? What would you consider the blessing of water to be? '''Choose four blessings of water that I could bestow upon you and one of those blessings shall be yours.”

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(Have person roll but whatever they roll is removed…. Do two more times until one blessing is left)

“Ahhh… yes… this is a gift of water… and this gift I bestow upon you and your party. Remember the power of water as you walk between the worlds. Revel in the gift of __________” (GIVE WATER CHARM)

There is a bright flash of light and you and your party find yourselves standing once again in the grove before the oak. The faun appears again…. 'my friends', he says to you, “two elements you have discovered, two elements you have re-awakened to the knowledge of man… but two are left to go. Water and Air you have traversed…. Earth and Fire you have yet to go…. Let us see…. What is waiting for you…. What lies beyond the final doors…” the faun tries to open the two doors cut into the tree, first the one, then the other,… but to no avail.

“WHAT IS THIS?!?!! he demands “The doors to fire and earth do not open…... they will not accept you all journeying at once.…hmmmmm…... do not worry, it is no fault of your own, it is only that these elements are harder to call upon, they are harder to embrace.... I know how you shall pass…. You must split into two groups. Decide among yourselves who of you shall journey the realm of earth and who shall journey the realm of fire. Two gates. Two groups. Decide. (WAIT)

Have you chosen? Then tell your choice.. who journeys to earth? (acknowledge people, then look to the others....) and who to fire? (acknowledge). Very well. Then pass through the gates.....

With a wave the faun brings forth two gates – one entwined with vines and flowers, the other entwined with flashes and flames. You look at each other, look at the members of your party... you know that the success of all relies on what you are about to do. You smile, a smile that tries to convince yourself of success just as much as you try to convince yourself that the others too will succeed. You pass through the doors. Half to fire, half to earth. But which half.... who is sent to where? Call forth aloud the destination to which yo go to open the doors (make them say earth/fire aloud with passion).

TO EARTH GROUP:

You pass through the door and find yourselves in a deep forest. You had thought that what you had stood in only moments before was a forest, but compared to what you are in now, it was no more than a tame thicket. The air is hot and heavy with moisture, what little sunlight that reaches the ground through the canopy is mottled green, and shadows rustle in the dense underbrush about you. You hear scurrying and chittering of small animals, and in the distance the call of larger ones. A path, if you can call it that, more a game trail, meanders before you and you walk along, pushing leaf and branch out of your way. As if by magic, as you push aside a leaf as large as a person, a small clearing appears before you. Large enough for no more than 5, maybe 6 people. In the very centre stands a stone monolith. Glittering grey, crudely carved, four sides, tapering into a point, perhaps 3 metres in height. It is warm and worn smooth by tough or time. Carved onto one side of the pillar are strange symbols.

“Decipher the message of stone” You hear a voice bellow, coming from all around you, as if it was the voice of the very forest itself.

(give copies of the code - One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.)

 

 

TO FIRE GROUP:

You pass through the door and find yourselves standing in a cave of fire, lava flows around you the sparks and smoke drift lazily through the air, the roar of the flames echoes off the walls until it seems the only sound in existence. You are are each standing on a rocky spire and you can see more scattered about you in the lake of lava that fills the cave. The spires are close enough together that you could jump form one to another with care, most spires are empty, but a few, a half dozen, perhaps a few more, are topped with great brass braziers, oddly unlit in this inferno. What do you do?

(have them look around.... each brazier has a bits of coal and wood.... and a bar rising from the centre -some upright, some at various angles... have a drawing/map of them ready)*THIS PAARAT NEEDS TO BE DRAWN STILL*

Before you, in the lava itself a face forms and you hear a voice bubble forth. “You who have travelled here – you must prove to me that you know and respect the powers of the flames.” a figure rises forth from the lava and made out of it. “I am the soul of fire, I am the light in the world.... and light casts shadows.... your task is to cast a shadow of fire’s symbol upon the stone wall.” The figure waves a hand and the flames along a great expanse of wall part. What do you do?

(When they realize they need to use the braziers give them the map. Remind if needed there’s wood in them, they can use it like a match... the bars will cast a shadow, they need to figure out that the symbol is the elemental triangle for fire, and which are the correct three braziers to light)

CHECK ON AND HELP EARTH IF NEEDED

WHEN EARTH SOLVED
Now say aloud that which you have solved. (wait) As you call out the words the ground itself shakes and rolls and from within the granite pillar a humongous being emerges. Its voice shakes the very air “ One touch of nature makes the whole world kin... you have said the words? But what do they mean? What do you know of the earth?

(wait)

“You do understand earth!” The giant cries. Too many walk upon the earth and not in it, apart from it, not a part of it. I am please it is not so with you. I would grant a blessing upon you and yours…. But what? What would you consider the blessing of earth to be? ''Choose four blessings and one of those blessings shall be yours.”

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“Ahhh… yes… this is a gift of earth… and this gift I bestow upon you and your party, and blessings for your comrades who now face their own trials within the flames. (GIVE EARTH CHARM)

A flash again and again you find yourselves before the faun. You ask of word about those who went through the door of flames, but the faun merely shakes his head. “We can only wait” he says.

CHECK ON AND HELP FIRE IF NEEDED

WHEN FIRE SOLVED

“You have cast the symbol of fire, but symbol only. What does the symbol represent? What do you know of fire?”

(wait)

“You do know fire”, the figure says happily. You have honoured the element of fire and proven your worth. I would give to you a blessing. What would you consider the blessing of fire to be? ''Choose four blessings and one of those blessings shall be yours.”

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“Ahhh… yes… this is a gift of fire… and this gift I bestow upon you and your party, and blessings for your comrades too who faced their own trials of soil and stone. (GIVE FIRE CHARM)

A flash of light and you return to the grove, you have succeeded, as have those who walked through earths door. The faun claps in delight. “I knew you could do it, I knew that you would be the ones for face the trials and pass though.... and yet.... we are so close, so close to restoring the balance... but we are not there yet. There is one last task to go.

The faun snaps his fingers and ten stone tables rise up out of the ground in two circles around you. The outer circle has four of them, one in each cardinal direction. The inner circle is smaller, tables placed closer together, six in this circle. They are all empty.

What do you do? (Prompt as needed, once they look around describe the tables more and show diagram. Tables are same shape/design as the charms given from the challenges. They need to place the charm they received on the proper table)

As you place your charms on the tables, small objects appear... The one in the north brings forth a small granite tower, a replica of the one from the trial of the earth. On the southern table, a small brazier, identical in all but size from the cave of flame. To the west, upon the table a large crystal bowl filled with water, and across, in the east a perfect miniature tornado floats above the table there.
Four tables filled.... what do you do now?

(Eventually need to find out that the 6 inner tables have symbols on them, once they figure this out give new map diagram with the labels)

TRIANGLES FOR AIR-FIRE

TRIANGLES FOR FIRE-WATER

TRIANGLES FOR WATER-EARTH

TRIANGLES FOR EARTH-AIR

TRIANGLES FOR FIRE-EARTH

TRIANGLES FOR AIR-WATER

(Prompt them as needed – they need to place on the empty tables something that combines the elements written on them... once they come up with something the faun will give it to them – like steam for fire/water... or they can make it from the environment, like mud. Can be anything that logically works)

With the last mixture placed the faun raises his hand again, and one more, an eleventh table rises from the earth, at the very centre of the circle. “And what goes here?” the faun asks.
(The centre table has a pentacle on it, They need to place something alive)

The faun claps in joy. It is done! You have succeed! The balance is returned! My friends you have surpassed even my greatest hopes. I thank you, and as I bid my farewell, I offer this to you (GIVE SPIRIT CHARM) May it act always as a reminder of the power and importance of the elements in our lives. May the blessings of spirit be upon you. The faun turns and melts back into the great oak. You look at the members of your party, and you turn, all of you, walking towards to town, to the tavern, to celebrate with food and with friends and with stories.