AWAITING

Awaiting COVER
Awaiting Cover
AWAITING Cover
COVER

SEARCH FOR THE STAR SANCTUM

Search for the Star Sanctum
Keys of Wonder Lore Guide

S C T E H T C ST S C E W O is an as-
tral-themed adventure for a party of four to
five characters of 18th level, and can be played
Lost Lore of King Sufani
as a one-shot or easily integrated into the Keys Centuries ago, Archmage Jaerzo Sufani estab-
of Wonder Campaign setting. The party is lished his citadel as a fortress of knowledge
tasked with exploring the Astral Sea in search and arcane experimentation. He collected
of a lost Fortress filled with riches and wonders. annals and histories from all over the realms,
They must navigate the dangerous landscape, inviting every scholar and mage to contribute
dispatch natural predators, battle an army of to the sanctum, and gradually collecting a
Astral Raiders, and defeat the Sanctum’s pro- great number of strange and wondrous items.
tector. If you’re playing along with the Keys of This of course, drew the attention of nefar-
Wonder campaign setting, this lore guide con- ious eyes. Hellbent on claiming or destroying
nects the one-shot to Greenwold, expounds on this collection of artifacts, warlords set siege
stakes of the adventure, introduces three new to the citadel. Sufani battled the hordes of foes,
keys of wonder, and offers a chance to conclude but their onslaught couldn’t be quelled. In one
the never-ending battle between harmony and last ditch effort to escape, he used a powerful
chaos. artifact to shift the entire citadel to the Riven
Nebula of the Astral Sea.
Sufani spent his remaining days in the Sanc-
tum, floating in the Astral Sea with the collected
lore which he had gathered, lost forever from
the world .

KTLF HW
S C TEH
SC T E W O
For more information on this adventure, the Greenwold, and
the rest of the Dungeon in a Box campaign, check out our site:

CR T KI trtuW I KCBL
Wr it e n by ta v i s D ouc e t e and Z ak Kot l w.
edit e d by D a v id cr e n and chad Sk ile s
Dungeon In A Box is not affiliated, endorsed, or sponsored by Wiz-
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are registered trademarks of Wizards of the Coast®.

2
 Adventure Hook You all are true heroes, Sing music, fair
adventurers, and the calliope shall sing
with you.
T he following is an alternate plot hook to
engage the party in the adventure if the
party is playing along with the Keys of Wonder
Sincerely,
Maestro Hewett
campaign storyline:

The party, having become protectors of the TK L

realm, are lauded and respected wherever they
go. They have magical means beyond their wild- RECT CT
est dreams and the strength of giants. They are
formidable and revered. Finally having earned Inside the Star Sanctum, many riches await the
the chance to rest, the party find themselves party - among them a telescope of pure crystal.
relaxing at their leisure. But of course, there is Listening through the crystal telescope allows a
no rest for the great. character to hear the unique music of the stars,
The party's revelry is disrupted by the in addition to providing other powers.
cawing of a sea gull, loudly flapping its wings The party must enter the citadel and search
to stay aloft. In its talons is a small scroll its ruins to find this relic. If you purchased the
bearing this message: Wormhole Spider add-on, the crystal telescope
has been swallowed by the massive wormhole
My dear friends, spider. It can be recovered from the spider's
body only by cutting it open after defeating it
You have done so much for the Calliope of in combat.
Wonder. Your fame and prowess has extended
the beauty of the First Song and the world is RECT CT
indebted to your service. There are, however, The crystal telescope is a five-foot-long tele-
concerns beyond this world itself. scope made entirely of nearly transparent
The songs of the celestial spheres, those pure crystal quartz. It can be utilized like an ordinary
notes of the First song, have carried a strange telescope, or it can be listened through - mag-
message to my ears. It tells me that an ancient ically picking up on snippets of the first song
citadel, long thought lost, may yet exist deep in contained in far off stars, planes and portals of
the reaches of the Astral plane... a citadel filled the Astral plane.
with wonders forgotten to the ages. One of these Once per day, the crystal telescope allows
is a Lost Key of Wonder that I feared should the owner to cast the scrying spell, requiring
never be recovered again - a fabulous telescope no material components or use of a spell slot.
made entirely of crystal, which can hear the stars The aperture enhances the effects of the scrying
as well as see them. spell, as follows:
So great is the tale of these wonders, that • DC 18 Wisdom saving throw
this fabled citadel has been the goal of treasure • Duration: 1 hour
hunters and bandits for as long as it has existed.
• If a creature is targeted, and fails the save, they
If I have detected the sounds of its presence, so
are also under the effects of the detect thoughts
too may have others. spell
I need you to be interplanar heroes and
• If a location is targeted, the wielder sees and
find a way to the Astral Sea in search of this
hears the location, gaining supernatural insight
sanctum in the stars. Legend says it is floating into it. They gain advantage on all Wisdom
in the Riven Nebula. By whatever means (Perception) and Intelligence (Investigation)
necessary, get yourselves there and recover checks to examine the location.
the lost key of the crystal telescope, before it
destroyed or despoiled!

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Wormhole Spider Harvesting Rocky Hide. A character attempts to peel
Wormhole spiders are a rare monstrosity, away the rocky carapace of the wormhole
and little is known about their anatomy or spider. Roll a DC 18 Wisdom (Medicine)
unique abilities. Who knows what wealth check. On a success, the character peels
could be gained from harvesting such a away enough of the hide to make a set of
beast. If a character wishes to dissect the wormhole spider armor. Removing enough
Wormhole Spiderlings or Wormhole Spider, hide for armor takes about ten minutes, and
they must roll a series of skill checks, each can be repeated along with the previous skill
with the risk of doing serious harm to the check to harvest enough for more armor.
character. On a failure, the character takes 4d6 cold
To begin, a character must roll a DC 16 damage.
Intelligence (Nature) check to discern what • Wormhole spider armor - Medium armor, AC
can be harvested from the spiders. 16. The wearer ignores movement restrictions
caused by webbing.
Acid Sacs. A character attempts to withdraw
the sticky acid from the wormhole spider- Gravitational Manipulator. A character
lings web sac. Roll a DC 18 Dexterity (Sleight attempts to extract the organ with which
of Hand) check. On a success, the character the spiders can gravitationally affect the
harvest two vials of sticky acid. On a failure, world around them. Roll a DC 20 Intelligence
the sac bursts and the character takes 4d6 (Arcana) check. On a success, the character
acid damage. Any non-magical clothing or extracts the gravity manipulating organ. If
weapons disintegrates immediately. a character spends 12 hours prepping this
• Sticky acid - As an action, the vial can be organ, it can be used a single use magic item
poured onto a creature or object. The creature that reproduces the Gravitate ability of the
or object takes 4d6 acid damage and must wormhole spider.
make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or
become restrained. The creature may repeat On a failure, the character triggers the gravi-
the save at the end of its turn. tational organ, targeting themselves with the
attack.

4
 HCTFIKER
WTCAF Read or paraphrase the following aloud:
Your party is getting some much needed,
The following encounters can be used to expand though brief, shore leave at Rowdy J’s Stopover,
on the party's adventures in the Astral plane. the last piece of civilization this side of the Riven
These can be used as introductory encounters Nebula - a tavern, inn and general store built on
for the party to deal with as they search the As- an otherwise desolate thousand foot wide chunk
tral plane, or added in as an encounter during of astral stone.
the course of the adventure itself. Jerrik, the outpost’s proprietor and only full-
time inhabitant, entertains you with the tales
Imperiled Outpost of past adventurers who visited the isolated
planetoid. The large collection of navigational
charts he keeps in the outpost observatory
The party has docked their ship at Rowdy J’s ensure that most every traveler stops in on their
Stopover, an outpost on a small planetoid near way through.
the outskirts of the Riven Nebula. This is usual- A few other travelers lounge in the mess hall
ly the last chance for ships to stop and resupply and other areas of the outpost while their ships
before making the long journey to the far side are resupplied, alongside your own.
of the nebula - most importantly, to purchase Without warning, the structure under your
the most recent version of the navigation charts feet jerks violently, as thundering explosions
that can help safely travel through the outer start to rip apart the outpost! Broken masonry
edges of the dangerous region. and torn metal girders rain down, giving you
Jerrik Suntour (chaotic good human an unobstructed view of the silvery Astral Sea.
veteran) is the long-time proprietor of the A couple skiffs scream past overhead. “Astral
Stopover. A bit rustic in his manners from so Raiders!” Jerrik shouts over the din. A swath of
much time in the empty expanse of the Astral floor explodes in the center of the mess, forcing
Sea, Jerrik has settled for relative immortality you to take cover. As the dust settles, a chorus
by maintaining his outpost on the timeless of skittering and scraping sounds echo up from
plane. the hole, heralding the arrival of two rock-like
Unbeknown to him, a brood of wormhole spider creatures, with many more not far behind.
spiderlings has taken root in the planetoid’s
interior, eating away its minerals to thicken Two wormhole spiderlings (see Adventure
the creatures’ rock-like carapace. Left to Booklet pg. 11) begin combat adjacent to the
gestate for years, this brood had no reason hole in the middle of the mess hall. The ground
to trouble the outpost or its visitors. . . until is covered in debris, and is difficult terrain. Two
now. The attack about to be unleashed against additional spiderlings enter combat at the start
the outpost by astral raiders will disturb the of every round until the party leaves the hall.
spiderlings’ nest, provoking the creatures to As the cracking and rumbling of the planetoid
emerge angry and ravenous! continues, it’s clear there will be no end to the
After the initial assault, it becomes clear creatures coming up from the tunnel. There are
that the structural integrity of the planetoid four bystanders (nobles) in need of rescue in
has been compromised - it will soon break the mess hall.
apart, releasing the innumerable spiderlings After the second group of spiderlings
into the Astral Sea! The party will face difficult emerge, Jerrik uses his turn to save one of the
choices: with precious few moments to rescue bystanders, urging the group to do likewise,
other travelers, salvage what they can from the and then follow him to the outpost observatory
outpost - or even cause the planetoid to self-de- where they can evacuate with the precious star
struct to put an end to the spiderling swarm. charts.

5
 HCTFI C OTWR If Ylas escapes, she rejoins the raider ships
Read the following aloud: at the end of the following round. Within 2
The wood and tin dome of the observatory rounds of Ylas escaping, or being captured
roof has been torn open, allowing four astral or killed, the raider ships depart toward the
raiders and one of their hunting hounds inside! nebula.
The leader of the raiders is methodically At the start of the second round, two
stealing the numerous star charts stocked in the wormhole spiderlings (see Adventure Booklet
observatory. As she notices you, she orders her pg. 11) burst through the floor and attack the
forces to attack in a strange tongue. nearest creature.
After the raiders are driven off, Jerrik can
Three astral raider warriors (MM, pg. 160) relay information from the Astral Raiders sec-
and a hell hound guard the team leader, Ylas tion (see Adventure Booklet pg. 5), speculating
Srreket. Two bystanders (nobles) huddle in the on the raiders’ general motivation.
corner of the room.
Ylas' only concern is taking all the latest CRHMFKWOI
charts. If she escapes with them, anyone else Following the attack of the astral raiders, more
will have disadvantage on all ability checks to wormhole spiderlings continue to burst from
navigate the Riven Nebula for the next week. the ground - causing widespread sinkholes and
She is perfectly willing to sacrifice her troops cave-ins across the planetoid. It's clear that the
and return to the raider fleet, and will leave outpost doesn't have long before it succumbs
immediately after spending two actions gath- to the ravenous spiderlings.
ering the charts. Making matters worse, two wormhole
spiderlings have attached themselves to the
party’s ship and will eat away at it until they are
killed or driven off. The party's ship is moored
Outpost Features 100 ft. from outpost observatory.
thgiL All areas of the outpost are brightly There are also three additional bystanders
lit by magical light sources. (nobles) trapped around the collapsing out-
Wals dn sgilCe The outpost is con- post. Saving these bystanders as the planetoid
structed of masoned stone with metal re- collapses can be handled as a skill challenge.
inforcing. Ceilings average 15 ft. in height. The party must make three successful DC 20
Arcane Fire The bombardment of the ability checks to rescue the bystanders. For
outpost by the arcane weaponry of the each success, they rescue one bystander. The
astral raider ships has set even the stone players can make one check each turn as an
and metal ablaze. The GM can use arcane action. Once a total of three failures have been
fire as an obstacle or hazard in any area rolled, time has run out and the characters
of the outpost. These fires act as the wall must leave immediately or be hurled into the
of fire spell. There are also occasional Astral sea as the planetoid collapses.
explosions from the bombardment, which
deal 21 (6d6) fire damage to all creatures Ł
ECR
in a 20-ft. square, or half of that damage As your party escapes, read the following aloud.
with a successful DC 15 Dexterity saving
throw. There is a 20% chance an explosion As the last of your group climbs aboard the ship,
occurs each round the party is in the out- you speed away from the crumbling planetoid
post, though they can occur as often as the into the Astral Sea. . . even a sea of spiders boils
GM wishes. out of the fissures in the crust!
A roar of crumbling stone announces the
sudden end of the Rowdy J's as the planetiod

6
collapses on itself, sending stone and spiderlings
drifting into the reaches of the Astral Sea. Bystanders
Whether they are trapped beneath rubble,
The party manages to navigate the debris injured, or are being directly attacked, the
cloud with no severe damage. Refer to the By- party has the opportunity to save bystand-
stander sidebar to see what gifts of gratitude ers (nobles) from a grisly fate during the
the party is left with as they continue their raid.
journey. In general a character may make a
DC 18 ability check to rescue one of the
bystanders - explaining what skill they are
New Wondrous Furnishing using based on the situation. For instance,
Strength (Athletics) could be used to free a
bystander from rubble, or Wisdom (Medi-
Wondrous furnishings are a new reward intro- cine) could assist an injured bystander.
duced for Keys of Wonder campaign play. Refer The GM is encouraged to create haz-
to the Keys of Wonder Rewards supplement in ardous situations for the party: e.g. Arcane
your Digital Dungeon for details. Fire (see O u t p o s t eFa t u re s sidebar) or
Each new Wondrous One-Shot will add a nearby spiderlings. The party has a single
unique furnishing that can be added to the chance to rescue each bystander before
player's home base. they perish.
For this adventure, the players gain the To increase the sense of urgency, by-
living astral tapestry. standers may perish after only one or two
rounds if there was no successful attempt
TR TCTC LKIA to save them.
This ornate tapestry is imbued with powerful Keep a tally of how many bystanders
enchantment that depicts a real-time view of are rescued before the party leaves the
the vast astral expanses. outpost and compare the result to the table
Any who watch it for some time can see below.
shooting comets, tiny ships gliding by, and
The rewards are cumulative, and are
collapsing stars.
received after escaping the outpost.
If a character spends time meditatively
studying the map, they gain the following CFT B CTF R
ability: REWF
Phase Form (1/day). At moment's notice 1-2 1× potion of greater healing
you may utter a powerful magic sound that
causes your form to partly enter the astral 3-5 1× potion of superior healing,
1x random scroll
plane. As a reaction, you cast the shield spell
innately, without any material components or 6-8 1× potion of superior healing,
spell slots. 1× random scrolls
After the spell is resolved, you innately 9 1× potion of speed, 1x random
benefit for the blur spell for the full duration scroll
- again, without a spell slot or material com-
ponents needed.