The Chronos Lobby is an opulent entrance to the Clockwork Tower, featuring walls lined with ornate timepieces of all sizes. The main focus is a grand central timepiece that towers over the room. However, it is silent and lifeless, requiring numerous parts for restoration. The clockwork bird guides, tick-and-tock, can be found here fluttering around, offering guidance to adventurers willing to listen. The required parts can be discovered in Haven’s great-junkyard, a sprawling wasteland of discarded clockwork and machinery. There, adventurers might face Rust Engineers, ghosts of obsolete workers that were once alive with purpose.
Read Aloud
As you enter the Clockwork Tower, you find yourselves enveloped in the splendor of an opulent space, where it feels as if time has come to a standstill. Walls around you are adorned with countless timepieces, from miniature hourglasses to grandiose mechanical clocks. Every timekeeping device imaginable resides here, each more intricate than the last, yet all frozen in place, emphasizing the room’s silence. Dominating the heart of the room is a colossal central timepiece that stretches from floor to ceiling - its magnificent potential clear; yet for now, it remains silent and dormant.
A soft fluttering catches your ear, leading your gaze to two small clockwork birds darting between the clocks as they fly in synchronized harmony. Their wings, a blend of feathers and fine metals, glint in the ambient light. Landing before you, their mechanical eyes focus intently on you. With curious tilts of their heads, they seem poised with intelligence and purpose.
Additional Information
Grand Central Timepiece: A giant ornamental clock, currently non-functional. Restoring it might be key to helping reactivate the Clockwork Tower. Parts required for its restoration can be found in Haven’s great-junkyard.
tick-and-tock: These two clockwork birds are ready to assist adventurers in understanding the tower’s mysteries. If approached diplomatically, they can offer hints, historical insights about constantine-chronosmith, and guidance on potential dangers ahead. If the adventurers are aggressive or destructive, tick-and-tock can activate defense mechanisms or redirect them into more dangerous paths.
Traversing Rooms in the Tower
The easiest way to picture the Tower interior is to imagine each room is on a separate level with a stairway between them that twists time and space.
As the player climb/descend, they will feel a “lurch” in the pit of their stomachs when they pass a point between rooms, which represents their translocation between areas (DC 12 CON save to avoid 10 minutes of nausea, adjusted rolls under 7 means they actually vomit).
Players on either side of the translocation point can communicate normally but cannot see each other - all they see is that the stairway continues. Watching a player cross to the other side, it appears as if their body is streched in time as it is pulled through.
Communicating with Tick and Tock
The PCs can ask tick-and-tock questions. The stuttering, sing-song manner of tick-and-tock can provide not only helpful hints to adventurers but also inject some lightheartedness into an otherwise serious and potentially intense environment of the Clockwork Tower. Here are some chirpy, stuttering, sing-song responses from tick-and-tock regarding locations inside the Clockwork Tower:
Regarding the Chronos Lobby:
Tick: “Chirp-chirp! The L-Lobby door, where time does snore! Needs p-p-pieces from junkyard floor!”
Tock: “Tock-tock! In the j-j-junkyard lore, find what the clock does implore!”
Tick: “Chirp-chirp! Constantine’s s-s-song, trapped in time, all along!”
Tock: “Tock-tock! Wise yet wild, the inventor’s spirit, time’s lost child!”
Parts Needed to Restore the Grand Central Timepiece
Below is a list of parts needed to restore the Grand Central Timepiece. They can be found in the Great Junkyard.
Chronosmith’s Balance Wheel
Central to the timepiece’s operation, this wheel will replace the damaged section of the Grand Central Timepiece.
Temporal Mainspring
A source of energy, this mainspring can store and manage the flow of time, crucial for the clock’s mechanisms.
Timeless Pivot
Essential for the clock’s tick-tock motion, this pivot ensures smooth and continuous operation.
Everlasting Spring
The clock will require a continuous energy source, and this spring ensures that the clock doesn’t need to be constantly wound up.
Crank of Quickening:
To initially set the time and start the clock, this crank will make the process faster.
Wear and Tear Restoration Tasks for the Chronos Lobby
Dusty Timepieces
Task: Clean each clock and hourglass.
Directions: Simple cleaning requires a Dexterity check (can use tinker’s tools) (DC 8). Casting the Prestidigitation spell can instantly clean a single timepiece.
Misaligned Clock Hands
Task: Realignment to ensure accurate timekeeping.
Directions: Players can make an Intelligence check (using tinker’s tools). DC 12 ensures all smaller clocks are synced. Failing by 5 or more causes a clock to break, needing further repairs.
Unlubricated Gears
Task: Lubricate the gears of the clocks to ensure smooth movement.
Directions: Requires oil or an equivalent substance. Applying oil without damaging the clocks requires a Dexterity check (can use tinker’s tools) (DC 10). Failure by 5 or more could cause temporary damage to a clock.
Cracked Glass on Timepieces
Task: Replace or mend the glass.
Directions: Glass can be replaced with materials found in the junkyard. Alternatively, a Mending spell can repair minor cracks. Replacing requires a Dexterity check (using tinker’s tools) (DC 12) to ensure it’s done without further damage.
Environmental Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the Clockwork Tower activates a defense. The tower uses a random defense , or the DM can choose one.
Time Dilation: A section of the lobby warps time, making actions within it faster or slower. This can hasten or slow players, affecting their speed and action economy for one round as though affected by the Haste or Slow spell.
Temporal Echo: An illusory duplicate of one of the PCs appears, mimicking their actions but operating on a delay. This echo might distract or confuse players, potentially misdirecting their attacks.
The sentinel is immune to any spell or effect that would alter its form.
Magic Resistance.
The sentinel has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Integrated Weapons.
The sentinel’s weapon attacks are magical.
Actions
Multiattack
The sentinel makes two blade arm attacks.
Blade Arm
Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to it , reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 11 slashing damage.
Net Launcher (Recharge 5-6)
Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit , range 15/30 ft., one target.
Hit: The target is restrained. A creature can use its action to make a DC 14 Strength check, freeing itself or another creature within its reach on a success. Dealing 5 slashing damage to the net (AC 10) also frees the creature without harming it and destroys the net.
Description
The Clockwork Sentinel is a marvel of engineering, standing at roughly the height of an average humanoid but with a much sturdier build. Its body is primarily made of brass, with intricate gear patterns visible through gaps in its armor plating. The sentinel’s head is a simple, helmet-like structure with two glowing eyes that observe its surroundings with mechanical precision. One of its arms ends in a sharp, blade-like structure, while the other features a net launcher used to restrain targets. It moves with a quiet efficiency, the soft whirring of gears and the faint hiss of steam accompanying each step. Crafted to protect areas of importance, the Clockwork Sentinel remains ever vigilant against intruders.
The guardian is immune to any spell or effect that would alter its form.
Magic Resistance.
The guardian has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Integrated Weapons.
The guardian’s weapon attacks are magical.
Stalwart Defense.
When the guardian takes damage, it can choose to take no damage instead. It can’t use this trait again until it has a short or long rest.
Actions
Multiattack.
The guardian makes three blade arm attacks.
Blade Arm.
Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit , reach 10 ft., one target.
Hit: 16 slashing damage.
Net Launcher.
Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit , range 20/40 ft., one target.
Hit: The target is restrained. A creature can use its action to make a DC 18 Strength check, freeing itself or another creature within its reach on a success. Dealing 10 slashing damage to the net (AC 10) also frees the creature without harming it and destroys the net.
Steam Blast (Recharge 5-6).
The guardian releases a burst of scalding steam in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area takes 27 fire damage unless they make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw, in wihch case they take half-damage.
Description
The Clockwork Guardian is a formidable upgrade from its predecessor, the Clockwork Sentinel. Standing taller, this construct’s form is bulkier and covered in reinforced armor plating with a dark bronze finish. Its eyes glow a fierce crimson, and it radiates a palpable aura of menace. Gears and mechanisms, even more intricate than those of the sentinel, are faintly visible, showcasing the advanced craftsmanship behind this mechanical behemoth. Two blade arms give it a more menacing appearance, and its movements are swift, surprising for its size. A faint humming sound emanates from its core, and occasionally it releases jets of steam from vents in its armor, indicating the immense power contained within. This guardian is not just designed to deter intruders but to utterly annihilate any threat to its charge.
````col-mdflexGrow=2.5===# General InfoTick and Tock were among [[person/constantines|Constantine's]] most cherished creations. The clockwork birds served not only as clockwork marvels but also as his companions. He imbued them with a fraction of his genius, enabling them to understand and navigate the labyrinthine complexity of the Clockwork Tower.- **Tick** , the slightly larger of the pair, has a more assertive personality. He often takes the lead, making decisions and guiding the way through the tower's twisting passages.- **Tock** , on the other hand, is more cautious and methodical. He carefully analyzes each situation, often catching details that Tick may miss in his haste.Despite their different personalities, the two work together seamlessly, with their combined intellect and abilities allowing them to overcome challenges that would confound individual constructs. They flutter through the Clockwork Tower, fixing minor malfunctions, rerouting misaligned cogs, and oiling squeaky gears, but their primary task is to guide visitors through the treacherous tower, making them invaluable allies for any who seek to explore Constantine's masterpiece.## Plot: Clockwork TowerTick and Tock are designed to serve as guides and helpers, not combatants. They are best used to provide clues, assist in overcoming obstacles, or repair damaged mechanisms within the Clockwork Tower. Their ability to fly also allows them to access places that would be unreachable for the adventurers.````````col-md![[plots/clockwork-tower/images/tick-and-tock.png]]````
Tick and Tock were among Constantine’s most cherished creations. The clockwork birds served not only as clockwork marvels but also as his companions. He imbued them with a fraction of his genius, enabling them to understand and navigate the labyrinthine complexity of the Clockwork Tower. Tick , the slightly larger of the pair, has a more assertive personality. He often takes the lead, making decisions and guiding the way through the tower’s twisting passages. Tock , on the other hand, is more cautious and methodical. He carefully analyzes each situation, often catching details that Tick may miss in his haste.
Special Abilities
Immutable Form. Tick and Tock are immune to any spell or effect that would alter their form.
Actions
Peck
Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit , reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 6 piercing damage.
Repair (3/Day Each)
As an action, Tick or Tock touches a construct or a mechanical object and restores hit points to it, potentially fixing broken mechanical systems.
