‘The Spectre of the Opera’ or ‘The Sorcerer’s Secret’
```col-mdflexGrow=2.5===# Outline## Players Information The players overhear a rather loud discussion at the [[landmark/mixolydian-mode|Mixolydian Mode]] between a foppishly dressed actor and a whining, drunken man who appears to be some sort of theater manager. The actor is complaining about the unsafe conditions at the theater, describing several incidents (that sound suspiciously like undead to our brave adventurers) in which his limbs, yea, his very life could have been endangered (see rumors, [[landmark/mixolydian-mode|Mixolydian Mode]], for a sample incident)! His tirade ends with the complaint that now the opening has been postponed yet again, and his "public is not going to stand for this outrage!" After the actor stomps out in a grand exit, the manager sits alone, looking mournfully into his beer.Casual questioning of nearby patrons of the tavern will reveal that the drunken man is [[person/phineous-tarkin|Phineous Tarkin]], manager of the Muses' Theater. The complainer is the actor, [[person/chiles-putney|Chiles Putney]], the star of the up-and-coming production at the theater, "The Sorcerer's Secret". The show has been “coming soon" for the past several weeks, and rumor has it that it may never open. "'Tis said that the spirit of Arasmus, the mage about whom the play was written, is angry about his life and loves being thus revealed and haunts the theater." Many of the stagehands and other actors will not enter the theater. Only [[person/chiles-putney|Chiles Putney]] seems unaware of the spirit, since it never bothers him. [[person/phineous-tarkin|Phineous Tarkin]] sank a lot of money into producing this play, and if he cannot put it on.## GM's Notes Muses' Theater is indeed haunted, although not by the spirit of Arasmus, as most suppose. On the stage, which is set up as a mage's workshop, are many items of magical paraphernalia. Most will read as magical to a Detect Magic spell, although they produce only special effects. One item that radiates magic is a humanoid skull. However, it is not used in the play other than as a prop. The skull belonged to a long-dead Elvish mage, [[person/xandrian|Xandrian]] and it is his spectre that haunts the theater, moving furniture and props, setting off the pyrotechnical special effects, leaving notes written in an obscure High Elvish dialect, and in general trying to call attraction to his plight. The spectre, unfamiliar with humans and theater, does not realize that [[person/chiles-putney|Chiles Putney]] is only an actor on a stage, and has been trying to communicate with him. It will defend the "workshop" against those it considers to be intruders (stagehands, for example).All the spectre desires are to reunite his skull with his skeleton (buried in the basement of Ravensrook, a house on Magic Street) and to be laid to rest somewhere nice - the Elvenwold, for instance. But [[person/xandrian|Xandrian]] cannot speak, nor does he understand the Common tongue, and is having grave difficulties getting the message across.[[person/xandrian|Xandrian]] is most active when [[person/chiles-putney|Chiles Putney]] is not on stage. The spectre's approach will set off the player-character's trap sense. His touch does 2d12 in damage, plus draining 1d8 points from a character's CON, (INT save vs. DC 15) for half damage). [[person/xandrian|Xandrian]] will only touch as a last resort, to prevent disturbance of the "workshop" on stage.An elf has a 40% chance of recognizing the skull is elven, not human. A mage will Detect Magic use whenever the spectre is active.# plots/Story Type# Sub-Structures (Scenes)# Themes---# Structure## Exposition## Conflict## Rising Action## Climax## Falling Action## Resolution---# Components## Goals## Hooks## Stakes## Moral Quandaries## Cruel Tricks## Red Herrings---# Relations## Protagonists## Allies## Neutrals## Competitors## Adversaries---# Backdrops## Locations## Threats## Encounters## Past Events / Histories``````col-md**Locations/Start** - Mixolydian Mode- Muses' Theater **Key Participants** - [[person/phineous-tarkin| Histories``````col-md**Locations/Start** - Mixolydian Mode- Muses' Theater **Key Participants** - [[person/Phineous Tarkin]]- [[person/chiles-putney|Chiles Putney]]- [[person/xandrian|Xandrian]]------**Completion Date:** <br>**Parent Plot:** **Related Characters:****Related Organizations:****Related Locations:**---### World Anvil Metadata**Id:** bce6d9c3-cd66-4826-a432-36c59541aff6<br>**Entity Type:** Article / plot<br>**Category:** Haven Encounters and Scenarios<br>**Tags:** FCoH-plot```