The Tower of Visions #4 - The Fane of Lost Reflections

Edit: Oh, and here are posts #1, #2 and #3 in the series!

Howdy folks!

Nothing like a world pandemic, moving to a new house and trying to keep yourself sane for a perfect combo for this (already) cursed and thrice-damned year! Anyhow, sorry (again) for the considerable delay in updating this much forsaken demesne.

Lets go to another room/encounter on the Tower of Visions, my first attempt at a “post by post” dungeon (today is post #4). Today, I’m following the great guidelines of David Cook, where for every combat encounter you should have 3-4 non-combat ones. So, let me see if I can create a weird place for the characters to explore in this dungeon.

This room holds a lot of magical mirrors. Each one has different effects and consequences. Most can be broken or shattered, although that is not always a good idea. To make things interesting you can introduce an NPC if you want: the Mirror Lord!

The Mirror Lord is an “echoling”, a creature that exists only on the rare and unknown Mirror Dimension. It can only interact with the party through a mirror. Its name is not actually Mirror Lord, it was just a lesser extraplanar jailor bound by the master of the Tower of Visions to keep the local artifacts in order. It desperately wants to convince a character to use the Harry Potter mirror to make it real (more about that mirror below). Unfortunately, it is a bound entity and thus it will always give the worst possible explanation about any magic mirror (if asked!). Thus, it seeks to give information without being asked. If somehow freed, it will be an above average loyal hireling but a regular stated one. If the party can figure that out, this NPC can be a very powerful source of help.

Without further ado, let's delve into the...

 

The Fane of Lost Reflections

 

That is a good image for the Tower of Visions

The Mirror of the Hidden

This magical mirror won’t appear to reflect anything, including the room. However, what it does is reveal invisible things or the true form of objects or creatures obfuscated by illusions. This is an oval shaped mirror framed in the bones of angels. Clerics and other (good) divine spellcasters feel pain be carrying it (and it will probably bring trouble for the party). Although cumbersome to carry, it is not that heavy (but a human-sized PC must use both hands to carry it). It is hard to shatter, due to its magical nature, but every time it is hit there is a 50% chance that every creature in a 30 ft. radius suffers the damage instead of the mirror. Yes, celestials and champions of Law will think the worst about the carrier of this potent artifact.

 

The Window of Doubt

This magical mirror will show the exact opposite of who you truly are. Details are left to the Judge. Usually, standing before it will show the viewer doing something in the near future that is the last thing she would actually do. Law-abiding heroes will be seen killing the local lord while greedy wizards will see their future reflections delivering their most precious magic item to the local church. Actually, this mirror is the perfect guide on “how to invert your alignment” (if you care about alignments in your game). This should be a huge door-like mirror, very hard to move or carry. If broken, the character responsible for breaking will be cursed with dreams showing them doing all those terrible things (the Judge is encouraged to give secret information to the dreamer, to tempt her to do those horrible deeds… like showing the Law warrior killing the local lord and stealing a thus far unknown Chaos magic sword hidden below his castle).

Yes, other characters not directly in front of the Window of Doubt will see all the stuff above. Let paranoia run loose!

 

The Harry Potter Mirror

If you’re standing right in front of his mirror you will see your heart’s desire fulfilled. This is an excellent opportunity to talk with the player and let THEM, not you, to describe what transpires. Oh, and every other person close by (but not standing right in front of the mirror) to see that. If more than one character is in front of the mirror, ask them to roll a Luck check (or a Charisma check) and the best roll is the “chosen one”.

This a big mirror, that must be carried by at least four strong human characters. Destroying it is really hard, takes a lot of time but should work. However, each destroyer cries in their sleep for a really long time following that event (and a cruel but fair Judge should ask what is their heart desire and let them know they will never achieve it).

 

The Shadow Prince’s Looking Glass

When a character stares at this mirror for some time she sees her reflection taking one of her items and throwing it away, beyond the mirror’s frame. That item really DISAPPEARS. If the characters keep starting, another will go away a few moments later.

A “good sport” character that leaves without complaining about it. She will awake 1d7 days later with a new and cool item (and yes, that item was stolen from someone else… Judges, please, be creative). The item should be useful and preferably magical.

If the character tries to break or destroy the mirror… well, first it reforms one day later, when no one is looking. Second, the mirror-breaker is now cursed. Actually, she is under the Murder Men Curse. What is a Murder Man? Look here.

The Prince of Shadow’s Looking Glass should be the shoddiest and poorest mirror in the room, preferably covered with a dirt sheet with a warning “Prince of Shadow Property! Do not touch. DO NOT bring it back to Minas Morgul!”

 

The Cornucopia Window

Whoever is standing before this mirror for more than a few seconds will start to see all kinds of delicious food and drinks appearing around her. Although nothing shows up in the real world, the character can eat/drink the reflections. After such a banquet, let her know that she is superbly satisfied and gained 1 Advantage (once chance to roll twice any check and take the best result). The downside? The food and drinks were fake and after her next sleep, the character will awake famished (i.e. treat as if her physical stats are half, including her hit points, until she can eat a lot; if you play 5E give her 1d3 levels of Exhaustion).

The Cornucopia Window should be a giant mirror, almost impossible to move. If broken, it will fill a 15 ft. spread area in front of it with rotten food, possibly inflicting damage on any character on the way (and a fair Judge can also unleash one disease or rat swarm).

 

The Mirror of the Lost Room

This mirror shows the character’s reflection standing in a different room, a small camber with nothing on it. However, if the character drops anything on the floor while standing before the mirror, the item will disappear from the real world and show up in the magical room. This is basically the “mirror version” of a portable hole.

The mirror itself should be something as big as a shield, preferably with iron frames shaped in a (green devil) grinning face. It can be carried although it will be so voluminous that it will require a hireling only for that task. It can hold A LOT of stuff but if it is broken (it is very sturdy) or lost, all the items inside of it are lost forever (or until the Judge can concoct a weird quest to an yet more bizarre demiplane where lost items of the Multiverse can be found).

 

The Chess Mirror

This baroque and big mirror appears to be immune to damage and shows a weird room, where the floor is painted like a chess board, but in white and red tones. Stepping inside makes the character disappear. It is a one way ticket to a Red and Pleasant Land.

 

The Door to Hades

This mirror is shaped with skeleton and death motifs, reflecting umbral mists. It is considerably cracked and it is a miracle it is still whole. If any corpse is placed before it a reflection of the live counterpart will show up and step out in a few moments. Yes, it is a “Raise Dead mirror”. The catch? (You know there is one) The reflection is an inverted version of the original. Don’t tell that right away… if the raised one is a player character let him know that between sessions (and yes, this is a classical “traitor plot”). If the raised character is a NPC, give subtle clues and a fair chance for the party to find out (otherwise kill the character with the lowest Luck/Charisma in their sleep and let them hunt the traitor later).

Every time someone is raised with this mirror roll an Utility Die (I would use a 1d4). A 1-2 roll means the mirror shatters. Any other roll just add a crack in the mirror.

 

The Sea King’s Eye

This big oval mirror, framed with valuable corals and pearls, fills the corner of the chamber. Anyone standing in front of it sees what appears to be the depths of the ocean, but illuminated by the gold radiance of a treasure hoard of a thousand shipwrecks. This is the Sea King’s trove and that is the closest anyone is going to get to it. If anyone tries to break this mirror it starts to leak. If that is not a fair warning, then fill the room with sea water… and sharks! Undead sharks if you’re feeling nasty. The party has to run out or drown.

 

The Mirror of the Other

This mirror visibly floats in the middle of the room. It is framed in silver or mithril or anything valuable that you want. If a character walks in front of it, a perfect reflection of that character will show up and start a chat. It will explain that it is “just a reflection, an imperfect copy” of the original. It will ask for just one favor: “to live a full life as a mortal”. It will accept to serve the character and help them in their quest, after that it will ask for a retirement in a quiet village, far from trouble.

If the character accepts, the doppelganger will step out. It will be exactly like the character. For the next 7 days a new doppelganger will show up whenever the character sleeps. They will always help… until there are more of them than the party (or after 7 days). Then, they will strike and kill. If they can’t do that they will flee and unleash havoc at the best moment. They will always be of the same level and power of the original character.

The mirror only works for one character, if multiple characters try to stand before the mirror the one with the LOWEST Luck/Charisma will be the one that can talk with the doppelganger.

Shattering this mirror is impossible. It is a mighty artifact, birthed from the mind of the dead god of illusions. Only an innocent child, wielding the Sword of Truth, can shatter the Mirror of the Other. Doing that will kill all doppelgangers.

 

The Dorian Mirror

When the first character (if you must roll a Luck/Charisma check, the best result wins) stand before this mirror they will see their reflection (a debased and old one) offering them immortality in exchange for keeping the mirror forever hidden. If they accept that they’re immortal as long as the mirror stands hidden and intact.

What is immortal? They will never age or die (if reduced to 0 hit points they won’t go lower but will fall unconscious unless they succeed at a hard Fortitude or Will save every round, Judge’s call, and yes… please change the saves once in a while).

After 7 days, the pact is sealed and the character discovers that she must keep the mirror always within 100 feet of her. Otherwise she starts aging and losing 1 full Hit Dice per round until turned to dust,

Of course, if the mirror is destroyed or anyone sees her reflection she is also dust. To make things worse, if a wizard (or gods forbid it a devil/demon) gets the mirror, then the character must obey the owner or start losing 1 full Hit Dice per day.

Welcome to immortality!

 

The Mirror of the Trickster

This is the only hand mirror in the room. It is held by a corpse. If removed it will always show the character doing slightly different things than what she is doing at the moment. The true effect of the mirror happens if it is held during combat or while rolling a save or ability check… it literally gives the character a second chance.

If the character fails at any check (or wants to force the Judge or enemy to reroll), she can do that if she is wiedling the mirror (yes, let that clear to the player). She either gains a reroll or forces the enemy/Judge to reroll. If the result is the same, the Judge should treat it as a critical hit/fumble. In other words, if the orc hit the character and she requested a reroll, and then the orc hit again, that second hit is critical. It is the worst thing possible.

Finally, the gods hate mortals meddling with Destiny/Fate. Any character that uses the Mirror of the Trickster is immune to beneficial divine/clerical magic for 24 hours. Oh, and if the mirror breaks the character is immune to beneficial divine/clerical magic for 7 days and all her critical successes are considered fumbles for the same period.