Overview of Adventure Atlas: The Mortuary
Adventure Atlas: The Mortuary is a digital sourcebook exploring the grim Mortuary, a sprawling necropolis in Planescape lore. It details the Heralds of Dust faction, key areas like the Corpse Receiving and Spirit Sump, and offers new monsters, tactical maps, and adventures for levels 3-11, enriching campaigns with undead encounters and interplanar connections.
1.1 Background and Setting
The Mortuary is a vast, eerie megastructure in Sigil, serving as a morgue, funeral home, and tomb of immense scale. As a key location in Planescape lore, it is intricately linked to burial sites across multiple planes and worlds, showcasing its interplanar significance. This grim necropolis is home to the mysterious Heralds of Dust faction, who oversee the processing of souls and corpses. The Mortuary’s dark, otherworldly atmosphere and sprawling layout make it a central hub for undead encounters and adventures, deeply rooted in the multiverse’s intricate politics and lore.
1.2 Significance in Planescape Lore
The Mortuary holds profound significance as a crossroads of death and the afterlife in Planescape, linking Sigil to the multiverse’s wider cosmic machinery. It serves as a focal point for soul processing and interplanar transitions, influencing the political and spiritual fabric of the setting. The Mortuary’s connection to the Heralds of Dust and its role in managing corpses and spirits underscores its importance in the lore, making it a pivotal location for understanding the balance of life, death, and the afterlife in the Planescape universe.
1.3 Structure and Scale of the Mortuary
The Mortuary is a vast necropolis, divided into distinct sections like the Corpse Receiving Area and the Spirit Sump, each serving specific functions in death’s process. Its immense scale spans multiple planes, with tombs and burial grounds interconnected across the multiverse. This labyrinthine structure reflects its role as a hub for processing souls and managing the deceased, emphasizing its grandeur and complexity as a cornerstone of Planescape’s cosmic machinery.
Key Locations Within the Mortuary
The Mortuary features the Corpse Receiving Area, Spirit Sump, and Burial Grounds, each with distinct roles in processing the deceased and managing interplanar connections.
2.1 The Corpse Receiving Area
The Corpse Receiving Area is the Mortuary’s entry point, where the Heralds of Dust process the deceased. This somber location is filled with the sights and smells of death, as bodies are prepared for their journey beyond. The area is heavily guarded to prevent unauthorized interference, ensuring the faction’s control over the flow of souls. Adventurers may encounter various undead here, adding tension to any interaction.
2.2 The Spirit Sump and Its Role
The Spirit Sump serves as a liminal space where souls transition to the afterlife. This mysterious area is filled with glowing mists and eerie whispers, creating an unsettling atmosphere. The Heralds of Dust meticulously guide spirits here, ensuring they reach their destined planes. Adventurers may face restless spirits or malevolent entities feeding on the energy, making the Sump a hub of both lore and danger, with hidden secrets waiting to be uncovered.
2.3 The Burial Grounds and Interplanar Connections
The Burial Grounds are vast, filled with graves linked to various planes and worlds. These sites are not just resting places but portals, connecting the Mortuary to distant realms. Rituals here can stabilize or disrupt these links, attracting planar entities. Adventurers may uncover hidden tombs or accidentally unleash beings from other planes, adding layers of mystery and danger to this sacred yet volatile area, where death and the multiverse intertwine.
The Heralds of Dust Faction
The Heralds of Dust are a mysterious faction managing the Mortuary, a necropolis in Planescape. They oversee the handling of the dead and souls, playing a crucial role in the setting’s lore and functioning as key intermediaries between the living and the afterlife, with their activities deeply intertwined with the Mortuary’s operations and significance.
3.1 Faction Overview and Motivations
The Heralds of Dust are a mysterious faction within the Mortuary, dedicated to managing the deceased and overseeing the transition of souls. Their primary motivation is to maintain the balance of death and the afterlife, ensuring that spirits are properly guided to their destinations. They operate with a solemn duty, adhering to ancient rituals and protocols, and are driven by a deep respect for mortality. Their role is both practical and ceremonial, making them a pivotal force in Planescape’s multiverse.
3.2 Services and Interactions with Adventurers
The Heralds of Dust offer unique services, including corpse retrieval, soul guidance, and rituals to prevent undead corruption. They interact with adventurers through quests, providing dust-infused items and lore in exchange for tasks. Their undead guardians may challenge adventurers, while faction members can bargain for services or information. This dynamic creates opportunities for both cooperation and conflict, enriching the Mortuary’s role in campaigns.
New Monsters and Creatures
Adventure Atlas: The Mortuary introduces unique undead encounters and new creatures tied to the Heralds of Dust, each with detailed stat blocks and lore, enhancing the Mortuary’s eerie atmosphere and gameplay dynamics.
4.1 Unique Undead Encounters
Adventure Atlas: The Mortuary introduces a variety of unique undead creatures, each with distinct abilities and roles within the Mortuary. From spectral guardians patrolling the Spirit Sump to revenants bound to forgotten tombs, these encounters add depth to the setting. The supplement includes stat blocks for these creatures, ensuring they challenge adventurers in meaningful ways. These undead embody the grim atmosphere of the Mortuary, making them integral to its lore and gameplay.
4.2 Stat Blocks and Lore for New Creatures
Adventure Atlas: The Mortuary provides detailed stat blocks and rich lore for new undead creatures, enhancing encounters with unique mechanics. Each creature, such as spectral guardians and revenants, is tied to the Mortuary’s grim setting. Their abilities reflect the necropolis’s themes, offering challenges that blend combat and narrative depth. These entries enrich the Mortuary’s atmosphere, making its inhabitants feel integral to the location’s dark history and the Heralds of Dust’s mysterious influence.
Adventure Hooks and Encounters
Adventure Atlas: The Mortuary offers diverse adventure hooks and encounters, from retrieving lost souls in the Spirit Sump to uncovering secrets in the Corpse Receiving Area. Quests involve interacting with the Heralds of Dust and navigating the Mortuary’s interplanar burial grounds, providing rich narrative opportunities and challenging undead encounters tailored to various play levels.
5;1 Quests and Missions in the Mortuary
Adventure Atlas: The Mortuary provides a variety of quests and missions that immerse players in the grim setting. Retrieve lost souls from the Spirit Sump, sabotage Heralds of Dust operations, or escort spirits to their final rest. Missions range from uncovering secrets in the Corpse Receiving Area to battling undead in the Burial Grounds. Each quest offers unique challenges and opportunities to interact with the Mortuary’s enigmatic factions, making it a rich narrative hub for adventurers of all levels.
5.2 Encounter Tables for Varied Play Levels
Adventure Atlas: The Mortuary includes detailed encounter tables tailored for adventurers of all levels, from 3 to 11. These tables offer a mix of undead creatures, planar entities, and environmental hazards, ensuring balanced and dynamic combat experiences. DMs can use these tables to craft spontaneous or planned encounters, adapting to party strength and playstyle. The variety of threats, from restless spirits to powerful undead guardians, keeps players on their toes as they navigate the Mortuary’s eerie landscape.
Tactical Maps and Layouts
Adventure Atlas: The Mortuary features detailed tactical maps of the Mortuary’s sections, including the Corpse Receiving Area and Spirit Sump. These maps provide scalable layouts for campaigns, aiding DMs in visualizing and executing encounters within the necropolis. High-resolution designs ensure clarity, making them perfect for digital or physical play. The maps enhance immersion, allowing players to navigate the Mortuary’s eerie, interconnected chambers seamlessly.
6.1 Maps of the Mortuary’s Sections
Adventure Atlas: The Mortuary includes detailed maps of the Mortuary’s key sections, such as the Corpse Receiving Area, Spirit Sump, and Burial Grounds. These maps provide a visual representation of the layout, highlighting important locations and interplanar connections. High-quality cartography ensures clarity, making it easier for DMs to set up encounters and navigate the sprawling necropolis. Digital and print-friendly versions are available, offering flexibility for campaigns. The maps also showcase the Mortuary’s eerie, interconnected chambers, enhancing immersion in the Planescape setting.
6.2 Using the Maps in Campaigns
The Mortuary’s maps are designed to enhance campaign storytelling and immersion. DMs can use them to create dynamic encounters, guiding players through the eerie, interconnected chambers. The maps support both digital and physical play, offering tactical layouts that bring the Mortuary’s grim atmosphere to life. Detailed yet flexible, these visuals help DMs craft unique experiences, ensuring the Mortuary becomes a memorable setting for players to explore its dark, interplanar mysteries.
Connections to the Broader Planescape Setting
The Mortuary links Sigil’s necropolis to burial sites across other planes, influencing multiverse politics. It serves as a hub for interplanar death, shaping soul traffic and power dynamics.
7.1 Integration with Other Planescape Adventures
Adventure Atlas: The Mortuary seamlessly integrates with other Planescape adventures, offering a rich setting that enhances campaigns. It connects to broader storylines, such as Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse, and provides opportunities to weave the Mortuary’s lore into existing narratives. The supplement’s focus on soul traffic and interplanar connections makes it a versatile addition, allowing DMs to expand their multiverse storytelling while maintaining cohesion with established Planescape lore and themes.
7.2 The Mortuary’s Role in Multiverse Politics
The Mortuary plays a pivotal role in multiverse politics as a neutral ground for soul trafficking and negotiations. Governed by the Heralds of Dust, it serves as a nexus where factions like the Fated and the Dustmen influence the flow of souls, shaping power dynamics across planes. Its neutrality is maintained through arcane treaties, making it a cornerstone of Planescape’s delicate political balance and a site of intrigue for adventurers navigating the multiverse’s complex web of alliances and rivalries.
Adventure Atlas: The Mortuary offers a unique and immersive exploration of Planescape’s grim yet fascinating necropolis. With its detailed lore, diverse encounters, and strategic maps, this supplement enriches any campaign, providing endless opportunities for storytelling and combat. Perfect for Dungeon Masters seeking to delve into the mysteries of death and the afterlife, it stands as a testament to the richness of the Planescape setting, appealing to both new and seasoned adventurers alike.
