Quest Letter - Issue 1 - Kallio Chapter 1 (Patreon)

Chapter One: You Are a CriminalIntroduction for players

Audio performance by Bertrand Lucat

You wake up in a small room, surrounded by smooth, white walls, floor, and ceiling. The lid of the stasis pod you're in is open. You don't know the others in the room, and you have no recollection of who you are or where you are. Despite this, you still possess language skills and basic knowledge. You're dressed in a white jumpsuit with your name embroidered on the left breast, but you don't have any other gear.

In front of the only door out of the room stands a male dwarf with a long white beard and shoulder-length white hair. He's clad in a pale blue robe with a gold spiral embroidered on it.

"Welcome to the Kallio correctional facility. I am sorry to inform you that you are convicted criminals. You have chosen memory wipe and rehabilitation over other, more severe punishments that suit your crimes. Here, you will learn how to become law-abiding citizens and reintegrate into society. You will acquire vital skills needed to join the workforce and discover happiness in your new life. You may now proceed."

He then quickly fades away until he is completely gone.  

Adventure Guide

Kallio is a 5E adventure designed for players beginning at level 1. In this unique setting, characters awaken with no recollection of their past and possess no background knowledge about the world they inhabit. As a result, players do not need to create any backstories for their characters.

In Chapter 1 of the adventure, the players find themselves in Kallio, having recently awakened from a stasis pod, and are immediately greeted by a magical projection. This projection reveals that the characters are considered criminals undergoing a process of rehabilitation. They are informed that they willingly chose a mind wipe and retraining instead of facing more severe consequences for their past actions. 

Overview

Magic plays a significant role in the Kallio story.  Players in this adventure should only choose a background from (Appendix A in the PDF) when creating their characters.  Typically, players would be humans and dwarves, with elves and gnomes being a rare occurrence. While players of any race can enjoy this adventure, an explanation may be necessary for how they came to be on this world.   

You can allow your players to select their gear at the beginning of the game. While they won't have immediate access to these supplies when the game starts, they will receive them shortly after, near the beginning of act one.

Act 1

Following the player introduction

After these words, a click resonates, and the door unlocks. Any attempts by you to interact with the dwarf before he vanishes are ignored, and if you try to touch him, you discover that he is not solid.

There isn't much to discover in this room.. The walls, floor, and ceiling are devoid of any features or objects. There is no visible source for the dwarf’s magical projection of the dwarf. The stasis chambers are long and narrow tubes of white, equipped with a control panel at the foot. They all appear to be powered down, as attempts to activate the screens yield no response or illumination.

The stasis chambers open up with two hinges on the long side, and there is no apparent way to open them from the inside. Moreover, there is no handle on the exterior of the chambers. The sole means of opening or closing them is through the use of the powered down control panel.

The House 

Upon opening the door, you step into a small house with only a few rooms—a bathroom, a kitchen area, and a communal bedroom. As everyone exits, the door swiftly closes and locks behind them (DC 30 lockpicking check for re-entry). The door moves rapidly and forcefully; any attempts to impede its closure will result in needing to make a 16 dexterity save or taking 1d4 damage, with the door still shutting firmly. Any attempts to brute force the door require a constitution save of 16 or you will take 1d4 damage from an electric shock.  There is a small control panel on the wall outside of the room with a keypad currently being displayed. It will beep and give a ‘Not Authorized’ message when the wrong numbers are entered.

The bathroom has no windows and is fully covered in small white tiles. It's equipped with a toilet, a sink, and a shower. Several stacks of clean white towels are neatly arranged beside the sink.

Similarly, the kitchen is pure white and lacks windows. It is furnished with cupboards and a sink that produces seemingly clean water. One of the cupboards contains clean empty glasses, bowls, and spoons. The other two cupboards are filled with white cartons labeled "meal-drink." There is no other food you can find. There is a small table with four stools around it.

The bedroom, also fully white, lacks windows and features a single poster on the wall. The poster prominently depicts the same dwarf you encountered when you woke up, wearing the same blue robe with the same gold spiral, along with the slogan, "The One brings happiness and peace" (see appendix C in the PDF.) There are four beds, each with a small chest beside it. Inside these chests, you discover several more clean white jumpsuits folded neatly and embroidered with your name, as well as a single book in each called "The One and You" (see appendix C in the PDF.)   In the otherwise pristine and white space, there is a large brown burlap bag in a corner that seems out of place. Inside the bag, players find basic starting gear, including class-appropriate weapons, basic armor, spell casting components, and other necessities for new characters.

Reading The One and You reveals it to be a religious manual instructing you that serving The One, who is depicted as a god, is the sole path to happiness and peace. The text emphasizes not questioning the divine will and touts the virtues of hard labor as its own reward.

The house lacks internal doors, except for the one leading back to the stasis chambers.

 Finally, there is a door leading to the outside.

The Town

As you exit the small house, you find yourself in a small grouping of buildings. These structures include a church (east), a rectangular metal building labeled 'The Mine' (south), and a forge (west). A stone path winds through the town, extending as far as the eye can see in both directions. The ground beneath your feet is of a distinctive violet hue, and the soil appears sandy and arid. The air is perfectly still. Artificial trees dot the immediate vicinity around the buildings, but they do not continue down the road. The sky has a pinkish haze, but you don’t see any singular light source such as a sun.

Outside you are once again greeted by the bearded dwarf in robes, who instructs you to proceed to the mine. He gestures toward a metal building with a sign on the wall that simply reads ‘The Mine’ and then he vanishes as he did before.Behind him stands a large illuminated statue of a dwarf, this one clad in armor and holding a sword. The inscription at its base reads: “The One keeps us safe.” The dwarf depicted in the statue appears stronger and more heavily armored than the robed man addressing you, yet the face is unmistakably the same.

If you attempt to leave town in any direction, after a few minutes of walking, you find yourself teleported to the center of town.

There is a single purple rabbit outside of the mining building that will attempt to flee when seen.  By approaching him peacefully, players can loot the Bag of Bunnies from near the bunnies initial location.

The Mine

Inside the corrugated metal building labeled ‘The Mine’, a rack holds a collection of brand-new mining picks, while shelves display various mining gear, including gloves, chisels, hammers, shovels, and buckets.  A thorough investigation will reveal a lootable Magical Ore Bag (see appendix C in the PDF.) 

The room is scattered with rocks of different sizes, shapes, and materials, serving as a practical training ground.  There is copper, gold, silver, mithral, platinum and even adamantine veins.  

Amidst this setting, you notice several miners— all human— and a  dwarven woman with a neatly kept beard and a headband adorned with a golden spiral. The humans continue chipping away at the nearby rocks, never sparing you a glance. The dwarf, however, greets you with a simple query: “Are you ready to learn to mine?”

If you agree, she prompts you to select a pick and begin your lesson. She will only interact with you on the subject of mining; all other questions are met with responses such as “Ask in another way,” “Please rephrase the question,” or “I am here to help you learn mining.” The humans never respond to you at all.

Though she seems real, there is no visible source creating her. Once you actually begin the lesson, the miners suddenly glitch and flicker, her warm gaze turning into a blank stare as she and the others move to attack. Combat begins (see appendix B in the PDF.)

Upon dropping to 0 HP the miners vanish without leaving any corpses.

The Church

Upon entering the church, a small white building crowned by a steeple with a golden metal spiral atop it, you find a few benches for seating and four stained glass windows that draw your attention. Each window depicts a different scene:

The first window portrays the familiar dwarf figure, The One, extending a mining pick to what seems to be a primitive tribal-looking dwarf kneeling at his feet.

The second window shows The One instructing human and dwarf peasants in the art of smelting metal.

The third window presents a disturbing scene of humans, dwarves, and elves in chains being led towards a portal, with The One pointing accusingly at them.

The final window features The One with his arms outstretched above scenes of joyful people working in mines and forges.

At the far end of the church The One stands behind an altar.  As you enter he addresses you. "Welcome to the church of The One. Come, learn with me, and find joy." As he opens his arms in a welcoming way, he flickers, and his demeanor changes.  He proclaims ‘defend yourselves’ and initiates combat (see appendix B in the PDF.)

The church is decorated in golden spirals, and each bench has a hymn book  (see appendix C in the PDF) placed upon it. Most of the songs are about working in the mine or the glory of The One, emphasizing the joy of basking in his approval by increasing your output at work.

The Forge

As you enter, your eyes are drawn to a pallet of mysterious metal ingots being stacked by a dwarven woman to your left. To your right stands a half-finished metal statue of a dwarf—perhaps The One—holding a hammer or mallet, while another dwarven woman sorts through a box of ores behind it. A human man tinkers with the forge itself, and a second human—wearing a heavy apron and gloves, with a swirling tattoo on his left forearm—greets you with: "Please finish your mining lessons before proceeding to smelting." No matter what you ask him, he only replies with variations of this message, repeating the need to complete mining first. The forge is fully fired, the air hot and heavy, and the space holds all the tools you’d expect to find in such a place.

After an initial exchange with the blacksmithing instructor he glitches and the entire room becomes hostile (see appendix B in the PDF.)

Observations

None of the bodies in any of the buildings leave behind corpses.  While they seem solid enough when fighting, and you see no sources for projection, their responses seem, as though prewritten.

There is no dust anywhere.  The air is incredibly still.  

End Fight

After clearing out all the buildings in the small settlement, three soldiers will appear in the center of town.  They are inanimate but will start pacing around the statue when a player approaches.  When a player comes within 20 feet the captain will yell ‘Criminal, you are under arrest’ and initiate combat (see appendix B in the PDF.)  The soldiers also leave no corpses upon death.  

Felix

After the defeat of the soldiers, a flamboyantly attired man in a floppy hat and wearing a large bow around his neck enters the scene. He strolls in, clapping slowly and loudly, making his way to the spot where the soldiers were vanquished and disappeared.

"Congratulations on surviving that! I knew you could do it! My name is Felix, and I am here to assist you in honing your skills. Take some time to rest, and I'll be right here when you're ready to start your adventures!"

If you inquire about the mine or the forge, Felix dismisses those concerns, stating that they are not of significance. He emphasizes that you are far too important to be a mere miner.

If you inquire about The One, Felix appears visibly upset. He dismisses your questions, suggesting that there's too much to explain at the moment. He reassures you that, once you complete your training, you will have the opportunity to meet him in person and discuss The One. He will reply to a limited number of queries but always comes around to telling you to rest so you can start the next phase of your training tomorrow, assuring you that you will receive more instruction in 8 hours.

Furthermore, as a reward for your progress, you advance to level 2.

Loot

In Act 1, there are two special items you can find. In the mining room, a thorough inspection of the shelves reveals a unique magical ore bag. Additionally, outside, there is a real purple rabbit (not a projection). If you approach the rabbit peacefully, it will run away, leaving a Bunny Bag behind.  Both of these items can be found in Appendix C in the PDF

Download

The chapter one pdf, maps and media are attached to this post