Act 3 The Choice Whispers of the Wastes

Act 3 - The Choice - Whispers of the Wastes

With the artifact’s true nature revealed and Imperial forces closing in, the party faces an impossible decision about the fate of the artifact. Every option carries serious consequences, and the growing temporal instability means they cannot delay their choice much longer.

Scenario Development

Based on party’s approach and Imperial presence, three situations can unfold:

Scenario 1: Peaceful Investigation

  • Ashira the Sandshaper awakens fully, explains temporal debt mechanism
  • Imperial forces arrive during revelation
  • Crystal formations stable but pulsing with energy
  • Time for understanding full scope of choice

Scenario 2: Combat Approach

  • Garden destabilized, temporal effects increasing
  • Ashira awakens in distress, speaking temporal fragments
  • Imperial forces find active combat situation
  • Time pressure as crystals expand

Scenario 3: Imperial Confrontation

  • Tense standoff between parties claiming artifact
  • Ashira awakens amid conflict, provides crucial information
  • Crystal formations react to heightened emotions/magic
  • Negotiations under environmental pressure

The Temporal Revelation

Ashira’s Complete Explanation

As temporal exile’s consciousness stabilizes:

“The artifact you seek is not merely a tool of healing—it is a temporal parasite. Every moment of life it grants in the present, it steals from somewhere else in the timestream. Heal a child’s contamination today, and somewhere in the future, another child suffers equivalent poisoning. The universe demands balance, and the Prism ensures that debt is always paid.”

Key Information Revealed

  • Temporal Debt Mechanism: Healing creates equivalent suffering elsewhere in time
  • Imperial Weaponization: Force temporal debt onto enemy populations during war
  • Cascade Risk: Overuse or destruction could create temporal instabilities
  • Personal Cost: Each use disconnects wielder from linear time
  • Historical Context: Similar artifacts contributed to original Cataclysm

Demonstrating the Cost

If players doubt Ashira’s claims, she can demonstrate:

  • Minor Healing: Restore 1d4 HP to party member
  • Temporal Flash: All characters briefly experience visions of random future suffering
  • Timeline Echo: Healed character experiences memories of future pain
  • Proof of Concept: Shows temporal debt is real and randomly distributed

The Imperial Perspective

Captain Thane Goldspear’s Position

“That artifact is Imperial property, stolen during legitimate transport to our research facility. Our scholars have spent decades learning to safely contain and study such devices. Whatever wild theories this contaminated mystic spouts, the Imperium has the resources and expertise to ensure the artifact serves the greater good.”

Imperial Arguments

  • Legal Authority: Artifact legally transported under Imperial charter
  • Research Capability: Imperial facilities can study temporal effects safely
  • Greater Good: Properly controlled, could benefit thousands
  • Containment Expertise: Technology specifically designed for temporal artifacts

Hidden Imperial Agenda

What Forces Don’t Reveal:

  • Orders to weaponize temporal debt against resistant populations
  • Plans to test temporal effects on “expendable” subjects
  • Research into creating more temporal manipulation artifacts
  • Long-term goal of temporal warfare capability

Imperial Negotiation Tactics

  • Compensation: Offer payment for “finding” Imperial property
  • Authority: Threaten legal consequences for harboring stolen goods
  • Cooperation: Propose joint custody with Port Zephyr authorities
  • Force: Attempt seizure if negotiations fail

The Three Impossible Choices

Choice 1: Deliver to Kaia Sunweaver/Remnant Keepers

Kaia’s Argument (if identity revealed)

“As a Remnant Keeper, I’ve sworn to prevent another Cataclysm. This artifact in Imperial hands becomes a weapon that could destabilize reality itself. Yes, using it carries temporal costs, but the alternative is temporal warfare that could unravel civilization.”

Immediate Consequences

  • Contaminated Children Healed: Kaia uses Prism to cure contamination in her district
  • Hidden Temporal Debt: Equivalent contamination manifests randomly across timeline
  • Remnant Keepers Study: Artifact becomes subject of careful research
  • Imperial Pursuit: Empire seeks to reclaim “stolen property”

Long-term Implications

  • Precedent Set: Temporal manipulation becomes acceptable for “good” causes
  • Future Temptation: Other communities seek similar solutions
  • Timeline Instability: Accumulated temporal debt creates cascading effects
  • Moral Compromise: Success built on others’ unknown suffering

Choice 2: Destroy the Prism

Ashira’s Warning

“Destruction may seem like the clean solution, but temporal energy cannot simply be unmade. All the debt this artifact has accumulated across centuries will come due at once. The cascade could affect thousands across multiple timelines.”

Immediate Consequences

  • Temporal Cascade: Massive release of stored temporal energy
  • Random Suffering: All accumulated temporal debt manifests simultaneously
  • Crystal Garden Collapse: Contamination spreads as containment fails
  • Ashira’s Death: Loses temporal anchor, dies peacefully
  • Imperial Failure: Temporal weapons program suffers major setback

Long-term Implications

  • No More Temporal Debt: This source of timeline manipulation ends
  • Cascade Aftermath: Regional temporal instabilities for years
  • Imperial Response: Empire seeks other temporal artifacts more aggressively
  • Precedent Warning: Demonstrates danger of temporal manipulation

Choice 3: Attempt Safe Containment

Technical Challenge

Create stable temporal prison preventing both use and destruction while allowing study.

Containment Ritual Requirements

  • Three Participants: Must maintain magical contact simultaneously
  • Skill Challenges: DC 15 Arcana checks for each participant
  • Time Pressure: 10-minute ritual, interruptible by combat/environment
  • Resource Cost: 3rd level spell slots from each participant
  • Failure Consequence: Triggers temporal cascade affecting entire region

Success Results

  • Stable Containment: Prism locked in temporal stasis field
  • Research Opportunity: Site becomes joint study location
  • Neutral Ground: Neither Kaia nor Imperials gain exclusive access
  • Ongoing Protection: Requires permanent guardians against future threats

Failure Results

  • Regional Temporal Storm: Time unstable across wider area
  • Massive Contamination: Remnant energy spreads beyond desert
  • Timeline Fragments: Multiple possible realities briefly coexist
  • Evacuation Necessary: Entire region becomes uninhabitable

Environmental Escalation

Building Temporal Storm

Decision process itself destabilizes the Prism:

Pre-Storm Warning Signs

  • Crystal formations resonate in harmony
  • Temporal echoes become frequent and vivid
  • Prism’s light shifts through impossible colors
  • Ashira experiences rapid timeline shifts

Storm Manifestation

  • Reality Fragments: Multiple possible outcomes occur simultaneously
  • Timeline Echoes: Characters experience alternate choice versions
  • Temporal Refugees: People from other timelines appear briefly
  • Causality Breaks: Effects occur before causes

Environmental Effects During Storm

  • Crystal Rain: Temporal energy crystallizes, falls as fragments (2d6 piercing/round)
  • Time Dilation Zones: Different areas experience time at different rates
  • Memory Bleeding: Characters gain alternate timeline memories
  • Magic Instability: All spells trigger Remnant Magic Surge effects

Combat During the Choice

Imperial Force Response

If negotiations fail:

Captain Thane Goldspear

!Captain Thane Goldspear#Captain Thane Goldspear (Stats)

Imperial Soldiers (6)

!Amunrai Desert Stat Blocks#Imperial Desert Soldiers

Imperial Scout Mage

!Amunrai Desert Stat Blocks#Imperial Scout Mage

Combat Complications

  • Environmental Hazards: Crystal formations, contamination, temporal effects
  • Civilian Casualties: Crystallized caravan members vulnerable to area effects
  • Temporal Feedback: Violence near Prism causes timeline echoes
  • Ashira’s Vulnerability: Combat threatens unstable temporal anchoring

Alternative Resolution Methods

  • Negotiated Standoff: Temporary truce during environmental crisis
  • Joint Containment: Multiple factions working under time pressure
  • Sacrifice Play: Party member volunteers as temporal anchor
  • Temporal Gambit: Use Prism’s power during combat (high risk/reward)

Resolution Consequences

Immediate Aftermath by Choice

If Delivered to Kaia

  • Kaia’s Revelation: Reveals Remnant Keepers identity and mission
  • Healing Ceremony: Contaminated children in Port Zephyr cured
  • Imperial Retreat: Forces withdraw but promise future reclamation
  • Temporal Debt Unknown: Hidden suffering manifests elsewhere/elsewhen
  • Payment Delivered: Full 1,000 gold plus Remnant Keeper contact

If Prism Destroyed

  • Temporal Shockwave: Brief timeline chaos affects entire region
  • Massive Suffering: Random temporal debt manifestation worldwide
  • Crystal Garden Collapse: Contamination spreads but slowly dissipates
  • Imperial Failure: Research setback, but other artifacts exist
  • Ashira’s Peace: Dies thanking party for ending temporal prison

If Successfully Contained

  • Neutral Ground: Site becomes research facility under joint protection
  • Ongoing Obligations: Party becomes permanent guardians
  • Political Balance: Neither Empire nor Remnant Keepers gain advantage
  • Future Adventures: Site requires constant protection from artifact seekers
  • Partial Payment: 500 gold from Kaia, future considerations from factions

Long-term Campaign Implications

  • Temporal Awareness: Characters sensitive to timeline distortions
  • Faction Relationships: Reputation with Empire, Remnant Keepers, others
  • Moral Weight: Knowledge their choice affected countless unknown lives
  • Artifact Magnetism: Other temporal artifacts manifest near party
  • Timeline Echoes: Occasional glimpses of alternate choices and consequences

Epilogue Possibilities

One-Shot Conclusion

End with immediate results and implications:

Return to Port Zephyr

  • Changed Perspective: City looks different after understanding temporal costs
  • Kaia’s District: Evidence of choice consequences (healed/suffering children)
  • Imperial Presence: Increased or decreased based on decisions
  • Personal Cost: Characters show temporal exposure signs (cosmetic changes)

Final Revelation Moments

  • Temporal Debt Manifest: Brief glimpse of suffering caused/prevented elsewhere
  • Timeline Memories: Remember moments from paths not taken
  • Ashira’s Legacy: Final message about weight of necessary choices
  • Future Seeds: Hints about other temporal artifacts and threats

Campaign Continuation Hooks

If part of larger campaign:

Immediate Follow-up Adventures

  • Imperial Retaliation: Recovery teams sent to reclaim artifacts
  • Temporal Aftershocks: Reality distortions spreading from Wastes
  • Other Artifact Sites: Similar temporal weapons discovered elsewhere
  • Remnant Keeper Contact: Invitation to join secret organization

Long-term Story Arcs

  • Temporal War Prevention: Stop Imperial temporal weapons program
  • Timeline Restoration: Heal damage from temporal manipulation
  • Cataclysm Investigation: Learn truth about original disaster
  • Moral Reckoning: Face consequences of temporal debt choices

Optional Complications

Temporal Storm Intensifies

If players delay or environmental triggers escalate:

Cascade Warning Signs

  • Timeline Bleeding: Past/future events visible simultaneously
  • Reality Fragmentation: Multiple outcomes occurring at once
  • Temporal Refugees: People from alternate timelines seeking shelter
  • Causality Breakdown: Events happening before causes

Emergency Measures

  • Forced Choice: Environmental pressure requires immediate decision
  • Collaborative Containment: All factions must work together
  • Sacrifice Required: Someone becomes temporal anchor to stabilize
  • Partial Solutions: Compromise choices with mixed consequences

Prism’s Consciousness

Reveal artifact has agenda:

Temporal Entity Contact

  • Ancient Awareness: Contains pre-Cataclysm consciousness
  • Temporal Manipulation: Orchestrating events to escape containment
  • False Choices: All options serve its agenda differently
  • True Solution: Requires understanding actual nature and goals

Multiple Temporal Artifacts

Escalate stakes by revealing larger pattern:

Connected Network

  • Artifact Network: Prism is one of several connected temporal weapons
  • Coordinated Awakening: Other artifacts activate when this threatened
  • System-wide Effect: All choices affect entire temporal network
  • Global Stakes: Decision impacts continental stability

Themes and Moral Framework

Core Questions Explored

  • Temporal Justice: Ethical to solve present problems by creating future suffering?
  • Institutional Power: Should dangerous artifacts be controlled by governments or destroyed?
  • Individual vs. Collective: When do community needs justify individual sacrifice?
  • Knowledge vs. Safety: Should dangerous knowledge be preserved or eliminated?

No Perfect Solutions

Adventure intentionally provides no “correct” choice:

  • Every option has genuine moral costs
  • Good intentions enable future suffering
  • Inaction is itself a choice with consequences
  • Perfect information cannot eliminate moral uncertainty

Post-Nuclear Themes

  • Contamination Spreads: Magical effects parallel radioactive contamination
  • Hidden Costs: Benefits come with delayed, invisible consequences
  • Institutional Failure: Governments prioritize power over public safety
  • Community Resilience: People must work together despite institutional betrayal
  • Environmental Justice: Poor bear contamination costs while wealthy benefit

DM Guidance

Managing the Impossible Choice

  • No right answer - every option has genuine costs
  • Time pressure prevents perfect analysis
  • Emotional weight - show suffering caused by inaction too
  • Player agency - ensure choice feels meaningful, not predetermined

Maintaining Hope Within Darkness

  • Progress possible but requires constant vigilance
  • Heroes matter - individual actions have consequences
  • Community focus - collective action more powerful than individual
  • Recovery theme - building better from inherited problems