Moving Location: 5. Perpetual Train; Static Location: 2. Enchanted Forest
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TLDR:
From down in the cab with Thomas you see the forest grow brighter and brighter until it hurts your eyes to look at it, but you (succeed your constitution save) don’t look away. Suddenly the train plunges in between the trees and the intense brightness changes suddenly into darkness. The roaring of the wind fills your senses as you are disoriented and start to lose you balance. You (succeed your dexterity or wisdom save) find your balance before you fall, your (successful constitution save) eyes adjust quickly to the shadows and you see small flits of light dart in the dabbled light. The sounds slashing, iron against tree, now competes with the rushing air as the mechanical steed crashes through the trees and clearing crew 1st battles with branches to clear the way for the train. The smell of burnt magic fills your next breath, and then is just as quickly passed. As the train begins to move from light to shadow quickly as your eyes once again struggle to adjust against the strobe like effect (this time with advantage).
“What the abyss? Ouch!” cries Thomas as he dives to the floor, tenderly holding his forearm, blood trickling from a tiny arrow wound.
The Pixies have begun firing at the mechanical steed (which seems unaffected), the cab (which also seems unaffected), clearing crew 1st, and you guys; roll for initiative.
… Back to the beginning …The wooden face plastered to the side of the carriage speaks hollowly, “Clearing crew 2nd to the cab. Clearing crew 2nd to the cab. Forest, ETA 5 minutes.”
That’s you guys, everyone going? Yes Toby, you may go to the “out-carriage” first. Everyone else you head to the front. Since the guard car is near the back you pass through nearly all the other carriages, you may grab some food from the dining car if you like. With the train moving its regular even speed of 10 mi/hr you have little trouble keeping your balance as the carriages glide over the ground. Through the living cars the other passengers give your axes/ halberds/ glaives a lot of room by now. They give you even more room Duck, despite only carrying a staff.
Even the small leap between the floating carriages is easy for your party by now, so long as you hold onto the guide rope you don’t need to make any saves or checks. You all enter the cab, Toby running up behind, just in time to hear the hollow voice “clearing crew 1st to the cab. Clearing crew 1st to the cab. Forest, ETA 3 minutes. Clearing crew 2nd report for standby.” Rather than a mask on the wall you see the original repeating mask over the face of Thomas the kobold, the chauffeur on shift.
“Blah, blah blah.” said the PC’s. (pc’s … can’t make that stuff up)
“Sorry guys, I don’t like the looks of this one. Safety first and you guys are the 2nd best.” Thomas responds after being confronted. “Check it out for yourself.”
Climbing up the short ladder out of the cab and onto the front platform you see the field around you as your perpetual train glides mostly smoothly along, looking up ahead past the Large mechanical steed you (pass your perception check) see the forest ahead. The forest seems to green, with the tops seeming to shimmer in the morning light. A haze above the ground shifts from light to shadow hypnotically. As you look you hear clearing crew 1st arriving in to the cab, the loud chuckle of Gordon, a Goliath of a man and clearing crew 1st’s lead, fills the air as the climbs out onto the platform.
“I heard you guys were put on standby, HUHUHU. I thought you got lost in the food car again.”
“Blah, blah blah.” said the PC’s.
“Yep. Thomas was right.” Says Edward (the elf, wizard 1st class, magical consultant, well known for his essay on magical contamination on nut bearing tree’s, etc.), interrupting your banter with Gordon. He continues to peer through his small spyglass, which you Emily know has detect magic and true sight lenses. “That’s an enchanted forest for certain.”
“Better get back into the cabin clearing crew 2nd.” Says James snootily as he walks up between your group … he makes his dex save as he gracefully hops over your foot Toby while drawing his Halberd at the same time and transitions into some warm up swings, making a show of being very careless with his swinging.
Donald and Douglas, the half-elf twins, shrug as you pass by on your way down to the cab. One of them pats you on back Percy and murmurs “you’ll gett’em next time champ.” Gordon has leapt the 20 foot gap onto the back.
From down in the cab with Thomas you see the forest grow brighter and brighter until it hurts your eyes to look at it, but you (succeed your constitution save) don’t look away. Suddenly the train plunges in between the trees and the intense brightness changes suddenly into darkness. The roaring of the wind fills your senses as you are disoriented and start to lose you balance. You (succeed your dexterity or wisdom save) find your balance before you fall, your (successful constitution save) eyes adjust quickly to the shadows and you see small flits of light dart in the dabbled light. The sounds slashing, iron against tree, now competes with the rushing air as the mechanical steed crashes through the trees and clearing crew 1st battles with branches to clear the way for the train. The smell of burnt magic fills your next breath, and then is just as quickly passed. As the train begins to move from light to shadow quickly as your eyes once again struggle to adjust against the strobe like effect (this time with advantage).
“What the abyss? Ouch!” cries Thomas as he dives to the floor, tenderly holding his forearm, blood trickling from a tiny arrow wound.
The Pixies have begun firing at the mechanical steed (which seems unaffected), the cab (which also seems unaffected), clearing crew 1st, and you guys; roll for initiative.
6. You do you.
Rather than introduce a higher level of technology into the world, I spent some time looking at spells I thought could be used for non-teleportation transportation. The best option, only one which seemed fast enough to be worthwhile also being potentially perpetual (though certainly not my favorite), was to tag most of the level 1 ritual spell, Tensors floating disc, onto a series of train cars, “carriages”, affixed to a perpetual engine capable of moving quickly, vague Large mechanical steed. Likewise, without creating a new technology it wouldn’t be feasible to build train tracks into the world; roads would be too destructive/ disruptive and very obvious if they are (most likely) trying to get away from or avoid something. Into an enchanted forest didn’t seem like a good place for tracks any way, but if they were going into it on a moving vehicle I thought a clearing crew would be a good idea … and that’s how we get a story.
As the DM I took a lot of believable creative liberties to make it more interesting, the PC’s probably won’t notice… and if they do I can justify with several preconceived creative answers. So basically, I made it way more complicated then I needed to.
