1905 Madame Thornwaife’s Laboratory
HexDolmenwood Campaign Book · p.388
Open source p.388Great colonies of three-eyed ravens roost in the trees here.
Great colonies of three-eyed ravens roost in the trees here.
- Terrain: Tangled forest (3), Aldweald
- Lost/encounters: 2-in
- Foraging: Successful foraging yields portions of Goatsweed (p430), in addition to the normal results.
The Crystal Shard
A jagged, 10′ tall shard of dark grey crystal stands in a wide glade carpeted with moss and purple lichen.
Metal attraction: Metal objects brought into the glade are gently pulled towards the shard by a magical force. The pull is not strong enough to wrench items from a character’s hands, but it is clearly perceptible.
Etched sigils: Fine, angular sigils are etched into the five largest facets on the shard’s surface. Arcane spell-casters recognise these as the alchemical symbols for earth, water, air, fire, and ether.
Touching the shard with metal: Metallic objects that come into contact with the shard are instantly liquefied (as if in the fires of the forge) and absorbed into the crystal.
Touching gold: Gold absorbed into the crystal (even a single gold piece) causes the entire shard to levitate 5′ off the ground, revealing a stone stairway spiralling underground, illuminated by lambent yellow crystals. The stairway leads to Madame Thornwaife’s Laboratory.
Madame Thornwaife’s Laboratory
A subterranean labyrinth of elegantly curving passages, circular antechambers, and domed halls, with rounded cobblestone floors and white plaster walls and ceilings decorated with spiralling mosaics of blue crystal. Marble statues of capering nymphs are encountered here and there. Furnishings of wood and felt lend an air of comfort.
Inhabitants: Famed alchemist Madame Thornwaife and her assistants: 6 crystaloids (DMB). The assistants are formed of milky selenite, pulsating with a rainbow-hued inner light. They speak with a humming vibration.
Visitors: Those who come seeking Madame Thornwaife’s alchemical aid or sagacious knowledge of plants and fungi are welcomed. Others are politely expelled.
Alchemical laboratory: At the heart of the complex, accessible only via a secret door, is Madame Thornwaife’s workspace: a seemingly endless array of glass tubes, distilling vessels, vats of gel, herb racks, hanging skeletons and skins, and shelf after shelf of grimoires.
Treasure: The lab is littered with valuable items, including 5,000gp worth of alchemically pure gold and platinum nuggets, 3 Orbs of Illumination (5″ crystal spheres that emit light in a 30′ radius when tapped—worth 1,500gp each), and a complete twelve-volume set of the incredibly rare alchemical treatise Ascrythe’s Transfigurations, bound in cockatrice skin (worth 10,000gp).
Services at Madame Thornwaife’s Laboratory
While reclusive, Madame Thornwaife sells certain products of her craft to wealthy visitors.
Potions: At standard prices. Prismatic Elixirs, 3-in chance of a Wyrmsblood Elixir, 3-in chance of a Vanish ing Philtre, 2-in chance of a Liquid Time. See Potions, p414.
Alchemical compounds: 4-in chance of each of the following compounds being in stock: Alchemical Tonic (p414), Memory Dust (p426), Orgon’s Scintillating Philtre (p414), Philtre of Wondrous Vitality (p414).
Alchemical commissions: Madame Thornwaife may take on commissions, per the standard rules for hiring an alchemist (DPB).
Madame Virginia Thornwaife—Alchemist/Sage
A spry human woman in her 60s, with huge volumes of wispy white hair, wide-set eyes of clear blue, and long, deft fingers stained with chemicals. Dresses in purple velvet robes set with scintillating gemstones. Once a lecturer at the Royal Institute of Physicks and Sorcerers in Castle Brackenwold (p134), Thornwaife now lives as a recluse, absorbed by her research.
Demeanour (Lawful): Animated, impatient. Filled with wonder when discussing her craft. Incessantly drums her fingers.
Speech: Posh. Woldish, Old Woldish, Caprice.
Desires: Magical herbs and fungi. Monster parts. Would pay 10,000gp for one of the Mirrors of Embala (p75).
Possessions: A mother-of-pearl Talisman of Protection From Scrying (p398).
Knowledge: Specialises in unusual plants and fungi. Apply the standard rules for hiring a sage (DPB).