A series of murders in the slums of Zylith lead to a nasty plot above.
Our story takes place in the medieval city of Swordcoast. Or, at least that’s what it would’ve been called so long ago. It’s August 21st, 3709. Zylith is a city of technical prowess. Advancements made to society changed the pristine, fantastical landscape into a permanently disfigured metal jungle of steel cables, neon lights, and high-rise buildings. The musk of steam, moss, or oil can be found wherever you go. Sounds of metal shuttles sliding across their railways can be heard half a mile away, along with their hisses as they come to a stop. Broken-down huts and shops cluster the area. That is, in the Lower Quadrant.
My first and longest original creation. Zylith is the most of everything. Most words written, most close to being officially finished, and most time spent worked on. This one-shot takes us through the downtrodden city of Zylith and features every element of gameplay once could wish from a one-shot. It was an ambitious idea much too ahead of its time to be properly played. The first part is still ready for play. Expect nearly seven hours of gameplay total from both halves.
Heavy emphasis on characters and roleplay, therefore each character has their own file with a full rundown of their backgrounds, personalities, and relationship charts with the other players. Each character has a DNDBeyond character sheet. One of the characters, Cassandra Ward, has the inklings of a homebrew class, Tarot, that you can find in the archive. Maps, statblocks, and a flowchart added as well. Full excerpts linked below.
Full One-Shot Outline →
Annalise Sullivan (Leoleth)
Annalise was a bastard daughter between a high ranking noble elf aristocrat and a prostitute elf from the slums. Despite her mother, Grace Leoleth, begging for aid from him for their newly born child, he remained cold and distant, giving naught to their daughter. Grace sold Annalise to a willing buyer being desperate for money. For over 20 years, Annalise worked for a pimp doing the most unimaginable things to survive. She was psychologically tormented and truly believed that her life was of little importance. One day, she found a well-dressed man heading through the alleyways of Zylith. Believing that the bag he was carrying must have been of some importance, she stabbed him in the leg and ran off with the contents. It was filled with a packed lunch. However, it was unbeknownst to her at the time that this would be the most important interaction of her life. The man turned out to be Trent Sullivan, private investigator. He dismantled the large-scale trafficking operation she was a part of and after an emotionally charged battle against the gang leaders, took Annalise in as an apprentice. The last year she’s spent with him has been the most wondrous of her life. New, mundane experiences have flooded her senses as she wandered the streets of Zylith as a middle-class citizen. Now, she helps Trent with his cases and does the chores around the house.
Trent Sullivan
Trent was born into a household consisting of two government-hired technicians. They weren’t around much since they were often away for large projects. After a tragic accident, his parents were lost within the confidentiality of an endeavor. Details were never released, as they could compromise the stability of the city. He was left with a single caretaker and largely free reign in his day-to-day life. A couple of grievous mistakes throughout his adolescence spurred by his lack of personal relationships have left him without education, and more importantly without a job. Desperate and destitute, he wandered the slums of Zylith and did the occasional odd job for strangers here and there. His prowess in fixing problems garnered a reputation not only around the slums, but the entire city itself. Learning that he had a knack for an investigation, he was deadset on becoming a private investigator. Eventually, he was able to fix himself up an agency near the slums and is content with his lifestyle at the moment, even if it’s a little poor.
Cassandra Ward
Cassandra grew up in the Lower Quadrant slums with two extremely loving parents. As an only child, she spent many of her days exploring what the city had to offer, abandoned warehouses, metal ruins, and infested tunnels. Although her parents wanted her to leave the area and go make a living for herself, she knew from the bullying she faced in her middle-class school that they didn’t want people like her to prosper. So she stopped. Her adolescent years were spent doing the odd job here and there until she accumulated enough currency to open up a shop for her hobby. The tarots. She also does some other things for a customer who would pay enough, such as compensated dating or if the toll was high enough, a night of wonder. Cassandra uses the money to purchase more Tarot cards off the market if she can find them. Currently, she owns only three Major Arcana cards but knows she can handle four and is searching for that last one. Recently, many of her poorer customers have stopped visiting the shop. Asking around, she soon finds out why.
(Rex) Rexant Ciltel
Rex was born in a stable neighborhood in a middle-class family with average parents and siblings. Two, in particular. His older brother Lorkris and older sister Belriel teased him as a child in their small, petty sibling rivalry. He concluded school as an unremarkable student and ended up doing military service for some time. He met with a very wise female dwarf named Amelie during his time training, who changed his perspective on life into one of bettering the world. She was unfortunately killed in the line of duty. Coming back with fighting experience under his belt, he decided to not opt for higher education but instead go directly into the police force to help the public as quickly as possible. However, he was met instead with mountains of paperwork, political red tape, and dealing with important officials. He’s frustrated at the system at hand, but he still has an eventual hope that he can get a good case to make him feel like he’s made a change.
