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concept

Barrier

Summary

The Barrier is the central protective shield, dome, or containment system around the campaign world, connected to pylons, crystals, elemental prisoners, the Pact, the Tri-moon shard, and regional attacks.

Known Details

  • A state charter required sufficient militia near the Barrier.
  • The Dome / Barrier was created by Everard Browning, Ennuyé, Brutor Ruby Eye, Valenth Cardonald, and Lady Evalina Hartwall.
  • It depends on eight imprisoned beings: Valentinhide, Anorazorak, Garadul, Limusvita, Salinus, Leedus, Mericok, and Papa Marmaru.
  • Shield pylons and crystals regulate or focus it.
  • Attacks on it may speed the Tri-moon Shard.
  • It has been attacked at Everchard, flickered near Seaward, interacted with elemental prisons, and required underwater shield crystal intervention.
  • Cardonal’s laboratory identifies Grand Towers factory/control/meeting levels, multiple labs, prison sites, teleport circles, and pylon-adjacent locations as part of the wider system.
  • Enwi’s life-force siphoning replicated across prisons and weakened the system, while Valentinhide later depleted Barrier energy.
  • The Guilt claimed it could reset the control room; Rubyeye described overseer controls separate from the mainframe and double-locked by Valentinhide prison and an automaton guard.
  • Day 32 records the Tri-moon visible during the day, 16 hours ahead of expected schedule, while the Barrier looked normal and the small chunk was visible.
  • Day 32 skull lore says Tremon’s skull had influence over the Barrier and could bend it.
  • Day 35 records the Barrier thickening while two groups hit it, with the party feeling the dome’s pull; TJ later said Lady Envy’s sand dome kept elementals out and called the dome the Bun after Dirk’s explanation.
  • Day 36 reveals divine bargain terms behind the Barrier: Bridged gave a way in, Noxia’s terms involved trinkets and barrier sickness, Otasha received unborn nerfili babies across the race, and Browning/Ennik made many deals Hartwall did not know about.
  • Ruby Eye and Wrath both wanted the Skull of Tremon because it helped people get in and out of the Barrier.
  • Day 41 reports four towers springing out of the ground around Grand Towers, making a new Barrier, while the party did not think they should bring the wider Barrier down.
  • Day 42 says the Barrier was weak, that the party could attune to three of Ennuyé’s rings, and that a tiny hole became noticeable after Ashkellon blessings gave Goliaths weapons, shields, and healing.
  • Brutor Ruby Eye said the rings activate in the Barrier so Joy cannot leave and that sacrifices kept Joy safe.
  • Bleakstorm warned that trips outside the Barrier could be difficult and could send people back in time at a cost.
  • Day 43 says the Barrier may have been made for noble and proud reasons but was possibly bad; Trixus did not like it, and a spell within the Barrier interfered with memory restoration.
  • Day 44 old-school history says Bright does not work linearly in time, old mages used routes through doors and tower tunnels, and the party reached a room above the Air common room on the other side of the Barrier.
  • Day 46 clarifies that the altered Original Goliath Sphinx was used to alter the memories of everyone inside the Dome.
  • After the invisible memory entity tied to the altered Sphinx was defeated, memories were restored.

Timeline

  • day-01: Garadul is introduced as one of eight whose escape would weaken the Barrier.
  • day-05: Controlled townsfolk and militia attack the Barrier near the observatory.
  • day-11: Wider Barrier crisis reports put major settlements and Justicars on alert.
  • day-14: Elementals describe the Barrier as enslavement and batteries.
  • day-16: Brutor’s lab reveals Barrier memory records and emergency systems.
  • day-22: The shield crystal mission continues Barrier stabilization work.
  • day-23: Cardonal reveals prisons, labs, Grand Towers levels, and pylon-adjacent system sites.
  • day-25: Enwi’s siphoning is identified as a replicated weakness across the prison system.
  • day-26: Life-prison damage shows direct risk to the Barrier.
  • day-27: The Guilt offers to reset the control room and fix a prison.
  • day-30: Salinus is sealed, Barrier energy is depleted, and Valentinhide is named as the cause.
  • day-32: The Tri-moon appears in daylight ahead of schedule, daylight shows it as a crystal, and the Barrier seems normal.
  • day-35: The Barrier thickens and pulls while prisoner carts move, and outside-dome accounts describe a sand dome keeping elementals out.
  • day-36: The Barrier’s divine bargains, hidden costs, shell-passage tools, and multiple prison/facility interactions become clearer.
  • day-41: Four new towers create a new Barrier around Grand Towers during a wider regional crisis.
  • day-42: Ashkellon blessings expose a tiny hole in the Barrier, while Ruby Eye clarifies ring activation and Joy’s inability to leave.
  • day-43: Trixus identifies a memory-interfering spell inside the Barrier at Riversmeet.
  • day-44: Old mage-school routes and Bright-related time effects show more historical Barrier-adjacent mechanisms.
  • day-46: The altered Original Goliath Sphinx and its invisible memory entity are defeated, restoring memories affected by the Dome-wide memory alteration.

Open Questions

  • Can the Barrier be repaired without exploiting prisoners?
  • Must it be dropped to repel the Tri-moon shard?
  • Can Grand Towers controls be reset safely while The Guilt, Galatrayer, and the overseer remain uncertain?
  • Are the Barrier, sand dome, and Bun different names for one system or overlapping shields?
  • Can the divine bargains be renegotiated without worsening infertility, barrier sickness, or prisoner exploitation?
  • What is the strategic consequence of the new Grand Towers Barrier?
  • Can the tiny hole revealed at Ashkellon be safely expanded, repaired, or used?
  • Which of the Dome creators altered the original Goliath Sphinx into the Dome-wide memory mechanism, and did any of the others oppose it?