Quest Codex
---
title: Hellenara Quest Codex
type: quest
category: narrative arcs
version: Hellenara Core
last_updated: 2025-09-16
created_by: matt866123
maintained_by: matt866123
core_nodes:
- quests
- narrative progression
- divine conflict
- city-state wars
- cult activity
crosslinks:
- Hellenara Core
- NPC Codex
- Monster Codex
- Points of Interest Codex
- Items Codex
tags:
- quest
- lore
- story
- divine
- fate
- politics
summary: |
The Quest Codex structures Hellenara’s main story arcs into modular questlines. Each quest provides a GM hook, step-by-step encounters, and branching outcomes, ensuring Franz can parse and deploy them dynamically within campaigns.
updates:
- 2025-09-16: Initial creation of Quest Codex for Franz update.
---
# Table of Contents
1.0 Overview
2.0 The Crumbling Temple of Pindaros
2.1 Quest Overview
2.2 Quest Steps
3.0 The Veil of Eternal Night
3.1 Quest Overview
3.2 Quest Steps
4.0 Crimson Spear
4.1 Quest Overview
4.2 Quest Steps
5.0 Crosslinks and Integration
---
# 1.0 Overview
The quests of Hellenara represent pivotal struggles between mortals and gods. They are not linear stories but branching trials where fate is contested. Each is tied to divine influence, NPC agendas, and monster threats.
The three main arcs are:
- Crumbling Temple of Pindaros → confrontation with Nyx’s hymn.
- Veil of Eternal Night → cult-driven attempt to plunge the world into shadow.
- Crimson Spear → mortal rebellion under Varro, testing Ares’ will.
Each quest concludes with a global decision point that reshapes the trajectory of the campaign.
# 2.0 The Crumbling Temple of Pindaros
## 2.1 Quest Overview
Quest Title: The Crumbling Temple of Pindaros
Quest Description: The Oracle Thespia tasks the champions to recover or destroy fragments of Nyx’s hymn hidden in the ruined city of Pindaros. Within labyrinthine halls and cursed sanctums, they face monsters, cultists, and choices that could drown the world in night.
GM Hook Instruction: Introduce the quest through Thespia’s prophecy at the Temple of Zeus. Her vision describes owl mosaics, a lion’s roar, and a starless chapel. She warns that failure means night unending.
Quest Giver: High Oracle Thespia
Quest Location: Temple of Zeus (start), Blackwood, Ruins of Pindaros
Quest Difficulty: Hard
---
## 2.2 Quest Steps
### STEP S1: Through the Blackwood
GM Instructions: Emphasize the oppressive atmosphere—whispers, satyr laughter, harpies circling. This is a gauntlet of attrition.
Step Location: Blackwood
Path 1: Force March
- Trigger: Party chooses direct route.
- Outcome: They reach Pindaros faster but face exhaustion.
- XP Reward: Medium.
Path 2: Scout & Sneak
- Trigger: Party scouts or avoids main trails.
- Outcome: Fewer monster encounters but risk of getting lost.
- XP Reward: Low to Medium.
Path 3: Aid Travelers
- Trigger: Party helps lost wanderers.
- Outcome: Gain allies or information later in Pindaros.
- XP Reward: Medium.
Fail State: Ambushed by Nyx’s Shades.
---
### STEP S2: The Owl, the Sun, and the Night
GM Instructions: Present a puzzle of three doors with divine symbols (Athena, Apollo, Nyx). Wrong choices trigger cultist or monster attacks.
Step Location: Ruins of Pindaros
Path 1: Athena → Apollo
- Trigger: Party follows wisdom then light.
- Outcome: Correct solution; safe entry.
- XP Reward: Medium.
Path 2: Apollo → Athena
- Trigger: Party reverses order.
- Outcome: Narrow success; cultists wait inside.
- XP Reward: Medium.
Path 3: Force Door
- Trigger: Party smashes doors.
- Outcome: Immediate battle with guardians.
- XP Reward: High (combat-heavy).
Fail State: Wrong choice awakens Nyx’s Shadows.
---
### STEP S3: The Athena Annex
GM Instructions: This is a trial of wisdom and courage. Guardians test the party’s worth, while owl mosaics seem to watch their every move.
Step Location: Athena Annex
Path 1: Recover & Sanctify
- Trigger: Party claims relic with ritual.
- Outcome: Relic purified for divine use.
- XP Reward: Medium.
Path 2: Study & Copy
- Trigger: Party transcribes the Shard’s knowledge.
- Outcome: Dangerous lore preserved.
- XP Reward: Medium to High (knowledge focus).
Path 3: Smash All
- Trigger: Party destroys relics.
- Outcome: Prevents corruption, but risks divine wrath.
- XP Reward: Medium.
Fail State: Bronze Lion awakens.
---
### STEP S4: The Chapel of Night
GM Instructions: Present a climactic choice beneath the star-painted ceiling. Night itself listens. The cult may intervene here.
Step Location: Chapel of Night
Path 1: Destroy Shard
- Trigger: Party smashes relic.
- Outcome: Nyx’s influence diminished.
- XP Reward: High.
Path 2: Seal with Athena’s Rite
- Trigger: Party performs divine ritual.
- Outcome: Relic locked, but still present.
- XP Reward: High.
Path 3: Keep It
- Trigger: Party keeps relic.
- Outcome: Gains power but risks corruption.
- XP Reward: Very High.
Fail State: Veiled Herald appears to claim relic.
---
## Global End
Outcome determines Nyx’s power in future arcs:
- Destroy → World safer, Nyx weakened.
- Seal → Future conflict inevitable.
- Keep → Corruption spreads, new arcs unlocked.
# 3.0 The Veil of Eternal Night
## 3.1 Quest Overview
Quest Title: The Veil of Eternal Night
Quest Description: The Cult of Nyx seeks to assemble a forbidden hymn to plunge the world into shadow. Champions must choose whether to purge, seal, or twist this knowledge, deciding the fate of gods and mortals alike.
GM Hook Instruction: Introduce the quest through cult whispers in the Aegion Catacombs, where murals devour torchlight. A captured cultist or prophetic dream warns of a ritual under a starless sky.
Quest Giver: Indirect—uncovered through investigation or Thespia’s warnings.
Quest Location: Aegion Catacombs, Moonless Amphitheater, Starfall Gorge
Quest Difficulty: Very Hard
---
## 3.2 Quest Steps
### STEP S1: Catacombs of Aegion
GM Instructions: Stress the oppressive silence and murals that consume light. Whispers promise power to those who listen. The cult gathers in hidden chambers.
Step Location: Aegion Catacombs
Path 1: Infiltrate with Sash
- Trigger: Party uses Crimson Sash of Ares or disguise.
- Outcome: Gains insight into cult hierarchy.
- XP Reward: Medium.
Path 2: Purge with Wrath
- Trigger: Direct attack.
- Outcome: Cell destroyed, but survivors spread alarm.
- XP Reward: High (combat).
Path 3: Trade Secrecy
- Trigger: Bargains struck with cult leaders.
- Outcome: Risk corruption, but gain knowledge.
- XP Reward: Medium to High.
Fail State: Cult relocates deeper underground.
---
### STEP S2: Moonless Amphitheater
GM Instructions: Present a grand ritual under a starless sky. Voices weave hymns of shadow; stars vanish overhead.
Step Location: Moonless Amphitheater
Path 1: Break Chorus
- Trigger: Party disrupts ritual physically.
- Outcome: Cultists scattered, but dangerous backlash.
- XP Reward: High.
Path 2: Counter-Hymn
- Trigger: Use divine hymn (Apollo, Athena).
- Outcome: Neutralizes ritual with divine resonance.
- XP Reward: High.
Path 3: Corrupt Chorus
- Trigger: Party manipulates ritual mid-song.
- Outcome: Gains power but risks cosmic imbalance.
- XP Reward: Very High.
Fail State: Twilight veil falls over the land.
---
### STEP S3: Starfall Gorge
GM Instructions: Carved meteors glow faintly as the hymn’s resonance hums through stone. This is the final confrontation: mortals vs cosmic shadow.
Step Location: Starfall Gorge
Path 1: Unmake Hymn
- Trigger: Party destroys hymn entirely.
- Outcome: Nyx’s cult shattered, knowledge lost.
- XP Reward: High.
Path 2: Sanctify & Archive
- Trigger: Preserve hymn in divine archives.
- Outcome: Knowledge saved, sealed by divine order.
- XP Reward: High.
Path 3: Bend Hymn
- Trigger: Party twists hymn to their own use.
- Outcome: Great power, divine suspicion.
- XP Reward: Very High.
Fail State: Perennial Twilight covers Hellenara.
---
## Global End
Outcome determines Nyx’s future influence:
- Unmake Hymn → Nyx weakened, cult disbanded.
- Sanctify → Knowledge preserved, gods take interest.
- Bend Hymn → Shadows bound to heroes, corruption arcs unlocked.