Note: All proceeds from this event will be donated to ASO, whose mission is to enable individuals with Level 1 ASD to realize their potential as fully contributing members of their community. Full details here.

At this event you will team up with your fellow tables and play in a coordinated game where you are all running in one big game! Each table will be running their own adventure within this over-arching story:

The Nightmare King stirs… After thousands of years, the ancient entity responsible for every bad dream in existence is threatening to break loose from its prison deep within the Dimension of Dreams. During a mysterious solar eclipse, apocalyptic cultists and creatures from other realms are flocking to the King’s banner. It is up to brave adventurers - working with the secret societies of the Gilded Mask and the Azure Eye - to find and protect the Star Stelae, ancient obsidian monoliths scattered across the globe that hold firm the doors of the King’s prison. While these two secret societies have been at odds, ultimately they will need to band together in order to seal away the ancient, reality-warping power of the King in Slumber!

You will be working for the secret society known as The Gilded Mask: “Appearances deceive, but truth lies within. Behind the mask, we find ourselves."

Cunning and cautious, the Gilded Mask believes in protecting reality by wielding political influence behind the scenes. With spies and agents in every court of power, the Masks use coin and favors to stay ahead of threats to the world. When such a threat arises, the Gilded Mask can call on thrones and armies to help solve the problem.

Dressing in black and gold is encouraged!

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Prolouge:

A high ranking member of your organziation, Ryllia, has come to you with a task of utmost importance. They have recently developed an arcane remedy to the corruption within another member, Arrant Qwill. Arrant had, many seasons ago, been afflicted with the evil of the Nightmare King. 

Ryllia gives you a potion bottle and book when you greet her. You are told that the potion must be given to Arrant to remove the corruption. Additionally, the book titled "The Curious Tale of Wisteria Vale" acts as a demiplane wherein Arrant has been sent until such remedy could been developed. 

With a shaking hand, Ryllia presents you the book. Strikingly, protruding out of its pages, are small crystal-like shards. "The Nighmare King has found him" Ryllia fearfully whispers. 

Your adventure begins as you flip open the book and are transported within its pages. The following Acts are what you are able to read before you find yourself wandering into a village square.

Act I

In the first act, the protagonist, Vargan, lives out a peaceful childhood in the village of Wisteria Vale. Vargan is a boy with a penchant for storytelling and a knack for magic. During the day, Vargan helps his parents on the farm, and in the evening he performs in the tavern to the delight of all the villagers. When Vargan is on the cusp of adulthood, the cruel Lord Ephraim Rathmore visits Wisteria Vale, demanding drink, food, and a place for him and his retinue to stay. When the hospitality isn’t to his liking, he burns down the village. Lord Rathmore leaves Vargan alive as a witness to his village’s punishment, but not before slashing him across the face with a crystal dagger. The event changes Vargan forever, and he vows to bring down the pitiless lord and prevent him from hurting anyone ever again.

Act II

Vargan tracks down Lord Rathmore in a bustling city. Unsure how to proceed, the young bard starts asking around the city for information. He is approached by a wizard, who tells him that she belongs to a secret group looking to bring down Lord Rathmore and others who have been corrupted by evil. The wizard invites Vargan to join the secret organization, and he agrees, becoming a member of the Gilded Mask. With the aid of information from the Gilded Mask, Vargan sneaks into Lord Rathmore’s manor during a banquet disguised as a performer and dispatches Rathmore once and for all. Although his quest for vengeance has been fulfilled, Vargan is obsessed with the fact that many other corrupt and evil people exist across the land, and that only people like him and those of the Gilded Mask can stop them.

Act III

Vargan becomes more powerful, using his talents in magic and espionage to single-handedly take down corrupt kings and mages. Although he becomes a legend among and outside the Gilded Mask, Vargan stays humble, believing that it is his duty to protect others. At the climax of the play, Vargan battles an archmage who was turned evil by an ancient crystal touched by the Nightmare King. Though Vargan defeats the archmage, prolonged contact with the crystal corrupts the bard, convincing him that his former allies are too powerful and must be eliminated. The members of the Gilded Mask devise a solution to prevent Vargan from hurting anyone while they develop a cure: banishing him to a demiplane.

The play ends with a short monologue by the wizard who befriended Vargan years ago, saying that though Vargan’s ultimate fate is still unknown, the day will come when light will banish darkness.

18+: Please note that this is an 18+ event and minors are not permitted to attend.

Licensed Venue: The venue we are playing at is a fully licensed establishment with a proper food and drinks menu. No outside food or drink, it is appreciated if you purchase something. Also, don’t forget to tip your server!

PW higher level: To play in this event you will need to have already played in any of our events using our PW system and have levelled up to the range listed in the event title. If you have not played using this system or have no idea what this means please check out any of our events that are marked as "Newbie", "Beginner" or with a level range starting at "L1"