Aruendel#
The City of Veiled Arcana#
🏰 About This Location#
Aruendel is a city shrouded in mystery and ancient magic, where mages wield power both wondrous and terrible. Once a beacon of arcane learning, the city has fallen into shadow—its streets now haunted by secrets, conspiracies, and figures who wear their titles like masks.
Type: Major City
Region: Material Plane
Status: Troubled
Known For: Arcane academies, mysterious disappearances, planar disturbances
🎭 What Players Will Encounter#
The Atmosphere#
When your party enters Aruendel, they’ll find:
⚡ Arcane Instability
- Wild magic surges in certain districts
- Planar rifts appearing without warning
- Reality itself seems… fragile here
🎭 Hidden Identities
- Many NPCs use titles instead of names
- Trust is a rare commodity
- Everyone seems to be watching, waiting
📚 Ancient Secrets
- Old libraries hold dangerous knowledge
- The city’s history is deliberately obscured
- Some truths are better left buried
Current Situation#
Aruendel is experiencing:
- Planar disturbances connected to the greater multiversal crisis
- Political intrigue among the city’s magical elite
- A brewing conflict between those who seek to preserve the old ways and those who would see them destroyed
**⚠️ DM Note**: Aruendel is a location where nothing is as it seems. Encourage players to question everything and trust no one completely.
👥 Notable Figures#
The people of Aruendel often hide behind titles and roles. Some key figures your party may encounter:
The Mother#
Role: Mysterious Matriarch
A figure of power and secrets who seems to know far more than she reveals. Her connection to the city’s troubles runs deep.
The Daughter#
Role: Emerging Power
Caught between legacy and choice, she represents a new generation grappling with old sins.
The Paladin#
Role: Righteous Enforcer
A warrior of faith in a city of lies. His devotion may be both his greatest strength and his fatal flaw.
The Don Quixote#
Role: Idealistic Dreamer
Fighting windmills while the city burns around him. Is his idealism noble folly or visionary wisdom?
🗺️ Key Locations#
The Arcane Quarter#
Where the magical elite conduct their research—and their conspiracies.
The Veiled Markets#
Nothing illegal is sold here. Everything is available. The difference is important.
The Shattered Academy#
Once the city’s premier school of magic. Now abandoned. Mostly.
The Underneath#
Networks of tunnels beneath the city. Some are ancient. Some are newer. All are dangerous.
📜 What Your Party Needs to Know#
Survival Tips#
- Question Everything: In Aruendel, the truth is a rare commodity
- Watch Your Magic: Wild magic zones can turn a simple spell deadly
- Respect the Titles: Those who use them have earned them—usually through blood
- Don’t Dig Too Deep: Some secrets were buried for good reason
Campaign Connections#
Aruendel is connected to the larger story through:
- Planar disturbances that threaten reality itself
- Ancient pacts made with entities best left undisturbed
- Hidden knowledge about the nature of the multiverse
- Key NPCs who may become allies or enemies
🎲 Running Aruendel Sessions#
Tone & Atmosphere#
Themes: Mystery, intrigue, moral ambiguity, ancient sins
Mood: Tense, paranoid, gothic
Feel: Like a powder keg ready to explode
Encounter Types#
- Social Intrigue: Navigating political machinations
- Investigation: Uncovering buried secrets
- Moral Dilemmas: No clean choices, only less bad ones
- Arcane Disasters: When magic goes wrong, it goes very wrong
**🎭 For Players**: Aruendel rewards careful observation, clever roleplaying, and willingness to embrace moral complexity. Your choices here will have consequences that echo through the campaign.
“In Aruendel, we wear masks not to hide who we are, but to reveal what we’ve become.”
— Anonymous inscription, found in the ruins of the Old Academy