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Longboat Mountain – Reflecting Lake
🕑 Added 2024-08-26 15:27:57 +0000 UTCContinuing up Longboat Mountain from the Drop Falls, the climb takes another reversal in direction (and an increase in grade of the ascent) at the reflecting lake (location D on the Longboat Mountain overview map). The stream running down to the Drop Falls and then over the edge to Silver Lake pools into a pair of large ponds here (honestly not big enough to earn the name “lake”).
The area around the lake is a small bowl with significant tree and brush coverage.
But climbing over the edge of the bowl, one cannot but notice the obelisk. Sitting on the island as part of a shrine made up of four small polished obelisks around this tall and rough cut chunk of stone that emits a silver radiance that shines off the lake like bright moonlight. Sharing the island with the shrine is an apple tree – while the majority of the tree seems normal, the parts of the tree that don’t see much sunlight appear to have turned to silver and a single silver apple hangs not more than ten feet from the shrine.
The goblins who have established themselves above Red Eagle Tower have tried repeatedly to acquire this apple, whereas everyone else on the mountain has learned to give it a wide berth. A number of shattered goblin skeletons sit just below the waterline around the island. A row of five rough-cut stones that look like more recent attempts to copy the design of the obelisk sit atop the small rise between the two parts of the lake. These were crafted by goblins attempting to “steal” the magic of the obelisk.
Anyone approaching within 30 feet of the tree feels a strong repelling force pressing against them. Continuing further towards the tree the force envelops the intruder (but is strongest from the side of the tree) and begins to crush them. Every five feet advanced deals 1d10 cumulative damage (1d10 at 25 feet, 2d10 at 20 feet, 3d10 at 15 feet, 4d10 at 10 feet, 5d10 at 5 feet, and a crushing 6d10 when at the apple proper). The force by the last five feet is easily as strong as a storm giant, and attempting to acquire the apple from further back with tools requires dealing with that powerful repelling force. The same force holds the apple in place until a living hand grasps it (preventing telekinesis and many other tricks), at which point the force ends. Probably the best chance to get the apple would be some sort of teleportation to arrive right at the apple, deal with the 6d10 damage, and grasp it.
The apple itself is a single-use magic item that can be used to either cast Resurrection or thrown as a grenade up to 30 feet +5 feet per point of Strength bonus whereupon it emits a brilliant flash of moonlight that deals damage identically to the damage dealt for approaching it in the first place, as well as turning all shape-shifting creatures back to their original form and dispelling all forms of illusions within the area.
The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 10,200 x 13,200 pixels in size (34 x 44 squares). To use this with a VTT you would need to resize the squares to either 70 pixels (for 5′ squares) or 140 pixels (for the recommended 10′ squares) – so resizing it to either 2,380 x 3,080 or 4,760 x 6,160 pixels, respectively.
https://dysonlogos.blog/2024/08/26/longboat-mountain-reflecting-lake/
