TEXT: The World of Aden originAlly creATed by ShAne lAcy henSley
  Marked on most formal nautical maps as Enigma 
  Island, the majority of uneducated sailors who man 
  the various vessels of Aden’s southern seas call this 
  strange island Mystery Island instead, given that most 
  don’t know what an enigma is. The island has a dark 
  reputation throughout the region for being both utterly 
  incomprehensible and incredibly dangerous. There 
  have been any number of expeditions onto the island 
  in an attempt to discover the secrets of its myste-
  rious shipwrecks, but none have experienced more 
  than limited success and most have ended in disaster. 
  Depending upon what records one examines, either 
  dozens or hundreds of lives have been lost attempting 
  to decipher the reality of Mystery Island but regardless 
  of the count, the island is exceptionally deadly by any 
  estimate. 
  The majority of Mystery Island is covered by a 
  fetid swamp that is itself shrouded in a thick, dense 
  fog that never seems to dissipate regardless of weather 
  conditions. Even during the tropical storms that curse 
  this region of the sea during much of the year, the fog 
  seems immune to the screaming winds that blow even 
  the largest vessels far off course. It is rare for airships 
  to travel this far south, due largely to the aforemen-
  tioned storms, but they have done so on occasion, due 
  largely to the interests of the Cartographer’s Society. 
  Those ships that have traversed the area have created 
  multiple maps of the island as seen from above. 
  Credits
  Written by: Shawn Carman
  Editing: Shawn Carman
  Interior Artwork: Gary Dupuis  
  (Purple Duck Games)
  For Kyoudai Games
  Shawn Carman, Creative Department
  Rich Wulf, Mechanical Design
  Ryan Carman, Logistics & Development
   
  Butch Carman, Chief Financial Officer
  Mike Brodu, Graphic Design & Branding
  Original Graphic Design: Robert Denton
  1
  
  Features 
  of the Island
  • The Landing Cliff – The one secure, constant area of safety on the 
  island is known as the landing cliff, and it sits atop the island’s western-
  most reaches. It is something of a natural plateau that forms the western 
  edge of the land, but is elevated far above the rest of the island due 
  to a series of rather jagged cliffs. The occasional, inevitably ill-fated 
  expeditions that attempt to secure the island invariably land here and 
  establish a base camp from which to explore the island; this is a reason-
  able approach, particularly because there is literally nowhere else on 
  the island suitable to land an airship without some sort of ground crew 
  attempting to clear a location first, another approach with an even lower 
  success rate. Unfortunately, even the cliff is ill-suited for the task. There 
  is no significant vegetation and no fresh water whatsoever with which 
  an expedition might resupply. The soil there is very dry and particulate, 
  so those in the area are constantly buffeted by sandstorm-light condi-
  tions, which can be extremely deleterious to any advanced machinery in 
  the area. This area is also one of the only places on the entire island that 
  shows any signs of human habitation, albeit only in the form of aban-
  doned improvised buildings erected by expeditioners and long-since 
  reclaimed by the elements.
  • The Wall – The western most section of the island, the Landing Cliff, 
  is separated from the rest of the island from an abrupt, sheer cliff that 
  elevates it far above the other sections. This cliff is jagged and averages 
  sixty feet in height. There are numerous caves along its length, allowing 
  for creatures to make their lairs within it, but most burrowing preda-
  tors seem to have made their home near the island’s lone mountain in 
  the northwest corner. The Wall is surprisingly sheer and radiates a very 
  faint aura of magic, as if it was created via extremely powerful magic 
  at some point in the distant past, perhaps similar to the White Cliffs that 
  separate Carraway and the High Steppes on the mainland. 
  • The Forest – The abrupt separation of the western plateau from the 
  vast swamp in the east by a thin ribbon of forestland roughly two miles 
  wide that extends from the northern shore to the southern short like 
  a living wall. It is the only region of the entire island that gives the 
  appearance of life, dividing the small barren cliff and the vast, reeking 
  swamp. Nevertheless, it is a very dangerous place, where the swamp fog 
  often spills over and makes navigation difficult at best. Predators from 
  the swamp often lurk into its edges, competing with the area’s natural 
  hunters for the limited amount of available prey and often resorting to 
  preying upon one another for sustenance and, thankfully for the island’s 
  irregular visitors, keeping the predator population at a reasonable level. 
  • The Graveyard – This vast swampland dominates three quarters of the 
  island’s surface, and is among the dankest and most unpleasant terrains 
  imaginable. There is a low fog that permeates the area regardless of 
  time of day, and which can obscure the stars for those trapped within on 
  foot, making navigation difficult if not impossible. The ground is even 
  more treacherous than one might expect in a swamp, changing from 
  semi-solid and traversable to mud pits that can swallow giants without 
  warning and with great frequency. Deadly predators of all sorts have 
  adapted to the environment and lurk in the mists, waiting for anything 
  that might provide sustenance. Despite the incalculable number of dead 
  concealed within the mud, however, this region takes its names from 
  the many shipwrecks that litter the area. This is, in fact, what gives the 
  island its name, because there are at least a dozen known shipwrecks 
  dotting the swampy landscape, and potentially more hidden by the fog. 
  The known wrecks have been mapped from the air by one of the primi-
  tive airships of Yzeem and are generally known to most who frequent 
  the area thanks to the efforts of the Cartographer’s Society to dissemi-
  nate accurate maps in hopes of saving lives.
  • Mystery Peak – Perhaps the most dominant feature of the island is 
  the lone mountain that juts up into the sky from its northeast corner. 
  Although not volcanically active, the peak is made up of a surprising 
  amount of volcanic glass and does tend to smolder a large part of the 
  time. It is only this smoldering which reveals the various caves and 
  openings that exist across the peak, but it is enough for those who seek 
  entry into the mountain to find a way in. The exterior of the mountain is 
  home to a surprising number of elemental creatures, predominantly fire 
  and earth, both seemingly summoned into the mortal world by the vast 
  magical energies released during the massive magical explosion that 
  created the current situation upon the island. 
  • The Cave System – It is within the caves on Mystery Peak that the 
  only substantial evidence of what truly happened to create the island 
  exists, and then only in fragmented, disjointed pieces. Throughout the 
  caves are a series of caverns that exist at random intervals and in defi-
  ance of the rudimentary study of geology as it currently exists in Aden. 
  Within these caves are portions of two great vessels, one an airship and 
  the other a sea-going vessel, that were at the heart of the cataclysm 
  causing the island’s current state. Torn apart by vast arcane forces and 
  subjected to the passage of over a century in their current location, these 
  ship fragments are in a terrible state and completely non-functional, 
  but enough evidence remains to make it clear to a learned examiner 
  that these are vessels constructed using techniques and technology far 
  beyond anything currently employed anywhere in the Known Lands or 
  its satellite islands. Examples of individual caverns can be found in the 
  Expanded Adventures section below.
  The Secret 
  of Mystery Island
  Although it would be difficult if not impossible to piece together 
  the truth behind the various oddities of Mystery Island, the clues are 
  there for someone bold enough, or perhaps foolish enough, to make 
  it their life’s work. The strangeness of Mystery Island is the result of 
  an incredibly powerful magical event that has not happened yet, and 
  indeed which may never happen, depending upon how events transpire 
  in this version of the world of Aden. There are many ways that time can 
  unfold, after all, and they can be very different from one another.
  In one potential future, the Darkfall is eventually defeated by the 
  forces of the Known Lands after they discover the true horror of its 
  existence. With the Darkfall defeated, peace and stability return, but not 
  forever. From an unknown continent far to the southeast, a new threat 
  emerges in the form of a race of powerful, hostile creatures with incred-
  ible magical power at their disposal. A warlord from this race sailed 
  north, intent on conquering the Known Lands and possessing enough 
  power to pose a genuine threat in that regard. The warlord’s forces were 
  intercepted by an advanced airship from the mainland, commanded by 
  a powerful sorcerer descended from the Theocrats of Carraway. The 
  clash between the two was beyond the scope of epic, and ultimately 
  the sorcerer sacrificed himself to defeat the warlord in a battle that 
  unleashed the full magnitude of both their arcane abilities. The result 
  tore a hole in time itself, causing all manner of distortions to occur.
  An island that will be created by a volcanic eruption at sea thousands 
  of years from now was torn from its place and thrown back to the dawn 
  of time. Ships that sailed through the region before that occurred were 
  uprooted and smashed into the island, as was the sorcerer’s advanced 
  airship and the warlord’s strange fleet, all colliding to create an island 
  of relics that may be ancient while appearing new or may not yet 
  have been created and seem very old. The hints that suggest how this 
  occurred are located here and there among the various wrecks but it 
  would take a great deal of research and the entirety of the clues on the 
  island to even hypothesize the truth and thus far, no one has ever come 
  near understanding it to that degree.
  2
  
  Denizens 
  of the Island
  There are very few permanent denizens of Mystery Island, and those 
  who do dwell there are invariably hostile, extremely angry, and rarely 
  actually living. 
  Persons of Note
  The Warlord 
  [NE male human lich wizard 14]
  The warlord has a name, but lesser races are unworthy to speak 
  it in his native tongue. If he were to deign to translate it into a form 
  such creatures could understand, it would approximate roughly to “the 
  Storm That Brings All Suffering,” although among his kin he was often 
  referred to by a diminutive form that simply meant “the Storm.” Though 
  he slumbers, the Storm is nevertheless aware of his surroundings and 
  situation in a very vague sense, and it fills him with a white-hot hatred 
  that skirts the edge of madness. In his current state of quasi-hibernation, 
  he is capable only of influencing events in minor ways, chiefly through 
  dominating the various forms of undead and magical creatures found 
  upon the island. He craves wakefulness and freedom so much he can 
  taste it, and will do anything to make that happen. He understands, 
  again in a very vague sense, that the cataclysm invoked to defeat him 
  has displaced him somehow, although he does not yet understand his 
  displacement is temporal instead of geographical. When he comes to 
  that realization, should that day come, his wrath will only increase, and 
  his plans for punishment and domination will increase tenfold.
  Captain Cyrano Whitefeather
  [CN male human ghost fighter 6/sorcerer (celestial) 3]
  If there is any figure on the island who will be sympathetic to 
  newcomers, it is the tragic personage of Cyrano Whitefeather, captain 
  of the Eternal Horizon. The impediment to any potential cooperation 
  between the two is that Cyrano is unfortunately quite mad, although not 
  particularly malevolent. And, of course, he’s dead.
  The Eternal Horizon was the airship that intercepted the Warlord’s 
  small fleet as it carved a path through the southern seas toward the 
  Known Lands, intent on conquest. Although no dedicated spellcaster 
  himself, Whitefeather was chosen because he was a ritualist heavily 
  indoctrinated in the secret ways of the elven people and it was hoped 
  that he could provide aid to the forces opposing the Warlord. Unfortu-
  nately, he was of limited aid and, when the conflict reached its zenith, 
  he could not save his ship and his men from the ensuing disaster. The 
  Horizon broke apart and crashed into the island. Cyrano survived, 
  although with significant wounds, amid one portion of the ship near 
  the pilot’s station crashed in the center of the swamp, where it remains 
  to this day.
  The Warlord’s minions and numerous undead created by his magic 
  from those killed in the accident persisted after the effect was over, and 
  they came for Cyrano shortly thereafter. Wounded and exhausted, he 
  defended himself for a time, but knew that he could not hold out indefi-
  nitely. Aware that something extraordinary had happened, but unsure 
  exactly what, Cyrano updated his captain’s log as much as he could 
  and then used his last bit of vitality to enact an ancient elven sorcerous 
  ritual that created a tiny bubble of space free from time and corruption, 
  where his remains and the log could not be touched by hostile forces. 
  The ritual also bound his spirit to the wreck, which was not something 
  he anticipated. Years of solitude has degraded his sanity significantly, 
  and existence as the undead did it no favors either. Cyrano’s specter 
  will manifest to anyone who approaches the ship and, in his own way, 
  attempt to convince them of the threat that the slumbering Warlord 
  poses, but his insanity prevents any clarity or meaningful communica-
  tion. The only hope for his final mission to succeed is for someone to 
  retrieve his captain’s log from the site of his death and attempt to make 
  sense of it.
  Adventuring Hooks
  • The Cartographer’s Society is offering a significant bounty for infor-
  mation on the interior of Mystery Island, with an even larger stipend to 
  be paid for any party that can return a cache of valuable maps lost there 
  in a failed expedition some years ago. A ship’s captain is preparing an 
  expedition but is having difficulty finding men and women willing to 
  go to such a “cursed” location. He will offer the characters an attrac-
  tive profit-sharing arrangement to entice them to participate.
  • A wealthy noble family has been missing one of their members for 
  many years, and a recent scrying ritual has, for the first time, given 
  them an indication that the man may be found in the southern seas. 
  Adventurers are hired and dispatched to the area in hopes of finding 
  him, but their search only leads them to Mystery Island and all the 
  oddities there.
  Expanded Adventures  
  on Mystery Island
  Because of its “sandbox” nature, it is difficult to present Mystery 
  Island in a manner that establishes a clear linear path for an adventure. 
  Instead, it is best suited to a series of encounters that can be utilized 
  in part or in whole, and in whatever order best suits the nature of the 
  campaign in which they are being included. Obviously, the sheer scope 
  of the events leading to the creation of Mystery Island could easily 
  make up the focus of a campaign in and of itself. If choosing to use the 
  island in a different manner, it should be used with caution to prevent 
  it from being a point of contention and frustration for those presented 
  with its incomplete facts and nature.
  Allies
  There are very few allies to be had on Mystery Island, as the majority 
  of its denizens are undead or at least extremely hostile and most likely 
  insane. However, if it suits the campaign’s needs, it is possible that 
  there could be survivors from previous attempts to explore and under-
  stand the island. These individuals would have been surviving in one of 
  the most hostile environments imaginable and with incredibly limited 
  resources. It would be possible to introduce a wide variety of different 
  individuals who may serve a greater purpose in the campaign beyond 
  Mystery Island, perhaps introducing additional plotlines or resolving 
  others. This opportunity could also be tied into a long-standing plotline 
  around individual characters, with old enemies or long-lost relatives 
  representing new additions to the story. Although this will obviously 
  vary wildly from campaign to campaign, a few potential uses include 
  the following:
  Connor MacTavish, Arastinian Expatriate
  A former member of the Arasteen military, Connor MacTavish was 
  notorious for his battlefield acumen as well as his complete inability 
  to get along with his fellow soldiers, ultimately being drummed out of 
  military service for conduct unbecoming and flagrant insubordination. 
  A golemoid, Connor found work as a mercenary and ended up being a 
  hired sword on the most recent expedition to the island two years ago, of 
  which he is now the only survivor. Already a very unpleasant and anti-
  social person, MacTavish’s worst traits have been magnified tenfold by 
  his solitude and constant struggle for survival, to the point that he is 
  only barely sane. He has numerous bolt-holes across the island, each 
  with a meager supply of hand-crafted tools and weapons, but he most 
  frequently makes his home in the shallows caves of the Landing Cliff, 
  3
  
  from which he undertakes the deadly hunts necessary for food. Connor 
  would be extremely suspicious and borderline hostile to any newcomers 
  until and unless he realized they presented a genuine chance to escape 
  the island, at which point he would become frantic nearly to the point 
  of taking hostages in order to get them to leave the island, with him in 
  tow, immediately.
  Lukas Grigori, Carrite Stalwart
  A man of boundless faith, Lukas Grigori has been trapped on Mystery 
  Island for a little more than a decade, having arrived her following a 
  shipwreck that took place during the Darkfall itself. His ship, a trading 
  vessel on which he served as chaplain, was beset by aquatic noctur-
  nals and destroyed. Grigori awoke several days later, having survived 
  the attack and washed up on the shore of Mystery Island. Despite the 
  terrible hardships he suffers there, he remains a pious man, grateful for 
  his life having been spared by the attack, the sea, and the many years he 
  has called the island his home. Ironically, Lukas is so certain the island 
  is where he is meant to be, that his faith will make it difficult for him to 
  readily accept an invitation to depart.
  Nurissa, Borderline Feral
  When she stowed away on a ship as a young child, Nurissa found 
  it simple to remain hidden from the crew. A small dog ferran, foraging 
  and hiding had kept her alive after her family died in the Darkfall, and 
  it was nice to be able to find a hiding place to rest and not worry about 
  something killing you while you slept. The food was kind of lousy, 
  though. When the ship crashed on the reefs, Nurissa was the only 
  one who survived to reach the shore, at least as near as she could tell. 
  Surviving on the island has been much more dangerous even than the 
  most polluted, violent streets in Mekanus, however, and Nurissa has 
  become an incredibly violent, dangerous young woman in the process. 
  If her trust could somehow be won, however, there is almost nothing 
  about the island that she does not know, except some of the innermost 
  secrets of the mountain where the Warlord (whom she calls the Sleeper) 
  dwells.
  Enemies
  Enemies can be found in abundance on Mystery Island, as might be 
  noted by the antagonistic nature of even the potential allies listed above. 
  Most take the form of relatively normal threats, including normal pred-
  ators and undead forces, but there are unique individuals who can pose 
  a much more stylized threat to even the hardiest and most experienced 
  group of adventurers who are unfortunate enough to find themselves 
  in their path. 
  The Warlord
  As described above, the Warlord is the most significant threat on the 
  island, but is also the one most easily avoided due to his present state 
  of semi-hibernation beneath the island’s mountain. Were he to be awak-
  ened, the Warlord would remain in a significantly weakened state for 
  some time, posing no more threat than a particularly powerful necro-
  mancer or lich in his waking state. As he regains his power over the 
  course of months or years, however, the Warlord will become a threat to 
  the Known Lands second only to the Darkfall or perhaps Lord Urbane. 
  Fortunately for the mainland, the Warlord’s powers, while great, do not 
  permit him to summon ships from the ether, and the outlander has no 
  means of escaping what has essentially become his prison.
  Karcass
  The vast majority of all undead are mindless creatures completely 
  subordinate to the will of another, usually the necromancer who created 
  them or, in the case of spontaneously created creatures, pure instinct. 
  Karcass is a rare exception, a being who retained his full intelligence 
  and cunning when he transitioned into undeath. Unfortunately, Karcass 
  was not all that intelligent to begin with, what with being a hill giant. 
  Fortunately, his physical might and the immunities conferred by his 
  new existence seem to have compensated for his substandard mental 
  faculties. Karcass was a thrall in service to the Warlord when the island 
  was created, and the forces unleashed killed him but preserved him as 
  an undead monstrosity. Furthermore, the unique soil of the swamps has 
  remarkably preserved him; no one would mistake Karcass for a living 
  being, but his still retains much of his flesh and power rather than being 
  a mere skeleton. Whenever anything living roams the swamps, Karcass 
  emerges from his resting place within the mud of the region and kills 
  anything he can get his hands on, consuming the flesh of the slain before 
  returning to slumber once more.
  Technology
  As strange as it may sound, one of the most dangerous enemies that 
  adventurers could face on the island are the last, ruined remnants of the 
  advanced technology that remain scattered across the island after the 
  Eternal Horizon, an extremely advanced airship, was destroyed during 
  the battle that created the island. The remnants have been subjected to 
  the ravages of time in addition to having been damaged beyond repair 
  in the explosion that created the island, so they have very little prac-
  tical value to anyone of an adventuring nature. They can be used as 
  scrap metal, of course, or possibly restored over a very long period 
  of time and some expense to be standard components for the average 
  mechamage or steamwright to employ in their devices. Beyond that, 
  they have little personal value other than perhaps a souvenir of an odd 
  adventure.
  However, adventurers might rightly guess that these items are 
  unique and could have value to certain interested parties in the Known 
  Lands. Scholarly steamwrights who make a life’s work of analyzing 
  the remnants could glean ideas and advances that are literally centuries 
  ahead of their time. There is no end to the parties who would resort to 
  foul means to acquire such technology, chief among them the mecham-
  ages in the employ of Lord Urbane, the Magisters in Le’Ciel eager 
  to strengthen their nation, refugee Aramystian scholars desperate to 
  rebuild their nation, and any number of other groups large and small. 
  Possessing such items, and more specifically knowing where more 
  might be located, will paint a huge target on the backs of the adven-
  turers, possibly for the rest of their lives. 
  Locations
  As described above, there are a variety of specific locations across 
  Mystery Island, most notably in the caves below the mountain in the 
  northeast corner of the island, where fragments of the ships involved in 
  the cataclysm that created the island as it currently exists can be found. 
  These locations are among the most significant plot-points anywhere on 
  the landmass, and while a specific number is not give, there should be 
  at least a half-dozen of them if this campaign direction is taken. Some 
  examples of these sites include the following:
  The Captain’s Quarters
  This fragment of the airship from the Known Lands is found in one 
  of the lowest points of elevation on the island, causing a terrible fog that 
  is never completely dispelled as well as a thick coat of mud, given that 
  it exists slightly below the water level. It is unique among the wrecks 
  in that it includes a completely enclosed cabin that has not succumbed 
  to the elements, for reasons that become clear once it is entered. While 
  from the exterior it appears that the remnants of the ship have suffered 
  significantly from its time since its crash. Once the moss is cleared 
  away, however, portions of the wood appear almost new, while others 
  are almost completely rotted. The mysteriously preserved portions 
  contain elaborate carvings and filigree that marks it as a very high-end 
  vessel. The secured door leading into the cabin is the portion of the ship 
  that is facing downward, preventing access. The only other way in is via 
  4
  
  a dorsal hatch, secured from within. Unfortunately, the hatch is part of 
  the wall that is preserved, making it a difficult matter to gain access, but 
  with time and intelligent effort, it can be broken open.
  Inside, the cabin is in a shambles, with most of its contents tossed 
  about and destroyed in the crash. The remnants are recognizable as the 
  trappings of a captain’s office, but of very little use with a few excep-
  tions. The most noteworthy feature is the perfectly preserved skeleton 
  of an elf, clad in functional and obviously very expensive garb. In one 
  hand, the skeleton holds an ancient, traditional elven blade marked with 
  a family crest, and in the other, a blood-stained logbook. The logbook 
  is written in an ancient dialect of elven that is reserved for the race’s 
  academic texts and formal rituals, and is unknown to non-elves. Deci-
  phering the text will be difficult even for elves, made more so by the 
  fact that the dating seems to make no sense at all (it is part of a post-
  Darkfall dating system) and will give most decoders a false belief that 
  the entire manuscript is both written in an archaic language as well as 
  written in a cipher of some sort. 
  The captain’s log contains a great deal of personal information 
  describing the personal and family life of the captain, Cyrano White-
  feather (described previously under Allies), and the process by which 
  he came to be part of the expedition. The manuscript makes numerous 
  references to a great “southern threat from across the seas” that imperils 
  the Known Lands in a manner unseen “since the threat of the Darkfall.” 
  It speaks of a coalition of forces from the different nations determined 
  to protect Aden from the threat, and how the expedition was formed 
  to intercept any threats from ever reaching the mainland. It further 
  includes the captain’s private concerns that he and the others will not 
  be able to thwart the threat and will perish, but he accepts this potential 
  fate as necessary to ensure the survival of his family and his people.
  The interior of the cabin radiates a strong residue of powerful, old 
  magic. It may be possible for skilled spellcasters or even simply elves to 
  determine that an ancient elven ritual was used to preserve the chamber, 
  extending even to portions of its exterior, from outside malignant influ-
  ences. This is why it has endured for so long, and it also makes the 
  chamber something of a potential safehouse for adventurers operating 
  on the island. Assuming, of course, that they did not overly damage the 
  hatch on the way in!
  The Engine Ruins
  Deep within the heart of Mystery Peak, down deep where lava 
  renders the caves hot and humid, very near to where the Warlock 
  slumbers restlessly, there lie the scattered remnants of the Eternal 
  Horizon’s engine, perhaps the single most advanced technology 
  currently in existence anywhere in the world of Aden. Even in 
  its present state of dilapidated, ancient ruins that long ago lost 
  the ability to function, the pieces are a wealth of knowledge 
  simply for the fact that careful, lengthy study can inspire 
  those familiar with the fusion of magic and technology in 
  entirely new and innovative directions that would perhaps 
  not be explored under normal circumstances for centuries. 
  The cavern in which the engine is located is roughly 
  spherical in shape, the result of the outward explosive 
  energy that was released during the battle between the 
  Horizon and the Warlock’s flagship. This chamber is actu-
  ally the center of the events that created the island, and 
  those who are familiar with such things will realize that the 
  entire island gradually increases in elevation toward the west, 
  ultimately ending in the Landing Cliff, the highest point 
  on the island. The land created by the island extends 
  equally to the east, albeit at a descending angle and thus 
  is submerged, accounting for the strangely shallow 
  waters to the island’s east that has prevented any hope 
  of creating a port or harbor in that area. The walls of the 
  chamber itself are smooth and seamless, comprised 
  largely of volcanic glass. The walls distort and reflect light in this 
  chamber, casting everything in an eerie, otherworldly glow that can fray 
  the nerves of even the most steadfast adventurer.
  The engine that powered the Eternal Horizon exploded at the zenith 
  of the magical battle between the two powerful spellcasters, over-
  whelmed by the energies they were releasing and magnifying them at 
  the same time. Many components, both large and small, are scattered 
  throughout the entirety of the chamber, the lion’s share of them at least 
  partially fused with the walls, roof, or floor of the chamber itself. A 
  handful have been freed over the years, perhaps by volcanic activity or 
  chiseled out by parties unknown who then left the materials behind for 
  equally unknown reasons. Recovering functional components is impos-
  sible, and it is a herculean task even to properly deduce the function of 
  most of these heavily damaged items. 
  The Preserved Chambers
  Throughout the whole of the mountain there are a large number of 
  smaller caverns, some natural and some created by the explosion, that 
  contain enigmatic ruins far better preserved than those 
  found within the swamp itself. The cataclysm that 
  created the island was not a precise process, 
  and the primeval energies that were unleashed 
  snaked through the whole of space and time like 
  the probing tendrils of some forgotten horror 
  from the deepest reaches of the sea. Those 
  tendrils found ships, buildings, and other bits 
  of civilization from throughout Aden’s long 
  and fractious history, tore them free from their 
  place in the normal world, and brought 
  them to the island to their doom.
  5
  
  The oddity of the island is perhaps nowhere better exemplified than 
  by these ruins simply because the timelines do not add up to any learned 
  observer. Fragments of buildings or vessels that are clearly ancient in 
  design and construction may appear no more than a century old, while 
  more modern vessels appear to be thousands of years older than they 
  actually are. It is possible that the Eternal Horizon is not the only 
  remnant of a world that has not yet come into being, but other bits and 
  pieces, other glimpses of the future, may be found hidden away within 
  the subterranean world of Mystery Island and its infinite strangeness. 
  The use of these locations can serve a large number of functions 
  depending upon the nature of the campaign in which they are employed. 
  There could be any number of famous disappearances in Aden’s history, 
  ships or settlements that vanished under unknown circumstances, which 
  could at last be better understood if their remnants were discovered 
  deep beneath Mystery Island, or even within the swamp surrounding 
  the mountain. 
  External Adventures
  The strange nature of Mystery Island and the magical confluence that 
  created it allows for a unique means to bring adventurers into the region 
  from distant parts of the Known Lands. The magical energy that created 
  the island still manifests on occasion, coursing through time as it does, 
  and things from the Known Lands occasionally disappear and reappear 
  on the island. Possibilities include:
  • A tavern populated by adventurers in various stages of intoxication 
  disappears, summoned into a magical vortex and deposited into the 
  swamps of Mystery Island. The situation will be unusual to say the 
  least, and most of the tavern’s patrons will assume this is something 
  related to the Darkfall. Others may take the matter lightly, accustomed 
  to acts of high magic and inexplicable events, and set out to explore 
  the island, blissfully unaware of the legion of undead and other 
  monstrosities that await them within the hidden mists of the swamp. 
  As the body count rises, so will the ranks of the enemy, refreshed with 
  powerful new undead adventurers that could go so far as to wake the 
  sleeping enemy beneath Mystery Peak if the situation is not dealt with 
  in a sensible manner.
  • A library or temple containing information that the adventurers 
  desperately need for their own interests disappears as they are within 
  it, appearing again somewhere in the interior of Mystery Island. 
  Retrieving the information that they require before the structure can 
  be compromised by the elements or destroyed by the island’s deni-
  zens. Adding even more potential drama to the mix is the possibility 
  that the structure may contain the knowledge necessary to return it 
  to its rightful position, creating a sort of “rescue ship” that will be 
  on the island only a limited time and finally allowing the handful of 
  castaways trapped there a way to return home.
  • The adventurers may be escorting a recent capture to a prison or brig 
  when they and the entire structure is redirected to Mystery Island, 
  near the landing cliffs. Unfortunately, the landing cliffs are currently 
  in use by an airship that has put down for basic repairs while traveling 
  through the region. Even more unfortunately, the maelstrom that relo-
  cates the prison compromises the structure, allowing its denizens to 
  escape. The prisoners rapidly attack the crew of the airship and begin 
  making preparations to escape the island, which would introduce a 
  new and deadly threat to the entire region. Adding additional compli-
  cation to the matter, the increased activity on the cliffs draws the atten-
  tion of a number of the island’s more vicious predators, creating a 
  siege at the cliffs.
  6
  
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  System Reference Document. Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on material by  
  E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
  Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook. Copyright 2009, Paizo Inc.; Author: Jason Bulmahn, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.
  The Book of Experimental Might. Copyright 2008, Monte J. Cook. All rights reserved.
  Tome of Horrors. Copyright 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.; Authors: Scott Greene, with Clark Peterson, Erica Balsley, Kevin Baase, Casey Christofferson, 
  Lance Hawvermale, Travis Hawvermale, Patrick Lawinger, and Bill Webb; Based on original content from TSR.Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary. © 
  2009, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author: Jason Bulmahn, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.
  Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Advanced Player’s Guide. © 2010, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author: Jason Bulmahn
  Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Ultimate Magic. © 2011, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors: Jason Bulmahn, Tim Hitchcock, Colin McComb, Rob McCreary, 
  Jason Nelson, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Sean K Reynolds, Owen K.C. Stephens, and Russ Taylor.
  Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Ultimate Combat.  © 2011, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors: Dennis Baker, Jesse Benner, Benjamin Bruck, Jason Bulmahn, 
  Brian J. Cortijo, Jim Groves, Tim Hitchcock, Richard A. Hunt, Colin McComb, Jason Nelson, Tom Phillips, Patrick Renie, Sean K Reynolds, and Russ Taylor.
  Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Ultimate Equipment. © 2012 Paizo Publishing, LLC; Authors: Dennis Baker, Jesse Benner, Benjamin Bruck, Ross Byers, 
  Brian J. Cortijo, Ryan Costello, Mike Ferguson, Matt Goetz, Jim Groves, Tracy Hurley, Matt James, Jonathan H. Keith, Michael Kenway, Hal MacLean, 
  Jason Nelson, Tork Shaw, Owen KC Stephens, and Russ Taylor.
  Thunderscape: The World of Aden. © 2013 Kyoudai Games, LLC; Authors: Shawn Carman and Rich Wulf.
  Thunderscape The Aden Gazette #22, Islands of the Known Lands - Mystery Island. © 2018 Kyoudai Games, LLC; Author: Shawn Carman.
  7
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Pathfinder/1st Edition/3rd Party/Kyoudai/Aden Gazette 22 - Mystery Island.pdf