Phaethon's Reins

One-Shot · 6 Players · Level 12 · ~3.5 Hours · Aerial Chase · The Runaway Sun

📜 Session Summary

Style Outfit under fire → high-speed sky chase → a four-horse calming contest against arsonists who want the world to burn.

Win Condition Loop the Spare Golden Rein through the yoke and calm all four sun-horses — or three plus Phaethon's consent — before the Scorch Track fills. Drive off or destroy Kaustra and her chorus.

Loss Condition The Scorch Track reaches 4 and the third city burns; or the chariot itself is destroyed and the sun goes out at noon.

Setting A smoking temple roof above the first city → the shattered sky-road above the second → the chariot deck itself above the third

Atmosphere Radiant disaster with a human face · scorched marble and fear-sweat from below · four enormous animals who desperately want someone to tell them what to do

Materials Braided gold cord, three bronze city tokens, a courier's knot, salamander wool, horse-sweat and singed feathers, one Rein too bright to stare at

Tone Speed and mercy in equal measure. Nothing here is won by killing the thing in front of you — except the Furies, who are asking for it.

Players 6 × Level 12 · 3–3.5 hrs · 3 encounters

Key Ally Aello, Wind-Harness Rider (recruit Enc. 1) · optionally Pegasus himself · Maguffin: Spare Golden Rein

Description

Heliope, Singed Dawn-Priest arrives with burns up both forearms and three bronze city tokens, each warmer than the last. She let Phaethon into the stables. The runaway sun-chariot has already crossed two mortal cities and the third is an hour ahead of it — and the maguffin she presses into someone's hand, the Spare Golden Rein, only works looped through the yoke by someone willing to speak three city names they have actually watched burn.

The party has six rounds on a temple roof to decide what kind of rescue this is going to be. There are wings on a herm of Hermes, fireproof wool in a locked vestiary, four tangled pegasi and the rider who loves them, and a growing number of civilians in the air. Everything competes for the same actions. Whatever they don't take, they will miss later — and if they take no wings at all, Heliope prays, and Helios sends the other chariot from his stable: the low black-and-gold car he once lent his granddaughter Medea, drawn by two winged serpents.

The chariot itself is not the villain. It is an object, and breaking it loses the session. The villains are Kaustra, First Fury of Typhon and her cinder-nymphs, who have waited under Etna for exactly this day and intend to keep four terrified horses screaming until a city is ash. Everything the party does in the finale, they do while something is trying to undo it.

"Three bronze city tokens grow hotter in sequence. A hair-thin golden rein loops through them and tightens whenever someone boasts."— Dropped from a smoking sun-priest's astrolabe

Flight & Fire Loadout

Every option is optional and every option costs actions the party could have spent saving people. The dragon chariot is the only one that is always available — and the only one that arrives whether they ask or not.

Path	Where / How	What it gives	Cost
Talaria (Winged Sandals)	Enc. 1 · herm of Hermes, north stair-head · Religion 14 / Sleight of Hand 16 / Persuasion 13	Fly 40 ft, immunity to falling damage, no prone while airborne. Up to 6 pairs.	One action per pair; a second failure burns two pairs
Chrism & Chlamys of the Unburnt	Enc. 1 · fire-vestiary behind the burning awning · Athletics 14 / Thieves' Tools 15 / any water	3 cloaks (fire resistance) and 4 doses (10 min fire immunity). One dose calms Pyrois outright.	Sort chrism from lamp-oil (DC 13) or someone eats 3d6
Wind-Harness Pegasi & Pegasus	Enc. 1 · Aello's team tangled in the awning collapse · Animal Handling 10–12 each	Up to 4 mounts (fly 90 ft, riders never fall). All four freed + courtesy calls the sire himself.	Four separate actions; Pegasus refuses anyone who wounded a horse
Dragon-Drawn Chariot of Helios	Heliope's petition, any time from end of Enc. 1 · automatic if fewer than 4 PCs can fly	A flying platform for the whole party: fly 90 ft, nobody aboard can fall, +1 Length per driven round.	The serpents won't approach the sun-horses or touch the yoke

Loadout audit. Before Enc. 2 begins, count means of flight: Talaria pairs + pegasi + spells + the dragon chariot's deck. If fewer than four PCs can fly or ride, Helios's car arrives unbidden. Never run the chase with a grounded party — the fallback exists so the interesting choice in Enc. 1 stays "what do we spend our actions on," not "do we get to play."

Major Beats

The first city shows the cost of pride in roofs, wells, and frightened children — and offers wings, wool, and horses to anyone who can spare the hand.
Helios will help, but not with his own hands. He sends Medea's old chariot instead.
The chase is won with skill checks as often as swords: nine ways to close the gap, and harriers whose whole job is to make you stop rolling them.
Phaethon is terrified, not malicious. He is not driving. He is apologizing to the horses.
The chariot is an object. The horses are the objective. The Furies of Typhon are the fight.
Every horse has one true answer that isn't a weapon: cold, a hymn, a healer's hands, and its own name.

Session Rewards

Keepable prizes earned by completing (or excelling at) this session. One character claims each reward unless noted. Full cards are under Reward Cards.

Reward	Description	Criteria
Spare Golden Rein	Sun-warm rein that anchors a fall and steadies one aerial contest.	Seize the runaway sun-chariot and speak three true city names before the world scorches.
Chlamys of the Unburnt	Salamander-wool cloak that ignores fire and blunts the sun's own light.	Optional: calm all four sun-horses without killing one, then let Helios re-weave a scorched vestiary cloak on the deck.
Talaria of the Herm	Hermes's loaner sandals — short bursts of flight and never a hard landing.	Optional: take the winged sandals off Hermes's herm in Encounter 1 and still be wearing them when the third city is spared.

Creature / Enemy List

Creature	Enc.	Count	Notes
Solar Spark Swarm	1	3 (+2 on failures)	CR 4 · living embers · cold or prayer disperses them
Ash-Wing Vulture	1–2	2	CR 6 · grapples isolated flyers; a grappled PC can't make pursuit checks
Aithousa, Cinder-Nymph	2–3	2 → 3	CR 5 · Goad the Yoke raises calming DCs and stacks · vulnerable to cold
Pyrois, the Fiery	3	1	CR 6 · lead-left · answers to cold or Chrism
Eous, the Dawn	3	1	CR 6 · lead-right · answers to the dawn-hymn or steady light
Aethon, the Blazing	3	1	CR 6 · trace-left · speared and bleeding; answers to healing
Phlegon, the Burning	3	1	CR 6 · trace-right · re-panics the others; calm him last
Kaustra, First Fury of Typhon	3	1	CR 12 · Boss · reskinned erinyes · wants the city, not the party
Aello, Wind-Harness Rider	1–3	1	Recruit · signals, coaching, and −3 to one calming DC per round
Wind-Harness Pegasus	1–3	4	CR 2 · optional mounts
Pegasus, the Cloud-Sired	2–3	0–1	CR 6 · optional · one courteous rider only · never dies here
Phaethon, Son of Helios	3	1	Not a combatant · his consent is worth −2 to every calming DC

Encounter 1 — First City in the Heat-Haze

Hard · ~45 min · Rescue + outfitting · Six rounds, four stations

Overview

The temple roof is already showing heat damage — three tiles cracked, the bell-tower copper green-streaked from solar proximity. Winged messengers from the city council are in free fall after the chariot's first pass clipped their launch platform. Four of Aello's pegasi are tangled in a collapsed awning, two of them badly. The Solar Spark Swarms are beautiful from a distance and lethal up close — living embers that ignite anything woven or wooden and are harmless to stone, which means the entire market district below is at risk and the temple itself is not. Below, in the streets, people are making reasonable decisions based on incomplete information about which direction the chariot will arc next.

Six rounds. The chariot made one pass and it will make another; when it does, the party leaves with whatever they've got. Four stations compete for every action the party has: the falling, the sandals, the vestiary, and the horses. This is the encounter where the party decides what kind of rescue this is.

Encounter Roster (Hard)

3× Solar Spark Swarm (CR 4 · 1,100 XP each)
+1 Swarm per rescue-track failure (max 5 total)
2× Ash-Wing Vulture (CR 6 · 2,300 XP each) — only on the third failure
Aello and 4× Wind-Harness Pegasus available

XP Budget (Hard)

3× 1,100 = 3,300 XP baseline
Full escalation (5 Swarms + 2 Vultures) ≈ 10,100 XP
Hard for 6×L12 ≈ 14,400 — the pressure here is the clock, not the CR
Every rescue success banks a Cooling Token (max 5) for Enc. 2–3

🗺 Terrain & Features

Temple roof 80×40 ft · three bell-towers (15-ft climb, half cover, launch points for aerial checks) · hot updraft columns: Perception DC 12 to spot — a flying creature in a column moves 30 extra ft upward without an action, and a party that spots them banks Read the Updrafts (advantage on Survival pursuit checks in Enc. 2) · burning market awnings below (difficult terrain, 3 fire per round in the fire zone) · cracked tiles fall if two creatures occupy the same 10-ft square (Dex DC 12 or prone) · the herm of Hermes at the north stair-head · the fire-vestiary door behind a burning awning, west wall.

Mechanics — Station 1: Civilian Rescue

Pull them out of the air (DC 13 Athletics, Acrobatics, or Medicine): one action, one falling messenger or trapped civilian. 5 successes before 3 failures. Each success banks a Cooling Token.
Each failure: either a new Spark Swarm ignites out of the debris, or an awning fire spreads and a messenger drops — Dex DC 14 as a reaction to catch them, but a PC who spends their reaction banks no token.
Third failure: two Ash-Wing Vultures arrive for the ones nobody caught. This is the only way they show up early, and the table should feel it.
The Rein auto-succeeds on one rescue with no check and no action cost.
Cooling Tokens are the currency of the whole session: negate one Scorching Wake (reaction), or reduce the Scorch Track by 1 in Enc. 3 (action, once per round). Track them visibly.

Mechanics — Station 2: The Herm of Hermes (Talaria)

A wayfarers' herm at the north stair-head, hung with votive sandals left by couriers — offerings, "too light to fall," bound with a courier's knot.
Free a pair (one action each): Religion DC 14 (name the right rite and take them as a loan rather than a theft), Sleight of Hand DC 16 (untie the knot), or Persuasion DC 13 with Heliope, who knows the rite and hates that this is the second thing she has helped someone take. One pair per success, up to six.
The Rein slips the knot once for free — gold knows gold.
Failure: the knot tightens; that PC cannot retry this round. On the second failure at this station a Spark Swarm ignites the rack and two pairs are lost for good.
Talaria worn: fly 40 ft, immunity to falling damage, cannot be knocked prone while airborne, until dawn.
Flavor with teeth: a PC who takes them without naming the rite finds a single grey feather in their pack later. Hermes notices. He does not mind much.

Mechanics — Station 3: The Vestiary of the Unburnt

The temple's fire-vestiary, west wall, behind a burning awning. Open it: Athletics DC 14 to shoulder the warped door, Thieves' Tools DC 15, or quench the awning with any cold or water effect (automatic, no check).
Inside: 3× Emberweave Chlamys (resistance to fire; advantage on saves vs. the Scorching Wake) and 4 doses of Chrism of the Unburnt (action to anoint: immunity to fire damage for 10 minutes).
Sorting (Arcana, Nature, or Religion DC 13): the chrism is shelved beside the lamp-oil. On a failure one jar is lamp-oil — the PC who anoints with it takes 3d6 fire the first time they take any fire damage. Let them find out.
One dose of Chrism poured over Pyrois's muzzle in Enc. 3 calms him outright, no check. A party that works this out has effectively bought a horse for one action.
Neither cloak nor chrism stops radiant damage. Kaustra burns through both.

Mechanics — Station 4: Aello and the Pegasi

Free a pegasus (one action each): Animal Handling DC 12 for the two badly tangled, DC 10 for the two merely trapped. The Rein as an anchor auto-frees one. A PC bearing the Humble Bridle from Bellerophon's Bargain auto-frees one per round.
Recruit — Aello: free two or more pegasi, or accept all three of her conditions — no unilateral aerial splits, no plan to kill Phaethon, her command in the air. Accept all three and she joins; refuse one and it's Persuasion DC 14. She is worth −3 to a calming DC every round in the finale.
All four freed: the party has four mounts for the rest of the session.
Call the sire — Pegasus: if all four are freed and (Aello is recruited, or a PC bears the Humble Bridle, or someone succeeds a DC 16 Persuasion or Animal Handling to ask rather than command), the herd's sire answers. He arrives at the start of Enc. 2 and carries exactly one rider — his choice, the most courteous. He will not be ridden by anyone who has wounded a horse today.
Aello's aerial signal calls are readable with Insight DC 13, which also earns her respect and a free retry on one recruitment check.

Resolution — The Loadout Audit and Helios's Answer

Count the wings before Enc. 2

Talaria pairs + pegasi + flight spells the party can sustain for an hour. If four or more PCs can fly or ride, the chase is theirs to run. Heliope will still offer the petition; taking it is a legitimate choice, not a consolation prize.

If fewer than four can fly — the fallback arrives unbidden

Heliope burns the last of her incense and asks. Helios answers, but not with his own hands: he is forbidden to touch the runaway car, because a god who seizes his own reins above three burning cities admits whose fire it was. Instead he sends the other chariot from his stable — the low black-and-gold car he once lent his granddaughter Medea, drawn by two winged serpents, Phlox and Anthelia. It banks out of the smoke without a driver and waits, hovering, until someone steps in.

"They may carry you. They may not touch the yoke. My son's hands must be opened by mortal ones."— Helios, through the serpents' hiss

Do not punish either choice. The sandals give individual freedom and vertical play; the chariot gives the party a shared platform, safety from falling, and a place to put Phaethon when he finally lets go. A group that takes both is not overpowered — they are a group that spent Encounter 1 on gear instead of on people, and the Cooling Token count will remind them.

Creature Cards

👤

Heliope, Singed Dawn-Priest

Medium Humanoid (human), Neutral Good · Quest giver

Appearance: burns up both forearms, three bronze city tokens on a cord, each warmer than the last

Motivation. Keep Helios's name from becoming a curse — save the cities before divine punishment stops being avoidable.

Secret. She let Phaethon into the stables. She believed a mortal hand could prove worthy, and she still half believes it.

Hard rule. Killing Helios's son is not the plan. Open his hands, don't stop his heart.

The Petition. She can beg Helios for the Dragon-Drawn Chariot from the end of Enc. 1 onward. Helios will not touch the runaway car himself — a god who seizes his own reins above three burning cities admits whose fire it was.

Name-history. If asked about Phaethon, she gives his name and the story behind it (his mother Clymene, the years of being called a liar). Parties who hear it get automatic success on Phaethon's consent in Enc. 3.

◈

Spare Golden Rein

Wondrous Item (maguffin), Unique

Appearance: A sun-warm cord of braided gold, too light to fall and too bright to stare at directly.

Handout. "One hand guides pride. Two hands guide terror. Three true names guide the fire home."

Enc. 1. Anchor. Auto-success on one civilian rescue, one tangled pegasus, or one falling creature — no check. The gold also slips the herm's courier-knot once, freeing a pair of Talaria for free.

Enc. 2. Skyhook. Auto-cross one sky-road gap and auto-board the chariot. Its glow counts as a bright coordinated signal to drive off an Ash-Wing Vulture (free action).

Enc. 3 (primary). Action at the yoke strut: loop the Rein through and speak the three city names aloud — one per city the speaker has actually watched burn. While looped: every calming check gains +2; a calmed horse that would be re-panicked saves with advantage; Kaustra has disadvantage on attacks within 10 ft of the strut.

Win gate. The horses can be calmed without the Rein. The chariot cannot be turned without it.

◈

Talaria (Winged Sandals)

Wondrous Item (optional gear) · provided by the wayfarers' herm · up to 6 pairs

Appearance: worn courier's sandals with small grey wings at the heels that only beat when nobody is looking straight at them.

Acquire (Enc. 1, north stair-head). A roadside herm of Hermes hung with votive sandals, bound by a courier's knot. Religion DC 14 (name the right rite and take them as a loan), Sleight of Hand DC 16 (untie the knot), or Persuasion DC 13 with Heliope (she knows the rite and hates that this is the second thing she has helped someone take). One pair per success, up to six. The Spare Golden Rein slips the knot once for free.

Failure. The knot tightens — no retry from that PC this round. On the second failure at this station a Solar Spark Swarm ignites the votive rack and two pairs are gone for good.

Worn. Fly 40 ft. You are immune to falling damage and cannot be knocked prone while airborne. Lasts until dawn.

Enc. 2. Boarding the chariot is automatic. The Acrobatics pursuit option is DC 12 for you instead of 14.

Enc. 3. You may step off the deck and act from open air. The single most lethal thing in the finale — the fall — is not a threat to you.

Hermes' price. These are votives, not loot. Return them to a crossroads herm afterward or the wings stop beating. A party that keeps faith is allowed to keep one pair for good (see Reward Cards).

◈

Chrism & Chlamys of the Unburnt

Wondrous Item (optional gear) · provided by the temple fire-vestiary · 3 cloaks, 4 doses

Appearance: three grey salamander-wool cloaks that shed sparks like water, and four squat jars of pale unguent that smell of hot stone.

Acquire (Enc. 1, behind the burning awning). Open the vestiary: Athletics DC 14 (shoulder the warped door), Thieves' Tools DC 15, or quench the awning with any cold or water effect (auto, no check).

Sorting the jars. The chrism is shelved beside the lamp-oil. Arcana, Nature, or Religion DC 13 to tell them apart.

Sorted wrong. One jar is lamp-oil. The PC who anoints with it takes 3d6 fire the first time they take any fire damage. Do not warn them twice.

Emberweave Chlamys (3). Resistance to fire damage, and advantage on saves against the Scorching Wake.

Chrism of the Unburnt (4 doses). Action to anoint yourself or a willing creature: immunity to fire damage for 10 minutes. One dose poured over Pyrois's muzzle calms him outright.

Not radiant-proof. Neither stops radiant damage. Kaustra's ash-fire burns through both, and so does the true dawn.

🦅

Aello, Wind-Harness Rider

Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · Aerial pilot and rescue spotter

AC 16 | HP 72 | Speed 30 ft. (fly 90 ft. mounted)

12 (+1)STR

16 (+3)DEX

12 (+1)CON

12 (+1)INT

16 (+3)WIS

16 (+3)CHA

Skills: Animal Handling +7, Perception +6, Survival +6 · Role: aerial pilot, rescue spotter, herd-speaker

RECRUITMENT (Enc. 1). Free two or more of her tangled pegasi (Animal Handling DC 12 each), or accept all three of her conditions: no unilateral aerial splits, no plan to kill Phaethon, her command in the air. Refuse one → Persuasion DC 14.

Wind-Signals. Once per round (no action): one ally she can see has advantage on their pursuit check this round.

Herd-Speaker. Once per round she can assist a calming check on a sun-horse within 30 ft: that check's DC is reduced by 3.

Name-Coach. She read the temple records. She knows Phaethon's name and how his mother said it — Persuasion DC 12 instead of 15.

Whistle for the Sire. If all four pegasi are freed and she is recruited, she can call Pegasus himself. She will not do it for a party that has whipped, roped, or wounded a horse.

Actions

Strike. Storm javelin +8 to hit, range 120 ft. Hit: 2d6+4 piercing plus 2d6 lightning.

Catch (1/round, reaction-like). When a creature she can see within 60 ft falls, she dives: that creature takes no falling damage and lands where she can reach.

🦅

Wind-Harness Pegasus

Large Celestial, Chaotic Good · CR 2 · Aello's rescue team · 4 available in Enc. 1

AC 12 | HP 59 (7d10+21) | Speed 60 ft., fly 90 ft.

18 (+4)STR

15 (+2)DEX

16 (+3)CON

10 (+0)INT

15 (+2)WIS

13 (+1)CHA

Saves: Dex +4, Wis +4, Cha +3 · Skills: Perception +6

Harnessed. A rider never falls while mounted (Dex DC 10 to stay seated when the chariot bucks) and may use the Animal Handling pursuit option in the Enc. 2 chase.

Panic Line. If the mount takes fire damage from the Scorching Wake, its rider makes Animal Handling DC 12 or the pegasus breaks off for one round — no pursuit check, no attack, just distance.

Two are hurt. Two of the four are badly tangled: freeing those is Animal Handling DC 12; the other two are DC 10. All four freed unlocks the call for Pegasus.

Actions

Hooves. +6 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) bludgeoning.

🦅

Pegasus, the Cloud-Sired

Large Celestial, Chaotic Good · CR 6 · Optional recruit · One rider, his choice

AC 15 | HP 110 (13d10+39) | Speed 60 ft., fly 120 ft.

18 (+4)STR

16 (+3)DEX

16 (+3)CON

12 (+1)INT

15 (+2)WIS

16 (+3)CHA

Saves: Dex +7, Wis +6 · Skills: Perception +6 · Understands Greek and Celestial, speaks neither

Courtesy Before Muscle. He carries exactly one rider — the most courteous, his pick, not the party's. He refuses spurs, ropes, and orders; he answers requests. He will not be ridden by anyone who has wounded a horse or a pegasus this session. A PC bearing the Humble Bridle from Bellerophon's Bargain is chosen automatically.

Sure in the Air. Immune to being knocked prone. His rider takes no falling damage while mounted and may dismount in midair to hover for one round.

Cloud-Sired. Advantage on saves against fire and against any effect that would panic him. He is the only thing in the sky today that is not afraid.

Persistence. Pegasus is a singular named being: he is never a valid enemy and never dies here. At 0 HP he simply climbs out of reach and returns next round at half HP, unimpressed.

Actions

Multiattack. Two Hooves attacks.

Hooves. +8 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) bludgeoning.

Skyward Surge (Recharge 5–6). Fly up to 120 ft without provoking opportunity attacks. His rider may make one pursuit check with advantage as part of this movement.

◈

Chariot of Helios, Dragon-Drawn

Wondrous Item (vehicle) · provided by Helios at Heliope's petition · Large object · seats 4, standing room 6

Appearance: a low black car chased in gold, yoked to two winged serpents whose scales run the colors of a sundog.

Always on the table. Heliope can petition for it from the end of Enc. 1 onward, whether or not the party already has wings. It arrives automatically at the start of Enc. 2 if fewer than four PCs can fly or ride. Never let this party be grounded.

Helios's condition. "They may carry you. They may not touch the yoke. My son's hands must be opened by mortal ones." The serpents will not come within 20 ft of a sun-horse and will not tow the chariot.

Phlox and Anthelia. AC 16, HP 60 each, fly 90 ft. They never bolt, never panic, and never attack. They are Helios's, and they are on an errand.

Driving (Enc. 2). One creature drives as their action: Animal Handling or Arcana DC 12. On a success the whole vehicle closes 1 extra Length beyond the round's tally. Everyone aboard may attack or make pursuit checks and nobody aboard risks a fall. Trade-off: aboard the car the Athletics and Acrobatics pursuit options are unavailable, and the serpents will not close the final Length.

Docking (Enc. 3). Parked off the sun-chariot's flank at 20 ft. A falling creature may make a Dex DC 12 save to land in the car instead of the sky; boarding back onto the deck from its rail is Athletics DC 10. Its presence lowers Phaethon's consent DC by 2 — he can see somewhere safe to fall.

Medea's car. If anyone asks whose it was, the serpents answer to the name. Any PC who ran The Fleece of Colchis recognizes the harness at a glance.

⚔

Solar Spark Swarm

Medium Elemental (living embers), Unaligned · CR 4 · Enc. 1

AC 15 | HP 66 (12d8+12) | Speed 30 ft., fly 30 ft. (hover)

14 (+2)STR

16 (+3)DEX

12 (+1)CON

3 (−4)INT

11 (+0)WIS

10 (+0)CHA

Immune fire, poison · Vulnerable cold · Harmless to stone; lethal to everything woven or wooden

Dispersed, not killed. Any cold damage, deep shade, or a Wisdom-based prayer to the dawn scatters one swarm without a fight. An action spent pulling cold air down an updraft column (Nature DC 14) gives every swarm within 30 ft disadvantage on attacks for 1 round.

Kindling. At the end of its turn, one unattended flammable object within 5 ft catches — awnings, votive racks, pennants, rope.

Actions

Flare Lash. +7 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 10 (3d6) fire, and one flammable item the target is not holding ignites.

Encounter 2 — The Sky-Road Chase

Hard · Chase · ~60 min · Skill checks matter as much as swords

Overview

The sky-road between the second and third cities is ancient sunbeam-stone and it was never built for this kind of proximity. Three spans have already cracked; one is still falling. The chariot is northeast and high, moving faster than its own horses are comfortable with, trailing a wake of burning pennants a hundred feet long. And Phaethon's voice carries down the wind in the wrong register entirely: he is not commanding the horses. He is apologizing to them.

This is a chase, and it is won on the character sheet as much as on the initiative order. The gap is 6 Lengths. Every round the party closes it with pursuit checks — nine different ways, each usable once per PC — while harriers do everything they can to make the party stop rolling them. A grappled PC closes nothing. A PC on fire closes nothing. That is the whole design.

Encounter Roster (Hard)

2× Ash-Wing Vulture (CR 6 · 2,300 XP each) — round 1
2× Aithousa, Cinder-Nymph (CR 5 · 1,800 XP each) — round 3
The chase track and complication table are the rest of the encounter

XP Budget (Hard)

2× 2,300 + 2× 1,800 = 8,200 XP in bodies
Complications plus the Wake inside 2 Lengths ≈ Hard for 6×L12 (~14,400)
Vultures can be driven off; the nymphs will not leave
Cooling Tokens spent here are not available in Enc. 3 — make that trade explicit

🗺 Terrain & Features

Sky-road 120×30 ft, linear, running northeast · three cracked spans (Acrobatics DC 12 to cross cleanly; failure = 1d6 slashing and prone) · drifting wreckage at the midpoint (half cover; Perception DC 13 finds a sun-javelin — ranged, 60 ft, 2d6+3 radiant, the only radiant weapon in the session and very useful against the nymphs) · a 20-ft storm gap at the far end (Athletics DC 14; the Rein's skyhook crosses it automatically) · bright sun throughout: the Vultures have advantage against anything in shadow · below and behind everything, the second city, already smoking.

Mechanics — The Chase Track

Round structure — run it in this order every round

1 · Initiative 20 — Scorching Wake. Every creature within 2 Lengths of the chariot: Con DC 15 or 14 (4d6) fire. Emberweave halves it; Chrism ignores it; a Cooling Token spent as a reaction negates it for one creature. Closing the gap is what puts you in the plume — the vestiary pays for itself in exactly the round the party starts winning.
2 · Complication. From round 2 on, roll d6 on the table below.
3 · Pursuit checks. On their turn, a PC may spend their action on one pursuit check from the menu. Each PC may use each option only once for the whole chase.
4 · Tally. (successes − failures) = Lengths closed this round. A bad round widens the gap. Floor 0, ceiling 6.
5 · Harriers act. Vultures round 1; nymphs join round 3.
Boarding at 0 Lengths: Athletics or Acrobatics DC 13. Automatic with Talaria, the Rein's skyhook, or a seized pennant-line; DC 10 from the dragon chariot's rail. On a failure you land on the wheel rim — 14 bludgeoning at the start of each of your turns until you climb inboard (Athletics DC 12).

Pursuit menu — once per option per PC

Check	DC	What it looks like at the table
Athletics	14	Hard-row the air, haul yourself up the Rein, sprint a cracked span at full tilt
Acrobatics	14 (12 in Talaria)	Thread a collapsing sky-road arch without slowing down
Survival	13	Ride the updraft columns — advantage if the party read the updrafts in Enc. 1
Arcana	15	Plot the solar arc and cut the corner instead of following the curve
Animal Handling	13	Ask a pegasus or serpent for everything it has (mounted or aboard only)
Perception	13	Spot the trailing pennant-line — your next boarding attempt is automatic
Insight	14	Read Phaethon's panic: he flinches away from rooftops. Anticipate the veer.
Persuasion	15 (12 with Aello)	Shout his name across the gap. Banks Phaethon's Name: −3 to his consent DC in Enc. 3.
Performance	14	The dawn-hymn the horses were bred to. Banks the Dawn-Hymn: Eous auto-calms once in Enc. 3.

The two banked outcomes are the point. Phaethon's Name and the Dawn-Hymn are how a chase full of skill checks pays into a finale full of skill checks. If nobody has tried either by round 4, have Aello shout the suggestion — she's been reading temple records all morning.

Mechanics — Complications (d6, rounds 2+)

d6	Complication
1	Falling bronze sign. A civic placard shears off the span. Dex DC 14 or 2d10 bludgeoning and lose 1 Length.
2	Cross-draft. Str or Dex DC 13 or your pursuit check this round has disadvantage.
3	Ember hail. 2d6 fire, no save. Emberweave and Chrism ignore it entirely — this is the round the vestiary pays off.
4	Collapsing arch. Group Acrobatics or Athletics DC 13, 4 successes before 3 failures, resolved this round. Failure costs 2 Lengths.
5	A signal-runner on the span. Stranded on a cracked section, waving. Rescuing them costs one PC's action (automatic if flying) and banks a Cooling Token. Leaving them costs nothing mechanically and everything else.
6	The pennant-line. The chariot's burning streamers whip past within reach. Reaction, Dex DC 15 to seize one: close 2 Lengths immediately and take 2d6 fire. Your next boarding attempt is automatic.

Mechanics — Harriers, Combat, and the Dragon Chariot

Ash-Wing Vultures (round 1): they go for the most isolated flyer and prefer riders to mounts. Snatch grapples (escape DC 15), and a grappled creature cannot make pursuit checks. Drive them off with two coordinated bright signals (DC 14) or one flash of the Rein (free action) — 3 rounds of peace each time.
Aithousai (round 3): two cinder-nymphs come laughing out of the smoke. This is the party's first look at the faction that actually wants this to happen. They target Talaria-wearers and pegasi, and they are vulnerable to cold. Anyone who kills one here has one fewer shrieking at the horses later — the finale roster assumes three; subtract any killed in the chase.
Dragon chariot aboard: one PC drives as their action (Animal Handling or Arcana DC 12) and closes 1 extra Length on a success. Everyone aboard may attack or make pursuit checks and nobody aboard can fall. In exchange, the Athletics and Acrobatics pursuit options are unavailable to anyone standing in the car, and the serpents will not close the final Length — the last one is on the party.
Pegasus as a mount: his Skyward Surge gives his rider one pursuit check with advantage, and his rider cannot fall. He will carry Phaethon later if asked politely.

Resolution

Boarded within six rounds

Everyone who boarded is on the deck with stable footing for round 1 of the finale. The Scorch Track starts at 0. Anyone still airborne joins on round 2 — they miss the opening but they also miss the first Scorching Wake.

Six rounds gone — the second city takes it

The chariot crosses the second city and something below stops being a building. The Scorch Track starts at 1 in Enc. 3, and Heliope's second token goes cold in her hand — she will not say what that means. The chase continues at all DCs −2 until the party boards. This is never a hard fail. They board. It simply costs.

Creature Cards

⚔

Ash-Wing Vulture

Large Monstrosity, Unaligned · CR 6 · Aerial predator drawn to collapsing omens

AC 16 | HP 88 (11d10+33) | Speed 20 ft., fly 60 ft.

18 (+4)STR

14 (+2)DEX

16 (+3)CON

4 (−3)INT

12 (+1)WIS

8 (−1)CHA

Skills: Perception +5 · Resist fire · Advantage on attacks against creatures in shadow

Driven off, not killed. Two creatures signalling in coordination with bright light (DC 14) or one flash of the Rein's glow (free action) makes it retreat for 3 rounds.

Cull the Stragglers. It always goes for the most isolated flyer, and it prefers a rider to a mount.

Actions

Multiattack. One Snatch and one Beak attack.

Snatch. +8 to hit, reach 10 ft. Hit: 14 (2d8+5) slashing, and the target is grappled (escape DC 15). A grappled creature cannot make pursuit checks.

Beak. +8 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 9 (1d10+4) piercing.

Drop. The vulture releases a grappled creature over open sky. It falls unless it can fly, is caught, or is roped.

⚔

Aithousa, Cinder-Nymph

Medium Fiend (nymph of ash), Chaotic Evil · CR 5 · Kaustra's chorus · reskinned barbed devil

AC 15 | HP 78 (12d8+24) | Speed 30 ft., fly 50 ft.

12 (+1)STR

18 (+4)DEX

14 (+2)CON

10 (+0)INT

12 (+1)WIS

16 (+3)CHA

Saves: Dex +7 · Skills: Acrobatics +7, Deception +6 · Immune fire · Vulnerable cold · Senses darkvision 60 ft.

Reskin note. A barbed devil on wings. She was a spring-nymph until Typhon's fire found her stream, and she has been laughing about water ever since.

Ember Body. A creature that hits Aithousa with a melee attack takes 3 (1d6) fire.

Doused. Any cold damage ends her current Goad immediately, and she cannot Goad again until the end of her next turn. Cold is worth an action here.

Actions

Multiattack. Two Spark-Lash attacks.

Spark-Lash. +7 to hit, reach 10 ft or range 40 ft. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) fire.

Goad the Yoke. Instead of attacking, she shrieks at one sun-horse within 30 ft: calming checks against that horse have their DC increased by 2 until the end of her next turn. Multiple Aithousai stack. Three of them shrieking at Phlegon is a DC 23 problem — kill the chorus or lose the horse.

Bonus Actions

Cinder Step. Fly up to 25 ft without provoking opportunity attacks.

◈

Chariot of Helios, Dragon-Drawn

Wondrous Item (vehicle) · provided by Helios at Heliope's petition · Large object · seats 4, standing room 6

Appearance: a low black car chased in gold, yoked to two winged serpents whose scales run the colors of a sundog.

Phlox and Anthelia. AC 16, HP 60 each, fly 90 ft. They never bolt, never panic, and never attack. They are Helios's, and they are on an errand.

Medea's car. If anyone asks whose it was, the serpents answer to the name. Any PC who ran The Fleece of Colchis recognizes the harness at a glance.

🦅

Pegasus, the Cloud-Sired

Large Celestial, Chaotic Good · CR 6 · Optional recruit · One rider, his choice

AC 15 | HP 110 (13d10+39) | Speed 60 ft., fly 120 ft.

18 (+4)STR

16 (+3)DEX

16 (+3)CON

12 (+1)INT

15 (+2)WIS

16 (+3)CHA

Saves: Dex +7, Wis +6 · Skills: Perception +6 · Understands Greek and Celestial, speaks neither

Sure in the Air. Immune to being knocked prone. His rider takes no falling damage while mounted and may dismount in midair to hover for one round.

Cloud-Sired. Advantage on saves against fire and against any effect that would panic him. He is the only thing in the sky today that is not afraid.

Persistence. Pegasus is a singular named being: he is never a valid enemy and never dies here. At 0 HP he simply climbs out of reach and returns next round at half HP, unimpressed.

Actions

Multiattack. Two Hooves attacks.

Hooves. +8 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) bludgeoning.

Skyward Surge (Recharge 5–6). Fly up to 120 ft without provoking opportunity attacks. His rider may make one pursuit check with advantage as part of this movement.

◈

Spare Golden Rein

Wondrous Item (maguffin), Unique

Appearance: A sun-warm cord of braided gold, too light to fall and too bright to stare at directly.

Handout. "One hand guides pride. Two hands guide terror. Three true names guide the fire home."

Enc. 2. Skyhook. Auto-cross one sky-road gap and auto-board the chariot. Its glow counts as a bright coordinated signal to drive off an Ash-Wing Vulture (free action).

Win gate. The horses can be calmed without the Rein. The chariot cannot be turned without it.

🦅

Aello, Wind-Harness Rider

Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · Aerial pilot and rescue spotter

AC 16 | HP 72 | Speed 30 ft. (fly 90 ft. mounted)

12 (+1)STR

16 (+3)DEX

12 (+1)CON

12 (+1)INT

16 (+3)WIS

16 (+3)CHA

Skills: Animal Handling +7, Perception +6, Survival +6 · Role: aerial pilot, rescue spotter, herd-speaker

Wind-Signals. Once per round (no action): one ally she can see has advantage on their pursuit check this round.

Herd-Speaker. Once per round she can assist a calming check on a sun-horse within 30 ft: that check's DC is reduced by 3.

Name-Coach. She read the temple records. She knows Phaethon's name and how his mother said it — Persuasion DC 12 instead of 15.

Whistle for the Sire. If all four pegasi are freed and she is recruited, she can call Pegasus himself. She will not do it for a party that has whipped, roped, or wounded a horse.

Actions

Strike. Storm javelin +8 to hit, range 120 ft. Hit: 2d6+4 piercing plus 2d6 lightning.

Catch (1/round, reaction-like). When a creature she can see within 60 ft falls, she dives: that creature takes no falling damage and lands where she can reach.

Encounter 3 — Hands on the Burning Yoke (Boss)

Deadly · ~90 min · Calm four horses while something unmakes your work

Overview

The chariot deck is the size of a large wagon and it is currently moving faster than any ship has ever sailed. The third city fills the horizon; its easternmost tower is already showing heat shimmer. Phaethon is at the yoke with both hands locked around the central strut — not because he is driving, but because he is terrified to let go. He sees the party board. He does not look relieved. He looks like someone who knows he is the problem and cannot work out how to stop being it.

And circling above the yoke, in no hurry at all, is a woman with ash for wings. Kaustra has waited under Etna a very long time for a day the sun forgot its road, and she has brought her chorus. She does not want the party dead. She wants the horses screaming, and she has three cinder-nymphs shrieking at them to make sure they stay that way.

The horses are the objective. The chariot is the floor. The Furies are the fight. Calm all four sun-horses — or three plus Phaethon's consent — with the Rein looped through the yoke, before the Scorch Track reaches 4.

Encounter Roster (Deadly)

1× Kaustra, First Fury of Typhon (CR 12 · 7,200 XP)
3× Aithousa, Cinder-Nymph (CR 5 · 1,800 XP each) — minus any killed in the chase
4× sun-horse: Pyrois, Eous, Aethon, Phlegon (CR 6 · 2,300 XP each)
1× Chariot of Helios — an object, no initiative, no attacks

XP Budget (Deadly)

7,200 + 5,400 + 9,200 = ~21,800 XP
Deadly for 6×L12 ≈ 22,800 — the horses count as pressure, not as kills
Cooling Tokens are the only way to buy back time: −1 Scorch, action, once per round
Aello present: −3 to one calming DC per round. Phaethon's consent: −2 to all of them.

🗺 Terrain & Features

Chariot deck 40×20 ft, moving · four yoke stations — lead-left (Pyrois), lead-right (Eous), trace-left (Aethon), trace-right (Phlegon); a station is "held" while a creature stands in it · the yoke strut front-center, where Phaethon's hands are and where the Rein is looped · wheel rims east and west (14 bludgeoning at the start of your turn; Athletics DC 12 to climb inboard) · burning pennants (Stealth −10 while lit; cut free as an action) · the dragon chariot docked 20 ft off the flank if the party has it · and in every other direction, open sky. Falling is the deadliest thing in this encounter. Talaria, mounts, and the docked car all exist to change that math.

Mechanics — The Scorch Track (0–4)

At the end of every round: +1 Scorch for every two horses still panicked, rounded down. A dead horse counts as permanently panicked. That is the entire clock — no other trigger, no bookkeeping.
Spend a Cooling Token (action, once per round) to reduce the Scorch Track by 1.
Scorch 4: the third city burns. Loss. Helios is blamed for mortal ruin and the sky-road stays cracked.
Overran the chase? Start at 1.

Horses still panicked	Scorch per round	What the table feels
4	+2	Two rounds of doing nothing loses the city. Open loud.
3	+1	The first horse bought them real time and they can tell.
2	+1	Halfway, and Kaustra starts spending legendary actions on Rekindle.
1	+0	The clock stops. Now it is a straight fight over one animal.
0	—	The yoke answers. See Win.

Mechanics — Calming a Horse

Action, adjacent to that horse's yoke station. Base Animal Handling DC 15 (Phlegon is DC 17).
−2 to the DC while the Rein is looped through the yoke. −2 more once Phaethon has consented and named the horses aloud. −3 on one check per round if Aello is on the deck.
Advantage if the horse is grappled or restrained (Athletics contest vs. its +7) — one PC holding it while another talks to it is the intended play, and it lets a fighter matter without drawing blood.
+2 per Aithousa currently goading that horse. Three of them on Phlegon is a DC 23 wall. Kill the chorus or lose the horse.
Damage never helps. A horse at 0 HP dies: Scorch +1 immediately, +3 to every remaining calming DC, and the yoke arm drags for the rest of the flight. Say this out loud the first time a player asks how much HP a horse has.
Every horse has one true answer that skips the check entirely — cold or Chrism for Pyrois, a hymn or steady light for Eous, a healer's hands for Aethon, and his own name for Phlegon. The full list is on each card. A party that finds all four wins this encounter in five rounds; a party that brute-forces it will still get there, bloodier.

Horse	Station	Base DC	Its true answer
Pyrois, the Fiery	Lead-left	15	Cold or water without hostility (→ DC 12), or one dose of Chrism over the muzzle (auto)
Eous, the Dawn	Lead-right	15	Performance DC 13 dawn-hymn (auto if banked in the chase), or Light/Daylight held steady one round (auto)
Aethon, the Blazing	Trace-left	15 (disadv. while speared)	Medicine DC 14 to draw the spar then DC 12 — or any 2nd-level+ healing (auto)
Phlegon, the Burning	Trace-right	17	DC 12 once the other three are calm; DC 10 if Phaethon speaks his name

Rein insertion (action at the yoke strut): loop the Spare Golden Rein through and speak the three city names aloud — one per city the speaker has actually watched burn. No roll. While looped: every calming check +2; a calmed horse that would be re-panicked saves with advantage; Kaustra has disadvantage on attacks within 10 ft of the strut.
Win gate: the horses can be calmed without the Rein. The chariot cannot be turned without it. A party that forgets the maguffin gets four quiet horses and a city that still burns — give them one clear round of warning before that happens.
Phaethon's consent (Persuasion DC 15): DC 12 if Aello coaches, −3 if his name was shouted across the gap in Enc. 2, −2 if the dragon chariot is docked where he can see it, and automatic if Heliope told the party his name-history. On a success he opens his hands and says the four horses' names out loud — the only mortal alive who has heard his father say them. All calming DCs −2 for the rest of the encounter.
He will not fight the party and he cannot be made useful by force. If someone damages him: +5 to all calming DCs and Aello leaves the deck.

Mechanics — Running the Furies

Kaustra plays arson, not bloodlust. Whenever a calmed horse is on the board she prefers Rekindle (Wis DC 17, advantage with the Rein) to any attack, and she will step over a dying PC to reach a quiet horse. Her Ash-Cord exists to drag people off the deck, not to kill them — a PC in Talaria treats it as an inconvenience, and that is exactly the payoff Enc. 1 promised.
Legendary actions are the real threat. 3 per round: Cord (1), Rekindle (2), Goad (1, ordering a nymph to shriek). A party that ignores her can watch two rounds of calming work evaporate between their turns.
Aithousai are the DC tax. Goad the Yoke stacks. They are vulnerable to cold, and any cold damage cancels an active Goad at once. The sun-javelin from the sky-road wreckage is radiant and hurts them badly — reward the party that picked it up.
Kaustra does not have to die. When the fourth horse is calmed and the arc lifts, true dawn breaks across the deck: 35 (10d6) radiant to her, and at half HP or below she flees east toward Etna promising to remember every face. Killing her outright is permitted and no god objects — she is Typhon's daughter, not Typhon.

Resolution

Win — four horses calmed, Rein in place

The yoke answers. Four enormous animals lean into the same direction for the first time all day, the nose of the chariot lifts, and the third city passes beneath untouched and never learns how close it came. Kaustra screams once and is gone east. Phaethon, if he is conscious, looks out at the city below and says nothing. His silence is the point.

Win — three horses and a boy's hands

If exactly three are calmed and Phaethon has consented, he takes the fourth rein himself and holds it. That also wins. It costs him his hands — burn scars to the wrist, no lasting mechanical penalty — and the DM should let him choose it out loud rather than rolling for it.

Loss — Scorch 4

The third city burns. Helios is blamed for mortal ruin, the sky-road stays cracked, and Kaustra sits on the rim of the chariot to watch with her chin in her hands. Do not kill the party for it — let them land, and let them see it.

Loss — the chariot destroyed

At 0 HP the car comes apart in the air. Everyone aboard falls and the sun goes out at noon. This should never happen by surprise; warn the table before round 1 and again the first time someone swings at the frame.

Creature Cards

◈

The Chariot of Helios (Runaway)

Wondrous Item (vehicle) · Huge object · environmental feature, not a creature · the stage of Enc. 3

AC 19 | HP 210 | Damage Threshold 15 | Speed 40 ft. (flying, uncontrolled)

Immune fire, radiant, poison, psychic · No initiative, no turns, no attack rolls

Not a creature. The chariot is an object. It cannot be calmed, charmed, frightened, grappled, or reasoned with, and it is not the boss. It is the floor of the fight. The enemies are Kaustra and her chorus; the problem is the four horses.

Do not break it. At 0 HP the car comes apart in the air: everyone aboard falls and the sun goes out at noon — instant loss. Say this at the table before round 1, out loud, in your DM voice.

Scorching Wake (Initiative 20). Every creature on the deck: Con DC 15 or 14 (4d6) fire. Emberweave Chlamys halves it; Chrism of the Unburnt ignores it; a Cooling Token spent as a reaction negates it for one creature.

Bucking Wheel. Whenever a horse dies, or a panicked horse begins its turn with no creature at its yoke station: every creature on the deck Dex DC 14 or fall prone; on a failure by 5 or more, also slide 10 ft toward the nearest rim.

Wheel Rims. East and west. A creature on a rim takes 14 bludgeoning at the start of each of its turns; climbing inboard is Athletics DC 12.

The Yoke Strut. Front-center, where Phaethon's hands are. This is where the Spare Golden Rein is looped, and the only square that wins the session.

👤

Phaethon, Son of Helios

Medium Humanoid (mortal son of a god), Neutral · Not a combatant · Enc. 3 fixture

AC 13 | HP 44 | Speed 0 ft. (will not let go)

Appearance: sixteen, sun-blistered, both hands welded by terror to the central strut

No initiative. Phaethon never rolls initiative, never attacks, and never moves. He is furniture with a pulse. He is not driving — he is holding on.

Consent (the beat that matters). Persuasion DC 15 — DC 12 if Aello coaches the phrasing, −3 if someone shouted his name across the gap in Enc. 2, automatic if Heliope told the party his name-history. On a success he opens his hands and says the four horses' names out loud — he is the only mortal alive who has heard his father say them. All calming DCs −2 for the rest of the encounter.

He is not the enemy. If a PC deals damage to Phaethon: all calming DCs +5 for the rest of the fight and Aello leaves the deck. He is terrified, not malicious.

Why he holds on. He believes letting go kills him. Any argument that gives him somewhere safe to fall — Talaria, a pegasus, the dragon chariot docked below — lowers the DC by 2 on its own.

Persistence. He lives. His sisters the Heliades come for him at the sky-road's end. Do not stage his death as the solution.

⚔

Pyrois, the Fiery

Large Celestial (solar horse), Neutral · CR 6 · Objective, not a villain · Lead-left yoke

AC 16 | HP 105 (10d10+50) | Speed 60 ft., fly 120 ft.

20 (+5)STR

14 (+2)DEX

18 (+4)CON

6 (−2)INT

12 (+1)WIS

14 (+2)CHA

Saves: Wis +4 · Immune fire · Resist radiant · Senses darkvision 60 ft.

Panicked or Calmed. Every horse starts panicked: it attacks, it feeds the Scorch Track, and it drags its yoke arm. A calmed horse stops attacking, stops feeding the track, and pulls where it is asked.

Damage Never Helps. No amount of harm improves a calming check. At 0 HP the horse dies: Scorch +1 immediately and +3 to every remaining calming DC. Say this out loud the first time someone rolls damage.

Held Still. While the horse is grappled or restrained (Athletics contest vs. +7), calming checks against it have advantage.

Calm him. Animal Handling DC 15. His answer: any cold or water effect used on him without hostility drops it to DC 12; one dose of Chrism of the Unburnt poured over his muzzle calms him automatically.

Ignition. While panicked, at the end of his turn the deck's pennants catch. Any creature that ends its turn adjacent to a burning pennant takes 3 fire. Cutting a pennant free is an action.

Actions

Flare Hoof. +9 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 14 (2d8+5) bludgeoning plus 9 (2d8) fire.

Flare Rear (Recharge 5–6). 15-ft cone, Dex DC 15: 24 (7d6) fire, half on a success. Ignites every pennant in the area.

⚔

Eous, the Dawn

Large Celestial (solar horse), Neutral · CR 6 · Objective, not a villain · Lead-right yoke

AC 16 | HP 105 (10d10+50) | Speed 60 ft., fly 120 ft.

20 (+5)STR

14 (+2)DEX

18 (+4)CON

6 (−2)INT

12 (+1)WIS

14 (+2)CHA

Saves: Wis +4 · Immune fire · Resist radiant · Senses darkvision 60 ft.

Held Still. While the horse is grappled or restrained (Athletics contest vs. +7), calming checks against it have advantage.

Calm him. Animal Handling DC 15. His answer: Performance DC 13 — the dawn-hymn he was bred to (automatic if the party banked the Dawn-Hymn in the chase); or a Light / Daylight effect held steady in front of him for one full round (automatic).

Dawnward Bolt. While panicked, on his turn he lunges east toward the horizon he was made for. The chariot veers: every creature on the deck Dex DC 14 or slide 10 ft toward the east rim. A creature already on the rim saves again or goes over.

Sunward Blind. Attacks made against Eous from the east — into the sun — have disadvantage.

Actions

Rearing Hoof. +9 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 14 (2d8+5) bludgeoning plus 4 (1d8) radiant.

Sunburst Snort (Recharge 6). Every creature within 10 ft: Con DC 15 or blinded until the end of its next turn.

⚔

Aethon, the Blazing

Large Celestial (solar horse), Neutral · CR 6 · Objective, not a villain · Trace-left yoke · Wounded

AC 16 | HP 105 (10d10+50) | Speed 60 ft., fly 120 ft.

20 (+5)STR

14 (+2)DEX

18 (+4)CON

6 (−2)INT

12 (+1)WIS

14 (+2)CHA

Saves: Wis +4 · Immune fire · Resist radiant · Senses darkvision 60 ft.

Held Still. While the horse is grappled or restrained (Athletics contest vs. +7), calming checks against it have advantage.

Speared. A broken spar of sky-road stone is lodged in his shoulder. While the spar is in, calming checks against Aethon have disadvantage.

Calm him. Draw the spar first: Medicine DC 14, or Athletics DC 16 if you would rather pull than treat (and he screams). Then Animal Handling DC 12. His answer: any healing spell of 2nd level or higher, or 25+ HP of healing, removes the spar and calms him automatically.

Pain Bleed. While the spar is in, Aethon takes 5 damage at the start of each of his turns. He is visibly failing. Describe it — players who notice usually act.

Actions

Lame Kick. +9 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 14 (2d8+5) bludgeoning. Aethon has disadvantage on this attack against any creature that has healed him this encounter.

Thrash (Recharge 5–6). Every creature within 10 ft: Dex DC 14 or 13 (3d8) bludgeoning and pushed 5 ft. He is not attacking — he is trying to get the stone out.

⚔

Phlegon, the Burning

Large Celestial (solar horse), Neutral · CR 6 · Objective, not a villain · Trace-right yoke · Calm him last

AC 16 | HP 105 (10d10+50) | Speed 60 ft., fly 120 ft.

20 (+5)STR

14 (+2)DEX

18 (+4)CON

6 (−2)INT

12 (+1)WIS

14 (+2)CHA

Saves: Wis +4 · Immune fire · Resist radiant · Senses darkvision 60 ft.

Held Still. While the horse is grappled or restrained (Athletics contest vs. +7), calming checks against it have advantage.

Calm him. Animal Handling DC 17 — or DC 12 if the other three are already calmed (he follows the herd), or DC 10 if Phaethon has consented and speaks his name.

Contagious Terror. At the end of his turn while panicked, one calmed horse within 30 ft must make a Wis save DC 14 (advantage if the Rein is looped) or become panicked again. He is why the work unravels.

Actions

Bite. +9 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 16 (2d10+5) piercing plus 7 (2d6) fire.

Sear-Trample (Recharge 6). He surges 30 ft along the yoke. Every creature in his path: Dex DC 15 or 18 (4d8) fire and pushed 10 ft — toward the rim if the DM is feeling honest about it.

☠

Kaustra, First Fury of Typhon

Large Fiend (fury), Chaotic Evil · CR 12 · Boss · reskinned erinyes

AC 18 (ash-scale) | HP 189 (18d10+90) | Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft. (hover)

18 (+4)STR

20 (+5)DEX

20 (+5)CON

14 (+2)INT

16 (+3)WIS

18 (+4)CHA

Saves: Dex +10, Con +10, Wis +8 · Skills: Insight +8, Intimidation +9, Perception +8 · Immune fire · Resist cold, poison, and bludgeoning/piercing/slashing from nonmagical attacks · Senses truesight 60 ft. · LR 3/day

Reskin note. Run her as an erinyes with the infernal serial numbers filed off and set on fire. She is Typhon's ash-daughter, not a devil; there is no contract, no hell, and no god who minds if she dies. She has waited under Etna for a day the sun forgot its road.

Watch It Burn. Her goal is the third city, not the party. Whenever a calmed horse is on the board she prefers Rekindle over damage, and she will step over a dying PC to reach a quiet horse. Play her as arson, not as bloodlust.

Ash-Wings. She hovers. She never falls, and she is never grounded by anything short of a grapple from something that can also fly.

Sun-Hater. While Kaustra is within 10 ft of the yoke strut with the Rein looped through it, she has disadvantage on attack rolls. Disciplined sunlight is the one thing she cannot stand to be near.

Driven Off. When the fourth horse is calmed and the chariot's arc lifts, true dawn breaks across the deck: Kaustra takes 35 (10d6) radiant, and if that leaves her at half HP or lower she flees east toward Etna, promising to remember every face. Killing her instead is entirely allowed.

Actions

Multiattack. Two Ash-Cord attacks, or one Ash-Cord and Rekindle.

Ash-Cord. +10 to hit, reach 20 ft. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) slashing plus 10 (3d6) fire, and the target must succeed on a Str save DC 18 or be pulled 15 ft toward Kaustra. If that pull takes it off the deck, it falls.

Rekindle. One calmed sun-horse within 60 ft: Wis save DC 17 (advantage if the Rein is looped) or it becomes panicked again. Kaustra laughs. The horse screams. This is her win condition — not your hit points.

Ashfall (Recharge 5–6). 30-ft cone: Dex DC 18, 35 (10d6) fire, half on a success. A creature that fails is also blinded until the end of its next turn.

Bonus Actions

Etna's Patience. Fly up to half her speed without provoking opportunity attacks.

Reactions

Spite (1/round). When a sun-horse is calmed within 60 ft of her, Kaustra moves up to her fly speed toward it.

Legendary Actions

Cord (1). One Ash-Cord attack.

Rekindle (2). Use Rekindle.

Goad (1). One Aithousa within 60 ft immediately uses Goad the Yoke.

⚔

Aithousa, Cinder-Nymph

Medium Fiend (nymph of ash), Chaotic Evil · CR 5 · Kaustra's chorus · reskinned barbed devil

AC 15 | HP 78 (12d8+24) | Speed 30 ft., fly 50 ft.

12 (+1)STR

18 (+4)DEX

14 (+2)CON

10 (+0)INT

12 (+1)WIS

16 (+3)CHA

Saves: Dex +7 · Skills: Acrobatics +7, Deception +6 · Immune fire · Vulnerable cold · Senses darkvision 60 ft.

Reskin note. A barbed devil on wings. She was a spring-nymph until Typhon's fire found her stream, and she has been laughing about water ever since.

Ember Body. A creature that hits Aithousa with a melee attack takes 3 (1d6) fire.

Doused. Any cold damage ends her current Goad immediately, and she cannot Goad again until the end of her next turn. Cold is worth an action here.

Actions

Multiattack. Two Spark-Lash attacks.

Spark-Lash. +7 to hit, reach 10 ft or range 40 ft. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) fire.

Bonus Actions

Cinder Step. Fly up to 25 ft without provoking opportunity attacks.

◈

Spare Golden Rein

Wondrous Item (maguffin), Unique

Appearance: A sun-warm cord of braided gold, too light to fall and too bright to stare at directly.

Handout. "One hand guides pride. Two hands guide terror. Three true names guide the fire home."

Enc. 2. Skyhook. Auto-cross one sky-road gap and auto-board the chariot. Its glow counts as a bright coordinated signal to drive off an Ash-Wing Vulture (free action).

Win gate. The horses can be calmed without the Rein. The chariot cannot be turned without it.

🌅 Aftermath

Heliope's tokens cool in order. She keeps the coldest one and gives the other two away — to the party, if they spared all three cities; to the cities themselves, if they didn't.
Phaethon lives, in the myth's despite. His sisters the Heliades are waiting at the sky-road's end, and if the party lets them take him, poplars grow where they stand and their tears harden into amber. Any PC may keep one bead. It is warm.
Pegasus, if he flew today, will come once more when called courteously. That is a favor, not an item, and the DM should never let it become a spell.
Talaria are votives. Return them to a crossroads herm and Hermes lets the party keep one pair for good — see Reward Cards.
Kaustra, if she fled, goes back under Etna to wait for the next mortal who wants to drive something he cannot steer. She was patient before. She is worse now.
The dragon chariot returns itself to Helios's stable without being asked. If a PC left something in it, they get it back, folded.

⚖️ Difficulty Scaling

As Written ★ — 6 Players, Average Level 12

Baseline for this guide. Encounters 1–2 are Hard; the finale is Deadly for six PCs at average level 12.
XP budgets (6×L12 thresholds): Hard ≈ 14,400 · Deadly ≈ 22,800. The finale reaches Deadly through the Scorch clock and Kaustra's legendary actions, not through minion count.

Library Standard — 6 Players, Average Level 8

Kaustra: HP 120, drop Ashfall to 6d6, 2 legendary actions instead of 3, Rekindle DC 14.
2 Aithousai instead of 3; Goad raises the DC by 1 instead of 2.
Horses: HP 70, base calming DC 13 (Phlegon 15); all skill DCs across the session −2.
Chase: gap of 4 Lengths instead of 6; one Vulture; nymphs arrive round 4.
Enc. 1: 2 Spark Swarms; Talaria cap of 6 pairs still stands — an APL 8 party needs the wings more, not less.
Allow one free short rest between the chase and the finale.

Easier (table still high-tier) — APL 10–11

Kaustra HP −15% and one fewer legendary action; Scorch Track ceiling 5 instead of 4; horse calming DCs −1.
Give the party the dragon chariot from the start regardless of their wings.

Harder — APL 13–14 or seven PCs

Add Deiope, Second Fury of Typhon: Kaustra's card at HP 110, no legendary actions, Rekindle and Ash-Cord only. She arrives at the end of round 2.
Kaustra HP +15%; Rekindle DC 18; the Aithousai gain Goad at 60 ft instead of 30.
Scorch Track: a dead horse counts as two panicked horses.
Do not raise the horse calming DCs — the finale is already a DC wall, and pushing it further turns a puzzle into a whiff-fest.

📋 Appendix — Cards

Creatures

☠

Kaustra, First Fury of Typhon

Large Fiend (fury), Chaotic Evil · CR 12 · Boss · reskinned erinyes

AC 18 (ash-scale) | HP 189 (18d10+90) | Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft. (hover)

18 (+4)STR

20 (+5)DEX

20 (+5)CON

14 (+2)INT

16 (+3)WIS

18 (+4)CHA

Ash-Wings. She hovers. She never falls, and she is never grounded by anything short of a grapple from something that can also fly.

Sun-Hater. While Kaustra is within 10 ft of the yoke strut with the Rein looped through it, she has disadvantage on attack rolls. Disciplined sunlight is the one thing she cannot stand to be near.

Actions

Multiattack. Two Ash-Cord attacks, or one Ash-Cord and Rekindle.

Ashfall (Recharge 5–6). 30-ft cone: Dex DC 18, 35 (10d6) fire, half on a success. A creature that fails is also blinded until the end of its next turn.

Bonus Actions

Etna's Patience. Fly up to half her speed without provoking opportunity attacks.

Reactions

Spite (1/round). When a sun-horse is calmed within 60 ft of her, Kaustra moves up to her fly speed toward it.

Legendary Actions

Cord (1). One Ash-Cord attack.

Rekindle (2). Use Rekindle.

Goad (1). One Aithousa within 60 ft immediately uses Goad the Yoke.

⚔

Aithousa, Cinder-Nymph

Medium Fiend (nymph of ash), Chaotic Evil · CR 5 · Kaustra's chorus · reskinned barbed devil

AC 15 | HP 78 (12d8+24) | Speed 30 ft., fly 50 ft.

12 (+1)STR

18 (+4)DEX

14 (+2)CON

10 (+0)INT

12 (+1)WIS

16 (+3)CHA

Saves: Dex +7 · Skills: Acrobatics +7, Deception +6 · Immune fire · Vulnerable cold · Senses darkvision 60 ft.

Reskin note. A barbed devil on wings. She was a spring-nymph until Typhon's fire found her stream, and she has been laughing about water ever since.

Ember Body. A creature that hits Aithousa with a melee attack takes 3 (1d6) fire.

Doused. Any cold damage ends her current Goad immediately, and she cannot Goad again until the end of her next turn. Cold is worth an action here.

Actions

Multiattack. Two Spark-Lash attacks.

Spark-Lash. +7 to hit, reach 10 ft or range 40 ft. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) fire.

Bonus Actions

Cinder Step. Fly up to 25 ft without provoking opportunity attacks.

⚔

Pyrois, the Fiery

Large Celestial (solar horse), Neutral · CR 6 · Objective, not a villain · Lead-left yoke

AC 16 | HP 105 (10d10+50) | Speed 60 ft., fly 120 ft.

20 (+5)STR

14 (+2)DEX

18 (+4)CON

6 (−2)INT

12 (+1)WIS

14 (+2)CHA

Saves: Wis +4 · Immune fire · Resist radiant · Senses darkvision 60 ft.

Held Still. While the horse is grappled or restrained (Athletics contest vs. +7), calming checks against it have advantage.

Ignition. While panicked, at the end of his turn the deck's pennants catch. Any creature that ends its turn adjacent to a burning pennant takes 3 fire. Cutting a pennant free is an action.

Actions

Flare Hoof. +9 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 14 (2d8+5) bludgeoning plus 9 (2d8) fire.

Flare Rear (Recharge 5–6). 15-ft cone, Dex DC 15: 24 (7d6) fire, half on a success. Ignites every pennant in the area.

⚔

Eous, the Dawn

Large Celestial (solar horse), Neutral · CR 6 · Objective, not a villain · Lead-right yoke

AC 16 | HP 105 (10d10+50) | Speed 60 ft., fly 120 ft.

20 (+5)STR

14 (+2)DEX

18 (+4)CON

6 (−2)INT

12 (+1)WIS

14 (+2)CHA

Saves: Wis +4 · Immune fire · Resist radiant · Senses darkvision 60 ft.

Held Still. While the horse is grappled or restrained (Athletics contest vs. +7), calming checks against it have advantage.

Sunward Blind. Attacks made against Eous from the east — into the sun — have disadvantage.

Actions

Rearing Hoof. +9 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 14 (2d8+5) bludgeoning plus 4 (1d8) radiant.

Sunburst Snort (Recharge 6). Every creature within 10 ft: Con DC 15 or blinded until the end of its next turn.

⚔

Aethon, the Blazing

Large Celestial (solar horse), Neutral · CR 6 · Objective, not a villain · Trace-left yoke · Wounded

AC 16 | HP 105 (10d10+50) | Speed 60 ft., fly 120 ft.

20 (+5)STR

14 (+2)DEX

18 (+4)CON

6 (−2)INT

12 (+1)WIS

14 (+2)CHA

Saves: Wis +4 · Immune fire · Resist radiant · Senses darkvision 60 ft.

Held Still. While the horse is grappled or restrained (Athletics contest vs. +7), calming checks against it have advantage.

Speared. A broken spar of sky-road stone is lodged in his shoulder. While the spar is in, calming checks against Aethon have disadvantage.

Pain Bleed. While the spar is in, Aethon takes 5 damage at the start of each of his turns. He is visibly failing. Describe it — players who notice usually act.

Actions

Lame Kick. +9 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 14 (2d8+5) bludgeoning. Aethon has disadvantage on this attack against any creature that has healed him this encounter.

Thrash (Recharge 5–6). Every creature within 10 ft: Dex DC 14 or 13 (3d8) bludgeoning and pushed 5 ft. He is not attacking — he is trying to get the stone out.

⚔

Phlegon, the Burning

Large Celestial (solar horse), Neutral · CR 6 · Objective, not a villain · Trace-right yoke · Calm him last

AC 16 | HP 105 (10d10+50) | Speed 60 ft., fly 120 ft.

20 (+5)STR

14 (+2)DEX

18 (+4)CON

6 (−2)INT

12 (+1)WIS

14 (+2)CHA

Saves: Wis +4 · Immune fire · Resist radiant · Senses darkvision 60 ft.

Held Still. While the horse is grappled or restrained (Athletics contest vs. +7), calming checks against it have advantage.

Calm him. Animal Handling DC 17 — or DC 12 if the other three are already calmed (he follows the herd), or DC 10 if Phaethon has consented and speaks his name.

Actions

Bite. +9 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 16 (2d10+5) piercing plus 7 (2d6) fire.

Sear-Trample (Recharge 6). He surges 30 ft along the yoke. Every creature in his path: Dex DC 15 or 18 (4d8) fire and pushed 10 ft — toward the rim if the DM is feeling honest about it.

⚔

Ash-Wing Vulture

Large Monstrosity, Unaligned · CR 6 · Aerial predator drawn to collapsing omens

AC 16 | HP 88 (11d10+33) | Speed 20 ft., fly 60 ft.

18 (+4)STR

14 (+2)DEX

16 (+3)CON

4 (−3)INT

12 (+1)WIS

8 (−1)CHA

Skills: Perception +5 · Resist fire · Advantage on attacks against creatures in shadow

Driven off, not killed. Two creatures signalling in coordination with bright light (DC 14) or one flash of the Rein's glow (free action) makes it retreat for 3 rounds.

Cull the Stragglers. It always goes for the most isolated flyer, and it prefers a rider to a mount.

Actions

Multiattack. One Snatch and one Beak attack.

Snatch. +8 to hit, reach 10 ft. Hit: 14 (2d8+5) slashing, and the target is grappled (escape DC 15). A grappled creature cannot make pursuit checks.

Beak. +8 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 9 (1d10+4) piercing.

Drop. The vulture releases a grappled creature over open sky. It falls unless it can fly, is caught, or is roped.

⚔

Solar Spark Swarm

Medium Elemental (living embers), Unaligned · CR 4 · Enc. 1

AC 15 | HP 66 (12d8+12) | Speed 30 ft., fly 30 ft. (hover)

14 (+2)STR

16 (+3)DEX

12 (+1)CON

3 (−4)INT

11 (+0)WIS

10 (+0)CHA

Immune fire, poison · Vulnerable cold · Harmless to stone; lethal to everything woven or wooden

Kindling. At the end of its turn, one unattended flammable object within 5 ft catches — awnings, votive racks, pennants, rope.

Actions

Flare Lash. +7 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 10 (3d6) fire, and one flammable item the target is not holding ignites.

NPC / Ally Cards

👤

Heliope, Singed Dawn-Priest

Medium Humanoid (human), Neutral Good · Quest giver

Appearance: burns up both forearms, three bronze city tokens on a cord, each warmer than the last

Motivation. Keep Helios's name from becoming a curse — save the cities before divine punishment stops being avoidable.

Secret. She let Phaethon into the stables. She believed a mortal hand could prove worthy, and she still half believes it.

Hard rule. Killing Helios's son is not the plan. Open his hands, don't stop his heart.

👤

Phaethon, Son of Helios

Medium Humanoid (mortal son of a god), Neutral · Not a combatant · Enc. 3 fixture

AC 13 | HP 44 | Speed 0 ft. (will not let go)

Appearance: sixteen, sun-blistered, both hands welded by terror to the central strut

No initiative. Phaethon never rolls initiative, never attacks, and never moves. He is furniture with a pulse. He is not driving — he is holding on.

He is not the enemy. If a PC deals damage to Phaethon: all calming DCs +5 for the rest of the fight and Aello leaves the deck. He is terrified, not malicious.

Why he holds on. He believes letting go kills him. Any argument that gives him somewhere safe to fall — Talaria, a pegasus, the dragon chariot docked below — lowers the DC by 2 on its own.

Persistence. He lives. His sisters the Heliades come for him at the sky-road's end. Do not stage his death as the solution.

🦅

Aello, Wind-Harness Rider

Medium Humanoid, Neutral · Recruitable Ally · Aerial pilot and rescue spotter

AC 16 | HP 72 | Speed 30 ft. (fly 90 ft. mounted)

12 (+1)STR

16 (+3)DEX

12 (+1)CON

12 (+1)INT

16 (+3)WIS

16 (+3)CHA

Skills: Animal Handling +7, Perception +6, Survival +6 · Role: aerial pilot, rescue spotter, herd-speaker

Wind-Signals. Once per round (no action): one ally she can see has advantage on their pursuit check this round.

Herd-Speaker. Once per round she can assist a calming check on a sun-horse within 30 ft: that check's DC is reduced by 3.

Name-Coach. She read the temple records. She knows Phaethon's name and how his mother said it — Persuasion DC 12 instead of 15.

Whistle for the Sire. If all four pegasi are freed and she is recruited, she can call Pegasus himself. She will not do it for a party that has whipped, roped, or wounded a horse.

Actions

Strike. Storm javelin +8 to hit, range 120 ft. Hit: 2d6+4 piercing plus 2d6 lightning.

Catch (1/round, reaction-like). When a creature she can see within 60 ft falls, she dives: that creature takes no falling damage and lands where she can reach.

🦅

Pegasus, the Cloud-Sired

Large Celestial, Chaotic Good · CR 6 · Optional recruit · One rider, his choice

AC 15 | HP 110 (13d10+39) | Speed 60 ft., fly 120 ft.

18 (+4)STR

16 (+3)DEX

16 (+3)CON

12 (+1)INT

15 (+2)WIS

16 (+3)CHA

Saves: Dex +7, Wis +6 · Skills: Perception +6 · Understands Greek and Celestial, speaks neither

Sure in the Air. Immune to being knocked prone. His rider takes no falling damage while mounted and may dismount in midair to hover for one round.

Cloud-Sired. Advantage on saves against fire and against any effect that would panic him. He is the only thing in the sky today that is not afraid.

Persistence. Pegasus is a singular named being: he is never a valid enemy and never dies here. At 0 HP he simply climbs out of reach and returns next round at half HP, unimpressed.

Actions

Multiattack. Two Hooves attacks.

Hooves. +8 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) bludgeoning.

Skyward Surge (Recharge 5–6). Fly up to 120 ft without provoking opportunity attacks. His rider may make one pursuit check with advantage as part of this movement.

🦅

Wind-Harness Pegasus

Large Celestial, Chaotic Good · CR 2 · Aello's rescue team · 4 available in Enc. 1

AC 12 | HP 59 (7d10+21) | Speed 60 ft., fly 90 ft.

18 (+4)STR

15 (+2)DEX

16 (+3)CON

10 (+0)INT

15 (+2)WIS

13 (+1)CHA

Saves: Dex +4, Wis +4, Cha +3 · Skills: Perception +6

Harnessed. A rider never falls while mounted (Dex DC 10 to stay seated when the chariot bucks) and may use the Animal Handling pursuit option in the Enc. 2 chase.

Panic Line. If the mount takes fire damage from the Scorching Wake, its rider makes Animal Handling DC 12 or the pegasus breaks off for one round — no pursuit check, no attack, just distance.

Two are hurt. Two of the four are badly tangled: freeing those is Animal Handling DC 12; the other two are DC 10. All four freed unlocks the call for Pegasus.

Actions

Hooves. +6 to hit, reach 5 ft. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) bludgeoning.

Item Cards

◈

Spare Golden Rein

Wondrous Item (maguffin), Unique

Appearance: A sun-warm cord of braided gold, too light to fall and too bright to stare at directly.

Handout. "One hand guides pride. Two hands guide terror. Three true names guide the fire home."

Enc. 2. Skyhook. Auto-cross one sky-road gap and auto-board the chariot. Its glow counts as a bright coordinated signal to drive off an Ash-Wing Vulture (free action).

Win gate. The horses can be calmed without the Rein. The chariot cannot be turned without it.

◈

Talaria (Winged Sandals)

Wondrous Item (optional gear) · provided by the wayfarers' herm · up to 6 pairs

Appearance: worn courier's sandals with small grey wings at the heels that only beat when nobody is looking straight at them.

Failure. The knot tightens — no retry from that PC this round. On the second failure at this station a Solar Spark Swarm ignites the votive rack and two pairs are gone for good.

Worn. Fly 40 ft. You are immune to falling damage and cannot be knocked prone while airborne. Lasts until dawn.

Enc. 2. Boarding the chariot is automatic. The Acrobatics pursuit option is DC 12 for you instead of 14.

Enc. 3. You may step off the deck and act from open air. The single most lethal thing in the finale — the fall — is not a threat to you.

Hermes' price. These are votives, not loot. Return them to a crossroads herm afterward or the wings stop beating. A party that keeps faith is allowed to keep one pair for good (see Reward Cards).

◈

Chrism & Chlamys of the Unburnt

Wondrous Item (optional gear) · provided by the temple fire-vestiary · 3 cloaks, 4 doses

Appearance: three grey salamander-wool cloaks that shed sparks like water, and four squat jars of pale unguent that smell of hot stone.

Sorting the jars. The chrism is shelved beside the lamp-oil. Arcana, Nature, or Religion DC 13 to tell them apart.

Sorted wrong. One jar is lamp-oil. The PC who anoints with it takes 3d6 fire the first time they take any fire damage. Do not warn them twice.

Emberweave Chlamys (3). Resistance to fire damage, and advantage on saves against the Scorching Wake.

Chrism of the Unburnt (4 doses). Action to anoint yourself or a willing creature: immunity to fire damage for 10 minutes. One dose poured over Pyrois's muzzle calms him outright.

Not radiant-proof. Neither stops radiant damage. Kaustra's ash-fire burns through both, and so does the true dawn.

◈

Chariot of Helios, Dragon-Drawn

Wondrous Item (vehicle) · provided by Helios at Heliope's petition · Large object · seats 4, standing room 6

Appearance: a low black car chased in gold, yoked to two winged serpents whose scales run the colors of a sundog.

Phlox and Anthelia. AC 16, HP 60 each, fly 90 ft. They never bolt, never panic, and never attack. They are Helios's, and they are on an errand.

Medea's car. If anyone asks whose it was, the serpents answer to the name. Any PC who ran The Fleece of Colchis recognizes the harness at a glance.

◈

The Chariot of Helios (Runaway)

Wondrous Item (vehicle) · Huge object · environmental feature, not a creature · the stage of Enc. 3

AC 19 | HP 210 | Damage Threshold 15 | Speed 40 ft. (flying, uncontrolled)

Immune fire, radiant, poison, psychic · No initiative, no turns, no attack rolls

Do not break it. At 0 HP the car comes apart in the air: everyone aboard falls and the sun goes out at noon — instant loss. Say this at the table before round 1, out loud, in your DM voice.

Wheel Rims. East and west. A creature on a rim takes 14 bludgeoning at the start of each of its turns; climbing inboard is Athletics DC 12.

The Yoke Strut. Front-center, where Phaethon's hands are. This is where the Spare Golden Rein is looped, and the only square that wins the session.

Reward Cards

Post-session keepables. Reward is the first tag. Mechanics below are for ongoing use after this oneshot.

◈

Spare Golden Rein

Reward · Wondrous · Requires Attunement

Mechanics. While attuned, once per short rest you have advantage on one Athletics, Acrobatics, or Animal Handling check made while flying, falling, or controlling a vehicle. Once per long rest, as a reaction when you or an ally within 30 feet falls, the rein lashes out and that creature's fall speed becomes 60 feet per round until it lands, taking no falling damage from that fall. Once per long rest, as an action, gain advantage on one contested check to control a chariot, ship, or flying mount for 1 minute.

Appearance. A sun-warm cord of braided gold, too light to fall and too bright to stare at directly.

Lore. Helios's spare guidance, kept after pride's chariot was talked home by three true names.

Quote. "One hand guides pride. Two hands guide terror. Three true names guide the fire home." — Spare Golden Rein

Earn when: Seize the runaway sun-chariot and speak three true city names before the world scorches.

◈

Chlamys of the Unburnt

Reward · Wondrous · Requires Attunement

Mechanics. While attuned and worn, you are immune to fire damage and have resistance to radiant damage. Your clothing, worn gear, and anything you carry never ignites. Once per long rest, as a reaction when you or a creature within 5 feet takes fire or radiant damage, you sweep the cloak across it and that creature takes no damage from that effect. Once per short rest, you may end the burning, blinded, or heat-exhaustion condition on yourself (no action).

Appearance. A short travel-cloak of pale salamander wool, warm as noon and unmarked by any flame that has tried it.

Lore. Vestiary wool re-woven by Helios himself for hands that chose the reins over the sword.

Quote. "You held the yoke and did not burn. Wear what refused to." — Helios, re-weaving the cloak

Earn when: Optional: calm all four sun-horses without killing one, then let Helios re-weave a scorched vestiary cloak on the deck.

◈

Talaria of the Herm

Reward · Wondrous · Requires Attunement

Mechanics. While attuned and worn, you take no damage from falling, you always land on your feet, and you are never knocked prone while airborne. As a bonus action you gain a flying speed equal to your walking speed for 10 minutes, up to 6 times per long rest; the sandals set you down gently if the duration ends aloft. Once per short rest, as a reaction when a creature within 60 feet falls, its fall becomes gentle and it takes no falling damage.

Appearance. Plain courier's sandals with small grey wings at the heel that beat only when your feet leave stone.

Lore. A loan from a stair-head herm, never reclaimed — Hermes counts a spared city as fair rent.

Quote. "Borrowed is borrowed. Keep them; the god is amused." — Heliope, on the unreclaimed loan

Earn when: Optional: take the winged sandals off Hermes's herm in Encounter 1 and still be wearing them when the third city is spared.

Phaethon's Reins

📜 Session Summary

Description

Flight & Fire Loadout

Major Beats

Session Rewards

Creature / Enemy List

Encounter 1 — First City in the Heat-Haze

Overview

Encounter Roster (Hard)

XP Budget (Hard)

🗺 Terrain & Features

Mechanics — Station 1: Civilian Rescue

Mechanics — Station 2: The Herm of Hermes (Talaria)

Mechanics — Station 3: The Vestiary of the Unburnt

Mechanics — Station 4: Aello and the Pegasi

Resolution — The Loadout Audit and Helios's Answer

Creature Cards

Heliope, Singed Dawn-Priest

Spare Golden Rein

Talaria (Winged Sandals)

Chrism & Chlamys of the Unburnt

Aello, Wind-Harness Rider

Wind-Harness Pegasus

Pegasus, the Cloud-Sired

Chariot of Helios, Dragon-Drawn

Solar Spark Swarm

Encounter 2 — The Sky-Road Chase

Overview

Encounter Roster (Hard)

XP Budget (Hard)

🗺 Terrain & Features

Mechanics — The Chase Track

Mechanics — Complications (d6, rounds 2+)

Mechanics — Harriers, Combat, and the Dragon Chariot

Resolution

Creature Cards

Ash-Wing Vulture

Aithousa, Cinder-Nymph

Chariot of Helios, Dragon-Drawn

Pegasus, the Cloud-Sired

Spare Golden Rein

Aello, Wind-Harness Rider

Encounter 3 — Hands on the Burning Yoke (Boss)

Overview

Encounter Roster (Deadly)

XP Budget (Deadly)

🗺 Terrain & Features

Mechanics — The Scorch Track (0–4)

Mechanics — Calming a Horse

Mechanics — The Rein and Phaethon's Consent

Mechanics — Running the Furies

Resolution

Creature Cards

The Chariot of Helios (Runaway)

Phaethon, Son of Helios

Pyrois, the Fiery

Eous, the Dawn

Aethon, the Blazing

Phlegon, the Burning

Kaustra, First Fury of Typhon

Aithousa, Cinder-Nymph

Spare Golden Rein

🌅 Aftermath

⚖️ Difficulty Scaling

As Written ★ — 6 Players, Average Level 12

Library Standard — 6 Players, Average Level 8

Easier (table still high-tier) — APL 10–11

Harder — APL 13–14 or seven PCs

📋 Appendix — Cards

Creatures

Kaustra, First Fury of Typhon

Aithousa, Cinder-Nymph

Pyrois, the Fiery

Eous, the Dawn

Aethon, the Blazing

Phlegon, the Burning

Ash-Wing Vulture

Solar Spark Swarm

NPC / Ally Cards