Phaethon's Reins
One-Shot · 6 PCs Lvl 12 · ~3.5 hrs · Aerial chase · Calm four horses, not a boss
Style: Outfit under fire → sky-road chase → four-horse calming contest.
Win: Rein looped through the yoke + all four sun-horses calmed (or three + Phaethon's consent) before Scorch 4.
Lose: Scorch Track hits 4 and the third city burns — or the chariot is destroyed (it is an object; 0 HP = instant loss).
Maguffin: Spare Golden Rein · Ally: Aello, Wind-Harness Rider (+ optional Pegasus) · QG: Heliope, Singed Dawn-Priest · Boss: Kaustra, First Fury of Typhon
"One hand guides pride. Two hands guide terror. Three true names guide the fire home." — Spare Golden Rein
Major Beats
- Six rounds on a burning temple roof. Four stations compete for every action: the falling, the sandals, the vestiary, the pegasi.
- Helios helps but will not touch his own runaway car. He sends Medea's dragon-drawn chariot instead — automatically, if the party can't fly.
- The chase: 6 Lengths, nine pursuit checks, harriers whose job is to stop you rolling them.
- Phaethon isn't driving. He's apologizing to the horses.
- The chariot is the floor. The horses are the objective. The Furies of Typhon are the fight.
Flight & Fire Loadout (all optional)
| Path | How (Enc. 1) | Gives |
|---|
| Talaria (winged sandals) | Herm of Hermes · Religion 14 / Sleight 16 / Persuasion 13 · 1 pair per success, max 6 | Fly 40 ft · immune to falling damage · no prone airborne |
| Chrism & Chlamys of the Unburnt | Vestiary · Athletics 14 / Tools 15 / any water (auto) · sort jars 13 | 3 cloaks fire resist · 4 doses 10-min fire immunity · 1 dose auto-calms Pyrois |
| Pegasi + Pegasus | Free 4 tangled mounts, Animal Handling 10–12 · courtesy calls the sire | 4 mounts fly 90 ft, riders never fall · Pegasus carries 1 courteous rider |
| Dragon-Drawn Chariot | Heliope's petition, any time · automatic if <4 PCs can fly | Party platform, fly 90 ft, nobody falls, +1 Length/driven round · won't near the horses |
Loadout audit before Enc. 2: count Talaria + pegasi + spells. Fewer than four PCs airborne → Helios's car arrives unbidden. Never run the chase with a grounded party.
Creature / Enemy List
| Creature | Enc · Count | Job |
|---|
| Solar Spark Swarm | 1 · 3 (+2) | CR 4 · cold/prayer disperses |
| Ash-Wing Vulture | 1–2 · 2 | CR 6 · grapple = no pursuit check |
| Aithousa, Cinder-Nymph | 2–3 · 2→3 | CR 5 · Goad stacks +2 DC · vuln. cold |
| Pyrois, the Fiery | 3 · 1 | CR 6 · lead-left · cold / Chrism |
| Eous, the Dawn | 3 · 1 | CR 6 · lead-right · hymn / steady light |
| Aethon, the Blazing | 3 · 1 | CR 6 · trace-left · speared; healing |
| Phlegon, the Burning | 3 · 1 | CR 6 · trace-right · re-panics others; last |
| Kaustra, First Fury of Typhon | 3 · 1 | CR 12 · BOSS · reskinned erinyes |
| Aello / Pegasi / Pegasus | 1–3 | Allies · −3 calming DC/round · mounts |
| Phaethon | 3 · 1 | Not a combatant · consent = −2 all DCs |
Difficulty
| Tier | Adjust |
|---|
| As Written ★ | 6 PCs · APL 12 — Enc 1–2 Hard, finale Deadly (~21,800 XP) |
| Library Standard | 6 PCs · APL 8 — Kaustra HP 120 / 2 LA / Rekindle 14; 2 nymphs, Goad +1; horses HP 70, DC 13 (Phlegon 15); chase 4 Lengths; all DCs −2; one free short rest |
| Easier | APL 10–11: Kaustra HP −15%, −1 LA; Scorch ceiling 5; calming DCs −1; grant the dragon chariot outright |
| Harder | APL 13–14: add Deiope (HP 110, no LA); Kaustra HP +15%, Rekindle 18; Goad 60 ft; dead horse = 2 panicked. Do not raise calming DCs. |
KEY ITEMS
Spare Golden Rein — MAGUFFIN
Sun-warm braided gold, too light to fall and too bright to look at
- Handout: "One hand guides pride. Two hands guide terror. Three true names guide the fire home."
- Enc. 1: auto-success on one rescue / one tangled pegasus / one falling creature; slips the herm's knot once (one free pair of Talaria).
- Enc. 2: skyhook — auto-cross one gap, auto-board the chariot; its glow drives off a Vulture (free action).
- Enc. 3 payoff: action at the yoke strut — loop it and speak the three city names (no roll). All calming checks +2; a re-panicked horse saves with advantage; Kaustra has disadv. within 10 ft.
- Win gate: horses can be calmed without it; the chariot cannot be turned without it.
Remember
- The horses are the objective. The chariot is the floor. The Furies are the fight.
- Damage never calms a horse. Killing one costs a city.
- No wings? The dragon chariot arrives unbidden. Never run the chase with a grounded party.
ENC 1 — First City in the Heat-Haze
Hard · ~45 min · Six rounds, four stations · 3× Solar Spark Swarm (+1 per rescue failure, max 5) · 2× Ash-Wing Vulture on the third failure · Roof 80×40 ft, three bell-towers, updraft columns (Perception 12), burning awnings below
1 · Civilian Rescue
- Athletics / Acrobatics / Medicine 13, one action each. 5 successes before 3 failures.
- Success = 1 Cooling Token (max 5). Failure = new Swarm, or a messenger drops (Dex 14 reaction to catch, no token).
- Third failure → 2 Ash-Wing Vultures arrive.
- Rein: one auto-success, no action.
2 · Herm of Hermes — Talaria
- Religion 14 / Sleight 16 / Persuasion 13 w/ Heliope. One pair per success, max 6.
- Rein slips the knot once free.
- 2nd failure here: a Swarm burns the rack, 2 pairs lost.
- Worn: fly 40 ft, immune falling damage, no prone airborne, until dawn.
3 · Vestiary of the Unburnt
- Open: Athletics 14 / Tools 15 / any cold-water (auto).
- Sort chrism vs. lamp-oil: Arcana/Nature/Religion 13. Fail → one jar is oil: 3d6 fire on first fire damage taken.
- 3× Chlamys = fire resistance + adv. vs. Scorching Wake. 4 doses Chrism = 10 min fire immunity.
- 1 dose on Pyrois's muzzle in Enc. 3 = auto-calm.
- Neither stops radiant.
4 · Aello & the Pegasi
- Free a pegasus: Animal Handling 12 (two badly tangled) / 10 (two trapped). Rein auto-frees one.
- Recruit Aello: free 2+ pegasi, or accept her 3 terms (no solo splits, no killing Phaethon, her command aloft). Refuse one → Persuasion 14.
- All 4 freed = 4 mounts (fly 90 ft, riders never fall).
- Pegasus: all 4 freed + (Aello recruited / Humble Bridle / ask-don't-command 16). One courteous rider only; refuses anyone who wounded a horse.
Helios's answer: from end of Enc. 1, Heliope can petition for the Dragon-Drawn Chariot (Medea's old car, two winged serpents). Automatic if <4 PCs can fly. "They may carry you. They may not touch the yoke. My son's hands must be opened by mortal ones."
ENC 2 — The Sky-Road Chase
Hard / Chase · ~60 min · Gap = 6 Lengths, six rounds · 2× Ash-Wing Vulture (rd 1), 2× Aithousa (rd 3) · Sky-road 120×30 ft, three cracked spans, 20-ft storm gap, sun-javelin in the wreckage (Perception 13 · 60 ft · 2d6+3 radiant)
- Round order: (1) Init 20 Scorching Wake, within 2 Lengths only — Con 15 or 4d6 fire — Chlamys half, Chrism none, Cooling Token negates; (2) d6 complication from rd 2; (3) pursuit checks (one action each); (4) tally successes − failures = Lengths closed; (5) harriers act.
- Board at 0 Lengths: Athletics/Acrobatics 13. Auto with Talaria, Rein skyhook, or a seized pennant-line; 10 from the dragon chariot's rail. Fail → wheel rim, 14 bludgeoning/turn, Athletics 12 to climb in.
- Grappled or on fire = no pursuit check. That is the whole reason the harriers exist.
Pursuit menu — once per option, per PC
- Athletics 14 · hard-row the air
- Acrobatics 14 (12 in Talaria) · thread a collapsing arch
- Survival 13 · ride the updrafts (adv. if spotted in Enc. 1)
- Arcana 15 · plot the solar arc, cut the corner
- Animal Handling 13 · mounted/aboard only
- Perception 13 · spot the pennant-line → next boarding auto
- Insight 14 · read Phaethon's panic, anticipate the veer
- Persuasion 15 (12 w/ Aello) · banks Phaethon's Name (−3 consent DC)
- Performance 14 · banks the Dawn-Hymn (Eous auto-calms once)
Complications (d6, rd 2+)
- 1 Falling bronze sign — Dex 14 or 2d10 + lose 1 Length
- 2 Cross-draft — Str/Dex 13 or disadv. on this round's pursuit check
- 3 Ember hail — 2d6 fire, no save; Chlamys/Chrism ignore
- 4 Collapsing arch — group Acro/Ath 13, 4 before 3; fail = −2 Lengths
- 5 Signal-runner stranded — one action (auto if flying) → +1 Cooling Token
- 6 Pennant-line — reaction Dex 15: close 2 Lengths, take 2d6 fire, next boarding auto
Six rounds gone: the chariot crosses the second city. Scorch Track starts at 1; chase continues at all DCs −2 until they board. Never a hard fail — they board, it just costs.
NPCs
Heliope, Singed Dawn-Priest (QG)
- 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, and she still half believes a mortal hand could have proved worthy.
- Hard rule: open his hands, don't stop his heart.
- The Petition: she can call Helios's dragon-drawn chariot from the end of Enc. 1.
- Name-history: if the party asks about Phaethon, she tells them — automatic consent in Enc. 3.
Phaethon, Son of Helios
- AC 13, HP 44, no initiative, no attacks, never moves. Sixteen, sun-blistered, both hands welded to the strut by terror.
- Consent: Persuasion 15 · 12 w/ Aello · −3 if his name was shouted in the chase · −2 if the dragon chariot is docked in view · auto if Heliope told them his name-history. → he opens his hands and names the horses: all calming DCs −2.
- Damage him: +5 to all calming DCs and Aello leaves the deck.
- He holds on because he believes letting go kills him. Give him somewhere safe to fall.
- Persistence: he lives. The Heliades come for him at the sky-road's end.
Aftermath
- Heliope's tokens cool in order; she keeps the coldest.
- The Heliades take Phaethon. Poplars grow where they wait; their tears harden to amber. Any PC may keep one warm bead.
- Pegasus will come once more when called courteously — a favor, never a spell.
- Kaustra, if she fled, goes back under Etna to wait for the next mortal who wants to drive something he cannot steer.
ENC 3 — Hands on the Burning Yoke (Boss)
Deadly · ~90 min · 1× Kaustra (CR 12) · 3× Aithousa (minus any killed in the chase) · 4× sun-horse (objectives) · Deck 40×20 ft: four yoke stations, yoke strut front-center, wheel rims E/W (14 bludg./turn), burning pennants, open sky everywhere else. Falling is the deadliest thing here.
The chariot is an OBJECT. AC 19 · HP 210 · threshold 15 · immune fire/radiant/poison/psychic · no initiative, no turns, no attacks. At 0 HP it breaks apart in the air: instant loss. Say this out loud before round 1.
Scorch Track (0–4)
- End of each round: +1 per two horses still panicked (round down). Dead horse = permanently panicked. No other trigger.
- 4 panicked → +2 · 3 → +1 · 2 → +1 · 1 → +0 · 0 → the yoke answers
- Cooling Token (action, 1/round): −1 Scorch
- Scorch 4 = third city burns. Overran the chase? Start at 1.
Calming a horse
- Action adjacent to its station · Animal Handling 15 (Phlegon 17)
- −2 Rein looped · −2 Phaethon consented · −3 one check/round if Aello is aboard
- Advantage if grappled/restrained (Athletics vs. +7)
- +2 per Aithousa goading that horse — they stack
- Damage never helps. 0 HP = Scorch +1 now and +3 to all remaining calming DCs.
| Horse | Station | DC | Its true answer (skips the check) |
|---|
| Pyrois, the Fiery | Lead-left | 15 | Cold/water without hostility → 12; 1 dose Chrism over the muzzle = auto |
| Eous, the Dawn | Lead-right | 15 | Performance 13 dawn-hymn (auto if banked); Light/Daylight held steady 1 round = auto |
| Aethon, the Blazing | Trace-left | 15 disadv. while speared | Medicine 14 draws the spar → then 12; any 2nd-level+ heal = auto |
| Phlegon, the Burning | Trace-right | 17 | 12 once the other three are calm; 10 if Phaethon speaks his name |
Rein insertion (action at the yoke strut): loop it through and speak the three city names — no roll. While looped: every calming check +2, a re-panicked horse saves with advantage, Kaustra has disadvantage within 10 ft of the strut. WIN GATE: the chariot cannot be turned without it. Warn the party one round before that becomes tragic.
Phaethon's consent — Persuasion 15: 12 if Aello coaches · −3 if his name was shouted in the chase · −2 if the dragon chariot is docked where he can see it · auto if Heliope told them his name-history. He opens his hands and names the four horses aloud: all calming DCs −2. Damage him and it's +5 instead, and Aello walks.
Running the Furies
- Kaustra plays arson, not bloodlust. Prefers Rekindle (Wis 17, adv. w/ Rein) to any attack while a calmed horse exists; steps over a dying PC to reach a quiet horse. Ash-Cord drags people off the deck (Str 18, 15 ft) — a Talaria-wearer shrugs at it.
- 3 legendary actions/round: Cord (1) · Rekindle (2) · Goad (1, orders a nymph). Ignore her and two rounds of work evaporate.
- Aithousai are the DC tax. Goad stacks; vulnerable to cold, and any cold damage cancels an active Goad. The radiant sun-javelin hurts them badly.
- She need not die. Fourth horse calmed → true dawn: 10d6 radiant to her; at ≤half HP she flees east to Etna. Killing her is fine — she is Typhon's daughter, not Typhon.
| Outcome | What happens |
|---|
| Win — 4 calmed, Rein in | The nose lifts; the third city passes untouched. Kaustra screams once and is gone east. Phaethon says nothing — his silence is the point. |
| Win — 3 calmed + consent | Phaethon takes the fourth rein himself. Costs him his hands (scars, no mechanical penalty). Let him choose it aloud. |
| Loss — Scorch 4 | Third city burns; Helios blamed; Kaustra sits on the rim to watch. Don't kill the party for it — land them, and let them see it. |
| Loss — chariot destroyed | 0 HP: the car comes apart, everyone falls, the sun goes out at noon. Warn twice before allowing it. |
KEY ITEMS (cont.)
Talaria (Winged Sandals) — up to 6 pairs
- Enc. 1 herm: Religion 14 / Sleight 16 / Persuasion 13; Rein frees one pair.
- Worn: fly 40 ft, immune to falling damage, no prone airborne, until dawn.
- Enc. 2: boarding auto; Acrobatics pursuit 12. Enc. 3: act from open air; the fall stops mattering.
- Votives, not loot — return them to a crossroads herm.
Chrism & Chlamys of the Unburnt
- Vestiary: Athletics 14 / Tools 15 / any water (auto). Sort 13 or one jar is lamp-oil (3d6 fire on first fire damage).
- 3 Chlamys: fire resistance + adv. vs. Scorching Wake.
- 4 doses Chrism: action to anoint, 10 min fire immunity. One dose = auto-calm Pyrois.
- Neither stops radiant damage.
Chariot of Helios, Dragon-Drawn (fallback)
- Medea's old car; serpents Phlox and Anthelia (AC 16, HP 60 ea., fly 90 ft; never bolt, never attack).
- Heliope's petition any time from end of Enc. 1; automatic if <4 PCs can fly.
- Enc. 2: driver's action Animal Handling/Arcana 12 → +1 Length. Nobody aboard can fall. Athletics & Acrobatics pursuit options unavailable aboard; serpents won't close the last Length.
- Enc. 3: docked 20 ft off the flank — a falling creature makes Dex 12 to land in it; re-board the deck Athletics 10; Phaethon's consent DC −2.
- Serpents won't come within 20 ft of a sun-horse, and won't touch the yoke.
The Chariot of Helios (Runaway) — OBJECT
- Huge object · AC 19 · HP 210 · threshold 15 · immune fire/radiant/poison/psychic.
- No initiative, no turns, no attacks. Cannot be calmed, charmed, or frightened. It is not the boss — it is the floor.
- Scorching Wake (Init 20): Con 15 or 4d6 fire.
- Bucking Wheel: a horse dies, or a panicked horse starts its turn with an empty station → deck-wide Dex 14 or prone; fail by 5+ = slide 10 ft to the rim.
- 0 HP = instant loss. The car comes apart, everyone falls, the sun goes out at noon.
STAT BLOCKS
Kaustra, First Fury of Typhon — CR 12 BOSS
Large Fiend (fury), CE · reskinned erinyes · wants the city, not you
AC 18 | HP 189 | 30 ft, fly 60 ft (hover) | LR 3/day
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|
| sc md sv | 18 +4 +4 | 20 +5 +10 | 20 +5 +10 | 14 +2 +2 | 16 +3 +8 | 18 +4 +4 |
Con +10, Wis +8 · truesight 60 ft
Immune fire · Resist cold, poison, nonmagical B/P/S
- Watch It Burn. Always prefers Rekindle over damage while a calmed horse exists.
- Sun-Hater. Disadv. on attacks within 10 ft of the strut while the Rein is looped.
- Multiattack. 2× Ash-Cord, or Ash-Cord + Rekindle.
- Ash-Cord. +10, reach 20 ft, 2d8+4 slashing + 3d6 fire; Str 18 or pulled 15 ft (off the deck = falls).
- Rekindle. One calmed horse in 60 ft: Wis 17 (adv. w/ Rein) or panicked again.
- Ashfall (R5–6). 30-ft cone Dex 18, 10d6 fire, half on save; fail = blinded 1 rd.
- BA Etna's Patience. Fly half speed, no OA. RXN Spite (1/rd): a horse is calmed in 60 ft → fly toward it.
- LA (3): Cord (1) · Rekindle (2) · Goad (1, order a nymph).
- Driven off: 4th horse calmed → 10d6 radiant; at ≤half HP she flees to Etna.
Aithousa, Cinder-Nymph — CR 5 (×3)
Medium Fiend (nymph of ash), CE · reskinned barbed devil, winged
AC 15 | HP 78 | 30 ft, fly 50 ft
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|
| sc md sv | 12 +1 +1 | 18 +4 +7 | 14 +2 +2 | 10 +0 +0 | 12 +1 +1 | 16 +3 +3 |
darkvision 60 ft
Immune fire · Vulnerable cold
- Ember Body. Melee attacker takes 1d6 fire.
- Doused. Any cold damage ends her Goad now; can't Goad until end of her next turn.
- Multiattack. 2× Spark-Lash +7, reach 10 ft or 40 ft range, 2d6+4 fire.
- Goad the Yoke. Instead of attacking: one horse in 30 ft has calming DC +2 until end of her next turn. Stacks.
- BA Cinder Step. Fly 25 ft, no OA.
The Four Sun-Horses — CR 6 each
Large Celestial (solar horse), N · objectives, not villains
AC 16 | HP 105 | 60 ft, fly 120 ft
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|
| sc md sv | 20 +5 +5 | 14 +2 +2 | 18 +4 +4 | 6 −2 −2 | 12 +1 +4 | 14 +2 +2 |
Immune fire · Resist radiant
- Held Still. Grappled/restrained (Ath. vs. +7) → calming has advantage.
- Damage never helps. 0 HP: Scorch +1 now, +3 to all remaining calming DCs.
- Pyrois — Flare Hoof +9 (2d8+5 + 2d8 fire) · Flare Rear R5–6 cone Dex 15 7d6 fire · Ignition: pennants catch, 3 fire to adjacent.
- Eous — Rearing Hoof +9 (2d8+5 + 1d8 radiant) · Sunburst Snort R6 Con 15 blind · Dawnward Bolt: deck slides 10 ft east, Dex 14 · attacks from the east have disadv.
- Aethon — Lame Kick +9 (2d8+5) · Thrash R5–6 Dex 14 3d8 + push 5 ft · Speared: calming has disadv.; bleeds 5/turn.
- Phlegon — Bite +9 (2d10+5 + 2d6 fire) · Sear-Trample R6 30 ft path Dex 15 4d8 fire + push 10 ft · Contagious Terror: end of turn, one calmed horse in 30 ft Wis 14 (adv. w/ Rein) or panicked again.
Ash-Wing Vulture — CR 6 (×2)
Large Monstrosity · Enc. 1 escalation / Enc. 2 harrier
AC 16 | HP 88 | 20 ft, fly 60 ft · Resist fire
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|
| sc md sv | 18 +4 +4 | 14 +2 +2 | 16 +3 +3 | 4 −3 −3 | 12 +1 +1 | 8 −1 −1 |
- Snatch +8, reach 10 ft, 2d8+5 slashing + grappled (escape 15). Grappled = no pursuit check.
- Beak +8, 1d10+4 piercing. Drop: releases a grappled creature over open sky.
- Adv. vs. creatures in shadow; goes for isolated flyers, prefers riders to mounts.
- Driven off: 2 coordinated bright signals 14, or one flash of the Rein (free) → retreats 3 rounds.
Solar Spark Swarm — CR 4 (×3–5)
Medium Elemental (living embers) · Enc. 1
AC 15 | HP 66 | 30 ft, fly 30 ft (hover)
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|
| sc md sv | 14 +2 +2 | 16 +3 +3 | 12 +1 +1 | 3 −4 −4 | 11 +0 +0 | 10 +0 +0 |
- Flare Lash +7, 3d6 fire; ignites an unattended flammable item.
- Immune fire, poison · Vulnerable cold · harmless to stone.
- Dispersed, not killed: any cold, deep shade, or a Wis-based dawn prayer scatters one. Nature 14 to pull cold air down an updraft: all swarms in 30 ft attack at disadv. 1 round.
Allies — quick lines
- Aello, Wind-Harness Rider — AC 16, HP 72, Animal Handling +7. Storm javelin +8, 2d6+4 + 2d6 lightning. Wind-Signals: 1/rd an ally has adv. on a pursuit check. Herd-Speaker: 1/rd one calming DC −3. Catch: 1/rd a falling creature within 60 ft takes no falling damage.
- Pegasus, the Cloud-Sired — CR 6, AC 15, HP 110, fly 120 ft. One courteous rider, his pick; refuses anyone who wounded a horse. Rider never falls. Skyward Surge R5–6: fly 120 ft, rider gets one pursuit check with adv. Never dies here (0 HP → returns next round at half).
- Wind-Harness Pegasus ×4 — CR 2, AC 12, HP 59, fly 90 ft. Rider never falls (Dex 10 when the chariot bucks). Fire from the Wake → rider Animal Handling 12 or the mount breaks off 1 round.
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