The Alexandrian

Descent Into Avernus: Mahadi's Emporium

Go to Table of Contents

These memories — identified by the associated trigger condition that prompts Lulu to remember them — are presented in no particular order. Be flexible with what will and will not trigger a memory: if it seems close enough that you can draw a clear parallel between what Lulu is currently experiencing and her memory, lean into that.

You might also decide that some other circumstance — something like significant trauma or just every time Lulu levels up — might be an appropriate trigger for a random memory. To that effect, I’ve included a random die roll on the trigger reference table below if you want to select the triggered memory randomly.

It’s not necessary for Lulu to recover all of these triggered memories. Don’t feel like you need to force them into play. In fact, triggering all of them might be overkill.

If you miss a trigger, it’s fine to just wait for the trigger to occur again. If the trigger would definitely not occur again, then it’s okay to just skip it. Memory is, after all, a fickle thing. (You might also flag such a “missed” memory to be used for a randomly triggered memory if you’re doing that.)

SHARING LULU’S MEMORIES

If Lulu is a PC, then implementing these triggered memories is relatively easy. (The only decision you need to make is whether to describe them openly at the table or just privately share them with Lulu’s player so that they can roleplay how they tell the other PCs about it.)

But what if Lulu’s an NPC?

The most direct solution is for her to simply describe the memories as she regains them. If you want to more directly describe them to the players as something experienced directly by their characters, there are a couple of options:

First, during the Vision from Torm, the god can — while impressing the import of Lulu and her lost memories — forge a connection between the PCs and Lulu. When a memory gets triggered, both Lulu and the PCs experience it. (This link might be between Lulu and the entire group, or it might only be between Lulu and the PC who put on the helmet and received the Vision from Torm.)

Second, Lulu is telepathic and abruptly recovering these memories is a traumatic mental experience. When a memory is triggered, she might involuntarily broadcast it. You might limit this broadcast to the PCs (i.e., she’s broadcasting to those she trusts and is friends with) or it might just be an open blast to anyone nearby (which could result in any number of unforeseen consequences depending on which NPCs happen to be within range at the time).

MEMORY TRIGGERS

d20Trigger
1Hearing Zariel's Name
2Heated Argument With a Devil
3Lulu Comes to the High Hall
4Downed PC / Companion / Ally
5Seeing Zariel's Flying Fortress
6Meeting Bitter Breath
7Seeing the Styx
8Yael's Last Words
9A Gathering of Forces / The Refugee Caravan
10Name or Holy Symbol of Lathander
11Being Imprisoned
12A Magic Portal

Hearing Zariel’s Name: “Zariel! That was the name of my angel!” Lulu remembers that the name of the warrior angel who was her friend was Zariel. She has a flash of Zariel’s beatific face smiling in dappled, silvery moonlight. “Fair met, Lulu. I am Zariel, solar of Celestia.”

Heated Argument With a Devil: Zariel is being held by a phalanx of winged angels, she is screaming at someone. Zariel wants to… testify? Someone is on trial. Zariel feels that justice isn’t being done. “Your betrayal, Ashmedai, cost us everything! No matter what this farce of justice ordains! No matter what Primus lets you get away with! I will speak my truth!”

Lulu Comes to the High Hall: Double vision of the High Hall and the old citadel that once stood atop the tor. When she passes through the doors, the vision will intensify and she will see Yael kneeling before Olanthius. Olanthius reaches down and offers Yael his hand, saying, “Speak to me of your Crusade, milady.” Yael responds, “Thank you, Lord Olanthius.”

Downed PC / Companion / Ally (someone Lulu has formed a meaningful connection with): Lulu remembers flying above a blasted wasteland of black rock and red sands. There was a woman on her back softly weeping. Below them a vast sea of devils surges in the opposite direction. She tries to fly even faster. Looking back, at the center of the converging mass of fiends she sees a beam of golden light shooting into the air. And at the center of the beam a beautiful, angelic women with white, bloodstained wings struggles against the mass that slowly overwhelms and quenches her light. The woman on Lulu’s back swallows her tears and says, “Turn and face what is to come and not what is behind. We must fly fast, my friend. We have far to go.” Yael… That was the woman’s name. Yael.

Design Note: If appropriate, this memory could be progressively triggered. For example, only the second time it’s triggered does Lulu remember that there was a woman on her back. And only on the third time does she remember the woman’s name.

Seeing Zariel’s Flying Fortress: Lulu has a double vision of seeing the flying fortress from a different angle (and possibly at a much closer distance). From this other angle, she’s been leashed with a length of grey, woven rope and is surrounded by a small band of people: A woman dressed entirely in animated, mulit-colored silk cloths that drift around her body. A pair of horned devils with pitch-black skin. Several scampering imps. A smiling, bearded man in silk robes with a jambiya blade thrust into a sash around his waist.

As the group approaches the fortress, a semi-circular silver platform slowly levitates to the ground. It appears to be operated by a bearded devil who stands near a copper pedestal. Lulu and her group board the platform and it begins to ascend back towards the fortress…

DM Note: This group is the entourage Mahadi led to gift Lulu to Zariel. (Note that in the Remix, Mahadi gifted Lulu himself, rather than merely selling her to anonymous devils.)

Meeting Bitter Breath: Lulu is being escorted by half a dozen devils across the red sands of Avernus. Zariel’s flying fortress hangs in the sky behind them. Lulu feels… drunk? Concussed? Confused, certainly. Like she’s viewing the world through a grey veil or haze. Time seems to rush by; or perhaps turgidly skips about. Descent Into Avernus: LuluThe flying fortress is gone now. But then, suddenly, there’s an explosion of black energy that utterly consumes one of the devils escorting Lulu. Over a reddish dune ahead of them, a pack of infernal war machines churns into view. An arcanist hangs precariously off the side of one of them slinging spells. The devils with Lulu are thrown into confusion, but try to take up some form of defensive position. One of them is run over by a war machine; smashed flat into the red dust in a smear of black ichor. A horned devil leaps from one of the vehicles and lands in a confused cluster of devils. Her tail whips out, tripping one of the devils and sending them crashing into the dust. She spears another on the end of her trident and laughs with joyful rage. “Tell Zariel that not one of her servants is safe from the vengeance of Bitter Breath!”

Seeing the Styx: A flash of memory. Lulu is riding on some sort of ferry steered by a dark-haired women. The woman has a large sword strapped to her back that glows softly with a golden light. They’re heading down river. The banks of the river are quite high, blocking Lulu’s view of the surrounding landscape. But from one bank comes a demonic howl. And then another. The howls are getting closer…

Yael’s Last Words: Yael’s last words to Lulu, as she sacrificed herself to raise the alabaster fortress, were, “All that’s left now is the dream.” If Lulu hears someone say something similar to that – e.g., “all we need now is the dream machine” or “all that’s left to do now is killing that devil” — she might have a very brief flash to a dark-haired woman saying, “All that’s left now is the dream,” before being swallowed up by an impossibly bright light that emanates from something held between her hands.

A Gathering of Forces / The Refugee Caravan: Lulu is in the form of a giant, golden-furred mammoth. Her angel is riding upon her back. They are at the head of a huge column of mounted soldiers, riding out of the gates of a city. The riders all wear a badge depicting twin suns — one larger than the other.

Name or Holy Symbol of Lathander: Lulu hears an impossibly loud trumpeting noise (that no other character can hear).

DM Note: Lulu is literally “hearing” the memory of her own trumpet, as she called out across the planes and had her prayer answered by Lathander. This effect might repeat upon repeated exposures to Lathander’s iconography, perhaps with the sound growing dimmer upon each repetition until it fades away.

Being Imprisoned: Lulu flashes back to the sensation of being entombed in a warm, spongy, moist substance. A reddish light slowly suffuses her surroundings. There’s a sense of pressure coupled to a desperate need to escape. Her limbs are lethargic, but she begins weakly thrusting against the pulpy mass which imprisons her. There’s a tearing sensation followed by a hot blast of dry wind. There’s something wrong with her vision… as if a red caul had been pulled across her eyes. But the light… the light is so bright…

A Magic Portal: Zariel is mounted upon Lulu in front of a swirling portal of red energies. They stand in a green field stained with blood. The portal is almost hypnotic. Lulu can’t pull her eyes away from it. Zariel cries out to someone that Lulu can’t see in the memory — shadowy shapes that are lost to her damaged mind. “He has taken one of our own! To rescue and to salvation! Charge!” Lulu leaps through the crimson portal…

DM: Not simply ANY dimensional travel, but specifically a portal. (This is not, therefore, triggered when the PCs are plane shifted to Avernus. But it’s likely to happen in the Grand Cemetery.)

Go to Part 6D-G: Lulu’s Memories (Memory Revelations)

13 Responses to “Remixing Avernus – Part 6D-F: Lulu’s Memories (Triggered Memories)”

  1. Zachary Auron says:

    Question about “A Gathering of Forces / The Refugee Caravan”: guessing this takes place before the third visit to Idyllglen. wouldn’t these soldiers not have the emblem of the companion on them since this is a thousand years before the companion existed? please correct my misunderstanding if so.

  2. Aqua Moose says:

    @Zachary Auron – I think that can be answered with the following excerpt from this article https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/45378/roleplaying-games/remixing-avernus-part-6d-b-lulus-memories-zariels-crusade

    “Yael’s Zarielites: When they returned to the Material Plane, Zariel and Lulu discovered that Yael had turned their militia into a regional peacekeeping force. (The ogres had not returned, but there’d been a spot of trouble with trolls out of the Trollclaws. Mostly they secured travel between the Winding Water settlements.) Known as the Zarielites, they wore a badge with twin suns, representing Zariel and Lulu as their angelic saviors.
    Note: This informal heraldry would be forgotten by the later Hellriders, but not by Zariel, who took a grim satisfaction in the irony of having her followers revive it as the heraldry of the Order of the Companion centuries later.”

    So the suns represent Zariel and Lulu, and only by coincidence/fate did it become entangled with the Order of the Companion.

    @Justin Alexander amazing work overall — I was lukewarm on this campaign after running the first chapter in Baldur’s Gate and thought I was a poor DM for not understanding how all the characters, events, and motivations tied together. I was relieved to find I wasn’t the only one by you pointing out the inconsistencies in the book. Your remix has reinvigorated my love of the lore and the “why”s of the campaign. My party just took Helm’s Shieldhall from the Hell Knights, and soon they’ll be marching on Dragoneye Dealing Coster which has been twisted into an abyssal maze by Liashandra’s connection to Baphomet, which I thought was on theme for the Prince of Beasts. Thanks so much for all the hard work — it has rekindled my passion for DMing!

  3. Some_Guy says:

    From Part 6D-B:
    Yael’s Zarielites: When they returned to the Material Plane, Zariel and Lulu discovered that Yael had turned their militia into a regional peacekeeping force. (The ogres had not returned, but there’d been a spot of trouble with trolls out of the Trollclaws. Mostly they secured travel between the Winding Water settlements.) Known as the Zarielites, they wore a badge with twin suns, representing Zariel and Lulu as their angelic saviors.

    Note: This informal heraldry would be forgotten by the later Hellriders, but not by Zariel, who took a grim satisfaction in the irony of having her followers revive it as the heraldry of the Order of the Companion centuries later.

  4. Zachary Auron says:

    Excellent. Thank you for that retcon reminder

  5. Rahul says:

    How do you recommend Lulu’s memories are described? Would you have Lulu narrate them in character? Or described third party like a floating camera?

  6. Justin Alexander says:

    Based on a discussion during the Alexandrian Hangout Club this afternoon, I’ve updated this post with some thoughts that also answer Rahul’s question above.

    Thanks to Ben, Alex, Jared, Ulrich, Gaston, and everyone else who was part of the Avernian Cabal in the hangout for inspiring this!

  7. Colin R says:

    Seems like the “seeing the fortress” memory could also be triggered by meeting Mahadi.

  8. Justin Alexander says:

    @Colin: Note that that would eliminate the ability to play Mahadi with any meaningful deceit. “Ah! Yes! It is my old friend Lulu! … You do not remember me? What a pity!”

  9. Sableheart says:

    In the previous post, you described that these memories should be vague enough to mostly raise new questions, though they also provide definite answers. You’ve succeeded rather well. By paying close attention to details, I can connect them to the backstory you provided in earlier posts.

    That requires paying very close attention to detail, however. It was only on the third reading that I noticed the sword in the “seeing the styx” memory, allowing me to place it in the “hiding the sword” part of the backstory. And I’m guessing that the “Being imprisoned” memory references the first bullet of “Lulu leaves hell” in 6d-c, but I’m not completely sure.

    Would it be possible to add notes for the DM to specify exactly what part of the backstory these memories are referencing? That way, if they decide to make changes to the backstory, they’ll know what memories may need modification.

  10. Colin R says:

    @Justin – I mean, if Mahadi wants to be deceptive, he just has to talk faster. Lulu: “I remember you! You were taking me into a fortress! There was a leash around my neck!” “What? My dear Lulu, you remember *that*, and none of the chances I took to keep you safe? We were bringing you to Zariel so you could go home.”

    But also, the PCs are in Hell. It should be clear that *no-one* is to be trusted beyond a very limited point. The specific memory of Mahadi is not all *that* incriminating, and it seems to me that he’s very obviously in the “could be very useful, but how far can we actually trust him?” category right from the beginning. I find it hard to imagine players ever actually trusting him, memory or no.

  11. Colin R says:

    Re: Lulu’s memory of Zariel. In Part 4C, After “Zariel! That was the name of my angel!”
    Lulu is given the dialog “Yes! Yes! I remember! Through the gate we went, tearing through devils like a song through the air! And Zariel was singing songs, with the knights joining her celestial voice!
    “But then… we were betrayed? Yes. I remember the betrayal. But who? I don’t know. I just… No. I don’t know.”

    Above, she doesn’t remember about the betrayal. Have you changed your mind about whether that lore point should be included here, or was it dropped by accident?

  12. Luca says:

    -Meeting Bitter Breath-
    Is the Horned devil speaking Bitter Breath itself? If not, who is she?
    If she is Bitter Breath, she can’t speak, because of the curse, right?
    If she’s not, how can PCs relate her to the silent devil they just met (and who triggered Lulu’s memory)? Also, Bitter Breath is forbidden to join with other devils…

  13. Grendus says:

    With the Lathlander trigger, I’d be tempted to go the exact opposite direction.

    The first time, she remembers trumpeting.

    The second, she remembers she was calling for help. “But… it was more of a… scream? I just needed… someone to hear… I’m sorry, I don’t know… why?”

    The third time she recalls more directly. “Lathander! He heard me! He… couldn’t help. We were so far away. But the woman, she… the sword! We were protecting the sword! He… we drove it into the stone. The woman… she took his power and… died but we sealed it away.”

Leave a Reply

Archives

Recent Posts


Recent Comments

Copyright © The Alexandrian. All rights reserved.