Epic Level Handbook

Headquarters: The Gleaners have a sprawling complexcalled the Temporal Archive. The Temporal Archiveprovides spaces to meet, research facilities, and livingquarters. It also serves as the outer perimeter of thePenultimate Vault, where the Gleaners keep their prizedartifacts safe. The Temporal Archive is located on a MaterialPlane world, on a large tropical island that is well protectedand out of the way of civilization.In addition to the many living vaults (see Chapter 5)the Gleaners use for temporary storage of artifacts to beresearched while checked out, the Penultimate Vaultexists as a permanent repository of dangerous relics. ThePenultimate Vault lies at the center of the complex,secured by a combination of deadly traps, guardian creatures,spells, and sorcerous guards.Members: 500+.Hierarchy: Loose. Seven wizards currently sit on thecouncil, but in the past more or fewer served. Likewise,the members are not appointed for life, but rather servea term, before going back to full-time research and“gleaning” in the field.Religion: Various.Alignment: Various.Secrecy: Low. Members ofthe group know most of theother members, particularly thecouncil members. The efforts atsecrecy are mostly aimed at keepingthe protocols for accessing the PenultipateVault.Symbol: A closed vault door on a field of green.LEADERSHIPA senior council of seven wizards who decide policy,called regents, leads the Cleaners. The entire organizationgathers every six months to advise this council(though regular attendance is not mandatory and certainlynot expected, given the nature of most of themembers’ work), discuss progress on particular quests,or review the urgency of any given retrieval. At thistime, any organization member can reveal knowledgeof new items she feels should be acquired or petitionfor aid on a particularly troublesome quest. The councilcan then adjust priorities and commit moreresources where needed. Any member not on thesenior council is considered beholden to it, and it thecouncil asks a member to aid in a particular quest, it isexpected to be obeyed. Beyond that, members freelypursue items and knowledge. The seven council membersare responsible for the storage and protection ofthe items brought in by the organization, and theyhave a subcommittee of specialists who work withthem to maintain the security.Following are short descriptions of some of the majorfigures of the Gleaners.Dalshaman (LG male human Wiz27), first regent ofthe Gleaners, is accounted the most knowledgeable aboutthe collection, and knows that its true danger is worsethan most realize, should the collection ever fall into thewrong hands. He always works to increase security.Lira Lightgale (LG female elf Wiz20/AgentRetreiver 3), third regent of the Gleaners, doesn’t shareDalshaman’s fear of the collection, and delights inlending out particularly impressive pieces. Sometimesshe overrides the protocol when she feels a particularpiece is harmless.Gomand Pusk (N male gnome Wiz21), fourthregent of the Gleaners, has been tainted by one of theevil artifacts kept in the collection. No one knows ofhis affliction. He works to one day bring down all thesecurity of the Penultimate Vault and let loose the collection,particularly the most foul and dangerous artifacts,all at once. If he were ever to succeed, cataclysmwould threaten.RECRUITINGMembership in the organization requires little beyond asimple belief that everything potently magical shouldbe brought to the group, and that everyone within thegroup is entitled to the knowledge harvested from suchresearch and retrieval.Not surprisingly, powerful wizards comprise the bulkof the membership, but every known class fills outthe ranks. Missions of retrieval often prove long andperilous, requiring a wide variety of skills.Other members serve as capable guards foritems brought to the group, charged with protectingsuch potent magic against theft and illicit use. Stillothers help demystify recovered items or devise newand cleverer ways of protecting them. On the veryrare occasions of theft, exceptionally competentstrike teams seek to reacquire the item as well asthe thieves who took it.Nonmembers (other than the deans ofarcane schools) occasionally requestand receive permission to examineparticularly interesting artifacts,always under very careful supervisionand scrutiny. Even more rarely, the Gleaners allowlimited use of retrieved items to correct some imbalancein the fabric of the universe, but these occasionshave only been under the direst of circumstances.MEMBER BENEFITS ANDRESPONSIBILITIESBecoming a member of the Gleaners has many rewards.Access to the greatest collection of rare and wondrousmagic is certainly the biggest. The extensive list of artifactsincludes most of the items in this book, the DUN-GEON MASTER’s Guide, and other sources. To ensureintegrity of the system, the protocol for accessing thePenultimate Vault to check out a particular artifactrequires two regents. The regents must be present toeither store or retrieve an item. The regent council andits security subcommittee expend every effort to protectthe Penultimate Vault. Part of the protocol calls forCHAPTER 6:AN EPICSETTING235