Level Up (A5E) ENterplanetary DimENsions: Lawful Luria

This week ENterplanetary DimENsions presents a world of order where destiny’s scales are forever forced to a peculiar balance: Lawful Luria!


Illustration by Balazs Pirok.

Whenever errant newcomers arrive here the name Luria naturally translates into their minds regardless of their native tongue—for this is not simply a planet but the synthesis of law itself. Order is so prevalent here that it is known throughout the galaxy for its dependably reliable structure, the envy of galactic empires that vie to be so stable. This world’s embodiment of law is a certainty borne by the powerful force within its core, making practically everything upon it bent to the sense of unyielding justice suffused into its creator: the Echo Emperor.

Order suffuses everything in Luria from the simple and largely rustic lives of farmers, fishers, loggers, and miners in its distant reaches (always extracting or producing exactly the amounts they are tasked for) to the busy, bureaucratic, and productive environs of its wondrous cities. These settlements are laden with technologies that most lurians will die without ever understanding—part magical, part technological, and mystery to all but alchemists sanctioned by the Council of Order—used for a variety of means but most of all to police the world for potential rebellious acts among its populace or daring transgressions against law.

Planar Traits. Luria has the following planar traits and the Narrator should make use of the crowd encounter element while in settlements, as well as any others that are appropriate for a given locale on the planet. When it is possible to do so, noticing one of these encounter elements before it is too close to avoid requires a DC 17 Engineering check.

Criminal Containment​

Behaviors not considered lawful are fundamentally stamped out in Luria, reported by those faithful to the edicts of the Echo Emperor or more often detected via the myriad surveillance devices scattered across its settlements. Criminals are forced by this oppressive surveillance to act with extreme secrecy, incredible care, and over long periods of time lest their very presence draw enforcers from the Council of Order.

The size of a settlement, the number of enforcer officers within it, and the prevalence of lurian sensors there are at the Narrator’s discretion.

Enforcers of Order​

Luria remains so overwhelmingly lawful thanks largely to the enormous number of people licensed to dispense both judgment and punishment: enforcers. Only lead enforcers are devoted utterly to maintaining the rule of law (each hand chosen and carefully schooled by the Council of Order) and practically all other enforcer officers are as integral throughout the world as the esoteric arcana-scientific devices they rely upon to do their thankless work—they walk among the populace as bureaucrats, gardeners, merchants, vehicle drivers, and at countless other less zealous labors, leaping into action the instant they spot a criminal. A settlement’s size determines the statistics for its lead enforcer and any officers under their command (see Table: Lurian Settlements).

Table: Lurian Settlements

Lurian Sensors​

Technoenchanted relics are seamlessly woven throughout the planet as cobblestones, doorknobs, braziers holding forever burning flames, and countless other innocuous objects. It is through these tools that the world’s lawful presence is most powerfully felt, drawing out the essence within a transgressor and showing it for all to see.

Alignment Traits. Any Chaotic, Evil, or Good auras from alignment traits become visible to creatures within 60 feet. This is principally used to root out Chaotic creatures (who constantly radiate a kaleidoscopic aura like a recent transgressor), but precious few understand Arcana well enough to know the difference (golden light for Good auras, fiery red for Evil auras) so report them all the same.

Criminal Auras. Whenever a creature commits an unlawful act—from something as petty as spitting on the sidewalk to as grisly an act as murder—it makes a Charisma saving throw as per the Criminal Auras table. On a failure the creature emits a visible kaleidoscopic aura that can be seen from 60 feet away. On a failure by 5 or more the creature is rattled for the duration of the aura. On a failure by 10 or more the creature also has disadvantage on ability checks made to commit crimes while the aura is visible, and its transgression counts as a Chaotic alignment act. A creature that makes a number of Chaotic alignment acts equal to or greater than its hit dice gains the Chaotic trait.

A creature with a criminal aura can make an Insight check against the same DC to suppress the aura for a number of minutes equal to its hit dice. An aura can be suppressed a number of times equal to a creature’s proficiency bonus between long rests.

The durations of different criminal auras stack and ability checks made to suppress a criminal aura with multiple durations uses the highest DC between them.
Especially potent alignment acts (see Mergia) can also sometimes trigger a visible aura of the corresponding color, though it can only be seen from 30 feet away and its duration is halved.

Table: Criminal Auras

Echoing Emperor​

All of Luria functions under the gaze of a personification of the potent aura that imposes lawfulness on the planet. This entity speaks to the ruler of the realm (or whoever might best grasp power) through dreams and quiet whispers until a compact is agreed to and it takes over, rejoining the Council of Order (a quartet of forgotten gods with Lawful auras) and continuing its eons of rule. Though the Echo Emperor may be slain it cannot be destroyed while Luria still exists, as certain to take control of the world as the sun is to rise.

Echo Emperor Challenge 15​

Legendary Medium aberration 13,000 XP
AC 13 (natural armor)
HP 221 (26d8+104; bloodied 110)
Speed 40 ft., fly 30 ft. (hover)
Proficiency +5; Maneuver DC 15
Saving Throws Str +7, Dex +6, Wis +7
Skills Arcana +9 (+1d4), Engineering +9 (+1d12), History +9, Insight +7 (+1d12), Intimidation +11, Perception +7, Persuasion +11 (+1d12)
Damage Resistances lightning, psychic; damage from nonmagical weapons
Condition Immunities fatigue, strife, stunned
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 22
Languages Celestial, Common, Draconic, Infernal; telepathy 100 ft.

Legendary Resistance (2/Day). When the emperor fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead. When it does so, one of its usually invisible other heads becomes visible.

Overwhelmingly Lawful. The emperor radiates a potent Lawful aura. When a Chaotic creature starts its turn within 20 feet of the emperor or first enters into that area, it makes a DC 19 Charisma saving throw or becomes rattled until the start of its next turn.

Reactive Heads. The emperor can take three reactions per round, but not more than one per turn.

Spellcasting. The emperor is a 12th level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 19, +11 to hit with spell attacks). It has the following spells prepared:

Triumvirate. The emperor has advantage on Perception checks and on saving throws against being blinded, charmed, deafened, frightened, or knocked unconscious. When casting a spell that requires concentration the emperor chooses one head that is not already concentrating on a spell to do so, and whenever the emperor takes damage only one head (its choice) makes a Constitution saving throw to maintain concentration on a spell.


ACTIONS
Multiattack. The emperor attacks three times. It can replace any attack with the casting of a spell of 3rd-level or lower, or replace two attacks with the casting of a spell of any level.

Fist of Law. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (4d8+2) magical bludgeoning damage.


BONUS ACTIONS
Draw Arcana (Recharge 5–6). The emperor expends up to 12 hit dice, regaining spell slots of a total level equal to half the number of expended hit dice.


REACTIONS
Arcane Riposte (1st-Level; V, S). When a creature makes a melee attack against it, the emperor makes a melee spell attack against the attacking creature. If the emperor hits, the creature takes 10 (3d6) acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison, or thunder damage.

Force of Will (2nd-Level; V, S). The emperor reduces the damage it takes from an attack that hits it by 17 (2d10+6).

Shield (1st-Level; V, S). When the emperor is hit by an attack or targeted by magic missile, it gains a +5 bonus to AC (including against the triggering attack) and immunity to magic missile. These benefits last until the beginning of its next turn.


LEGENDARY ACTIONS
The emperor can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. It regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Attack. The emperor makes an attack.

Cast Spell (Costs 1 to 3 Actions). The emperor casts a spell of up to 3rd-level. Each spell level costs 1 legendary action.

Threadwalker (Costs 2 Actions). The emperor teleports to an unoccupied 5-foot square within 20 feet of it but provokes opportunity attacks as if it used its movement instead. Any other attacks or effects that affected the emperor since the start of the last turn no longer affect it unless they would also have affected the emperor in its new location. For example, if the emperor had taken 23 poison damage and been poisoned by a spell but its new location was not in the area of the breath weapon, it regains those hit points and is not poisoned.

Revolving Revolution​

Despite the inevitability of the Council of Order and the prevalence of lawful citizenry there is always a rebellion afoot. Bureaucrats frustrated by the pointlessness of their roles in society, cities unsettled by their slow ground forward, commoners dissatisfied with the rigidity of their world, and enforcers with a mind to make the law instead of dispense it quietly plot in secret and remote places to act when their treachery is revealed. Luria’s history is riddled with the accounts of brave military actions taken to quash these revolutions before they can take hold, and the few that succeed are still ultimately doomed for as the generations pass the Echo Emperor returns to renew its hold upon civilization.

Tremendous Trade​

Intergalactic trade is paramount on Luria because things rarely go awry—provided the right people are sent to make the transaction—and it serves as a hub of mercantilism for numerous space routes. Although everything is sold at a sizable 20% discount from its listed price, the availability of an item varies widely. While there is no extra cost to locate or ship something from one settlement to another on this planet, the bureaucracy that grips it can make the wait rather long (use the rarity of an item and the Shopping Days column of Table: Shopping in Terrapolis to determine the length of the wait) and there are many cheapskates languishing in lurian prisons who failed to abide the law during their stay.