Tvashtri’s Laboratory
Realm of Tvashtri
Location: Outlands / Ringlands / near Sylvania
Let’s cut through the chant about Tvashtri’s Laboratory, nestled snug in the Outlands, just a hop, skip, and a jump Spireward from Sylvania. This realm’s a stone’s throw from the Dwarven Mountain, and let me tell ya, some clueless cutter ending up here might think they’ve stumbled into Dugmaren Brightmantle’s backyard. But no, this is Tvashtri’s turf, a sprawling workshop that stretches as far as the eye can see, brimming with columns, pipes, catwalks, and all manner of shiny contraptions. The place is chock-full of book stacks, libraries, armouries, forges, and kitchens, all mashed together in a glorious hodgepodge of creation and invention.
The locals, mostly human petitioners and a fair share of gnomes, are busy as bees, inventing and building from dusk till dawn. They say this is the spot for top-notch gear, though some berks argue the magic’s a little more refined in Tir na Og or the Dwarven Mountain. But here, in Tvashtri’s realm, you get the whole package – crafts, knowledge, and arcane wonders, all under one roof.
The Laboratory, or Workshop, or Library – call it what you will – is a complex built into the side of a hill. Step inside, and you’re plunged into an unending labyrinth of labs, libraries, workshops, and construction zones. The whole place hums with energy, crackling with the raw power of creation. Travellers beware: Tvashtri’s realm might not be the best at any one thing, but it’s a true jack-of-all-trades, second-best in crafts, knowledge, and magic.
The petitioners of Tvashtri are a motley crew of craftspeople—alchemists, artificers, smiths, and tinkers. They’re all a bit barmy, each in their own charming way. And while Tvashtri’s Vault is as secure as the Lady’s Mazes, it’s far from as empty. It’s guarded by all sorts of constructs, and the lower vaults are a veritable graveyard of discarded projects and broken dreams, possibly guarded by a obsessive mind or two.
The lower levels of the Laboratory are where the creations – successful or otherwise – end up. It’s a safe haven for the cast-offs and the taken-in-by-Tvashtri projects. Harmless, mostly, but remember, in a realm of pure creation, everything’s got a bit of the unexpected. So if you’re stepping into Tvashtri’s realm, keep your wits about you, and who knows, you might just come out with a trinket or a tale worth telling.
Plot Hooks:
- The Apprentice’s Plight: An apprentice of Tvashtri has inadvertently trapped themselves in an arcane device of their own creation. The adventurers must navigate the intricate and hazardous mechanisms of the device to rescue the apprentice before it’s too late.
- The Missing Manuscript: A legendary manuscript detailing ancient artifice techniques, believed to be lost for centuries, is rumoured to have resurfaced in Tvashtri’s Laboratory. Adventurers are hired by a secretive scholar’s guild to retrieve it, but they must navigate the labyrinth of workshops and deal with the quirky petitioners and their creations to find it—or steal it.
- The Construct Uprising: Something strange is happening in the Laboratory. Normally docile constructs have begun acting erratically, threatening the stability of the realm. The adventurers are called in to investigate the cause. Could it be a malfunction, a rogue inventor’s experiment gone awry, or something more sinister?
Canonical Sources:
- Planescape Campaign Setting: Sigil and Beyond [2e] p15,17 (brief realm description)
- Player’s Primer to the Outlands [2e] p32 (brief mention)
Source: Jon Winter-Holt
