Most Telarans believe that rifts only appear at the whim of the dragons. Yet with dedication and a bit of eldritch magic, the Ascended can draw specific events from the planes into Telara for a daring strike.
Take the town of Perdeen, abandoned by its defenders and lost without a trace. Now, heroes can collect ingredients for a ritual to pull Perdeen out of the Plane of Death and liberate its villagers’ tormented ghosts from ongoing suffering.
Meanwhile, House Aelfwar holds secret meetings in the Plane of Life itself. It is possible to draw such a meeting out into Telara and ambush its treacherous nobles, though these elite cultists are too mighty for anything but a large group of Ascended to slay.
Every day, hundreds of rifts open across Telara, tearing the sky apart as planar horrors descend on the world. But these inter-dimensional disasters are but a taste of the danger and rewards offered by the planes. Each a unique and hair-raising test, Expert and Raid Rifts wait to be unleashed and confronted by teams of the most powerful Ascended.
As parties of the Chosen crusade through the dungeons of Telara, they can collect Malformed and Corrupted Souls, tortured entities which can be stored in Planar Husks sold by merchants throughout the world. Once sealed, a husk full of Malformed Souls becomes a Planar Lure that can call down an Expert Rift, while Raid Rift lures are created using the harder-to-find Corrupted Souls. Planar Husks are attuned to specific elements to help Guardians and Defiant ensure they encounter the enemies they seek.
Expert Rifts present a serious challenge to a full party of high-ranking Ascended, while only ten or more well-armed Chosen could pose a threat to a Raid Rift. These heroes must battle waves of fearsome riftspawn in a grueling gauntlet of curse and claw. Each Raid or Expert Rift is led by mighty monsters that drop a chest full of treasures unique to their incursion.
Only the Ascended who constructs each Raid Rift’s lure is attuned to open its ultimate chests — a special reward for summoning the most dire of riftspawn. Yet anyone may join battles in progress, and heroes who assist with an Expert or Raid Rift have a chance to seize rare or epic equipment, planarite, and sourcestone.
So remember, only the Chosen can brave the darkest corners of Telara, the sinister hideaways of the cults, and forge tormented souls into Rift Lures. No matter where Expert and Raid Rifts are called forth, Telara shall tremble with the tread of dozens of Ascended, eager to deal the cults and riftspawn a crippling blow.
