Summer Court

The Summer Court is the most vibrant and competitive of the four seasonal courts. Styled after ancient Rome, it celebrates strength, craftsmanship, and valor. Home to the legendary smith Elara Sunforge, who reforged Summer’s Edge — the blade of the Order of Seasons.

Leadership

• Lady Sylvia — Lady of Summer. Took news of the Cult of the Eclipse seriously and asked the party to investigate the Summer Leyline Temple. Recognized that Summer’s Edge chooses its own wielder and directed the party to Elara Sunforge for reforging. Vowed to coordinate with the other courts.
• Elara Sunforge — Master Smith. Most skilled smith in the Summer Court, renowned across the Fey realms. Reforged Summer’s Edge using Celestial Ore and the First Kiss of the Midday Sun at the Secret Elven Forge beneath her workshop.
• Adamar — Knight of the Summer Court. Dueled Skreek in the Coliseum to test the reforged Summer’s Edge.

Key Locations

• The Coliseum — Massive arena at the center of the court. Architectural marvel with tiered seating for thousands. Hosts gladiatorial combat, archery contests, and dueling tournaments. Skreek won a tournament here testing Summer’s Edge.
• Elara’s Forge — Large open-air workshop near the Coliseum filled with enchanted tools. Centerpiece is a massive rune-inscribed anvil and a forge fire that never dims.
• Secret Elven Forge — Hidden beneath Elara’s workshop via a narrow stone staircase behind the hearth. A vast subterranean chamber with veins of golden leyline energy pulsing beneath crystalline stone. Where Summer’s Edge was reforged.
• Ember’s Embrace — Lively inn and tavern run by Serra Flamekissed (fire genasi). Known for flaming shots.
• Summer Leyline Temple — Already breached when the party arrived. Two guardian constructs destroyed by fire and ice magic. One of eight rune crystals stolen by Manus, later recovered but tainted.

Culture & Identity

• Roman-inspired architecture: grand marble buildings, open courtyards, majestic columns
• Competitive culture — contests of skill and valor are celebrated
• Bold street food, laughter, music, and the constant clang of metal from the forges
• Values strength, excellence, and craftsmanship
• Energetic, bustling atmosphere with betting on dueling tournaments

Leyline Temple Status

The Summer Leyline Temple was breached by the Cult of the Eclipse before the party arrived. Two guardian constructs were destroyed. One rune crystal was stolen by Manus and later recovered, but it was tainted and could not be restored without knowledge from the Chained Library.

Winter Court

The Winter Court is the most magically sophisticated of the four seasonal courts, governed by an ancient eladrin lineage responsible for maintaining the interplanar barrier that keeps Nidhogg sealed in the Shadowfell.

Leadership

• Alora — Lady of Winter. Regal, composed, and deeply burdened queen of the court. Watches over the leyline barriers protecting the realm from extraplanar intrusion. Her mother created the original barrier using ancient power, but no one in her lineage has inherited the gift, so the barrier weakens with each passing century. Gifted the party a Leyline Gate Ring.
• Trius — Princess of Winter / Winter Knight. Eldest daughter of Alora. Oath of Ancients Paladin who wields a legendary Moonblade. Embodies the court’s militant strength and accompanied the party to the Winter Leyline Temple.
• Levi — Arch Magus. Alora’s court wizard who briefed the party alongside her about the barrier system.
• Olivia — Daughter of Alora. Was poisoned by a Bandersnatch; healed by Skreek using Lay on Hands, which earned the party Alora’s trust.

Key Locations

• Winter Court Outpost — Border settlement at the edge of the winter realm. Adorned with ethereal silver banners and a towering silver maple over 100 feet tall with crystalline leaves. Ice sculptures depicting elven lore flank the entrance.
• The Restful Buck — Inn and tavern within the court proper. Head bartender Jared oversees a regular poker game, a small performance stage, and an enchanted sound system. Known for excellent mulled wine.
• Night Garden’s Circle — Apothecary and magic shop.
• Winter Leyline Temple — Ancient temple embedded in a hillside with a mechanical iris entrance. Contains three trial chambers culminating in the Leyline Crystal Chamber. One of six focus crystals is cracked and flickering — damaged by the Cult of the Eclipse.

Culture & Identity

• Aesthetic blends elven elegance with faint blue crystal technology
• Values magical scholarship, duty, and guardianship
• The court carries the heaviest burden of the seasonal barrier — Alora’s lineage built it, and her line is responsible for its upkeep
• Elven rangers patrol the borders and respond to the Order of Seasons medallion

Leyline Temple Status

The Winter Leyline Temple features a giant purple leyline crystal surrounded by six hovering arcane focus crystals. One crystal is cracked and flickering, damaged by the Cult of the Eclipse. The entrance requires proof of worthiness — blood, the Order of Seasons symbol, or a crystal leaf from the great silver maple.

CLAUDE.md

This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.

Project Overview

This is an Obsidian vault for managing a D&D 5e campaign called “Tempus.” It contains session notes, character sheets, locations, items, homebrew rules, and campaign recaps spanning 45+ sessions (November 2022 - October 2025).

Directory Structure

The vault uses numbered prefixes for organization:

• 01 - session-notes/ - Per-session DM prep notes (45 sessions)
• 02 - characters/ - NPCs, party members, adversaries, monster stat blocks
  • main-party/ - Player characters and party reference sheet
  • adversaries/ - Villain narrative lore pages and stat blocks (CR up to 17)
  • allies/ - NPC ally narrative lore pages (Arbiter, Trius, Elara Sunforge, Vidrir, etc.)
  • monsters/ - Creature stat blocks
• 03 - locations/ - Setting descriptions and maps
• 04 - items/ - Magical and homebrew equipment
• 05 - planning/ - Campaign arcs, encounter design, session prep, DM reference material (reveal FAQs, guest player briefings, encounter tables)
• 06 - factions/ - Organizations (Chained Library, Massa’Ista)
• 07 - rules/ - Homebrew mechanics (Minion Rules)
• 08 - recap/ - Campaign summaries, quest log, timeline, dramatized narratives

Automation Scripts

_link_characters.py

Scans markdown files for unlinked character name references and converts them to Obsidian [[wiki-links]]. Run from the tempus-campaign directory:

Session Prep Evolution

An analysis of how DM session preparation has evolved across 45+ sessions of the Tempus campaign, from November 2022 to January 2026.

Three Phases of Evolution

Phase 1: Experimental (Sessions 00-05, Nov 2022 - Apr 2023)

The campaign began with Session 00 as a pitch document establishing core philosophy:

• Theater of the Mind combat emphasized over grid-based tactical play
• Collaborative world-building with player input
• “Player driven” and “Weird” as campaign priorities

Early session notes followed a simple structure with sections for Characters, Locations, NPCs, Monsters, Treasure, and an unstructured “Scratchpad.” Format was still experimental with inconsistent checkbox usage and incomplete sections. Prep was light—scene lists often had placeholder language like “They find the church casting light…” without full details.

HOLLOW THRESHOLD 3: THE PRIMAL HUNT

A 50-foot diameter clearing of packed earth surrounded by towering primordial trees. Ancient stone cairns (10ft tall, 3ft wide) mark the cardinal directions, each carved with bestial totems. Thick roots create natural barriers and elevated platforms throughout the space. The Bloodfang Talisman rests atop a moss-covered altar at the center, pulsing with primal energy. A stone archway portal leads to the Material Plane (south), while a living tree-portal writhes with wild energy from the Beastlands (north).