Aureate Gallery: ANA3 Enhancement

 The Aureate Gallery

A Collection of Art and Magic for ANA3 Journey into Rainbow

About 

The adventure Journey into Rainbow was designed to draw players from the land of Anchorome into a unique demiplane originally detailed in Dragon Magazine Issue 321. One of my favorite locations here was the artful city of Conil-A-Ald, also known affectionately as the “Harp of Glass.”

Within Conil-A-Ald is a magical art gallery and collection of near priceless works of unique art created by some of the most gifted artists in the entire cosmology. This collection is known as the Aureate Gallery.

Its curator, also the appointed queen of Conil-A-Ald is the lillend Chyseria. In ANA3, eight unique artworks are detailed, but there are hints at many more.  This expansion is meant to detail some of these additional pieces, as well as to suggest that some may be borrowed, traded for, or earned through completed tasks for its beautiful curator. Perhaps some of the artworks can lead to adventures of their own or have hitherto undetermined abilities. 

As a center of artistic expression, the Aureate Gallery also has a previously unmentioned doorway into the Infinite Staircase. This door, itself a work of art, is known to Chyseria and remains unlocked in a domed chamber of colored glass. No security is visible to those who come in peace, but should violence be necessary, the very glass itself hides guardians of a unique nature. 

New Artwork

Eight unique pieces of art are detailed on pages 31 and 32 of ANA3 Journey into Rainbow. The following are also part of the gallery’s vast collection. 

• Leviathan.  What appears to be a black, blank canvas sometimes gives the impression of movement, as if the canvas is rapidly sliding to the left, right, up or down within the canvas’ frame. Every hour, there is a 5% chance that a large eye suddenly slides into view peering into the room through the “painting” to survey its surroundings before quickly disappearing once again. Touching the canvas gives the impression of wet, rubbery skin, but Chyseria does not allow such contact. This piece was a gift from a triton sorcerer who is said to have traveled to greater depths than any others of his kind upon his home world. 
• The Fountain of Elemental Chaos.  The sculptor of this fountain was a powerful djinni noble who managed to capture essence from the very Elemental Chaos itself. The fountain is constructed entirely of white marble and within, water spouts, bursts of fire, exploding earth and gusts of wind all intermix in one grand display. The fountain is 25 feet in diameter and is dangerous to approach. Those who end their turn within 5 feet of the fountain must roll 1d6. On a roll of 1, they are struck by an errant element, suffering either 1d4 cold or fire damage. Chyseria keeps a velvet rail in a circle ten feet from the fountain’s edge and warnings are posted in Common, Sylvan, Auran, Terran, Ignan, Aquan and Celestial. The signs cannot be missed. 
• The Dream Globe. A glass globe, two feet in diameter, hovers in the middle of its own chamber.  Inside, white vapors swirl endlessly until a hand is placed on the globe. Only one being do so at a time, and the popular exhibit often has long lines. When touched in such a way, the being experiences vivid waking dreams and hallucinations that are always pleasant and last for up to a minute. The dreams are harmless, but leave one feeling hopeful, and the Dream Globe is believed to be a cure for minor bouts of melancholy. A creature can only experience this effect once every 30 days. 
• The Cascade.  Often set up in one of the long hallways of the Aureate Gallery, the Cascade stems from a magical deck of cards owned by the bariaur wizard Halthorn. Halthorn is a frequent visitor to the Aureate Gallery and displays his art as a special event for other visitors. He claims ownership over the magical deck, but is glad to “perform” whenever he is visiting.  Halthorn throws his deck to the ground and the cards quickly multiply, fold themselves and organize in a long pattern that can travel as far as the bariaur desires. The kindly wizard then often selects a child spectator to come and push the first card in the pattern, causing a cascade of falling cards. The cards fall into beautiful mosaics and colorful patterns at random to the delight and amazement of onlookers. Once he has completed his demonstration, Halthorn will call the cards to his hand which return to their original form. 
• The Farm. Multicolored soil is wedged between two glass panels with barely an inch between. The display is rectangular at nearly six feet in height and four feet wide. Ant-like insects inhabit the soil creating, destroying and recreating new chambers in complex geometric patterns that possess a mathematical beauty all their own. Each morning the exhibit displays new patterns as the insects toil endlessly. 
• Hall of Stars.  This hallway between many exhibits is a work of art itself. The marble floor is accentuated with only starlight from above. The arched ceiling gives the impression of infinite depth and the stars twinkle as if they are within a true Prime world night sky. 

Four Stained Glass Sentinels guard the entrance to the Aureate Gallery from the Infinite Staircase.  They also serve as alarms that draw attention from guards and even patrons of the gallery in nearby chambers.