Metropolitan

Arcana
ESOTERES
T hey experiment on
slaves and purchase

S
corpses by the cartload
crutinizing the half-orc’s doc-
yet mortals tolerate them
because of their
ument bribes, the captain
carefully,
and power, and the
carefully goods
beautiful analyzes every line of the
they
sell. The gods
supposed pardontoountil
do suddenly the
not interfere with their
presence,
writ explodes the in
reasons
a puff for
of scrap paper,
doing so as mysterious as
theenigmatic
the rapidly shrinking
group.form
Theof the crimi-
Esoteres:
nal racingtheirawaysaints are mad as
and cackling
equations, their liturgy
formulae
a hatter. He thatreaches
exceeds
for his sword but
the confines of arcana,
grasps
and from at within
nothing,their
the illusion of his
Tesseract they research
weapon disappearing just as he spots
the abstract, the absurd,
and
the the impossible.
fleeing half-orc raising the blade in

triumph. The captain cracks a smile

in response and concentrates on the

Writing
invisible mark cast upon his sword, Quinn Callahan
writing Andrew Engelbrite
Color Art Phil Stone,
color art Héctor Rodríguez
Claudio
the location of the thieves’ den finally Pozas
editing Mike Myler
Editing Mike Myler layout Eric Life-Putnam
about to be revealed.

EN World
ENEN | Intriguing
5iderEN5
World Organizations:
idEr | Metropolitan ArcanaEsoteres
History These are but a few of the remarkable yet utterly
Called by many names the Esoteres have existed mundane items traded by the Esoteres.
for centuries—they were human at the start and Dream (100–2,000 gp). Esoteres have
in a hubris so common among humanity sought mastered the distillation of dreams into strange
to achieve the divine through the study of powers and hauntingly beautiful gel-like orbs. Eating
unknown, fervently seeking godhood through spells, one of these sweet-tasting wonders cause the
rituals, expanded consciousness, and, perhaps oddly, imbiber to dream extremely vividly the next
mathematics. Later scholars have claimed such time they sleep. Specific details of the dream
a thing is impossible, that it takes divine magic can be established beforehand with the
whether freely given (or in rare cases stolen) to gain Esotere broker for additional cost based on
deific power. At first the organization’s successes complexity—some are so perfectly modulated
were few and rare but not without interesting that their events are indistinguishable from
results. Their experiments twisted and distorted the real world.
their bodies over the years of their study, yet with Epsilon-Model Longship (50,000 gp). While
those mutations came many things: alien wisdom, it may be identical in most ways to a standard
mighty intellects, and extended lifespans. longship this Esotere vessel has no sails or
Only two or three decades after the group began obvious means of propulsion. This ability alone
their sages—those that survived both voluntary and is not what makes it so amazing however—
sometimes forced experimentation—became more through a technique utterly incomprehensible
than what they were, undeniably ascended from to outsiders it does this completely without
their original forms. The less human the Esoteres magic. Although it is a mundane vehicle, only
became the more apathetic their attitude towards Esoteres are able to repair such a ship without
anything that did not serve their needs. Their souls the use of magic (such as mending or similar
grew monstrous, experimenting on stolen corpses spells).
and slaves, and with their heinous inhuman behavior Flame Devourer (150 gp). Looking and
came the hatred of many. Over the course of half a feeling not unlike a gray sponge, these spheres
century they constructed a refuge for themselves can be tossed up to 20 feet into any non-
and their critical work: the Tesseract, a testament to magical flame as a bonus action, exploding
their power and genius just as strange and alien as into an unpleasant smelling goo that instantly
its minders. On the outside it looks like a moderately snuffs out all fire in a 5-foot radius. After it
large fortress of stone with very few windows and is expended the item takes the shape of a
seemingly no guards yet within it is an ever-shifting cube approximately 1 foot across that smells
labyrinth of halls, doors, and passages to unknown strongly of rubber.
dangers. It is here these savants have done their Immaculato Clothing (+150 gp). Through
work since its completion, hidden away except when a mysterious series of unknown treatments
a particular member’s activities requiring venturing an Esotere can take any standard non-magical
beyond the safety of its walls. item of clothing and cleans it completely,
making it impervious to staining. The treated
clothing is never dirtied and remains perfectly
Activities clean until it is significantly damaged, ending
From the Tesseract’s completion onward the the effect.
Esoteres have quietly researched increasingly Olympicene Extract (100 gp). This perfect
abstract mathematics and secrets of the unknown. copper dodecahedron can be smashed or
Many (themselves included) claim the group has thrown against a surface to release a corrosive
long since abandoned its goal of godhood and that liquid. Olympicene extract functions the same
they now research for purely research’s sake. They way as an acid vial but is much easier to
hide the most potent of what they learn but have conceal, granting advantage on any Dexterity
on occasion traded secrets or strange magical (Sleight of Hand) checks made to hide it.

EN World EN5ider | Intriguing Organizations: Esoteres

 Metropolitan
compounds with outsiders. For the right price (and exclusively) and, by extension, render useless any
information is an Esoteres’ favorite coin), one can form of deific scrying or divinations into future

Arcana
purchase beautiful dreams, the purest of colors, events connected to their cult. They have found
and more from one of their kind—one only needs moderate success here: for brief periods (and at
to ignore the strange sounds from their fortress and presently incredibly high cost) they can hide their
the cries of slaves entering to never leave again. own thoughts and even entire rooms from the eyes
Dealing the Esoteric. The Esoteres are no fools of prying gods while within the Tesseract. They are
and know it is often easier to use their power to exceptionally careful with this ability however: they
trade for what they desire rather than to seize fear it shall anger one or many deities should they
it by force. By trading the odd bit of research or be noticed, and more importantly there is concern
producing bizarre and beautiful items that defy it simply does not work the way they presently think
understanding, they are able to keep a steady it does. Were the Esoteres to act as though no god
supply of slaves coming in and bribes going out to was watching when one actually was, they know the
remain comfortably positioned as a disliked but results could be catastrophic.

S
tolerable organization. Striking at the Esoteres The second project (technically nameless but
crutinizing the half-orc’s doc-
would mean making an enemy of their many trade sometimes called Project Zero) is researched almost
partners and well-paid allies, including multiple entirely in rooms hidden as a result of Project One’s
warlords andument carefully,
at least one dragon. the captain gains and has had disappointing results thus far. The
Blackmailing the Powers. The work of the Esoteres’ ultimate wish is to sever the Material Plane
carefully
Esoteres analyzes
has attracted the ireevery
of many line of the
an archfiend from all planes connected to it positing that if this
and deity. While most mortals remain clueless to the was accomplished the gods would lose all of their
cult’s supposed
true purposes,pardon until
the gods suddenly
cannot the
be kept blind worldly power and presence. It is fortunate that they
for long. A daring conclusion was reached by the have made little progress here for if the Esoteres
organization’s leaders in
writ explodes longa ago:
puffthey can bepaper,
of scrap hated by succeeded it would be beyond apocalyptic: with
even deities so long as it remains more convenient their souls unable to leave the dead would not truly
for them
the to exist than
rapidly not. With
shrinking this of
form understanding
the crimi- die, nearly all divine magic would be lost, and it
they’ve made it known that should any god attack is not clear if physics as they are known would
the Tesseract with away
nal racing their armies directly, they
and cackling madshall
as continue to function.
release the entirety of their archives to the wider
world—whatever secrets the Esoteres hide, this
a hatter. He reaches for his sword but
threat has kept the angels and devils at bay. Modus Operandi
The Esoteres are incredibly secretive and their
grasps at nothing, the illusion of his members usually only know the very basics of an
Motivations experiment or the overarching purpose of any given
The Esoteres
weaponaredisappearing
primarily motivated
just asbyhea hatred
spotsof field of esoteric research. The fewer who know
divine magic. The material world and most instances of Project One’s purpose (let alone the order’s
of magic
the(arcane
fleeingincluded)
half-orc are unjustly
raising thebound
bladebyinthe
will of bickering gods, all the varied manifestations Open Game Content | The game
of deific power noThe more than extensions rule information in this article is
triumph. captain cracks aof smile
that
designated Open Game Content.
tyrannical will. Though they would never say as
much (and many Esoteres have even had their minds All other material in this article,
in response and concentrates on the
wiped of such thoughts), there are two ongoing including maps and illustrations
projects that have endured for centuries that drive (including illustrations in the
invisible
most (but not all)mark
of theircast upon his sword,
research. writing Andrew Engelbrite
public domain), in-character and
The first project—called simply Project One color art
out-of-character Héctor
narrative Rodríguez
and descriptive text, char-
themost
and the location of the
promising thieves’
of the two—is den finally
focused acter andediting Mike
place names, Myler
trade dress, “EN Publishing,”
on hiding their work from the eyes of the gods “EN World,”layout EricENLife-Putnam
“EN5ider,” Publishing product and
about The
indefinitely. to be revealed.
Esoteres want to break divine article titles, and EN World and EN Publishing logos,
omniscience (on themselves and their work are designated Product Identity.

EN World
ENEN | Intriguing
5iderEN5
World Organizations:
idEr | Metropolitan ArcanaEsoteres
intention to sever the Material Plane) the more experimentation and study—for this reason they
likely they are to succeed. Only a single Esotere is often by necessity are the most aware of the Broad
permitted to know the entirety of their organization's Mind’s overarching goals. Dark Minds (typically
projects: the Broad Mind. The few outsiders who Mages and Assassins) are the unfortunates who have
manage to learn of this unique creature’s existence had their minds almost entirely wiped of memories
(and survive) would not be faulted for thinking of unnecessary for a given task, mitigating any chance
such a being as their leader but such thinking is at of them revealing their ties to the organization but
least partially inaccurate. relegating them to delivering messages to extremely
The Broad Mind is an Esotere who has converted powerful beings or to assassinate targets.
into an archive for all of its peers’ collected learning
—as a group the mutated sages decide what avenues
of experimentation and research to pursue, at Headquarters:
which point the Broad Mind grants them access to The Tesseract
“dangerous” information essential to their assigned On the outside the Tesseract appears to be a large
projects. When a project is complete the Broad three story circular stone structure with two smaller
Mind absorbs its details before an Esotere has all towers on either side of it. Floating atop the tower is
potentially troublesome information about the its namesake: a large ever shifting tesseract, a fourth
project (both old and new) wiped from their own dimensional shape rendered in three dimensional
memory. The Broad Mind is barely sapient, speaking space. In truth, it is an illusion but many outsiders
eloquently but without emotion, and is totally still view it with wonder. On the whole, the building
incapable of lying (although that doesn’t stop it from is clearly able to face mighty sieges and was even
withholding information). It does not speak unless designed to be resistant to earthquakes. Inside the
spoken to with the sole exception of when it detects Tesseract is a maze, an unfriendly place filled by
an error in an Esotere’s work or some other issue whimpering and mad laughter emanating from
that needs attention—its will is that of the Esoteres. behind its numerous closed doors—many of them
With the exception of the Broad Mind, these an entrance to a pocket dimension of one sort or
savants tend to work in one of three roles: Brokers, another. Aside from food storage most of the
Researchers, and Dark Minds. Brokers buy and sell chambers are either rooms for study or traps
goods and information as deemed appropriate by meant to kill intruders.
the Esoteres. Researchers immerse themselves in

EN World EN5ider | Intriguing Organizations: Esoteres

 Metropolitan
Esotere
Medium monstrosity, lawful neutral

Arcana
Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 127 (17d8+51)
Speed 30 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
13 (+1) 15 (+2) 16 (+3) 18 (+4) 15 (+2) 8 (–1)
Saving Throws Intelligence +8, Wisdom +6
Skills Arcana +12, Insight +6, Nature +12,
Perception +8, Persuasion +7, Religion +8
Senses passive Perception 18
Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Common,
Deep Speech, Infernal, Giant

S
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)
crutinizing the half-orc’s doc-
Compartmentalized Mind. The Esotere is
immune to all forms of telepathy and mind
reading except ument
from acarefully,
Broad Mind.the In captain
addition, it has advantage on saving throws
made carefully analyzes
to resist being charmed. every line of the
Enemy of Heaven & Hell. When a creature
targetssupposed pardon
the Esotere with auntil
divine suddenly
trait, class the
feature, or spell, the creature makes an
writ
ability explodes
check using itsin a puff ofability
spellcasting scrap paper,
(if it has no spellcasting ability, use the
creature’s highestshrinking
the rapidly ability score).formTheofDCthe crimi-
equals 12 or, if the Esotere uses its reaction 4th level (3 slots): dimension door, fabricate,
to focus, 17. On aaway
nal racing success, and thecackling
creature’smad as private sanctum
divine trait, class feature, or spell functions 5th level (2 slots): arcane hand, modify
normally. On a failure, it fails and has no effect. memory, scrying
a hatter. He reaches for his sword but
Esotere Cunning. The Esotere’s magic is beyond 6th level (1 slot): disintegrate, forbiddance
the confines of typical arcana. When a creature
grasps
attempts at nothing,orthe
to counterspell illusion
use dispel of his
magic ACTIONS
against one of its spells, they have disadvantage Calculated Strike. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to
and weapon disappearing
treat the Esotere’s spell asjust as heone
if it were spots hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 8 (1d8+4)
level higher than normal. bludgeoning damage. On a successful hit, the
Magicthe fleeing half-orc
Resistance. The Esotere raising the bladeoninsaving target makes a DC 16 Constitution saving throw
has advantage
throws against spells and other magical effects. or is paralyzed for 1d6 rounds. A target can repeat
triumph.
Spellcasting. The The
Esoterecaptain cracks spellcaster.
is a 12th-level a smile Its the saving throw at the end of each of its turns,
spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 18; ending the effect on itself on a success.
+8 toinhitresponse
with spell attacks). The Esotere on has the Doom Equation. Through a mix of alien knowledge
and concentrates and an ultimate mastery of mathematics, the
following spells prepared:
will): light, Esotere unleashes a dangerous and unstable
Cantrips
invisible(at mark castmending,
upon his message
sword, power.writing
A 30-foot Andrew Engelbrite
radius maelstrom of energized
1st level (4 slots): alarm, detect magic, identify, color art Héctor Rodríguez
equations roils from the Esotere. The maelstrom
the location of magic missile den finally
the thieves’ spreadsediting Mike Myler
around corners. Each creature in that area
2nd level (3 slots): alter self, detect thoughts,
layout Eric Life-Putnam
(including the Esotere) must succeed on a DC 18
invisibility, see invisibility
about to be revealed.
3rd level (3 slots): counterspell, dispel magic, Charisma saving throw or take 35 (10d6) necrotic
fireball, nondetection damage and be stunned for 1 round.

EN World
ENEN | Intriguing
5iderEN5
World Organizations:
idEr | Metropolitan ArcanaEsoteres
Broad Mind
Medium monstrosity, lawful neutral
Armor Class 17 (forcefield)
Hit Points 126 (23d8+23)
Speed 20 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
8 (–1) 8 (–1) 12 (+1) 25 (+7) 20 (+5) 6 (–2)
Saving Throws Intelligence +12, Wisdom +10, Charisma +3
Skills Arcana +17, Insight +10, Medicine +10, Nature +17, Perception +10, Religion +12
Damage Vulnerabilities psychic
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened
Senses passive Perception 20
Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Deep Speech, Infernal, Giant; telepathy 80 ft.
Challenge 15 (13,000 XP)
Enemy of Heaven & Hell. When a creature targets the Broad Mind with a divine trait, feature, or spell, the
creature makes an ability check using its spellcasting ability (if it has no spellcasting ability, use the creature’s
highest ability score). The DC equals 15 or, if the Broad Mind uses its reaction to focus, 20. On a success, the
creature’s divine trait, class feature, or spell functions normally. On a failure, it fails and has no effect.
Esotere Cunning. The Broad Mind’s magic is beyond the confines of typical arcana. When a creature attempts
to counterspell or use dispel magic against one of its spells, they have disadvantage and treat the Broad
Mind’s spell as if it were one level higher than normal.
Forcefield. The Broad Mind’s armor class is reduced to 9 when it is petrified or unconscious.
Forget. A Broad Mind can use a bonus action to instantly forget any piece of information it desires, permanently
wiping part of its memories. The Broad Mind can also use this trait on any willing creature within 80 feet.
Magic Resistance. The Broad Mind has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Oceanic Memory. Any creature that targets the Broad Mind with detect thoughts or any similar spell or effect
makes a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the creature is stunned for 1 round.
Rapid Learning. The Broad Mind can become proficient in any tool or language after approximately 2 hours of
study. In addition, the Broad Mind can perfectly remember anything it has experienced.
Sharing Aura. Friendly creatures within 80 feet of the Broad Mind gain proficiency with one language or tool
of its choice. This does not need to be the same proficiency and may differ for each creature.
Spellcasting. The Broad Mind is a 15th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 20,
+12 to hit with spell attacks). The Broad Mind has the following spells prepared:
Cantrips (at will): acid splash, light, mage hand, mending, message
1st level (4 slots): alarm, detect magic, identify, magic missile
2nd level (3 slots): alter self, detect thoughts, invisibility, see invisibility
3rd level (3 slots): counterspell, dispel magic, fireball, nondetection
4th level (3 slots): dimension door, fabricate, private sanctum
5th level (2 slots): arcane hand, modify memory, scrying
6th level (1 slot): disintegrate, eyebite, forbiddance
7th level (1 slot): prismatic spray
8th level (1 slot): maze
ACTIONS
Overload. The Broad Mind targets up to three creatures it can see within 120 feet of it. The creature must
succeed on a DC 20 Wisdom saving throw or take 44 (8d10) psychic damage. If the target fails by 10 or
more, it takes double damage and is frightened of the Broad Mind for 1 minute. A target can repeat the
saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

EN World EN5ider | Intriguing Organizations: Esoteres