Editing Structure of the Campaign (section)

====Facing Durnstang: The Final Confrontation====

As the players disrupt the Cabal’s efforts, they uncover the location of Durnstang’s final ritual, where he plans to fully sever the Weave and release Oblivion. This site could be in a place of immense necromantic power—an ancient burial ground, a ruined temple, or a plane that Durnstang has shaped into a reflection of the Abyss.

=====The Setting:=====
*The players may find themselves in an extra-planar location, perhaps somewhere between life and death, where the very fabric of reality is unstable. Time, magic, and death might behave in unexpected ways—creating an environment that reflects Durnstang’s vision of breaking the Weave.
*Souls of the dead might walk in this place, either as allies or enemies depending on what the players have done up to this point.

=====The Conflict:=====
*Durnstang could be in the process of performing the final ritual, perhaps requiring him to sacrifice an ancient artifact or even himself to fully sever the connection between life, death, and the Weave. Stopping the ritual won’t be easy—it may involve destroying powerful magical conduits or severing Durnstang’s connection to Oblivion itself.
*He will likely be surrounded by his most loyal lieutenants, perhaps including Maltherion, Sarkathus, or Ivelka—some of whom may even turn against him if the players have successfully manipulated them to see Durnstang’s true goal.

=====Final Battle:=====
*Durnstang himself should be an incredibly powerful figure, not just a god of death, but someone who has transcended his former role. He could wield powers over undeath, reality distortion, and entropy itself. Magic may behave chaotically during this battle, with spells potentially backfiring or altering their effects as the Weave unravels.
*The players may have to contend with the environment itself shifting as Oblivion seeps in, causing planar rifts, time distortions, and twisted versions of dead souls attacking them.

=====Multiple Outcomes:=====
*Victory: The players destroy Durnstang or disrupt his final ritual, stabilizing the Weave. While they may have saved reality from collapse, the Weave is likely permanently scarred. Some areas might still be heavily damaged, with weak points between the planes allowing for incursions from other forces in the future. This could lead to ongoing consequences for future campaigns or the need to rebuild the world’s balance.
*Partial Victory: The players stop Durnstang from fully severing the Weave, but Oblivion has already partially entered the world. The balance between life, death, and rebirth is permanently altered. Undeath may become more prevalent, or magic might become unstable, leading to an age of uncertainty. The gods may withdraw or become more distant, their power diminished as the Weave is weaker. The players might be hailed as heroes, but they must contend with a world reshaped by their partial failure.
*Failure: Durnstang succeeds in breaking the Weave, unleashing Oblivion. The gods are weakened or vanish entirely, their power severed. Souls are no longer bound to the cycle of life and death, causing widespread chaos. Reality itself begins to unravel—mortals experience strange, horrifying changes as the world slowly returns to the Primordial Abyss. This could set the stage for a future apocalyptic campaign, where the players (or future PCs) must find a way to restore balance—or accept that reality as they know it is doomed.

=====Themes in the Endgame=====
*Moral Complexity: By the end, the players should have realized that Durnstang’s plan, while catastrophic, is rooted in a desire for freedom from the endless cycle of suffering and death. This might cause them to question their own motivations: are they defending a flawed system just because it’s all they’ve ever known?
*The Cost of Victory: Whether or not the players succeed, the Weave is damaged, and life will never return to what it was. Heroes must live with the consequences of their choices, and some of the Cabal’s actions may have irreversible effects.
*Divine Detachment: Even if the players win, the gods may become more distant, their influence waning due to the instability of the Weave. Mortals may have to adapt to a world where divine intervention is rare or nonexistent, leading to new power struggles among mages, rulers, and factions.

=====Endgame Hook for Future Campaigns=====
Regardless of the ending, the unraveling of the Weave creates new stories:

*A Weakened Reality: Planar boundaries are thinner, leading to more incursions from fey, fiends, and other-dimensional entities. The players might have to defend the world from these external threats.
*A New Magical Order: Magic could become unstable or take on a new form, requiring future adventurers to explore how it works. The floating city of Skylon might fall, or the ancient Live Ships of the Alfaen may lose their power.