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Raith
Seeker
USA
76 Posts |
 Posted - 21 Feb 2009 : 01:51:13
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This is going to be a post discussing the campaign I've been running for Rabies, Zurcorus and our friends for quite a long time. It's been hard sometimes because my DM style isn't very linear at all, (I tend to just let people play in the sandbox and enjoy the milieu) and without any rails the train sometimes veers in unexpected directions!
All in all though I have had an absolutely fantastic time with it, and if Ed of the Greenwood happens to look across this post I want to thank him on behalf of all of us from the bottom of my heart for making this wonderful and exciting world.
Things are set in 1376 to begin with. (We play a mix of 3.0/3.5) The starting area is Zhentil Keep, where the original party worked as "Ruins sweepers", an unenviable position I cooked up for Zhentilar who got a tough assignment, people desperate for coin, and convicts who would rather risk their lives than spend years in prison or lose a limb or other extremity for their transgressions.
When the campaign first started we had a group that vacillated between 8 and 13 players. It was pretty much every DnD player at our local gaming shop, and due to the ability of some of us to keep ourselves entertained with purely role-playing with our fellow players, I initially figured that it wouldn't be TOO hard. I'd just referee and occasionally throw a few snags in here and there, and we'd be able to look at combat from a fun new angle. (For example: Several lower level PCs against a Giant would require tactics quite different from four higher level PCs against the same giant.)
It goes without saying that I'd bitten off a lot more than I could chew, though it wouldn't be the first time I managed to do that. In a group of this many people there are always going to be some people that you can't stand, and I had more than my share after about three sessions. A change was coming that would spur a rather large amount of dreaded gamer-drama. But I'm way off topic here...
The original party: (As best I can remember them)
Umolka (Rabies' character) a Thayan druid of Talona that eventually intends to go for the Blightlord prestige class.
Corus (Zurc's character) A Zhentilar Duskblade that eventually intends to become a Shadow Dragon Disciple/Templar of Bane. He also has a legacy weapon, and was the biggest reason a lot of my combat encounters weren't much fun. THANKS CHIEF.
Mival (our first Taylor's character) Zhentilar Knight who plans to take the rather difficult journey from Vengeance Knight to SHADOWDANCER at high levels. (Pretty tricky getting there!) Also the first party leader.
Halfling/Tiefling Rogue who's name I forget that wanted to go blackguard, played by a chap who always either played a demon woman or man with a wolf (or turned into a wolf or rode a wolf).
Gnoll Ranger who's name I also forgot. Not a lot to talk about here due to his short career. No long term plans I was ever aware of.
Monk who's name I forget who was going into a neat custom prestige class (Order of the Iron Gauntlet.)
Eva, human wizard who would go for a really neat skymage/arcane devotee/archmage build. Her familiar was an eyeball Beholder-kin who referred to himself as "the impeccable Peepers". Peepers not only spoke Common, but had a very nice singing voice.
...I got to play Peepers.
Oh, Eva's player started off actually as Tristan Darkhope, a spoiled charlatan wizard/rogue from the famous and wealthy family that ended up becoming an enduring and annoyingly fun NPC.
Lola, a human Loviatan duelist who was into S&M. (Shockingly.)
Half-drow Bard who's name I forget. A unique and beautiful snowflake who had a dove that followed him around.
I'd like to point out that the player insisted on this character and the dove, in spite of my warning that "While you can play ANYTHING you want, you need to be prepared to deal with the fact that the other characters might react unkindly to you due to your being A: a Drow, and B: a Bard with a dove on your shoulder who always thumbs your nose at them. I refuse to swoop in with the hand of God to keep people from killing each other as long as it's in character and not random stupidity.
(Later on we'd add Taylor B's masked orc barbarian, and Ted's...nobody seems to remember what Ted was playing. He wasn't around for very long.)
Gosh, this post has become rather long already. Now that introductions have been more or less completed, I'll go into the campaign story with the next chapter.
Stay tuned!
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"Power and dominion are taken by the Will. By divine right Hail and Kill!" |
Edited by - Raith on 21 Feb 2009 01:55:54
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Raith
Seeker
USA
76 Posts |
Posted - 21 Feb 2009 : 02:36:11
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Hoooookay...
So the massive group was employed as, (like I said before) Ruinsweepers, and the still-ruined sections of Zhentil Keep were all sectioned off into lettered and numbered segments. When each segment was called clear, the regular Zhentilar would move in and establish a perimeter. The place was, as you can imagine, something of a wreck.
I played up the damage inflicted by the flight of White Dragons Cyric had called in, towers of blue ice still standing at odd and violent angles despite the passage of a few summers. The area was not yet cleared out because a few tribes of giants and clutches of white dragons, as well as a significant group of gnoll squatters, hadn't moved on yet. They seldom tried to move into the southern city, and the Zhents didn't have enough people to really fill all that space anyway and therefore had more urgent things to do.
The party was stationed out of a tavern called "The Locked Gauntlet", sort of an officer's club. The dynamic at this point was pretty interesting.
Rabies put on a really cute (hawt) Russian accent for her Thayan, and wasted little time in "beetching" about the cold climate and general stupidity of her team mates.
Mival was incredibly unlikable, and went to beat up a peasant when he had a bad day. The scene went like this:
Mival stormed into a random tavern in one of the Keep's many slums, eyes scanning the area for a potential opponent. The gaggle of worthless cretins placed under his command were just valuable enough to keep from damaging, and so he'd take out his frustrations on somebody more expendable.
It took just a few moments to single out the perfect bit of scum. One of the drunken laughs in the crowded, smelly hovel rang out above the others, belonging to a mountain of flab and filth with a receding hairline and about five teeth. He was seated at a table with several other yokels, and every so often he'd make sure to backhand a halfling lingering at his right...though the abuse didn't seem to much diminish the hin's jocularity.
The big lout obviously didn't know how to throw hands. Mival planned to teach him.
Striding quickly across the room, the plain-clothed Zhentilar stared slightly down at the seated man, tapping him roughly on the shoulder with a gauntleted fingertip. Reg (for that was his name) looked up from his drink and blinked like the bovine he was.
"Ayuh?"
"I think you're ugly, stupid, and your mother is easy."
Silence fell upon the table, made complete as Reg's hand impacted once more on the back of the halfling's head. "Shut up boy."
Rising up, he stared down at the much smaller Mival, then burst into another inebriated laugh, shortly joined by his cronies.
"Ayuh, I reckon yer right on those counts, fancy lad! Reckon ya are!"
The insufferable laughter continued and Mival was made all the more irate for his inability to goad any semblance of real emotion from the huge blob. He made a fist and lunged forward, driving his mailed fist hard between the oaf's eyes. Something cracked smartly before Reg staggered, doing an almost comically slow spin before crashing through the table. The others hopped back, a couple managing to save their drinks as the halfling dropped to his knees, wailing in anguish.
"Daddy? Daddy! Oh gods, mah daddy!"
The strangeness of that statement gave Mival only a moment's pause, and he soon turned to stride out of the establishment. flashing his officer's insignia to the bartender and bouncer to make them understand that calling the watch would do them no good...for here and in the absence of any of his superiors, Mival WAS the law."
Shortly after leaving the tavern Mival was confronted by a priest of Bane, who was a little bit unhappy that the jerk was going around after dark trying to cause riots.
Curos was mostly gregarious and friendly, though his patience was tried by the antics of the unique and beautiful snowflake.
The CN Half-Drow bedoved Bard had been making snide remarks to his LE Banite party members, often espousing the virtues of freedom and his own will being just as valid as theirs. I mentioned a few times that he was drawing attention to himself, the NPCs not particularly thrilled by his talk. Curos' player, as well as Mival's and me all mentioned at least once that this bard was probably putting himself in serious danger. There were also in character warnings.
Their biggest accomplishment as ruinsweepers was to go track down a group of giants, and call in some skymages after they'd been exposed...essentially painting them for air to ground bombardment. The next day as they celebrated, the bard did one more thing to get under Mival's skin, and got shoved against the piano for his trouble.
"One more word and you're dead, drow. And don't think anybody would try to stop me from wiping one of YOUR kind from the surface of Faerun."
Unfortunately for the half-drow, he was being played by a 16 year old lad with a serious authority issue. He straightened his collar and did that swivel thing with his shoulders that always let you know he was about to impress you, then turned and walked for the door, singing a song about how the weak would overcome the strong and inherit all of the realms.
Clatter. Clatter. Clatter. Clatter. Four dice hitting the table as people rolled initiative. (More to see who'd get to him first than anything else.) The monk won, and leapt across the bar to jump kick the drow in the head. Bard takes off. Mival and and Curos tie for the second turn and launch themselves after him. Mival's weapon was an over-sized gauntlet, which he drove into the bard's back. Curos' weapon was a large-sized mercurial greatsword, which he swung down at the drow's chest from the front. Both crit, hilariously enough. Either one of them of course would've been enough to fell the level 3 caster.
His legs and groin went sprawling into the street, his very surprised upper torso sliding the depressingly long way down the length of Curos' sword to splatter against the street. Along came the watch. "Wots all this then, wots all this?"
"Suspected Harper."
"ROIGHT!"
The elf-chunks were gathered into a potato sack and flung into the River Tesh...or rather ONTO it, as it was near Midwinter. It stayed there until thaw.
Though he had the nerve to act surprised that anybody actually killed him, the player re-rolled what was to become his signature character, a cleric/techsmith of Gond named Grim. Funny old man who built neat constructs.
The group's menagerie was fun from the get-go. Pox was a horrid dire-rat that was always at Umolka's side, making hilarious and gross sounds. (Got to play him too.) Peepers was a big fan of singing opera in the bath tub and using mage hand to manipulate his loofah.
Only uncool people didn't like Peepers. |
"Power and dominion are taken by the Will. By divine right Hail and Kill!" |
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Raith
Seeker
USA
76 Posts |
Posted - 21 Feb 2009 : 02:46:11
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Shortly after they'd completed their job as Ruinsweepers they decided to stay together, offered a job escorting supply caravans from the Keep to the Citadel of the Raven, then from there to the Floating Tower and on across the Anauroch. Caravans were falling under attack from the Knights of the North more and more, and it was putting the Zhentarim's all important bottom-line at risk.
An NPC priestess of Bane referred to simply as "Dread Mistress" was included in the mix in case I overshot the mark with my combat encounters.
Sort of typed out for now, will add more over the weekend. Players in my campaign are invited and encouraged to pipe up and contribute to the conversation or correct any mistakes I've made.
Next time: Somebody dies and somebody else throws a hissy fit! |
"Power and dominion are taken by the Will. By divine right Hail and Kill!" |
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Zucrous
Acolyte
USA
17 Posts |
Posted - 21 Feb 2009 : 06:51:06
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| We forgot to introduce Eva to the party! That made my day when Taylor almost exploded with nerd-rage. Anyway, this is after the brilliant maneuver that our DM put together to switch out Tristan Darkhope, for Eva Katheral (our skymage, played by the same person). Tristan did not enjoy doing manual labor and somehow convinced Eva to come "join" their group. Now little to her knowledge all tristan needed to do to get out of this assignment was basically find a replacement, since well he is very well connected. So once convinced Eva strolls into the locked gauntlet and before our "illustrious" leader Mivaal could "diswade" him from staying he was gone in a puff of smoke. I thought it was hilarious, Mivaal did not. This all lead to an even tighter hold on the party. This is all I remember to add, lemme know when you have edited your content with it so as I can delete this message. |
-I have transformed my fear and now it serves me. |
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Raith
Seeker
USA
76 Posts |
Posted - 22 Feb 2009 : 08:25:29
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Thanks Zuc, we can leave your post there as it is.
(Incidentally, Eva took control of the group before they left from Zhentil Keep by going over Mival's head, having decided that she didn't much care for his way of running things.)
The caravan set out from the Keep and had smooth running to the Citadel of the Raven. However, between the Citadel and the Floating Tower they were beset by a bang of brigands. From the west, a line of archers took up position behind a line of warriors with tower shields and bastard swords. From behind them to the east, a gang of orcs wielding great axes, clubs, and spears.
Now, I'd like to point out that I simply can't handle the wussy orcs right out of the MM. To me, an orc warrior should be a force to be reckoned with for even a seasoned adventurer, and it was because of this that I made all of my Mountain Orcs Warrior 1/Barbarian 3.
The wagons were circled and defense plans were hastily made. Dread Mistress didn't deign to come out from her wagon, and the implication was clear to all that if she did it would mean that they had failed in their duty to escort the caravan.
One of the party to meet the orcs in battle was the Gnoll Ranger/Barbarian. The combat was a short and gory affair, seeing him strike an orc down in short order with a critical strike from his scimitar, only to be in his turn utterly demolished by a raging orc's great axe when the other humanoid scored a crit of his own. On the other side of the caravan, the tiefling/halfling rogue went running out at the archers on her own...across a vast expanse of barren grassland. Here I faltered, put on the spot for the first time.
See, I'd always said that the Story (yes, capitalized) came before simple game play, and I wouldn't let a character's tale be cut short by a crappy roll of the dice. No, they'd need to do something really really dumb for me to give them the axe. I was just starting to really understand the depths of some of my player's impulsive natures, however. Suddenly I was staring down the barrel of a halfling in leather armor charging a line of archers that had readied an action to mow down anyone who made themselves a target...and I flinched.
Her player started to throw a complete fit, cursing and putting on his very best pout, arms flung up in the air (while blurting expletives) and then promptly crossed over his chest like a petulant tot. If I had it to do over again I'd have gleefully calculated all of the damage from the multiple attacks, but back then it was the first time I'd had an unhappy player to contend with.
I didn't like it one bit. It made me feel as if I was being too hard on him, as if I wasn't being fair and he'd talk to people about what a jerk DM I was. I had only two of the arrows hit instead of the six that had actually struck true. It wouldn't be his last fit, but it would be the last time that it got him positive results.
The rest of the attack was dealt with eventually, and the fallen warriors and archers were found to be members of the Knights of the North, the symbol proudly and foolishly emblazoned upon their gear and shields. The party marched on to the Floating Tower, but there they got orders that kept them from venturing out across the desert...
It would fall to them to track down the errant renegades and reconnoiter their stronghold, destroying it entirely if at all possible. |
"Power and dominion are taken by the Will. By divine right Hail and Kill!" |
Edited by - Raith on 24 Feb 2009 02:17:07 |
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Raith
Seeker
USA
76 Posts |
Posted - 23 Feb 2009 : 06:01:19
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Before they left on their mission, and actually a short time before they arrived at the Tower, three noteworthy events took place;
Curos was beset by fearsome pain as his draconic features began taking form. He wailed in agony all through the night.
Umolka went alone into the forest to experiment with what she felt was a new level of closeness she felt to her goddess of blight, casting a spell that withered all organic matter in a large range around her. The spell also disintegrated her clothing, much to her surprise. Much also to the surprise of the Monk of the Iron Gauntlet, who'd taken it upon himself to follow her, and who also lost his clothing.
When the two returned to the rest of the group, Mival was much aggrieved to find that someone had seen Umolka nude before he had, as he was much smitten by the Talontar. He attacked the monk and beat him mercilessly for his unintentional transgression.
Lola was unable to keep her sarcastic remarks to herself, directing them instead at the Dread Mistress. The High Priestess of Bane ordered the Loviatan warrior to open her mouth and extend her tongue, which Dreadmistress destroyed with an Inflict spell. She then healed the wound, and ordered the now-mute Lola to put on a golden choker pulled from her bag of holding.
Not that unaccustomed to dealing with masochistic Loviatans who wouldn't be cowed by regular disciplinary measures, she carried a few such collars around just in case. They would bestow the curse (a blessing for some!) of utter numbness. She would feel no pain until the item was removed.
On their way to the Boarder Forest they were attacked by another group of archers, this time accompanied by a SkyKnight. Perfect combat opportunity for Eva the Skymage, who had taken over as the group leader. Peepers flew into the fray as well, and it was actually his rays of frost that drained the last few precious hitpoints from both rider and mount. I leveled him up for his trouble, and decided he'd do well to obtain some wizard levels. Turned out that Eva was actually HIS familiar.
And into the woods they went, this intrepid band of glorified hooligans. Unsurprisingly the Knights of the North had protection against standard methods of divination, which meant that this problem would require a more mundane means of tracking.
Sadly, their ranger was laying in two messy chunks halfway between the Citadel and the Tower thanks to a very enthusiastic orc with a very large axe.
After quite a lot of trouble, they spotted the trail left by the Knights and began moving along in it's wake. This was a long trip indeed, and they noticed that they seemed to keep passing the same few trees. Eva scouted the air from the air on the back of her Nightmare, Ritsu. The mage then landed and found that they were being fooled by powerful illusion magic.
It was her supposition that they needed to find out a password to penetrate it.
Incidentally a new member had joined the group: Terrik the rogue/Zhent spy. They camped in the woods, making use of extra-dimensional tents that acted like Cozy Cottages. Curos helped himself to a bath with Lola, Animuhin, and Umolka, which prompted lots of screaming and pummeling.
That evening the camp was attacked by the Knights, but the PCs were prepared. After a battle and chase, Curos used his prestidigitation to confuse them with what appeared to be a ball of fire thrown at one of them. The man broke from the group and was captured, then tortured for information by Mival and Curos. He died without revealing anything, but spilled what was left of his guts after Umolka used "Speak with dead".
The password was: "Down with Zhentil Keep, on to glroy."
Now armed with that knowledge, the group rested through the rest of the night, hatching now their plans for the coming attack. |
"Power and dominion are taken by the Will. By divine right Hail and Kill!" |
Edited by - Raith on 25 Feb 2009 06:28:12 |
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Rabiesbunny
Seeker
USA
93 Posts |
Posted - 24 Feb 2009 : 02:24:59
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Actually, Umolka had just figure out how to cast Miasma of Entropy; she knew the aura of her spell, and so took her robe off at a distance she knew it was not going to be disintegrated. She stepped forward, cast Miasma of Entropy, thusly destroying all natural material around her; including the hidden monk's unenchanted clothing. She then proceeded to put her own clothing back on and head back into camp. It wasn't until she stepped into camp and Mival blew his top that she saw that the naked monk had been following her.
:) It makes me giggle. |
"Then I was right. Jobe has all his children killed, and Michael Bay gets to keep making his movies. There is no god." |
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Raith
Seeker
USA
76 Posts |
Posted - 25 Feb 2009 : 06:44:03
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After the password was spoken, the seemingly endless hidden path gave way at last to a large, open glade. Atop a slight hill sat a small but stout keep, from the center of which rose a tower that rather obviously served as the roost for the winged mounts of the Knights of the North.
The attack happened quickly and with little deliberation, catching the defenders completely by surprise. Eva, atop Ritsu, sailed through the air and loosed a fireball down toward the makeshift tavern. (One of two buildings other than the stronghold itself.) Ritsu then landed in the roost and began to lay waste to the less dangerous steeds used by the Knights, Eva's magic helping with the grisly work.
Down below, Curos circled 'round the back of the wall and began to climb, while from the front Pox did the same. The defenders shut the door and began to mobilize, but their straits were already quite dire.
Mival rushed the portcullis and began to slam his mighty gauntlet against the weaker steel, confident that with a little determination he would soon be granted access. Meanwhile however, the servants of the Divine had a slightly more clever plan in store!
You seem, Grimm would always travel with a donkey and cart full of interesting trinkets and nick-knacks, easily molded by one of his talent into something useful with hardly a moment's notice. With a little help from the Wonderbringer, he soon had a fully functional, custom made, but miniaturized catapult! Umolka meanwhile, made incredibly creative use of the Tortoise Shell spell. Primarily meant for protection, it called into being a translucent shell that weighed only a few pounds to the druidess, but five hundred to anyone else!
It was this conjured armor that Umolka loaded on to Grimm's device, and they launched it at the gate! Mival managed to leap aside just in time, and the impact was enough to do significant damage. Another casting or two, and the gate was down.
While inside, Pox made his way at once to the stables. To go into detail about the fates of the poor horses would make this an entirely unpleasant read. Curos meanwhile had also scaled the wall, and unnoticed, stole into the central tower. The carnage he unleashed within was brutal to say the least, and with everyone working together to strike from so many angles, the Knights of the North were overwhelmed.
The survivors were interrogated at length, part of the procedure involving a lengthy sermon on Bane delivered by Curos and Peepers, and another less savory part involving Pox getting a little bit too familiar with one of the prisoner's legs. (The appendage was removed at the end of it all.) This quest complete, they all made their return to the Citadel of the Raven with heads held high in triumph as the session ended.
The next session would likely be the worst I ever DMed.
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"Power and dominion are taken by the Will. By divine right Hail and Kill!" |
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Zucrous
Acolyte
USA
17 Posts |
Posted - 25 Feb 2009 : 08:26:12
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| there is a sorta important part to the mix that we forgot. After we got our information from the prisoners we waited for a Zenth regiment to take care of the rest, and hold the keep. While this was all happening Curos found out that two of the remaining captives were a couple. Curos once had a wife, she is now dead, and seeing as they were illmaterites who were just there to heal people he let them go. He saw in them a younger more naive him and decided they could do no harm. |
-I have transformed my fear and now it serves me. |
Edited by - Zucrous on 25 Feb 2009 08:27:43 |
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Raith
Seeker
USA
76 Posts |
Posted - 25 Feb 2009 : 15:33:14
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| Right you are, Zuc. I'd never be able to remember all of this stuff my self. |
"Power and dominion are taken by the Will. By divine right Hail and Kill!" |
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Rabiesbunny
Seeker
USA
93 Posts |
Posted - 25 Feb 2009 : 15:38:08
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| And actually, dear, Tortoise Shell 3.0 is the spell I used - it was an honest to goodness tortoise shell that grows in size when you case the spell on it. :) Umolka just kept running over, picking it up, and putting it back in the catapult since it weighed next to nothing to her. |
"Then I was right. Jobe has all his children killed, and Michael Bay gets to keep making his movies. There is no god." |
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Raith
Seeker
USA
76 Posts |
Posted - 25 Feb 2009 : 15:44:23
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Well the picture I remember from the 3.0 book had some druid looking person pulling a huge glowing purple shell over her head! Just because you used a regular shell for a material component means nothing!
When a wizard fireballs somebody, it doesn't just turn into a huge flaming hunk of bat shi-...
...you know what, I have no way to prove that. |
"Power and dominion are taken by the Will. By divine right Hail and Kill!" |
Edited by - Raith on 25 Feb 2009 15:45:45 |
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Raith
Seeker
USA
76 Posts |
Posted - 28 Feb 2009 : 18:59:06
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| Another correction: They didn't find out what they needed by "Speak with dead". Thats just a yes or no answer, so Umolka reincarneted their prisoner as a goblin or kobold or something else pitiful. The poor man was so depressed about his new form and so terrified of the noises coming from his own throat that he soon told them all. |
"Power and dominion are taken by the Will. By divine right Hail and Kill!" |
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Raith
Seeker
USA
76 Posts |
Posted - 28 Feb 2009 : 19:56:29
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Sorry that it's been so long since last update. The week was slightly on the rough side, and I have a difficult time writing when I'm not in a particular mood.
Before I go into the actual tale, I feel it important to point out the fact that this session was played at the home of the lad with the halfling/tiefling, at his insistence. Nobody was very keen on gaming there in the first place, but it was clear that if we didn't do so that he would lapse into a rather heavy sulk.
Unfortunately, his parent's house was way out in the middle of what we came to call "zombie country" (the sort of place where if your car broke down you just know you'd swiftly be swarmed by legions of brain-hungry undead.)
So to begin with, the entire group of 13 is now meeting out of their way instead of the neutral location of the game store. Secondly, the car I was riding in got lost and we arrived late. Thirdly, despite his promises of dinner and seeming desperation to host, he only made enough pizza rolls for himself and his friend, leaving the other 11 people to go hungry.
Rather swiftly, it became evident that the real reason for us being invited was so he could show off how well-off he (read: his parents) was. (were) Video games were being played from all three systems on big screen TVs, and he was positively beaming as he showed us all the dead animal heads and guns that adorned the walls of the rather expansive basement we were given to game within.
So to summarize: We arrived late. We were irritated at the drive. We were irritated that he kept bragging about his rich parents, (He was like 18!!!) and that he only fed his "real" friend from school. I personally was less than tickled to find that everyone was sprawled across the room, playing Mario Kart or whatever, and despite all attempts to call things to order, isolated in various private conversations.
I'd spent a week planning what was to come next and had some people genuinely interested in me going forward with the storyline, so I decided to give it my best.
The party returned victorious to the Citadel of the Raven, and were welcomed as such. I've forgotten the name of the Inn they stayed at, but no fee was charged for lodging, nor for food or drink. Much time was eaten up going from person to person to find out what their plans were now that they were back in safe lands. The only real stand outs were Corus' meeting with his father, Marko.
He discovered that his father was in fact a full blooded Shadow Dragon who had been living for some time as a priest of Bane. Curos had been born of a union between Marko and a peasant woman, and had it explained to him that he would now be acting as his father's hand in situations that didn't warrant his direct involvement. (Most situations).
That conversation took place in Marko's mansion in character...but out of character Zuc and I had to hide in out host's eerily large bathroom, as it was too loud to hear each other in the main room.
The cherry on the evening's Sundae would come when our host approached me. I was surrounded by players who were calling for my attention and I would get to them in the order I could, so he'd been waiting a bit. When I got to him he looked smug and excited, like he'd just found a way to make a big score.
Now...the back story for his character was that she was going to try and prove herself as worthy of her mother's Eryines blood, as her mother wasn't all that keen to acknowledge her until she had.
He then proceeded to tell me that he was going to have his character send his mother a message asking her for something to the tune of 10,000 gold pieces, because he'd just found an item in the Magic Item Compendium that he really really wanted to purchase, but it turned out he was a bit short.
Blinking away my surprise, I informed him that while he was perfectly free to send a letter, his character shouldn't expect a reply...or at least not one that would make her very happy. I then reminded him that Baatezu weren't known for their generosity, particularly toward those who were on quests to impress them.
Without exaggeration, he then developed a very intense scowl and flung his arms into the air, SHOUTING out "F*ck this Sh*t!" before storming away, leaving me stunned and for some reason embarrassed.
When our car of people left, and the topic of splitting the group up surfaced once more, I was only too happy to take part in the discussion.
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"Power and dominion are taken by the Will. By divine right Hail and Kill!" |
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Raith
Seeker
USA
76 Posts |
Posted - 03 Mar 2009 : 02:49:55
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It was at this time that the massive group split into two smaller groups. I won't go into the nitty gritty details, but suffice to say that it wasn't as smooth or pleasant as I would have liked, but not quite as bridge burning as it COULD have been.
And thank goodness for that, as Zuc and another member of our current group were on the wrong side of the proverbial wall when all was said and done!
Even though I didn't quite have my 'dream team' of players, I felt pretty good with what I had to work with. Eva was still with us, as was Grimm. Umolka (though that went without saying), and a new guy's Divine Champion of Bane, though I forget the name of his character. Also, Terrik.
All in all I was pretty excited to run with a more manageable number of players, and it was at this point that I decided to move things over to Waterdeep. The Zhents who had taken out Northkeep were rewarded with the relatively cushy assignment of moving into Waterdeep under a sort of "just in case" premise. Ever since Fzoul made the deal with Blackstaff that ended up keeping the "Xvimlar" out of Waterdeep for fifty (or was it one hundred?) years, the Tyrannar had been looking for a loophole. Happily for him, Xvim conveniently exploded like a giant godly pinata and he got to trade up for Bane again.
Not wanting to prod Khelben needlessly, but very interested in having agents in place in Waterdhavian society, Fzoul has since been moving -Banite- Zhents quietly into the city of Splendors, where they are expected to get solid jobs with some measure of authority by any legal means they can manage. (Some illegal as well, though those were heavily restricted.)
The new party moved into Dock Ward to begin with, and a new chapter was all set to unfurl.
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"Power and dominion are taken by the Will. By divine right Hail and Kill!" |
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Nicolai Withander
Master of Realmslore
Denmark
1093 Posts |
Posted - 03 Mar 2009 : 13:49:56
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| He he... just wanted to say that we killed Dendar in a previous session! Muhahaha! |
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Raith
Seeker
USA
76 Posts |
Posted - 07 Mar 2009 : 18:19:31
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My initial plan (I now recall) was for everybody to start off in Skullport, as a means of replenishing the extremely depleted Zhent ranks in that wretched hive of scum and villainy. I knew all about Skullport being beneath Waterdeep, and so I was very confident (without doing any prior research) that it would be covered in the 3.5 Waterdeep handbook.
I had advertised to my players that we'd be paying a visit to Skullport. I was very very excited to be DMing something in Skullport.
I was a total boob for expecting such exhaustive coverage out of a 3.5 book.
Unwilling to just make stuff up (as I knew that all the Skullport fluff my blackened little DMy heart desired could be had out of a 2e book) I moved things THEN to Waterdeep. As I'd gone so far as to flash forward to the party's arrival in Skullport, I'd had the Xanathar (an ally to the Zhents as I interpret him/them) say
"Well you know, you guys would be an awful lot more helpful moving up to the surface and keeping an eye on things there. Integrate yourselves and try to make it big legitimately and we'll see if any Black Network style dealings even turn up.!"
Smooth as an otyugh's navel.
So up they went, sailing up through the sea cave. I had Rav, their contact to the guild and also a drow, escort them up and explain the ropes. We'd see a lot more of Rav later, but that was still some time off.
They got off in the dock district, and split up to do some sight seeing. Umolka and Grimm were together in the docks when they were approached by a muscled but haggard man, claiming to be of the Boar clan. The leader of the Bull Elk clan had killed his brother, he declared, and so his code of honor demanded vengeance. Sadly, he knew that he would be no match for the Blue Bear, and implored the adventurers to gather up their friends he'd seen them arrive with, and get his revenge for him!
(Yes, I know the premise was very fishy, but the man had ulterior motives and was a pretty good actor. The party bought it.)
The two priests figured they'd better go ask the others how they felt about it, and promised the man they'd return after some time to discuss matters, and payment as well. |
"Power and dominion are taken by the Will. By divine right Hail and Kill!" |
Edited by - Raith on 07 Mar 2009 18:21:33 |
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Raith
Seeker
USA
76 Posts |
Posted - 19 Mar 2009 : 12:54:55
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Grimm and Umolka spoke with Eva about the plight of the poor Boar tribe against the mean old Elks, and the Skymage figured it would be a good start in establishing a reputation and making a little extra money.
Fairly standard adventurer fare, actually.
Knowing very little about barbarian honor, (as a party that consisted of Lawful Zhents, an old man from Lantan, and a Thayan cleric of Talona) they saw nothing especially fishy with their contact's request. Eva had Terrik scout the Elk's local haunt, a charming little dive called the Bloody Fist or something equally inviting. Big thick thugs hanging about and brawling like dogs, clad in furs and bits of armor. Toward the back of the room sat Blue Bear, a hulking Hagspawn of frightening proportions. The rogue managed to avoid any fights through judicious use of his silver tongue, and made his report to Eva.
After a few inquiries of their contact, they found that if someone defeated the Blue Bear in single combat they would usurp his place as the Chieftain of the Bull Elk Tribe. Weighing that option against a full frontal assault on a tavern of armed barbarians in the middle of Faerun's most cosmopolitan city, they decided on the former.
They all went together this time to the Fist, and noticed a robed woman standing beside the Blue Bear's makeshift throne. Assuming her to be some sort of shaman, Eva and Grimm tensed up in preparation to counter any trickery she might pull out. The warrior of Bane issued his challenge, and drove the point home by completely dominating the first barbarian to leap to Blue Bear's defense in just a few blows.
His interest piqued, the massive Chief rose to the challenge with axe in hand.
(At this point as the DM, I was a bit surprised on many levels. I hadn't expected the evil party to respond quite so favorably to the call for help from the man at the dock, I hadn't expected them to scout the place out first, I hadn't expected them to opt to take Blue Bear in single combat, and I also hadn't expected Umolka's treachery, which the two of us discussed directly prior to the session, and would soon take effect.)
After absorbing a few thunderous blows, Blue Bear snarled with rage and shape shifted into an actual bear, much to the surprise of the party. It was years ago, but I seem to recall somebody casting a healing spell on their warrior before the fight was finally won.
As Blue Bear shifted back into his Hagspawn form, the room suddenly filled with magical darkness. By the time it cleared, both the huge Chieftain and his robed lady were nowhere to be seen. Obviously his mage had saved him.
...or had she?
The new Chief hadn't even a chance to try his throne out before the man from the docks showed up. None of the shocked Elks seemed to pay him any attention, but even with the surprise of their seemingly invincible Chief's defeat the party thought it odd they didn't set upon the Boar.
It turned out he was not of the Boar clan at all, however. He pulled the warrior of Bane aside and told him that he had no brother, and was of the Elk tribe all along. He'd wanted for years to be chieftain, but knew that he could not overcome Blue Bear and so had hired the party with all the gold he'd accumulated over the past several years. He quietly begged the forgiveness of the obviously-dangerous man, and offered him an additional fifty platinum coins to just finish the job and take a fall in a fight against himself.
The extra coin did it's job and sweetened the Banite's mood enough that he did as asked, and the party left that place happily, planning to never return.
It wouldn't work out that way.
Late that night when all others were asleep, Umolka stole away to a prearranged meeting place in the sewers. There she met with the robed woman who had kidnapped Blue Bear at the last moment, and there she paid her the fee she'd promised for her live test subject. Getting involved with a member of the Shadow Thieves was a small thing to ask in the druid's eyes. After all, she was doing holy work!
And so she began toward a goal that she would strive to for a very long time...trying to infect the Blight Touch upon a humanoid. She'd wanted someone with a powerful constitution, and couldn't do much better than Blue Bear.
His horrible snarls of torment echoed through the sewers into the dawn and made the vagrants who heard them dream of horrid beasts escaped from the bowels of Undermountain. |
"Power and dominion are taken by the Will. By divine right Hail and Kill!" |
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Arion Elenim
Senior Scribe
933 Posts |
Posted - 19 Mar 2009 : 19:00:09
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| Random thought: I wonder if someone might see the destruction wrought on Ordulin and think that the Shadowstorm was actually the Rising of the Serpent... |
My latest Realms-based short story, about a bard, a paladin of Lathander and the letter of the law, Debts Repaid. It takes place before the "shattering" and gives the bard Arion a last gasp before he plunges into the present.http://candlekeep.com/campaign/logs/log-debts.htm |
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Raith
Seeker
USA
76 Posts |
Posted - 01 Apr 2009 : 01:02:42
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The next day they all fanned out to find ways to integrate themselves into Waterdhavian society with varying degrees of success.
Umolka made a beeline for the Thayan embassy, happy to be immersed in semi-familiar surroundings.
Eva reported to Bane's Shrine in the Plinth, as did the Divine Champion who beat up Blue Bear.
Grimm went to the temple of Gond and introduced himself to the high priest there, a gnome named Morty who would become his arch-nemesis.
Tarik started studying the locals and formulating a cover to take full advantage of his Zhent Spy levels.
The local priest of Bane was mildly interested to meet the sky mage and gave some basic information on Waterdeep. He outlined the various districts and suggested the best places for temporary lodging. Also dropped a couple of minor quest ideas that obviously didn't get snapped up, otherwise I'd probably remember them.
Sigh.
Grimm's encounter was quite memorable however. The Gnome wss a cagey little fellow who wasn't above stealing one or two of the old man's ideas to upgrade his own inventions. Grimm invented a giant clockwork scorpion? Morty cobbled together a huge clockwork MANTIS to outdo him.
All of Waterdeep would shake with the force of their mutual hatred.
In the Embassy, Umolka toured about and took stocks of magical items that Eva might like, as well as simply shmoozing with her countrymen. The Talontar was looking a lot prettier ever since gaining immunity to disease, and she caught the eye of a mousey little mage with thick spectacles and a wand stand. (When doing his voice I spoke in a sad imitation of Office Space's Milt. "I could light the building on fire.")
Tarik decided he'd join the Brewster's Guild, and invested some of his coin in an empty warehouse in the dock district, intending to convert it into a brewery. Dangerous neighborhood, but the rates were quite reasonable!
They all ended up bedding down in the Dripping Dagger after a well-deserved non combat session, politely ignoring the lure of Undermountain until the book came out and their DM could buy it to wow them all.
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"Power and dominion are taken by the Will. By divine right Hail and Kill!" |
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Raith
Seeker
USA
76 Posts |
Posted - 10 Apr 2009 : 20:39:22
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So Expidition to Undermountain came out, and after I'd analyzed it's contents I calmly and rationally pulled myself out of the corner I'd been sobbing in and explained to the group that it wouldn't quite meet our needs.
During the next several sessions it was my great pleasure to bring Waterdeep to life for a group of people without much knowledge of the Realms. By day they explored the gem of all Faerun, but by night...
Umolka's research on Blue Bear had yielded impressive results. While it didn't seen to be manifesting quite properly, she had definitely managed to partially infect him with the Blight Touch. Unfortunately, this alteration made the feral warrior strong enough to shatter the bonds she'd set for him and escape. The next time the party was going around together during the evening, (Often visiting the Kara-Turan restaurant I invented on a whim as their hangout), they suddenly came under attack from a beast of a man.
A manhole exploded before them, the cobbles of the street bending as a slavering green/blue/furred monster errupted, glowing emerald eyes fixed on the druid. Umolka knew why he was targeting her, but was content to let the party think he had simply come for revenge on all of them, though nobody had a ready answer for the many physical changes the Habspawn barbarian had undergone. He assumed Bear Form and pressed the attack, but they just barely managed to drive him off with the help of some of the Watch and a monk or two from the House of Shou.
Convinced that he was a were-bear, the party's rogue went about getting his rapier silvered, and trying his best to get as much silver in his possession as he could.
I love Bear Warriors. |
"Power and dominion are taken by the Will. By divine right Hail and Kill!" |
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Raith
Seeker
USA
76 Posts |
Posted - 06 May 2009 : 21:13:42
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The next day, the party was very dismayed to read in the local papers that there had been a robbery at the Riven Shield. Many secondhand adventuring items had been stolen, the most disconcerting of which was a +3 Keen Frostburst greataxe. The perp seemed to have smashed in through a wall and caused massive damage to the store while looting it.
So armed, Bluebear attacked Umolka two more times before the party caught on to the fact that he seemed to be targeting the Blightlord exclusively, only turning his attention to the rest of the party if they engaged him in combat or got in his way. During one instance Umolka was out after dark taking care of some business. She paid the carriage driver to take her home, when suddenly the cabin shook with a terrific impact. She heard her driver's scream of terror fade into the distance as she looked out the window to see her Hagspawn plaything slamming his shoulder against the wall of her transport.
The only door being on Bluebear's side, she hunkered down and called into the ring of communication for aid even as the carriage was overturned with a mighty smash. Bruised and bloodied, she tried to crawl away to safety (fleeing as usual) when the party's rogue showed up to engage Bluebear in combat. After the initial sneak attack things went poorly for him, but he managed to hold out long enough for Eva and Ritzu to arrive and turn the tide.
As Bluebear was driven back yet again, Eva struck him with a Feeblemind spell. His already-addled mind now little more than instinct and motor-skill, he fled into the sewer with the party in hot pursuit.
Many twists and turns (and a few encounters with stray horrors from Undermountain) later, they found themselves before strange doorways, bones and eldritch symbols carved in relief upon the onyx stone. Venturing within, they found Bluebear with his back to the door, standing at the far end of a very large chamber. The room was flooded with an eerie amber light, and the Mage and Druid realized at once that they were standing in a hidden Temple to Myrkul, deposed god of the dead. Perhaps indeed the very place from which he'd hatched so many plots during the Time of Troubles, just before his demise.
They fanned out throughout the chamber, confused as to Blue Bear's odd behavior. Terrik, the rogue, at last got close enough to nearly touch the hulking diseased figure. When Bluebear remained non-responsive, he flicked a copper nib at him to test for a reaction.
A reaction there was.
From the altar before Bluebear washed a wave of the blackest dread, filling the minds of all present with certainty of death and, beyond that, torment. They all fled from the room, spurred by those visions...except for Umolka, who was mostly motivated by a desire to not be left alone in that room with her tormentor.
This strange meeting would prove to be their final encounter with Bluebear as they'd known him. Even a constitution as mighty as his could not hold out forever against the Blight Touch, and though the infection was imperfect and the virus would not be transmitted from him, it would prove fatal.
And so the mighty deposed Chieftain of the Elk tribe died alone and in the dark, his thoughts too mulled to even notice the difference as he passed from diseased life to the tormented unlife of a Ju-ju zombie. And yet...not so alone. A much more malevolent presence had been watching the hulking warrior ever since his infection, and awaiting his arrival among the ranks of the living dead. And as the Crown of Horns manifested upon the brow of the virtually mindless body, Old Lord Skull grinned with malicious glee at his perfect and uncontested new host.
Nay...his new Avatar. |
"Power and dominion are taken by the Will. By divine right Hail and Kill!" |
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Rabiesbunny
Seeker
USA
93 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2009 : 02:28:46
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I was such a huge fan of this whole "Blue Bear" thing. It was kept a secret to all players, I had only discussed it with Raith so that they wouldn't quite know what was going on unless they figured it out in character.
The intrigue was so great. :D |
"Then I was right. Jobe has all his children killed, and Michael Bay gets to keep making his movies. There is no god." |
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Raith
Seeker
USA
76 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jun 2009 : 19:31:55
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It was Curos' desire (on rejoining the group) to establish himself as an upstanding member of Waterdhavian society with little delay. As a Holy Warrior of Bane he took on the position of Second in command, just in time to join the group for a dangerous trek through the Rat Hills in search of an unknown menace that had killed and devoured some poor soul dear to Lord Roaringhorn. Only half of the corpse was recovered, and his Lordship was offering a handsome reward for the life of the beast who had done this.
On and on they trudged, up to their knees in refuse. At last they happened upon a likely culprit; a massive Neo-Otyugh they had originally mistaken for a small hill! Combat was pitched and...well, really gross. At last they killed it and brought it back to collect their reward for a job well done. The next day however, a runner appeared at their door, voicing his Lord's displeasure. In the middle of the night the Otyugh's corpse had simply vanished from the taxidermist's. Though it's physical departure was much delayed, it was clear that it had been SUMMONED!
They all hastened to the Roaringhorn estate to protest the accusation that they had summoned and killed the beast to collect the reward under false pretenses. After some intense negotiations they managed to calm his Lordship's ire, promising to return that very evening with the beast who had deceived them -all-.
Eva turned to her scrying, and after much searching was dismayed to discover the true instigator was a Beholder Mage living deep within a lair hollowed from the garbage and dirt of the Hills...more dismayed yet when he noticed her scrying and ended her spell! She informed Roaringhorn that it was a Beholder Mage, and the party gathered themselves once more,deciding that it would be best to first seek a diplomatic solution. Everyone was quite nervous on their way to see this dangerous being of untold magical power, and when one of his Gauth guards approached them they were white as sheets.
(The one who might have been most useful as a 'translator' of sorts, the Impeccable Peepers, had been left behind due to the notion that he'd likely sass off and get himself eaten along with the rest of them.)
"Soil yourselves not, Meat-sacks", he said. "Your coming was expected. I am here on behalf of my master, the great Zen-loh. He bids you follow me and mind your manners, that all may greatly profit."
They did as the Gauth suggested and followed along, deep into the labyrinthine passages. At last they arrived in the chamber of the Beholder Mage.
An alchemists set stood in one corner, many of the vials and beakers broken on the floor as though their owner hadn't had much luck manipulating them and simply left the mess where it lay. There were likewise many tomes scattered clumsily about, and the room was lit by several torches with Endless Flame cast upon them.
The spherical body of Zen-loh floated majestically down from a large opening in the ceiling, his two lowermost eyestalks slipped through the sleeves of some kind of wizard's robe.
They all tried very hard not to stare at his missing eye.
"I greet you, fleshlings. Furthermore, I propose a truce."
This was agreeable.
"A gallon of that one's blood and I'll allow you to leave unharmed." He bobbed in Curos' general direction, who steeled himself to bleed for the rest of the party and wondered if he could in good conscience allow a man-eating monster to simply go freely about it's business.
"But", asked Eva. "What if we could come up with another arrangement? After all, we cannot go back to Roaringhorn unless he thinks we've killed the one who slew his beloved dog, Wuffles."
Curos' jaw dropped as he learned suddenly that he was in the presence of a Beholder Mage oven a half-eaten dog.
"I shall provide you with a scapegoat."
"But we've told Roaringhorn that it was a Beholder Mage who was the culprit."
"I shall then provide you also with a pointy hat for the scapegoat to wear."
"Instead of his blood, can we perhaps perform some service for you?"
"What could you possibly accomplish that I could not?"
"Perhaps you have some enemy you'd like eliminated...?"
"The Xanathar. Kill him for me."
"That...won't be an option. Perhaps you have a slightly LESSER foe?"
"Now that Wuffles has been consumed, there are -no- lesser foes."
Everyone agreed that this was probably the best outcome they could hope for. Curos opened a vein and filled a bucket that Zen-loh kept around for just such an occasion, then bandaged himself and left with the others, fuming all the way that this had been over a dog...reward or not!
The Scapegoat they were offered however, presented a problem. It was a very dead Eyeball Beholder Kin wearing a very surprised expression, a tiny false wizard's hat glued to it's head.
Not wanting to task the Beholder Mage, they decided to simply make the best of it and left the Rat Hills with all haste.
Everything turned out alright, however, as the rogue and the mage did some fast talking and convinced Lord Roaringhorn that this beholderkin actually -was- capable of eating half of his mastiff, as it had been crossbred with a piranha. (Natural 20 on bluff from the rogue with the mage assisting)
Their reward was assured and they had made a fast friend of one of Waterdeep's nobles, and dignity be damned!
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"Power and dominion are taken by the Will. By divine right Hail and Kill!" |
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The rise of the Night Serpent
