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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
 Posted - 11 Oct 2014 : 20:24:43
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Setting Idea:
Many a time DM's subject their players to clear cut moral choices, but in a standard Black and White campaign, things tend to get a bit too obvious at time, which can quite frankly become somewhat boring.
Instead of creating an evil campaign for variety, I thought I would let the players play ordinary people that live in an evil society, and are thrust into an adventuring role. Of course said society couldn't be comic book evil, since that would inevitably place the players in impossible situations, so a rather more "evil by necessity" style society was the answer.
Thus was born the sub-campaign setting: Zhentil Keep, Resurrection.
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
Edited by - Misereor on 11 Oct 2014 20:26:29
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2014 : 20:28:14
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Setting notes:
- Forgotten Realms, Zhentil Keep, unknown year.
- There is no Shadow Magic, and the Avatar Trilogy never happened.
- The Gods are not comic book villains/heroes. They are actual beings who exist in the same universe as mankind, subsisting on the faith energy they derive from their followers. This means, that even as followers become more like their gods, so do the gods become more like their followers.
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
Edited by - Misereor on 11 Oct 2014 20:28:40 |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2014 : 20:30:34
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Setting description:
The Moonsea is a dangerous place. Since ancient times, countries have risen and fallen, and whole civilizations vanished under the attacks of dragons, giants, and humanoid hordes. Most surviving cities today have been sacked several times, with the notable exception of Zhentil Keep. Understandably, this is a matter of pride for the Zhents, who treat the matter with a mix of nationalism and survivalist paranoia. In practice it has resulted in a society that treats all things as resources for survival, and has an extreme focus on ruthless, maximum utilization of all things. It makes for a hard people, something that the Zhents take great pride in.
Examples:
- Zhentil Keep has no beggars or vagrants. Anyone not contributing to society is made to contribute in one way or another. Most are either sent to the mines or the galleys. Those showing potential are enrolled in the Black Legion.
- Zhentil Keep has no orphans. Male orphans are taken in by the Temple of Bane. Those who survive the training join the Knights of Bane, the enforcers of the state religion. Female orphans are taken in by the temple of Loviatar. Some die, some rejoin society when grown, and yet others join the priesthood. A few are taken in by trade guilds.
- Zhentil Keep has no established system of incarceration. Most criminals are used in forced labor or sent for rehabilitation in the Legion. Those of psychotic bent and habitual offenders are executed, usually by serving as religious sacrifices or as subjects for magical experimentation.
In short, Zhentil Keep can always find a use for you, or if all else fails, your dead body.
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
Edited by - Misereor on 11 Oct 2014 20:31:50 |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2014 : 20:34:34
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Religion:
Bane is the patron god of Zhentil Keep and his partner is Loviatar. This is emulated by the citizenry in religious rituals as well as everyday life. The father of the family emulates Bane as the undisputed master of the family, while the mother emulates Loviatar as mistress and disciplinarian of the house. Needless to say, Zhentish children and house servants suffer strict discipline.
Zhentish farming communities also favor Chauntea as the deity of agriculture and animal husbandry, being the opposite of Sylvanus and Malar, the gods of untamed wilderness and predators. While in most of the Realms Chauntea and Sylvanus get along well, around the Moonsea their reationship is tense, bordering on hostile, due to the squabbling of their followers. The relationship between Chauntea and Bane is one of tolerance born of necessity. The food supply of Zhentil Keep is of paramount importance, so the churches of Bane and Loviatar don’t interfere with the priests and druids of Chauntea, as long as they in return do not interfere with their portfolios.
The churches of Umberlee, Myrkul, Gond, Waukeen, and Oghma are of intermediate importance and take care of their respective portfolios for sailors, funerals, craftsmen, merchants, and city administrators. Their priests are recognized and accepted according to their duties, and get along from indifferently to well with the major religions of the city.
A tyrant’s iron fist can sometimes be hidden in a velvet glove.
The religions of Ilmater and Tyr used to be major faiths in the Moonsea region, but have fallen into disuse. Worshippers of Ilmater are barely tolerated, whilst worshippers of Tyr are systematically persecuted in the major cities of the region, and mostly ignored in the rest. Worshippers of Lathander and Sune are treated with open contempt, as Zhents, Melvauntians, and Mulmasterites are all culturally liable to see them as wimpier versions of their own Bane and Loviatar, while the citizens of Hillsfar are paranoid about everything foreign.
Worshippers of Sylvanus and Malar are also methodically persecuted, as they and their followers are considered a threat to the hard won gains of civilization, which are always under threat from wild beasts and humanoid hordes. Followers of Malar tend to congregate in secret, while followers of Sylvanus rarely leave the wilderness.
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2014 : 20:40:23
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Economy, military, and Geopolitics:
Zhentil Keep subsists on mining, fishing, craftsmanship, trading, and agriculture.
State owned mines all along the southern side of the Dragonspine Mountains provide Zhentil Keep with iron, gold, silver, gemstones, and other less noble minerals. Independent miners also operate on the northern side of the Dragonspines as well as in the Abbey Mountains and Desertsmouth Mountains.
Raw materials are transported to the city where large numbers of craftsmen process them into trade goods, mostly arms and jewelry. The finished goods are then transported south via trade routes going through the Dales, or via ship across the Moonsea. Zhentil Keep maintains a substantial navy to protect both their maritime trade and their fishing fleet, and a large standing army for protecting overland trade routes as well as territorial defense.
Shielded from the worst of the northern climate by the Dragonspine mountains, Zhentil Keep has the only substantial amounts of agricultural land around the Moonsea. Large scale agriculture takes place both south and north of the Tesh river. In the south it takes the form of slave operated latifundas around the ruins of Yulash, mostly owned by old, rich families of Zhentil Keep. North and east of the city, the landscape is dotted with small farming communities, which also provide a large amount of manpower to the Zhentish armies. Further east in the Sea of Grass, the climate is not well suited for farming. Instead large herds of cattle and rothe graze here in the summer time, providing meat for both export and local consumption in the winter.
In the east, Zhent territory ends just west of the Stojanow river, as this provides an easily defensible border. The only other two routes of invasion easily usable for humanoid hordes coming down from the north, are through the Valley of the Raven and the Gap of Tesh. The Raven valley is protected by the massive fortifications collectively known as the Citadel of the Raven, while the town of Teshwave protects the city’s Western flank. Besides this, numerous smaller paths and tunnels crisscross the Dragonspine Mountains, but these easily defensible by smaller number of troops. The forest of Cormanthor and its large complement of Elven tribes, powerful druids and werecreatures protect the southern flank.
The Zhentish military, the Zhentilar, consist of a army and navy, heavily supported by the Churches of Bane and Loviatar, as well as large numbers of wizards. In addition to this the city has a mix of penal units, Special Forces, and pure cannon fodder, collectively known as the Black Legion. (Imagine a caricature of the French Foreign Legion, Soviet World War 2 convict troops, and Sardaukar from the Dune universe.)
The Zhentilar consist of Zhentish citizens who are well equipped and trained, and considered the defenders of Zhentish society, religion, and culture. They are a valuable asset and their lives are never wasted when an objective can be achieved through other means. That other means is usually the Black legion, which divided into three separate parts. One consists of pure cannon fodder; a mix of untrained beggars, slaves, and criminals, that are used to absorb whatever punishment is deemed necessary. Anyone who survives long enough is inducted into the Legion Proper, which is considered an elite force, if nothing else by the fact of the members’ survival. The Legion Proper uses propaganda, a strong sense of belonging, and classic brainwashing techniques to establish a fanatical esprit de corps. Members are constantly reinforced in the belief that their survival and membership confirms their superior status, reinforced by an intelligent system of privilege, reward and punishment. Many of Zhentil Keeps most famous personages are former members of the legion, although one never really leaves the legion. At most one can be granted an indefinite leave of absence. The third part of the Legion is the penal brigade. This consists of those so depraved and violent, that they can’t coexist with the regular members of the Legion, but are too valuable to waste as cannon fodder. They are used as terror troops and are not granted the same freedoms as the Legion Proper, and tend to live extremely short and violent lives, even by the standards of the Legion. Because the Legion has quite a fighting reputation, it is not unheard of for foreigners and exiles to join voluntarily, in the hope of making a name and fortune for themselves.
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2014 : 20:45:08
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Demihumans in Zhentil Keep:
There is a strong cultural bent towards only accepting full blooded humans as real Zhents. Half-orcs are treated with a mixture of contempt and apprehension, as they do not have the rights of citizens, but are nevertheless considered valuable as warriors and guards. Elves are considered dangerous, and the few Elves in the city are mostly born as slaves and employed in the entertainment industry or crafts that demand precision workmanship. Dwarves, Halflings, and Gnomes are treated almost friendly because they are in high demand as master smiths, jewelers, and chefs.
There are a number of small Dwarven strongholds in the Dragonspine Mountains, that get along surprisingly well with Zhentil Keep, since the two parties find each other eminently useful. The Dwarves provide valuable mining and subteranean military forces, while the Dwarves are utterly dependent on a strong partner for trading their wares.
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2014 : 20:48:06
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Major sideline plots #1
The Druid Wars:
The churches of Bane and Chauntea of Zhentil Keep have for decades been fighting a low intensity war against the cults of Malar, Moander, and to a lesser degree, Sylvanus.
Nongood druids of Sylvanus want to return the land to it's natural state, and are alligned with the cult of Malar for this purpose. They are tentatively allied with the cult of Moander, who just want to see civilization brought to a state of decay.
Opposing them are the priesthood and druids of Chauntea, who while able to appreciate wild nature, don't want to see their fields destroyed .The church of Bane sees any threat to it's food supply as a major threat. It is a most unusual alliance.
Although vastly outnumbered, the forces of wild nature are extremely powerful and have a very useful mix of magical abilities. While they have been unable to make any real progress against the Keep, they have easily slaughtered all punitive expeditions sent against them.
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2014 : 20:51:04
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Major sideline plot #2
The Restless Dead and The Hungry Dead:
Orcus, Prince of Demonic Undeath, is making a play against Myrkul to become the god of death in Faerun. His cult is extremely strong in Vaasa, and his cultists are doing everything they can to set up cells in the southern lands.
As far as adventurers are concerned, this event takes a rather unusual shape.
Regular undead are restless souls that have somehow returned to the land of the living, as they are unable to find peace in the afterlife. While they can be extremely dangerous to the living, they are a natural part of the circle of life and death. Not so the Hungry Dead. Orcus doesn't give a hoot about the cycles of life and Death, and these are souls wrested by force from the afterlife, and their hate and hunger for the living is limitless. In practical terms, they have the exact same game stats as regular undeads, but they are powered by a malign intelligence that literally causes them to hunger for living flesh, even if they do not derive any sustenace from it. While The Restless Dead usually have a palpable aura of hopelessness, loss, and despair about them, The Hungry Dead simply have an aura of pure hate. besides hating the living, they also try to destroy regular undead whenever they can.
In response, the church of Myrkul has begun to enlist champions of the God of Death. These are a Blackguard variant whose abilities against good are replaced with abilities against the living. Their alignments are usually Neutral Evil, while a few are pure Neutral, albeit with a dark bent.
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
Edited by - Misereor on 12 Oct 2014 00:36:15 |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2014 : 20:54:50
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Major sideline plot #3
The Dragon God.
Based on a wellknown adventure path, the dragon god Ashardalon, whom I've made a hatchling mate of Tchazzar's, is trying to regain his godhood. Tiamat has sensed his plans, and has allied with Orcus for a second time in order to thwart this. The last time the two were allied was when they formed the Dark Horde that destroyed the Human and Elven civilizations of the Moonsea North, but was in return destroyed after the destruction of Northkeep. Thus the stage is set for a triangle between the Kobolds and a handful of Dwarven cultists that are attempting to ressurrect Ashardalon on one corner of a triangle, Human civilizations and their Pantheons on another, and Hobgoblins, Orcs, Half-orcs, Goblins, and Draconic monsters worshipping Orcus or Tiamat on the last. Naturally everyone except the Kobolds are fighting and scheming amongst themselves the entire time.
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
Edited by - Misereor on 11 Oct 2014 21:18:59 |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2014 : 20:59:37
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Ancient history of the Moonsea North.
Ancient Narfell was settled by barbarian tribes who emulated their civilized neighbours by forming kingdoms. One tribe, growing in power and evil by making demonic pacts, eventually subdued the others and created a full fledged empire. When the empire fell the tribes fled west, some eventually becoming the civilized peoples of Damara and Impiltur, while others reverted to a nomadic existence in Vaasa, after the glaciers melted.
From Vaasa some migrated further west, where they encountered their distant counsins, the Tribes of the ride, as well as survivors of Netheril, and Thay'vir, northmost kingdom of the Elves. Being powerful in magic and swordplay, the former tribes of Narfell had little difficulty in defeating the humanoid tribes of the region and taking the best land for themselves. They formed several kingdoms, some of which remain to this day, although none except for a few dusty sages remember their ancestral origins any more. Other remained in Vaasa where they mixed with mountain Orcs and formed a savage kingdom, once again worshipping their old demonic gods, and fighting their neighbours in Damara and The Moonsea North.
At this time the scattered humanoid tribes eventually stopped fighting among themselves, and banded together in order to defend themselves. They formed a powerful alliance with the kingdom of Vaasa who taught them many secrets of dark and evil magic. The first to fall was the Elven realm of Thay'vir, swamped by enormous hordes of Orcs, Hobgoblins, and Ogres, who then divided the Kingdom amongst themselves. After this they proceeded to reduce the Dwarven strongholds of the West Galena Mountains, while human and Elven survivors fled south. In desperation the Dwarves turned to a Dragon demigod named Ashardalon who was looking to become a full deity. He reciprocated by burning the forest of Thay'vir so thoroughly to the ground, that it created the wasteland that would become known as Thar'vaar (goblinoids have a problem pronouncing the name properly), or simply Thar for short.
It is speculated that around this time Orcus must have approached Tiamat, who did not appreciate one of 'her' dragons trying to join the pantheon. What we do know, is that reinforced by dragons, demons, and Vaasan Half-orcs, the horde was reformed mightier than ever, and utterly destroyed every single human settlement North of the Moonsea. The tribes of the ride retreated into the wilds, while the Dwarves of the North pulled back to more defensible strongholds in the Dragonspine mountains, their dragon god having disappeared after a battle with druidic and Elven forces somewhere in the Quivering wood, north of Phlan.
Most of the great Dark Horde was eventually destroyed by Gruumsh and the rest of the Orcish and Goblinoid pantheon, when they discovered that Orcus and Tiamat had been impersonating them, but not before having cleansed their ancestral lands of pesky Humans and Elves. In spite of this, both Vaasa and Thar remained great humanoid kingdoms for many years, until once more destroyed by encroaching human civilization. Of course there are always plenty of nostalgics wanting to form a new Dark Horde and reclaim their ancestral lands once more, but usually they are too busy infighting.
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
Edited by - Misereor on 11 Oct 2014 21:02:03 |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2014 : 21:07:32
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Session 1: Should New Aquaintance Be Forgot
Party composition
Tom – Human Ranger, newly arrived in the Keep, looking for an adventuring band to join.
Timothy – Human Wizard, kicked out into the streets by his master the very same evening the campaign begins.
Victor – Human Rogue, deserted from the Zhentilar after glimpsing some documents he shouldn’t have, thus fearing for his life should he remain within reach of his superiors.
The party, for reasons unknown, does not meet at the local tavern. Instead they are random pedestrians in the slums of Zhentil Keep who happen to walk by, as man gets killed by a cloaked individual, who then escapes into a ruined building. A successful knowledge (religion) roll establishes that building was once a temple of Ilmater.
The city watch gathers up the PC’s and a bunch of other innocent bystanders for questioning. After a quick search, it is determined that the murderer slipped into a hole in the ground, which apparently leads into some old cellars. Those witnesses who are able to pay a bribe are allowed to go free, while the rest are stripped of most of their equipment and herded into the hole to apprehend the criminal, while the watch patrol buy a few flagons of ale from a nearby tavern, set up some chairs above the hole to make sure their deputies don’t make a run for it, and make themselves comfortable.
As the party is shoved into the cellars at sword point, they are joined by four random strangers. A couple of brothers in town to sell their sheep, an out of work scribe, and a lady of the evening named Henrietta. The cellar turns out to be the basement of the old temple. (DM note: I deliberately put a few monsters in the dungeon that slightly outmatched the party, and then added some unfortunate bystanders, just to give them a sense of what a ruthless place the Keep is.) Besides some mindless undead, a rather large spider, and some old traps, the cellars contains a wyrmwraith, a kind of collective consciousness of grave worms, that desperately needed a new host. Miraculously the party manages to clear the dungeon with their crappy equipment, while keeping all the innocent bystanders alive, except for the scribe who failed a morale check and in a panic tried to shove his way past the city watch, who then proceeded to fill him with crossbow quarrels.
Naturally everything of value they find is confiscated by the patrol commander, who later receives a reward for having neutralized a dangerous monster, and besides a cash reward for having found six new volunteers for the legion. All members of the party swear that they are going to remember his face.
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2014 : 21:14:06
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Session 2: You're In The Army Now
After having spent the next few days in lockup, the party and other new "recruits" are shipped off to The Lone Tower, which is the Legion's home barracks and training facility. They are branded and thrown into a stockade with a couple of hundred other inmates and left to fend for themselves. The thing is, there is not enough food or blankets for everyone. The Legion wants to see which of their new recruits are clever or strong enough to survive in a hostile environment. Some die, others collapse from hunger or disease and are sent to one of the cannon fodder brigades, and a few thrive, usually by banding together in gangs for mutual protection. The party is placed in a situation where they have to do some unpleasant things to survive. The party decides that they are not going to take food from those unable to defend themselves, but fight other recruits for it. Naturally those recruits then turn around and take the food from someone weaker than themselves. All in all it's a crappy situation.
As numbers in the stockade drop, there is eventually enough food and blankets for everyone, and the next phase of the training begins. Older, seasoned member of the Legion enter the stockade with training equipment to teach the new blood how to survive in combat. Everyone thinks of escape, but noone tries anything stupid. They have noticed the grins of the Legionnaires gathered on the walls to watch the fun.
Several months go by. More recruits die or are deemed unfit for the Legion Proper, and sent to the mines or meat grinder units. Finally the survivors are divided into small groups and sent off to various Legion Units. The party ends up in one of the sweep and clear units who have the unpleasant job of patrolling the borders and cleaning out caves and dungeons for whatever may have moved in since the last sweep. These units are made of of light infantry with a high emphasis on mobility and flexible tactics, but deprived of any mounts or missile weapons, in order to discourage desertions. Every unit is also covered by a unit of mounted regulars, just in case. There are few desertions, and none successful. The Party is formed into a scounting party along with a fighter named Pluton, who got sent to the Legion for stealing a wagon full of flour (an NPC), although he swears to anyone who cares to listen that he is innocent. He also has a wife and a couple of kids at home, so the party decides that they are going to do what they can to keep him alive.
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 11 Oct 2014 : 21:50:53
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Third Session: Business As Usual?
The party is equipped with an assortment of crappy leather armors and short swords, and the next few months are spent clearing out caves, suppressing an outbreak of plague, executing regular army deserters for having fled from and thus spread said plague, and chasing down an insane ranger who murders farmers. The ranger turns out to be in league with a druid of Sylvanus bent on returning the land to it's natural state, and is cultivating some sort of rapidly growing carnivorous plant for that purpose.
Around this time the party also discovers that while their superior officers have a habit of dividing their supposed pay between themselves, they also seem not to notice the goodies the party brings back from their expeditions, as long as a token amount is handed in for registration. Both the party and other scouting parties are starting to carry better equipment. This also explains why the veterans of the Legion all seem to carry gear that is decidely non-regulation. Although missile weapons are still frowned upon among newer recruits, this is apparently one of the methods used to instill morale and ambition into the Legionnaires. The rivalry with the regular army also helps, as they are seen as softies who rarely perform an honest days work.
The party also gets introduced to several more of their fellow recruits, and get a sense of how they are getting by in the Legion.
There is Alfedo, the ex-fence, who becomes their seller and buyer of unusual supplies. Tatou, the freedom fighter from Phlan, who unfortunately was a freedom fighter for the wrong side. Linguini, who managed to give his commanding officers food poisoning on his first day as a cook in the regular army. There is Angron, the fallen paladin, who hates Tyr with a passion for having taken his powers from him when he was only trying to do his duty, and Ambrister, a disgraced cleric of Bane who was forced to enter the clergy by his father.
These and many others are the people who make up the legion, putting a human face on what the players would consider an evil force to be butchered at will, were they playing a normal campaign.
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2014 : 01:38:54
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Fourth Session: What Kind Of Name Is That For A Dragon?
The player of Tom the ranger gets tired of his character and makes an Elven Cleric of Shevarash.
It takes a bit of backstory to hammer out, but we eventually settle on a story of him being captured by some Zhentish merchants after having rescued their caravan from an ambush. He was sent to the Legion instead of executed when they discovered that he is the priest of a god of vengeance, who doesn't particularly care if his worshipper are good or evil. The character is actually Chaotic Good, but even in Zhentil Keep that is not a capital offense, merely something to smirk at.
At the same time two more players join. One plays a Human Wizard necromancer specialist named Vilhelm, who desperately craves power, while the other plays a Human Fighter called Snooka, raised as a slave and pit fighter by Goblins, until taken prisoner in one of the Legion's sweep and clear operations.
Tom the Ranger, now an NPC, is moved to another scouting group as the officers feel that his talents are of more use there, while the party manage to get Pluton the NPC a desk job in supply with some diplomacy checks and a rather generous bribe.
At this point their unit has been working it's way east along the southern side of the Dragonspine Mountains for some time, and are nearing Phlanite territory. Tom's NPC party goes missing in the Ticklebelly Hills in a newly discovered ruin that was exposed by a rockslide, and the players volunteer to go look for them.
The ruin turns out to an abandoned temple of Ashardalon, that is inhabited by a tribe of kobolds, working for yet another carnivorous-plant-growing druid, in return for being allowed to examine the ruins and for mutual defense. On the first level, the players find Tom and one of the other members of his party dead, while the rest are missing. On the second level Vilhelm the Necromancer, already wounded, gets nailed in the forehead with a crossbow bolt and dies before the others can help him. With suspiciously fortuitous timing, a Dwarven fighter with a taste for adventure, who it just so happened was travelling to join the Legion when he was captured, turns up in a prison cell mere minutes later. The player decides that Brotor is an adequately Dwarven sounding name.
After having massacred a large number of Kobolds and nearly coming to blows over what to do with the non-combattants (in the end they decided to let them go), they finally face off with the druid and the missing companions of Tom, now dominated by a magical item. They prevail and discover a whole subterranean garden radiating necromantic magic, which they proceed to burn, nearly asphyxiating themselves in the process. Having neutralized the threat of the deadly carnivorous supertomatoes, they also rescue two of the dominated NPC's. Regrettably the third dies before he can receive clerical attention. It was Angron the bitter ex-paladin, by the way.
<To be continued. Comments are welcome.>
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
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xaeyruudh
Master of Realmslore
USA
1853 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2014 : 06:44:08
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Interesting setting, and I like your storytelling style. I lol'd at "a lady of the evening named Henrietta." A strong contender for "most unlikely name for a lady of the evening." Snooki (I mean Snooka) the pit slave warranted a groan and chuckle.
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The Gods are not comic book villains/heroes... <snip> ...even as followers become more like their gods, so do the gods become more like their followers.
I like the comic book analogy for the official treatment of the gods, at least around the TOT, but I think it results partly from making them more like mortals. But I don't feel strongly enough about it to argue the point, and I totally agree regarding Bane and Loviatar having a partnership, especially within Zhentil Keep but probably on a larger level too. I was recently considering a variant storyline for the TOT and reached a similar situation; a servant of Bane allowed Loviatar's faith to remain/grow in the Keep in return for concessions that made her church a tool of his.
Kudos to your intrepid explorers for ending the threat of the deadly carnivorous supertomatoes. Looking forward to seeing what they get themselves into next. |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 12 Oct 2014 : 13:31:50
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Fifth Session: All are not Saints who go to Church
The Legion finishes it's sweep and clear operation of the DragonSpine Mountains as the first snows begin to fall, and the troops are marched south to the Moonsea before turning west towards Zhentil Keep. Marching along Stormy Bay, the remains of some travelers are found off the road. As the Legion marches on, the party is sent to investigate, and are told they have 48 hours to report back.
The party heads for the nearest fishing village called Shark Point, and are rather ineptly ambushed by villagers with fishing nets, whom they quickly dispatch. The survivors are intimidated by Snooka (who has Goblin tattoos all over his face) into revealing that the new lord of the village ordered them to take prisoners. Upon arriving in the village, they quickly discover that the new lord is actually an ordinary zombie that has been equipped with plate armor and can most certainly not speak, nor give any intelligible orders. Magic is suspected, and upon casting a detect magic, Nickarus the Elven Cleric senses the presence of magic in the room. Before he can zoom in on the exact location, the invisible antagonist jumps out the window and makes a run for it. Turns out someone has been playing mind games with the villagers and convinced them to worship a being called Lord Tenebrous. And murdered quite a few of them, including the former lord.
The party notices that the village has a very old and small, yet distinguished temple of Bane, and wonder why the local cleric hasn't reacted to any of this. They discover that he is a self-pitying drunk, who hasn't really got a clue what's going on. All he rambles about is that the gods are playing tricks on us and how it's all a big joke. As night falls, they fortify themselves in the cleric's house, which is promptly set on fire and attacked by summoned demons. They chase the perpetrator into the night, but since it is an area of high cliffs and he has Spider Climb, they are unable to catch him. The next day they search the village house to house, and through the intelligent use of several Detect Thought spells and an Invisibility Purge, they are able to catch the perpetrator, who turns out to be a Sorceror Cultist of some unknown god, who has been sacrificing prisoners and stealing their belongings.
The Cleric of Bane, still drunk, is taken into custody for dereliction of duty and handed over to the regular army, where he is beaten to within an inch of his life. A couple of weeks later the party discovers that he has been reinstated without prejudice, because "all clerics of that temple go buggy, and according to the upper church hierarchy, that is how Lord Bane wants it". The party never discovers that this is the first temple of Bane established after his ascension to godhood, and that he for some reason prefers faithless priests to take care of it, and then reveals things to them that drive them slightly insane. Although Tim the Wizard, upon making a Spellcraft check, did wonder why someone had cast several hundred Wall of Stone Spells to prevent erosion of the cliffside from destroying the temple, instead of just building a new one.
After reporting in, Nickarus and Victor the Rogue are commended for their part and promoted to sergeants. At the same time they are relieved of potato peeling and latrine duties in order to instruct new recruits on skirmish tactics, much to the envy of the rest of the party.
Since the party joined their new unit, it has taken some 30% casualties, mostly newbies like themselves. Faces that they knew have disappeared, and new faces replaced them. Life in the Legion goes on.
<To be continued. Comments are welcome.>
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2014 : 19:29:12
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Sixth Session: Tunnel Rats
Having had a surprisingly low number of casualties in their group, the party are given a shot at command. They are assigned a group of 25 new recruits fresh from the stockade and told to train them (resolved using roleplaying and a number of diplomacy and intimidation rolls). Nickarus does rather well and manages to win the respect of the recruits, while Victor becomes despised, but feared.
The Legion aborts it's march to winter quarters, as a number of Kobold warrens are discovered in the Grass Sea. Apparently the Kobolds are investigating a number of old ruins in search of something, and making a general nuisance of themselves. Scouts report that cramped tunnels filled with traps, make the Kobolds exceedingly difficult to root out. Units are spread out in a search for more warrens, and the party and their recruits discover what appears to be a supply area beneath an abandoned farm, which they are ordered to clear out.
Rather than sending in the recruits, Brotor the Dwarven fighter proceeds to crawl through the tunnels with the cleric in tow, simply absorbing all the damage the Kobolds dish out and healing it right back up. Although battered into impotence, he manages to clear a path into the midst of the warren, where the party is able to deploy and kick some Kobold behinds in a more conventional manner. In the end the new recruits barely see any combat.
Setting up camp in the abandoned farm, the group is attacked by a Kobold unit returning for fresh supplies. Since it is the middle of the night and they have few missile weapons, they are are at a disadvantage. A lookout is killed and another badly wounded. Nickarus and Victor decide on barricading the place and waiting for daylight, but before they can effect the plan, Brotor and Snooka decide that no measly Kobold is going to make them cower. They charge out into the night, Snooka ignoring that he can't actually see anything, and Brotor still heavily wounded.
In an attempt to save their compatriots the entire unit then charges after them with nothing more than a couple of torches for light, and run right into a line of Kobold spearmen with their weapons set to receive a charge. Pathetic dice rolling on the part of the DM enable the recruits to butcher the Kobolds without a single casualty, and thus is born the legend of Saint Nickarus the Kobold Slayer. The Kobold crossbowmen, after having nearly killed Brotor and Snooka with concentrated fire, watch the slaughter with dismay, decide that they must be dealing with a bunch of lunatics, and make a hasty withdrawal.
Morale among the recruits is high as the party returns to their mother unit, and the tale of their adventures certainly doesn't grow any smaller in the retelling, especially as other groups on similar missions have taken significant casualties.
The Legion resumes it's march, and finally arrive at their winter quarters in the Keep.
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
Edited by - Misereor on 13 Oct 2014 19:35:15 |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 13 Oct 2014 : 20:46:33
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Seventh Session: T'was the Night Before Tyrantmass
Returning to Zhentil Keep the characters who grew up here discover that they have changed. Having spent almost a year on the open plains, they much easier notice the soot of industry, smell of fish and sewage, and narrow streets that don't allow fresh air in. Seems almost a lifetime ago they were here last.
They also find out that Legionnaires that have been 'acclimatized' (It's been months since a player talked about deserting) are allowed off the reservation after having finished their daily duties, and decide to go exploring the city.
Brotor and Snooka discover a Legionnaire hangout, The Pride of Zhentil Keep (where even the chamber pots leak), and spend most of their time here.
Nickarus receives a culture shock when he bumps into an Elven serving wench with the decidedly unelven name of Ingrid who can't speak a word of Elvish, nor knows a thing about Elven culture or history, but has a bad case of hero worship for him. He discovers that Ingrid was born a slave and never knew her parents, and that although he sees her as a child, she is actually a century older than him. He ends up spending almost every coin he has saved on buying her free and setting her up with her own laundry business, and spends his free time teaching her to speak and read Elvish.
Timothy discovers that their recruits have been talking, but that the tale of the brave Kobold slayers is treated with a certain lack of respect by people who weren't there to see it happen. Remarks like "Ooooh! There go the brave Kobold slayers", followed by hoots of laughter, become somewhat of a staple.
Victor sets up an information network by paying street urchins a retainer for bringing him news of anything interesting. He is already planning on setting up his own guild someday, and considers this to be preliminary groundwork. The rest of the players unanimously name the first street urchin Oliver. Victor's player doesn't get it.
The party is contacted by Alfedo the ex-fence and purveyor of exotic goods. He and Tatou the Phlanite freedom fighter, have secured positions with the quartermaster, and have got a moneylending racket going. As the party enters the room, they notice Linguini the wimpy ex-cook lying on a cot with two black eyes and a bandage around his waist. Turns out he had badgered Alfedo into letting him become a collector, but didn't have much luck actually collecting anything. Alfedo has foolishly lent money to a notorious member of the Penal Battallion, and now he needs someone to get it back. Since he has done several favors for the party in the past, they decide to help him.
Arriving at the Rainbow Colored Unicorn (a tavern where things so depraved go on, that even the DM isn't allowed to know about them), the party decide on making a dramatic entrance. They kick the door open and proceed to rearrange the interior with spells and axes, while regular customers escape through the windows. An enormous Half-orc Barbarian with a cape made of human skin appears from the back room with a bunch of his cronies, and before negotiations can take place, a fight to the death breaks out, no quarter asked or given. (Even the DM is surprised at the savagery displayed.)
Although an expert with a large twohanded axe, the Half-orc makes a fatal discovery of how annoying a simple grease spell applied to said axe can be. One crony makes a dash into the street but is taken down by arrows and collapses across a fishmongers cart, just as the city watch round the corner. Discovering that only Legionnaires have been killed in the brawl, they hand the survivors over to the Legion after having fined them for destruction of the bar, none of which the owner sees a single copper of.
The barkeep survives, and is later compensated by the players, and gets years worth of material for stories. In the course of the next couple of weeks, people also stop making jokes about the Mighty Kobold Slayers.
<To be continued. Comments are welcome.>
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
Edited by - Misereor on 13 Oct 2014 20:49:37 |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 17 Oct 2014 : 12:50:31
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Eight Session: What would Brian Boitano do? 1/2
The party are each administered a dozen lashes. Not for having killed someone in a brawl, but for having been caught and shamed their unit by disorderly conduct in the presence of outsiders (the Legion is a tribal community after all). As far as their officers are concerned, they don't seem at all unhappy that their troops are getting a reputation in the Legion, which explains the light punishment.
Having gained some small measure of notoriety, the players and their commanding officer are invited to a party for the purpose of hobknobbing with the rich and famous. They find themselves part of the evenings entertainment, encouraged to tell tales of their adventures in the line of duty, and are applauded whenever they make a patriotic comment, the more idiotic the better. Whenever this happens the players notice a few grizzled veterans at the table rolling their eyes, but the merchants and their wives are hanging on their every word. Players being players they naturally start exaggerating stuff and playing to the crowd.
As the evennig draws to a close, it turns out that a high ranking member of the church of Bane has arranged a meeting through their commanding officer, for the purpose of discussing some business. As it turns out, he was the sponsor of the Penal Unit Half-orc the party killed (which explains why he was allowed off the reservation). He is looking for fresh talent to fill the void, and makes a point of informing the party that he admires their raw ability and besides this could be their way to riches and fame. Although the players are concerned about vengeful motives, the Banite cleric doesn't actually give a damn about his former crony if he can get some more effective cronies to replace him.
Apparently the ruling council of Phlan has allowed the church of Tyr to set up a small temple in that city. As Tyr is the hereditary enemy of both Bane and the Keep, his religion cannot be allowed to spread in the Moonsea area, as this could destabilize the region. The players are therefore asked to volunteer for the mission of getting Phlan's city council to change their minds and disallow the temple, preferably without anyone discovering Zhentish involvement. In spite of their misgivings, the players accept.
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
Edited by - Misereor on 17 Oct 2014 12:52:18 |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 17 Oct 2014 : 13:25:53
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DM's notes: BBEG's manipulating player characters:
I considered letting the cleric Geas the players, but decided against it. Magical compulsion, besides being a trite old mechanic, would continually remind the characters that they were being forced to do stuff, and so become a source of resentment for both the players and their characters. Any smart tyrant would know better ways of manipulating his minions (The BBEG, not the DM).
Two player characters have family in Zhentil Keep. Their friends and colleagues have family in the Keep. Everyone are members of one of the most notorious military units in existence, subject to kill on sight orders if spotted by Mulmasterites, Hillsfarians, Sembians, Cormyrians, and certain Dalesfolk. Besides, you can just bet that the Keep has on prior occasions used 'Legion deserters' to infiltrate their enemies, making them justifiably paranoid. This would also be a good time for a DM to remind his players that in spite of being an evil society Zhentish parents love their children too, get worried when they are sick, and celebrate their birthdays. Besides the possibility of reprisals against loved ones (always an unvoiced threat) would the players really want to see their home city weakened or destroyed, despite being a bad place in many ways?
A chaotic evil society would slaughter or enslave enemies of the state. An intelligently lawful evil society would find other ways of harnessing them for it's own purposes, especially if said society was obsessed with preventing waste. If people are living in a society with a high degree of authoritarianism, considering it business as usual, would they really know that they were slaves, if they had obvious privileges only rarely noticed their chains? (Any similarity to real life socciety is 100% intentional.) There are many kinds of chains for binding a slave, and it seems reasonable to me that the church of Bane would be experts on the subject.
So let's recap what actually happened to the players.
Stage 1: Their characters were told they were slaves and treated as such.
Stage 2: Obvious preferential treatment was given to those with potential. They were trained by the elite and told they would become the elite. From experience they knew that this could be true.
Stage 3: Rivalry with external enemies was encouraged (for instance regular Zhentilar forces and the Legion Penal Brigade) and used to strengthen internal bonds in the unit.
Stage 4: Their bonds were loosened as they were allowed a great deal of autonomy in solving their assignments, and they got to keep most of the rewards of their labors for themselves. They were never punished for accomplishing assignment through non-evil means, but only for failing them.
Next step is stage 5. Removing their Legion brands (which make them easily recognizable) and allowing them to work largely unsupervised. If it succeeds and the intangible bonds remain unbroken, Zhentil Keep will have a group of powerful neutral and good aligned individuals doing it's work at little to no cost. Sounds to me like a pretty good recipe for conquering the world.
...And now back to the story.
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
Edited by - Misereor on 17 Oct 2014 20:43:15 |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 17 Oct 2014 : 14:40:42
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Eight Session: What would Brian Boitano do? 2/2
Having accepted the mission, the players' brands are removed (Cure Critical Wounds), and they receive a slush fund of 2.000 gold pieces for expenses and bribes.
It is late winter and the Moonsea can be a rough place when storms come down from the north, so the party end up spending a miserable couple of days on board a quick boat to Phlan. Renting a room at the Laughing Goblin Inn, they proceed to do some groundwork. Right from the beginning Nickarus the Elven cleric absolutely refuses to perpetrate violence against the Tyrians, so they start looking for factions who might have a problem with a new church showing up in town. It turns out that there is some slight annoyance among other churches that some people are converting to Tyrianism. However the the people with the biggest chip on their shoulder is the church of Waukeen, who resent the fact that the Tyrians provide many services for free, cutting into their profits.
The party decides that the best strategy would be to provoke a feud between the two factions. Victor the Rogue perpetrates a daring night raid into the Shrine of Tyr and steals a signet ring and some letters belonging to a priest.
They then hire a thug to hit a cleric of Waukeen over the head and rob him, after which he is to place the signet ring and a forged letter nearby. Of course it goes disastrously wrong, and the thug ends up murdering the cleric, after which the party who was watching the whole thing from a nearby alley kill him in return. The Authorities wonder how the Cleric of Waukeen apparently managed to stab his attacker several times in back with a light mace, before grabbing hold of a bloody letter from the shrine of Tyr instructing a known felon to waylay him, and finally having his skull caved in.
The next night the party burns down the market stalls from which the shrine of Tyr buy their supplies for their soup kitchen for the needy. A piece of paper with a big 'W' is found nailed to a nearby stall, but neither the city watch nor the Tyrans buy any of it. Unfortuantely the city council decides to keep the attacks secret in order to avoid unrest, which ends up accomplishing the exact opposite. It starts with rumours (there are few secrets in a city of Phlan's size), and ends up with a tavern brawl between followers of Tyr and Waukeen respectively.
The party take note and change their tactics. They begin to target followers of the temples, smashing their belongings, painting their outhouses, and shaving their cats, etc. and framing neighbours of other religions. Unlike the priests, the civilians are easily stirred up and unrest develops as a result, with the city watch having to break up many arguments and fights. Eventually targeted citizens start performing acts of revenge, usually against the wrong targets, further increasing the unrest.
In the end, the city council decides to withdraw the Tyrians' charter simply to restore Peace. They are given a month to leave the city. Even though the Shrine has never been oficically accused of anything, nor does the council believe they are behind the unrest, it is enough that a sufficient number of citizens believe it. So in the end the church of the God of Justice is expelled from Phlan for something it didn't do. The players unanimously agree that even though they did a sort of a bad thing, it was hillariously ironic. In a fit of conscience, Nickarus donates the remaining mission funds to the city council for the purpose of feeding the poor. When asked about his motivations, he claims to be an admirer of justice, which is technically true, him being a cleric of the Elven god of retribution.
However the clerics of Tyr have a month before having to leave the city, so even as they are packing up their belongings, they hire a band of adventurers to solve the mystery of who framed them. The NPC party dicover that the players are from Zhentil Keep and recently arrived in the city, and being stereotypical adventurers decide that this is sufficient evidence to kill them. They also decide that Nickarus must be a fake Elven cleric and assault him as he is alone buying vegetables in the market. The NPC's being only first level, he dispatches them in a matter of rounds, and proceeds to heal their wounds, which eventually ends up further convincing a number of citizens that the shrine of Tyr is up to no good. Especially as the Tyrians admit to hiring the NPC party when questioned by the authorities, and then further provoke absolutely everybody by appealing for calm and rationality.
However the City Council are, as formerly stated, not complete morons. With a few divination spells they discover sufficiently to politely ask the party to vacate the premises before sundown.
It being winter, there are no ships hading for Zhentil Keep, so the party exits the city and heads north towards a border outpost, where they hope to borrow some horses.
<To be continued. Comments are welcome.>
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
Edited by - Misereor on 17 Oct 2014 20:55:18 |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 23 Oct 2014 : 10:40:05
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Ninth Session: If a tree explodes in the forest...
Heading north through the Quivering Forest, the party bumps into the occasional woodsmen and hunters, and learn that the winter fur of a Snow Lion can bring in as much as 50 GP if in good condition. Deciding that they might as well make a bit of coin on the way, they proceed to terrorize the local wildlife without much result. Eventually they make enough of a nuisance of themselves that a passing Wendigo takes notice of them, and begins to stalk them.
For about 5 minutes.
Rolling two consecutive natural 20's on his spot rolls, Timothy the Wizard ruins the adventure by fireballing the poor creature to death, along with several pinetrees. Since it's winter the DM doesn't even get to subject the party to a nice little forest fire and so spends the next few minutes sulking, while the players high five each other.
Eventually the party bumps into the remains of a few of the Wendigo's victims and collect a number of Snow Lion pelts. Timothy then further unbalances the adventure by magically mending the pelts, thus removing arrow and spear holes and making the pelts far more valuable. Simultaneously he screws up any concept of reasonable risk versus reward, so the DM sulks a bit more, but lets him get away with it. (However from that point on, NPCs will have thought of the same thing.)
Finally the players reach Zhentish territory, a Freehold on the West side of the Stojanow River named Torland's Hold. The players proceed to the local fortified mansion for the purpose of buying or borrowing some horses. Had they gone to the village instead, they would have discovered it surrounded by the remains of crucified locals, as the local Freeholder and his family have been thoroughly corrupted by a cultist of Orcus in their employ.
Masquerading as a cleric of Deneir he holds the position as the family's personal vicar. He has also convinced the family that the local farmers can't be trusted, and with his help they have hired a company of Vaasan Half-orcs to replace the local militia. Besides having his Vaasan cronies abducting villagers for unholy sacrifices, he also reguarly summons low level demons for the purpose of terrorizing the villagers. His plan is to eventually convert the villagers to the worship of Orcus, dispose of the ruling family, and rule the freehold himself. For this purpose he maintains a charade of being a moderating influence, and will sometimes "prevent" the Vaasan mercenaries from terrorizing the villagers or "dismiss" attacking demons.
Arriving at the mansion at a time when the Orcus cultist isn't present, the players manage to make a favorable impression. The family decide to try and convince the players to help them repress the rebellious peasants (who are not actually peasants, but free citizens).
As far as the DM is concerned, he isn't going to railroad the party into anything, but let them make up their own minds on who to support, if anyone. However the eccentric performance by several family members at dinner convince the PC's that something is going on, and they decide to do a little nighttime exploring of the mansion. Charming one of the servants for use as a guide, they make it as far as the library before they are discovered and have to subdue the daughter of the family. While they keep exploring, she manages to cut her bonds with a dagger they didn't bother to search her for, and the guards are alerted.
A full scale battle eventually ensues, with waves of fanatical Half-Orc cultists going berserk and butchering anything in sight, family members included. Several servants are also fried by Timothy when he centers a fireball next to an open door, not realizing that out of his line of sight, several servants are cowering inside the room. As the mansion is cleared of hostiles and the blood is knee-deep in the corridors, Brotor comments that this is just like their regular job, except indoors.
At first the players plan to frame the Half-orc commander for treason, but upon going to the village, they come across the murdered villagers and meet the angry survivors. They change their story and make up a story about having heard of hat was going on and having been dispatched by the Keep to set things rights. The fake cleric of Deneir quickly realizes that the players might be a bit too much for him to take on, and decides to bide his time instead. (Possible future adventure.)
As the party is helping the villagers clean up the mansion, an actual agent from Zhentil Keep arrives from Phlan. He has been sent by their sponsor, ordering them to abort their mission (not knowing they have already accomplished it) and immediately go to Melvaunt where a crisis is developing.
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
Edited by - Misereor on 23 Oct 2014 10:44:38 |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 12 Nov 2014 : 13:58:06
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Tenth Session: The Line Will Hold.
At this point the party played through the Sons of Gruumsh adventure, with a few twists added.
In order to avoid spoilers, the actual plot of the adventure is left out. Suffice to say that the only truly notable event in the adventure was when Victor the Rogue accidentally awoke an entire garrison, setting off an epic fight that ended up claiming his life, and when the party had to retreat across the mudsoaked expanses of Thar, having to fight off skirmishers all the way, but otherwise accomplishing their objectives.
Geopolitically, the premise of the adventure was changed to Orcus worshipping Tanarukk attempting to impersonate clergy of Gruumsh and provoke the humanoid tribes of Thaar into making war on the human cities of the region. The cults of Orcus and Tiamat are once again cooperating to form a new Dark Horde and sweep away the unbelievers. This is in part because the dragon demigod Ashardalon is once again making a move to become a full-fledged deity, provoking a response from the cult of Tiamat. Partially it is because because the Vaasan tribes that worship Orcus have once again grown strong enough to make an attempt to expand their influence.
The tribes of Thar are usually a diverse lot, constantly skirmishing among themselves and their neighbours, but also trading with them. This has led to a tense state of peace that is broken every couple of years or so. Although the tribes are not strong enough to directly threaten the walls of Melvaunt itself, someone uniting the tribes could effectively shut off trade routes between the coast and interior, as well as sack many of the smaller settlements in the area. This means that the human cities maintain a complex diplomatic landscape, with constantly shifting trade agreements and military treaties, all in order to keep the tribes divided and trade routes open. Someone uniting the tribes would be bad news.
(GM's note: Think late era Constantinople trying to defend itself from the Ottoman Turks, it's walls invulnerable but it's outlying territories falling one by one, until there was nothing left but the city itself.)
<To be continued. Comments are welcome.>
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 04 Dec 2014 : 15:03:02
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Eleventh Session: The Raven and the Fiends, part 1/?.
After their adventures in Melvaunt, the party manages to get a gig to pick up a freshly crafted gold statue in Ilinvur, and bring it back to Melvaunt where it will decorate the mansion of one of the ruling families. Since they have earlier gotten their hands on some Mithril and placed an order for a chain shirt with a local smith, they have some time to kill anyway, and a little extra spending cashis always nice.
GM's note on Communal interdependencies:
The inland towns are wholly dependent on the cities on the Moonsea. They in return derive much of their economic and military power from the minerals, furs, and timbers that are brought down from wellknown places like Glister and Ilinvur, and countless tiny mining and hunting communities besides. Glister considers Melvaunt and Thentia it's mother cities, as most of it's trade passes through them. Ilinvur mainstains it's independence by splitting it's trade between Phlan and Melvaunt, striving to never become too dependent on one or the other. Smaller, nameless communities maintain small but well manned fortifications and do their utmost to maintain the respect of the humanoid tribes, trading with them when possible, and launching the occasional reprisal raid when formality requires it.
After an uneventful trek to Ilinvur, the party is ambushed just outside town by what appears to be a band of goblin raiders. After easily dispatching them, the party discovers that they are from a hitherto unknown tribe. Arriving in town the players find out that such raiding has been becoming a commonplace occurrence of late, suggesting that a new tribe has moved into the area recently, and are flexing their muscle. Seeing the opportunity for some easy loot and xp, the players heroically decide to offer their services.
Tracking down the raiding parties, the party discovers a Hobgoblin cleric of Tiamat who has been organizing the raids, sort of. They were actually supposed to be scouting, but decided to do a little private enterprising instead, thus completely blowing any opportunity that the humans wouldn't notice what was going on. From correspondance found in the cleric's office, the party is able to find out that the raiders have come down some sort of base in the fallen realm of Barze, and decide to go pay said base a visit.
While back in Ilinvur town to fill up on supplies, Victor the Rogue visits a few taverns and discovers that there is apparently some sort of war going on between the Orcish tribes of the Thaar, and it has begun to spill over into the surrounding areas. Not very important right now, but it will become relevant later.
<To be continued>
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 09 Dec 2014 : 15:02:28
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Twelvth Session: The Raven and the Fiends, part 2/?
Due to real life concerns, the player of Victor the Rogue leaves the group.
The party now consists of:
Timothy, Human male Wizard 8.
Originally planning on a career as a scribe, he was kicked out by his mentor and left to fend for himself. Having developed some minor spellcasting abilities, more as a hobby than anything else, he was forced to use these to fend for himself after he was abducted recruited by the Legion. Through constant and sometimes desperate use, he has developed these considerably, and is now dreaming of becoming an Archmage.
Nickarus, Elven male Cleric 9
An Elven Cleric of Shevarash, the unsmiling god of revenge. Since there are no Drow in the immediate area, he has taken a role that is more retribution oriented towareds the enemies of elfkind in general. Has also spent most of his accumulated fortune on soup kitchens for the needy, and other assorted good deeds.
Brotor, Dwarven male Fighter 4/Barbarian 2/Ranger 2
A Dwarven brawler of considerable skill who was exiled by his clan for being an annoying git, he originally volunteered for the Legion. Since then he has made it his home, and is quite comfortable in his new life, even with the less saviory aspects of the tasks he is required to perform. Always more happy putting an axe into someones face than performing actual work.
Snooka, Human male Fighter 7
Taken slave as a child by a tribe of Goblins, and raised as a pit fighter. New to the concept of roleplaying, the player is generally still more interested in causing mayhem and bullying NPC's than developing his character, but is showing some progress. The player has recently decided that he held his Goblin stepmother in fond regard, and is developing some sort of revenge scheme against the Legion for wiping out the tribe. Will be interesting to see where it leads.
The session:
Trekking through the Vercy Woods (and beating the snot out of a couple of Shambling Mounds who happen to cross their path), the party arrives in the pleasant land of Barze. Covered by the surrounding mountains from the worst of icy northern winds, the land is fairly green compared to the rest of the region, but heavily infested by humanoid tribes. Whereas traditionalist Orcs dominate the Thar and Orcus worshipping Orcs, Humans, and Halforcs rule Vaasa, Barze is presently the homeland for tribes of Hobgoblins and Bugbears who have been worshipping Tiamat since the Age of Dragons. Consequently there is a higher concentration of draco-descended monsters and individuals here than almost anywhere else in the Realms. Smaller tribes of Goblins are present everywhere, but are universally bullied by their bigger neighbours.
In the southern plains the players discover a tent city which seems to be a conglomeration of tribes, individuals and monsters. Thorugh the judicious use of spells and skills, they manage to discover that an individual called The Prophet (apparently some sort of local Warlord) is assembling an army to attack Glister. The players also discover that the army already contains a handful of giants and several smaller dracoforms, and is planning on recruiting more.
Players being players, they finish off by knocking a random hobgoblin over the head, as it is making it's way outside camp to relieve itself. This is done in order to study some dragon tattoos which the GM apparently made sound too cool and interesting. Timothy has a moment of compassion for the poor creature and talks the other players out of slitting it's throat for the sake of looking at some ink. In spite of some grumbling from Brotor and Nickarus, they instead steal his belongings to make it look like a robbery (conveniently ignoring that a hobgoblin robber would probably have slit his victim's throat anyway), and leave their victim unconscious. Virtue can be strange.
The party hurries back to Ilinvur. More or less impregnable behind a spring swollen river, except for two ferry crossings, it provides the best natural choke point in the vicinity. Their reasoning is that with the militia called up and a seasoned party of adventurers backing them up, holding back a few Goblinoids should be a piece of cake. The rest of the session is spent arguing with the town NPCs about proper courses of action and getting a feel for local politics.
<to be continued. Comments welcome.>
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
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Calmar
Acolyte
49 Posts |
Posted - 28 Dec 2014 : 18:14:06
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This is a very exciting campaign journal. It's rare to see such a campaign were the players work for an evil power so intelligently realized.
Your premise and your take on the setting are excellent!
Your idea with the disguised zombie that is controlled by an invisible caster is really clever.
I'm excited to read how the next sessions develop. :) |
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Jeremy Grenemyer
Great Reader
USA
2717 Posts |
Posted - 28 Dec 2014 : 20:15:12
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| The published Realms needs more Bane. I hope WotC takes a cue from what you're doing here when there next book about running evil campaigns using the 5E D&D rules is published. |
Look for me and my content at EN World (user name: sanishiver). |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36779 Posts |
Posted - 29 Dec 2014 : 00:01:59
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quote:
Originally posted by Jeremy Grenemyer
The published Realms needs more Bane. I hope WotC takes a cue from what you're doing here when there next book about running evil campaigns using the 5E D&D rules is published.
You mean Xvim, since he's impersonating his late father.   |
Candlekeep Forums Moderator
Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
http://www.candlekeep.com -- Candlekeep Forum Code of Conduct
I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen!  |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2014 : 00:18:36
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Thirteenth Session: The Raven and the Fiends, part 3/?
As the days pass, the party figures out how things work in Ilinvur. Most of the miners and trappers do not wish to become too dependent on Melvaunt, and strive to maintain amiable relations with Phlan for that purpose. They tend to be adventurous spirits whose chief interest is making as much money as possible before moving back to more civilized lands. The miners and trappers association are opposed by the merchant and farmer factions, who chiefly want to civilize the area as much as possible in order to create a safe home for their families. They look to Melvaunt for military support and are looking to form more permanent trade structures. The fact that the opportunists tend to support Phlan which is a goodly city, while the supposedly decent folk tend to support Melvaunt, which is a stronghold of Loviatar, only serves to keep things interesting.
The miners and trappers tend to want to move out of the way of the incoming horde and come back once things are back to normal. The merchants and farmers, on the other hand, depend on Glister remaining safe in order to remain safe themselves, and so speak out for defending the town if at all possible, going so far as to threaten economic sanctions. During the course of the next week, it is decided to defend the river crossings, but to evacuate the noncombattants to Glister and retreat there if the defense seems hopeless.
Wondering if they should bother to get involved (note to self: Make adventure hook more obvious next time), Nickarus contacts their Legion handler back at the Keep with a handful of Message spells, to ask for instructions. He receives the reply that they are encouraged to help and keep an eye on things, but to get out if the defense fails. The party then jump in and help prepare the towns defenses. Nickarus uses Wall of Stone and Stone Shape spells to form Archer blinds along the river bank, while Timothy uses Fabricate spells to fashion stakes and other obstacles. Meanwhile Snooka and Brotor help train the militia with a level of efficiency that would make their old Legion Drill sergeant weep with despair. The bar keeper at the Crossdressing Doppelganger (the local watering hole) is happy though. Scouts are also deployed along the Southern bank of the Telstang Brook (which is a river rather than a brook in the spring).
Finally the party discovers that the Vercy Woods contains a small Elven enclave. They are known as the Denethelass, and survive by raising monsters and situating them around their territory, causing the local Bugbear tribes to regard them with superstitious dread. They are survivors of the fall of ancient Thay'Vir and have developed into an extremely introvert breed in order to survive.
GM's notes: They have also only been placed in the area because Nickarus chose Leadership when he hit level 9, and I wanted him to have an Elven Eldritch knight for a Cohort. Making them isolationist keeps them from ruining the balance of the adventure, while allowing them to be powerful enough to feasibly survive in the area.
Nickarus breaks off the defense preparations in order to travel alone into the Woods to look for said Elves. However, he soon discovers that he is ill equipped to face the perils of the Woods without the benefit of a party backing him up. After getting spanked by some wandering encounters and nearly dying, he finally bumps into a Denethallir scout who after a bit of roleplaying and some excellent diplomacy rolls agrees to set up a meeting with a couple of elders of the community. In spite of his arguments about common ground, he is informed that the Denethelass prefer not to Waste lives on human business. However unbeknownst to the player, this stirs up a bit of unrest amongst the younger Elves, who have a more open (some would say naive) look on the world around them, Thus setting the stage for a Cohort joining the party. (It should be interesting to see what happens if said Cohort ever discovers that Nickarus is actually an agent of Zhentil Keep.) Nickarus returns to Ilinvur and the defense preparations.
Then finally, two weeks after the party returned from Barze, the horde arrives.
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
Edited by - Misereor on 31 Dec 2014 00:21:25 |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2014 : 00:39:23
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A Word on Politics
Some would probably Wonder why Zhentil Keep is interested in helping allies of Phlan.
The explanation is simple. Besides holding the unfortunate record of being the city in the Realms that has been destroyed and rebuilt the most times, Phlan is also the Keep's first line of defense on their Eastern border. However, since securing the city and making it impregnable to attack would be prohibitively expensive, the Keep has decided to simply let it serve as a doorstop for any invading hordes. Since the Keep has no interest in letting any of the other powers of the Moonsea establish a foothold on their border, it has ironically become the safest guarantee for Phlanite independence.
This also explains why the party was sent to foil the attempt of the Church of Tyr to establish a temple in the city in Session 8. The Keep wants Phlan nice and neutral, and major movers and shakers of the Realms kept out of their back yard.
Of course, if Phlan should ever become big and strong enough to be reasonably safe from the occasional humanoid hordes, flights of Dragons, rogue giant nations with dreams of empire etc., the Keep's policy of maintaining Phlan's independence would certainly come to an end, since controlling it would then become a worthwhile investment. But for now, the Keep is happy to let the Phlanites foot the bill by themselves.
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
Edited by - Misereor on 31 Dec 2014 00:42:49 |
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Misereor
Learned Scribe
164 Posts |
Posted - 31 Dec 2014 : 01:53:54
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Fourteenth Session: The Raven and the Fiends, part 4/?
The boom of hundreds of war drums herald the arrival of the horde of the Prophet.
The horde is not made up of any particular Hobgoblin nation, but rather consists of detachments from all of them, many of them among the most elite warrriors of their clans. (Religious crusades tend to work that way.)
Besides Goblin wolf riders and Hobgoblins and Bugbears, a tribe of some 150 Ogres along with a handful of Hill Giants make up the regular troops. The Queen's Dark Guard, consisting of various types of Spawn of Tiamat (Monster Manual IV) form the Prophets elite corps, and the Clerics of Tiamat have charmed or negotiated deals with many Draconic Monsters besides. Besides this, the horde has crafted numerous wheeled assault rafts with missile blinds and catapults capable of flinging flaming missiles across the river or over Glister's city walls when the time comes. A couple of young Dragons with delusions of grandeur round off the ensemble.
All in all, the stage should be set for the next phase of the campaign, with some nice battles and opportunities for special ops raids.
In order to instill fear in the human defenders, the Prophet orders the execution of the human prisoners the horde has taken. These consist of a few unlucky traders and miners that have been captured on the North side of the river. Before the whole army, they are tied to stakes just out of bowshot of the defenders and murdered in a most hideous manner with Insect Swarm spells cast by Clergy members.
The Prophets plan of attack consist of five prongs, much like the heads of Tiamat.
First a detachment of light infantry and archers march West towards the furthest crossing point. They are to make as much of a nuisance of themselves as possible and provide a very obvious diversion. The purpose is mostly to make the defenders think they know what is going on. Meanwhile the Ogre tribe under the command of the Ogre chief Hogun the Destroyer (immediately renamed Hulk Hogun by my cretinous players) are to make a river crossing some ways further East. Their job is to assault the defender's right flank once the river crossing starts.
The three remaining heads are the river assault.
First the Claw of Tiamat, 15 assault rafts with missile blinds will be chained together to provide a solid line of advance. Each raft has a Redspawn Arcaniss and a Cleric aboard as well as a detachment of heavy Bugbear and Hobgoblin infantry. Meanwhile the Breath of Tiamat, archers, catapults and the remaining spell casters, will provide long range fire support. Finally The Wings of Tiamat consist of a handful of domesticated Wyverns backed up by a couple of immature Dragons (one red and one green) will land behind the lines and sow confusion among the defenders.
<To be continued. As usual, comments are welcome.>
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What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition. |
Edited by - Misereor on 31 Dec 2014 01:56:06 |
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Campaign Notes: Zhentil Keep, Resurrection
