A few points: first of all, the characters in Hyberoan figured out that just about every store was busting over with stuff. Clearly, the guards have been selling the possessions of the people they've arrested. So, basically, the guards in Hyberoan have sold all the belongings of Kaydtch to the stores, who have now doubled their stocks but who have no one to sell all this stuff to. The characters witnessed once a guard threatening a store owner if he refused to buy the guard's loot.
Second, the guards are all Redguard, a race of humans from outside of Sturmgort. They were brought in to Aversill as mercenaries under the leadership of Beinvan Drodswell, a local noble who did not go off to war but stayed behind to police the frontier against invasion. Groups like his have acted in the past as protectorates of the realm, but as there has been less and less for these groups to do, more an more accusations of treason to the baron have been made by the groups. Anyone who is convicted of this crime forfeits all land to the barony, and therefore, arresting as many people as possible for this crime is a great way to increasimg one's political standing. The accusation is made against anyone housing the enemy at a time of war. Benivan and his men (Drodswell's Defenders) have arrested the entire town of Kaydtch for this crime.
The characters learn from the guards at Hyberoan that they cannot simply pass through and onto to the city of Streckhorn because the intervening woods have become plagued with a vast number of ghouls. The defenders fearing the forces housed by the people in Kaydtch have relocaed the townsfolk to Hyberoan where they awaited a magistrate of the barony to hold trials. Of course, the dispossessed traitors serve as a great warning to the townsfolk of Hyberoan who are daily forced to cator to Benivan and his men.
The guards at the gate also alert the characters that they will not allow the halfling caravan into the city (they are allowed to set up north of the stockade but cannot expect the guard's protection) nor will they allow Gringulia into town as they perceive her as one of the enemy. After some discussion, the characters convince the guards to let them appeal to a higher authority--the Defender's second in command Virgil Kleetch.
Virgil is less than enthusiastic about the characters (they are after all, real soldiers, whereas his authority is more ceremonial than anything else). He does not want them interfering with Defender business and he refuses entrance to Gringulia. The audience is, however, interrupted by Benivan himself who is only too happy that the characters are there as it lends his operation some legitamacy. He attempted to talk turkey with the characters, allowed Gringulia entrance into the city, and offered them barrack in a local farm (which the characters took).
Gringulia, Emord, and Neri headed towards the farm to set up. Earthmoon and Feldon headed off to the woods on a hunch that the ghouls were a story made up to scare people into behaving. It turned out that this hunch was wrong. Feldon abandoned Earthmoon to her fate. Earthmoon turned into a bird and escaped the clutches of the fiends. She then headed off to commune with nature on what to do about this blight.
Meanwhile, the characters were approached by an agent of a local bookseller Eugene Pollipard, who had a task he hoped the charadcters could help him with...
Showing posts with label adventure recap. Show all posts
Showing posts with label adventure recap. Show all posts
Thursday, March 27, 2008
What happened- adventure 2: the road to Hyberoan
Adventure 2 is non-linear and probably encapsulates more than just a single adventure. But here goes.
Having left the temple of Boccob, the characters happened upon a caravan of halflings. Half their number had disapeared into a fog never to return. The halfling's were eager to pay the characters for protection until they could make it back to civilization. During their stay, the halflings proceeded to attempt to get the characters drunk so as to learn what they could about what was going on.
Feldon stayed off from the debauch only to learn that someone was watching the camp. Feldon discovered that this someone was a hobgoblin who she incapacitated and then killed. The Halfling's admitted to having conned a group of humanoids into believing that they had bought a piece of Aversill land, thereby making them citizens of the colony. The humanoids had figured out the con and now wanted their money back (and probably a bit of vengeance as well). Earthmoon decided to give the money back to the humanoids and made a deal to take them their gold. The humanoids were happy to have their money back and hoped to organize a defection to the Aversill forces. Earthmoon basically said no.
The halflings have since expressed some disdain for having lost the gold that they feel they earned fair and square (by halfling standards).
In any case, while travelling with the halflings, the party stopped by battlefields where the bodies of the fallen had basically just been left to rot. Nearby peasants were looting the bodies in some places. Later, the party passed through the abandoned village of Kaydtch, but sensing its eeriness they decided it was best not to stop.
The next stop was the walled village of Hyberoan, outside of which stood a makeshift stockade of prisoners who were awaiting trial for treason to the baron. The characters learned that this stockade represented the captured citizens of Kaydtch...
Having left the temple of Boccob, the characters happened upon a caravan of halflings. Half their number had disapeared into a fog never to return. The halfling's were eager to pay the characters for protection until they could make it back to civilization. During their stay, the halflings proceeded to attempt to get the characters drunk so as to learn what they could about what was going on.
Feldon stayed off from the debauch only to learn that someone was watching the camp. Feldon discovered that this someone was a hobgoblin who she incapacitated and then killed. The Halfling's admitted to having conned a group of humanoids into believing that they had bought a piece of Aversill land, thereby making them citizens of the colony. The humanoids had figured out the con and now wanted their money back (and probably a bit of vengeance as well). Earthmoon decided to give the money back to the humanoids and made a deal to take them their gold. The humanoids were happy to have their money back and hoped to organize a defection to the Aversill forces. Earthmoon basically said no.
The halflings have since expressed some disdain for having lost the gold that they feel they earned fair and square (by halfling standards).
In any case, while travelling with the halflings, the party stopped by battlefields where the bodies of the fallen had basically just been left to rot. Nearby peasants were looting the bodies in some places. Later, the party passed through the abandoned village of Kaydtch, but sensing its eeriness they decided it was best not to stop.
The next stop was the walled village of Hyberoan, outside of which stood a makeshift stockade of prisoners who were awaiting trial for treason to the baron. The characters learned that this stockade represented the captured citizens of Kaydtch...
What happenned- Adventure 1
Characters returned from across The March with orders to hit Streckhorn and report there for mustering out. On their way, they were to report to a temple of Baccob that a squad of Ogres were headed in that direction. The characters found the temple silent and showing signs that, not only had the ogres already arrived, but that they had taken over the temple. The characters attacked a Worg pen on the side of the temple (a recent construction) and then headed through a side entrance into the temple itself.
Most of the doors and mechanics of the Boccob temple were steam powered so that many of the traps in the place involved releasing large clouds of vapor. The characters learned later that the steam also acted as a deterrant to some of the temples less corporeal guardians.
Once inside the temple, the characters encountered zombie versions of the ogres they expected. Evidentally, before their arrival, the ogres had been defeated and re-animated, but there was no sign of the Boccobites themselves. The characters were then threatened by an army of Grieg who were attempting to rescue their princess from "the rat king".
The party was led to another room which seemed to be the last hold out of live ogres, whom the party killed and in doing so rescued the last member of the Boccobite temple: a gnome cleric of Boccob named Blenbury Knox. Blenbury claimed to be a graduate of Krimfolet--the gnome engineering university. He also claimed that the Boccobites had abandoned the temple because of some disaster they had foreseen, that it was his job as low man on the totem pole to summon the temple's guardain once everyone had left, and that he was in the process of this summoning when he was captured by the ogres. Thus, the guardian is in a volatile and unbound state. Thus, Blenbury urged the characters assistance and led them into the ground level of the temple (the characters had come in on the second floor).
Once down, the characters discovered that the front door was solidly shut and trapped. Detect Evil revealed strong emenations from beyond the door (outside). The characters then met a steam mephit that offerred to help the characters to open whatever doors to the temple that they so desired, provided they would shut down an interdimensional anchor and kill the other two mephits who shared in the responsibility of controlling the steam system of the temple. The players refused and Blenbury offerred that he thought he could take manual control of the steam system provided he had time.
The players left him to his duty only to find out that Blenbury was actually going to perform the mephit's will without the characters. Deciding to chase down Blenbury, the characters fought their way through a large chamber where, high above, Grieg fought against rat men in an epic battle. Blenbury set up creatures to fight the characters and then made it to the dimensional anchor just as the characters arrived. He shut the anchor down and disapeared allowing the mephit free reign over the doors. The mephit opened the doors allowing a fog of wraithlike spirits into the temple.
The Grieg offered to help the players by leading through steam tunnels to their destination (the guardian whom the characters still assumed was a danger). As it turned out, the steam pipes stopped the fog so that the characters were safe from the wraith beasties that were filling the temple. The characters learned that under the temple was a menagerie of very bad things which the rat men were setting free. The Grieg forces were battling the rats so as to stop everything in the undertemple from being let loose. The Grieg called upon the character to rescue their princess by stopping the summoning of a monster. Putting 2 and 2 together, the players realized that the monster was being summoned to kill the princess and set off with the help of a Grieg guide to save the day.
Along the way, they ran into a giant rat monster, were attacked by a chain monster, killed a mephit, and watched the last remaining mephit attack the rats with the help of four demons it had bound into service.
The characters found the summoning chamber only to find out that the princess had been keeping her attacker at bay through Ottiluke's irresistable dance. Anyone entering the room had to face off against it. Meanwhile, the summoner, Blenbury, waited invisibly inside a zone of silence for the princess to run out of endurance. The room was guarded by three zombie ogres.
The characters managed to kill the ogres and to pull back the lid of the princess's well-like cell only to see the monster below waiting just at the edge of the ethereal plane. Sensing that he lost the day, Blenbury jumped down to be taken to the ethereal by the beast, but the characters killed the monster while Blenbury was half way between the planes. Trapped thusly, he made his escape, not wholly in one world or the other.
The princess was saved, the Grieg celebrated, the characters rested. The Grieg explained that the wraith fog were the spirits of ancient Grieg ancestors angered by the kidnapping of the fey royalty. Her release appeased them and they dissapated. Later that night, the characters discovered another Blenbury who claimed to have been unconscious throughout the whole ordeal. He had a gem on his forehead that registered some kind of telepathic magic. Thus, the characters are led to ask, is this the real Blenbury, the same Blenbury, some clone, some dream version, etc.?
The characters left the temple of Boccob with the wraithstorm having become not but a thunderstorm and off they headed back to Streckhorn...
Most of the doors and mechanics of the Boccob temple were steam powered so that many of the traps in the place involved releasing large clouds of vapor. The characters learned later that the steam also acted as a deterrant to some of the temples less corporeal guardians.
Once inside the temple, the characters encountered zombie versions of the ogres they expected. Evidentally, before their arrival, the ogres had been defeated and re-animated, but there was no sign of the Boccobites themselves. The characters were then threatened by an army of Grieg who were attempting to rescue their princess from "the rat king".
The party was led to another room which seemed to be the last hold out of live ogres, whom the party killed and in doing so rescued the last member of the Boccobite temple: a gnome cleric of Boccob named Blenbury Knox. Blenbury claimed to be a graduate of Krimfolet--the gnome engineering university. He also claimed that the Boccobites had abandoned the temple because of some disaster they had foreseen, that it was his job as low man on the totem pole to summon the temple's guardain once everyone had left, and that he was in the process of this summoning when he was captured by the ogres. Thus, the guardian is in a volatile and unbound state. Thus, Blenbury urged the characters assistance and led them into the ground level of the temple (the characters had come in on the second floor).
Once down, the characters discovered that the front door was solidly shut and trapped. Detect Evil revealed strong emenations from beyond the door (outside). The characters then met a steam mephit that offerred to help the characters to open whatever doors to the temple that they so desired, provided they would shut down an interdimensional anchor and kill the other two mephits who shared in the responsibility of controlling the steam system of the temple. The players refused and Blenbury offerred that he thought he could take manual control of the steam system provided he had time.
The players left him to his duty only to find out that Blenbury was actually going to perform the mephit's will without the characters. Deciding to chase down Blenbury, the characters fought their way through a large chamber where, high above, Grieg fought against rat men in an epic battle. Blenbury set up creatures to fight the characters and then made it to the dimensional anchor just as the characters arrived. He shut the anchor down and disapeared allowing the mephit free reign over the doors. The mephit opened the doors allowing a fog of wraithlike spirits into the temple.
The Grieg offered to help the players by leading through steam tunnels to their destination (the guardian whom the characters still assumed was a danger). As it turned out, the steam pipes stopped the fog so that the characters were safe from the wraith beasties that were filling the temple. The characters learned that under the temple was a menagerie of very bad things which the rat men were setting free. The Grieg forces were battling the rats so as to stop everything in the undertemple from being let loose. The Grieg called upon the character to rescue their princess by stopping the summoning of a monster. Putting 2 and 2 together, the players realized that the monster was being summoned to kill the princess and set off with the help of a Grieg guide to save the day.
Along the way, they ran into a giant rat monster, were attacked by a chain monster, killed a mephit, and watched the last remaining mephit attack the rats with the help of four demons it had bound into service.
The characters found the summoning chamber only to find out that the princess had been keeping her attacker at bay through Ottiluke's irresistable dance. Anyone entering the room had to face off against it. Meanwhile, the summoner, Blenbury, waited invisibly inside a zone of silence for the princess to run out of endurance. The room was guarded by three zombie ogres.
The characters managed to kill the ogres and to pull back the lid of the princess's well-like cell only to see the monster below waiting just at the edge of the ethereal plane. Sensing that he lost the day, Blenbury jumped down to be taken to the ethereal by the beast, but the characters killed the monster while Blenbury was half way between the planes. Trapped thusly, he made his escape, not wholly in one world or the other.
The princess was saved, the Grieg celebrated, the characters rested. The Grieg explained that the wraith fog were the spirits of ancient Grieg ancestors angered by the kidnapping of the fey royalty. Her release appeased them and they dissapated. Later that night, the characters discovered another Blenbury who claimed to have been unconscious throughout the whole ordeal. He had a gem on his forehead that registered some kind of telepathic magic. Thus, the characters are led to ask, is this the real Blenbury, the same Blenbury, some clone, some dream version, etc.?
The characters left the temple of Boccob with the wraithstorm having become not but a thunderstorm and off they headed back to Streckhorn...
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