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Bink - a wizard
Ulilia - a witch
Hamdin - a miller
Mara - a soul knife
Hamdin encountered Aphar Ha'adamah, a little girl whose family vanished when a purple worm ate them. The worm was summoned by a Dark Man. The heroes examined the whole, tracked the Dark Man to the Seventeen Barrows of Solt, then on to Ugot City.
Ugot City is a den of corruption. All is not well. Lord Nizn Thrildnest, the Seventeenth Baron of the Free City of Ugot (commonly styled simply "Lord Ugot"), is a brutal lord. The heroes hear of a missing child, the son of a nobleman married to Lord Ugot's sister, the Honorable Rast Thrildnest. The nobleman has been arrested on suspicion of selling the child to a den of prostitutes to pay off his debts.
Further, they make inquiries to sell some of their loot and find Baronet Délood of Cerocia Manor willing to make a deal. He sent a thin servant to negotiate the sale of a tapestry. He then requested on of the girls to have dinner with him that evening. Ulilia agreed, with Hamdin taking the role of chaperon.
In the manor, they found Sir Délood kept a strange manor, wherein he preserved corpses in life-like poses, dressing them in wealth. Later, Sir Délood suggested Ulilia ask Hamdin to leave, which he did. Sir Délood proposed marriage to Ulilia, who refused. Upon refusal, Sir Délood held her and tried to have her put into a sarcophagus which would have petrified her. After her clothes were removed, Ulilia broke the hold person spell and escaped. Sir Délood sent the thin man after her.
Ulilia streaked naked through the streets, using an obscuring mist to hide from the thin man. In the meantime, the others had a lead to the Dark Man and encountered the thin man as they left their inn. After a fight, the thin man was killed, and the body disposed of by the deformed street urchins of the area.
They went to a miller's house, learned stuff about a worm cult and heard the Dark Man was expelled from the Order. They were led to the new Cult Leader and Hamdin chastized them for letting the Dark Man go instead of dispensing justice (of course, what he didn't know at this point was that the Cult Leader was the Dark Man).
They went to Lord Ugot and, in return for finding the missing boy (who turned out to be Lord Ugot's son), they would destroy the Cult of the Great Worm. He also found out about Ugot's penchant for torture. They also ordered the arrest of Sir Délood and access to his funds.
Discovering the Cult Leader was the Dark Man, they led 300 soldiers into the den. They were attacked by the Rat-Things, the familiars of the worm cultists. The head Rat-Thing cast spells at the party, but the things were killed when Mara raced them into the soldiers so they could be killed.
The cultists - who were worm-people - tried to defend themselves, but the soldiers and the heroes cut them down.
Although offered positions of power, the heroes opted to leave, although they created an agreement to change the balance of power in the city.
There were two libraries in Cerocia Manor owned by Sir Délood. The larger library offers 6 virtual ranks in Knowledge (Forbidden Lore), Knowledge (Dragons), and Knowledge (Fey) (or +3 to skill checks for characters with 6 or more ranks already), gained after 2 days of study for a particular question. Some of the more valuable books include "On the Creation of the Eldritch Staff" by Golgar Methqua; "Dragons of the Vipnaal Swamp" by Brard; "Dragons of the Sottai Forest" by Brard; "Dragons of the Celshon Darkness" by Brard; "Unspeakable Knowledge of Ragnfast" by Ugot; "Süke-Bator's Fallacies" by Ugot; "The Unseelie Court" by Aughdche Nalit; "Fey Rings of Solt" by Aughdche Nalit; and "The Mysterious Barrows of Solt" by Aughdche Nalit.
The smaller library offers 6 virtual ranks (or +3 on a check) after 3 days of study (this library is less organized than the other, despite being smaller) in Knowledge (Demonology) and Knowledge (Water Elementalism). Some of the more valuable books include "Ladies of the Cosmic Depths" by Rhandhsam; "Dragons of the Abyss" by Brard; "Drowning the Earth" by Aerfur Kuhri; and "An Oceanographic Lexicon" by Orin.
In addition to the libraries, you also find Sir Délood's spellbook, which contains the spells Mending, Mage Hand, Touch of Fatigue, Read Magic, Animate Rope, Reduce Person, Sleep, Charm Person, Soften Petrified Flesh, Ghoul Touch, Levitate, Spectral Hand, Hold Person, Suggestion, Vampiric Touch, Scorching Ray, and False Life. He also has a masterwork crossbow.
Further, there was a library of scrolls in the Cathedral of Worms. Again, a small library, offering 6 virtual ranks (or a +3 check) in Knowledge (Religion), Knowledge (Forbidden Lore) and Knowledge (Outer Planes). Some of the more notable scrolls include: "Star Vampires of the Empty Places," "Becoming a Specral Hunter," "Walking Between Worlds," "Chthonians Beneath Us," "Ecology of the Chthonian Giants," "Of Purple Worms, Dholes, and Chthonian Burrowers," "Worms That Walk," and several disjointed journals.
On the history of the Cult of the Worms, one readily determines it is a corrupt and monstrous cult - and that this is but a fledgling cult. There are others of this kind out there. Those investigating this library come to the realization that the most powerful members had already left this location prior to your arrival because the city was too isolated. The high-level sorcerers who had created the petrification sarcophagus are not here, nor are they among the dead members.
What spells does a witch use and does she have a spellbook? Bink is, of course, interested in the spellbook.
Concerning the staff, I suppose that reading the book on eldritch staves will be of use in learning more about Delood's staff. On a side note, how do you type the little "`" above the e in Delood's name?
Thanks again for the hospitality. The chili was worth it, at least!
Well, I hope you had fun! I did. The question is, where to next? We have no real indication of what lies beyond Ugot city. Do we follow the river for a time?
Also, side note: I talk to Lord Nizn Thrildnest about providing a modest "restart" money for the farmers and others who may have lost their homes. Also, Hamdin does a bit of research on cartography in order to make his own maps better.
__________________ The natural unintended meaning of any abstract, symbolic language is rhubarb.
The question is, where to next? We have no real indication of what lies beyond Ugot city. Do we follow the river for a time?
There is mention that the cult is not dead, just the local arm. I'm not sure we are ready to tackle this? For my part, I would like more background information on the area, or the world. Whether from the collected libraries or my supposed Knowledge-Geography (rank 5). What are the powers in this part of the world? It seems that the elder Ugot declared magic forbidden, and therefore our original (destroyed) village was a fiefdom or vassalage of some sort?
Quote:
Also, side note: I talk to Lord Nizn Thrildnest about providing a modest "restart" money for the farmers and others who may have lost their homes. Also, Hamdin does a bit of research on cartography in order to make his own maps better.
Also, side note: I talk to Lord Nizn Thrildnest about...
Although that is his given name, he is properly styled "Lord Ugot." Being called by his given name by someone of lower status is horribly insulting.
He does, however, accede to your requests, and gives you access to his cartographic books. He owns three: "The Travels of Taurengel" by Klewei Yano; "Tellames Cartography: A Primer" by Remeliik; and "Universal Symbols of the Sumang Map-Makers" by Ibedul Kesolei.
More specifically, that is to Hamdin's liking, how much gold did we pilfer?
In actual coin, about 4,412 gold pieces worth (most of it in coppers and silver, however. Only about 2,000 is actually gold coin). If you want loot (art objects) to cart to the next city, you can get a bunch of that too.
Well, I hope you had fun! I did. The question is, where to next? We have no real indication of what lies beyond Ugot city. Do we follow the river for a time?
I am working on a map I intend to send to you to put up for everyone.
There is mention that the cult is not dead, just the local arm. I'm not sure we are ready to tackle this? For my part, I would like more background information on the area, or the world. Whether from the collected libraries or my supposed Knowledge-Geography (rank 5). What are the powers in this part of the world?
I will see what I can do after I get the map completed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by APewty
It seems that the elder Ugot declared magic forbidden, and therefore our original (destroyed) village was a fiefdom or vassalage of some sort?
Yes, but not a fiefdom of Ugot. Yoros is part of the Dalil-Shugab Marches, and technically a vassal of The Most Honorable Gimilkhar, Marquess of Dalil-Shugab (styled Lord Dalil-Shugab). He, in turn, answers to King Dugulpankhar, King of Baaltukhar (at least in theory). Neither the king nor the marquess has ever set foot in Yoros.
One section, comprised of 3 books, 2 journals, and 17 scrolls,
<snip>
The 17 scrolls comprise a partial text of the extremely rare "Time Cross" text (which involves experimenting in time to improve perspective) (priceless).
Another section, comprised of 6 books and 17 clay tablets
<snip>
The clay tablets create an epic poem about Xinaián (343 gp).
Lookit all the 17s! =)
Quote:
Originally Posted by InzeladunMaster
"Fey Rings of Solt" by Aughdche Nalit; and "The Mysterious Barrows of Solt" by Aughdche Nalit.
Marah, upon knowing the name of the barrows and the matching book decided to check those out. She'd also like to check all the books for references of 17.. hehehe
Actually, you are mirroring Hamdin's thoughts. He wants to look for references to the number 17 in local folklore. He also starts to learn how to read...
__________________ The natural unintended meaning of any abstract, symbolic language is rhubarb.
I type it into Word and use the Insert Symbol command, then I cut and paste it here.
¥òû çåñ àç┼ûà11ÿ ┼ÿpë â và┌ïé┼ÿ ôƒ Σÿmbò1s
Extended ASCII characters are available to type directly in your browser. Hold down the alt key and type their ascii number.
ALT+138 gives you è
ALT+130 gives you é
Can it be assumed that I, as a businessman, knew a little already? If so, will this lower his skill point cost?
In Elizabethan England, only wealthy males could read - this meant for a lot of businessmen who could not. This is an age before legal contracts - an age when men did their business based on the strength of their oral word, not on the strength of their signature.
You said he was illiterate. I have no assumptions beyond that. The rule is, to turn an illiterate to a literate, it takes 2 skill points. I didn't write the rule. I don't know what the authors' reasoning was or what their assumptions were. I really don't want to haggle over a skill point. If you think he is partially literate for some reason, then spend 1 point. Otherwise, if you think just using the rule is fair, then spend 2 points. You can make the call yourself.
LOL Well, you seem a little offended! It was just a question. I made him illiterate because I was sure he would be. I knew nothing of the rule, so was just trying to milk it. A skill point is a skill point, and the way I roll, god knows I need it! Anyway, I will spend the 2. Thanks!
__________________ The natural unintended meaning of any abstract, symbolic language is rhubarb.
For my part, I would like more background information on the area, or the world. Whether from the collected libraries or my supposed Knowledge-Geography (rank 5). What are the powers in this part of the world?
Isana is to the northeast. It is ruled by Baron Azor Bodi (Lord Isana). Founded by five factions, each one devoted to one of the elements, these factions continue to strive for dominance. Right now the Itsûm (Wood) family is uppermost, while the Ishâtûm (Fire) family is being trod underfoot. A Festival of the Dead is held each year.
Kutaaya is to the southwest. Ruled by Baron Niqmael Ahimilkat (Lord Kutaaya), this town is struggling to rebuild after a flood.
Amelkhar is to the west.
The Vipnaal Swamp is northwest, along with the Sottai Forest.
*I will fill in more information later; I have to go to work.
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