"After a series of plagues, a rain of fire and molten stone, and several waves of invading monstrous humanoids, the Eldritch Giants of Teotlok mysteriously halted their brutal war against the Vaish Kingdoms.
Rumors abound that the giants simply disappeared, leaving their strange jungle citadel empty, ready to be looted by the remnants of their own humanoid armies..who just as promptly melted into the jungle, never to return.
Others say the eldritch giants will surely return. Whispering tales of strange war-rituals conducted with demons and a soured alliance between the eldritch giants and a God of Undeath are told around the campfires.
A series of expeditions were launched to find out what happened, and a small port with a colony was eventually founded on the southern shores of Teotlok. This port- Sultan's Hand-- is where your characters will gather.
The jungle is out there... "
__________________ The Fearless DM(standard; at will; recharge )
To begin, each of you have arrived at Sultan's Hand by boat, and have stepped off of the dock with your gear in hand. Sultan's Hand is a sliver of civilization and new construction on the shores of a tropical jungle island. New walls are in the process of being built (to fend off raids by gibberlings and a memorable attack by savage Qllan.
Please feel free to introduce and briefly describe your character!
As you enter the city (and on the journey to Teotlok), your group quickly gets a sense of a number of rumors about Sultan's Hand itself, as well as the surrounding jungle.
Rumors:
The eldritch giants (known as the gyrdoreï ) used an arcane ruin deep in the jungle to conduct their strange war rituals. Valuable crystals, pure magical elements and other treasures are believed to remain behind.
A jungle sphynx who answers questions and whispers mysterious prophecies lives atop a waterfall somewhere in the islands interior.
Warring tribes of humanoids (including gibberlings, berserker Qllan, and orcs) compete for hunting territory outside of the city.
The Sea Cliffs west of the Sultan's Hand contain some caves with (reportedly) drow ruins.
Parts of the jungle are haunted by the spirits of a secretive elven court that once lived there.
Near the end of the Vaish War, a gargantuan and ancient ocean titan called the Karakvaile actually came ashore several miles east of Sultan's hand- it was burning alive. Natives say collapsed somewhere in the jungle, and have refused to go there since then.
A thieves guild known as the Fangs has set itself up in the city, and controls all the vice in town.
Jobs To Be Had:
Orchid Hunting: - the Circle of Cenevar is paying 5gp per blossom of a rare flower, to anyone brave enough to harvest them. They'll even tell you exactly where to find a bunch of them....
Bounty on an "Escaped Criminal" known only as Copperjaw. Inquire at the Singing Fish.
Guards wanted for a Mining Caravan headed for the interior of the jungle. See the Theldan's Mining Company Office.
Vaish Sponsored Expedition Seeks Brave Souls: Try at the Explorers Guild.
Sultan's Hand Indendent Trapping (an unfortunate acronym nonetheless) is having a problem with some of their territory being raided. Seek Thrandal Mazen at the Golden Moth.
__________________ The Fearless DM(standard; at will; recharge )
Rulk steps off the dock with a pack over one shoulder looking out over Sultan's Hand. His leather cuirass is loosened in the jungle humidity. He runs a hand over his long black hair, cursing the heat loudly as he does. He drops his pack to the ground and splashes some of the nearby water over his face, slicking his hair back and tying it back again.
Looking around at the group of adventurers he just arrived with he grunts a greeting, "Anyone lookin' for a job? I heard there might be gold to be made..."
"...Oh, and my name's Rulk."
Full Description
Rulk is a tall, leanly built half-orc. At nearly six and a half feet tall his broad shoulders form an imposing figure. Swarthy gray-green skin is crossed with old and new scars, his wide face a map of pockmarks and freckles. A single tusk-like canine protrudes from his lower jaw. His greasy black hair is pulled back from his face with a leather thong. Occasionally a strand falls loose and ends up tucked behind a raggedly pointed ear.
Rulk wears simple leather armor; a mottled brown, it is stained here and there along with a few obvious stitches. The wear and tear doesn't appear to impact it's protective ability. Underneath the armor a thin, sleeveless off-white tunic can be seen. Beneath the greaves and cuisses he wears thicker brown leggings. A wide broadsword is strapped to his back, the handle in reach at the right side of his lower back. A shortsword is strapped to the side of his left thigh. Both weapons look as if they are second hand, even the scabbards appear fairly beat up. A quiver full of arrows and a small bow is strapped to his back, opposite the sword.
Adventure choices
Maybe we could try to pull off more than one at a time? Such as searching for the criminal and blossoms, while pulling guard duty?
Hi Rulk! My name is Camden!" the blond human exclaims.
His clothes are finely made, but are a little salt stained and sunbleached. He wears leather armour and bears a word at his side.
He reaches into a pocket in his pack, but ends up dislodging the shield slung on his back. He gear collapses into a pile on his left foot. Crunch. He stops to look at it a second.
"No matter! im sure there is gold and fame to be won at any hand."
"Hmm a job as a common guard seems like a good way to get our bearings in this new land. If the route passes by the orchid grove, or Hook Peak mountain, so much the better. Maybe someone even knows the way to Hook Peak at the mining camp, as no one else seems to have ever heard of it."
Camden will greet the others as they introduce themseles, although anyone on the same boat as him will know him from long evenings telling stories.
__________________ Game Quote:
"Shut up! a giant blue smurf eats your character...zzzz"
(sometimes its important to stop gaming and sleep)
"You all are the worst emissaries, ever!" the silver dragon declares, shaking with rage.
"Its a game, a game, I'm only playing. " E. Wiggen My PbP games , Roll Dice
Rulk smirks when Camden drops his stuff, making his way over slowly to help him pick it back up.
"What is this Hook Peak place? Right idea on doing more than one job and guard job seems easy enough, we could probably do that in our sleep. I could at least. Done a little guard duty before..."
Gnarul (pronounced Nar-rule) steps of the boat dropping his backpack and javelins next to his feet. The pale-skinned human wipes his profusely sweating brow with his right hand and uses his left hand to pull back his unruly mop of hair. The hide armor covering his torso and limbs is ardorned with crude etchings of vegetation, as is the large shield tied to his back, which on closer examination are simply representations of some exotic thorny vine.
"This place is too hot for my liking," he says to those nearby, regathering his belongings in his right hand and resting his left hand on the hilt of a longsword. "But there is opportunity here like no other," assessing that the well equipped strangers are of similar views.
"If the mining caravan means not having to walk in this accursed heat, then that is my kind of work," he says. "And it's Gnarul. Cold Gnarul," he adds with a welcoming nod to the others.
From the ship walks a large humanoid figure wearing clothing that seems to blend in with the shadows whenever he passes into them. The creature is large, far too large to be human, and as he allows his cowl to fall back from his head, you see that this is a bugbear, although you were not aware of the goblinoid on the ship. His fur is a stark white, and dark leather armour is visible underneath his cloak. A large sword stands strapped to his back, the weapon is as tall as a human and the wicked blade looks deadly.
He walks over to you and says "Hallo, I am Hane, you look like you could be useful. Ain't no point in running around like halflings with our heads cut off, we could work together and get more gold that way. Don't care none for this heat either, but ya gotta follow the coins and here we are. I'm not much fer picking flowers though, hunting down Copperjaw sounded like fun, but I don't rightly care as long as I get paid" gruffly, chuckling at his own comment.
From behind a pile of boxes and crates, steps out a man dressed in green and yellow, with his hands hidden inside the tunic's sleeves. An air of superiority surrounds the singular man, an odd vision to be seen among sailors and adventurers, this man seems to fit more in a theatre or a wizard academy, not the docks. "Gold. Gold is just a vile metal. Glory and power are goals more than supirior that you should be aspiring to. I can offer my invaluable assistance is such matters. If you have to know, my name is Bonamius, master of confusion. Perhaps my title could sound strange at first, but I'm sure you'll agree on it, if you get to know me."
__________________ English is NOT my native language!
Mri'Thas: "Useless primates... " Sheng Zim: "Your existence brings the world out of balance. The chaos I bring shall revert it; unfortunately, your soul will be destroyed in the process."
-------------------------------------- Tuk Heavy Hands Apeldan: "Trolls are afraid to cats. Good to know" (Yttermayn's "Saga of the Dragon Cult") Cnosos: "I bet there's plenty of wonderful devices in that ship. Let's scavenge them at once!" (Blackrat's "After Earth") Metliz: Sounds like fun! (Arkandus's "The First") Thok: "Thok eats a lot, Thok big. Thok not good at first impressions." (MnL's "Valley of the Dead")
"Ha! Then tell ya what, Bone-a-mee-us, I'll take your share of the gold and you can have all the glory, fair?" Hane says, laughing, although he struggled mightily to get out the name of the wizard.
"Nice try. If you can spell my full name without pauses you can have half my share." The sorceror calls, with half a smile. " I think the explorer's guild would pose us with the best and more profitable challenge. If we get to explore these... savage..." The man almost spitted the last word "...land, we could find traces of the old giant city. There are tales of the immense power of the artifacts that are hidden in that place, of the countless priceless relics... Perhaps some of them are true." offers the sorceror of green robes.
Image
__________________ English is NOT my native language!
Mri'Thas: "Useless primates... " Sheng Zim: "Your existence brings the world out of balance. The chaos I bring shall revert it; unfortunately, your soul will be destroyed in the process."
-------------------------------------- Tuk Heavy Hands Apeldan: "Trolls are afraid to cats. Good to know" (Yttermayn's "Saga of the Dragon Cult") Cnosos: "I bet there's plenty of wonderful devices in that ship. Let's scavenge them at once!" (Blackrat's "After Earth") Metliz: Sounds like fun! (Arkandus's "The First") Thok: "Thok eats a lot, Thok big. Thok not good at first impressions." (MnL's "Valley of the Dead")
Rulk looks at the sorcerer quizzacly... "Okay mister-big-words, seems like you got it all planned out, huh? How 'bout we do guard duty on our way into check out these fancy artfax?"
A catlike shifter, wearing worn but serviceable leather armour leans against an unusualy large bow, addorned with fetishes. He stares in awe at the surrounding area, looking at the nearby jungle with reverance. He turns to the other adventurers who have gathered on the dock
"Hi Hi, I am Flint, like the rock" he proffers a flint tipped arrow by way of explanation "You think maybe prospective employers would prefer hiring a group of people rather than loners?"
He looks around thoughtfully.
"Maybe found a mercenary company? Strength comes with number, yes?"
Gnarul had seen some strange creatures in his time, but a common-speaking cat-like creature was not one of them. Still, it seemed human enough in other ways.
Shrugging his shoulders slightly, he essentially agrees with Flint's idea of offering their services collectively. "You're probably right. Although I have little enough experience in selling me skills."
The woolly-haired man looks around at the eclectic well-armed group now gathered on the dock, clearly assessing their character. He pauses, and then spits on the wooden planking underfoot. "I'd be satisfied to throw my lot in wit any of ya."
Camden sorts out his gear with Rulk and gets it all stowed away and tied into place.
"So we offer ourselves as guards for a group rate? even split of all profits?
As to Hook Peak, I purchased an intrieging map that uses Hook Peak as its major landmark. I was assured that the mountain was on this continent, but know one seems to know where it is."
__________________ Game Quote:
"Shut up! a giant blue smurf eats your character...zzzz"
(sometimes its important to stop gaming and sleep)
"You all are the worst emissaries, ever!" the silver dragon declares, shaking with rage.
"Its a game, a game, I'm only playing. " E. Wiggen My PbP games , Roll Dice
"Joining up as a group sounds good, maybe we should all say what it is we do so we can figure out details"
Rulk pats the hilts of his swords. "I'm a ranger, bit of a woodsman but mostly just enjoy using my two swords to dice up the monsters, whoever they are"
Your group has congregated at the docks not too far from the Bloody Rose Tavern and Inn.
There is a jobs board with several postings (see 2nd post): The "Guards Wanted" post refers to Theldan's Mining Company which you can the office and a withered sign dimly across the plaza.
(obviously you can choose to follow up on a rumor or job listed in post #2 or look for something else.. it's up to you..)
__________________ The Fearless DM(standard; at will; recharge )
Mri'Thas: "Useless primates... " Sheng Zim: "Your existence brings the world out of balance. The chaos I bring shall revert it; unfortunately, your soul will be destroyed in the process."
-------------------------------------- Tuk Heavy Hands Apeldan: "Trolls are afraid to cats. Good to know" (Yttermayn's "Saga of the Dragon Cult") Cnosos: "I bet there's plenty of wonderful devices in that ship. Let's scavenge them at once!" (Blackrat's "After Earth") Metliz: Sounds like fun! (Arkandus's "The First") Thok: "Thok eats a lot, Thok big. Thok not good at first impressions." (MnL's "Valley of the Dead")
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