Notes for a New Campaign City, Parsantium

[RichGreen]

I thought it would be fun to post my notes on the perilous trip down the underground river from the dungeons beneath Orloch Scragmane's tenement building <see Sellswords of Punjar> to the slave market.

The PCs can head down the underground river in the dungeons below the slum tenement [Sellswords, Area 2-6, p.27]. Controlling the slavers’ skiff is tricky but the PCs are unlikely to go wrong as the fast-moving river will take them straight to their destination – the underground slave market.
• Check what light source the PCs are using

The Underground River
(Skill challenge: 175 xp)

Level: 4th
Complexity: 1 (requires 4 successes before 3 failures).
Primary Skills: Dungeoneering, Nature, Acrobatics

Dungeoneering (DC 12): You are able to keep the boat on course in the dark tunnels despite the fast-flowing nature of the river. As you head north, the river widens as more water joins it from side passages.

Nature (DC 17): as Dungeoneering, this skill is less relevant so the DC is higher.

Acrobatics (DC 17): by leaning over in the right direction as the skiff hurtles through the darkness, you can keep yourselves afloat.

Success: Just before the PCs reach the underground lake, they must go over a waterfall. If they succeed on the challenge, they fly over it, landing safely with everyone still in the skiff!

Failure: The skiff shoots through the air, tipping the PCs out in all directions. Each PC loses a healing surge, must make a swim check (Athletics DC 10), climb back into the boat (another Athletics check DC 10) and is going to be at a disadvantage in the lake encounter.

Optional Encounter (600xp) - takes place during the skill challenge
• Stirges (6)

Moving around the skiff requires a balance check (DC 15), as does taking damage (see below). PCs fighting in the boat grant combat advantage to their enemies.

Balance: Part of a move action.

✦ DC: See the table.
✦ Success: You can move one-half your speed across a narrow or
unstable surface.
✦ Fail by 4 or Less: You stay in the square you started in and lose the rest of your move action, but you don’t fall. You can try again as part of a move action.
✦ Fail by 5 or More: You fall off the surface (see “Falling,” page 284) and lose the rest of your move action. If you are trying to move across an unstable surface that isn’t narrow, you instead fall prone in the square you started in. You can try again as part of a move action if you’re still on the surface.
✦ Grant Combat Advantage: While you are balancing, enemies have combat advantage against you.
✦ Taking Damage: If you take damage, you must make a new Acrobatics check to remain standing.

PCs failing their Acrobatics check by 5 or more have a 50% chance of falling prone in the boat and a 50% chance of falling into the river.
• PCs falling into the river need to make an Athletics check (DC 15) to swim <PH p.183>. They will continue to move downstream roughly in line with the skiff if they don’t do anything

While fighting the stirges, one PC (“the pilot”) should try and keep control of the skiff. If the boat goes out of control, balance checks increase to Acrobatics DC 20. If the PC uses two move actions to pilot the boat, he can try and outrun any stirges not attached, moving the skiff 12 squares (Speed 6)

Any suggestions gratefully received!


Richard

[RichGreen]

Hi,

I'm about to start my second Parsantium campaign tomorrow, kicking off with the same adventure (the rat problem under the Black Dolphin's Wake), but I'm expecting the campaign to go into some different directions to the first one.

One of the PCs is an eladrin from the Feyshore Forest which is currently little more than a place name. It obviously touches the Feywild, is a short distance from Parsantium, running alongside the Griffin Water. There are some ancient Sahasran ruins in it.

What else? Any suggestions?

Cheers


Richard

[Jack7]

Well Rich, how exactly do you want it to be different from the first campaign?

More character development?
Do you wanna tie in the Eladrin specifically?
His people?

What are you shootin for? Or at?

[RichGreen]

Originally Posted by Jack7

Well Rich, how exactly do you want it to be different from the first campaign?

More character development?
Do you wanna tie in the Eladrin specifically?
His people?

What are you shootin for? Or at?

Oops, didn't make myself clear. I'm looking for suggestions on what the Feyshore Forest might be like, rather than for this campaign vs the one that's already underway.

Cheers


Richard

[RichGreen]

Hi,

I ran the first session in the second campaign this afternoon: you can read what happened here, but it's pretty similar to what happened when I ran this adventure the first time. This group has a very diverse set of player characters though and the players are a different set of personalities At one point, I was pretty convinced they were going to go after the Dockside Crew at the Old Fishery which would have been interesting but in the end they went after the rats instead.

Cheers


Richard

[Jack7]

I'm looking for suggestions on what the Feyshore Forest might be like

I think I got ya now Rich.

Okay, I don't know if this will help you or not, but here goes.

I do a lot of star-gazing and moon-watching. I've got a pretty good telescope and as a matter of fact I was out watching the full moon tonight. So this is how I got these ideas, years ago, although a new one even occurred to me tonight.

My setting has two worlds, our world, and a different world, geographically identical to ours but the life on it is completely different. It is inhabited by elves, and dwarves and giants and so forth.

In that world things also operate differently and in many ways it is a world with very unusual properties.

Such as, there are areas which glow at night, the stones, and plants, whole mountain ranges.
Areas where magic is amplified, or suppressed, or where it fluctuates wildly, or rapidly.
Liquids can turn into gases almost immediately and solids can transform shape or become liquids.

Areas of terrain will change and shift, sometimes while people are looking at it.

There are "telescopic areas" where things become magnified, and elongated, drawn out. And in these areas one can often see for miles and miles, even over or beyond the horizon.

There are "microscopic areas" (I don't call them that, but I'm saying it that way so it can be easily understood) where invisible things can be perceived, and impossibly small things can be seen.

There are corresponding areas where auditory and olfactory senses are microscoped and/or telescoped, and places where tactile senses and even a sort of heightened danger sense can become apparent.

There are areas where different stars or starlight spectra will have different visual and perceptual effects.

And tonight the idea occurred to me, since the moon was so bright, that a bright, full moon, a harvest moon, or a "blue moon" would have completely different effects on what can be perceived, and how things operate.

There are areas where the water is potent and healing, or will give the drinker temporary magical or even psychic powers.

Areas where magic will drain from objects into the surrounding environment. Animals will mutate or alter.

In other words that world itself is alive, and like any living organism has different capabilities.

I don't know if that helps you or not but that is also always how I've felt about the "elven world."

Or I guess you could say the Fey world.

[RichGreen]

Originally Posted by RichGreen

I thought it would be fun to post my notes on the perilous trip down the underground river from the dungeons beneath Orloch Scragmane's tenement building <see Sellswords of Punjar> to the slave market.

I ran this last night and it worked pretty well, although I think the Dungeoneering DC 12 was a bit too low as they made it through the skill challenge easily. They also dealt with the stirges pretty handily and no one fell out of a rowboat!

I have high hopes for the next encounter with the black dragon.....


Richard

[RichGreen]

Here's what happened in last night's exciting episode. Each PC gets 395 xp.

17th Maius (contd)

While Krivinn sets to work bashing down the secret panel, Sharden looks through the archway to the right. Below, he can see two gnolls loading chests and coffers into a rowboat holding a hooded eladrin. The villains spot the dwarf and battle is joined. El’em tries to leap down in amongst them but screws up and falls off the wooden ledge, landing at the feet of the gnolls. Gong enters the room, only to be shot at by a drow elf who had been skulking in the chamber beyond. Sharden’s prayer sends the eladrin mage into the river and he’s promptly swept away by the current. One gnoll is killed; the other is shoved into the water by El’em’s thunderwave and also disappears downstream. The drow, Drazen, is knocked unconscious and the PCs tie him up. The room he appeared from is dominated by a creepy-looking statue of the Rat God Nirumath; its eyes are rubies and it’s surrounded by treasure but there is something about it that gives the PCs pause (even El’em). Instead, the genasi opens a couple of the treasure chests, triggering an arrow trap, then sets off the caustic spear trap in the secret room and gets impaled.

After El’em has been rescued, the PCs interrogate Drazen, learning that he works for Orloch Scragmane but little else. Krivinn opens the door in the statue room, only to run into a skeleton which gives off a burst of bone shards when bloodied and explodes when it’s killed. Meanwhile, El’em tries to roll the trussed-up drow into the Rat God statue. Drazen takes umbrage, slips his bonds and makes a run for the boats. Sharden takes him down as he escapes with thunder of judgement.

With everyone somewhat the worse for wear, the PCs return through the Hidden Quarter tunnels to the surface and then on to the Temple of Niu Dahan, taking Wang Jin We, Lady Patricia and her handmaidens, and the little girl Bhuvi with them. (Barius and Theus are locked in the slave cages). Wang Jin We tells the PCs that a man named Sreedhar who had been looking to hire adventurers was among the slaves taken to the slave market. He urges them to rescue all the captives. The PCs get the rest of the chests and coffers open and then rest.

Evening
Return to the dungeons beneath the slum tenement and head downstream in the rowboats. Krivinn pilots the first one with Sharden and El’em as passengers; Gong and Brave Ella are in the second. Despite a few hairy moments when the PCs at the helm struggle to control the boats in the current, the party are able to guide their vessels through the network of underground tunnels. An attack by half a dozen stirges is successfully repelled and the two “captains” even manage to keep the rowboats upright as they fly over a waterfall and into a large underground cavern. At the far side are some wooden docks; on the water is another boat with two gnolls….

[RichGreen]

Originally Posted by Jack7

I think I got ya now Rich.

I don't know if that helps you or not but that is also always how I've felt about the "elven world."

Or I guess you could say the Fey world.

Thanks Jack! I like your post. I'll give this some more thought and try and write something in the next few days....

Cheers


Richard

[RichGreen]

Hi,

Here's some notes on the big climactic fight at the slave market. I need to add some more descriptive/flavour text, but I've worked out who the villains are. Bit worried about running a combat with 12 enemies, but I didn't really want to miss any of these guys out! Originally, there was going to be some derro too...


The Amphitheatre (Level 7, 1,514 xp)
• Assumes 5 PCs, Party Level 3

Setup
On the other side of the curtain, a slave auction is in progress. Orloch Scragmane stands on the stage, taking bids on Sreedhar, a handsome Sahasran who's obviously been beaten up. Standing nearby are two gnoll guards.

The audience is composed of a variety of sinister characters. There are three goggle-eyed fish-men, a dark-robed man accompanied by a pair of zombies, a human woman dressed in bright red fetish gear, a grey-skinned couple covered in tattoos and piercings, and several other human men (hooded priests of Kali, decadent nobles, sleazy brothel-keepers etc)

This encounter includes the following:
• Orloch Scragmane
• 2 Mangy Curs
• Laskaris, Crazed Necromancer
• 2 Zombie Rotters
• Myrissa, Shadar-Kai Dark Warlock
• Dalimyr, Shadar-kai Chainfighter (Level 3)
• Kuo-Toa Priest (reskinned sahuagin with slimy maneuver instead of blood frenzy)
• 2 Kuo-Toa Guards (ditto)
• Sreedhar

Tactics
If combat occurs, all the humans except the necromancer leave hurriedly through the double doors, heading for the Hidden Quarter tunnels to the left. Those leaving include Zeno Meverel and Firmina (madam of the Fallen Angel)

• The gnolls stand next to Orloch so they can use pack tactics
• The kuo-toa use slick maneuver to flank enemies; the priest keeps his distance
• The necromancer keeps his distance and relies on his zombies to defend him from the PCs. If anyone comes close, he uses horrific visage.
• Myrissa uses spiteful glamour, cursing a different target each round. When she’s cursed three different PCs, she uses cursebite. The chainfighter uses his reach to stay out of the PCs’ way.
• Sreedhar is chained to the stage but will make a fist attack at Orloch if he gets the chance.

Treasure: in addition to the money and gems some of the monsters are carrying, there is a chest next to Orloch on the stage. This contains 2 pp, 310 gp, 239 sp and a silver necklace decorated with seven pieces of turquoise (worth 250 gp).

Development: The rescue of Sreedhar can lead the PCs on to an adventure outside the city, perhaps exploring some ancient ruins in the Feyshore Forest (dating back to the early years of Parsantium when it was Dhak Janjua)

Any comments?


Richard

[RichGreen]

Here's what happened in Monday night's game. They survived the dragon but only just:

17th Maius (contd)

The PCs steer their boats towards the gnolls as the feral humanoids fire arrows at them, howling loudly. As the PCs pull alongside, they are taken aback when a large black dragon rears out of the water. It stuns Brave Ella with its frightful presence and then breathes acid on the party, not caring that the two gnolls are also caught in the blast. As the PCs try to strike back, the dragon surrounds itself with a cloud of inky darkness. Sharden has been badly wounded so Krivinn steers their boat to the docks, lays hands on the dwarf and then goes into melee with the dragon. However, the shroud of darkness makes the dragon hard to hit and the dragonborn is unable to land any effective blows. The beast retaliates with its bite and a couple of tail slaps before breathing on Gong and Ella who are still battling the gnolls. Meanwhile, Sharden climbs on to the dockside and flees up the stairs leading into the wall of the cave. The gnolls are killed, so Ella and Gong try to get away from the dragon which is now coming after them. They fall over as they try to cross from one boat to the next but manage to scramble on to the docks, helped by Krivinn who uses his lay on hands power to heal their wounds. Deciding that discretion is the better part of valour, the PCs follow Sharden up the stairs and into the corridor beyond, leaving the dragon behind.


After a short rest and some healing, the PCs open the door to the left. Beyond is a guard room with two gnolls inside. Krivinn and Brave Ella go in – the dragonborn tries to flip over a table while Ella shoots at the gnoll overseer at close range. Out in the corridor the gnolls are reinforced by four others as the doors on the other side open, bringing Gong and Sharden under attack. Worried about being hit if he uses a ranged prayer, Sharden attacks with his trusty quarterstaff as the other gnolls use pack tactics and gang up on Gong. Eventually, the PCs finish off the humanoids and are able to release the five slaves in the cells opposite. These are Florian (a cloth merchant from Batiara), Agnellus (a sailor), Divakar (a dock-worker) and Heera and Pallavi (two pretty Sahasran sisters). They’re all grateful for being rescued and tell the PCs that Orloch and his henchmen have taken Sreedhar beyond the door at the end of the corridor, presumably to be auctioned.

[RichGreen]

Here's an NPC that's likely to make things a little tricky for the PCs:

Sergeant Saurish of the Dock Ward City Watch is a dedicated, intelligent Sahasran watchman. Unlike his jaded Watch Captain Nisai, who has almost given up on trying to prevent crime in the Dock Ward, Saurish is keen to maintain as much law and order as is practically possible without getting himself murdered by the criminal gangs prevalent in the area. He frequently gets frustrated with his colleagues who are often lazy, cowardly or corrupt and don’t understand why Saurish bothers to investigate some of the bodies that turn up floating off the dockside.

Saurish is about thirty and well-turned out with a neatly trimmed beard and moustache. He wears a turban rather than a helm, fastened with a clasp depicting the leaping dolphin symbol of the Dock Ward. Like all watchmen, he wears a white tabard with the city’s crest in purple over his chainmail. He has a Sahasran straight sword – a khanda – instead of a longsword hanging at his hip. Saurish is invariably polite to those citizens he comes across in the course of his duties but is an excellent judge of character and isn’t easily fooled by the typical flim-flam of adventurers on the wrong side of the law.

Any comments?


Richard

[RichGreen]

Hi,

I'm looking for some interesting monster encounters to take place in these ruins. The PCs will be 3rd - 4th level.

My shortlist from the 4e MM: carrion crawler, fey panther, grell, grick, harpy, howling hag, mummy, ogre, oni, owlbear, vine horror.

Any other suggestions? The ruins are Indian in flavour. The gateway is flanked by two large stone elephants and there will be a temple dedicated to the Monkey God Hanuman. Naturally, there will be plenty of monkeys climbing over everything.

Cheers


Richard

[Gilladian]

Things that strike me as particularly indian or suitable for indian ruins would be snakes, tigers, and shape-shifters. Maybe some sort of small cult group meets in the ruins and the PCs can find traces of their presence, even if they're not there now.

A multi-armed construct statue coming to life to defend the ancient altar of a ruined temple seems terribly appropriate. Sort of a Caryatid column type creature, if 4e has one of appropriate level.

[RichGreen]

Originally Posted by Gilladian

Things that strike me as particularly indian or suitable for indian ruins would be snakes, tigers, and shape-shifters. Maybe some sort of small cult group meets in the ruins and the PCs can find traces of their presence, even if they're not there now.

A multi-armed construct statue coming to life to defend the ancient altar of a ruined temple seems terribly appropriate. Sort of a Caryatid column type creature, if 4e has one of appropriate level.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to try and do a bit of work on this today if I get time and will have another look at the MM. I agree that an animated multi-armed statue would be cool.


Richard

[RichGreen]

Originally Posted by RichGreen

I agree that an animated multi-armed statue would be cool.

And here he is.

[Loonook]

One of the ideas which rarely pops up in Indian themed games is the sadhu... and really, as a concept they're an amazing well of winning...

Okay, the basics can be found on Wikipedia. They live in caves, temples, and other abandoned places seeking release and enlightenment... and the Aghori sect could be seen as one of the more interesting groups for an abandoned corrupt temple.

A man who walks about in the ashes of the dead, seeking the secrets of liberation from a constant cycle of death and rebirth through understanding of the forces of destruction... I think that this could provide for an interesting 'caretaker' figure in the midst of the temple.

Slainte,

-Loonook.

[RichGreen]

Originally Posted by Loonook

One of the ideas which rarely pops up in Indian themed games is the sadhu... and really, as a concept they're an amazing well of winning...

I think that this could provide for an interesting 'caretaker' figure in the midst of the temple.

Great idea! Thank you!


Richard

[RichGreen]

Last Monday I ran the big fight in the slave market amphitheatre. One player was missing so they were down to four PCs for a tough 7th level encounter intended for 5 3rd level PCs. I had to give them a break by having the kuo-toa and shadar-kai leave once the party had killed Orloch Scragmane.

Here's what happened:

17th Maius (contd)

Leaving Sharden to look after the freed slaves, the others head through the door into the staging room beyond. From here, they go through the next door into a narrow corridor. Ella sneaks ahead and peers round the curtain – behind it she can see the red-maned figure of Orloch and his two guards, as well as the chained Sreedhar. The PCs get ready and Gong sweeps back the curtains to reveal an amphitheatre filled with auction-goers, some human and some not. The “nots” are two shadar-kai, three kuo-toa and the two zombies guarding their robed master.

As El’em attacks with burning hands, blasting the gnolls and one of the zombies, Ella shoots her bow and Krivinn moves in to attack in melee, all but one of the human attendees leaves by the double doors ahead. Then, the two shadar-kai attack the PCs: the male chain-fighter rushes across the room to attack from a distance while the female warlock curses El’em. The kuo-toa priest acts next, casting spectral jaws which bite Gong. Orloch and his two Mangy Curs attack the party in melee with their axes but El'em is able to send the gnoll slaver flying with his magic. Pinned in the corridor by the gnolls, the PCs are unable to defend themselves that well against the grave bolts of the dark-robed necromancer or the spiteful glamours of the shadar-kai warlock. Gong continues to suffer attacks from the spectral jaws and goes unconscious, as does Krivinn when he is struck first by the shadar-kai chain-fighter (as he dances across the room) and then by a 30 hp critical hit from Orloch’s execution axe.

El’em uses a couple of healing potions to revive the pair as Ella takes down Orloch with her bow. The shadar-kai warlock unleashes her cursebite which knocks Gong and Krivinn unconscious again – this time first aid is needed to revive the two healers. The two other gnolls are killed and all four PCs are now back up on their feet. When this happens the shadar-kai and kuo-toa leave. The party finishes off the necromancer and his one surviving zombie after deterring El’em from going after the kuo-toa. With the battle over, the PCs lock the doors using Orloch’s keys and rest. Krivinn takes Orloch’s axe; Ella takes the necromancer’s +1 gloaming shroud.

After wandering aimlessly in the tunnels of the Hidden Quarter for a while, the PCs find their way back to the Dock Ward streets via the sewers – by this time it’s late at night. Arranging to meet Sreedhar tomorrow, the PCs head back to the Fat Grouper after Gong fails to persuade Heera and Pallavi (the two pretty Sahasran girls) to come with him.


18th Maius

The PCs escort Lady Patricia back to her home in the Imperial Quarter’s Grand Ward. Her husband, Didymus, doesn’t seem that thrilled to see her but gives the PCs a small bag of gold bezants as a reward. Back in Flotsam, the PCs buy potions of healing from Jagadamba before meeting up with Sreedhar. The Sahasran scholar tells the party about the ruins in the Feyshore Forest but he doesn’t seem to know much about Ashna or her murder. He does tell Ella that the tattoos she’s seen belong to the Golden Scimitars, a powerful thieves’ guild.

That evening, the PCs head to Orloch’s slum tenement* base. Gong opens the lock on the gate after disabling the trap and the party heads inside, killing the five sentries who were guarding the alley without too much trouble.

*this is the slum tenement in Sellswords of Punjar. Although the colour map sheet is very nice, the rooms and alleyways are just too small to have a good tactical battle.

[RichGreen]

Hi,

Here's what happened in last Monday night's game as the PCs continue to explore the ground floor of Orloch Scragmane's base in the slums (see Sellswords of Punjar):

El’em and Sharden guard the entrance to Cutpurse Alley while the others move down towards the mold-encrusted fountain at the far end. When movement is spotted at the window above, Krivinn kicks in the door to the left. Inside are two toughs who attack the dragonborn with their maces, knocking him to the ground. Meanwhile, two bowmen fire at Ella and Gong from the first floor. Ella returns fire while Gong goes to help Krivinn. The two ruffians are joined by Arturo the fence who the paladin kills. When Ella enters the room she goes near the curtain at one end and is grabbed by the tentacle of an otyugh in the cesspit beyond. Fortunately she manages to get out of the grab as the others finish off their enemies.

The PCs decide to leave searching the room – a treasury of miscellaneous purloined junk – and Arturo’s office and bedroom until later. Krivinn heads upstairs, triggering a tripwire which sets a load of pots and pans crashing to alert the occupants of the room above. Here the PCs, now joined by Sharden, battle five “Dog Brothers”, human members of the Mangy Curs who wear scruffy furs to appear as gnoll-like as possible, and their plate armour clad captain who fires his massive longbow down from the floor above. The Dog Brothers surround Krivinn, knocking him unconscious, but Gong brings him round and the party wins the day. The captain flees through a secret door after Sharden sets him on fire, leaving the PCs to interrogate their captive, a wretched man named Cosmas who tells them that Madame Zeboltha now runs the place following Orloch’s tragic death.

The PCs leave Cosmas tied up and search the captain’s quarters, finding treasure hidden inside the chimney (after Sharden triggers a painful spear trap) and discovering a secret door they can’t open. They head downstairs, outside, through the door opposite and up the stairs into a large, smelly common room. The party opens a door to a storeroom full of rats. Two swarms attack – although they clamber all over the PCs, the rats are destroyed in short order.

Any comments?

Cheers


Richard