Plots & PlacesPost your PCs and NPCs for others to reference and enjoy. This is also an alternate location for long-term campaign and plot development. These can be system neutral or relate to any game or system.
After listening at the door to Madame Zeboltha’s chamber, the PCs decide to see if they can attack from two flanks. Sharden and El’em head outside into the courtyard and climb the stairs. Unfortunately the dwarf is too noisy while trying to put Orloch’s keys into the lock, alerting the occupants of the room. Both doors fly open and Madame Zeboltha’s two Tiangaon bodyguards attack Sharden and Krivinn with their kusari-gamas. Inside the room, the PCs can see the two warrior-monks, Madame Zeboltha (a tiefling warlock, scantily clad and wielding a skull-topped rod) and the captain, Irocar. The walls are adorned with occult symbols and strange alchemical equipment sits on a table in one corner. Creepiest of all, a human head floats in a jar of glowing blue liquid.
The PCs attack the villains, killing the two Tiangaons (although they do get to trip Sharden and Krivinn first), then slaying Madame Zeboltha before ganging up on Irocar who gets in a vicious brute strike on Krivinn before going down to an arrow from Brave Ella. El’em uses his magic to pull a crumpled note from the mouth of the head in the jar – this is from Elias Wang of the Dockside Crew to Madame Zeboltha. The others loot the bodies: Ella takes Irocar’s bow and Sharden grabs the tiefling’s rod. After the head in the jar winks at Gong, the PCs get freaked out and Krivinn cleaves it in twain. Sharden uses a ritual to conjure Tenser’s floating disk to carry all their treasure (including a red egg nestling on a bed of hot coals in a bronze bowl and a unicorn’s horn) and the party head downstairs. They search the rooms on the ground floor, finding many interesting items – a silver filigree lantern with the corpse of a pixie inside, a mud-encrusted idol of the Gorilla King, and the hide of a white wolf among others. After a thorough search, El’em uses his flaming sphere spell to attack the otyugh in the cesspit behind the curtain. The hapless gulguthra is soon killed as an “anti-plague measure” by the PCs. Out in the alley, Krivinn smashes the mould-covered fountain depicting Ravana, king of the rakshasas.
Having plundered the whole tenement, the PCs return to their houseboat with their treasure and go to bed. Ella leaves a note for Mangesh, telling him a nail stealer bird is causing his boat to leak before she retires.
19th Maius
In the morning, Sergeant Saurish of the City Watch knocks on the PCs’ door, keen to question them about their role in two recent incidents: one involving the Dockside Crew, the other thuggee. Gong admits they helped rescue Sethos from the Dockside Crew but denies involvement in the second fight. The watchman leaves, but not pointing the PCs in the direction of the Old Fishery – headquarters of the Dockside Crew.
Next week I think they'll go to the Old Fishery but they have a few quests outstanding:
Dealing with the Dockside Crew
Finding out who killed Ashna and reporting back to Girish
Books used last session Black Horse Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Player's Handbook 2 (invoker), Adventurer's Vault, Wrath of the River King. Dulwich Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Forgotten Realms Player's Guide (genasi, swordmage), Players' Handbook 2 (barbarian), Dragon (Playing Gnolls), Sellswords of Punjar (the adventure) Lands of Intrigue: 3.5 core rules, Arcana Evolved (unfettered), Ptolus, Spell Compendium, Complete Book of Eldritch Might, The Banewarrens (the adventure), Book of Nine Swords (Desert Wind), Monster Manual V (demons)
Last edited by RichGreen; 22nd April 2009 at 08:54 PM..
Here's some notes on the Maker's Ward, adapted from the excellent FR accessory, Calimport:
The Maker's Ward contains many of the skilled trade guilds and some of the newest khanduqs in the city. While not a socially prestigious address, Maker's Ward is home to many tradesmen on the rise, and their close proximity to the Caravans Ward aids them in their businesses. Sadly, the various businesses do not work together to improve their community; rather, they work against each other in near-constant vendettas and street brawls (if not full guild wars) in order for one guild or family to dominate particular trades, costers, or business deals.
Many of the these fights are carried out in the taverns and coffee houses of the tavern district in the northern half of the ward. This area is renowned for the White Palm, a large, elaborate tavern with a minaret and beautiful shady courtyard. This tavern was the original home of the very successful Desert Sands brewery. From here, the business grew as it became the most popular light beer in the Old Quarter, then Parsantium, and then in the inns and taverns of the Caliphate of Akhran and beyond. Once they outgrew the facilities, the Desert Sands company moved the brewery itself but retained this site as a tavern. It is still owned directly by company head Talib al-Effid; these days his son-in-law Kaham al-Vizhon is its proprietor and barkeep.
• Secret: Kaham is cheating on his wife, Fatima, with a handsome young male actor named Beatus (a friend of Iancu Petronas). Not only that, he has showered Beatus with expensive jewellery that he can ill afford and has been borrowing from the tavern's reserves to do so. If Talib finds out, his vengeance will be swift and terrible.
Within the ward's guildhall district are three distinct neighbourhoods, known as sabbans (an Akhrani term):
Builder's Sabban
In the SW corner of the ward, this sabban encompasses much of the dirty, noisy, and thoroughly necessary builder's trades of carpentry, masonry, and the like. Tucked away against the walls of the Poor Ward and the Faiths Ward, the Builder's Sabban always seems full of work and activity, providing fresh building materials for the city that never seems to run out of demand for them.
Weaver's Sabban
The bulk of the businesses in this central neighbourhood produce rugs, carpets, clothing and tapestries but there are also places that deal in luxuries, amenities to soften life, and rare items to indulge anything, from a taste for sweets, to a passion for antiquities.
Aymara's Sabban
With many artists operating and competing within this sabban, named for the Goddess of the Arts, courtyards become impromptu sculpting competitions, walls become inadvertent canvasses of the latest masterpiece (designed only to outdo a rival, less so for art's sake), and around it all wander the romantics, the poets, and the lovers of Parsantium. Located in the northeastern comer of the ward, near the parks of the Garden Ward, many temperamental artists, creators, and bards flock to this neighborhood looking for and often finding kindred souls and old friends.
Books used last session Black Horse Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Player's Handbook 2 (invoker), Adventurer's Vault, Wrath of the River King. Dulwich Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Forgotten Realms Player's Guide (genasi, swordmage), Players' Handbook 2 (barbarian), Dragon (Playing Gnolls), Sellswords of Punjar (the adventure) Lands of Intrigue: 3.5 core rules, Arcana Evolved (unfettered), Ptolus, Spell Compendium, Complete Book of Eldritch Might, The Banewarrens (the adventure), Book of Nine Swords (Desert Wind), Monster Manual V (demons)
Here's what happened in Monday night's game. This part of the adventure used the map and description of the Old Fishery (part of the Curse of the Crimson Throne Adventure Path, Pathfinder #7).
19th Maius (contd)
Ella and El’em go to Mangesh’s houseboat to see him but he’s gone fishing. Head for the Old Fishery with Ella and El’em leading the way. Initial scouting doesn’t reveal any obvious signs of criminal activity – just the stench of fish gone bad and the sound of people working inside. Krivinn tries (unsuccesfully) to sneak up to the delivery entrance and gets shot with a crossbow bolt for his trouble by Hookshanks, an ugly scarred dwarf. Ella covers the front door while the other PCs move in to support the paladin inside the fishery workfloor. Meanwhile, the bad guys get reinforcements too – Cyrus the halfling and a guard drake come through one door and Giggles the half-orc and some more chummers enter through another and battle is joined!
Ella realises no one is coming out the front door so picks the lock and charges in to attack Cyrus from behind. The craven halfling flees to his office and escapes. Krivinn, bitten savagely by the drake, decapitates Hookshanks with a righteous smite from his execution axe, as Giggles attacks Gong. El’em casts shock sphere and finishes off the remaining chummers, leaving the others to deal with the half-orc. The genasi then casts thunderwave to launch the drake into the vat of spoiled fish, killing it. The PCs search the bodies and then the whole of this floor, finding some copper and silver coins and a lot of disorganised business records. For reasons best known to himself, Krivinn throws quite a few of these into the fish slurry.
Brave Ella heads round the boardwalk to the rotting old barge lashed to the fishery, followed by Gong and Krivinn who use slates from the office as stepping stones to avoid slipping off the deck and into the water where a jigsaw shark awaits. Ella leaps on to the boat but realises the deck looks likely to give way at any point. Returning to the lower workfloor of the fishery, Krivinn opens one of the shutters and smashes a hole through the side of the ship. Ella goes inside but is attacked by a drain spider. Once it’s been killed and nothing of any use is found in the cabin, the PCs decide to give the hold a miss and figure out how to get to the hidden underpier. Brute force seems the best option: Krivinn smashes a whole in the boardwalk and lowers Ella down.
Ella opens the door to Elias Wang’s office – a large room with a hole in the floor open to the waters of the Dolphin Strait. Inside are Elias Wang, leader of the Dockside Crew, and his aging Tiangaon bodyguard, Lo Chong. As Ella moves into the room, the third occupant reveals itself – Wang’s pet crocodile – who bites the elf’s legs. The ranger falls unconcscious and the others rush down through the hole to help. Lo Chong goes into melee as Elias Wang, clearly a warlock, curses the PCs and casts fiery bolts and eldritch blasts at them. The PCs kill the crocodile first, then Lo Chong, but Elias Wang teleports away as the party close in on him.
Books used last session Black Horse Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Player's Handbook 2 (invoker), Adventurer's Vault, Wrath of the River King. Dulwich Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Forgotten Realms Player's Guide (genasi, swordmage), Players' Handbook 2 (barbarian), Dragon (Playing Gnolls), Sellswords of Punjar (the adventure) Lands of Intrigue: 3.5 core rules, Arcana Evolved (unfettered), Ptolus, Spell Compendium, Complete Book of Eldritch Might, The Banewarrens (the adventure), Book of Nine Swords (Desert Wind), Monster Manual V (demons)
Books used last session Black Horse Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Player's Handbook 2 (invoker), Adventurer's Vault, Wrath of the River King. Dulwich Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Forgotten Realms Player's Guide (genasi, swordmage), Players' Handbook 2 (barbarian), Dragon (Playing Gnolls), Sellswords of Punjar (the adventure) Lands of Intrigue: 3.5 core rules, Arcana Evolved (unfettered), Ptolus, Spell Compendium, Complete Book of Eldritch Might, The Banewarrens (the adventure), Book of Nine Swords (Desert Wind), Monster Manual V (demons)
Good use of the source adventure! I'm thinking of using this same adventure in my upcoming campaign, but shifting it to a tannery on the edge of a cliff, instead of the fish-processing plant. I'll have to seriously modify the maps, but it should be fun! A long fall replaces the jigsaw shark danger, and the alligator will have to be subbed in with something else...
I'm going to leave the orphans in the mix; I want my PCs to feel that the Warrens are a truly horrid and tragic place - I'm hoping they'll decide to clean them out.
Good use of the source adventure! I'm thinking of using this same adventure in my upcoming campaign, but shifting it to a tannery on the edge of a cliff, instead of the fish-processing plant. I'll have to seriously modify the maps, but it should be fun! A long fall replaces the jigsaw shark danger, and the alligator will have to be subbed in with something else...
I'm going to leave the orphans in the mix; I want my PCs to feel that the Warrens are a truly horrid and tragic place - I'm hoping they'll decide to clean them out.
You'll have to let me know how it turns out! Coincidentally, on Monday night, when we played this at the London Gamers club, another group had just finished the whole Curse of the Crimson Throne that evening. One or two of them came over to ask how we were getting on and were a bit disappointed when I explained I was only really using the Old Fishery map and encounters.
Books used last session Black Horse Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Player's Handbook 2 (invoker), Adventurer's Vault, Wrath of the River King. Dulwich Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Forgotten Realms Player's Guide (genasi, swordmage), Players' Handbook 2 (barbarian), Dragon (Playing Gnolls), Sellswords of Punjar (the adventure) Lands of Intrigue: 3.5 core rules, Arcana Evolved (unfettered), Ptolus, Spell Compendium, Complete Book of Eldritch Might, The Banewarrens (the adventure), Book of Nine Swords (Desert Wind), Monster Manual V (demons)
This location is somewhere the PCs might end up hanging out if they move to the Maker's Ward from Flotsam:
A khanduq is an Akhrani-style bazaar on two levels situated around a courtyard, typically with a few private guards to keep out the riff-raff. The Khanduq of the Nightingale’s Song is situated in the Aymara Sabban (neighbourhood) of the Maker’s Ward and is frequented by artists, musicians and their wealthy patrons. Four minarets topped with glazed blue domes adorn the corners of the building, and in the centre of the courtyard stands a beautiful fountain, depicting the winged figure of Aymara the Golden with a silver lyre under her arm, in the shade of several palm trees. During the day, the area around the fountain is crowded with the stalls and tents of local artists and craftsmen. Shoppers in the khanduq can buy icons, ceramics, carvings, pieces of sculpture and many other art objects from the stalls and from various shops situated along the sides of the courtyard. The khanduq is also home to two places of refreshment and relaxation:
The Golden Bean Tree is a coffee shop run by an attractive Akhrani woman named Yasmina and is frequented by painters, mosaicists and sculptors who gather here to drink coffee, smoke sheeshah and boast about their work, all the while on the look out for a patron to commission their next project. The Golden Bean Tree offers simple Akhrani dishes accompanied by fresh fruits and honeyed bread and has an excellent selection of coffee beans. Yasmina has a exquisite singing voice which she sometimes shows off on stage at the Blue Monkey. She ignores the doting attentions of the artists who hang out here, preferring the company of (usually older) rich merchants and nobles.
The Blue Monkey is a tavern where customers can hear some of the very best music in Parsantium, performed by local bards and singers, free of charge. The landlord, Hatim the Fat, is blind but has a great ear for music and knows a lot of interesting gossip. His pet monkey, Abu, does indeed have blue fur. The Blue Monkey has a fine wine cellar, and serves decent food as well as a wide variety of ales and lagers.
The streets surrounding the khanduq serve the needs of the local artists and musicians: the Street of Sitars is full of shops selling musical instruments; the Street of Tesserae is crammed with stalls and shops peddling artist’s materials – paints, brushes and scupltor’s tools as well as tesserae for mosaics.
An apartment near to the khanduq costs around 30 gold bezants per month.
Any comments or suggestions for adventure hooks here?
Books used last session Black Horse Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Player's Handbook 2 (invoker), Adventurer's Vault, Wrath of the River King. Dulwich Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Forgotten Realms Player's Guide (genasi, swordmage), Players' Handbook 2 (barbarian), Dragon (Playing Gnolls), Sellswords of Punjar (the adventure) Lands of Intrigue: 3.5 core rules, Arcana Evolved (unfettered), Ptolus, Spell Compendium, Complete Book of Eldritch Might, The Banewarrens (the adventure), Book of Nine Swords (Desert Wind), Monster Manual V (demons)
Here's what happened in Monday night's game which got the PCs to 4th level (mostly) and brought the second adventure, Witness!, to a close. Next, the PCs are going out of the city with Sreedhar to the forest ruins of Gopura, then on to Open Design's Wrath of the River King. This longish interlude will hopefully give me some time to make some sense of the tangled web I've woven of the Parsantine underworld - likely the subject of its own post.
19th Maius (contd)
The PCs search Elias Wang’s bedroom using El’em’s mage hand. They find several incriminating papers and some treasure inside his footlocker. The papers include Captain Gnash’s schedule, a price list for slaves, details of businesses paying protection money to the Dockside Crew and a letter from someone called Zeno. Under a rug, the party find a trapdoor leading down into the Hidden Quarter. Having searched the Fishery, Krivinn and El’em decide to set it on fire.
Afterwards, Gong and Ella go to see the Water Boys. Gong explains what he thinks happened to Ashna and that the PCs have brought her killer to justice. Girish gives the party a silver necklace bearing the symbol of Bahamut as a reward.
Meanwhile, Krivinn and El’em go to the Dock Ward’s City Watch station in search of Sgt Saurish. He’s not there but the disinterested watchman on duty points them in the direction of Orloch’s slum tenement. Here they find Saurish and Krivinn explains that the PCs were the ones who dealt with Orloch and his organization “in self defence”. The sergeant tells them members of the Golden Scimitars are known to frequent Fahil’s Floating Palace in the Poor Ward.
Next, the PCs go to see Jagadamba – she doesn’t really know anything useful about the criminal gangs of the Old Quarter but she does sell the PCs some potions and buys the gold bowl inscribed with demons for 100 gold bezants. Krivinn and Sharden argue about Madame Zeboltha’s Orcus-topped rod until the old witch asks them to leave.
The PCs gather their belongings from their houseboat and get ready to leave the city, with a Tenser’s floating disk on hand to carry their gear. Ella buys a net on a pole for Mangesh to catch the nail stealer and leaves him a “helpful” note. As they head for an inn away from Flotsam, they are attacked by the Golden Scimitars. There are six armed attackers and a spitting drake. El’em and Sharden are able to deal with three of the men pretty handily with their spells and prayers. Meanwhile, Mehmed the swashbuckler and Ziper the berserker move in to flank Krivinn, while the drake spits at Gong and Ella and the leader of the gang directs his men’s attacks. Towards the end of the battle, Mehmed switches his attentions to Gong while under Krivinn’s divine challenge and collapses dead as a result! When the PCs kill Ziper and the drake, the Golden Scimitars leader runs away, but not before El’em lands a hefty blow with his quarterstaff.
Books used last session Black Horse Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Player's Handbook 2 (invoker), Adventurer's Vault, Wrath of the River King. Dulwich Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Forgotten Realms Player's Guide (genasi, swordmage), Players' Handbook 2 (barbarian), Dragon (Playing Gnolls), Sellswords of Punjar (the adventure) Lands of Intrigue: 3.5 core rules, Arcana Evolved (unfettered), Ptolus, Spell Compendium, Complete Book of Eldritch Might, The Banewarrens (the adventure), Book of Nine Swords (Desert Wind), Monster Manual V (demons)
It will be a long time before I actually run my version - we're halfway through Rise of the Runelords, and I contemplate that taking until at least August to conclude. Then we'll start the campaign where I'll be placing some of the Crimson Throne adventures
(oops, helps not to click send too soon)...
I will certainly try to remember to tell you what happens!
It will be a long time before I actually run my version - we're halfway through Rise of the Runelords, and I contemplate that taking until at least August to conclude. Then we'll start the campaign where I'll be placing some of the Crimson Throne adventures
(oops, helps not to click send too soon)...
I will certainly try to remember to tell you what happens!
Cool! How did the Hambly Farm encounter with the ghoul scarecrows (Pathfinder #2) go? If I run Scions of Punjar, I thought I'd switch the scarecrow golems in that adventure for the much scarier ghouls.
Books used last session Black Horse Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Player's Handbook 2 (invoker), Adventurer's Vault, Wrath of the River King. Dulwich Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Forgotten Realms Player's Guide (genasi, swordmage), Players' Handbook 2 (barbarian), Dragon (Playing Gnolls), Sellswords of Punjar (the adventure) Lands of Intrigue: 3.5 core rules, Arcana Evolved (unfettered), Ptolus, Spell Compendium, Complete Book of Eldritch Might, The Banewarrens (the adventure), Book of Nine Swords (Desert Wind), Monster Manual V (demons)
Books used last session Black Horse Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Player's Handbook 2 (invoker), Adventurer's Vault, Wrath of the River King. Dulwich Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Forgotten Realms Player's Guide (genasi, swordmage), Players' Handbook 2 (barbarian), Dragon (Playing Gnolls), Sellswords of Punjar (the adventure) Lands of Intrigue: 3.5 core rules, Arcana Evolved (unfettered), Ptolus, Spell Compendium, Complete Book of Eldritch Might, The Banewarrens (the adventure), Book of Nine Swords (Desert Wind), Monster Manual V (demons)
Here's what happened in our game on Monday night, first session for about a month due to holidays, bank holidays etc. This session took our brave heroes outside the city where they ran into the Hunting Bugbears from Open Design's Wrath of the River King and entered the forest ruins of Gopura. A new PC, Margarita the watersoul genasi warlord, was also introduced. Looking back on it now, Orthas should have sent Krivinn packing and penniless.....
20th Maius
While some of the PCs spend the day shopping for magic items in the Mercantile Quarter, Krivinn heads over the bridge to the Imperial Quarter to visit the Celestial Bastion, the temple of Bahamut in the Grand Ward. Here, he apologises to Orthas, the soylana (master) of the Platinum Knights, for not paying his respects sooner, and presents him with the “Orcus rod” (confiscated from Sharden) and a +1 bastard sword, tripping over his words as he does so. Orthas rewards Krivinn with 100 gp for handing in the rod to be safely locked away or destroyed but isn’t forthcoming with the other 200 gp the dragonborn was looking for. He tells the paladin to come back to the temple when he’s finished questing and is ready to join the Order.
Stay a second night at the Jacinth Harp inn in Aymara Sabban, Maker’s Ward.
21st Maius
Ella, Gong and Krivinn meet Sreedhar at the Seven Chalices Caravanserai near the Camel Gate. The scholar has bought himself a donkey to ride on but has no camping equipment and neither do the PCs. While Gong and Krivinn buy tents and another donkey, a female watersoul genasi approaches Ella and confesses that she is the real culprit behind the sabotage to Mangesh’s houseboat rather than the nail-stealer. Driven out of Flotsam by the furious Mangesh and his friends, she came to find the PCs here. Ella decides it’s better Margarita comes along with the party so she can keep an eye on her. Before leaving Parsantium, she sends an errand boy to Flotsam with a note to Mangesh explaining she had no part in the genasi’s actions.
Set off for the Feyshore Forest with Sreedhar, passing through farmland on the outskirts of the city.
22nd Maius
Towards the end of the day, the PCs reach the edge of the forest. Here, they are attacked by seven irritating mossy-coloured forest imps which dive bomb the party. As the PCs fight back, arrows fly out of the trees on the south side of the road, fired by three bugbear hunters hiding in the undergrowth. Sreedhar flees down the trail but Krivinn advances on their positions, but blunders straight into a net trap – fortunately he’s able to escape fairly easily. Margarita also moves into melee, using swiftcurrent to get up the ridge where the bugbears are positioned without hassle. Gong dodges a second trap and the PCs are able to finish off imps and bugbears in a hard fought battle.
23rd Maius
The PCs reach the ruins of Gopura and head through the Elephant Gate into the city. On the other side of the walls, they are attacked by two harpies and four goblins. The harpies use their alluring songs to pull the PCs towards them so they can be attacked with their sharp claws, and their deadly screeches which blast the party with thunder and dazing them. The goblin skullcleaver goes into melee with Krivinn while the warriors throw javelins and the sharpshooter fire arrows from behind the party. Eventually, the PCs take down the harpies and three of the goblins but the archer manages to flee into the trees. Plunder the harpies’ nest.
Books used last session Black Horse Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Player's Handbook 2 (invoker), Adventurer's Vault, Wrath of the River King. Dulwich Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Forgotten Realms Player's Guide (genasi, swordmage), Players' Handbook 2 (barbarian), Dragon (Playing Gnolls), Sellswords of Punjar (the adventure) Lands of Intrigue: 3.5 core rules, Arcana Evolved (unfettered), Ptolus, Spell Compendium, Complete Book of Eldritch Might, The Banewarrens (the adventure), Book of Nine Swords (Desert Wind), Monster Manual V (demons)
Here's what happened in Monday night's session. Suspicious of the monkey-covered temple, the players went in a different direction so I haven't got to run the monkey chase skill challenge yet . It was a fun session nonetheless with the grell and two gricks proving very challenging for six 3rd-4th level PCs.
23rd Maius
The party are joined by Sharden and El’em. Sreedhar gives an impromptu lecture on Vrishabha, Srivasta and the early history of Parsantium, then the PCs head through the narrow archway through the walls ahead in single file. Ahead are three stupas, and to the left a temple covered in monkeys and another structure that resembles a chariot. Fearing the monkeys, the party decide to head to the right, towards a series of four rathas (shrines). Krivinn and El’em head into the first ratha, dedicated to the goddess Durga, and search among the debris inside, finding a peridot but no secret doors.
Next, the PCs head into the second ratha, dedicated to Agni (god of fire). Inside the garhabgriha, the statue of the god is missing – a dark pit is in its place. As Krivinn enters the inner sanctum, a grell flies up out of the pit and strikes the paladin with its poisonous tentacles. Meanwhile, two gricks appear to attack Gong and Margarita. El’em, Ella and Sharden attack the aberrations at range as the gricks move to flank Gong and Margarita and the grell grabs Krivinn, stuns him, and then drops him down the shaft. Margarita goes unconscious under attack from the gricks as Sharden sets one on fire and Ella shoots at them with her bow. El’em goes to help Krivinn who is climbing up the pit but also gets grabbed by the grell and also ends up being dropped down there, unconscious on -13hp. Sharden goes to help but misses. Eventually, El’em uses the gorilla idol he found in Orloch’s lair to heal himself by draining life energy from the grell, killing it. With the two gricks also dead, the PCs decide to take an extended rest in the shrine.
Recovered and rested, the PCs continue east towards the large temple they can see through the trees. Before they can get there, the party are attacked again – this time, by a band of goblins led by a bugbear and a goblin warrior mounted on a carrion crawler. Krivinn challenges the bugbear while El’em pushes the crawler and its rider away from him with thunderwave. Krivinn and the bugbear are both inept in combat and keep missing each other but after a few rounds the PCs are able to finish off their opponents, capturing one goblin warrior who surrenders.
Books used last session Black Horse Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Player's Handbook 2 (invoker), Adventurer's Vault, Wrath of the River King. Dulwich Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Forgotten Realms Player's Guide (genasi, swordmage), Players' Handbook 2 (barbarian), Dragon (Playing Gnolls), Sellswords of Punjar (the adventure) Lands of Intrigue: 3.5 core rules, Arcana Evolved (unfettered), Ptolus, Spell Compendium, Complete Book of Eldritch Might, The Banewarrens (the adventure), Book of Nine Swords (Desert Wind), Monster Manual V (demons)
I've been finishing off writing the Forest Ruins adventure this afternoon and I think it's looking in pretty good shape.
I've added the sadhu (suggested by Loonook) inside the temple of Shiva - he'll point the PCs in the direction of a long series of carvings which tell the story of the founding of Parsantium and warn of the return of the reincarnated Vrishabha (the rakshasa rajah) as soon as his minions can get him freed from the glacier he's imprisoned in. I toyed with the idea of depicting the PCs in the carvings fighting the rajah but I thought this might be going too far in terms of foreshadowing, and might well derail my plans to run them through Wrath of the River King before they return to the city. I also resisted the urge to have the temple collapse a la Indiana Jones after they'd spoken to the sadhu.
There's a faerie dragon for them to run into who can provide some information and light relief, a young maiden to rescue from a nasty ogre in a big cave (complete with fey tigers and water feature) and a howling hag accompanied by goblins, barghests and bugbears. Hopefully all this will make for some memorable encounters!
After Wrath of the River King, it's back to Parsantium for adventures against the rakshasa-controlled Golden Scimitars and the realization that the criminal underworld has something to do with Vrishabha's potential return. They'll be stuff in the Imperial Quarter too - including a chariot race and a trip to the baths - as well as a performance in the Theatre of Aymara.
Books used last session Black Horse Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Player's Handbook 2 (invoker), Adventurer's Vault, Wrath of the River King. Dulwich Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Forgotten Realms Player's Guide (genasi, swordmage), Players' Handbook 2 (barbarian), Dragon (Playing Gnolls), Sellswords of Punjar (the adventure) Lands of Intrigue: 3.5 core rules, Arcana Evolved (unfettered), Ptolus, Spell Compendium, Complete Book of Eldritch Might, The Banewarrens (the adventure), Book of Nine Swords (Desert Wind), Monster Manual V (demons)
Books used last session Black Horse Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Player's Handbook 2 (invoker), Adventurer's Vault, Wrath of the River King. Dulwich Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Forgotten Realms Player's Guide (genasi, swordmage), Players' Handbook 2 (barbarian), Dragon (Playing Gnolls), Sellswords of Punjar (the adventure) Lands of Intrigue: 3.5 core rules, Arcana Evolved (unfettered), Ptolus, Spell Compendium, Complete Book of Eldritch Might, The Banewarrens (the adventure), Book of Nine Swords (Desert Wind), Monster Manual V (demons)
The scarecrows went really well. The paladin felt terrible when he shot two "scarecrows" thinking they were ghouls, and they turned out to be the half-transformed farmfolk...
The party was really kinda sickened by that whole episode, even though I kept the gore down to limits acceptable to a 12 year old.
The scarecrows went really well. The paladin felt terrible when he shot two "scarecrows" thinking they were ghouls, and they turned out to be the half-transformed farmfolk...
The party was really kinda sickened by that whole episode, even though I kept the gore down to limits acceptable to a 12 year old.
Sounds like it worked pretty well! I'll definitely use this encounter if I run Scions of Punjar.
Books used last session Black Horse Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Player's Handbook 2 (invoker), Adventurer's Vault, Wrath of the River King. Dulwich Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Forgotten Realms Player's Guide (genasi, swordmage), Players' Handbook 2 (barbarian), Dragon (Playing Gnolls), Sellswords of Punjar (the adventure) Lands of Intrigue: 3.5 core rules, Arcana Evolved (unfettered), Ptolus, Spell Compendium, Complete Book of Eldritch Might, The Banewarrens (the adventure), Book of Nine Swords (Desert Wind), Monster Manual V (demons)
Here's what happened in this Monday's game. The first encounter was pretty straight forward but the second one worked out tougher than I expected!
23rd Maius (contd)
As the PCs get ready to move on, Brave Ella spots a movement in the trees. From out of the woods flies a small dragon with iridescent rainbow scales and beautiful butterly wings which flutter so fast that they become a shimmer of multicoloured light. The dragon introduces himself as Ranjeet Wind-Dancer and chats to the party, telling them about Induma the Moon Hag and Turgesh the ogre (who captured a couple of villagers from Riverbend a few days ago). Ella takes a bit of a shine to him, as does Krivinn. Ranjeet agrees to act as lookout while the PCs check out two more rathas – one dedicated to Rudra the Archer, the other to Yama (god of the dead). Neither contain treasure or monsters.
Next the PCs head for the Great Temple to the Solar Gods. Krivinn strides straight up the steps to the front entrance and into the Chamber of Ushas (goddess of the dawn) where a bunch of goblins are ready for them.
Several goblin cutters are wiped out quickly by Sharden and El’em’s prayers and spells and Krivinn and Margarita are able to deal with the barghest savager without too much trouble. However, they have more difficulty with a particularly annoying goblin who throws alchemist’s fire and jars of other stuff at the spellcasters from his backpack, and with the bugbear strangler who manages to grab Krivinn and start throttling him. Ella shoots the big goblin but to her horror, the bugbear swings Krivinn into the path of her arrow!
After searching the chamber and finding nothing of interest apart from the bugbear’s morningstar which Margarita picks up as a second weapon, the party heads through the double doors. Ella checks for traps and listens intently in the corridor beyond, finding and hearing nothing. Krivinn shoves open the doors at the far end which lead into the Chamber of Surya (god of the rising and setting sun). There is nothing in here apart from goblin bedding and vandalised statues of the god so the PCs press on.
At the end of the next corridor are some more double doors behind which Ella can hear voices. Krivinn flings open the doors which lead into the Hall of Savitri (god of the day long sun) and throne room of Induma the Moon Hag. The hag’s court includes a pair of dusk hag archers, a bugbear wardancer, two barghest savagers and a barghest lord. The PCs attack Induma first: Ella uses her splintering shot, bloodying the hag and causing her to teleport away. Unluckily, her minions are not so easy to deal with. The two archers fire at the party from both flanks while the barghest savagers charge into combat and the barghest lord runs round to attack Sharden from the side. Krivinn is soon bloodied and Margarita goes unconscious, is revived, then falls unconscious again under the attacks of the barghests. Sharden sets one on fire with purging flame while El’em casts flaming sphere and moves it around to harry the wolf-like beasts. Then, one barghest turns Krivinn’s righteous smite back on the paladin, seriously wounding him. As the battle continues one of the hag archers makes a run for it as the PCs down plenty of healing potions to keep going. Finally, only the barghest lord remains – after using its life feed to injure the party and heal itself it too flees and the party breathe a collective sigh of relief!
Books used last session Black Horse Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Player's Handbook 2 (invoker), Adventurer's Vault, Wrath of the River King. Dulwich Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Forgotten Realms Player's Guide (genasi, swordmage), Players' Handbook 2 (barbarian), Dragon (Playing Gnolls), Sellswords of Punjar (the adventure) Lands of Intrigue: 3.5 core rules, Arcana Evolved (unfettered), Ptolus, Spell Compendium, Complete Book of Eldritch Might, The Banewarrens (the adventure), Book of Nine Swords (Desert Wind), Monster Manual V (demons)
Here's what happened in Monday night's game. I got to reveal who the BBEG will be, using the carvings in a temple in the ruins of Gopura. Probably one more session in the ruins before moving on to Wrath of the River King.
23rd Maius (contd)
Pausing only to loot the room and retrieve the +2 homing bow from the dead hag, the PCs head off to the first ratha they explored to rest for the night and recover from their wounds.
24th Maius
El’em, Brave Ella, Margarita and Krivinn return to the Great Temple. Heading back through the first three chambers, they proceed cautiously through the doors they saw the other archer and the barghest battle lord flee through. At the end of the corridor is another room – the Cosmic Chamber of Order and living quarters of Induma the Moon Hag. Inside, Induma, her coven sister-lover and the barghest are waiting. The PCs attack but are beaten back by Induma’s shriek of pain and the barghest’s life feed power. Krivinn slams the doors behind the party and holds them closed with his flail. After a brief rest and a team tactics talk, the PCs return to the fray. This time they concentrate their attacks on the barghest which falls to a killing blow from the dragonborn paladin. Induma howls, pushing everyone away but the adventurers fight back and Krivinn again is the one to deliver the fatal strike. Ella shoots the hag archer twice and then El’em finishes her off with magic missile. The PCs search the room, finding some treasure, as well as a pile of human and humanoid skulls which Krivinn blesses before burying outside. The paladin also takes pains to smash up the evil, occult trappings inside the room.
Next, the PCs head to the impressive temple of the Black Leopard. When they enter, the four-armed statue in the centre of the prayer room and the two cobras draped around over its shoulders come to life and attack. As Krivinn is poisoned and Margarita is bloodied, the PCs decide to withdraw from the fray and rest again. Outside, Ella upsets Ranjeet the faerie dragon who flies off in a huff.
After an extended rest, the party return to the temple and lure the statue into combat with El’em’s flaming sphere. This time, they are victorious – Ella destroys the statue and the others finish off the two snakes. With the guardians disposed of, the PCs are able to open the doors to the garhabgriha (inner sanctum) which holds an enormous statue of Bauhei, the Black Leopard. At the foot of the statue is a sadhu – an ancient mystic named Shankara, who invites the party to walk round the temple and study the carvings to learn the history of Dhak Janjua. The first three storeys of the tower tell the story of Vrishabha’s rise to power and his defeat by Srivatsa but the third floor carvings are more interesting, showing Vrishabha’s imprisonment in a glacier high in the Pillars of Heaven Mountains, rakshasas in modern-day Parsantium, and then yakfolk sorcerers performing a ritual from an ancient book to free the rakshasa rajah, allowing him to take his revenge on the city. Ella rushes down the stairs to talk to the sadhu, who utters a few words about what the PCs have seen just being one possible future before returning to his deep trance.
Books used last session Black Horse Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Player's Handbook 2 (invoker), Adventurer's Vault, Wrath of the River King. Dulwich Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Forgotten Realms Player's Guide (genasi, swordmage), Players' Handbook 2 (barbarian), Dragon (Playing Gnolls), Sellswords of Punjar (the adventure) Lands of Intrigue: 3.5 core rules, Arcana Evolved (unfettered), Ptolus, Spell Compendium, Complete Book of Eldritch Might, The Banewarrens (the adventure), Book of Nine Swords (Desert Wind), Monster Manual V (demons)
After Wrath of the River King (or Scions of Punjar in the second campaign), the PCs will be back in the city, ready to renew their emnity with the Golden Scimitars. Ideally, they will learn of a nefarious plot by the criminal gang and put a stop to it. But what kind of plot?
I'm hoping to incorporate the following locations and scenes into the adventure:
Books used last session Black Horse Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Player's Handbook 2 (invoker), Adventurer's Vault, Wrath of the River King. Dulwich Parsantium campaign: 4e core rules, Forgotten Realms Player's Guide (genasi, swordmage), Players' Handbook 2 (barbarian), Dragon (Playing Gnolls), Sellswords of Punjar (the adventure) Lands of Intrigue: 3.5 core rules, Arcana Evolved (unfettered), Ptolus, Spell Compendium, Complete Book of Eldritch Might, The Banewarrens (the adventure), Book of Nine Swords (Desert Wind), Monster Manual V (demons)
. It was a fun session nonetheless with the grell and two gricks proving very challenging for six 3rd-4th level PCs.
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