Ranger5
First Post
Well after a long hiatus from DMing I am back and with a new campaign set in my favorite world: the Realms.
For those (perhaps two I think) that remember my last campaign, it was set in the city of Westgate. I ended it early for two reasons. One - it was beginning to look a lot like a railroad campaign due to me writing almost every adventure. And as much fun as I have doing that, I know my own limitations as most of my self-written adventures end up being more like short stories. Fun for me, not so much fun for the players. And two - the birth of my second child.
(Here is the link to my Westgate Campagin - http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=125692)
But now it is 10 months later and things have settled down at the ol'Ranger5 household and we have just finished a 10 month long campaign one of the other guys was running.
So now I am back!
As for the details of the campaign, I started with Red Hand of Doom and set it in the north between Damara and Narfell, changing the local terrain a lilttle to accomodate the landscape of the adventure. I am also going to be using adventures from Goodman Games' "Dungeon Crawl Classics" once Red Hand is done. Basically I am going to string published material together and change just what I need to for the sake of the campaign.
So to begin there are 5 player characters that I started at 5th level. They are:
Grull - male half-orc paragon 3/orc paragon 2
Charrok - male human warmage 5
Tala - female human ranger 5
Barros - male human cleric of Tempus 5
Aslan - male human ice druid 5
And here is the campaign background I handed out to the players:
The campaign will start in Kythorn 1, 1373 DR, the Year of Rogue Dragons. The events below chronicle what has gone on before the campaign starts.
Your characters have adventured with each other for the better part of a year now in and around the Damara/Narfell regions. Your characters all first met in the small town of Hillwatch in Elsir Vale. Tala, a native of Elsir Vale, met Cherrok on the road to Hillwatch. Both were passing through and decided to travel together. Barros and Grull have known each other for a few years and were also passing through Hillwatch.
It was in Hillwatch that a call went out to help a small farming druid community of Fairweather to the south. They apparently had been attacked and the mayor of Hillwatch was asking for anyone willing to check out Fairweather. The four of you volunteered and set out for Fairweather. When you got there you found the small farming village decimated. Tala's tracking skill led you to an underground burrow. You descended into the darkness and overcame many of the denizens of the burrows including fiendish dire rats and a gray ooze. Eventually you found the leader of the raiders who attacked Fairweather. It was a fiendish wererat named Blood Whisker. After a harrowing battle with the creature, you were able to defeat him. Surprisingly you found the leader of Fairweather, a female human druid named Thistle, still alive. She told you the reason for the raiders' attacks on Fairweather was to acquire the Eye of Night, a magical gem. Impressed with your character and bravery she said the following:
"This is the Eye of the Night. I fear this is what the raiders, led by that filthy vermin Blood Whisker, sought. I can no longer ensure its safety and must focus my time and energy to rebuilding the commune.
"In the wrong hands, this tool of peace and nature could be corrupted. An ill omen rides the wind, and I fear the raiders that destroyed Fairweather are merely servants of a greater threat beating like a twisted heart in the darkness. Please, take the Eye of the Night and keep it safe."
And with that she gave you the gem.
Through some research you learned of the Eye of Night's magical powers. The Eye of the Night is in fact a gem of brightness. However, instead of a long rough prism, the eye is a wide, circular topaz. (NOTE: At the start of the campaign the Eye has 25 charges left.)
Months passed with the four of you going on various adventures - mainly protecting caravans traveling the lonely roads of the region or protecting small villages from monster raids, usually goblins and such. You would also explore ancient dungeons for treasure of course. But you always kept wondering about the words of Thistle - "An ill omen rides the wind, and I fear the raiders that destroyed Fairweather are merely servants of a greater threat beating like a twisted heart in the darkness."
Then word came of strange behavior coming from the townsfolk of the village of Marthton in Elsir Vale. Also, large numbers of townsfolk have been seen traveling to the Mourning Cave in the hills outside of town. The Mourning Cave is the burial site of a local hero to Marthton - a paladin of Torm named Arden Brightheart. Having been through Marthton during your travels you decided to head there and investigate.
Once there you found the stories about the townsfolk to be true but you also found an even darker prospect.
Your presence in the quaint town of Marthton was met with a mix of hope and anxiety. The townsfolk seemed earnest if a bit distant. They offered little advice or information, seeming uncertain whether their assistance would put them in jeopardy. It was clear that fear had them tightly clenched in its fist. After staying briefly in Marthton to re-supply, you headed out to explore the crypt and sanctuary of Arden Brightheart. Rumors had hinted to an evil stirring in the paladin’s tomb, suppressing the holy radiance of the sanctuary and making this important pilgrimage destination dangerous.
But every rumor you had heard painted a very different picture. Some rumors told of a veritable army of undead raised from the townsfolk’s own graves, while others hinted that Arden himself haunted the crypt, corrupted by the very lack of faith of the townsfolk. Another rumor described a vile darkness manifested in the crypt, impenetrable to all but the most holy or devout. Still others surmised that the evil sorcerer Dread Watcher, whom Arden battled decades ago, had risen to exact vengeance on the paladin and the town he protected.
Making your way into the crypt proved easy but what lay within proved the opposite. Battling many foul beasts as well as several types of undead you finally reached the force behind the evil that had invaded the tomb of Arden Brightheart. It was indeed Dread Watcher but now he was a foul undead creature still with his sorcereous powers. And as the battle was joined with the foul creature and his minions, he exclaimed the following:
"Woe unto you who dare tamper in my master’s work! Skullshank shall not abide those who would disrupt the construction of his most fearsome invention. But you are too late - even should you recover the lens from the chapel, you shall not prevail. The Oculum shall be completed. And once completed, Skullshank shall rule the land without question!"
Chilling words indeed, and after a fierce battle where Grull nearly lost his life to Dread Watcher's undead minions if not for the timely healing from his friend Barros, you eventually defeated the foul undead. Eventually you were able to cleanse the rest of the tomb of the foul undead and returned the Sword of Conviction, Arden Brightheart's sword, to its proper resting place. All seemed to be right again in Marthton again.
However, the words of Dread Watcher still seemed to haunt you. Who was this Skullshank and what was the Oculum?
Research into these questions did not reveal anything substantial however. Months passed and you all went on several more adventures. During this time another adventurer joined your ranks. Eventually thoughts of Skullshank, the Oculum, and the other mysteries involved receded into the background.
That is until nearly two tenday ago. You and your companions were on the road from Hammerfist Holds in the Wyvernwatch Mountains traveling north to the village of Dauth when you were attacked. The attackers were not ordinary brigands or wandering monsters but a highly organized group of goblin's riding worgs led by a vicious hobgoblin named Dae Shar. Despite being surprised by the attackers, you were able to defeat the goblinoids. On the body of Dae Shar you found a note that chilled your blood.
It read:
"Dae Shar,
You are to ambush and kill a group of adventurers on the road from Hammerfist Holds north to Dauth. They will number five. Report to Vraath Keep when they are dead as soon as you can as their deaths will ensure needed support from Skullshank. Do not fail me in this.
AK"
After this, as a group, you decided to head to Vraath Keep determined to find out what was going on. That was 5 days ago. As the campaign starts you are on the road nearing Drellin's Ferry.
Next post will have the details of the first session.
For those (perhaps two I think) that remember my last campaign, it was set in the city of Westgate. I ended it early for two reasons. One - it was beginning to look a lot like a railroad campaign due to me writing almost every adventure. And as much fun as I have doing that, I know my own limitations as most of my self-written adventures end up being more like short stories. Fun for me, not so much fun for the players. And two - the birth of my second child.
(Here is the link to my Westgate Campagin - http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=125692)
But now it is 10 months later and things have settled down at the ol'Ranger5 household and we have just finished a 10 month long campaign one of the other guys was running.
So now I am back!
As for the details of the campaign, I started with Red Hand of Doom and set it in the north between Damara and Narfell, changing the local terrain a lilttle to accomodate the landscape of the adventure. I am also going to be using adventures from Goodman Games' "Dungeon Crawl Classics" once Red Hand is done. Basically I am going to string published material together and change just what I need to for the sake of the campaign.
So to begin there are 5 player characters that I started at 5th level. They are:
Grull - male half-orc paragon 3/orc paragon 2
Charrok - male human warmage 5
Tala - female human ranger 5
Barros - male human cleric of Tempus 5
Aslan - male human ice druid 5
And here is the campaign background I handed out to the players:
The campaign will start in Kythorn 1, 1373 DR, the Year of Rogue Dragons. The events below chronicle what has gone on before the campaign starts.
Your characters have adventured with each other for the better part of a year now in and around the Damara/Narfell regions. Your characters all first met in the small town of Hillwatch in Elsir Vale. Tala, a native of Elsir Vale, met Cherrok on the road to Hillwatch. Both were passing through and decided to travel together. Barros and Grull have known each other for a few years and were also passing through Hillwatch.
It was in Hillwatch that a call went out to help a small farming druid community of Fairweather to the south. They apparently had been attacked and the mayor of Hillwatch was asking for anyone willing to check out Fairweather. The four of you volunteered and set out for Fairweather. When you got there you found the small farming village decimated. Tala's tracking skill led you to an underground burrow. You descended into the darkness and overcame many of the denizens of the burrows including fiendish dire rats and a gray ooze. Eventually you found the leader of the raiders who attacked Fairweather. It was a fiendish wererat named Blood Whisker. After a harrowing battle with the creature, you were able to defeat him. Surprisingly you found the leader of Fairweather, a female human druid named Thistle, still alive. She told you the reason for the raiders' attacks on Fairweather was to acquire the Eye of Night, a magical gem. Impressed with your character and bravery she said the following:
"This is the Eye of the Night. I fear this is what the raiders, led by that filthy vermin Blood Whisker, sought. I can no longer ensure its safety and must focus my time and energy to rebuilding the commune.
"In the wrong hands, this tool of peace and nature could be corrupted. An ill omen rides the wind, and I fear the raiders that destroyed Fairweather are merely servants of a greater threat beating like a twisted heart in the darkness. Please, take the Eye of the Night and keep it safe."
And with that she gave you the gem.
Through some research you learned of the Eye of Night's magical powers. The Eye of the Night is in fact a gem of brightness. However, instead of a long rough prism, the eye is a wide, circular topaz. (NOTE: At the start of the campaign the Eye has 25 charges left.)
Months passed with the four of you going on various adventures - mainly protecting caravans traveling the lonely roads of the region or protecting small villages from monster raids, usually goblins and such. You would also explore ancient dungeons for treasure of course. But you always kept wondering about the words of Thistle - "An ill omen rides the wind, and I fear the raiders that destroyed Fairweather are merely servants of a greater threat beating like a twisted heart in the darkness."
Then word came of strange behavior coming from the townsfolk of the village of Marthton in Elsir Vale. Also, large numbers of townsfolk have been seen traveling to the Mourning Cave in the hills outside of town. The Mourning Cave is the burial site of a local hero to Marthton - a paladin of Torm named Arden Brightheart. Having been through Marthton during your travels you decided to head there and investigate.
Once there you found the stories about the townsfolk to be true but you also found an even darker prospect.
Your presence in the quaint town of Marthton was met with a mix of hope and anxiety. The townsfolk seemed earnest if a bit distant. They offered little advice or information, seeming uncertain whether their assistance would put them in jeopardy. It was clear that fear had them tightly clenched in its fist. After staying briefly in Marthton to re-supply, you headed out to explore the crypt and sanctuary of Arden Brightheart. Rumors had hinted to an evil stirring in the paladin’s tomb, suppressing the holy radiance of the sanctuary and making this important pilgrimage destination dangerous.
But every rumor you had heard painted a very different picture. Some rumors told of a veritable army of undead raised from the townsfolk’s own graves, while others hinted that Arden himself haunted the crypt, corrupted by the very lack of faith of the townsfolk. Another rumor described a vile darkness manifested in the crypt, impenetrable to all but the most holy or devout. Still others surmised that the evil sorcerer Dread Watcher, whom Arden battled decades ago, had risen to exact vengeance on the paladin and the town he protected.
Making your way into the crypt proved easy but what lay within proved the opposite. Battling many foul beasts as well as several types of undead you finally reached the force behind the evil that had invaded the tomb of Arden Brightheart. It was indeed Dread Watcher but now he was a foul undead creature still with his sorcereous powers. And as the battle was joined with the foul creature and his minions, he exclaimed the following:
"Woe unto you who dare tamper in my master’s work! Skullshank shall not abide those who would disrupt the construction of his most fearsome invention. But you are too late - even should you recover the lens from the chapel, you shall not prevail. The Oculum shall be completed. And once completed, Skullshank shall rule the land without question!"
Chilling words indeed, and after a fierce battle where Grull nearly lost his life to Dread Watcher's undead minions if not for the timely healing from his friend Barros, you eventually defeated the foul undead. Eventually you were able to cleanse the rest of the tomb of the foul undead and returned the Sword of Conviction, Arden Brightheart's sword, to its proper resting place. All seemed to be right again in Marthton again.
However, the words of Dread Watcher still seemed to haunt you. Who was this Skullshank and what was the Oculum?
Research into these questions did not reveal anything substantial however. Months passed and you all went on several more adventures. During this time another adventurer joined your ranks. Eventually thoughts of Skullshank, the Oculum, and the other mysteries involved receded into the background.
That is until nearly two tenday ago. You and your companions were on the road from Hammerfist Holds in the Wyvernwatch Mountains traveling north to the village of Dauth when you were attacked. The attackers were not ordinary brigands or wandering monsters but a highly organized group of goblin's riding worgs led by a vicious hobgoblin named Dae Shar. Despite being surprised by the attackers, you were able to defeat the goblinoids. On the body of Dae Shar you found a note that chilled your blood.
It read:
"Dae Shar,
You are to ambush and kill a group of adventurers on the road from Hammerfist Holds north to Dauth. They will number five. Report to Vraath Keep when they are dead as soon as you can as their deaths will ensure needed support from Skullshank. Do not fail me in this.
AK"
After this, as a group, you decided to head to Vraath Keep determined to find out what was going on. That was 5 days ago. As the campaign starts you are on the road nearing Drellin's Ferry.
Next post will have the details of the first session.
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