JollyDoc's Curse of the Crimson Throne: Updated 11/6/09

[JollyDoc]

So you've met the League, the Legion, and even the Sandpoint Seven. Now, allow me to introduce you to K.I.A....the Korvosan Intelligence Agency (perhaps they'll have better luck than their predecessors).

THE EDGE OF ANARCHY

'Ratbone', Half-Orc Druid of The Five Companions

* 'Ratbone' was born in the Mindspin Mountains in a small tribe of half-orc barbarians of Shoanti descent. Having been shunned by their human ancestors generations before, the tribe's founders set out on their own and started a small village where they could farm, hunt, and forage in relative peace (for a tribe of half-orcs). Ratbone's given name was Gruzzak Stonesmasher, and his parents both served the village as tribal shamans. When Gruzzak was 10 years old, the village was raided by a group of Chelish slavers, and the entire tribe was either captured or killed. Among the captured was Gruzzak's father and seven of his ten siblings. Among the dead were his mother and the remaining three siblings. Upon delivery to the slave masters, Gruzzak and his family were separated, and he has no idea as to their whereabouts, or even if any of them are still alive. Through an intermediary associated with the Korvosan black markets, Gruzzak was sold to Gaedren Lamm, whereby he became one of his 'Little Lambs'. For four years, he suffered under the depredations of the petty criminal. When Gruzzak had reached the age of 14 (the point where he no longer appeared as an innocent child) Gaedren abandoned the boy, but not before gleefully torturing him and leaving him for dead on a garbage heap. Gruzzak struggled to survive, and found a home living on the streets, eventually making his way to the Shingles above the Bridgefront neighborhood of Old Korvosa. There among the city's poorest and most desperate individuals he lived for four years, making it by on scraps found in others' garbage and capturing and eating small animals, such as stray cats and rats. Due to the numerous carcasses the growing half-orc boy would leave behind him, he was nicknamed by the other denizens of the Shingles as 'Ratbone', a name he didn't like but has become accustomed to. With all that he had seen and been exposed to, Ratbone had developed a deep sense of right and wrong, and he found himself aligning with the former far more than the latter. Before long, this was noted by powers above, namely Kharash the Stalker, one of Talisid's fabled Five Companions. The great lupinal had a soft spot for children, and he ventured on to the Prime and approached the half-orc adolescent. Kharash convinced the youth to take up the cause of good, and in doing so also unlocked his natural druidic and shapeshifting talent. Due to hard living on the streets, the half-orc was physically fit and was very cunning. However, he had never been exposed to any sort of learning and had little ability to develop or comprehend complex plans , and due to his tortured youth and subsequent life as a vagrant he was in no way adept at social situations . The half-orc's ability as a druid was unrefined by any sort of formal training or apprenticeship, but due to his life in the Shingles he was extremely attentive and self-reliant. Ratbone pledged his service to Kharash and the Companions, and also vowed to protect the poor of Korvosa. Kharash told Ratbone that if he were to give up material wealth, then he would be further blessed and protected by the Powers of Good. Ratbone agreed. Since making his promise, Ratbone has taken it upon himself to act as the protector of the poor, weak, and innocent of Bridgefront, especially children. By day, Ratbone continues his life as just another 'bum on the streets', but at night he prowls the alleys of Bridgefront in the form of a large mongrel. One more than one occasion he has broken up a minor scofflaw or stopped muggings as they were occurring. As a result, minor rumors have started about the 'Guardian Hound of Bridgefront'. Against those he finds to be evil and needing to be stopped, Ratbone neither asks for nor receives quarter. Ratbone has recently started trying to learn of the whereabouts of Lamm, so that he might free the enslaved children and put an end to his evil.

Valeris Aquitaine, Human Duskblade

Valeris is a Varisian orphan who ran away to escape abuse, only to fall into the hands of Gaedren Lamm and become one of his "little lambs." For once in his life he loved his new position and really loved the freedom of taking what he wanted and doing what he wanted. With the exception of Gaedren, he had no one to boss him around. Once his powers started to surface, however, and Gaedren realized that he might one day grow into someone powerful enough to challenge him, the crime lord tortured and beat him unmercifully, leaving him for dead. Now all he lives for is to find Gaedren and kill him slowly to make him pay for what was done to him. Over the years he has hired himself out as anything from a guard or bouncer, to roughing up shopkeepers for protection money. When possible, he has tried to study magic at the Theumanexus College when he can come up with gold to pay for it.

Herc Stoneheart, Human Fighter

Stoneheart comes from a long line of fighters and bodyguards. He has been training with arms and armor from a young age and loves the spirit of battle and fighting. Herc prefers his longsword and a spiked shield, although he has trained with all arms and armor. He is always been strong, fairly acrobatic, and has decent intestinal fortitude, although like most of his family, he is not terribly bright or good looking. Still, he has seen some battles and knows the streets. His family has been exclusively employed by the various members of the Orisini family over the last 150+ years, and Herc had been serving as the bodyguard to Vencarlo's 2nd cousin Aberalo for about a year when Aberalo's son went missing. Aberalo suspects his son ran away, since he never received a ransom. Herc Stoneheart has vowed to find Aberalo's son. After all, he had been teaching the boy to fight and look out for himself. He blames himself for giving the lad too much confidence and Herc was not smart enough to instill the need for him to remain at home where it was safer. Herc has been knocking on doors and scouring the streets looking, and has recently gotten a bit of news that a boy similar to Aberalo's has been spotted with Gaedren "Little Lambs."

Katarina, Human Beguiler

Katarina is the daughter of one of Korvosa’s most prestigious Harrowers, the feytouched Varisian Mistress Ilga. Her father is a shameless Korvosan rake who serves as his wife’s “business manager.” While Mistress Ilga is singularly devoted to the Harrow as many are to their gods, her husband understands that those who approach fortune tellers may be taken advantage of just as easily as those religious fools. Katarina has two sisters: The oldest, Siouxsie, inherited her mother’s love of the Harrow. She is a skilled Harrower in her own right and is also a trained Varisian dancer. The youngest is Saryja, a dilettante who assumed all of her father’s larcenous tendencies. Siouxsie and Katarina share their mother’s fey heritage, long raven tresses and green eyes (Cha 14) , while Saryja keeps her chestnut hair cut short in the latest Korvosan style. Ilga trained Katarina and her sisters in the mystical art of the Harrow from a young age. Siouxsie embraced the Deck and grew in power, Saryja thought it was all a bunch of superstitious nonsense, but that their mother sure made a fortune by telling fortunes and it allowed Saryja to enjoy the decadent lifestyle she craved. Katarina was conflicted in her feelings. She acknowledged her mother’s powers with the Deck, but also saw the enormous power that lay in manipulating those who blindly believed every word from a soothsayer. Katarina was certainly capable of studying at the Acadamae. Unfortunately, the daughter of a Varisian Harrower – however famous – would never be accepted, so her father hired private tutors to further her studies. Her favorite tutor was charismatic young man named Tarim, and the two quickly developed a deeper relationship. Later, Tarim revealed to her that he really wasn’t a wizard at all, but a beguiler, somewhat limited in the magical arts, but gifted in many other ways. Tarim’s adventurous life quickly captivated the teenaged Kat, and she imitated everything he did. Tarim’s greatest frustration was the fact that he felt he couldn’t advance further due to his natural limitations, and he longed to impress his brilliant student and lover. He began to secretly experiment with various methods of achieving greater enlightenment. Finally, his search led him to try the dream-inducing street drug known as “shiver.” It didn’t take long for Tarim to become hooked, a fact he tried desperately to conceal from Katarina. His eventual overdose left the young beguiler in a coma and broke Katarina’s heart. It also made her mad. Mad at Tarim. Mad at “shiver”. Mad at the people responsible for the horrible drug - people who would have pay for what they had taken from her. Katarina has combined the powers of her Harrowing with her developing beguiler abilities to discover that a petty crime lord named Gaedren Lamm supplied Tarim with his “shiver.” She learned a lot of other nasty things about Lamm in her research, and now she’s ready to take him out.

Mandrake Sheekmore’: Human Paladin of Abadar

Mandrake never asked to be a paladin, never wanted it, in fact. The choice was taken from him, however, the day his brother, Petros, went missing. It was on that day that he had the Dream, or perhaps it was a vision. In it, Abadar spoke to him. How he knew it was Abadar, especially in light of the fact that he was agnostic, he couldn’t be sure. He just knew. The god told him where to find his brother. He had become addicted to the street drug shiver, and was holed up in the Dragon’s Breath Corridor, a drug house in Eel’s End. All that Abadar asked in return for this revelation was that Mandrake commit himself to the church body and soul. He didn’t explain why, except to say that his new paladin had been chosen for the turbulent times that lay ahead. When Mandrake woke, he set out immediately for Eel’s End. When he arrived at the Dragon’s Breath Corridor, however, he found that Petros had died in a drug-induced coma the night before, caused by a tainted batch of shiver. Once he had…persuaded…Bezzeraty, the proprietor of the Dragon’s Breath, the man had told him where the shiver had come from…a local crime lord by the name of Gaedren Lamm.

O’reginald Rijad: Human Sorcerer

O’reginald had been clean for sixty-four days, six hours and thirty-five minutes…yet he still craved shiver as if he’d last used yesterday. The young sorcerer had not always been thus. No, he’d once been a lesser scion of a minor noble house. True, he would never assume the role of patron of his clan, but still, he had prospects. When he first began to show an aptitude for magic, his family’s name had insured that he would gain admission to the prestigious Acadamae’…at least until it became apparent to all that his gifts were not of an academic nature. He was a sorcerer…a freak, born with a minor talent for the arcane that would never amount to anything of worth…or so he’d been told when his application to the college was torn up in front of him. To make matters worse, his father took his rejection by the school as a personal insult and embarrassment, one which he blamed on O’reginald. In no uncertain terms, he was informed that he was no longer welcome in his own home. He took to the streets, intending to use his skills to earn a modest living until he could come up with enough money to apply to Theumanexus College. As fate would have it, however, he fell in with a bad crowd during his travels thru the seedier sections of Korvosa, and it was thru his new friends that he first met Gaedren Lamm. It was thru Lamm that he was next introduced to shiver, and the rest, as they say, is history. His life began to rapidly spiral out of control from that point on, and he had faced many a debasement in his pursuit of the dragon. It was only as he sat by helplessly and watched his only friend, Petros, die in a fit of seizures that he realized that was the fate that awaited him if he didn’t get clean. Through a ferocious act of will, he endured days of sickness as he went through gut-wrenching withdrawals. Now, it had been over two months since he’d used, and he was determined that he would never watch another friend die to the drug that had almost consumed him. He knew that to kill a dragon, you had to cut off its head, and in Korvosa, the head of shiver was Gaedren Lamm.

THE EDGE OF ANARCHY

“I know what Gaedren has done to you. He has wronged me as well. I know where he dwells, yet cannot strike at him. Come to my home at 3 Lancet Street at sunset. Others like you will be there. Gaedren must face his fate, and justice must be done.”

A simple note, printed on the back of a Harrow card, yet it was the beginning of a series of events that would change the history of the city of Korvosa, and of Varisia itself. Six disparate souls found the cards in widely disparate locations: one while he rummaged through a trash bin in search of his latest meal; another hidden within her own Harrow deck; a third slipped into the straps of his shield; within the secret notes he studied in hopes of fulfilling his dream to become a mage; in his coin purse, which also served as the symbol of his god; and in the bottom of a hookah pipe, reminding him of a past he thought he’d escaped.

One-by-one they answered the call, unable to do otherwise. Their pasts demanded blood for blood. They gathered at the small fortune teller’s shop in the midtown district of Korvosa, their hostess not present as they began to file in. Two knew each other, for they had shared the same unhappy childhood at the hands of Gaedren Lamm, yet their lives had taken very different paths when they had finally won their freedom, and they simply stared at each other across the tiny sitting room, unsure of what to say. Likewise, the others had little to say, unsure of the motives of their fellow guests. They waited, and soon their hostess appeared, a handsome Varisian woman named Zellara. She made no introductions, but simply thanked her guests for coming and proceeded to tell them her tale. Gaedren Lamm had stolen her most valued possession from her: her mother’s Harrow deck. Her son went to Lamm to retrieve the deck, and was killed by the crime lord outright. Zellara found no help from law enforcement, and so relied on her own wits and skill with the Harrow. In time, she discovered one of Gaedren’s many hideouts, and discovered the names of others who harbored grudges against him as well. Thus her divinations had led her to call those before her, and to appeal to them for their aid in seeking vengeance against a common devil. There was no hesitation among those gathered in accepting her request. She thanked them, and before they left, she read the fortunes of each in the cards. All told a similar tale…a coming time of unrest and violence in the streets, and the role each of them would play as heroes to the city in its hour of greatest need.
__________________________________________________

The old fishery that served as Gaedren Lamm’s current hideout had stood abandoned after its former owner was killed by a devilfish. Under Korvosan law, buildings abandoned under such circumstances automatically reverted to the city, to be held in escrow for two years. Even after this period, however, the local government was slow to handle such matters, and Gaedren often used this to his advantage, setting up shop in a previously abandoned shop for as long as possible before moving on to the next. Not only was the fishery a convenient headquarters, but it also served as a money-making scheme to supplement what was brought in by his pick-pocketing ‘Little Lambs.’ It was a place where desperate fishermen could sell of their less fetching catches, and where fishmongers could dump their old sun-tainted wares. Lamm’s workforce of enslaved orphans toiled among the guts and slime, creating a foul-smelling slurry that could be resold as bait, fertilizer, or the main ingredient for ‘fish dumplings,’ a local favorite among the poorer dock workers who couldn’t afford a fresh filet of fish.

Zellara’s enforcers made their way along the wharfs from her shop to the fishery, exchanging superficial courtesies along the way, but each harboring suspicions and misgivings about the motivations of his or her companions. By the time they arrived, it was well after sunset, and the building was closed up for the night. This did not deter them. Some of them had waited most of their lives for that moment, while others for a far shorter time, but they all had one thing in common: their desire to see Gaedren Lamm pay for his crimes was all-consuming. Without hesitation, the big warrior called Herc used his shield to batter in the front door. In the front room beyond, they surprised a very startled-looking, sour-faced man, dressed in out-of-date finery. He was speaking with a small boy, and slowly rising to its feet, a deep snarl in its throat, was a powerfully-built cur. Ratbone and Valeris instantly recognized the man: Yargin Balkro, Gaedren’s right-hand man and longest-lived accomplice. Both of them had suffered greatly at his hands during their time of indentured servitude, and those old memories left them in no mood to act with diplomacy. Growling low, Ratbone stalked forward in his mongrel form, his eyes not on the other dog, but on Yargin’s throat. He paused barely three steps into the room, however, as he recognized a familiar scent. Turning, he sniffed the air and for the first time, got a really good look at the boy. It was then that he realized it was not a boy that he was seeing, but instead it was a gnome disguised as a human child. This then was Hookshanks Gruller, Gaedren’s overseer and taskmaster, a cruel creature who took great delight in bullying those who were even smaller than himself. A fresh surge of anger coursed through Ratbone, and he lunged at Yargin, taking the man down in a flurry of snapping jaws and flashing teeth. When Yargin’s dog, Boo rushed for Ratbone’s flank, Herc stepped in, killing the mangy mongrel with one blow. Hookshanks began edging towards the door, begging the ‘grown-ups’ to save him. Before he could make the door, however, Ratbone was on him, much to the shock and horror of his companions, who thought the half-orc had gone insane with bloodlust, attacking a child like that. It was only after the gnome lay motionless on the floor and Ratbone, reverting to his normal form, showed them the nature of the disguise, that they understood and calmed themselves.

Despite Ratbone’s vicious attacks, Yargin and Hookshanks still drew breath, though Valeris was eager to remedy that situation. Mandrake, however, insisted that they be kept alive and taken to the proper authorities for justice. Reluctantly, the others agreed and the pair were bound and gagged and left in the room while the avengers moved deeper into the fishery. They encountered no one else until they came through a door onto a platform overlooking the fishery floor. There, over two-dozen grimy, wide-eyed children cowered among the catwalk supports as a burly half-orc railed at them and beat them with a heavy-wooden flail, ordering them to kill the trespassers, all while he giggled maniacally. Valeris and Ratbone recognized yet another of Gaedren’s cronies: Mr. Giggles, a border-line insane brute who helped Hookshanks squeeze every minute of work they could from the orphans. Terrified as they obviously were of the half-orc, the children did not move to obey his maddened commands, which only enraged him further. As he raised his flail to strike again, however, Valeris and Ratbone were upon him, and this time, they were more thorough in their tactics, and Mr. Giggles did not rise from the widening pool of blood that surrounded him. Afterwards, Mandrake told the children to flee, and they didn’t hesitate, running like rats from a sinking ship. Several of them paused, however, as they passed the tied up pair in the front room. Katarina, who had silently followed the children to make sure they made good their escape, was the only one to bear witness as they drew small knives from their tunics and quickly slit the throats of Yargin and Hookshanks.

Moored to the pier behind the fishery, was the rotten hulk of an ancient barge called Kraken’s Folly. When the six companions found no trace of Gaedren within the fishery itself, they made their way to the boat. Within its dilapidated hulk, they found only a small colony of spiders the size of large cats. Once they had dealt with the vermin, however, Ratbone’s sharp eyes picked out a well-hidden door in the side of the hull. Upon opening it, they found a floating underpier beneath the main pier above. It lead to a lower level of the fishery that was not visible from street level. Within, they found a large, low-ceilinged, open area, with a sizeable hole in the floor overlooking the stinking river below. Standing on the far side of this room was Gaedren Lamm himself. He was a jaundiced, bent corpse of a man, his eyes yellowed and his skin speckled from age. His left leg carried a pronounced limp as he shuffled about, and he wore only a gray, cotton robe. When he saw the intruders, he merely sneered, for he recognized each one of them and knew why they had come. He taunted them each, cruelly and without mercy. He spoke of Ratbone and how he should have fed him to the sharks when he’d first found the half-breed. Valeris, his most promising pupil, was an ingrate in his eyes and deserved to have been left in a garbage bin. Herc, he told laughingly, was too late to save his charge. The boy, according to Lamm, had died just the day before. Mandrake and Katarina he chided for their choices of weak-willed family and lovers, so easily swayed by the offer of a little shiver. And speaking of shiver, he held a small vile out towards O’reginald, tempting the former addict with a bit of hair of the dog. Lastly, he spoke of Zellara, telling them he knew that she’d sent them, then remarking on her beauty and saying how he couldn’t bear to feed her to his ‘pet.’ He went on to say that she was in the next room if they wanted to see her, bringing looks of puzzlement and concern to their faces. No words were spoken as they fanned out around the hole in the floor, coming at Lamm from both flanks. Before they could reach him, however, a large crocodile lunged, roaring and snapping out of the river. This was Gobblegut, Gaedren’s pet, to whom he’d fed any number of his enemies and charges who’d displeased him. Still, such was the pent up rage and frustration of those assembled, that Valeris slew the croc single-handedly, while Ratbone tore out Gaedren’s throat himself.
__________________________________________________ _____

Strangely, Gaedren’s death brought no satisfaction, and his final taunt weighed heavily on the minds of the six. When they entered the small office off the main chamber, they discovered amid the filth and refuse a strongbox, and a small, wooden hatbox surrounded by a cloud of flies. Within the strongbox was an assortment of Gaedren’s more prized acquisitions. Most of these were minor trinkets of small value, but one was an exquisitely-crafted brooch depicting a pseudodragon and an imp coiled around each other. The dragon’s eye was an amethyst, while the imp’s was an emerald. It’s value was incalculable, yet even more shocking was the marking on its back…the personal insignia of Queen Ileosa herself!
A larger, and more horrifying shock, however, still lay within the hatbox. When Katarina cautiously lifted the lid, she gasped as she saw the severed head of Zellara nestled within. It was poorly preserved and decorated with unsightly makeup in a crude attempt to give its sagging flesh the semblance of life. Beneath the ragged stump of the neck, lay the fortune teller’s Harrow deck.
_________________________________________________

The would-be heroes made their quickly back to Zellara’s shop, but when they arrived there, they found it abandoned, looking as if it had been so for weeks. No sign of food, wall hangings, rugs or Zellara herself could be found, and the furniture was smashed to pieces. No sooner had they entered, however, than Katarina felt a strange warmth emanating from her pocket. When she reached in and withdrew Zellara’s Harrow deck, she saw that it was glowing with a pale, silvery light. The glow grew until it formed the outline of a woman, Zellara, looking ghostly and translucent. She apologized for having deceived them, but explained that when she had gone after Gaedren, seeking revenge for her son’s death, she had only found her own doom there. Such was her desire for vengeance, however, that her spirit had lived on and contacted each of them. She thanked them for giving her peace, and explained that she now bequeathed her most prized possession, her deck, to them. She explained that, through it, she could continue to offer them her guidance and her wisdom. They had only to call.

When they emerged once more from Zellara’s shop, it became immediately apparent that something terrible had happened. Korvosa was in flames. Smoke rose on the horizon. The frantic clang of alarm bells sang out in harmony with a multifarious cacophony of screams, the clash of steel on steel, moans, and even the periodic detonation of arcane power. A wing of Sable Company griffon riders swooped overhead, angling toward Castle Korvosa at a breakneck pace. One of the badly wounded mounts rained blood down on the street around them before it succumbed and crashed headlong into a statue, taking its rider and itself to a bone-crunching demise. The others in the flight did not pause to check on their fallen ally. Amid the chaos, the voice of a Korvosan herald cut through the din: “The king is dead! Long live the queen!” only to be shouted down by the ragged cries of “Hang the queen!” and “The usurper whore must die!” Through an alleyway, they even spotted a contingent of hellknights clad in dark iron armor and horned helms pursuing a small gang of what appeared to be looters. The city had gone mad while the heroes had battled Gaedren in his lair.

[Zanticor]

Oh boy oh boy. I'll sure follow this one. Shame about the last one but the Crimson Throne is of on a good start. I hope the characters will grow on me like the last times.

Zanticor

[JollyDoc]

Originally Posted by Zanticor

Oh boy oh boy. I'll sure follow this one. Shame about the last one but the Crimson Throne is of on a good start. I hope the characters will grow on me like the last times.

Zanticor

I like this group of characters. We've got a good mix, with two of the PC's exalted, and two CN, bordering on evil. Should be an interesting interaction.

[Neverwinter Knight]

Yes, a fine assortment of characters. It migth just work out, if the two darker souls are a little more subtle in living out their alignment. In other words: not like Reaper.

Great start of the story hour and awesome description of the PC histories. You could really feel the tension. Glad you wrapped up RotRL the way you did and thanks for continuing to share your exploits with us!

[Joachim]

Originally Posted by Neverwinter Knight

Yes, a fine assortment of characters. It migth just work out, if the two darker souls are a little more subtle in living out their alignment. In other words: not like Reaper.

HEY!!! Reaper wasn't THAT bad...

Most of the PC histories above were written by the players themselves, and its really cool to see the deep amount of thought that went into them. Should be an interesting to see how it all shakes out.

Oh, and we have no cleric, so healing is going to be limited to 'cleric-on-a-stick' for the time being.

[Neverwinter Knight]

Originally Posted by Joachim

HEY!!! Reaper wasn't THAT bad...

Reaper was definitely one of my favorite characters, and while I would never call him bad or evil, being subtle was not one of his strong points.

[JollyDoc]

Originally Posted by Neverwinter Knight

Reaper was definitely one of my favorite characters, and while I would never call him bad or evil, being subtle was not one of his strong points.

Did Joachim mention that he's playing Ratbone, the most exalted do-gooder of the bunch?

[Supar]

Originally Posted by JollyDoc

Did Joachim mention that he's playing Ratbone, the most exalted do-gooder of the bunch?

he is giving away perfectly good money to the poor wth is that

[JollyDoc]

IN HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE

Eodred II’s health had been declining for some time. That was common knowledge, but his sudden death had caught most of the castle off guard. Rumors quickly began to spread on the streets that he suffered from some disease beyond even the priesthoods of Sarenrae and Abadar’s skill to cure, and that even Asmodeus’s disciples were summoned from their pentacle temple in the deep of night to try their dark hand at restoring the king. Worse, the castle’s seneschal had apparently vanished as well, supposedly slain in one of the initial riots. Desperate citizens, salty dock workers, soot-covered smiths and all manner of tradesmen, already stifled by Eodred’s spendthrift reign, roared at the thought of Ileosa taking the throne. Dock workers abandoned the seafront wards and caravan men left North Point. Frustrated merchant ships and wagon convoys turned around when they found no one to offload their goods, much less to buy them. Food and other staples trickled into the city, while thousands vied for the last sack of flour or bundle of cook-fire timber in the market. Riots erupted throughout the streets. Entire wards plunged into chaos. Those who did not rove the streets with cudgel and torch in hand instead locked their doors against the gathering mob. The Bank of Abadar closed its gilded gates and a contingent of the Coin’s Faithful stood at the ready with halberd and crossbow to repel would-be looters. The Acadamae closed its doors as well, shutting its students and professors within its walls and closing them to the rest of the city. In the space of a dozen hours, all of Korvosa’s oppression and anger exploded into chaos.

It was into this madness that the six new companions stepped. Their mission was complete, yet now they were adrift, unable to return to their previous lives, and now dependent on each other for the relative safety that numbers would afford. At first they were divided as to where they should go and what they should do. Ratbone advocated aiding the victims of the rioting wherever they could, but Mandrake felt they should return the stolen brooch to the queen. The paladin’s reasoning was that they were obliged to restore the stolen property to its rightful owner, while the city guard could assist in dispersing the mobs. In the end, a compromise was reached, since the company would have to traverse a large part of the city to reach Castle Korvosa, and they would be able to lend their assistance if it was needed along the way.

Their first chance came quickly and unexpectedly. As they passed by a small tavern, an obviously drunken guardsman came staggering up to Valeris, seemingly having mistaken the duskblade for someone named Neffi, from some place called Sandpoint. When Valeris denied the acquaintance and proceeded to chastise the soldier for dereliction of duty in the face of citywide lawlessness, the man became defensive and belligerent, claiming that there was no point in trying to help. The city was lost. Mandrake recognized the guardsman, a well-liked Watch Sergeant named Grau. The paladin stepped between him and Valeris, and attempted to diffuse the situation, offering to escort the watchman back to the Citadel. Grau grew tearful and remorseful about his abandonment of his post, and agreed to accompany the group after all.

Further along, they came upon the edge of a riot where a mob of half-a-dozen men wielding shovels, chair-legs, and lengths of iron pipe surrounded a beardless young nobleman. One of the laborers, a fat, bald man with greasy muttonchops framing his rotund face, jeered at the young man, accusing him of never having worked an honest day in his life, and of being a lapdog of the “whore queen!” As the big worker raised his pipe to strike, however, Katarina stepped in, a wave of her hand and a quickly chanted spell putting two of the thugs to sleep. Between Valeris’s intimidating stance and Mandrake’s polite but firm suggestion that they disperse, the other men picked up their drowsing companions and slunk away, grumbling. The nobleman was grateful, and identified himself as Amin Jalento. He was in no frame of mind to stick around, however, and tipped his saviors several platinums before disappearing into the streets.

Eventually, they arrived at the Citadel, and while Grau’s fellows readily accepted his return, they were not inclined to accept the offer of the young heroes of further assistance. They were advised, in no uncertain terms, to return to their homes or face incarceration. Reluctantly, they continued on their way. Castle Korvosa was not hard to identify against Korvosa’s skyline. A magnificent achievement of architecture, the castle walls and spires rose high into the air above. The entire structure loomed even higher for its ancient foundation…a Thassilonian ruin in the shape of an immense, flat-topped pyramid. Normally, petitioners to the monarchy approached from the Great Ramp, waited in the Public Courtyard to speak to the Korvosan Guards on duty, and hoped for a chance to be heard. When the six companions arrived, however, the Castle had been locked tight, and bristled with pikes and crossbows. The guards demanded to know their business. At the mention of the queen’s brooch, however, their attitude changed. Hurried words were exchanged among the watchmen, and then one nodded that the group should proceed to the courtyard…after leaving their weapons at the gate.

A group of obviously nervous guards armed with heavy crossbows escorted them up to the castle. As they reached the top of the pyramid and the wide stairs curling up to the castle’s third floor, they were greeted by a beautiful woman dressed in magnificent full plate armor…the queen’s handmaiden and bodyguard, Sabina Merrin. She nodded curtly in greeting, then asked to see the brooch. When it was presented, she smiled, dismissed the guards, then led the company to the throne room, asking how they would be introduced when they met the queen. As they rounded the corner to the throne room, she announced their arrival with a loud, clear voice, and then stepped aside. Queen Ileosa sat upon the Crimson Throne, a vision of celestial beauty despite the black mourning dress and veil she wore in honor of her husband’s death. A small silver coffer sat in her lap. Sabina stepped forward again and took the brooch, then handed it over to the queen with a flourish. She took up a position at the throne’s left side as Ileosa addressed the companions. The queen thanked them for the return of her property, something she had not expected to see again. She spoke of her love for Korvosa, and the turmoil her husband’s death had brought to the city. She promised to reward her heroes, but suggested that they might do her and their city further service. She offered them a position at Citadel Volshyenek among her city guards, if they so chose. Then, claiming that her grief had drained her, she retired, directing Sabina to hand over the reward…a king’s ransom of twelve gold Korvosan ingots. Sabina then looked questioningly at them, obviously waiting on their answer to the queen’s offer. The six unlikely heroes glanced at each other, then agreed as one.
__________________________________________________ ___

Sabina Merrin and a contingent of the royal guard escorted the new guardsmen to Citadel Volshyenek. Once there, they were shown past the same soldiers who had ordered them away on their last visit, sheepish looks of contrition on their faces. They were taken into the central keep, where a harried and tired-looking woman rose from her desk to greet them. This was Field Marshal Cressida Kroft. She introduced herself and asked for their names. She was pleased to see them, pointing out that they had seen the situation in the streets, and the guard was already stretched thin. Every bit of help they could get was welcome. Skipping any further formalities, she proceeded to explain that Korvosa had enough problems without her own men losing their way and going rogue. Apparently this had already happened several times. Many had deserted their posts, concerned about family and friends, yet some were using the riots for personal gain. One such was a man named Verik Vancaskerkin. He had convinced a small group of his fellow guards that Queen Ileosa was going to ruin the city. Cressida explained that she couldn’t afford to pull any of her guards off duty to deal with him, and she didn’t want to expose any of them to him in any case, not wanting to risk further desertions. She needed impartial agents, and that’s where the newcomers came in. She explained that Vancaskerkin and his men had holed up in an abandoned butcher’s shop in North Point called All the World’s Meat. She wanted the group to investigate the place. She asked that they try and avoid killing any of the deserters, if possible, but understood if it came to that. Specifically, she wanted Vancaskerkin alive for interrogation, so that she could find out if there was more to his desertion than simple politics. She dubbed her new operatives the Korvosan Intelligence Agency…K.I.A.
__________________________________________________ _____

By the following morning, the initial civil unrest and outbreaks of rioting were quelled quickly, thanks to the swift action of the Guard, the Sable Company and the Hell Knights. The streets were relatively safe to walk, but a thick tension remained in the air. Riots, fires, and lootings continued to erupt sporadically, and certain smaller areas of the city remained out of control. North Point was one of these. Fortunately, Ratbone knew those streets, and he was able to lead his companions along back alleys and side streets, avoiding the major thoroughfares.

When they reached the butcher shop, they found that it was apparently still a going concern, as several patrons were lined up outside the door, entering and then leaving with wrapped parcels. Dressed in their normal garb instead of that of the Guard, the group drew no attention to themselves as they walked down a side alley and approached the shop from the stockyard. Quietly and unseen, they entered the building, finding themselves on the killing floor, a large, blood spattered chamber where the livestock was slaughtered. The room was unoccupied, however, and they began cautiously opening adjoining doors. Behind one, they surprised two men, both dressed in chain shirts beneath their aprons, slopping three surly-looking boars. The men, Karralo and Parns, late of the Korvosan Guard, asked if they were lost, saying that they were trespassing on private property. At first, Valeris tried bluffing them, explaining that they were there to join Verik’s cause. The two ex-soldiers denied knowing anything about that, at the same time loosening their weapons. After that, there was no more room for diplomacy, and things happened quickly. Despite the best efforts of Valeris and O’reginald, the men were subdued, mostly due to Katarina’s deft use of her magical skills, repeatedly dazing the warriors while her companions rendered them unconscious. Within moments, however, two more men, Baldrago and Malder entered the room, but they were likewise dealt with. Finally, Verik himself appeared, but by that time it was too late. He was outnumbered and outclassed, and he soon joined his cohorts in captivity. A search of the shops offices turned up nothing incriminating, but Valeris did find a beautifully ornate silver dagger, which he slipped surreptitiously into his tunic.
When the group left the shop, a crowd had gathered outside, having witnessed the melee. They began to grow violent and unruly when they saw Verik and his men being dragged out bound hand-and-foot. Katarina and Mandrake, however, were able to calm the mob, explaining that the men were wanted criminals. When they added that any remaining meat in the shop was free for the taking, that sealed it, and the people surged inside, allowing the company to take their prisoners and slip quietly away.
__________________________________________________ ____

Field Marshal Kroft was very pleased that, not only had her new agents dealt with Verik and his men, but they’d managed to bring them all in alive! The financial reward she gave them was generous, but their achievement was such that she had another assignment for them immediately. When they gathered in her office, however, she was not alone. A handsome, middle-aged gentleman, whom she introduced as Vencarlo Orisini, was also in attendance. Herc’s face fell when he saw the man, for it was Vencarlo’s nephew that the big warrior had been assigned to protect when the boy was kidnapped by Gaedren Lamm. Orisini knew him as well, and he was quick to reassure Herc that neither he, nor his family held the man responsible for what had happened. Though this did not assuage Herc’s guilt, he could tell the nobleman was being genuine.

Cressida cut the amenities short, as she was anxious to get down to business. She said that Vencarlo had often been a source of information for her, and he had now brought her some ominous news. It seemed a man named Darvayne Gios Amprei, an ambassador from Cheliax whose disdain for Korvosa was well known, was attempting to undermine the city’s economy to the point where he could buy up large portions of real estate from desperate landholders and establish himself in a position of power. Even before the current crisis, he had been ready to recommend to his government a sanction on trade, or perhaps even an embargo. Cressida was emphatic that his plans had to be stopped, but not by simply killing him. Not only would it be wrong, but it would martyr him in the eyes of Cheliax. Fortunately, Vencarlo had learned that the ambassador had been making regular visits to Eel’s End in Old Korvosa, a den of vice run by a dangerous man named Devargo Barvasi, better known in Korvosa’s alleys as the King of Spiders. He would never let anyone he recognized as an ally of the Guard into his establishment, which was were the K.I.A came in: she wanted them to pay a visit to Eel’s End and secure an audience with Devargo, find out what he knew about Amprei, get proof of any illicit goings-on the ambassador might be involved with, and bring that proof back to her. She agreed to supply them with gold to bribe the crime lord, as he might not be willing to part with such information willingly. The six companions accepted their assignment without question.
_________________________________________________

Vencarlo volunteered to escort the company as far as Old Korvosa, since his fencing academy was located there. Along the way, he took the time to thank them for how they handled the situation with Sergeant Grau, adding that the man was once one of his most promising students. As he spoke, Katarina recalled a rumor she’d heard about some sort of scandal involving Grau, Vencarlo and Sabina Merrin. The details escaped her, however. Vencarlo paid quite a bit of attention to Katarina on the long walk, playing the role of the gentleman suitor. He also took an interest in Ratbone, inquiring specifically about the half-orc’s charity work in Bridgefront.

Soon enough, they reached Old Korvosa, and Vencarlo took his leave with a bow and a final kiss to Katarina’s hand. He pointed them in the direction of Eel’s End, though Mandrake unfortunately knew the way quite well. When the group reached the long pier with five large barges moored to its end, the paladin was nearly overwhelmed with memories of his last visit there…when he’d found his brother dead inside the shiver den known as the Dragon’s Breath Corridor. Now fate had brought him back, and he could not help but believe that it was no coincidence. Abadar worked in mysterious ways.
Along with the Dragon’s Breath Corridor, the Twin Tigers, the Goldenhawk, and the House of Clouds all were heavily patroned by sailors, thugs, prostitutes and what could even have been a few well-dressed nobles, all carousing together. Only one ship, the largest, the Eel’s End itself, had an unoccupied deck, save for a pair of large, grim-faced men dressed in chainmail. The group made their way onto the foredeck of the barge, and when they were questioned by the guards, Katarina’s obvious charms convinced them that she and her friends had legitimate business with Devargo Barvasi. They were taken inside the cabin of the King of Spiders, where the brooding crime lord sat on a makeshift throne crawling with spiders, as a group of thugs sat at tables before him enjoying a sumptuous meal and loudly telling stories. The room became hushed, however, as the newcomers were escorted in. At Barvasi’s questioning gaze, Katarina stepped forward to speak. She explained that she was an adept of the Harrow, and had recently been given visions of important events swirling about the Spider King. When Barvasi said that he did not deal in the whims of fortune, but instead made his own fate, Katarina asked to give him a reading. Bemused, he agreed, all the while fingering the filigree on the armrest of his throne. Katarina took out Zellara’s deck, and began dealing the cards. Her reading was inspired as she spoke of Barvasi’s sordid past, his obviously successful present, and his clouded future, in which she claimed to see divided loyalties. Barvasi sat forward with interest, peering down at the cards. When he asked what she meant by the latter, Katarina spoke of Ambassador Amprei. Barvasi listened in silence as she offered her proposal, ending with a heavy sack laden with five-hundred gold coins. Barvasi remained silent another moment, but then abruptly clapped his hands in delight, and thanked Katarina for her generosity and entertainment. He then asked that they wait while he adjourned to his private quarters. When he returned, he brought with him a packet of papers. He explained that he had learned of a scandalous affair between the ambassador and the wife of an important noble back in Cheliax. He had paid Amprei a visit, attempting to befriend him and make a proposition of opening a line of trade with Cheliax. When the ambassador refused and had Barvasi escorted from his property, Devargo had lifted the man’s house key. He later returned to the house under cover of darkness and stole several letters from Amprei’s paramour. He’d been selling them back to the ambassador since then, but he still had two left, and these he handed over to Katarina and her friends.

[Dr Simon]

So, the players never found out about the little "side business" going on at All the World's Meat?

[Ashrum the Black]

About that "side business" I can only say:

Ewwww!



Seems the party has been doing well. The city really seemed to go down hill fast though. Food riots after twelve hours seems a bit quick. I understand it isn't a city with refrigerators to keep food in, but I would have expected food riots to a least take a day or two to kick up.

Was the time line from the module really that quick, or did the riots kick up sooner than they appeared to in the story hour and things have been bad for a while?

-Ashrum

[Dr Simon]

There *are* some issues of timing in this adventure where you need to apply a bit of Fridge Logic sometimes. The initial riots are not food-related, more the citizens letting off steam. Eodred was a bit of a spendthrift, and his young queen is seen as something of a spoilt rich girl, so the poor aren't happy. It's only as the situation continues that imports are slowed by blockades, that food becomes an issue. Although you could probably say that things are already bad due to Eodred wasting money.

I had a two week gap between the PCs defeating Lamm and being able to visit the Queen. Enough time for Verik to realistically set up his operation. James Jacobs says that the DM can be quite flexible, over on the Paizo boards.

[JollyDoc]

Nope, the gang did not find out about the "other white meat." They pretty much got in and got out.

As for the timeline, James Jacobs did address this over on Paizo when others questioned the speed at which everything went to Hell, and like Doc Simon said, things were already brewing in Korvosa. Eodred's death was just the match that set off the gasoline.

[JollyDoc]

URBAN DECAY

Field Marshal Kroft was thrilled when her agents handed over the Cheliaxan ambassador’s letters, though there might have been a tinge of something else in her expression as well when she heard that Devargo still lived. Disappointment? Perhaps. In any event, she had no further immediate assignments for the company, and dismissed them, though she admonished them to make themselves available at a moment’s notice. She would leave word for them with Theandra Darklight, the owner of the Three Rings Tavern, where the group was being quartered in lieu of the Citadel barracks.

Weeks passed, and life in Korvosa returned to a vague semblance of normality, though tensions remained high, and some neighborhoods were still mostly lawless. Bridgeport, a high-rise shanty town in Old Korvosa was one of these. Ratbone was intimately familiar with its narrow, dingy streets, having spent much time there in the past, performing minor acts of good will whenever he could. These days, however, Bridgeport had declined significantly, and Ratbone had encouraged his new allies to patrol its streets periodically, since the regular Guard wanted little to do with its inhabitants. Little wonder. A miasma of foul air hovered over its garbage-strewn streets. The reek of unwashed bodies, offal, and rotting refuse formed an invisible cloud that permeated everything. Rusty sewer grates spurted pea-green sludge that oozed down the gutters, and rats swarmed in the alleys. Peasants hustled through the streets, grimy handkerchiefs covering their mouths and noses. Yes, Bridgeport had indeed fallen on hard times since Eodred’s death.

As the group picked their way down the garbage-strewn lanes, a pot-bellied half-orc pie salesman hailed them from a corner. He said his name was Mung, and he said that he’d heard of them…Guardsmen who were not Guardsmen, who actually seemed to care about the fate of Korvosa’s less fortunate. He needed their help. One of his suppliers, a man named Algie, had gone missing. Ordinarily, he wouldn’t worry, but four others had disappeared as well in the past month, all of them professional ratcatchers. Two had since turned up dead. Mung pointed out the obvious, that Bridgeport, never the nicest part of town, had gotten even worse of late. First the garbage collectors had stopped coming around, and then the sewers had backed up. Now, the ratcatchers. Vermin were everywhere, and they were vicious! Before he disappeared, Algie had talked about someone leaning on the ratcatchers, threatening to hurt them if they killed any more rats. Mung indicated that Weston, the head of the ratcatchers, might have more information if they were interested. Ratbone made no promises, but said they would look into the matter if they had time.
__________________________________________________ ____

Events soon unfolded that encouraged them to make time. They had only just left Mung, cutting through a side alley to avoid the heavy crowds, when six men stepped out of the shadows, three in front and three behind. One of them said the group had been seen talking to the pie salesman, and if they knew what was good for them, they’d get out of Bridgeport while they could still walk. To emphasize his words, he and his cronies began slapping heavy saps against their palms. Some of the K.I.A. disliked threats more than others, Herc and Valeris among them. The fight was short and brutal, with all but two of the thugs laying dead on the cobbles when all was said and done. Those two still drew breath did so thanks only to Ratbone’s and Mandrake’s mercy. Just the same, the druid broke all of their weapons with his bare hands, then he and his companions simply left them lying unconscious in the alley. As they walked away, they could already see the locals gathering for the scavenge.

The headquarters of the ratcatchers was a two-story wooden building located on Spit Street. In a front office on the lower level, a young man greeted them enthusiastically when they said they were investigating Algie’s disappearance. He said that Weston would be glad to see them as well. When he escorted them to Weston’s room, however, they found the door partly open, and the room empty, but there were obvious signs of a struggle. A large bloodstain, still tacky, pooled on the floor. Cracks around the lock on the door suggested forced entry, and when Ratbone shifted to his canine form, he found a tuft of hair, a scuffed footprint, and a smear of blood that formed a trail that lead to a covered chute on the ground floor. The ratcatcher escorting them explained that the chute descended to the sewers. They used it to dispose of their quarry. The next choice seemed obvious.
________________________________________________

The chute was treacherous, and several of the companions took nasty tumbles on the way down. Ratbone again picked up the blood trail immediately along the walkway above the effluvium. For two hours they followed the mongrel druid, his nose constantly sniffing this way and that. Finally, down a tunnel that, to the others, looked identical to every other one they’d already been down, they found a door, cobbled together from mildewed boards and rusty nails. Splintered pockmarks studded its surface, and a light flickered around its edges. In the darkness above, they could hear faint rustling sounds. When Herc impulsively drew his sword and began jabbing it into the rafters, a large flock of roosting pigeons came swarming down into the passage. Cursing and yelling, the heroes flailed at the maddened birds, finally driving them away into the darkness.

Still cursing, Herc jerked aside the rickety door. The small room beyond was filthy, filled with stacked crates. Dirty straw, animal waste and dried blood covered the floor, and a stained curtain covered a hole in the east wall. Standing in the center of the room was a woman that appeared to be half-human and half-rat. Scars marred her lean face and square chin. Dirty blonde hair sprouted all over her body to form a mat of fur. She held a short sword in her hand, and standing, backs arched and spitting in front of her, were three viciously feral-looking cats the size of badgers. She seemed in no frame of mind to talk, as she and her felines launched themselves forward. The six companions were taken aback by the ferocity and savagery of the attack. Before they could react, the rat-woman had forced both Herc and Valeris back out into the hallway, opening a terrible gash across the big mercenary’s face. Meanwhile, the cats pounced, all teeth and claws, upon Mandrake, and Ratbone, still in his canine form. Though Herc and Valeris dealt their opponent many fierce blows, her skin seemed to shed their steel as if they were striking stone. Still, the K.I.A. was quick to recover, and gradually, they gained ground, with Mandrake and Ratbone managing to dispatch the cats with some difficulty. Valeris and Herc continued to whittle away at the wererat until, finally, the duskblade reached out with his bare hand, channeling his magic as he did so, and delivered a deadly burst of electricity to her, sending her to the ground jittering and quivering before she stopped moving and reverted back to fully human form again.

A search of the room, and the adjoining cubby hole turned up a bound and gagged gray-haired halfling…Weston. He was terrified, yet grateful. He told his saviors that his captor had been called Beila Atcher, a new member of his organization that mostly kept to herself. During his captivity, she had raved about how she and her brother, Vernon, were going to finally show the powers-that-be in Korvosa that they could not keep their people in the sewers any longer. Apparently, their grand scheme involved sabotaging the sanitation systems in Bridgeport first. Then they would spread the filth to the wealthier districts, expecting the reek to drive some of the nobility out. Finally, with the aid of a local gang of thugs called the Scarred Shadows, they would slaughter Korvosa’s ruling class, and Vernon would take control of the city. Ambitious, to say the least. In addition, the heroes discovered a packet of correspondence between Beila and her brother, which revealed that Vernon was currently holed up in an abandoned garbage scow anchored on the river.
__________________________________________________ _____

On the way to the river, however, the company was once more accosted by members of the Scarred Shadows. That time, it was only three of the thugs, including the two they had left alive earlier, but there was a half-elf standing behind them, fingering a dagger and giggling. The encounter went no better for the gangsters than the previous one, however. With a single spell, Katarina rendered all four of them unconscious in a blast of colored light. When the group departed, Katarina left a Harrow card lying on the chest of one of the ruffians. She had scrawled the initials K.I.A on the back.

The ancient garbage scow bobbed in the black water of the Jeggare River. The deck groaned under the weight of piles of refuse, their reek almost overwhelming the dock smells of fish, salt and tar. A wooden shack rose from the filth like a mushroom. As they crossed the narrow, rickety gangway to the deck, Ratbone spotted movement amidst the trash piles as a cockroach the size of a pony erupted from the debris. The giant insect was vicious, and reeked like nothing they’d ever encountered. Still, it was still just an oversized bug, and proved no match for the combined fury of Mandrake and Ratbone.

The door to the cabin was locked, but Herc turned it to so much kindling with a smash of his shield. A dozen rats scurried along the floor of the bi-level, crowded room beyond. An oil lamp hung from the ceiling, shedding greasy gray light onto every surface. Piles of paper covered an old table, and sloping steps led down to a room filled with crates and a hammock. Crouched at the bottom of the stairs was another wererat, this one male, but covered with the same, dirty blonde hair as Beila. The family resemblance was uncanny. However, that resemblance did not translate to their fighting prowess. Vernon Atcher was no less tenacious, and though he was determined to see his deluded dreams through to their conclusion, he simply lacked his sister’s savagery. As a result, the would-be wererat king of Korvosa was quickly subdued, once more due largely to Katarina’s magic. Again and again, she assaulted the rogue with a physical assault of arcane power that rendered him quickly unconscious. Just like that, Vernon’s great plan came to an end.
__________________________________________________ _

A search of Vernon’s scow turned up more incriminating documents of his plans. It also revealed the unconscious form of Algie, Mung’s lost friend. Algie was returned to the ratcatchers, and Vernon was brought back to the Citadel and handed over to Field Marshal Kroft. The K.I.A. was making a name for itself, both in the common quarters of the city, and in the places of power. Events would soon come to pass, however, when that reputation would be put to the most severe form of testing…

[carborundum]

Sweet! They're kicking butt, taking names and leaving a calling card. Sounds like fun!

[Abciximab]

You gotta watch out for those cats, they'll getcha everytime. Savaging their way up your inseam all claws and teeth. As big as badgers? Doesn't seem big enough to qualify as Dire, Just big Tom's?

"Yeah boss, the shipment of badgers didn't come in.."
"Badger's? We don't need no stinkin' badgers! Get the cats down here!""

Sorry, had go for the obvious joke.

[Ed Gentry]

JD,

I had a question if you don't mind. I've read your other SH threads and really enjoyed them. I noticed in this one you've changed your style quite a bit. You seem to be going for more a straight-account-of-events style rather than an unfolding-story-with-dialogue-quotes style that you had before.

I'm just curious as to what your reason for the style change was.

Thanks!

[JollyDoc]

Originally Posted by Ed Gentry

JD,

I had a question if you don't mind. I've read your other SH threads and really enjoyed them. I noticed in this one you've changed your style quite a bit. You seem to be going for more a straight-account-of-events style rather than an unfolding-story-with-dialogue-quotes style that you had before.

I'm just curious as to what your reason for the style change was.

Thanks!

An excellent question. The main reason was time. I found myself getting really behind with RotRL, and it was a way to expedite things. However, I would be interested to know what people think about the two styles. Personally, I'm feeling that there's something missing, and I'm not conveying personalities very well. Regardless, I will still probably skirt round-by-round combat details, but I don't feel that detracts as much as the lack of dialogue might potentially. Thoughts?

[Neverwinter Knight]

First of all: Kudos to the group for their clever and efficient solutions. The KIA are indeed worthy followers of the previous parties! The side business would have added a little more "flavor" to the meaty side-quest.

JollyDoc, although I agree with you that your old writing style was able to convey more story and character depth, I would hate for you to fall behind again and feel pressure instead of enjoying to write your chapters. I am perfectly happy with the way you have chosen to chronicle KIA's exploits.

[Joachim]

I noticed it, too, and was going to mention it on Sunday before my wife called to tell me about her stomach bug attack (and thus my hasty return home). In any case, I think that some of the table banter is missing, and now that we have five players (instead of seven before) it may not be so much to keep up....in any case, I was planning on working up a 'Past is Prologue' kind of write-up for my favorite flea-bitten character.