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Bill T's WotBS campaign, reincarnated
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<blockquote data-quote="Bill T." data-source="post: 6973124" data-attributes="member: 6795693"><p><strong>Dene, then Bresk</strong></p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong>Adventure IV: Dene, then Bresk</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong>Dramatis</strong> <strong>Personae</strong></span></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Amelia</strong>, a human spellthieving acetomancer</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Erielle</strong>, an half-orc (formerly elven) archer ranger</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Kjolmar</strong>, a dour dwarven dungeoncrashing deepwarden</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Balan Bastom</strong></li> </ul><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong>Dene</strong></span></p><p></p><p>The heroes put the Talon's soldiers in the sleigh under the blankets the soldiers themselves had been carrying and the remains of the one dead soldier and Lady Dene's men in the "luggage compartment". They then ride the horses back south to the mouth of the Nasham river before heading west into Lady Dene's lands. Once in Dene, they learn that the taxes in Dene have recently been recently and drastically increased, and also learn something about Lady Dene's feeling about Ragesia and Seaquen. On the way, Balan explains all about Lady Dene.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> <em>Balan did so well on his knowledge check that I figure he must have lived in Dene for a few years and has some sort of unspecified relationship with the family.</em></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p>When they reach Lady Dene's stronghold (one of the last vestiges of the elven nation that used to rule the forest), they are a bit mystified by Thorn's reaction rather cold reaction to Balan, and Balan's equally cold response. They arrive in the evening, only to learn that Lady Dene is on one of her many long walks. They take advantage of the time to learn about Lady Dene -- her interests, her concerns, etc., as well as take a moment to speak the visiting dignataries from Megadon. They don't learn why the Megadonians [sic] are visiting, but do learn that Megadon is hostile to Seaquen and are dismissive of their attempts to get Steppengard to renegotiate the agreement with Ragesia.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> <em>I figured that Megadon sent emissaries to extract some sort of financial inducement to draft ships to transport Ragesian soldiers to Seaquen, on the theory that Lady Dene wants as few soldiers tromping through her lands as possible.</em></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p>The beautiful Lady Dene holds an inquiry the next morning into the deaths of her men. The soldiers' explanation largely agree with the heroes'. Finally, Dene's spiritual advisor questions the dead men. He asks them who killed them, and then asks the truly deciding question: "Were you involved in the assassination of King Steppengard's family." They weren't, of course.</p><p></p><p>"The dead cannot lie, milady," declares Dene's cleric. Lady Dene gives Talon soldiers an opportunity to convince her that they shouldn't be immediately hanged for murder. Two of the soldiers manage to talk their way into newfound lowly positions in the keep where they can be carefully watched, but the commander and one other soldier end up forfeiting their lives for their king.</p><p></p><p>Then comes Balan's opportunity to pitch Seaquen's case before Lady Dene. He's clearly in his element here in Dene's stronghold, smoothly weaving in the issue of succession, the fact that they were able to return the remains of her men killed by the talon, and an offer not of merely a non-aggression pact but an actual alliance. Lady Dene is so taken by Balan's case that she immediately agrees to help the Seaquen in its attempt to reverse the treaty, accepts the non-aggression pact, and hints that she will accept an alliance as soon as it is prudent to do so.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> <em>They pushed all of Dene's buttons and then some. In particular, they took excellent advantage of Lylandra's idea that Lady Dene is afraid of Xavious Foebane's army, swearing up and down that Seaquen presented no threat and wanted to ally with Dene, while never mentioning how very small Xavious's "army" is. It didn't hurt that Balan got a 19 on the die, so, all told, he got a 60 on that diplomacy check.</em></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p><span style="font-size: 10px"><strong>Bresk</strong></span></p><p>The next day, they made their way to Bresk in the company of Thorn and a free wand of <em>endure elements</em>, courtesy of Lady Dene. Three days later, they arrive at the Golden Griffin. Amelia promptly takes a bath, while Kjolmar and Balan go to discover when their audience is -- <em><strong>tomorrow morning!</strong></em>.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> <em>Well, they did take a fair while getting to Bresk....</em></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p>Over dinner, they inquire about the political situation and garner all the relevant facts -- the position of the council and Nina, as well as the general concern about succession. They also learn that Jinis is in jail and realize they may not be able to get him his son's letter promptly. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>After dinner, they decide they need to talk to the least-hostile proxies. They only have time to speak with one, but Balan eventually realizes that they can split up, so he and Kjolmar speak to Timor's proxy while Amelia and Eriel visit Dashgoban's. Balan provides several bottles of dessert wine as gifts and a way to get the evening conversation flowing.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> <em>Kjolmar is being played as a dwarven outcast, so Kjolmar assumes that any dwarf he encounters will be made hostile by his very presence. I figure I'll turn that on its ear when they get to Commander Hertiage, just to mix things up.</em></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p>Amelia plays up how Ragesia cannot be trusted. More importantly, she extends the offer of magical assistance, and drives the point home by asking about what sort of magical assistance Dashgoban would most like. She then participates in drinking games with the dwarves, which go well until she realizes she got back to the Golden Griffin without any idea of how she got there. ;-)</p><p></p><p>The next morning, they arrive in time to see the final moments of the days' trial. Amelia immediately realizes that Relder is under some sort of magical influence, but is unable to determine what. Kjolmar realizes that Nina should be under magical influence -- <em>Silence</em> being an obvious choice.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> <em>The players were all appalled by the Nina's voice. I was flattered by the sentiment. Nina's questioning also made them realize that attempting to sow mistrust of the Ragesians was unlikely to work.</em></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p>The king moves on to taking audiences. Balan makes his pitch. He neglects to mention the issue of succession but nonetheless hits all the other major points. Everyone had already decided that mentioning the death of Lady Dene's men and her execution of the soldiers who killed them would be impolitic. Timor and Dashgoban are now both willing to help Seaquen in its attempts to get Dassen to forbid the Ragesian army passage, and all the other proxies are friendly.</p><p></p><p>King Steppengard points to Kjolmar and demands, "How many friends have you lost in this war? How many family?"</p><p></p><p>"Fourty-three", replies Kjolmor. "Ravna, daughter of my aunt Erddwegh; Geoffery, son of...."</p><p></p><p>"I have lost <em>nineteen</em>" proclaims the king, as though Kjolmar had not spoken. He goes on to bar anyone from assisting Seaquen and demands the heroes leave within three days. He then invites the next petitioner to speak.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> <em>I should have known that Kjolmar would have an off-the-wall answer. I really should have chosen Eriel instead, especially considering that Kjolmar had moved over to try to eavesdrop on the Ragesians. It really put a dent in the reaction planned for Steppengard, but I figure the king is sufficiently absorbed by his own self-pity or whatever that he doesn't even pay attention.</em></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"><em> That said, Amelia's player stepped in to play Balan during the audience and did a credible and creditable job of laying out the case before the king. I probably should throw some extra xp or something her way for that.</em></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p>With the audiences done and the mission a bust, Kjolmar decides he may as well leave promptly, but is intercepted by the Timor's people, who encourage the heroes to visit Duke Gallo. Amelia and Eriel hang around after the audiences have completed. She tries to talk to Lady Namin, but is politely rebuffed by the lady herself, although her retinue gives them covert gestures of encouragement. She also gets a chance to speak to the Ragesians. Balan looks so dejected that they immediately offer him a chance to surrender and go into exile. Amelia's response is terribly off-the-wall, leading the Ragesians to decide she's an idiot and look for someone else to talk to, but not after taking the opportunity to proclaim Ragesia's greatness. Amelia does manage to give the Ragesian ambassador with a conundrum, however -- should he stay in Bresk where it is comfortable and his presence is expected, or join in the expedition to Seaquen so he can watch the city burn?</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> <em>I believe this meets the "cruel and arrogant" standard the adventure advises. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /></em></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"><em> Amelia was trying to bait the Ragesians into letting the court know about their Evil Plan to Conquer the World. It didn't work that way, despite me not understanding what she was after.</em></p><p></p><p>The party heads back to their room to try to figure out what to do over the next three days. There is loose talk of assassinating the Ragesians, and maybe Nina, but the only firm plan seems to be to keep a watch on the Ragesians' comings and goings.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> <em>So ended that session. The following session was pretty much a bust -- they spent most of trying to get a lead on the royal family's assassins and not getting anywhere. I eventually pulled them off that self-assigned mission. They then started to flee as soon Hrumbrand said their lives were in danger, and then I had them arrested anyhow because they sounded much more interested in that path through the adventure. Oh well, better luck next session, I guess. I should have known better than to give them Hrumbrand's warning.</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Bill T., post: 6973124, member: 6795693"] [B]Dene, then Bresk[/B] [SIZE=2][B]Adventure IV: Dene, then Bresk Dramatis[/B] [B]Personae[/B][/SIZE] [LIST] [*][B]Amelia[/B], a human spellthieving acetomancer [*][B]Erielle[/B], an half-orc (formerly elven) archer ranger [*][B]Kjolmar[/B], a dour dwarven dungeoncrashing deepwarden [*][B]Balan Bastom[/B] [/LIST] [SIZE=2][B]Dene[/B][/SIZE] The heroes put the Talon's soldiers in the sleigh under the blankets the soldiers themselves had been carrying and the remains of the one dead soldier and Lady Dene's men in the "luggage compartment". They then ride the horses back south to the mouth of the Nasham river before heading west into Lady Dene's lands. Once in Dene, they learn that the taxes in Dene have recently been recently and drastically increased, and also learn something about Lady Dene's feeling about Ragesia and Seaquen. On the way, Balan explains all about Lady Dene. [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT] [I]Balan did so well on his knowledge check that I figure he must have lived in Dene for a few years and has some sort of unspecified relationship with the family.[/I][/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] When they reach Lady Dene's stronghold (one of the last vestiges of the elven nation that used to rule the forest), they are a bit mystified by Thorn's reaction rather cold reaction to Balan, and Balan's equally cold response. They arrive in the evening, only to learn that Lady Dene is on one of her many long walks. They take advantage of the time to learn about Lady Dene -- her interests, her concerns, etc., as well as take a moment to speak the visiting dignataries from Megadon. They don't learn why the Megadonians [sic] are visiting, but do learn that Megadon is hostile to Seaquen and are dismissive of their attempts to get Steppengard to renegotiate the agreement with Ragesia. [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT] [I]I figured that Megadon sent emissaries to extract some sort of financial inducement to draft ships to transport Ragesian soldiers to Seaquen, on the theory that Lady Dene wants as few soldiers tromping through her lands as possible.[/I][/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] The beautiful Lady Dene holds an inquiry the next morning into the deaths of her men. The soldiers' explanation largely agree with the heroes'. Finally, Dene's spiritual advisor questions the dead men. He asks them who killed them, and then asks the truly deciding question: "Were you involved in the assassination of King Steppengard's family." They weren't, of course. "The dead cannot lie, milady," declares Dene's cleric. Lady Dene gives Talon soldiers an opportunity to convince her that they shouldn't be immediately hanged for murder. Two of the soldiers manage to talk their way into newfound lowly positions in the keep where they can be carefully watched, but the commander and one other soldier end up forfeiting their lives for their king. Then comes Balan's opportunity to pitch Seaquen's case before Lady Dene. He's clearly in his element here in Dene's stronghold, smoothly weaving in the issue of succession, the fact that they were able to return the remains of her men killed by the talon, and an offer not of merely a non-aggression pact but an actual alliance. Lady Dene is so taken by Balan's case that she immediately agrees to help the Seaquen in its attempt to reverse the treaty, accepts the non-aggression pact, and hints that she will accept an alliance as soon as it is prudent to do so. [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT] [I]They pushed all of Dene's buttons and then some. In particular, they took excellent advantage of Lylandra's idea that Lady Dene is afraid of Xavious Foebane's army, swearing up and down that Seaquen presented no threat and wanted to ally with Dene, while never mentioning how very small Xavious's "army" is. It didn't hurt that Balan got a 19 on the die, so, all told, he got a 60 on that diplomacy check.[/I][/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] [SIZE=2][B]Bresk[/B][/SIZE] The next day, they made their way to Bresk in the company of Thorn and a free wand of [I]endure elements[/I], courtesy of Lady Dene. Three days later, they arrive at the Golden Griffin. Amelia promptly takes a bath, while Kjolmar and Balan go to discover when their audience is -- [I][B]tomorrow morning![/B][/I]. [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT] [I]Well, they did take a fair while getting to Bresk....[/I][/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] Over dinner, they inquire about the political situation and garner all the relevant facts -- the position of the council and Nina, as well as the general concern about succession. They also learn that Jinis is in jail and realize they may not be able to get him his son's letter promptly. :) After dinner, they decide they need to talk to the least-hostile proxies. They only have time to speak with one, but Balan eventually realizes that they can split up, so he and Kjolmar speak to Timor's proxy while Amelia and Eriel visit Dashgoban's. Balan provides several bottles of dessert wine as gifts and a way to get the evening conversation flowing. [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT] [I]Kjolmar is being played as a dwarven outcast, so Kjolmar assumes that any dwarf he encounters will be made hostile by his very presence. I figure I'll turn that on its ear when they get to Commander Hertiage, just to mix things up.[/I][/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] Amelia plays up how Ragesia cannot be trusted. More importantly, she extends the offer of magical assistance, and drives the point home by asking about what sort of magical assistance Dashgoban would most like. She then participates in drinking games with the dwarves, which go well until she realizes she got back to the Golden Griffin without any idea of how she got there. ;-) The next morning, they arrive in time to see the final moments of the days' trial. Amelia immediately realizes that Relder is under some sort of magical influence, but is unable to determine what. Kjolmar realizes that Nina should be under magical influence -- [I]Silence[/I] being an obvious choice. [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT] [I]The players were all appalled by the Nina's voice. I was flattered by the sentiment. Nina's questioning also made them realize that attempting to sow mistrust of the Ragesians was unlikely to work.[/I][/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] The king moves on to taking audiences. Balan makes his pitch. He neglects to mention the issue of succession but nonetheless hits all the other major points. Everyone had already decided that mentioning the death of Lady Dene's men and her execution of the soldiers who killed them would be impolitic. Timor and Dashgoban are now both willing to help Seaquen in its attempts to get Dassen to forbid the Ragesian army passage, and all the other proxies are friendly. King Steppengard points to Kjolmar and demands, "How many friends have you lost in this war? How many family?" "Fourty-three", replies Kjolmor. "Ravna, daughter of my aunt Erddwegh; Geoffery, son of...." "I have lost [I]nineteen[/I]" proclaims the king, as though Kjolmar had not spoken. He goes on to bar anyone from assisting Seaquen and demands the heroes leave within three days. He then invites the next petitioner to speak. [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT] [I]I should have known that Kjolmar would have an off-the-wall answer. I really should have chosen Eriel instead, especially considering that Kjolmar had moved over to try to eavesdrop on the Ragesians. It really put a dent in the reaction planned for Steppengard, but I figure the king is sufficiently absorbed by his own self-pity or whatever that he doesn't even pay attention.[/I][/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT][I] That said, Amelia's player stepped in to play Balan during the audience and did a credible and creditable job of laying out the case before the king. I probably should throw some extra xp or something her way for that.[/I][/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] With the audiences done and the mission a bust, Kjolmar decides he may as well leave promptly, but is intercepted by the Timor's people, who encourage the heroes to visit Duke Gallo. Amelia and Eriel hang around after the audiences have completed. She tries to talk to Lady Namin, but is politely rebuffed by the lady herself, although her retinue gives them covert gestures of encouragement. She also gets a chance to speak to the Ragesians. Balan looks so dejected that they immediately offer him a chance to surrender and go into exile. Amelia's response is terribly off-the-wall, leading the Ragesians to decide she's an idiot and look for someone else to talk to, but not after taking the opportunity to proclaim Ragesia's greatness. Amelia does manage to give the Ragesian ambassador with a conundrum, however -- should he stay in Bresk where it is comfortable and his presence is expected, or join in the expedition to Seaquen so he can watch the city burn? [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT] [I]I believe this meets the "cruel and arrogant" standard the adventure advises. :D[/I][/INDENT] [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT][I] Amelia was trying to bait the Ragesians into letting the court know about their Evil Plan to Conquer the World. It didn't work that way, despite me not understanding what she was after.[/I][/INDENT] The party heads back to their room to try to figure out what to do over the next three days. There is loose talk of assassinating the Ragesians, and maybe Nina, but the only firm plan seems to be to keep a watch on the Ragesians' comings and goings. [INDENT][/INDENT] [INDENT] [I]So ended that session. The following session was pretty much a bust -- they spent most of trying to get a lead on the royal family's assassins and not getting anywhere. I eventually pulled them off that self-assigned mission. They then started to flee as soon Hrumbrand said their lives were in danger, and then I had them arrested anyhow because they sounded much more interested in that path through the adventure. Oh well, better luck next session, I guess. I should have known better than to give them Hrumbrand's warning.[/I][/INDENT] [/QUOTE]
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