Notes for a New Campaign City, Parsantium

[RichGreen]

Wrath of the River King Session #4

Hi,

Write up of Monday night's game below:

Day 2, contd

Sharden and Krivinn don’t return from their pursuit of the two fleeing Black Fey runners. Unsure of what to do, Brave Ella, Margarita and Koh-Bar the God King head back down the creek. After a while, Ella spots a colourfully-painted wagon through the trees. She creeps up to investigate only to be attacked and mocked by a speeding fey (a quickling). Near the wagon is a large bare tree, full of roosting dire crows; another quickling whizzes round. Ella calls on the others to help as the quicklings and crows attack. Since the fey are trying to goad the PCs into speaking, Koh-Bar tries (and fails) to impress them with a tiefling poem but Margarita manages to show off her knowledge of fey history, Ella demonstrates her affinity for nature and the sorcerer does manage to spin an entertaining yarn about his favourite topic – himself. The quicklings reveal some important information* but ultimately, the PCs’ words fail to win them over and all out battle ensues. Koh-Bar gets rid of all but one crow with thunder leap and Margarita manages to bull rush one fey into the ravine. The tiefling is soon unconscious, falling to a quickling's strike, but both fey run for it shortly afterwards once bloodied. They dash inside the tree and don’t reappear. Inside, there is no sign of them – just a ring of toadstools growing amongst dead leaves. Wounded after the fight, the PCs decide to sleep in the wagon for the night.


Day 3

The PCs wake up and go outside to find their surroundings have changed – they are clearly somewhere else entirely! Hearing running water, they head towards it to find themselves on the bank of a slow-moving river. Standing on lily pads are two giant frogs and their goblin riders. The PCs try to negotiate but this doesn’t get them very far as the frogs charge across the lily pads to engage the party. Koh-Bar uses his thunder leap to get amongst them and the PCs win the day. In one of the saddlebags they find a scroll containing an invite to the Birch Queen’s Fair.

Crossing the river, the PCs head along a trail, finding a folded up piece of parchment ahead of them on the ground. Koh-Bar’s “reversed earthquake surge” doesn’t manage to lift it up so he bends down and picks it up. “Leave!” is all it says (in Elvish).

Carrying on along the road, the party come out of the forest and into hilly countryside where they spot a gaily coloured tent. Here, they join three eladrin at a picnic: Lady Sorreminx, Sir Yngress the Red and Lord Chelessfield, Master of the Alpine Marches. The PCs try to amuse the fey with their witty repartee and interesting anecdotes while deflecting some of Lord Chelessfield’s more tricky questions (such as where Margarita got her shield). They do pretty well but then Margarita talks of a challenge. Sir Yngress seizes on her words and challenges the genasi to a duel, giving the warlord no choice but to accept. The fey don’t play fair though – Margarita gets ready to face the eladrin but is surprised when he leaps onto his riding boar. Sir Yngress’ charge bloodies the genasi with his first strike, winning the challenge. This means that each PC has to give Lady Sorreminx a gift and swear fealty to her. Koh-Bar tries to resist but his refusal comes out as an oath of loyalty to the lady. Each PCs is given a badge with her symbol – a cricket - to wear.

Cheers


Richard

 

[RichGreen]

Theatrical NPCs

Hi,

Here's a few notes on some of the NPCs who will appear in the Theatre of Aymara/Golden Scimitars adventure. Please feel free to suggest some additional actors to hang round with Iancu Petronas or help me expand on these guys:

The Three Traditional Dramatists

Dulicitus is bald with a bushy beard and bushy grey hair sticking out. He is pompous and dismissive of Iancu’s “new-fangled and vulgar” plays. His best known play is The Fall of the Dragon King.

Vetranis is also bald with a craggy face (a bit like Alun Armstrong) and big eyes. He writes witty comedies but is morose and humourless to meet.

Gerontius is red-faced and has a deep, booming voice. He often doesn’t realise how loud he is talking (or rather, shouting).


Iancu & Company

Iancu Petronas: Iancu has olive skin, striking green eyes, a neat beard, and long hair tied back with a silver circlet decorated with Aymara’s symbol (a lyre). Charismatic, talented and eloquent, Iancu is brilliant with words but is also a capable musician and singer. He loves women, drinking and bantering with friends and enemies alike.

Beatus: Attractive, vain, and more than a bit dim, Beatus is nevertheless capable of reciting his lines with great passion and is frequently cast by Iancu in the leading role in his plays, much to Francio’s disgust. Beatus is gay and loves to wear plenty of bling. He has a succession of wealthy admirers around the Old Quarter who shower him with jewellery in return for his affections.

Francio: Francio is a jealous man, resentful of Beatus getting the best parts when he, Francio, is a better actor. He has an expensive pesh habit and has got himself in debt to a dangerous loan shark. To avoid being beaten up for not keeping up with his payments, he is now doing some work for the Golden Scimitars on the side. Although he is good at putting on an air of confidence (he’s a great actor!), Francio knows things never seem to work out for him and is a man on the edge. He is likely to come across as edgy and nervous (made worse by the pesh) when not playing to the crowd.


Marcus Hape: handsome, wavy black hair, neat beard but dark tastes, frequent visitor to the Fallen Angel, coming under the thrall of the demon lord Malcanthet, Queen of Succubi. Comes across as creepy – intense, penetrating stare.

Salman: balding, bearded, furrowed brow from worrying

Ediz: thick mop of untidy dark hair, always injects a laugh into conversation, likes a drink

Diti: a pretty Sahasran actress with striking almond eyes. Diti will meet the others for breakfast but doesn’t go carousing. She is focused on breaking through as a successful actor and has made it clear she’s not interested in romantic involvement with any of the others.


Cheers


Richard

 

[RichGreen]

Hi,

I've been neglecting this thread, mostly because I've been on holiday! There are two more sessions of Wrath of the River King to update on, but more importantly, I need to get going on the Golden Scimitars/Theatre adventure.

Any suggestions on the above gratefully received and I'll try and post an update on what I've come up with as soon as I have something new!

Cheers


Richard

 

[RichGreen]

Wrath of the River King Session #5

Hi,

A few sessions of Wrath to catch up on. I was in two minds about posting these as the adventure is a big tangent as far as the main campaign narrative is concerned, but what the hell!

Day 3 (contd.)
The PCs leave the eladrin, following their directions to the Birch Queen’s Fair. Margarita and Koh-Bar manage to lose Brave Ella who is scouting ahead in the forest. Koh-Bar realises Margarita is standing inside a giant footprint – more head into the trees. Not sure what else to do, the pair follow the colossal tracks, ending up in a clearing with a standing stone and a trussed-up Sharden hanging upside-down in a tree. They rescue the dwarf who is pleased to see them but can’t remember how he got there.

Venturing on, the trio come towards an enormous fallen tree as storm clouds gather overhead and it begins to rain. Standing on the tree trunk is a red-cap wearing dwarf – the Nain Rouge, lightning crackling from his fingertips. He blasts the PCs with strong winds, knocking them over and shooting them with electric ray attacks. As the PCs move to escape the zone of empathic weather, the Nain Rouge attacks Koh-Bar with his sharp claws, knocking the tiefling unconscious. Meanwhile, Sharden has found the unconscious Ellessandra behind the trunk and manages to wake her up. Margarita chases the bloodied Nain Rouge along the top of the log but the fey retaliates with a fog cloud which blinds the party as Sharden summons his onyx dog. By the time the PCs get out of the cloud, the redcap is nowhere to be seen.

The PCs talk to Ellessandra who explains she came to the Feywild to bring up her son, Flax. When the party tell her about Hamid being arrested for murder, the eladrin gives the PCs her wedding ring and a note saying she is alive and well. She also gives them the correct directions to the Birch Queen’s Fair. Rest.

Day 4
The PCs talk their way into the Fair past the ettin, Garag-Naran. In return, the party must bring him an amphora of feywine from Ambertan the Warlock and a loaf of bread with honey.

The party wander the stalls. Koh-Bar is put off by the price of a “house goblin” and Margarita asks Voyland the Smith about trading in his longsword for a bastard sword. The eladrin smith is willing to do a deal – he’ll swap the sword if the PCs drive the horrible little gnome weapons dealer, Mudflick, from the Fair. At Mudflick’s tent, Margarita provokes an attack from the spriggan and his four friends but the gnomes defeat the party pretty handily – Margarita is knocked unconscious and Sharden has to drag the genasi’s body out of harm’s way. The PCs beat a hasty retreat from the tent, nursing their wounds.

 

[RichGreen]

Wrath of the River King Session #6

With Margarita conscious again, she and Koh-Bar head over to a market stall manned by a trio of leprechauns chanting annoying rhymes. The fey introduce themselves as Seamus, Patrick and Michael and offer for sale some of the gear the PCs lost in the river. To win their stuff back, the pair have to answer riddles – Koh-Bar recovers his crown and Margarita wins Sharden’s boot before the tiefling gives a wrong answer and loses both items again! To get his crown back again, the sorcerer gives up two points of intelligence (Gift of the Mind) for a day.

As they leave the stall, the two PCs are approached by a shifter named Rami, a shaman, who explains he has a score to settle with Mudflick – the gnome has stolen a spear from his tribe. While they chat to Rami, a goblin approaches with a tray of sugared plums. All three PCs eat one (Rami has two) and end up tripping, imagining themselves as mice and the fey stallholders as feral cats! The party head for a tree away from the market and wait for the plums to wear off.

Next, the PCs visit the tent of Ambertan the Black Fey Warlock – here Koh-Bar gives up a Memory of Great Prowess (100 xp) in exchange for directions to someone who can help them get home – Tatzel the Green whose lair lies to the east. Margarita trades her history skill (Gift of Learning) for two days for an amphora of feywine. Then, the PCs leave the tent before giving up anything else!

They buy a loaf of bread at a baker’s stall and talk to the wolfen Rhorlief who has rituals for sale including the Fey Road ritual. Deciding that they don’t want to pay his price of their memories of their masters, the PCs say they’ll come back later. Margarita takes up the challenge of an ogre boxer after Koh-Bar declines. Unfortunately her biggest blows aren’t enough to hurt her opponent and she ends up yielding after the ogre hits her very hard indeed. The PCs study the next bout but can’t figure out what’s going on. As they stand there, a robed eladrin calls out to them, offering moments in time for sale. This mage, Orelliar, trades one of Koh-Bar’s future moments of success for the memory of Lady Wickerbell’s wedding to Lord Apicus in the Great Rippling Hall of the River Court.

Under a giant mushroom, the PCs run into two goblins, Splug and Nobby who are selling more of the party’s missing equipment. Brave Ella turns up while the others talk to the goblins and buys back her boot. After this, Ella heads to Mudflick’s shop and threatens the gnome which kicks off a second battle with the party. Rami uses his shielding fire to damage anyone who attacks Margarita – this kills Moppsy. Koh-Bar kills Maggle and then Mudflick with thunderleap; Ella slays Modred. Rami recovers his tribe’s longspear but the Birch Queen’s arrival stops wholesale looting by the others in the party. The PCs drag Mayhem, the one surviving gnome, to see Voyland as evidence they’ve driven off the spriggans. The eladrin smith exchanges Margarita’s +1 magic longsword for a +1 lightning bastard sword.

The gnomes dealt with, the PCs head to the Herald’s Field where Brave Ella shoots in the archery contest and manages to get through to the next round of the competition to become the Birch Queen’s Consort. She wins a honeycomb.

 

[RichGreen]

Wrath of the River King Session #7

In the second round of the contest to become the Birch Queen’s contest, Ella is up against Oiglas the centaur’s nature stories, Sir Arnovar’s poetry, Harrowdin the Black Fey’s grim anecdotes and Sir Yngress the Red’s hunting stories. She makes it through to the third and final round with a virtuoso display of acrobatics.

Round three is an audience with the Birch Queen at her table on the Lords and Ladies Mount. The other PCs are invited too and do their best to support Ella in her conversation with the Queen but in the end the ranger balks at the one year term as consort and the Queen, perhaps fortunately, favours the charming Eagle Knight, Sir Arnovar, who has the added advantage of being male. Ella is offered and accepts the Queen’s badge.

As the PCs make their way off to bed – well, bedroll under the stars – they run into Ellessandra. More time has passed than they thought as the eladrin talks as if she and the PCs met a long time ago rather than yesterday. She warns the PCs that the River King is likely to raid Riverbend for not making the agreed offerings.


Day 5

Ella trades her woodcraft skills to the lone wolf, Rhorlief for the Fey Roads ritual (-1 to attack rolls, skill checks, saving throws and ability checks). The PCs then decide to leave the fair. As they head towards the exit and the ettin, they witness the arrival of Lord Flax – recognised by Margarita as the grown-up version of the young lad they met inside the mill in Riverbend. Lord Flax is recruiting fey for a raid on Riverbend and won’t be persuaded otherwise by Krivinn. Ambertan the Warlock and the Black Fey are the first to join up. As Lord Flax makes ready to petition the River King for permission to attack the village, the PCs head past Garag-Nagan and out of the fair.

Heading east along the Straight Road, the PCs turn off to visit the clearing of Tatzel the wyrm. The area is full of mist, making it hard to see. Krivinn, Sharden and Ella are attacked by the dragon’s dragonborn protectors as Koh-Bar and Margarita face off against Tatzel who attacks with bite, claws and dragon breath. Koh-bar, who gave up a future moment of success at the Fair, fails a saving throw to shake off the dragon’s poison.

As the battle goes on, the PCs realise that fire can clear the mist, making things easier. Once Brave Ella has killed the dragonborn attacking her, she shoots Tatzel which bloodies the dragon – a dozen kobolds spring up from his blood but luckily Sharden is able to take most of them out with taste the star’s fall. Unluckily, this fills the area up with smoke, making it hard to see again! Eventually, the PCs force Tatzel to yield and he gives up the secret of returning to the natural world – the PCs must travel to the False Mill, following the river towards the Cedar Mountains. By swimming down to touch the millstone at the bottom of the pond, they can return to Riverbend. Koh-bar also asks how he can learn more about his godly origins – Tatzel says the Oak King might be able to answer this question.

 

[RichGreen]

Wrath of the River King Session #8

To bring everything right up to date:

Feywild Day 5, contd.
After the battle with Tatzel, the PCs head to a safe distance down the Straight Road and then camp. While Koh-Bar is on watch, hundreds of moths gather around the campfire, forming into alluring female shapes. Koh-Bar is suspicious, blasting the moths with burning spray, but they soon return and reform. He wakes the others and in the end gives in and dances with one of the “moth women”. After a while, they disperse and the PCs go back to sleep.

Day 6
The next morning the Straight Road fizzles out as the woods around the PCs grow darker and more foreboding. Sharden harvests some sickly green mushrooms before the party follow Koh-Bar into the trees. The forest starts to look familiar – reminiscent of the lands of the Black Fey the adventurers were in before going to the fair. Bits of chainmail fall from the trees above – looking up the PCs see severed limbs and mummified heads hanging from the branches. Then, having lost track of the others in the dingy woods, Sharden, Koh-Bar and Margarita enter a clearing draped in spider webs – they can hear raspy voices speaking in Elvish.

As the PCs move forward, Sharden summons Rover, his onyx dog. The trees are inhabited by a pair of ettercaps led by Ariabelina the Lady Clatterspin; the ground is crawling with spiders. Margarita advances to the tree which the ettercap guards are standing in – Lady Clatterspin throws a web at the genasi trapping her. To make things worse, she’s poisoned by one of the guards which stuns her and then bitten by a spider and knocked prone. Sharden blasts the webs with taste the star’s fall but this does 9 hp to Margarita and also fills the area with smoke (again!) As the dwarf goes to help Margarita, Koh-Bar is killing spiders with thunder leap and burning spray and Rover manages to kill one of the ettercap guards. However, the tiefling is surrounded by more arachnids – he goes unconscious and fails two death saves. Margarita and Sharden get out of the smoke and webs and fight the last guard, the spiders and Lady Clatterspin. Sharden tries to parlay as poor Koh-Bar breathes his last, failing his final death save. The ettercap lady agrees to let the PCs withdraw if they leave Koh-Bar’s body behind as suggested by the dwarf.

The two PCs back away, heading along a gorge. As they leave the area, they spot bright blue, green and orange “death butterflies” feeding on a dead owlbear.

 

[RichGreen]

Golden Sciimtars adventure: skill challenge

Hi,

Back on the Golden Scimitars adventure, here's what I've got so far for the skill challenge where the PCs need to shadow Iancu Petronas and his actor pals as they go out carousing. I used one from The Temple Between in Dungeon #161 as a starting point.

You file out of the theatre with the rest of the crowd and head around the side to the stage door where a small group of admirers is waiting for a glimpse of the actors. After chatting to their fans for a few minutes, Iancu and companions head off.


Skill Challenge
You make your way through the dark streets of Parsantium, trying to keep Iancu and friends within your sight without alerting them to your presence.

Level 7, XP 300
Complexity 1 (requires 4 successes before 3 failures)
Primary Skills
Acrobatics, Athletics, Perception, Stealth, Streetwise.

Acrobatics (DC 14)
Any given character can attempt Acrobatics only once in this fashion, whether he or she succeeds or fails, and a failure costs the PC a healing surge as well as counting as a failure. A successful check counts as a success on the skill challenge.
• The PC darts around a corner, tumbles over a gap between rooftops, or otherwise stays near the quarry at an angle that makes the PC harder to detect.

Athletics (DC 14)
Any given character can attempt Athletics only once in this fashion, whether the PC succeeds or fails, and a failure costs the PC a healing surge as well as counting as a failure. A successful check counts as a success on the skill challenge.
• Much like Acrobatics, the PC climbs walls, leaps between roofs or balconies, and otherwise follows by staying out of direct line of sight.

Perception (DC 18)
This does not qualify as a success, but succeeding on this check grants the party a +2 bonus to all further checks in this challenge until someone fails a check.
• The PC carefully watches the targets to keep them in view even from a distance or behind other people on the street.

Stealth (DC 14)
A successful check counts as a success on the skill challenge.
• Darting behind pedestrians, into doorways, and through shadows, you move street to street without being seen.

Streetwise (DC 22)
A successful check counts as two successes. Once made, the characters cannot use Streetwise again for this skill challenge
• By using knowledge of Parsantium’s Old Quarter, the PC can anticipate where the actors are going.

Success:
The PCs follow Iancu & his friends across Srivasta’s Bridge* into the Makers Ward (where Diti leaves the group), through the lively tavern district and into the Poor Ward’s dockside red-light district without being spotted. The group heads inside a Southside waterfront establishment called the Winking Vixen on Grape Lane.

Failure:
If the PCs fail the challenge, they lose sight of their quarry somewhere in the red-light district, take a wrong turn and run into the Grape Lane Bashers – a gang of enforcers and criminals, loosely affiliated (paying tribute to) the Golden Scimitars. The Bashers decide to drive the PCs off their turf with violence (7th level encounter, 1,675 xp)

Once they have dealt with the encounter, the PCs get a lucky break as the actors come out of a pub before heading into the Vixen.

The Grape Lane Bashers
Encounter Level Difficulty: Standard (1675 xp)
This encounter includes the following:
• 1 Gnoll Mercenary
• 1 Half-Elf Bandit Captain
• 1 Human Ambusher
• 1 Human Knife Fighter
• 1 Human Slaver

Any comments? One thing I'm worried about is that the PCs are going to need to follow these guys night after night so keeping this interesting is going to be challenging. Maybe it can be much simplified after this first challenge?

Cheers


Richard

 

[Gilladian]

I would simplify after the first night, and then every once in a while throw in a side-encounter, maybe related like the alley bashers, or maybe just a random person/happening on the street to bring the city to life. And to throw out more adventure possibilities, of course...

Sometimes the (nearly) random stuff is what is the most fun.

 

[RichGreen]

I would simplify after the first night, and then every once in a while throw in a side-encounter, maybe related like the alley bashers, or maybe just a random person/happening on the street to bring the city to life. And to throw out more adventure possibilities, of course...

Sometimes the (nearly) random stuff is what is the most fun.

Yeah, I think that's the best thing to do. I'm probably going to use group stealth checks (as per DMG2?) after this first skill challenge.

I ran the last full session of Wrath of the River King on Monday so I need to get working on this adventure for next week!

Any encounter ideas?

Cheers


Richard