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Pogre's Story Hour - with Pics of Minis & Scenery (Final Update)

Caliber

Explorer
The fine (nearly non-existant) line between Adventurers and Torturers. Ah, it takes me back.

So who was torturing the other guy? Bridget and Quint?
 

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hwoolsey

First Post
Everybody all together now! You all know the tune!

You say Tomato

I say Tomahto

You say torturer

I say neutrally aligned pragmatist with a low charisma and very little in the way of compassion for cult members who want to bring the Danse Macabre to one of the largest cities in the Olde Realm!

Hank (Johan)
 

Feralkoala

First Post
And lets face it, slapping a guy twice hardly constitutes torture. Although, I thought they might have gone into a "good adventurer/bad adventurer" routine to break him down :p

Does Johann ever do any of the dirty work? I mostly see him making sarcastic comments about doing bad things, but he never seems to get his hands dirty! :rolleyes: Bring out Ibrahim the Sly, we know he is not beyond torture and a little dirty work :D
 

pogre

Legend
Episode 41

Episode 41
Pogre’s Campaign – To Save a Soul

Quint came in after Scapa and said, “Our boy down stairs tells me he’s got some connections over at the Inquisitors. He sez’ we’re chewin’ more that we can swallow. He sez’ we can grab a bunch of gold and be off.”

“Where’s the treasure?” Johann asked.

“Wait, wait look at this,” Scapa insisted. Scapa thrust the papers at Quint who inspected them for a short while.

“Well these change everything,” Quint stated.

“What about the treasure?” Johann asked insistently.

“Look,” Shannon began, “We have to keep absolutely clean on this deal. I say we don’t take anything.”

“That’s as backassward as anything I’ve heard,” Johann protested. “If we have these documents that show that Literbian is crooked, who is going to believe him when he says we stole some of his stuff. What’s more, who the hell is going to care?”

“Nah, the priest is right,” Quint stated. “The best thing to do is run and get the Inquisitors straight away.”

“I agree,” Shannon stated quickly. “You go get them Quint and take Bridget with you.”

“This is definitely a mistake,” Johann protested. “We should slit both of their throats and leave them in the sewers. We strip the house of all valuables and leave these documents out for the Inquisitors. You know they don’t want to go through the formalities of the court anymore than we do. We would be doing everybody a favor.”

“I’m no brigand,” Quint replied. “I’ll get Bridget.”

Johann just shook his head.

Quint and Bridget left for the temple of Hemmerschneg.

……

The Inquisitors arrived and took the two men into custody. The Lord Chief Inquisitor was particularly impressed with the adventurers’ progress. He commended them highly and apologized for underestimating their abilities.

Helfrich Manstead now said to them in a most somber voice, “Did they speak of any inquisitors?”

“In what way my Lord?” Quint asked.

“Those men I told these folks about earlier, the ones investigating this cult – they have disappeared,” Manstead replied.

“That must have been the men Literbian was speaking of to me. He said they killed them and fed them to the fish,” Quint lied.

“I suspected as much,” the Inquisitor remarked. “Now, they must pay fully for these foul deeds!”

……

The adventurers were summoned to court where they gave testimony before the Lord Mayor’s Court. A few days later they witnessed the conviction, sentencing, and death of the printer Morrant. Astoundingly, the merchant Literbian was found not guilty by reason of Arcane Charm. Literbian’s lawyer had claimed his client was charmed by Morrant and possessed no free will during these events.

“He thinks he got away with it,” Johann growled. “Let him sleep tonight, but let it be a fitful sleep, for I will never forget.”

“For once,” Quint said, “I think you may have been right. We should have cut his throat. It would have been true justice.”


To be continued…
 
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pogre

Legend
Olde Realm Pantheon

I thought I would drop in a few notes about my world's Pantheon to help make sense of some the events I anticipate in the next few adventures.

The Olde Realm Pantheon

Delgrod – God of Dwarfs, the Forge, and Mountains
Domains: Earth, Fire, and Strength

Hati – God of Barbarians, the North, and Wolves
Domains: Animal, Chaos, Luck, and Travel.

Hemmerschneg – Patron Saint of the Olde Realm
Domains: Law, Protection, Strength, and War

Hergassa – God of Ships, Trade Winds, and Merchants
Domains: Air, Travel, and Water

Marrkidia – Goddess of War
Domains: Knowledge and War

Olfader – Father of the Halls of Mana
Domains: Luck, Magic, and Sun.

Opheria – Goddess of Fertility, the Hearth, and Intrigue
Domains: Earth, Good, Healing, and Trickery.

Paba – God of Sorcery and Alchemistry
Domains: Chaos, Magic, and Trickery.

Rhylya – The Earth Mother
Domains: Animal, Good, Healing, and Plant.

Theta – God of Death and Plague
Domains: Death, Evil, and Chaos.

Virtua – Goddess of Honor and Knowledge
Domains: Knowledge and Law.

Details of the deities as appropriate later.
 
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Buttercup

Princess of Florin
I'm glad, Pogre, that your campaign isn't dead. I've been longing for another installment! I'll just sit tight.

edit: punctuation
 
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pogre

Legend
What's Going On?

Hello, I have received numerous friendly e-mails encouraging me to "update." You see, the problem is the story is caught up to the campaign at this point. The campaign will pick up again at the end of May/early June. I'm still working the exact timing out.

In the mean time I am writing and painting.

One final thing, there's a pretty darn good chance we'll be converting the whole thing over to Grim Tales. It's not due out until September, but fortunately, I'm part of the company. A small part, but enough to squeeze Wulf for some playtest rules;).

I will not rewrite the earlier episodes in the SH, I will just try to give you heads ups on rule differences.

See you in June!
 

Caliber

Explorer
Cool! Glad to see you're still around. Us small time story-hours die hard don't we. ;)

Checked out Grim Tales, looks pretty awesome! I've wanted to buy some stuff from Bad Axe for a wall but me = poor. :( Oh well.

Tell us if its good (I guess I could always donate blood or something)
 

pogre

Legend
Episode 42

Episode 42

Scapa sat on the ground and looked down at the puddle of wet goo he had been sleeping in. “What in the name of Paba am I doing here?” He started to remember, the drinking contest last night. It was getting to be a problem, and he knew it.

“I need some time away,” the sorcerer thought to himself. “I just need a few weeks to dry out and refocus.” He pulled himself up out of the alleyway and headed back to the Inn where the rest of his belongings were.

The Innkeeper smiled as Scapa ambled in. “Rough one last night, eh Scap?”

Scapa scowled.

“Hey, Johann stopped by to pick you up earlier. He wants you to meet him over at the markets on Hagora Street,” the Innkeeper reported.

Scapa flipped the keeper a gold crown.

“Most generous of ye’ Scap,” the Innkeeper commented.

“There’s a message with that coin if you don’t mind?” the sorcerer asked.

“Not at all,” the Innkeeper replied.

“Tell Johann and the rest of his lot I’m going on holiday, and to have a nice life,” Scapa said.

Scapa retrieved his belongings and headed out. “Maybe I’ll visit Almarr,” he said to himself.

…..

“Where is the hedge wizard?” Quint asked.

“I left a message for him to meet us,” Johann replied.

“Look what crawled out from under the rock,” Bridget commented. She was referring to Frederick who was walking towards the group.

0801_meeting_frederick_th.jpg

Meeting Frederick the Reader.

“My friends!” Fred began a bit too loudly, “I have been looking everywhere for you. I was hoping you could do me a favor.” Frederick did not wait for a response and handed Quint a piece of parchment. “Therein you will find a message from a fellow named Ladrophos who would like to have a meeting with you.”

“Well,” Quint began, “Use your skills Frederick, read it to us.”

“Of course, of course! ‘Hello, I would like to meet with you and discuss a little errand. Although, you may be wary because of my reputation, you will find this proposition most interesting. Besides it does not cost a copper to talk. I look forward to meeting you tonight at the Broken Tail. I have heard a lot of good things about you.
- Ladrophos’”

“Ladrophos? Why do I know that name?” Johann asked aloud.

“I would consider it a large personal favor if you would just meet with the man,” Frederick interjected.

“He’s a captain with the network,” Quint answered Johann’s question. “Heavily involved in drugs and protection as I recall.”

“Does that mean the Dregs?” Johann asked, knowing full well the answer.

“Yep, let’s try to get there before sundown. I hate walking the Dregs at night,” Quint stated.

“A thousand blessings on your houses my friends. I promise I shall not forget this gesture,” Frederick gushed.

“What do you owe this guy Fred?” Bridget asked.

“A small matter of a gambling debt. Really it’s a misunderstanding concerning repayment terms. However, your kind acquiescence to see Master Ladrophos will buy me just enough time to settle the debt.”

…..

The Dregs were always a dreary place even in the daylight hours, but at least it was mostly quiet when the sun was up. The group made its way to the Broken Tail tavern and entering the small bar spied a slender man with a sparse set of whiskers talking to a huge Half-orc with tattoos wrapping around his arms. The man looked up and noticed the adventures and said something to his large companion that made him walk away. There was no mistaking it, this was Ladrophos and he motioned for the party to join him at his table.

0802_Ladrophos_th.jpg

Ladrophos.

Ladrophos introduced himself to each member of the party and ordered everyone drinks. Ladrophos then said, “I have a job that calls for the use of outsiders. No doubt you are aware I am a well-known part of the network [thieves’ guild]. As such, I cannot call on my associates to carry this task out. There is nothing illegal about this job, but there is some risk. You see, I had something taken from me and I want it back. I have rightful claim to it.”

0803_ladrophos_meeting_th.jpg

Meeting with Ladrophos.

Ladrophos then reached in a pocket and retrieved a piece of parchment. The parchment had the look of a legal writ and read:

The Registration Office of the Greater Temple of Hemmerschneg
Be it known to all men of the city that one J. Ladrophos is the rightful owner of a wondrous item known as Lenses of Vorbifare. Said item is purported to have the following characteristics:
The lenses allowed the wearer to see those who are invisible, they allowed one to see poison on food, and they allow a greater scope of peripheral vision.
Signed,
Terphonas
Chief Registarar Inquisitor

The registration paper was dated some fourteen years earlier. Once the group had inspected the writ Ladrophos continued, “As you can see I am the rightful owner of the lenses. However, a while ago one of my former associates stole the lenses for a man who lives just outside the city. I have recently confirmed for certain the man has the lenses and I even know where they are hidden in his house. I need you to retrieve these lenses for me.”

“We can see that you were once the rightful owner of these magical lenses. Who is this guy who you claim stole them from you?” Johann asked directly.

“It is a man named Graywyr,” Ladrophos answered. “And I reassure you my friends I am the rightful owner of these wondrous items.”

Quint scratched his ear and said, “Graywyr, Graywyr, I know that name. Hmmm, let me see – oh yes, I recall now, he is one of the seven gems.”

“As in one of the seven most powerful wizards in the Realm?” Bridget asked in an astonished voice.

“Yes, precisely so,” Quint answered.

“His reputation is greater than his power,” Ladrophos interjected quickly.

“Oh yeah,” Johann began, “Why don’t you and your band of merry men get your rears up there and reclaim these lenses?”

“No, no this must be someone from outside the network. Someone not as well known,” Ladrophos answered.

“You have this document, why not just take him to court?” Bridget asked.

“I do not foresee my getting a fair day in court. My reputation means gaining an impartial magistrate is well nigh impossible,” Ladrophos answered.

“Stealing a powerful item from a powerful wizard, that’s a high risk job. High risk jobs deserve high risk pay. What’s the rate on this?” Quint asked.

“What’s your charge?” Ladrophos asked.

Quint looked down. He was not sure what the price should be and he was not sure they should take this job at all. “Better go high if you have doubts,” he thought to himself.

“Five hundred crowns each,” Quint said.

“Fair enough, 500 each on delivery,” Ladrophos answered.

Quint bit his tongue knowing the price was too low and too easily agreed upon.

“Where’s the manse of this Graywyr?” Johann asked.

…..

The walk the next to Graywyr’s manse the following morning found the cleric Bridget in a talkative mood. “This is too easy. I mean why would a kingpin in the Network not have enough outside connections to pull this off? Didn’t we get a document made by someone in the Network? What if that registration is not real?”

“Look, we all know it’s a set-up, but these lenses are worth a lot of money. It’s worth looking into, even if the registration is a fraud,” Johann rebutted.

“So you think it’s a fraud? In that case…” Bridget started.

“Wait,” Quint interrupted, he could see where this was going and he knew they needed the cleric. “Think Bridget. Would you forge a document and then date it fourteen years earlier?”

“When would Johann learn some tact?” the storyteller thought to himself.

Bridget was starting to renew her chatter when they came upon Graywyr’s manse. It was smaller than they imagined it would be. A simple two-story tower of washed white rock, covered in thick ivy at the lower levels. The place looked most inviting. The group marched around the building and found two doors and numerous windows. All of the windows seemed to be of a smoked glass, for they could not see beyond them.

Shannon picked up a sizeable rock and threw it at one of the windows. With a metallic ting the primitive missile bounced off the pane.

“Just knock why don’t ya’?” Johann complained.

Still there was no stirring within the building, which gave the adventurers some comfort. Whilst clerics discussed a proper course of action, Quint scaled up the corner of the building and in short time was looking down on them from a flat roof. He lowered a rope with a smile and reported that there was a trapdoor.

One by one the adventurers ascended the rope. Johann opened the trapdoor, which was unlatched and the group descended a simple set of stairs into the upper story.

0804_down_into_tower_th.jpg

Down into Graywyr’s Manse.

The adventurers began moving quickly working from room to room, making quick searches and then exiting.

0805_exploring_tower_th.jpg

Exploring Graywyr’s Manse.


They found a master bedroom, an empty room with charred black walls, a room decorated with sitting benches and strange floor tiles, and what looked to be a storage area.

They opened one more door and saw

0806_harold_golem_th.jpg

Yikes!

to be continued…
 
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