Redbadge's Campaign (there will be spoilers)
RangerWickett
Legend
Well, as for the Dawn War, ZEITGEIST doesn't follow the main 4e cosmology, so such an event, if it happened, was well before the creation of the Axis Seal, and thus has limited impact on the setting.
The Demonocracy was established by the few extraplanar evil entities that a) were already on the world when the Axis Seal went up, and b) managed to survive and gather followers. There were an assortment of formerly infernal and abyssal horrors, several of them left-overs from Egal the Shimmering's golden legion (see adventure three). They ruled a sorta Ancient Mesopotamian-style kingdom, their expansion blocked by the pre-Elfaivaran eladrin to the east, and by the dwarven clans to the west.
Triegenes led the early Clergy to overthrow the dwarves, then the demons. But because the extraplanar creatures could not return to their native dimension, killing the fiends caused their evil essence to corrupt and curse the land. So if you look around, you'll find a lot of desolate and hidden tombs filled with trapped demons, devils, and other miscellaneous evil entities. The Clergy also constructed a vast aqueduct system and carved holy scripture into each stone to hold the curses at bay.
Most of the highly-placed rulers of the demonocracy were taken down, but a few certainly escaped. However, Clergy godhands (think paladin-monks) are responsible for tracking down rumors of such entities, capturing them, and bringing them back to Crisillyir for disposal.
Basically the whole country is like the 'twinkie' in Ghostbusters.
The Demonocracy was established by the few extraplanar evil entities that a) were already on the world when the Axis Seal went up, and b) managed to survive and gather followers. There were an assortment of formerly infernal and abyssal horrors, several of them left-overs from Egal the Shimmering's golden legion (see adventure three). They ruled a sorta Ancient Mesopotamian-style kingdom, their expansion blocked by the pre-Elfaivaran eladrin to the east, and by the dwarven clans to the west.
Triegenes led the early Clergy to overthrow the dwarves, then the demons. But because the extraplanar creatures could not return to their native dimension, killing the fiends caused their evil essence to corrupt and curse the land. So if you look around, you'll find a lot of desolate and hidden tombs filled with trapped demons, devils, and other miscellaneous evil entities. The Clergy also constructed a vast aqueduct system and carved holy scripture into each stone to hold the curses at bay.
Most of the highly-placed rulers of the demonocracy were taken down, but a few certainly escaped. However, Clergy godhands (think paladin-monks) are responsible for tracking down rumors of such entities, capturing them, and bringing them back to Crisillyir for disposal.
Basically the whole country is like the 'twinkie' in Ghostbusters.
RangerWickett
Legend
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzaQjS1JstY]Ghostbusters - Big Twinkie - YouTube[/ame]
Isklexi
First Post
The dawn war was probably the wrong phrase to use. I've begun to associate the war that precipitated the axis seal as zeitgeist's dawn war. The comparison of Crisillyir to a giant twinkie is ironic, because the party has been having Cal dispose of witch oil by letting him eat it. I'm sure he would love to "dispose" of Crisillyir's latent negative energy.
Isklexi
First Post
I totally forgot to give the update for our last session.
The constables had submitted the papers to the constabulary's finance department and brought the doctor into protective custody.
My group had managed to blaze through the investigation pretty quickly (by in-game time) and were no where close to the disaster deadline. I decided there was no need to have them sitting around for a few in game days waiting for the evidence to come together, so I had it come together for them the next day in time for an afternoon climax.
The next morning the constables had breakfast with Morgan Cippiano. After a brief conversation, they agreed to release the Family agents in exchange for a meeting with a cabby with information on Macbannin.
Upon returning to RHC HQ, Kirk tried to press the Family agents into being informants for the RHC, saying he would have them released if they agreed (even though he was already going to let them go). The Family is a tight knit bunch and only the newcomer, Deorn Feldman, went for the offer.
I think Deorn will get maybe one or two snitches before he ends up with concrete shoes.
The party then met the cabby in the Thinking Man's tavern. They learned that a single person with many disguises had been leaving Macbannin's manor to a dizzying number of locations around the city, including every single factory. They quickly deduced this must be the shadow man.
Back at HQ, Pam (she's the office mailperson) had an unexpected package for them. The package contained letters from "CC" to "E&V" hiring them for arson jobs at multiple factories including Sechim's factory. The package also contained a small note thanking the constables for new lucrative business and signed simply "Cal".
About this time, the finance department had pieced together the reports recovered from Wolfgang. The documents showed a large number of factories in Flint being bought up by fronts, and those that refused to sell were all targeted for arson. This was finally enough evidence for Delft to get the party a warrant for Macbannin's arrest.
The constables gathered their gear and marched for Cauldron Hill. Kirk demanded that the guards let them in to see Macbannin, but he wouldn't let the guards leave for fear they would warn the mayor and let him escape. After a brief standoff, Macbannin came out of the manor and told the guards to stand down. The constables confronted Macbannin with the warrant. The mayor laughed it off and dismissed their concerns. Right as he was offering a guided tour, an earthquake caused half the manor to collapse and witch oil began to bubble up from cracks in the ground. Macbannin's jovial demeanor melted away as he ordered his servants to attack.
With my groups track record of obliterating important opponents in the first round, I decided to double Reed's HP and apply his abjuration aura to himself as well as his minions.
The party quickly surrounded Macbannin and kept him hemmed in for the majority of the fight. Kirk's zeal for flanking got him swarmed by gardeners and knocked out once or twice.
After they handcuffed him, Macbannin insisted they had to help him stop the impending disaster. With the mayor in tow, the constables descended into the secret laboratories beneath the manor. They quickly encountered a flayed jaguar that had broken loose, and Cillian Creed struck from behind while they were distracted. After a brief struggle, Rai finished off Creed once and for all.
I'd considered having Macbannin run past the party and attempt to fix the machines while they were in combat, but the party was in between him and the door the whole time. If he had run past them, it would have ended poorly because more jaguars were waiting in the engine room.
After the fight, Irony hobbled Macbannin by stabbing him in the foot to discourage any more escape attempts. The party quickly dispatched the jaguars in the engine room. Though Kirk pushed macbannin at the jaguars to distract them, Rai stepped up and did a fine job keeping the jaguars from attacking anyone else.
This was another spot where the players were inches away from losing "doomsday machine instruction manual".
Though thoroughly displeased with Kirk, Macbannin quickly set out helping the constables shut down the witch oil machinery. With the mayor's help, the party quickly neutralized the danger, and Irony called in Callaphax to "safely" dispose of the dangerous oil. They could tell from a briefly trying to question the mayor that he was under a geas of some kind and handed him over the the arriving police forces. When the party heard that Macbannin had killed himself the next day, Irony immediately suspected the geas forced him to do it.
The constables were annoyed when their boss, Saxby, took them off the case. The last scene before the next adventure was a late night visitor to Irony; Callaphax stopped by in the guise of a male eladrin flanked by his new enforcers, Eberardo and Valando.
I liked the dragonborn arsonists so I decided to keep them on using Cal. I also used this to reveal that Cal is not an imp; he is in fact a pit fiend. The botched portal that dragged him into the mortal world had sapped most of his power which he has been slowly regaining (the witch oil helped). I've actually been waiting for that reveal for a while; I had been careful to never actually use the word imp when talking about Cal (I let my players assume that for themselves).
The constables had submitted the papers to the constabulary's finance department and brought the doctor into protective custody.
My group had managed to blaze through the investigation pretty quickly (by in-game time) and were no where close to the disaster deadline. I decided there was no need to have them sitting around for a few in game days waiting for the evidence to come together, so I had it come together for them the next day in time for an afternoon climax.
The next morning the constables had breakfast with Morgan Cippiano. After a brief conversation, they agreed to release the Family agents in exchange for a meeting with a cabby with information on Macbannin.
Upon returning to RHC HQ, Kirk tried to press the Family agents into being informants for the RHC, saying he would have them released if they agreed (even though he was already going to let them go). The Family is a tight knit bunch and only the newcomer, Deorn Feldman, went for the offer.
I think Deorn will get maybe one or two snitches before he ends up with concrete shoes.
The party then met the cabby in the Thinking Man's tavern. They learned that a single person with many disguises had been leaving Macbannin's manor to a dizzying number of locations around the city, including every single factory. They quickly deduced this must be the shadow man.
Back at HQ, Pam (she's the office mailperson) had an unexpected package for them. The package contained letters from "CC" to "E&V" hiring them for arson jobs at multiple factories including Sechim's factory. The package also contained a small note thanking the constables for new lucrative business and signed simply "Cal".
About this time, the finance department had pieced together the reports recovered from Wolfgang. The documents showed a large number of factories in Flint being bought up by fronts, and those that refused to sell were all targeted for arson. This was finally enough evidence for Delft to get the party a warrant for Macbannin's arrest.
The constables gathered their gear and marched for Cauldron Hill. Kirk demanded that the guards let them in to see Macbannin, but he wouldn't let the guards leave for fear they would warn the mayor and let him escape. After a brief standoff, Macbannin came out of the manor and told the guards to stand down. The constables confronted Macbannin with the warrant. The mayor laughed it off and dismissed their concerns. Right as he was offering a guided tour, an earthquake caused half the manor to collapse and witch oil began to bubble up from cracks in the ground. Macbannin's jovial demeanor melted away as he ordered his servants to attack.
With my groups track record of obliterating important opponents in the first round, I decided to double Reed's HP and apply his abjuration aura to himself as well as his minions.
The party quickly surrounded Macbannin and kept him hemmed in for the majority of the fight. Kirk's zeal for flanking got him swarmed by gardeners and knocked out once or twice.
After they handcuffed him, Macbannin insisted they had to help him stop the impending disaster. With the mayor in tow, the constables descended into the secret laboratories beneath the manor. They quickly encountered a flayed jaguar that had broken loose, and Cillian Creed struck from behind while they were distracted. After a brief struggle, Rai finished off Creed once and for all.
I'd considered having Macbannin run past the party and attempt to fix the machines while they were in combat, but the party was in between him and the door the whole time. If he had run past them, it would have ended poorly because more jaguars were waiting in the engine room.
After the fight, Irony hobbled Macbannin by stabbing him in the foot to discourage any more escape attempts. The party quickly dispatched the jaguars in the engine room. Though Kirk pushed macbannin at the jaguars to distract them, Rai stepped up and did a fine job keeping the jaguars from attacking anyone else.
This was another spot where the players were inches away from losing "doomsday machine instruction manual".
Though thoroughly displeased with Kirk, Macbannin quickly set out helping the constables shut down the witch oil machinery. With the mayor's help, the party quickly neutralized the danger, and Irony called in Callaphax to "safely" dispose of the dangerous oil. They could tell from a briefly trying to question the mayor that he was under a geas of some kind and handed him over the the arriving police forces. When the party heard that Macbannin had killed himself the next day, Irony immediately suspected the geas forced him to do it.
The constables were annoyed when their boss, Saxby, took them off the case. The last scene before the next adventure was a late night visitor to Irony; Callaphax stopped by in the guise of a male eladrin flanked by his new enforcers, Eberardo and Valando.
I liked the dragonborn arsonists so I decided to keep them on using Cal. I also used this to reveal that Cal is not an imp; he is in fact a pit fiend. The botched portal that dragged him into the mortal world had sapped most of his power which he has been slowly regaining (the witch oil helped). I've actually been waiting for that reveal for a while; I had been careful to never actually use the word imp when talking about Cal (I let my players assume that for themselves).
Isklexi
First Post
We finally got around to another session last weekend, but it was a pretty short one. We started up "Digging for Lies".
The constables were annoyed at being relegated to glorified nannies for the expo. Their police contact, Sgt. Lockheart, was grateful for their help; since the party paid off Kell by putting him in contact with Cal, the nettles have been completely consumed by gang warfare. Over a dozen police have been murdered over the past two months, and the remaining officers are spread thin trying to contain the violence to the mostly abandoned nettles.
The party split up to explore the faire. I had each player take turns saying what tent they wanted to visit from the list (I only told then the each tent's name they had to go see it for themselves). When Rai visited Fildi and Dilfi's tent and brought back news of badger guns, Bellicose immediately went to buy a pair of badger pistols to use with his "Man with two guns is god" gunsmith power. After a few rounds, I decided to start the encounter (I didn't want them to visit all the tents in one go).
Only two of the constables were in the encounter area when it started; the rest showed up in round two after hearing the fight break out. Simon was knocked out in the first round by the flying things. The party managed to stabilize both Simon and Alforb but only on the round right before they died. Kvarti was the encounter's MVNPC; he kept decent pressure on the flying things while his high reflex made him almost immune to their lasers (I had the flying things fly out of melee range after being bloodied). Doran took an immediate dislike to Rock after he pulled out the solid gold gun (he agrees with the gun's description text; what a jackass). When the fight was down to a single bloodied flying thing left, Cal made an appearance and killed the last monster.
Kirk had killed one of the flying things with the soul stealing dagger and unwittingly brought the alien monsters to Cal's attention. Cal was furious to encounter the strange monsters and demanded they hand over the golden staff. Irony was able to convince Callaphax to let them keep the staff, but he stipulated that the constables had to retain personal custody of the artifact; he believes the local authorities (police or RHC) are too incompetent to keep it safe (because of the Macbannin affair and the uncontrolled gang wars).
When the party pressed Cal for information on the staff and monsters, he simply replied "I can't tell you". After a few of these answers, Irony deduced that he was bound by some sort of oath and said as much; Cal responded with "I always keep my promises".
I wanted to tie Cal into some of the backstory of the adventure; He has existed since the Dawn Wars and was around for the Ancient's war too. I think any immortal from the time of the Ancient's war would have been pretty pissed to see Gidim war beasts in the mortal world. However, I didn't want Cal to spoil any of the adventure's secrets (he won't know all of them, but he would know a lot of them), so I made him unable to reveal the info because of an oath he made a long time ago. Since the players will have to requisition the staff to satisfy Cal, I'll have him send them a gift of similar value since no one in the party really uses staves.
The constables were annoyed at being relegated to glorified nannies for the expo. Their police contact, Sgt. Lockheart, was grateful for their help; since the party paid off Kell by putting him in contact with Cal, the nettles have been completely consumed by gang warfare. Over a dozen police have been murdered over the past two months, and the remaining officers are spread thin trying to contain the violence to the mostly abandoned nettles.
The party split up to explore the faire. I had each player take turns saying what tent they wanted to visit from the list (I only told then the each tent's name they had to go see it for themselves). When Rai visited Fildi and Dilfi's tent and brought back news of badger guns, Bellicose immediately went to buy a pair of badger pistols to use with his "Man with two guns is god" gunsmith power. After a few rounds, I decided to start the encounter (I didn't want them to visit all the tents in one go).
Only two of the constables were in the encounter area when it started; the rest showed up in round two after hearing the fight break out. Simon was knocked out in the first round by the flying things. The party managed to stabilize both Simon and Alforb but only on the round right before they died. Kvarti was the encounter's MVNPC; he kept decent pressure on the flying things while his high reflex made him almost immune to their lasers (I had the flying things fly out of melee range after being bloodied). Doran took an immediate dislike to Rock after he pulled out the solid gold gun (he agrees with the gun's description text; what a jackass). When the fight was down to a single bloodied flying thing left, Cal made an appearance and killed the last monster.
Kirk had killed one of the flying things with the soul stealing dagger and unwittingly brought the alien monsters to Cal's attention. Cal was furious to encounter the strange monsters and demanded they hand over the golden staff. Irony was able to convince Callaphax to let them keep the staff, but he stipulated that the constables had to retain personal custody of the artifact; he believes the local authorities (police or RHC) are too incompetent to keep it safe (because of the Macbannin affair and the uncontrolled gang wars).
When the party pressed Cal for information on the staff and monsters, he simply replied "I can't tell you". After a few of these answers, Irony deduced that he was bound by some sort of oath and said as much; Cal responded with "I always keep my promises".
I wanted to tie Cal into some of the backstory of the adventure; He has existed since the Dawn Wars and was around for the Ancient's war too. I think any immortal from the time of the Ancient's war would have been pretty pissed to see Gidim war beasts in the mortal world. However, I didn't want Cal to spoil any of the adventure's secrets (he won't know all of them, but he would know a lot of them), so I made him unable to reveal the info because of an oath he made a long time ago. Since the players will have to requisition the staff to satisfy Cal, I'll have him send them a gift of similar value since no one in the party really uses staves.
Isklexi
First Post
Man, It's been a while since we had a full session; real life with its annoying habit of getting in the way.
The constables covered quite a bit of ground over two sessions.
Dorn Feldman (the party's mole in the Family) clued them in to some smuggling in Bosum Strand. After talking with the enforcers on the docks, the party decided to talk with Morgan.
From interrogating Simon Langfield, and speaking with Morgan, the party discovered how to get in contact with the weapons smuggler Kaja Stewart. Cippiano also let the constables know that he prizes his privacy and that they wouldn't be hearing from Mr Feldman again.
Irony had received a strange letter demanding she kill Rock Rackus. She was immediately suspicious, because the mystics had never contacted her by letter before (and the partially affixed wax seal made her think the letter had been tampered with).
The party arranged a meeting with Kaja at the subway construction. The party asked too many questions, and Kaja went on the offensive. The players loved Kaja (the cannon was a real crowd pleaser). They took her back to RHC for interrogation.
Kaja clued them on to the well dressed Tiefling that was the source of the ancient staff and the other two artifacts. The constables had decided to keep the existence of the sword and amulet a secret (Cal's pronounced interest in the staff has made the constables paranoid). Kirk recalled seeing a Tiefling that matched the description at the museum some years ago (he was being celebrated for various donations to the Ancient's exhibit). The constables decided to head to the museum in the morning to track down the mysterious Danoran.
When the constables returned in the morning, Kaja was dead. The party quickly determined foul play was at work, and Irony detected the faint "scent" of the bleak gate. Kirk immediately searched the basement up and down, discovering a recently painted section of wall hiding a rusted iron ring. The constables suspect this was the work of an insider, and now they aren't sure if they can trust anyone.
The players and I liked Kaja for her memorable combat; I may find a way to bring her back. After all, the party will be out of the city for days, and they're leaving Cal to his own devices.
On the way out, Kirk was pulled aside by Serena, the new team lead on the Macbannin case. She asked for their help with an unusual crime scene. The constables searched the strange crime scene up and down. They determined the time of death for the victim and quickly suspected the metal mage Leone from the use of bent metal bars as restraints. Irony used the last sight ritual to see the last moments of the victims life. This confirmed the murderer as Leone Quital and that there was a third person in the room (the third person was out of sight of the victim but sounded like a woman in distress). Leone had called the victim Alexander, the embroidered socks gave the constables a last initial. They still had no idea who the victim was or why Leone murdered him. The constables counseled Serena to fix the golem as quickly as possible and to beware rusted iron rings.
Irony had told the other constables of the strange letter she had received (the party isn't too concerned with her ties to the mystics; Kirk has a crush on Irony, Bellicose follows Kirk's orders, Doran hates the industrialists anyway, and Rai is more interested in the power Calaphax offers). They traced the letter to the attorney general's family. The constables had a brief audience with Lord Edward Starke. They showed him the wax seal and said the letter called for an assassination (they didn't tell him about the mystics). He denied sending any such letter and said he would have the matter thoroughly investigated (in house of course). On the way out of the mansion, Irony spotted a man she recognized from the Vekeshi meetings. She quickly marked him with her vengeful gaze of the goddess power before he slipped from sight. Asking a guard about the man's identity, the party learned he was Lord Starke's son, Tyler.
The party went to the Museum next. Irony and Doran went to track down the curator while the others explored some of the museum exhibits. Kirk examined the murals of the fey titans, and Rai explored the demonocracy exhibit to see if he could find any depictions of Cal (there weren't any). Irony tracked down the curator , professor Weber. Upon seeing the staff (the party is still keeping the other two artifacts a secret), He quickly confirmed that the staff came from the Ancient's civilization dating sometime near the beginning of their decline. He was also quick to point out that the museum has a strong claim to such artifacts; when Irony proved less than amenable, he said he would take it up with their superiors. Weber quickly identified the unknown Tiefling as Caius Bergeron but didn't know his current whereabouts (he is supposed to attend a museum gala in a few weeks though). He also directed them to Xambria Meredith, an archeologist from a recent disastrous dig.
The party decided to talk to Xambria. She was very forthcoming and confirmed that the staff came from her dig site (the constables deflected when she asked if they had found any other such artifacts from her dig). The party sifted through her foggy recollection of events. They learned about Bergeron's interest in some kind of astronomical seal and the location of the ziggurat. Irony found Xambria's theories on the decline of the Ancients very interesting (especially after the rather arrogant and speciesist views of the curator). Unfortunately, Xambria had no idea where Bergeron was either.
Irony decided to touch base with Lady Ruintay (a wealthy patron of the arts that is one of her contacts). The lady was pleased to see Irony again, and after a bit of small talk, revealed that Caius would likely stay at the Silver Swan Inn during his stay in Flint.
The party managed to locate Caius after getting past the inn's doorman (they wanted to talk their way in but had to resort to pulling out badges to convince the snooty man they weren't "riffraff"). Bergeron was pleasant enough, even offering them food since he was eating dinner but Kirk declined (Doran was disappointed at losing a free meal, though he lost his appetite after seeing what Bergeron was eating). Caius proved very shrewd and didn't give the constables any useful info. The party was highly suspicious of him but didn't have any evidence to use against him.
On the way back to the RHC, Irony sensed that Tyler was no longer at his manor. She magically tracked him to an alleyway near a police station. Tyler had decided to take matters into his own hands since the constables were clearly not going to kill Rock. The spoiled lordling made threats to get the constables to leave him alone, but they quickly cowed him with intimidation.
Irony foiled the vekeshi plot thread with a creative use of her theme power, which I thought was great.
The constables plan to leave for the High Bayou soon. With their growing paranoia, they are sharing less information with their fellow officers claiming they are only following a lead on the weapons smuggling case. Delft seems to trust them, but can they trust him? Each answer they find seems to beg even more questions.
The constables covered quite a bit of ground over two sessions.
Dorn Feldman (the party's mole in the Family) clued them in to some smuggling in Bosum Strand. After talking with the enforcers on the docks, the party decided to talk with Morgan.
From interrogating Simon Langfield, and speaking with Morgan, the party discovered how to get in contact with the weapons smuggler Kaja Stewart. Cippiano also let the constables know that he prizes his privacy and that they wouldn't be hearing from Mr Feldman again.
Irony had received a strange letter demanding she kill Rock Rackus. She was immediately suspicious, because the mystics had never contacted her by letter before (and the partially affixed wax seal made her think the letter had been tampered with).
The party arranged a meeting with Kaja at the subway construction. The party asked too many questions, and Kaja went on the offensive. The players loved Kaja (the cannon was a real crowd pleaser). They took her back to RHC for interrogation.
Kaja clued them on to the well dressed Tiefling that was the source of the ancient staff and the other two artifacts. The constables had decided to keep the existence of the sword and amulet a secret (Cal's pronounced interest in the staff has made the constables paranoid). Kirk recalled seeing a Tiefling that matched the description at the museum some years ago (he was being celebrated for various donations to the Ancient's exhibit). The constables decided to head to the museum in the morning to track down the mysterious Danoran.
When the constables returned in the morning, Kaja was dead. The party quickly determined foul play was at work, and Irony detected the faint "scent" of the bleak gate. Kirk immediately searched the basement up and down, discovering a recently painted section of wall hiding a rusted iron ring. The constables suspect this was the work of an insider, and now they aren't sure if they can trust anyone.
The players and I liked Kaja for her memorable combat; I may find a way to bring her back. After all, the party will be out of the city for days, and they're leaving Cal to his own devices.
On the way out, Kirk was pulled aside by Serena, the new team lead on the Macbannin case. She asked for their help with an unusual crime scene. The constables searched the strange crime scene up and down. They determined the time of death for the victim and quickly suspected the metal mage Leone from the use of bent metal bars as restraints. Irony used the last sight ritual to see the last moments of the victims life. This confirmed the murderer as Leone Quital and that there was a third person in the room (the third person was out of sight of the victim but sounded like a woman in distress). Leone had called the victim Alexander, the embroidered socks gave the constables a last initial. They still had no idea who the victim was or why Leone murdered him. The constables counseled Serena to fix the golem as quickly as possible and to beware rusted iron rings.
Irony had told the other constables of the strange letter she had received (the party isn't too concerned with her ties to the mystics; Kirk has a crush on Irony, Bellicose follows Kirk's orders, Doran hates the industrialists anyway, and Rai is more interested in the power Calaphax offers). They traced the letter to the attorney general's family. The constables had a brief audience with Lord Edward Starke. They showed him the wax seal and said the letter called for an assassination (they didn't tell him about the mystics). He denied sending any such letter and said he would have the matter thoroughly investigated (in house of course). On the way out of the mansion, Irony spotted a man she recognized from the Vekeshi meetings. She quickly marked him with her vengeful gaze of the goddess power before he slipped from sight. Asking a guard about the man's identity, the party learned he was Lord Starke's son, Tyler.
The party went to the Museum next. Irony and Doran went to track down the curator while the others explored some of the museum exhibits. Kirk examined the murals of the fey titans, and Rai explored the demonocracy exhibit to see if he could find any depictions of Cal (there weren't any). Irony tracked down the curator , professor Weber. Upon seeing the staff (the party is still keeping the other two artifacts a secret), He quickly confirmed that the staff came from the Ancient's civilization dating sometime near the beginning of their decline. He was also quick to point out that the museum has a strong claim to such artifacts; when Irony proved less than amenable, he said he would take it up with their superiors. Weber quickly identified the unknown Tiefling as Caius Bergeron but didn't know his current whereabouts (he is supposed to attend a museum gala in a few weeks though). He also directed them to Xambria Meredith, an archeologist from a recent disastrous dig.
The party decided to talk to Xambria. She was very forthcoming and confirmed that the staff came from her dig site (the constables deflected when she asked if they had found any other such artifacts from her dig). The party sifted through her foggy recollection of events. They learned about Bergeron's interest in some kind of astronomical seal and the location of the ziggurat. Irony found Xambria's theories on the decline of the Ancients very interesting (especially after the rather arrogant and speciesist views of the curator). Unfortunately, Xambria had no idea where Bergeron was either.
Irony decided to touch base with Lady Ruintay (a wealthy patron of the arts that is one of her contacts). The lady was pleased to see Irony again, and after a bit of small talk, revealed that Caius would likely stay at the Silver Swan Inn during his stay in Flint.
The party managed to locate Caius after getting past the inn's doorman (they wanted to talk their way in but had to resort to pulling out badges to convince the snooty man they weren't "riffraff"). Bergeron was pleasant enough, even offering them food since he was eating dinner but Kirk declined (Doran was disappointed at losing a free meal, though he lost his appetite after seeing what Bergeron was eating). Caius proved very shrewd and didn't give the constables any useful info. The party was highly suspicious of him but didn't have any evidence to use against him.
On the way back to the RHC, Irony sensed that Tyler was no longer at his manor. She magically tracked him to an alleyway near a police station. Tyler had decided to take matters into his own hands since the constables were clearly not going to kill Rock. The spoiled lordling made threats to get the constables to leave him alone, but they quickly cowed him with intimidation.
Irony foiled the vekeshi plot thread with a creative use of her theme power, which I thought was great.
The constables plan to leave for the High Bayou soon. With their growing paranoia, they are sharing less information with their fellow officers claiming they are only following a lead on the weapons smuggling case. Delft seems to trust them, but can they trust him? Each answer they find seems to beg even more questions.
RangerWickett
Legend
Quite a gap there, but great to hear from you. Sounds like a pretty hefty pair of sessions.
And yeah, I dig a Vekeshi Mystic thwarting a fake Vekeshi plot via a Vekeshi power.
Adventure 4 will be out this weekend (at least for 4e), so with luck you shouldn't have to delay your game.
And yeah, I dig a Vekeshi Mystic thwarting a fake Vekeshi plot via a Vekeshi power.
Adventure 4 will be out this weekend (at least for 4e), so with luck you shouldn't have to delay your game.
Isklexi
First Post
Another long gap. We had family vacations line up in a row, but we'll be resuming sessions this weekend. We did correspondence by email for their preparations and trip to Agate.
Lorcan Kell rubbed the constables the wrong way with his veiled threats, and Irony has decided it's time they did something about him:
[sblock=The Plan]Lorcan Kell has made a grave mistake by threatening a Vekeshi Mystic, unbeknownst to him. There will be repercussions. In addition, as his powers and influence have grown, the Nettles has decayed into an even worse state, and crucial RHC resources have been diverted to deal with this problem that we have amplified. Lorcan Kell must be dealt with!
I have decided to coordinate an assassination of Mr. Kell with my fellow Mystics. While I await their response to my query as to what aid and resources they can provide, I ask that you help me set up a lethal ambush for this pompous crime boss. I have been devising a plan to pull Lorcan Kell out into the open where he can be destroyed.
If he wants his comrade Kaja back, he can have her. Once we return from the Ziggurat, I plan to raise her, perhaps using the resources Cal has provided, and then either befriend or charm her. Hopefully, she will choose to join our mission. We can also interrogate her about the circumstances of her death. At any rate, we will contact Kell through Kaja, at which point she will set up a meeting at a neutral location. Then we can make our move.
To prepare, we need as much information on Lorcan Kell as possible. Why does he appear to be so attached to Kaja? How can we convince him to come to a location of our choosing? What powers and defenses has he prepared for himself, especially in light of his deal with Caliphax? Doran can use his Docker contacts throughout the city to compile an entire dossier on Lorcan Kell, including who he is, where he came from, and how he made it to the top. Rai should contact Cal and try to pry the nature of Lorcan Kell’s deal out of him. The rest of the team can aid in these investigatory preparations; we do not want any surprises.
Once we have set up when and where Lorcan Kell will be, we can arrange an ambush for him. The crucial part of the assassination comes from Bellicose; he will be set up at a good vantage point to snipe Lorcan Kell and hopefully tag him with a kill shot right off the bat. Either Kirk or Doran will accompany Bellicose to serve as a spotter
. The rest of the team will hide in and around the meeting location and will attack once Bellicose has gotten his first one or two shots off. Since we really want to take out Lorcan Kell as quickly as possible (hopefully with one bullet), Bellicose needs to make a few preparations to aid in his sniper kill. Using his Gunsmith expertise, he should set up the following weapon for this one-time hit
[/sblock]
[sblock=The Prep]Doran met with his contact in the bars of Bosum Strand, Dorothy, asking her to look into Kell's background while they were away and gave her 50g in case she needed to grease some wheels).
Irony and Kirk called in help from RHC surveillance teams to watch their homes and friends while they are away. They easily convinced the RHC to be on the lookout for foul play while they are gone. They even managed to get a person to follow Caius and Xambria.
The constables then requisitioned a scroll of Sending so Delft could contact them in an emergency.
[/sblock]
The team came up with lots of great ideas during our 3 week downtime.
Their trip to Bole was uneventful; though when their luggage was unloaded they found an extra parcel containing a letter and a gift.
[sblock=The Letter]I regret that I was unable to see you off at the train station in person, but with all the business of my occupation and the occurrence at the arms faire, I have been dreadfully busy. I trust you will keep the artifacts secure, all three of them. I have confidence in your ability to get to the bottom of this anomaly; however, I feel compelled to inform you that should you be unable to determine how far the event at the arms faire reaches, I will personally begin my own investigation into the matter. On a more amicable note, I have included in this parcel an item that may help you in your future endeavors.
With Fondest Regards,
Cal[/sblock]
The item was an amulet made from a bronze chain and one of the pit fiend's own pinion feathers. It possesses healing powers fueled by killing opponents (I'm using souls as a theme for items they get from Caliphax). Irony was also greatly disturbed that Cal knew about the other artifacts the constables had hidden; this only made the party more paranoid.
The constables continued to show resourcefulness on the trip. Irony used the Traveler's Chant ritual to make excellent time on the road trip to Agate. This gave them plenty of time to ask around the town for information. Irony once again dazzled in her role as the party's "face". The team pieced together a formidable amount of intel in the town.
[sblock=Streetwise]The party learned from multiple sources that Xambria's story was true. They also learned of another group of strangers that slunk into the bayou and left just as suddenly with a mysterious cargo. They also found out that the townsfolk were too superstitious after the deaths of the archaeologists to help guide them through the swamp, but they did advice them to bring an offering to appease the Voice of Rot.[/sblock]
The party is poised for a great session this weekend, and I can't wait to see how all their planning unfolds. As an aside, I need to thank Redbadge for showing me how to make spoiler blocks and GM notes, so my posts don't look like giant essays.
Lorcan Kell rubbed the constables the wrong way with his veiled threats, and Irony has decided it's time they did something about him:
[sblock=The Plan]Lorcan Kell has made a grave mistake by threatening a Vekeshi Mystic, unbeknownst to him. There will be repercussions. In addition, as his powers and influence have grown, the Nettles has decayed into an even worse state, and crucial RHC resources have been diverted to deal with this problem that we have amplified. Lorcan Kell must be dealt with!
I have decided to coordinate an assassination of Mr. Kell with my fellow Mystics. While I await their response to my query as to what aid and resources they can provide, I ask that you help me set up a lethal ambush for this pompous crime boss. I have been devising a plan to pull Lorcan Kell out into the open where he can be destroyed.
If he wants his comrade Kaja back, he can have her. Once we return from the Ziggurat, I plan to raise her, perhaps using the resources Cal has provided, and then either befriend or charm her. Hopefully, she will choose to join our mission. We can also interrogate her about the circumstances of her death. At any rate, we will contact Kell through Kaja, at which point she will set up a meeting at a neutral location. Then we can make our move.
To prepare, we need as much information on Lorcan Kell as possible. Why does he appear to be so attached to Kaja? How can we convince him to come to a location of our choosing? What powers and defenses has he prepared for himself, especially in light of his deal with Caliphax? Doran can use his Docker contacts throughout the city to compile an entire dossier on Lorcan Kell, including who he is, where he came from, and how he made it to the top. Rai should contact Cal and try to pry the nature of Lorcan Kell’s deal out of him. The rest of the team can aid in these investigatory preparations; we do not want any surprises.
Once we have set up when and where Lorcan Kell will be, we can arrange an ambush for him. The crucial part of the assassination comes from Bellicose; he will be set up at a good vantage point to snipe Lorcan Kell and hopefully tag him with a kill shot right off the bat. Either Kirk or Doran will accompany Bellicose to serve as a spotter
|
|
[sblock=The Prep]Doran met with his contact in the bars of Bosum Strand, Dorothy, asking her to look into Kell's background while they were away and gave her 50g in case she needed to grease some wheels).
|
Irony and Kirk called in help from RHC surveillance teams to watch their homes and friends while they are away. They easily convinced the RHC to be on the lookout for foul play while they are gone. They even managed to get a person to follow Caius and Xambria.
|
The constables then requisitioned a scroll of Sending so Delft could contact them in an emergency.
[/sblock]
The team came up with lots of great ideas during our 3 week downtime.
Their trip to Bole was uneventful; though when their luggage was unloaded they found an extra parcel containing a letter and a gift.
[sblock=The Letter]I regret that I was unable to see you off at the train station in person, but with all the business of my occupation and the occurrence at the arms faire, I have been dreadfully busy. I trust you will keep the artifacts secure, all three of them. I have confidence in your ability to get to the bottom of this anomaly; however, I feel compelled to inform you that should you be unable to determine how far the event at the arms faire reaches, I will personally begin my own investigation into the matter. On a more amicable note, I have included in this parcel an item that may help you in your future endeavors.
With Fondest Regards,
Cal[/sblock]
The item was an amulet made from a bronze chain and one of the pit fiend's own pinion feathers. It possesses healing powers fueled by killing opponents (I'm using souls as a theme for items they get from Caliphax). Irony was also greatly disturbed that Cal knew about the other artifacts the constables had hidden; this only made the party more paranoid.
|
The constables continued to show resourcefulness on the trip. Irony used the Traveler's Chant ritual to make excellent time on the road trip to Agate. This gave them plenty of time to ask around the town for information. Irony once again dazzled in her role as the party's "face". The team pieced together a formidable amount of intel in the town.
[sblock=Streetwise]The party learned from multiple sources that Xambria's story was true. They also learned of another group of strangers that slunk into the bayou and left just as suddenly with a mysterious cargo. They also found out that the townsfolk were too superstitious after the deaths of the archaeologists to help guide them through the swamp, but they did advice them to bring an offering to appease the Voice of Rot.[/sblock]
The party is poised for a great session this weekend, and I can't wait to see how all their planning unfolds. As an aside, I need to thank Redbadge for showing me how to make spoiler blocks and GM notes, so my posts don't look like giant essays.
Isklexi
First Post
We ended up with another delay and had the session this last weekend instead of the week preceding. I was starting to wonder if there was a real conspiracy against my players showing up. The party made its way to the ziggurat and overcame its challenges with ease. The multiweek hiatus gave the players so much time to prepare, they repeatedly surprised me with tricks they had brought along to handle any situation.
The constables made the journey through the bayou without any difficulty. The offering to the Voice of Rot warded off trouble from wild animals, and Irony's ritual to ward off vermin made the journey much more tolerable.
Upon reaching the ziggurat, the party searched the base camp outside and found it had been ransacked already (likely by the mysterious group the townsfolk had spoken of). With no obvious signs of trauma, they performed a brief autopsy on one of the corpses and found it to be riddled with tumors and strange growths. While the autopsy was underway, Irony performed a Speak With Dead ritual on an other corpse. Unfortunately, this person had not witnessed what killed them but was able to provide a brief description of the looters that came later.
Inside the temple, the constables were already becoming keenly aware of the ziggurat's ability to warp perception (or perhaps space and time itself given the connection to Apet). Finding two more corpses inside, Irony lacked enough components for another Speak With Dead ritual and settled for a Last Sight Vision ritual on the dead halfling. This time the constables were in luck. The halfling's last moments revealed a ritual disrupted by a startled worker and the desperate attempt to flee of the halfling and her human friend.
[sblock=Last Sight Vision]The halfling and human fled from the ritual chamber using the easternmost passages. Irony quickly deduced that the concentric circle patterns they passed must be very important, because even in fleeing for their lives, they stopped to interact with them in some way (flowers in the large room and using their torch in the halls). The vision also revealed the spear traps as the human rolled to avoid them and the halfling simply ran under them.[/sblock]
The constables decided to follow the path of the unfortunate archaeologists. The vision had given them invaluable insight into avoiding the traps left by the Ancients. When the group reached the large chamber in the vision, they found it infested with monsters. The constables were so intent on looking for traps, they were slow to react and the monsters struck while they were still in the hallway. The creatures were able to land a few blows before they themselves triggered the rooms trap sealing them inside and cutting the constables off from their intended travel path.
The constables came upon a hallway marked with a symbol denoting Urim. Kirk sprinkled some nearby pebbles on the symbol and tentatively stepped into the hallway. After nearly being concussed, Kirk quickly retreated back to the group. Irony and Rai then spent several minutes examining the magic of the trap and comparing it to what they learned from the halfling's vision to learn they needed a very heavy stone to disable the trap. Kirk went back to the nearby roughly excavated tunnel and used the pick he brought to obtain just such a stone.
The constables made their way through the ziggurat at a painstakingly slow pace. The Avilona trap gave them pause since they didn't have a thin reed, but Bellicose's smoking habit came to the rescue and they used his pipe. The final chamber gave them pause when they saw the golden tablet still in place. The vision had clearly shown it moved, and the constables were sure the looters that came later had taken it. In a burst of inspiration, Rai moved the welcome mat revealing the sigil of Nem. After some time of studying it, they discovered they would need an orc skull and immediately thought back to the mummies at the entrance.
The constables were faced with a mild dilemma; the time spent studying the traps meant that all the traps behind them would have reset and they no longer had access to a large rock for the crushing hallway. They ruled out following the path of the dead archaeologists since that path was still infested with monsters, and they weren't willing to risk the pit trap without access to flowers. The group decided to brave the third and final path through the ziggurat. In the chamber pillaged of all its artifacts, they left a cup of water on the sigil of Mavisha after studying it (they didn't have a bowl) and entered the map room.
The officers quickly realized what the map device did and made note of the location indicated off the coast of Ber. Irony was also suitably infuriated after studying the sigil on the wall and realized the looters had made off with the means of remotely disabling all the traps in the temple.
The rainbow room gave the team pause. They could clearly see the monsters on the other side of the veils and were unsure what would happen if they touched the white orb before them. After discussing for a time, Bellicose lost patience and touched the orb himself. He was rewarded with a vision of the past, and the trap vanquished the monsters for them. Bellicose relayed the information about the psychic monsters to the rest of the constables, and they hurried back to the entrance chamber where Kirk brandished a hacksaw to quickly part one of the mummies from its head.
The constables went back through the rainbow room to reach the final chamber. After disabling the trap, they discovered the slab was a fake and decided to see what was behind it. Bellicose threw a lit sunrod into the void to illuminate it. The constables retrieved the body within and were repulsed to find it missing its face. Irony theorized that the temple was some kind of ancient prison since there was nothing behind the gate (except the monsters that had already left). The constables made a rubbing of the false seal and decided to leave.
Upon exiting the temple, The constables were confronted by the Voice of Rot itself. The Voice revealed that one of the entities released from the seal was intelligent and demanded they hunt it down. The constables pushed themselves following the trail through the swamp all night. After it lead them straight back to Agate, they decided to rest at the inn and continue the next day. Before they had settled for sleep, they were contacted by Delft using the scroll of sending they had left behind.
"I need you back here now! How many words do I get with this thing again? SHOOT! I'll fill you in when you get back."
Oops, I forgot to mention the visions each constable had in the temple. Kirk and Bellicose shared a vision since they had a common backstory element of the Yerasol Wars.
[sblock=Irony]Irony had a vision of a bustling city of Eladrin. When a cloud passes before the sun, the scene is plunged into darkness, and when the light returns, the city was empty and looked as though it had been abandoned for centuries.[/sblock]
[sblock=Bellicose & Kirk]The war vets had a vision that they were back on the Yerasol islands fighting during the war, but the ground cracked and buckled during the middle of the fight. Shadowy monsters spilled forth from the cracks and began killing everyone, Danoran and Risuri alike.[/sblock]
[sblock=Doran]Doran saw his mother dancing through the halls of the ziggurat with a man masked by shadows[/sblock]
[sblock=Rai]Rai had a vision of himself standing on a mountainside overlooking a city he didn't recognize. The mountain erupted in flame and ash. The pyroclastic flow racing towards the city below resolved itself into a flaming dragon that laid waste to the helpless metropolis[/sblock]
The constables made the journey through the bayou without any difficulty. The offering to the Voice of Rot warded off trouble from wild animals, and Irony's ritual to ward off vermin made the journey much more tolerable.
|
Upon reaching the ziggurat, the party searched the base camp outside and found it had been ransacked already (likely by the mysterious group the townsfolk had spoken of). With no obvious signs of trauma, they performed a brief autopsy on one of the corpses and found it to be riddled with tumors and strange growths. While the autopsy was underway, Irony performed a Speak With Dead ritual on an other corpse. Unfortunately, this person had not witnessed what killed them but was able to provide a brief description of the looters that came later.
Inside the temple, the constables were already becoming keenly aware of the ziggurat's ability to warp perception (or perhaps space and time itself given the connection to Apet). Finding two more corpses inside, Irony lacked enough components for another Speak With Dead ritual and settled for a Last Sight Vision ritual on the dead halfling. This time the constables were in luck. The halfling's last moments revealed a ritual disrupted by a startled worker and the desperate attempt to flee of the halfling and her human friend.
[sblock=Last Sight Vision]The halfling and human fled from the ritual chamber using the easternmost passages. Irony quickly deduced that the concentric circle patterns they passed must be very important, because even in fleeing for their lives, they stopped to interact with them in some way (flowers in the large room and using their torch in the halls). The vision also revealed the spear traps as the human rolled to avoid them and the halfling simply ran under them.[/sblock]
|
The constables decided to follow the path of the unfortunate archaeologists. The vision had given them invaluable insight into avoiding the traps left by the Ancients. When the group reached the large chamber in the vision, they found it infested with monsters. The constables were so intent on looking for traps, they were slow to react and the monsters struck while they were still in the hallway. The creatures were able to land a few blows before they themselves triggered the rooms trap sealing them inside and cutting the constables off from their intended travel path.
|
The constables came upon a hallway marked with a symbol denoting Urim. Kirk sprinkled some nearby pebbles on the symbol and tentatively stepped into the hallway. After nearly being concussed, Kirk quickly retreated back to the group. Irony and Rai then spent several minutes examining the magic of the trap and comparing it to what they learned from the halfling's vision to learn they needed a very heavy stone to disable the trap. Kirk went back to the nearby roughly excavated tunnel and used the pick he brought to obtain just such a stone.
|
The constables made their way through the ziggurat at a painstakingly slow pace. The Avilona trap gave them pause since they didn't have a thin reed, but Bellicose's smoking habit came to the rescue and they used his pipe. The final chamber gave them pause when they saw the golden tablet still in place. The vision had clearly shown it moved, and the constables were sure the looters that came later had taken it. In a burst of inspiration, Rai moved the welcome mat revealing the sigil of Nem. After some time of studying it, they discovered they would need an orc skull and immediately thought back to the mummies at the entrance.
|
The constables were faced with a mild dilemma; the time spent studying the traps meant that all the traps behind them would have reset and they no longer had access to a large rock for the crushing hallway. They ruled out following the path of the dead archaeologists since that path was still infested with monsters, and they weren't willing to risk the pit trap without access to flowers. The group decided to brave the third and final path through the ziggurat. In the chamber pillaged of all its artifacts, they left a cup of water on the sigil of Mavisha after studying it (they didn't have a bowl) and entered the map room.
The officers quickly realized what the map device did and made note of the location indicated off the coast of Ber. Irony was also suitably infuriated after studying the sigil on the wall and realized the looters had made off with the means of remotely disabling all the traps in the temple.
The rainbow room gave the team pause. They could clearly see the monsters on the other side of the veils and were unsure what would happen if they touched the white orb before them. After discussing for a time, Bellicose lost patience and touched the orb himself. He was rewarded with a vision of the past, and the trap vanquished the monsters for them. Bellicose relayed the information about the psychic monsters to the rest of the constables, and they hurried back to the entrance chamber where Kirk brandished a hacksaw to quickly part one of the mummies from its head.
|
The constables went back through the rainbow room to reach the final chamber. After disabling the trap, they discovered the slab was a fake and decided to see what was behind it. Bellicose threw a lit sunrod into the void to illuminate it. The constables retrieved the body within and were repulsed to find it missing its face. Irony theorized that the temple was some kind of ancient prison since there was nothing behind the gate (except the monsters that had already left). The constables made a rubbing of the false seal and decided to leave.
Upon exiting the temple, The constables were confronted by the Voice of Rot itself. The Voice revealed that one of the entities released from the seal was intelligent and demanded they hunt it down. The constables pushed themselves following the trail through the swamp all night. After it lead them straight back to Agate, they decided to rest at the inn and continue the next day. Before they had settled for sleep, they were contacted by Delft using the scroll of sending they had left behind.
"I need you back here now! How many words do I get with this thing again? SHOOT! I'll fill you in when you get back."
|
Oops, I forgot to mention the visions each constable had in the temple. Kirk and Bellicose shared a vision since they had a common backstory element of the Yerasol Wars.
[sblock=Irony]Irony had a vision of a bustling city of Eladrin. When a cloud passes before the sun, the scene is plunged into darkness, and when the light returns, the city was empty and looked as though it had been abandoned for centuries.[/sblock]
[sblock=Bellicose & Kirk]The war vets had a vision that they were back on the Yerasol islands fighting during the war, but the ground cracked and buckled during the middle of the fight. Shadowy monsters spilled forth from the cracks and began killing everyone, Danoran and Risuri alike.[/sblock]
[sblock=Doran]Doran saw his mother dancing through the halls of the ziggurat with a man masked by shadows[/sblock]
[sblock=Rai]Rai had a vision of himself standing on a mountainside overlooking a city he didn't recognize. The mountain erupted in flame and ash. The pyroclastic flow racing towards the city below resolved itself into a flaming dragon that laid waste to the helpless metropolis[/sblock]
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