Swashbuckling in Freeport Returns

[Morrow]

The Weavers

The group stood before Antobury’s Mansion. The iron gate stood open, as did the front door, which was blocked by a great mass of webbing. The windows, too, were completely obscured by webs. Queg waited stoically as Bronson, Nate, and Miranda cast preparatory spells and Sully muttered curses and drew her blade.

After killing the huge spider-demon and chasing off its smaller fellows the party had little trouble climbing down the steep crevice that the abyssal guardian had protected so ferociously. The party reached the bottom and crept along a tunnel which soon lead them to what was clearly a Chitine community. Some quick reconnaissance had resulted in a chitine prisoner. Soon the party had the information they needed. The spiritual leader of the chitines, angry at the original theft of the hastendeath spider, had become enraged when his interrogation of K’Karsh had revealed the existence of Antobury’s museum. K’Karsh and the other surviving kenku were quickly bundled up and hauled back to Freeport by the strongest warriors and priests of the chitine tribe. The next generation of hastendeaths would be born in Antobury’s blasphemous spider-prison and Freeport would be destroyed.

* * * * *​

The party snuck into Antobury’s mansion, past shattered displays and broken cages. There was webbing everywhere, covering walls, ceilings, windows, and doors. They soon found themselves entering the large central hall. There they found dozens of human sized bundles wrapped in webbing suspended from the ceiling. The moans and cries for help issuing from the bundles left little doubt that the chitines had collected a first generation of victims for the soon to be born hastendeath spiders. One bundle drew their attention, unlike the others it hung suspended by a long thread which reached nearly to the floor. The black feathers and beaked face visible through the webbing left little down that this was K’Karsh. His muted cries of pain left little doubt that his end was near.

A single chitine wearing a prominent gold holy symbol stood near K’Karsh. Between him and the party stood the immense camel-eating spider and the many legged Chwidencha. As the party moved to attack the chitine held his holy symbol high and called down a column of unholy flame which stared near the ceiling, immediately incinerating several bundles that hung there, and crashing down onto Bronson, Queg, and Sully.

The party sprang into action. Bronson’s repel vermin abjuration sent a carpet of tiny spiders that had been hidden under furniture and amid webs flowing away from him. The spell also drove back the huge camel-eating spider. Miranda cast haste as Queg and Sully moved to attack the C- and Nate dimension doored past the camel-eating spider to threaten the chitine spellcaster.

The C- counter attacked, wounding Sully, but proving unable to pin her amongst its clutching legs. She responded with another series of mighty blows, killing the aberration. The chitine stepped away from Nate and called forth another flame strike, once more striking Bronson, Queg, and Sully with unholy flame.

Bronson, gravely wounded, moved away from the battle to cast cure critical wounds. Queg and Miranda attempted to destroy the kenku’s body with flaming arrows and scorching rays. Nate moved to attack the chitine, landing a pair of strong blows. The chitine responded with a hold person spell, attempting to immobilize the bard. To everyone’s surprise, Nate gathered his will and resisted the enchantment.

With Bronson’s repel vermin spell no longer blocking its way, the camel-eating spider stepped right over Nate and the chitine to move toward Sully. She responded by charging the huge beast and landing a vicious blow, leaving it staggering.

Nate attacked the chitine once more, but the spellcaster dodged aside. The spider-like humanoid turned away, ignoring Nate to call another flame strike down into the center of the party. With a cry of pain Sully fell, her body badly burned by unholy flame.

With a wet tearing sound, hundreds of hastendeath spiders began to tear out of K’Karsh’s burning body. Hedged in on one side by Bronson’s repel vermin, the swarm of spiders turned and flowed over Queg, climbing up and over him, in and out of his clothes, among his bones.

Bronson moved forward to flank the chitine with Nate and, casting harm, reached out to touch the spellcaster. With a single surprised gasp the chitine fell, dead.

Queg, ignoring the ineffectual bites of the hastendeath spiders, and the webs they had begun to wrap around him turned and struck down the camel eating spider with one mighty blow.

The hastendeath spiders, unable to harm the undead ranger, moved on in search of other victims. Their other foes destroyed, the party turned their full might on the lethal arachnids. Miranda, flying struck the swarm with a fireball and harrying it with a flaming sphere. Bronson summoned a pair of fire elementals to assist and soon the hastendeath spiders, not intelligent enough to flee, were all burned away.

The party found Antobury among the men and women in the web bundles. The traumatized scholar had little to say. Over half of the chitine’s hostages had been killed by flame strikes. For the most part, those who remained quietly dispersed.

Nate noticed a kenku despondently looking at K’Karsh’s burnt body. When he encouraged the creature to return to the Rigg he shook his head despondently, “Brother dead, friends dead, why go back? Chuko alone.”

Remembering the kenkus’ acrobatic abilities Nate asked Chuko if he was interested in joining their crew. The bird man considered it, turning his head this way and that to peer at them with his black inscrutable eyes.

“Chucko the pirate. Wark. Wark. Wark. Chuko likes the sound of that! Wark! Chucko the pirate!”

Nate sent their newest crewmember to the docks with a note to Old Pete and gave a bemused smile as he watched the kenku hop and skip his way out of the hall. “Chuko the pirate! Wark! Wark! Wark!”

Galen Cobb entered the hall, watched for a while as the party cut down the last of the web bundles. He walked over to Nate, taking a long pull on a flask as he approached. “My job here is probably over,” he observed, gesturing around the destroyed hall, “Got any room on the Albers?” He took another long pull. “I was a good sailor once.”

Nate sighed, “Sure. Welcome aboard.”

* * * * *​

The next morning the temple of Aster saw not one, but two miracles. At the height of the day’s services Sully’s body was laid on the altar. Bronson spoke a prayer in a strong, confident voice. The onlookers were momentarily deafened by the sound of angels, echoing celestial voices singing what sounded strikingly like a dirge. Just as it seemed that mortal ears could take no more, Sully’s eyes open and the sound of her first breath echoed through the completely silent chamber.

Sully had mere minutes to reacquaint herself with mortality when Bronson repeated his miracle, this time placing the skull of Bonny Bill on the altar and producing a scroll that he had carefully safeguarded since finding it during the party’s journey beyond Hell’s Triangle. Again the angels sang, but this time their mournful melody accompanied the recreation of a mortal’s physical form. First bones appeared out of thin air, a whole skeleton growing away from the skull. Then muscles appeared, and organs, a heart already beginning to beat, lungs already filling, ropey veins spreading out like a rapidly expanding web, and skin – unscarred - without blemish or wound. Hair grew, color spread, and William Teach, dead nearly seven years, opened his eyes.

The first face he saw was beaming with joy, “Sully? What happened?” He reached out, touched her face. “Steve. He killed me.”

Sully’s eyes were full of tears. She could not speak.

* * * * *​

A day later the Albers sailed. She had lost a crewman. Miranda, still swatting at unseen bugs, had chosen to retire from adventuring, to join the service of Aster instead. She would be missed, but the Albers was not short handed. Chuko took to work in the rigging with enthusiasm and skill. Cobb was competent, but perpetually drunk. No one could figure out where he was hiding alcohol aboard. The crew largely avoided their sickly new crewmate.

As Freeport slipped out of sight Sully stood in the bow, one arm around Bonny Bill, silently watching the waves with a contented smile on her face. Nate stood near the stern, giving instructions to young Dirt at the wheel. At his side stood Marcus Vale. The wizard had appeared amongst the crew no ceremony and little explanation. Nate, eager to have his father’s old friend aboard and glad to have a new ship’s mage so soon, did not press him.

The sun shone bright the day the Albers left Freeport for the last time, but there were storm clouds on the horizon.

 

[Morrow]

William Teech

William “Bonny Bill” Teech
Male human rogue 10
CN medium humanoid
Init +3; Senses Listen +10, Spot +13
Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Orc
AC 20, touch 14, flat-footed 16; Dodge, Mobility
hp 58
Fort +6, Ref +12, Will +5
Speed 30 ft.; Spring Attack
Melee “Eye Plucker” +12/+7 (1d6+3/18-20)
Ranged shortbow +11/+6 (1d6/x3)
Atk Options Sneak Attack (+5d6)
Base Atk +7; Grp +8
Combat Gear three potions of cure light wounds, potion of cat’s grace, potion of remove disease, potion of spider climb, four vials of acid
Abilities Str 13, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 18, Wis 11, Cha 13
SQ trap sense, evasion, improved uncanny dodge, opportunist
SA sneak attack (+5d6)
Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Weapon Finesse.
Skills Balance +10, Bluff +6, Climb +10, Disable Device +13, Escape Artist +10, Gather Information +12, Hide +10, Intimidate +7, Jump +10, Knowledge (local) +9, Listen +10, Move Silently +8, Open Lock +13, Profession (sailor) +10, Search +14, Sense Motive +5, Spot +13, Tumble +15, Use Rope +10.
Possessions combat gear, mithril shirt +1, cloak of resistance +2, headband of intellect +2, , “Eye Plucker” (deadly striking rapier +2; does +1d6 damage on successful sneak attack).

William Teach is 5’11” and 180 lbs. He has brown hair, blue eyes, and an easy smile that puts people at ease. He is 30 years old. Having only recently returned to the mortal plane after seven years in the afterlife he takes his time to savor his new life, a savoring that sometimes seems to hide a feeling of alienation and displacement.

 

[Morrow]

Marcus Vale

Marcus Vale
Male human wizard 10
LE medium humanoid
Init +3; Senses Listen +4, Spot +4
Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Eleven, Draconic, Dwarven, Gnomish, Halfling, Infernal, Orcish, Undercommon
AC 15, touch 14, flat-footed 12
hp 44
Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +11
Speed 30 ft.
Melee dagger +5 (1d4/ 19-20)
Ranged dagger +9 (1d4/19-20)
Base Atk +5; Grp +4
Combat Gear scroll of rope trick, wand of prestidigitation (50 charges), wand of displacement (35 charges), wand of magic missile (12 charges)
Spells Prepared (CL 10th)
5th- dominate person, feeblemind, teleport
4th- Evard’s black tentacles, greater invisibility, ice storm, scrying
3rd- blink, dispel magic, lightning bolt
2nd- bear’s endurance, blindness/deafness, bull’s strength, false life, scorching ray
1st- charm person, mage armor, magic missile (x2), ray of enfeeblement, shield, true strike
0- detect magic, detect poison, light, read magic
Abilities Str 8, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 20, Wis 18, Cha 14
SQ find familiar
SA spells.
Feats Brew Potion, Craft Wand, Eschew Materials, Extend Spell, Maximize SpellB, Scribe Scroll, Spell Mastery (magic missile, mage armor, invisibility, teleport, dominate person), Still SpellB
Skills Concentration +14, Decipher Script +18, Knowledge (arcana) +9, Knowledge (architecture) +9, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +9, Knowledge (geography) +9, Knowledge (history) +9, Knowledge (local) +9, Knowledge (nature) +9, Knowledge (nobility) +9, Knowledge (the planes) +9, Knowledge (religion) +9, Profession (sailor) +5, Spellcraft +18, Speak Languages (Draconic, Undercommon, Abyssal, Infernal, Celestial).
Possessions combat gear, ring of protection +1, amulet of natural armor +1, pearl of power (1st level), scrying mirror, courtier’s outfit, jewelry (worth 50 gp), spellbook, spell component pouch.

Marcus Vale is 6’2” tall, weighing 180 lbs. His eyes are blue and his hair is gray. His skin is tan and leathery from years on the open ocean. He is 42 years old.

Spellbook: 0- All, 1st- shield, mage armor, obscuring mist, comprehend languages, identify, true strike, charm person, magic missile, ray of enfeeblement, reduce person. 2nd- resist energy, scorching ray, blindness/deafness, false life, bear’s endurance, bulls strength. 3rd- dispel magic, lightning bolt, blink, fly, haste, water breathing. 4th- Evard’s black tentacles, scrying, ice storm, greater invisibility, bestow curse, fear. 5th- break enchantment, dismissal, teleport, dominate person, feeblemind, baleful polymorph.

 

[Morrow]

How'd he do that? - The Weavers

This is a new feature here at Swashbuckling in Freeport, where I give a shout out to my source material. "The Weavers" is an adventure by Richard Pett from Dungeon issue #138. "The Weavers" was written for a 10th level party, and mine was around 12th, so I did advance a few things. Notably I added a second ambush drake to Bleary Grimlet's lodgings, added more kenku to the Rigg, and increased the hit dice of the Bebilith in the standing tombs. Most of the other changes I made were in the encounter with Hamfist and were rendered unnecessary when the party uncharacteristically decided to talk rather than fight. In a moment of mercy I ran the climactic encounter in Antobury's manse as written, and still managed to wrack up my first PC kill of the campaign.

Chuko is named for for James Jacob's kenku scout, whose adventures are chronicled here: Jason Buhlman DMs Eberron. He, of course, talks like Burgess Meredith as the Penguin. (Or, to be honest, my really bad reinterpretation of the same.)

 

[Morrow]

Interlude

A few days after leaving Freeport, the Albers spotted a merchant caravel flying a Thonian flag. The Albers was flying Thonian colors herself, but the other captain soon recognized something was wrong, and the caravel turned to run before the wind. The Albers hoisted the jolly roger and began the pursuit.

The merchant vessel, the Darkmaiden’s Dance was fast ship with a good crew, but the crew of the Albers rose to the occasion and the two vessels were soon exchanging broadsides. The Darkmaiden’s Dance was getting the better of the exchange until Tavaari cast a fireball, expertly threading it through an open gunport and killing the gun crew.

Tavaari quickly sent another fireball washing across the Darkmaiden’s deck and Marcus joined the action by engulfing the stern in a field of Evard’s black tentacles. Bronson dimension doored to the other ship, protected by his magic from the grasping tentacles. He quickly convinced the entangled captain to surrender.

The Albers pulled along side and began offloading the Darkmaiden’s cargo of coffee, sugar, and rum. With all their attention on the Darkmaiden no one aboard the Albers noticed as a figure climbed out of the water onto the Albers’ deck. Cobb turned to see a dreadfully thin waterlogged male elf with crazed eyes and long stringy hair matted with seaweed pull himself onto the deck. The elf struck Cobb with one empty hand, and he gave a low cry and collapsed to the deck, unconscious.

Both Sully and Jack were nearby and heard Cobb’s cry. They immediately drew their weapons and charged the elf, Jack swinging from a rope over the heads of his crewmates to reach the new opponent. The elf dodged their blows, his body in a blur of motion. Even though he appeared unarmed he struck Jack and Sully several telling blows with his fists and feet. As the battle continued other members of the crew rushed to help. Marcus Vale cast a spell, attempting to polymorph the intruder into a harmless form, but his spell had no effect.

Suddenly the elven monk broke away from Jack and Sully and pausing for only a moment to strike Tavaari, who was coming to their aid, a solid blow in the middle of the chest, ran across the deck of the Albers, leapt to the Darkmaiden’s Dance, ran across her deck and leapt back into the sea.

The crew looked over the side, but could not see the elf in the dark water. Tavaari, massaging his aching chest, cast an invisibility spell.

For several minutes everyone was quiet. Tavaari, still invisible, felt a sudden blinding pain. His life was snuffed out in an instant as his heart exploded. He spoke not a word, although his fellows heard his body, still invisible collapse heavily to the deck.

At the same moment, in the blink of an eye, the elven monk clambered from the sea into the bow of the Darkmaiden. Coincidentally, it was Jack who was once more the closest opponent and took the brunt of the elf’s attacks. As the pair traded blows the rest of the party moved to surround the monk. After dodging yet another flurry of blows from the crew of the Albers the monk paused, and looked across the field of foes arrayed against him, he then peered at the name on the Albers side and said, “I’ll remember you,” and in the blink of an eye he was gone.

The elf did not return. The crew of the Albers finished claiming the Darkmaiden’s cargo, collected Tavaari’s body, and left. With a sigh Bronson offered that he could raise Tavaari the next day, but acknowledged that the diamonds required were probably worth more than the booty they had collected from the Darkmaiden.

That night over dinner Nate told a story he had heard shortly before leaving port of a monastery on a small island several days sail north of Freeport. Apparently a year ago the monastery had been burned and the monks slaughtered by pirates searching for treasure the monks were rumored to guard. The story went that one monk survived and using his order’s strange mysticism turned himself into a sea monster to roam the oceans slaughtering the crew of any ship he came across, forever seeking to avenge his murdered brethren.

 

[Morrow]

How'd They Do That?

• The Darkmaiden's Dance is the Map of Mystery from Dungeon #139.
  
• The captain of the Darkmaiden's Dance was Valanthe, the sample legendary captain from Stormwrack pg. 60.
• The elf monk is Thamiel Deepkiller from Denizens of Freeport. I advanced him to 15th level, which made him a solid challenge for the party. His high move and spring attack feat were hard on the melee types. The deflect arrows feat provided some level of protection against Queg. His spell resistance and high saves made life difficult for the spellcasters. When he was injured he just withdrew and hid to use his Wholeness of Body ability to heal. Abundant Step allowed him to make his final getaway. Finally, Quivering Palm took out Tavaari and provided my second PC kill of the campaign. You know this guy is coming back!

 

[Morrow]

The island of Haven is a largely independent protectorate of the Empire of Thonia. While the imperial senate appoints the Lord Mayor, he rules with the cooperation of a group of local lords and influencial families.

The Lord Mayor rules from Cauldron, the island's one city and only port. Cauldron is built inside the bowl of a dormant volcano which rises out of the sea at Haven's southern tip. Before the volcano became dormant, sometime long before humans came to the island, a massive eruption opened up a hole in the side of the mountain, opening the central bowl to the sea. The bowl is now something of a large bay, enclosed on all sides except for a single deep channel that leads to the sea. The city of Cauldron is built on the inside of the volcanic cone, growing away from the docks on the bays edge all the way to the richest estates along the rim of the bowl.

* * * * *​

When the Albers arrived in port several days ago Bronson went to visit his family and report to Cauldron’s temple of Aster. The rest of the party set about locating Arias Soderheim. By the time Bronson had returned, having secured accommodations for himself (at the family home) and the party (at the best inn in Cauldron, courtesy of his father), and bearing an invitation to dinner the following night, his companions had much news to share:

• Lord Mayor Antonius negotiated an agreement with several pirates operating near Haven. The island government ignores the pirate’s presence in port and in return the pirates leave Haven shipping unmolested.
• Soderheim presented himself as a special envoy sent by Freeport. He has met on several occasions with Lord Mayor Antonius.
• Soderheim is staying at the estate of Lady Thifirane Rhiavadi
• Rhiavadi is rumored to have made her fortune funding pirates.
• Rhiavadi is a close ally of Lord Mayor Antionius.
• The Kraken’s Claw, Morgan Bauman’s ship, is in port.

The party enjoyed dinner with Bronson’s family. They were clearly delighted to have their wayward son home. Nate and Sully managed to arrange to sell the booty from the Darkmaiden’s Dance to Bronson’s brother.

The next day Bronson scryed on Arias Soderheim. He saw Soderheim speaking with a woman, who he presumed to be Lady Rhiavadi, and a large man dressed in pirate garb named Wyther. The trio were discussing an upcoming meeting. They expected good attendance, although one pirate, a slaver named Cuttleblack, had returned their envoy’s head in a box. Wyther assured the nervous Soderheim that his information would ensure the cooperation of the other pirates and he would have his revenge. Before the scrying ended Soderheim left for a secure location where he would wait for the conclusion of the meeting.

Nate had heard of Captain Wyther. A formidable pirate in his own right, he was also a high ranking member of the Crimson Fleet, a powerful pirating organization which operates in the waters surrounding Atlantis and the contested seas between Thonia and Atlantis. Their territory has steadily moved west, and some in Freeport fear an eventual confrontation.

Nate, Tavaari, and Jack located a trio of sailors from the Kraken’s Claw. They captured the crewmen and snuck aboard the claw disguised as members of her crew. They managed to evesdrop on a conversation in the Captain’s cabin, hearing Baumann instruct her first mate, Shantar Froese, about a meeting he was to attend with Captain Wyther. The trio followed Froese and his bodyguard Rebecca, who had last encountered when they broke up Baumann’s hideout at the Smoking Dragon Club in Freeport. Jack went to warn the rest of the party while Nate and Jack followed Froese to his destination, all the way across the city to the estate of Thifirane Rhiavadi.

* * * * *​

The party made a multi-pronged assault on the Rhiavadi estate. Nate, Jack, and Bill bluffed their way inside claiming to have been invited to the meeting. They waited in the front hall and a guard went to check with Lady Rhiavadi. At the same time Tavaari scaled the mansion wall to enter through a second story window. Things began to go wrong when Nate, Jack, and Bill attempted to quickly kill the remaining guards. The guards, though surprised, proved to be much more able than expected, and one managed to sound an alarm.

Bronson, hearing the disturbance inside, dimension doored himself, Queg, Sully, and Marcus blindly into the mansion, arriving in the kitchens. They quickly intimidated the kitchen staff. Bronson headed for the front of the mansion to assist there, while the others made their way to the second floor via a servants staircase. Luckily, the servants staircase put them right across the hall from an entrance to the main ballroom where the meeting was taking place. They could easily hear the commotion inside as the guards warned Lady Rhiavadi and her guests of the intruders.

Sully immediately drew her falchion, kicked open the doors to the ballroom, and looked inside. She saw:

• A pair of cadaverously thin babau demons barring their way into the hall.
• A woman in an elaborate gown who could only be Lady Rhiavadi standing at the back of the hall and casting a spell.
• Beside Lady Rhiavadi stood a large stone and wood construct that Marcus identified as a shield guardian.
• Captain Wyther, wielding a bastard sword and dagger, both rimmed with frost.
• Shantar Froese, drawing his bow as he turned to face the intruders, with Rebecca at his side.
• A rotund half-elf wearing a breastplate and bearing a bastard sword.
• A lightly armored halfling carrying a rapier.
• A fat ugly tiefling in ruby studded robes, casting a spell
• A hag, her claws clattering as she cast her own spell, with a large lion at her side.
• A pale woman in a tattered black cloak lurking in the corner.
• And a hill giant, guarding the open doors at the other end of the hall, through which a trio of guards were visible guarding the front stairs.

Sully and Bill entered the hall, and immediately engaged the babau demons guarding the door. Bill’s attention was quickly drawn away as he was attacked by a large man in pirate garb that he recognized as Captain Wyther. The formidable pirate attacked, his bastard sword and dagger a whirlwind of steel. Bill’s rapier danced, forming a veritable wall of steel as he attempted to shield himself from the heavy blows, but his resistance was fading fast as Wyther’s heavy blows crashed through his defenses to rend flesh and shatter bone.

Marcus took in the foes arrayed before him. The shield guardian moved to block Rhiavadi from view, but Marcus was faster. He cast, and watched his baleful polymorph take hold. The Rhiavadi’s body twisted and shrank, leaving only a small newt where she had stood a moment before.

Marcus had little time to savor his victory. The hag cast a spell and a ray of gray energy sprung from her clawed hands to strike him full in the chest. He felt his movements slow as his body was slowly petrified, heeding the call of stone.

Queg stepped into view, firing a volley of flaming arrows at the hag. A moment later the massive lion at her side leapt at the skeletal half-orc, knocking him to the ground under a whirlwind of fangs, claws, and fur.

The halfling and the tiefling cast spells, and quickly faded into invisibility. From where the halfling had stood a voice was raised in song, bolstering her fellow combatants will to fight.

The guards moved to engage Bronson, Nate, and Jack as they advanced up the main staircase. Bronson cast giant vermin to send several giant spiders into the fray and then activated his magical cloak to allow him to spider climb up the wall and over the heads of the guards. Nate fired his pistols while Jack joined the spiders, his blade weaving and dancing before him.

Tavaari, invisible crept onto the landing behind the guards. He regarded them silently for a moment and then slipped past toward the open doorway into the ballroom. He cast a spell and became visible as a fireball bloomed amidst the combatants. The halfling’s song abruptly ended in a cry of agony. Frosse collapsed, his form a scorched ruin. The guards, nearly within arms reach, did not even notice as Tavaari faded once more into invisibility, Bronson’s spiders occupied their attention.

Sully, supported by Marcus’ spells, soon dispatched the pair of demons. In her eagerness to dispatch them and come to Bill’s defense she hardly noticed that the stick slime coating the babau’s bodies ate away at her enchanted sword like acid, rendering the once beautiful blade pitted and scarred. She spun to plant her self between her lover and Captain Wyther.

Bronson entered the room, creeping along the wall like a spider. He climbed out of the reach of the hill giant guarding the door and cast a spell, calling down a column of divine flame into the center of the melee.

Rebecca, the large woman warrior the party remembered from their first battle with Morgan Bauman, rushed out the door to bolster the guards facing Nate and Jack.

The hag cast a spell, and proceeded to call lightning down on Bill (who easily dodged), and then Sully and Marcus. Marcus responded with spells of his own, calling up an ice storm which encompassed much of the battlefield.

The cloaked woman in the corner watched the melee grimly, she nodded once, seeming to come to a decision. A moment later the woman’s form was shifting and shrinking, and was rapidly replaced by a squeaking swarm of rats. Her cloak floated away and took on a large incorporeal form. Bronson, watching the melee, recognized the creature as a dread wraith, a highly dangerous form of undead. Before Bronson, or anyone else could act, the dread wraith passed through a wall and disappeared. At the same time the rats, as if of one mind, streamed for the exit, around the giant’s massive feet, in between the guards and Bronson’s large spiders, past Nate and Jack, out of sight.

Bronson turned his attention to the hill giant, casting an inflict critical wounds spell, and reaching out wrack its immense form with negative energy.

Sully’s battle with Captain Wyther initially seemed a stalemate, but unexpectedly she landed a stunning sequence of telling blows which sent the pirate crashing to the floor. As his lifesblood flowed freely out the great rents in his armor Wyther looked up at Sully. He grinned, showing teeth stained with blood. "Cloned," he said, before the light went out of his eyes.

Sully cursed and turned to meet the raging half-elf who had been struggling to pick his way across the crowded battlefield to reach her, the shield guardian falling in step behind him. Bill, seeing Sully hard pressed, ignored his own injuries and stepped to her side. Marcus, his own movements sluggish as his body slowly transmuted to stone, continued raining down magic on his opponents.

However, with Captain Wyther’s death the tide had turned. The guards who had barred Nate and Jack’s passage for so long finally broke and ran, slipping passed the duo and their giant insect cohorts to run down the stairs and out of the mansion. The half-elf quickly fell beneath Sully’s blade, and Queg finally throttled the life out of the great cat with which he had wrestled the whole battle.

The woman warrior Rebecca, seeing the way the wind was blowing, laid down her sword and surrendered. The hag, perhaps coming to a similar conclusion, suddenly shifted to take on the form of the great bat. She flew toward the skylight. However, before she could crash through to safety Tavaari reappeared from invisibility, his volley of scorching rays reducing the great bat to a flaming husk which crashed back to the floor. Finally, the shield guardian and the hill giant fell, leaving the battlefield clear.

A couple detect magics and five minutes later the party rushed out the front door, stuffing the magic paraphernalia of their fallen foes and any valuable looking furnishings they saw on their way out into various backpacks, bags, and haversacks. Marcus, who apparently had avoided the worst of the hag’s petrifying magic, had returned to normal. He had to rush back inside to collect the newt-wizard, but soon enough the party was making their way through the silent midnight streets and back to the docks.

 

[Morrow]

How'd They Do That?

This adventure was inspired by, "Lords of Oblivion," from Dungeon #111. There's more LOD related material coming next session, so stay tuned. This isn't the first time I've lifted elements from the Shackled City Adventure Path. I used the kuo toa stronghold from "Zenith Trajectory" (Dungeon #102), to replace one of the dungeon complexes in Black Sails Over Freeport. Perhaps more significantly I lifted Cauldron from the adventure path, turning it into a port city.

Captain Wyther appears in, "Serpents of Scuttlecove," (Dungeon #146). My grand plan is to run the Savage Tide Adventure path some time after wrapping up Swashbuckling in Freeport. The Savage Tide will be something of a sequel, taking place twenty years after the events of SiF. As for how he gets from his situation in the current campaign to his status quo in, "Serpents of Scuttlecove", that is a story for another day. The important thing now is that he's in Cauldron recruiting for the Crimson Fleet, and using Arias Soderheim's information about Freeport's defenses as part of his recruiting pitch, "Join now and not only do you get this hair dryer absolutely free, but you get to loot a pirate city!" It should come as no surprise that none of his potential recruits have any particular affection for Freeport.

Speaking of recruits, let's take a moment to see who is at the meeting, shall we? Just because the PCs didn't care who they were killing or why doesn't mean we have to wallow in ignorance!

• Captain Wyther, here recruiting for the Crimson Fleet.
• Lady Thifirane Rhiavadi, a valued ally of the fleet whose financial support and magical backing helped turn it into the feared organization it is today. Lady Rhiavadi was lifted almost directly from, "Lords of Oblivion." I did drop her by one level to leave the top spot to Captain Wyther. Lady Rhiavadi is now has the form (and mind) of a newt. Presumably the PCs will return her to her human form and extract the information they didn't bother to gather before breaking up her little party.
• Shantar Froese, representing Captain Morgan Bauman of the Kraken's Claw. The party knows her from Black Sails Over Freeport, where they reached something of a truce. I suppose killing her first mate puts an end to that. Froese never could catch a break, the last time he met our heroes they left him humiliated and cursed with an unhealthy facination for orcish pornography. He attended the meeting accompanied by Rebecca, a warrior woman the party first met during their raid on Bauman's hideout in Freeport.
• Barda Windsinger, the halfling bard, representing Captain Fargus Ironfoot of the Widowmaker. Fargus appears in Denizens of Freeport.
• Fat Jim, the half-elf rogue/ fighter/ barbarian, representing Captain Althea Sharpe of the Knife. Sharpe appears in, Crisis in Freeport, although in that instance she's a man. Fat Jim also appears in, Crisis. When we played Crisis the PCs avoided facing Sharpe and her crew and allowed Arias Soderheim to escape, which set up this whole adventure.
• Vervil Ashmantle, the tiefling sorcerer, representing Captain Zaliax Carvanxi. Vervil and his babau companions were lifted directly from, "Lords of Oblivion". Those who have read, "Serpents of Scuttlecove," will know that Carvanxi goes on to become a high ranking member of the Crimson Fleet, although he never actually appears in the adventure path.
• Mhad, the vampire monk/ shadowdancer and her companion Hate, the dread wraith, representing Captain Remy Deadarm of the Dreadnaught. Mhad and Hate were lifted directly from, "Lords of Oblivion." The necromancer pirate Remy Deadarm receives passing mention in, Denizens of Freeport.
• Grim Alice, the green hag druid, representing Captain Black Molly of the Revenge. Grim Alice brought her lion, Fang, and a hill giant bodyguard to the party. Black Molly will not be happy that a member of her circle has been killed. Expect her to express her displeasure very soon.

The obvious question remaining is how can the Crimson Fleet gather this group of luminaries in the center of Cauldron with no one (except our intrepid PCs) the wiser? And where is Soderheim? Tune in next time for more about Rhiavadi and Wyther's silent partner! See Black Molly's revenge! And don't miss our special guest star The Sculptor!

 

[Morrow]

Session 32

What? It has been a month and a half since I updated this thing? No way, look at the date right… Damn. In my defense, that intro to Mutants and Masterminds game I’m running is taking a lot more preparation than I expected. Kind of a thin excuse? You’re right, but the fact of the matter is I’m two sessions behind and I’m never going to catch up if I don’t cheat. I’ve got a reminder email I sent out about our most recent session that will serve in a pinch, but I think the one before that is going to require another one of my patented bullet-point story hours. (Cue the theme music)

Here’s how it went:

• Tavaari and Jack went to do their skulk- about and make gather information checks routine while the rest of the party went back to the Albers for some hard earned rest.
• Bright and early T&J came back to report that the city watch had their descriptions from the escaped guards. It was only a matter of time before they came knocking. Sully ordered the Albers to leave port immediately.
• As soon as they were out of sight of land Nate unfolded the Acheron. They pulled a handful crewmen off of the Albers to crew the Acheron. The party hid below decks with their prisoners while Jack, disguised as a dwarven merchant captain ordered the Acheron back to Cauldron. The Albers was sent back to Freeport under Old Pete’s command.
• As soon as they got back to port Bronson dispelled the baleful polymorph spell on Lady Rhiavadi. She was quite pleasant and not at all frightened to be captured by the group of viscous cutthroats who broke into her home, turned her into a newt, and killed all her guests. She was quite understanding about the whole thing. Now that her attempt to recruit new members for the Crimson Fleet was a bust she really had no further use for Soderheim, and seemed to think it was an excellent opportunity to make friends with the party. She agreed that at this point the proposed raid on Freeport seemed like a bad business decision and revealed that Soderheim was a guest of the Lord-Mayor.
• The party was surprised that the Lord-Mayor of Cauldron would be involved with a group of pirates. Lady Rhiavadi positively reveled in revealing the punchline to the whole joke – the Lord-Mayor had helped found the Crimson Fleet. Apparently the entity currently masquerading as Lord-Mayor Antonius was a Dybbuk, a demon capable of possessing the dead. In the past the entity had controlled such infamous pirates as Boris Redbeard, Adia Ironheard, and John Flint, Lord-Mayor Antonius represented something of a temporary break from active pirating.
• This revelation elicited a particularly strong reaction from Nate, who’s father had been hanged for piracy after being framed by his colleague John Flint. Nate initially insisted on going after his newly discovered adversary immediately, but the rest of the party convinced him that they had enough trouble without going after a powerful demon. Lady Rhiavadi offered that as far as she knew the Dybbuk was effectively unkillable.
• The party left Rhiavadi and their other prisoner, Rebecca, on board the Acheron in the care of Nifur Roberts and headed (in disguise) for the Lord-Mayor’s mansion.
• Upon arriving the party found the doors unlocked and a magic-mouth informing them that the Lord-Mayor had left the property and requesting that the take care not to break anything during their visit.
• Upon entering the entire party was ambushed a dark naga sorcerer. The naga, hidden by greater invisibility and warded by a series of abjurations caught the entire party in a field of Evard’s black tentacles and then blanketed the area in acid fog. Sully’s player whined as the fighter- grappled, slowed by the fog, nowhere near her foe, and taking damage every round- was completely neutralized. The other players took it a little better as their characters struggled to formulate a counterattack as the naga harried them. Of course to add insult to injury, as soon as they did hurt it, the creature dimension doored away.
• The party, by now in a foul mood, systematically wrecked the mansion as they searched it for clues. They were suspicious of the statuary throughout the house, but it all appeared to be normal and harmless. Eventually they found a hidden room filled with adventurers who had been turned to stone. Hidden under an illusionary floor they also found a vertical shaft leading deep beneath the mansion.
• The party explored the complex beneath the mansion. They were irritated by the vertical tunnels that connected one level with another, requiring them to spider climb, fly, and in one notable instance use Nate’s lyre of building to construct stairs. They encountered dozens of petrified adventurers and faced several guardians, including a cadaver collector, a large golem with the unfriendly habit of picking up its victims and impaling them on the spikes that dot its back.
• They eventually encountered the complex’s master, a beholder who called himself the Sculptor. They battled him on a bridge over a chasm, amidst a menagerie of petrified Underdark monsters. The Sculptor turned several of his works of art, including a hook horror, a minotaur, and a huge displacer beast back into flesh to fight the party. He also telekinetically threw Nate and Queg into the chasm. They landed in a subterranean lake. Queg, after finding his footing, took the opportunity to pepper the beholder with arrows from a safe distance. Nate, making full use of his single-digit wisdom score swam down to investigate some glowing treasure at the bottom of the lake and promptly ran afoul of an aquatic roper who made the lake its home.
• Sully made short work of the Beholders pets and Bronson’s spells and negative-energy touch that pushed things in the parties favor, but it was Tavaari he saved the day. The half-elf had only recently unlocked the most potent ability of the magical fang of Ashardalon, which allowed him to polymorph into a young red dragon. He harried the beholder with his fiery breath and dived into the lake to save Nate from the roper. In the end the party overcame their foe and after a night’s rest teleported back to the Acheron with their prize, Arias Soderheim, who the had found as a statue in the Sculptor’s collection.
• Upon arriving back at the Acheron they discovered that Lady Rhiavadi, who everyone had forgotten was a spellcaster, had escaped. Sully immediately ordered the Acheron to depart.
• The Acheron had barely cleared the harbor when she was attacked by a great black ship. Nate recognized it as the Revenge, captained by the hag pirate Black Molly. He pointed out that the hag the party killed at Lady Rhiavadi’s was probably a member of Black Molly’s crew.
• The Revenge’s attack was brutal. Propelled by a magical wind, she closed rapidly with the Acheron, firing her cannons. Dwarven snipers and a hag archer in the rigging peppered Tavaari with exploding bolts and frost arrows as he flew, in dragon form, to burn the Revenge’s sails. A hill giant with startlingly good aim stood in the Revenge’s bow throwing boulders at the party. Most devastating was the dusk hag wizard Mad Zelda, the last member of Black Molly’s covey. She disintegrated a massive hole in the side of the Acheron and tried to bring Tavaari down with repeated phantasmal killers.
• Even as the Acheron began to sink the party struck back. They closed with the Revenge and began to decimate her crew. The hill giant and even Black Molly herself did little to slow Sully down. Mad Zelda was ultimately unable to withstand the combined assault of the party. Soon they were able to eliminate the archer’s in the Revenge’s rigging and kill enough of her orcish crew to convince the rest to surrender. Some of the orcs agreed to work for the party. The rest swam back to Cauldron.
• Nate returned the Acheron to box form before she sank and Bronson predicted that after a few applications of Make Whole she would be as good as new. Sully, keeping her one good eye on her new orcish crew at all times, ordered the Revenge to sail for Freeport.

 

[Morrow]

Session 33

Here's the quick recap that I sent to my players. It covers the events of last session.

You made your victorious return to Freeport aboard your newest acquisition, the Big Booty. Until very recently she was known as the Revenge. However, after you killed her captain, the hag pirate Black Molly, Sully decided she deserved a new name.

In the Booty’s hold was the reason for your journey, Arias Soderheim, former member of the Captain’s Council of Freeport. When you foiled Soderheim’s plot to murder his fellow Councilors and make himself Sea Lord, he fled in the hopes of avoiding the wrath of his former peers. You tracked him to the city-state of Cauldron, Bronson’s old home town. You enjoyed meeting Bronson’s family and the trip gave Bronson an opportunity to check in with his superiors at the Temple of Aster. You also captured Soderheim and killed nearly everyone with whom he had come into contact. The recapturing part was made considerably easier because by the time you found Soderheim his new friends had realized he was much more trouble than he was worth and turned him over to a rather eccentric beholder called The Sculptor, who promptly turned him to stone.

One could argue that killing all those people was justified. Soderheim, seeking revenge or perhaps to reclaim a position of power, was passing information to a group of pirates known as the Crimson Fleet. The Fleet intended to use the promise of invading Freeport to expand its ranks. On the other hand, running around Cauldron killing people might be the way to cause a major diplomatic incident if Freeport was the kind of place that cared about such niceties. Let’s just say none of you will be vacationing in Cauldron any time soon.

After delivering Soderheim to the Captain’s Council you went your separate ways. You soon learned that all had not been well in Freeport while you were away. Shortly after your departure a group of vampires came to Freeport and started making trouble. Not long thereafter a group of vampire hunters arrived and began making even more trouble. Sea Lady Marilese Maeorgan and the Captain’s Council seem content to let the vampire hunters do their job. They aren’t going to quibble if a few people get hurt in the process, and certainly no one is going to speak up if any of Bronson’s acquaintances in the local undead community are destroyed along with the troublesome foreign vampires.

You also discovered that your ship the Albers, which you had sent back to Freeport ahead of you, never arrived. You had come through some rough weather on your way back from Cauldron, so perhaps the Albers was merely blown off course or otherwise delayed.

The party managed to gather a fair amount of information in a short amount of time and soon reconvened back at Bronson’s temple. Bronson was upset that these foreign vampires had come into town and started disrupting the delicate balance of living – undead relations he had been cultivating for years. He was perhaps even more angry that outsiders had come in to hunt ‘his undead.’ The rest of the party, while sympathetic toward Bronson’s concerns, were mostly irritated that someone else was making waves in what they had come to consider their city.

Tavaari was able to discover that the vampire hunters are clerics of Mormekar (god of the dead) and Maal (god of law and judge of the dead). Their ship is anchored near the atoll which houses Freeport’s crematorium and only temple of Mormekar. He was unable to determine the location of the vampire lair. However, there are rumors that the vampires are looking for something or someone. Unfortunately he was unable to find anyone who had spoken to a vampire and lived to tell about it, so he was unable to substantiate the rumor.

Bronson wanted to contact Freeport’s local vampire population. In the past they have always ignored his advances, but he thought this might be a special case. Tavaari was fairly certain that Freeport’s native vampires lair in the Merchant’s District, somewhere near the water. Bronson sent Sonsimoth, the vampire living the temple of Aster, to try to make contact.

It was late when you decided to get a closer look at the vampire hunters’ ship. On your way to the docks you were ambushed by a heavily armored horseman and his allies, a group of wolves and vampire spawn. The horseman removed his helmet to reveal an uncanny resemblance to Tavaari and demanded that you turn over, “the son of Lorrim Erendyl.”

The vampire proved unwilling to negotiate and instead dominated Tavaari. While the other’s restrained Tavaari, Bronson rebuked the mounted vampire and controlled his vampire spawn lackeys. Sully and Nate made short work of the wolves and the vampire’s fiendish warhorse. Before you could turn your attention to the incapacitated rider another vampire appeared in the midst of the party. This new vampire also looked startlingly like Tavaari. The new vampire took Bronson by surprise, inflicting grievous wounds (and negative levels) with his rapier. Bronson proved unable to rebuke his new foe, and Sully was unable to strike him. The vampire then tumbled through the party, snatched up his heavily armored companion, and both of them disappeared.

The party, disturbed by the ease with which your potent new foe had avoided your attacks and escaped, retreated to the Temple. Tavaari, having regained his wits, acknowledged that Lorrim Erendyl was his father. Furthermore, he pointed out that there is a second child of Lorrim Erendyl in Freeport, the druid Arla Fairwind, who he met at the grand ball where you were recognized for your efforts during the Battle of Pramas Deep.