the Kyri Chronicles - last updated 22 Oct

[Plane Sailing]

My normal policy is to post this storyhour in bite-sized chunks. The game is run approx once a month, and I write the details down to remind players of what they've been up to. As such it is more of a log than a storyhour - I'll not often include dialog sadly.

The Kyri Chronicles

An account of the adventures surrounding the town of Knightsbridge.

Dramatis Personae:

(removed so that you can see people arrive (and die) as the adventures proceed...


Campaign Setting

Briefly these adventures are set in the world of Kyri, a campaign world that I created back in the late 1970's and have used as the basis for each of the D&D campaigns that I've run to date.

It is a generally low-magic setting, and it is monotheistic. There is only one god - Asura, the many-facetted one. Before the days of the cataclysm the world was under the dominion of the “Great Old Ones” and it was full of madness and pain. Then Asura burst into the world, fought the Great Old Ones and banished them forever. The centre of worship of Asura is the nation of Singh. It is ruled by a theocracy. There are shrines and temples to Asura across Caran and the whole world though. Full details of the setting can be found on my website at http://www.starguild.freeserve.co.uk/frp/

Outsiders

The Wizards say that there are many, many planes - all pressing together closely around Kyri; and on these planes Outsiders are waging the "Great Game". Celestials, Elementals and various groups of Infernals battling for possession of reality. (none of the normal D&D "alignment planes" exist here - I have a completely different cosmology).

Calendar
Spring is divided up into the months of Floodwater, Greening and May.
Summer is divided into the months of Summertide, Midsummer and Harvest
Autumn is divided into Autumntide, Stormtime and Hogswatch.
Winter is divided into Frostdawn, Ironwater and Bleakwinter.

Days

The seven days of the week are Holyday, Restday, Fastday, Waxday, Moonday, Waneday and Markday. Holyday is a day of religious observances and celebrations of Asura, including lectures and miraculous healings. The first Holyday of each month is a festival, and is normally well attended. Restday is when townspeople tend to recover from the joyous excesses of the Holyday celebrations, although is often used as an additional market day. Fastday is traditionally a day of fasting in preparation for the week ahead. Rigorously applied in Singh, it is less commonly observed to the East of the Barrier range. Waxday, Moonday and Waneday reflect the main phases of the moon of Kyri. The moon goes through each phase once a week, and Moonday is always the time of the full moon. These three days are all normal working days. Markday closes the week, and is the traditional market day; commoners bring their produce into town for sale in the markets, and much business is transacted in preparation for the coming Holyday.

Character Nationalities

Most of the characters are Southlanders from Lythau. Olive to fair skinned, and with a range of dark brown to fair hair, people from this nation have a reputation for nobility and honour.

Lysander and Azrin (who will appear later) are from Singh - swarthy skinned, yet soft featured. They normally keep their heads shaved and wear short, hooded robes.

Character classes

Martial arts are very common in this world, and many fighters become "martial artists", concentrating on a large range of unarmed combat feats. Monks are more spiritually aligned than the martial artists (although are still just as good at bashing people).

In this world, there are no "Paladins", the class has been replaced by "Jazumai" - a kind of paladin-monk hybrid class. There are no Barbarians as a class - barbarians all come from particular regions and there are regional feats for various kinds of barbarian rage. The Ranger class has been heavily modified, losing two-weapon fighting and spells, gaining d12 HD, fast movement and uncanny dodge as per barbarian. The druid class is renamed Shaman, and they are only found amongst the barbarian tribes

Races

Only human characters are allowed at first, the elves and dwarfs are mostly rumours - only once they have been encountered will it be possible for players to have a nonhuman PC.

Knightsbridge

The base of operations, guards a significant crossing of the Silverlode river. The bridge is a natural stone arch across the river gorge here, and legend has it that an Honourbound knight of Lythau once held off an army of goblins here until the locals had escaped and the alarm raised.

It is still the only crossing point for many leagues, and so is a natural stopping point for travellers and adventurers. It comprises a keep, town wall, houses, shops, marketplace, temple to Asura, 3 taverns - "The Wyvern", "The Queen of Cups" and “The Stony Gaze”


The adventures start on the first Moonday of Midsummer, an auspicious beginning.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Caravan Trouble

Miranda, Rog1
Graculous, Ftr1
Blodwyn, Clr1

Miranda, Graculous and Blodwyn (the initial party) break their travels northward along the trade roads at the imposing town of Knightsbridge. Guarding the natural rock span across the river gorge, the town stands at a natural crossroads for trade and defence. While deciding which tavern they like the best, and circulating in the town, Miranda picks up rumours of bandits hitting small merchant convoys on the road to the North.

Mindful of their need to gain local credibility (not to mention the reward offered by local merchants in the market) they set off to the last known location.

As luck would have it, just five leagues up the road they come across a ransacked and burnt-out caravan. There is a lot of bloodshed, but no sign of bodies - did the brigands bury their captives? It doesn’t seem likely. The trail led into the wooded hills to the North.

Abruptly the party reached a small building, and after Miranda picks the lock they enter - to be confronted by the shambling horror of the recently dead caravan owners, lurching towards them! Blodwyn steps forth, and invoking the power of Asura causes the undead to flee and cower at the end of the room, whence they are hacked down by her companions.

Checking the next room they find six kobolds, well armed and with good tactics - but not good enough as the agile Graculous leaps over the crates they shelter behind and swiftly cuts them down with his swords. Blodwyn calls upon Asura to heal her companions somewhat, and then they press on, with lighted torches, into the cavern behind the building.

Across a narrow chasm they see the leader of this gang of bandits - an evil priest of one of the forbidden cults of Asura! Magically he incapacitates Blodwyn, and as Graculous and Miranda leap the fissure he joins them in combat. Graculous, wounded by the Kobolds falls quickly, but Miranda strikes with precision. The vile creature falls, and after rest and bandages for the wounded the small party returns triumphant and richer to the tune of several bales of silk to Knightsbridge.

A league out from town they meet a softly spoken monk Ynnsfeardh by name, escorting a farmer from Oakhurst. Apparently there have been strange goings on in the surrounding farms, mysterious deaths amongst the cattle, and the village elders are sending to the Baron of Knightsbridge for help.
Sensing the opportunity to further their experience the team immediately volunteer to help out, and change their course to Oakhurst.

 

[Plane Sailing]

The Sunless Citadel

The Sunless Citadel

In Oakhurst, there was news of an earlier expedition to a chasm in which the Sunless Citadel lay - yet none had returned. Furthermore, some remembered an old witch who had travelled that way many years ago, and wondered if her hand was behind some of the unnatural goings on.

On Markday the adventurers set off to the chasm, and lowered themselves down on ropes. Miranda was jumped by a couple of dire rats which wounded her before they were dispatched, and threatened her life with filth fever… not for the last time either. Stealthily moving into the darkness, they came to the entranceway to the citadel, where Miranda cunningly detected the spring loaded trapdoor in a precipitous fashion! Assailed by an imprisoned dire rat in the depths of the pit, she was saved by Graculous who leapt in and swiftly dispatched the rat.

Investigating with more caution, they found a sealed door covered with dragon motifs which they couldn’t pass, and a corridor with a metal water cylinder. They tried for some time to prise out the bung in the top of the cylinder but happily without success. Moving further into the citadel they came across a whimpering bundle of rags, which seemed to contain a heavily scarred kobold named Meepo.

Blodwyn, ever the diplomat, managed to calm the frightened chap who seemed to have lost something important. Meepo agreed to introduce them to “the great leader” who knew the answer to all their questions.

to be continued...

 

[Plane Sailing]

Dramatis Personae

Graculous Ftr2
Miranda Rog2
Blodwyn Clr2
Ynnsfeardh Mnk1

Ysdrayl, the sorcerous leader of the kobolds was interested to see the adventurers, and they were interested to see a large key on the altar behind here - in all likelihood suitable for opening the locked door that they had found! A rival tribe of goblins had captured the kobolds white dragon hatchling, their mascot. If the party could recapture the little dragon and slay some of the goblins, then Ysdrayl would be highly pleased and would let them select from her collection of “treasures”.

The kobolds showed them the back way into the goblins lair, and they burst into a chamber, slaying all the guards in seconds. Creeping through a pillared hall they found the icy room containing the baby dragon. While the others waited outside Graculous and Ynnsfeardh leapt in and managed to subdue the little beast without too much trouble with some lucky blows. Retreating back to the kobold lair with their prize, the party are interested to hear further information from Ysdrayl which links the goblins to the rogue witch. After a short discussion the party decide to clear out the goblin enclave in return for further concessions from the kobolds.

Deciding (rightly) that the “back door” into the goblin lair was probably trapped to high heaven now, they decide to taking the long route round to the goblins. Along the way there are a number of fountains with indecipherable scripts, some skeletons which Blodwyn proudly blasted into nothingness with the divine power of Asura, and the mother of all dire rats which Graculous defeats single-handedly.

The party are gaining in confidence and experience all the time, and press on towards the goblin enclave. A defensive post is cleared in short order, the 3’ high wall providing no barrier to the fighters who simply leapt straight over it. One goblin escapes to raise the alarm, and a mighty fight ensues in the pillared hallway. Once again Blodwyns’ healing powers help to sway the tide, although many of the hobgoblins were fatally surprised at the nimbleness and combat reflexes shown by Graculous!


Rather than press on to the goblin throne room the party retreat with the injured Ynnsfeardh and hole up in one of the cleared side rooms for a day, praying and recuperating. The mighty Asura once again answers prayers for healing and wholeness, and the company are ready to continue into the depths of the citadel...

The final battle with the goblin leader is, like his namesake, short and brutal. Goblin ears are collected and presented to Ysdrayl, who offers them the pick of her treasures. They select the large key and head back to the sealed door with dragon motifs. The following rooms have clearly not been visited for many, many years - dust lies thick upon the floor. They cross a room where a strange glowing orb sits in an alcove, but don’t approach it. In the next room they answer a riddle posed by a statue and finally gain access to what looks like a tomb - where Miranda is ambushed by a tiny demonic figure after crossing a pit. His claws inflict itching wounds that reduce her dexterity, but before she is completely immobilised the others leap across the gap and scare off the nasty fiend, who flies of swearing and cursing at them.

So there it is. A great marble sarcophagus. Obviously they need to open it...

 

[Plane Sailing]

...but no sooner is the cover removed when a fearsome giant sits up and steps out of it. The gangling arms of the creature have a tremendous reach, and in the close confines of the tomb it is difficult for the party to move without being caught by the swinging arms. Suddenly Blodwyn is down and dying! Miranda backs into a hidey hole, but is also caught by a claw and lies dying! Severely injured, Graculous leaps back across the pit and is horrified to see the creature, all its wounds healing, stride towards him. Thinking tactically he bull-rushes the creature and knocks it back - straight into the pit where it is impaled on spikes! He jumps in on top of it, along with Ynnsfeardh who has been summoned from his position on watch by the sound of fighting. The creature is burnt with torches, and expires. A quick survey of the companions reveal Miranda at deaths door but just stabilised. Not so with poor Blodwyn. Saddened, the party loots the tomb and then retires back home to Knightsbridge, carrying the body of Blodwyn with them.

They present Blodwyn to Alkanar the High Priest at the Asuran temple in Knightsbridge. For reasons he is not yet sure of, Alkanar agrees to ask Asura to raise Blodwyn back to life on Holy day, in three days time. Word gets around, and the Holy day ceremony is one of the best attended for several seasons. To everyones amazement, Blodwyn breathes again! There is great rejoicing, and Alkanar exacts a promise from each of the party - they owe a favour to the priesthood of Asura now.

After a weeks rest and reequipping, and with a new friend, the witch Auriel (who is following rumours of a wicked witch named Belak), the party returns to the sunless citadel. The goblins may have been dealt with, but there is still the renegade witch to deal with. The kobolds seem to have abandoned their rooms and returned to the underdark. In the goblins inner sanctum there is a mysterious vine-filled shaft that descends into the earth.

With some trepidation Miranda climbs down, followed by her companions. They alight in a compost-filled room, suffused by a dim violet light which emanates from fungus growing on the walls. Two skeletons engaged in muck-spreading are dispatched quickly. Investigating the southern door leads to a crevasse which has cut through some of the dungeons, and a room with a mysterious dragon plinth, which doesn’t appear to do anything.

Turning to the eastern door is more productive. There is another hall of columns, and sneaking from door to door the party is able to ambush a number of goblins, in each case slaughtering them before an outcry can be raised! Their superior experience is really starting to tell now, and Graculous is particularly deadly when fighting with two weapons and cleaving left right and centre!

Pressing on through further halls, which seem to have been transformed into strange, stunted gardens, there are a couple of worrying fights with bugbear gardeners - scythe wielding gardeners! Once again the party triumphs without too much difficulty, and once again the healing power of Asura readies them for further action. Or so they think.

 

[Plane Sailing]

It is not long before they find themselves in another room with a large dragon statue - and to Miranda’s horror her careful investigations are disturbed when a shadow detaches itself from the darkness and strikes at her! She fights back ineffectually, meanwhile Blodwyn casts “magic weapon” on Graculous’ sword, and he wades into the combat. The shadow is one of the toughest combats yet - more often than not their blows pass harmlessly through its immaterial body, while it almost drains Miranda’s strength to nothing! Desperately Miranda tumbles to safety outside the room while Graculous, with missile support from Blodwyn and Oriel finally disperses the vile undead creature.

While searching the room the party trigger a strange summoning spell, and find that a swarthy skinned, goateed southlander named Kieran is in the room with them - snatched from his homeland many hundreds of miles away. A guarded conversation determines that he is a good warrior snatched unwilling from his home, and the party decide to allow him to join up with them for the remainder of their mission.

Dripping corridors lead down stairs and round corners before bringing them to what must be the witches library, and an adjoining room with four goblins - again quickly dispatched. The fourth wall of the goblins den has crumbled away however, and beyond is a vast cavern - still illuminated by the sickly violet glow of fungus, there is a thick carpet of brambles across the floor of the cavern - and in the distance the branches of a twisted and vile tree can be seen poking above ruined parapets...

Dramatis Personae at this time

Graculous Ftr3
Miranda Rog3
Blodwyn Clr1 Died - and raised
Ynnsfeardh Mnk2
Oriel Dru1
Kieran Ftr1

 

[Plane Sailing]

The party form up, and start forcing their way through the brambles towards the castle.
They get halfway across when they are suddenly attacked by more of the horrible twig creatures. Oriel uses her witch-powers to run untouched through the brambles and help flank the blights. Kieran swings his pair of swords, pommel-tassels flying and acquits himself well. With minor injuries the party presses on - and now in-between the walls they can see their foe - a twisted tree, at the base of which stands Belak the witch, with a couple of additional human companions (albeit with woody appearing faces) and some animals.

Suddenly the brambles rise up and grasp at the heroic party, attempting to pin them down. Only Graculous saves, and leaps free of their embrace. Belak reacts quickly - and charms Graculous! Asking her new best friend to stand to one side, Belak directs her companions into the attack. Belak casts a heat metal on Kieren, forcing him to let go of his swords, and then a flaming sphere starts to cause Blodwyn serious damage! Taking a risk, Ynnsfearth tumbles past the struggling combatants and ends up right next to Belak, who starts getting a right pounding from the fists of fury! Belak calls to Graculous for help, but Grac is distracted by seeing his best friend Blodwyn burning - an opposed charisma check later and Graculous is off helping his priestess buddy away from the fire.

Suddenly the rest of the bad guys are down. In a trice, Belak swarms up the tree, weaving in and out of the branches and disappearing into the gloom faster than Miranda and the others can follow, before jumping down the far side of a crumbling wall. By the time they party get into the upper branches it is too late. Belak has escaped into the darkness.

Returning to Oakhurst, the villagers are delighted to hear about the ending of their problems - although they are distraught to learn that they had been helping to propagate the twig blights themselves. There is a tremendous celebration with the heroes at the centre, and the next day they return to Knightsbridge with joyful hearts!

Dramatis Personae at this time
Graculous Ftr3
Miranda Rog3
Blodwyn Clr2
Ynnsfeardh Mnk2
Oriel Dru2
Kieran Ftr2

 

[Plane Sailing]

Depths of Rage

They spend some more time training and preparing in the town - ordering goods from the armourer and Weaponsmith, trading souvenirs and stories at their favourite tavern for further rumours and several nights board. Miranda discovers subtle sorcerous powers growing within her, and spends time getting to grips with them. While there, they are met by Tonar, the chief of the city guard. He summons them to an audience with Baron Kellder...
The exploits of the adventurers has not gone unnoticed, and the Baron thinks that they might be suitable candidates as “Companions” of his - a rank which lies outside the normal military structure, and loosely refers to “special agents” for the Lythunian nobles. One of the villages north of Knightsbridge has recently been razed to the ground, and the scant evidence left suggests that goblins may have been involved. The next nearest village of Three Beeches is very concerned. Baron Kellder resolves to send the companions to investigate and solve the problem.

A couple of days journey brings them to Three Beeches, a community wrapped in fear like a blanket wraps an old man on a cold night. Many of them lost friends when the other village was destroyed, and there was evidence of terrible barbarism. A trapper who knows how to follow tracks leads them through woods to the base of the “uneasy cliffs”, which continually shudder and groan. A couple of goblins are visible, guarding the entrance in a desultory way...

A swift ambush and the goblins at the entrance are dispatched. Venturing into the caves is uncomfortable - no walls and corridors here, there are plenty of narrow squeezes, steep inclines and uneven surfaces. A goblin outpost is encountered and attacked, and to their surprise the goblins go into a barbarian rage! Fighting fiercely, Blodwyn is nearly killed by a critical hit before the goblins are finally killed.

After a spot of healing and recovery the companions press on into the caverns, ever mindful of the ominous creaks and groans from the cavern around them. Suddenly their passage opens into the side of a vast chasm, stretching further than their torchlight can reach in every direction. There are other lights visible at different points on the far side of the chasm, and a narrow rope bridge stretches, swaying, ahead of them.

The party crawl across one by one - but as Blodwyn is halfway across, disaster strikes! A tremendous shock hits the caverns, the bridge bucks and rocks like a wild animal, and Blodwyn loses her grip! There is a despairing cry as she falls into the darkness, followed by a loud splash. While the others maintain guard, Graculous quickly ropes himself up and climbs down the side of the crevasse. Although he is lucky enough to find Blodwyn, the fall has broken her neck. His sword-sister will never fight alongside him again...

Dramatis Personae at this time
Graculous Ftr4

Miranda Rog3/Sor1

Blodwyn Clr2 Dies

(Ynnsfeardh Mnk2 - on leave from the company, this soft-spoken monk stays in the background, but is capable of great acts of bravery)

Auriel Dru2 - a mean spirited witch with a grudge against humans.

Kieran Ftr2 - magically spirited from his home on the Sword Coast, this flamboyant fighter uses his trademark twin weapons while awaiting the opportunity to return to the lands he grew up in.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Blaming the goblins, Graculous decides that they shall pay in blood. Progressing a little further into the tunnels Miranda spots a cavern full of the little blighters. Firing an arrow at them and then running for it, the goblins rage and charge into a rocky corridor, were Graculous and Kieran stand at a junction, both with their two swords readied. It is a bloodbath. Wave after wave of goblins crashes against the two fighters and are cut down or cleaved apart until at last the rage wears off the last few remaining goblins who are cut down as they run for it. Gazing at the mountain of bodies, they decide that it is time for them to escape and lick their wounds, ready for the next day. Our heroes are far from unscathed, and without the divine aid of Asura they are in no fit state to continue the fight. Wearily the characters retrieve Blodwyns body and make their way out of the caves and back up to sunlight.

Back in Three Beeches they proceed to the tiny temple in order to make burial arrangements for Blodwyn, and meet a young Singharese man with a white band tied around his forehead named Lysander. Strangely charismatic and compelling, this man helps with the funeral service and then asks whether he can aid in avenging the blood of his church - for he is a Jazumai, one of the holy military arm of the church of Asura (think a kind of Paladin-Monk).

The next day the party ventures once more into the caverns despite the ominous groaning of the uneasy mountain above them. Disposing of an early guardpost they venture deeper and deeper into the caverns. In one room they find a strange and talkative adept who is more fearful of the mountainside than the adventurers, and asks them to slay the goblin leader so that he might escape the coming doom. As a token of his good will he gives them a potion that he has prepared. Crossing the chasm once more and Progressing yet deeper they find a guard post with three alerted goblins - much tougher ones too. Miranda bravely tumbles past the bodyguards ranks, only to be cut down by one that was previously unseen! Graculous too falls to a critical axe blow and it would have been disaster if not for fine swordsmanship by Kieran, and an illusionary flaming man conjured in a last gasp by Miranda that gives them a moment to win free. Lysander calls upon the power of Asura to keep each of the others from death and a weary and crippled band slowly make their way back to the surface, wary of the creaking rocks and the possibility of goblin ambush.

Once more they return to Three Beeches, but with heavy hearts - knowing, as they do, that the goblins are now bound to attempt a counterstrike at the village. The local cleric is able to help heal them somewhat, but it is not possible to get everyone back up to full strength. Appraising the villagers of the seriousness of the situation they decide to gather everyone together into the small temple - probably the most defensible of the buildings in the hamlet. Lysander stays inside the temple to rally the village men in defence with his indomitable personality while Graculous, Kieran and Miranda mount guard on the roof with their missile weapons. The long wait starts... shortly after midnight, Miranda’s owl familiar raises the alarm - a ring of goblins has surrounded the village and they start vandalising the outlying buildings. Finding nobody home, the goblins run towards the temple, the only place where lights are burning. With a howling roar, fully forty barbaric goblins charge hooting and howling out of the shadows and towards the temple building...

 

[Plane Sailing]

One character dies! One character finds himself at deaths door! Who will survive the Barbarian onslaught?

Tune in later to find out...