Needing suggestions and ideas for a situation, if you could all help it would be appriciated.
This is the situation
At first level our group went into Sunless. Made a loose alliance with the Kobolds, and defeated their enemies the goblins in order to save three missing adventurers. Sharwyn and Sir Braford were saved, Sharwyn’s brother was not- he died before we got there.
Both were suffering from effects of the Golthus (not sure on the spelling) Tree, which was once a stake used to “kill” a vampire (who ever did it needed to do more then that- which we all know and he obviously did not). The stake grew into a tree over time, and a druid came into to tend to it (not sure if he knew what it was growing from I have always assumed that he did).
The druid was dead (by our hand). Sharwyn and Braford were transformed by the tree- their skin was bark like and they were evil now, thou we were unsure at the time if they could be saved.
We turned them over to the authorities in the small town and moved on.
We hunted for another Golthus Trees that we had heard of- found a few Twig Blights and defeated them without much trouble.
A druid by the name of Salarda Ash was an old friend of the first druid and was continuing his work tending to evil things like new Golthus Trees.
A few adventures later we heard that they had escaped. Later someone informed us that they (Braford and Sharwyn) were banditing in the north of Sterich (most of our campaigns take place in that region).
Following that or somewhere before we’d run into what we called Renegade Lizard Folk. These guys were tattooed and painted up and had several markings that indicated who they were. They were vicious and mean and- well pretty good villains.
Somewhere in there Ash, Braford and Sharwyn all teamed up and we heard that they were in the Hool Marshes, where incidentally the renegade Lizard Folk seemed to be residing.
All four of the PCs and the six NPCs that make up The Riders of the Axe went to the Hool and started hunting. We’re 8th level now, have a straight up cleric, and a Sorcerer/Devine Oracle, a ranger/fighter/Deepwood Sniper, a dungeon dwelling type fighting rogue (no real social skills)/Thief Acrobat, and a mish mash of others.
We traveled with a supply caravan into the Hool Marsh, travel to Fort Lizard, which is an out post that’s used to get supplies through to Westkeep.
Sir Vertas- the man in charge is out with a hundred men when we arrive. When he shows back up we find out that he attacked a village of Lizard Folk.
The Riders go to the village thinking it might be a good place to get a clue regarding the Renegade Lizard Folk. Its not- it’s a place where regular Lizard Folk lived. Vertas slaughtered off a village of neutral Lizard Folk because he was having trouble with Renegade Lizard Folk. Bad mistake, but then he didn’t know.
Without the proper spells that day we fled a little ways away and spent the night. The following morning we found that a few Lizard Folk had been away during the attack, they returned and left before the next morning. There were also signs of Bog Giants having been there. The Bog Giants were friends of the Lizard Folk by the looks of things.
We questioned one of the dead Lizard Folk and learned little that we didn’t already know. And no they had no affiliation to the Renegade Lizard Folk, in fact they might well have been our allies to the cause of defeating them.
Back to Fort Lizard. Its been attacked by Bog Giants and their pet Dire Crocodiles.
We track 8 of the Giants and 2 Crocs and kill them (it was a slaughter – our sorcerer did a lot of damage using lightning bolt).
Try to track the rest of the Bog Giants that escaped was to difficult for my ranger due to the water continent of the ground and the length of time sense the attack.
Back to Fort Lizard for some direction. Divination reveals little, so we decide to go to Westkeep, thinking that Sharwyn and Braford would need supplies.
We found out that dragons have been flying over the city of Westkeep for the past week or so.
While we’re there we find out that a Troll Hag is living East of Fort Lizard and that the dragon is a black dragon.
It’s about then that our greatest clue comes. My ranger- Grayson, is a bit of a loner (this is my second character in the campaign- the first retired), and decides to go for a walk down to the docks, where he sees a man in the shadows watching the water.
A snake comes into the city through the gate, up onto the dock and changes into a woman, talks to the man then leaves the way she came in. The man passes a note to a raven and the raven leaves. Grayson follows the man to a tavern. The man might be Braford, thou Grayson has only seen him in illusion and that- well it’s a long story that has nothing to do with this. Braford has a drink with some sorely fellow(s). Grayson keeps to himself and drinks one too then leaves to return to the Riders and catches them up to speed.
The Cleric (Jack) goes to the authorities and gets permission to arrest Ash, Braford and Sharwyn, while the bar is staked out. The authorities are informed where the arrest will take place and Braford escapes into the sewers. We lose him.
Back to the bar. Wait. Braford walks in, then leaves we take chase. We are Call Lightning-ed, nearly taking out half the present party, our fighter losses his shield (magic Mythral if I recall). And the lightning killed Braford, after he’s dead we realize that he was a polymorphed agent.
Sharwyn we know is a wizard, we knew that way back when.
Locate Object leads us to their lair, a brief fight nearly kills Grayson in the sewers. It appears that they escaped by teleportation.
The authorities are brought in.
We spend a few hours finding a scrying mirror for rent (can’t afford to buy one).
Braford and Sharwyn are on a raft with the Renegade Lizard Folk, poling away from the area.
They eventually make it to the Troll Hag’s lair.
We have only the knowledge that they are 10 hours from the city, and that some of the plants are the lair might be rare enough only to grow in one area and that there is a Troll Hag’s lair to the east of Fort Lizard.
Also Sharwyn spotted the scrying, so they know we have access to that kind/level of magic.
We also learned from a Divination that Fort Lizard will be attacked- we believe by the Bog Giants- who appear not to be allied with Braford’s force. We are days from the Fort and they will get there first so we buy a scroll of Phantom Steed to make better time in the marsh.
None of the characters have Gather Information so we find little on the location of the Troll Hag’s lair.
Run for the Fort using Fly spells/scrolls, Water Walk spells and the scroll.
We’re attacked and there are a couple of fights in route. We arrive just before the start of the next morning and find that Cropar (the Bog Giant leader) and 50 of his close friends have decided that Fort Lizard must be destroyed because the Lizard Folk were attacked and his son was killed (one of the eight killed by us- can you say opps?).
We make an agreement to let them have the fort if all the humans leave.
Next morning Cropar says he wants either 3000 gp (no one has that amount) or his burial grounds freed from the Black Serpent- we can take nothing from the burial grounds.
He gives us a guide.
We find the mound and kill a 12 headed hydra (not the black dragon we expected and prepared for) and 3 medusas. Fight trolls, bugbears and the three hags, but no Braford and friends?
Fort Lizard is destroyed when we get back there. The soldiers all fled.
So we head off to Deep Mud, another fort, one that Sir Vertas was going to flee towards.
Attacked by Ash and some of the Renegade Lizard Folk. Ash escapes none of her critters do.
Attacked again- this time by just the Renegade Lizard Folk. We manage to capture one and he is questioned. Find out that the Renegade Lizard Folk are hunting humans (our buddies from Fort Lizard its assumed), that the Golthus Tree is in the scared grove (where ever that is), that they have no fewer then three (maybe four) black dragons and a bunch of other minor things. We still have no direction.
Deep Mud isn’t a fort as much as a village on stilts.
The village does not help our cause much, thou they are not disinterested or lacking in desire to help, they just don’t know anything we don’t already know.
Renegade Lizard Folk show and ask for two youths to be sacrificed for some ritual. We have two days.
We talk about using Polymorph scrolls- we don’t have, to change two members into youths, get taken back to the Renegade Lizard Folk’s sacrifice the rest are to follow. This plan is dumped because no one has the money to buy the scrolls.
Jack gets a mirror and a couple of cleric scrolls from his bosses, they are reluctant to send anymore and sent nothing really that we needed other then the mirror (later I am sure they will want payment for it as they are Dwarves).
More scrying reveals nothing of value.
The hamlet is being watched by a Black Dragon and a number of Renegade Lizard Folk, so thinking we can gain more we capture one of the Renegade Lizard Folk.
Renegade Lizard Folk is charmed by our Bard/Wiz (NPC)- Bromsby, and we depart Deep Mud hoping to be seen, and followed by the Black Dragon, thus averting the attack on Deep Mud.
Our new “friend” leads us to a supply station for the Renegade Lizard Folk, where he runs into some of his friends. We fight and kill them, saving out “friend.”
That night another scrying is done and Vertas is found dangling upside down. We learn little other then the knight is about to die from something that resides in the water and the rest of the village/fort is- well we should have stayed.
We did learn that the few human survivors from Deep Mud are being taken back for that sacrifice I previously mentioned, thou we have only a general idea what direction to head (north, as I recall- is that north east, north or north west?).
The present plan is to head north and look for the Renegade Lizard Folk leading soldiers and villagers in a single direction, the problem is we don’t know which path they will take, or where they are headed.
If we can find them then we will attack and either harass their forces or free the people. If we can leave a dozen Renegade Lizard Folk alive we will so that way we can track them back to the others.
We are beaten more by a lack of knowledge then anything else. Two of the four Players are so frustrated by a lack of direction and clues for direction that they are nearly completely done with the campaign and the other two have come to the conclusion that it might just be in our best interest to continue north, attacking Renegade Lizard Folk as we stumble into them, and anything or anyone else of Ash’s that we come across until we get a clue or leave the Marsh.
Thou leaving the Marsh isn’t gonna happen in the long term as we have a couple of people that will not stop hunting the three and the RLF. We should have killed Sharwyn and Braford long ago, we knew it then and are kicking ourselves for it now, but we can’t go back in time to change that.
What I need are ideas. Thoughts on the subject. What should we do?
This is the situation
At first level our group went into Sunless. Made a loose alliance with the Kobolds, and defeated their enemies the goblins in order to save three missing adventurers. Sharwyn and Sir Braford were saved, Sharwyn’s brother was not- he died before we got there.
Both were suffering from effects of the Golthus (not sure on the spelling) Tree, which was once a stake used to “kill” a vampire (who ever did it needed to do more then that- which we all know and he obviously did not). The stake grew into a tree over time, and a druid came into to tend to it (not sure if he knew what it was growing from I have always assumed that he did).
The druid was dead (by our hand). Sharwyn and Braford were transformed by the tree- their skin was bark like and they were evil now, thou we were unsure at the time if they could be saved.
We turned them over to the authorities in the small town and moved on.
We hunted for another Golthus Trees that we had heard of- found a few Twig Blights and defeated them without much trouble.
A druid by the name of Salarda Ash was an old friend of the first druid and was continuing his work tending to evil things like new Golthus Trees.
A few adventures later we heard that they had escaped. Later someone informed us that they (Braford and Sharwyn) were banditing in the north of Sterich (most of our campaigns take place in that region).
Following that or somewhere before we’d run into what we called Renegade Lizard Folk. These guys were tattooed and painted up and had several markings that indicated who they were. They were vicious and mean and- well pretty good villains.
Somewhere in there Ash, Braford and Sharwyn all teamed up and we heard that they were in the Hool Marshes, where incidentally the renegade Lizard Folk seemed to be residing.
All four of the PCs and the six NPCs that make up The Riders of the Axe went to the Hool and started hunting. We’re 8th level now, have a straight up cleric, and a Sorcerer/Devine Oracle, a ranger/fighter/Deepwood Sniper, a dungeon dwelling type fighting rogue (no real social skills)/Thief Acrobat, and a mish mash of others.
We traveled with a supply caravan into the Hool Marsh, travel to Fort Lizard, which is an out post that’s used to get supplies through to Westkeep.
Sir Vertas- the man in charge is out with a hundred men when we arrive. When he shows back up we find out that he attacked a village of Lizard Folk.
The Riders go to the village thinking it might be a good place to get a clue regarding the Renegade Lizard Folk. Its not- it’s a place where regular Lizard Folk lived. Vertas slaughtered off a village of neutral Lizard Folk because he was having trouble with Renegade Lizard Folk. Bad mistake, but then he didn’t know.
Without the proper spells that day we fled a little ways away and spent the night. The following morning we found that a few Lizard Folk had been away during the attack, they returned and left before the next morning. There were also signs of Bog Giants having been there. The Bog Giants were friends of the Lizard Folk by the looks of things.
We questioned one of the dead Lizard Folk and learned little that we didn’t already know. And no they had no affiliation to the Renegade Lizard Folk, in fact they might well have been our allies to the cause of defeating them.
Back to Fort Lizard. Its been attacked by Bog Giants and their pet Dire Crocodiles.
We track 8 of the Giants and 2 Crocs and kill them (it was a slaughter – our sorcerer did a lot of damage using lightning bolt).
Try to track the rest of the Bog Giants that escaped was to difficult for my ranger due to the water continent of the ground and the length of time sense the attack.
Back to Fort Lizard for some direction. Divination reveals little, so we decide to go to Westkeep, thinking that Sharwyn and Braford would need supplies.
We found out that dragons have been flying over the city of Westkeep for the past week or so.
While we’re there we find out that a Troll Hag is living East of Fort Lizard and that the dragon is a black dragon.
It’s about then that our greatest clue comes. My ranger- Grayson, is a bit of a loner (this is my second character in the campaign- the first retired), and decides to go for a walk down to the docks, where he sees a man in the shadows watching the water.
A snake comes into the city through the gate, up onto the dock and changes into a woman, talks to the man then leaves the way she came in. The man passes a note to a raven and the raven leaves. Grayson follows the man to a tavern. The man might be Braford, thou Grayson has only seen him in illusion and that- well it’s a long story that has nothing to do with this. Braford has a drink with some sorely fellow(s). Grayson keeps to himself and drinks one too then leaves to return to the Riders and catches them up to speed.
The Cleric (Jack) goes to the authorities and gets permission to arrest Ash, Braford and Sharwyn, while the bar is staked out. The authorities are informed where the arrest will take place and Braford escapes into the sewers. We lose him.
Back to the bar. Wait. Braford walks in, then leaves we take chase. We are Call Lightning-ed, nearly taking out half the present party, our fighter losses his shield (magic Mythral if I recall). And the lightning killed Braford, after he’s dead we realize that he was a polymorphed agent.
Sharwyn we know is a wizard, we knew that way back when.
Locate Object leads us to their lair, a brief fight nearly kills Grayson in the sewers. It appears that they escaped by teleportation.
The authorities are brought in.
We spend a few hours finding a scrying mirror for rent (can’t afford to buy one).
Braford and Sharwyn are on a raft with the Renegade Lizard Folk, poling away from the area.
They eventually make it to the Troll Hag’s lair.
We have only the knowledge that they are 10 hours from the city, and that some of the plants are the lair might be rare enough only to grow in one area and that there is a Troll Hag’s lair to the east of Fort Lizard.
Also Sharwyn spotted the scrying, so they know we have access to that kind/level of magic.
We also learned from a Divination that Fort Lizard will be attacked- we believe by the Bog Giants- who appear not to be allied with Braford’s force. We are days from the Fort and they will get there first so we buy a scroll of Phantom Steed to make better time in the marsh.
None of the characters have Gather Information so we find little on the location of the Troll Hag’s lair.
Run for the Fort using Fly spells/scrolls, Water Walk spells and the scroll.
We’re attacked and there are a couple of fights in route. We arrive just before the start of the next morning and find that Cropar (the Bog Giant leader) and 50 of his close friends have decided that Fort Lizard must be destroyed because the Lizard Folk were attacked and his son was killed (one of the eight killed by us- can you say opps?).
We make an agreement to let them have the fort if all the humans leave.
Next morning Cropar says he wants either 3000 gp (no one has that amount) or his burial grounds freed from the Black Serpent- we can take nothing from the burial grounds.
He gives us a guide.
We find the mound and kill a 12 headed hydra (not the black dragon we expected and prepared for) and 3 medusas. Fight trolls, bugbears and the three hags, but no Braford and friends?
Fort Lizard is destroyed when we get back there. The soldiers all fled.
So we head off to Deep Mud, another fort, one that Sir Vertas was going to flee towards.
Attacked by Ash and some of the Renegade Lizard Folk. Ash escapes none of her critters do.
Attacked again- this time by just the Renegade Lizard Folk. We manage to capture one and he is questioned. Find out that the Renegade Lizard Folk are hunting humans (our buddies from Fort Lizard its assumed), that the Golthus Tree is in the scared grove (where ever that is), that they have no fewer then three (maybe four) black dragons and a bunch of other minor things. We still have no direction.
Deep Mud isn’t a fort as much as a village on stilts.
The village does not help our cause much, thou they are not disinterested or lacking in desire to help, they just don’t know anything we don’t already know.
Renegade Lizard Folk show and ask for two youths to be sacrificed for some ritual. We have two days.
We talk about using Polymorph scrolls- we don’t have, to change two members into youths, get taken back to the Renegade Lizard Folk’s sacrifice the rest are to follow. This plan is dumped because no one has the money to buy the scrolls.
Jack gets a mirror and a couple of cleric scrolls from his bosses, they are reluctant to send anymore and sent nothing really that we needed other then the mirror (later I am sure they will want payment for it as they are Dwarves).
More scrying reveals nothing of value.
The hamlet is being watched by a Black Dragon and a number of Renegade Lizard Folk, so thinking we can gain more we capture one of the Renegade Lizard Folk.
Renegade Lizard Folk is charmed by our Bard/Wiz (NPC)- Bromsby, and we depart Deep Mud hoping to be seen, and followed by the Black Dragon, thus averting the attack on Deep Mud.
Our new “friend” leads us to a supply station for the Renegade Lizard Folk, where he runs into some of his friends. We fight and kill them, saving out “friend.”
That night another scrying is done and Vertas is found dangling upside down. We learn little other then the knight is about to die from something that resides in the water and the rest of the village/fort is- well we should have stayed.
We did learn that the few human survivors from Deep Mud are being taken back for that sacrifice I previously mentioned, thou we have only a general idea what direction to head (north, as I recall- is that north east, north or north west?).
The present plan is to head north and look for the Renegade Lizard Folk leading soldiers and villagers in a single direction, the problem is we don’t know which path they will take, or where they are headed.
If we can find them then we will attack and either harass their forces or free the people. If we can leave a dozen Renegade Lizard Folk alive we will so that way we can track them back to the others.
We are beaten more by a lack of knowledge then anything else. Two of the four Players are so frustrated by a lack of direction and clues for direction that they are nearly completely done with the campaign and the other two have come to the conclusion that it might just be in our best interest to continue north, attacking Renegade Lizard Folk as we stumble into them, and anything or anyone else of Ash’s that we come across until we get a clue or leave the Marsh.
Thou leaving the Marsh isn’t gonna happen in the long term as we have a couple of people that will not stop hunting the three and the RLF. We should have killed Sharwyn and Braford long ago, we knew it then and are kicking ourselves for it now, but we can’t go back in time to change that.
What I need are ideas. Thoughts on the subject. What should we do?
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