Notes for a New Campaign City, Parsantium

[RichGreen]

Session #8

Here's what happened in Monday night's game. They survived the dragon but only just:

17th Maius (contd)

The PCs steer their boats towards the gnolls as the feral humanoids fire arrows at them, howling loudly. As the PCs pull alongside, they are taken aback when a large black dragon rears out of the water. It stuns Brave Ella with its frightful presence and then breathes acid on the party, not caring that the two gnolls are also caught in the blast. As the PCs try to strike back, the dragon surrounds itself with a cloud of inky darkness. Sharden has been badly wounded so Krivinn steers their boat to the docks, lays hands on the dwarf and then goes into melee with the dragon. However, the shroud of darkness makes the dragon hard to hit and the dragonborn is unable to land any effective blows. The beast retaliates with its bite and a couple of tail slaps before breathing on Gong and Ella who are still battling the gnolls. Meanwhile, Sharden climbs on to the dockside and flees up the stairs leading into the wall of the cave. The gnolls are killed, so Ella and Gong try to get away from the dragon which is now coming after them. They fall over as they try to cross from one boat to the next but manage to scramble on to the docks, helped by Krivinn who uses his lay on hands power to heal their wounds. Deciding that discretion is the better part of valour, the PCs follow Sharden up the stairs and into the corridor beyond, leaving the dragon behind.


After a short rest and some healing, the PCs open the door to the left. Beyond is a guard room with two gnolls inside. Krivinn and Brave Ella go in – the dragonborn tries to flip over a table while Ella shoots at the gnoll overseer at close range. Out in the corridor the gnolls are reinforced by four others as the doors on the other side open, bringing Gong and Sharden under attack. Worried about being hit if he uses a ranged prayer, Sharden attacks with his trusty quarterstaff as the other gnolls use pack tactics and gang up on Gong. Eventually, the PCs finish off the humanoids and are able to release the five slaves in the cells opposite. These are Florian (a cloth merchant from Batiara), Agnellus (a sailor), Divakar (a dock-worker) and Heera and Pallavi (two pretty Sahasran sisters). They’re all grateful for being rescued and tell the PCs that Orloch and his henchmen have taken Sreedhar beyond the door at the end of the corridor, presumably to be auctioned.

 

[RichGreen]

NPC: Sergeant Saurish of the Dock Ward

Here's an NPC that's likely to make things a little tricky for the PCs:

Sergeant Saurish of the Dock Ward City Watch is a dedicated, intelligent Sahasran watchman. Unlike his jaded Watch Captain Nisai, who has almost given up on trying to prevent crime in the Dock Ward, Saurish is keen to maintain as much law and order as is practically possible without getting himself murdered by the criminal gangs prevalent in the area. He frequently gets frustrated with his colleagues who are often lazy, cowardly or corrupt and don’t understand why Saurish bothers to investigate some of the bodies that turn up floating off the dockside.

Saurish is about thirty and well-turned out with a neatly trimmed beard and moustache. He wears a turban rather than a helm, fastened with a clasp depicting the leaping dolphin symbol of the Dock Ward. Like all watchmen, he wears a white tabard with the city’s crest in purple over his chainmail. He has a Sahasran straight sword – a khanda – instead of a longsword hanging at his hip. Saurish is invariably polite to those citizens he comes across in the course of his duties but is an excellent judge of character and isn’t easily fooled by the typical flim-flam of adventurers on the wrong side of the law.

Any comments?


Richard

 

[RichGreen]

Sahasran ruins in the Feyshore Forest

Hi,

I'm looking for some interesting monster encounters to take place in these ruins. The PCs will be 3rd - 4th level.

My shortlist from the 4e MM: carrion crawler, fey panther, grell, grick, harpy, howling hag, mummy, ogre, oni, owlbear, vine horror.

Any other suggestions? The ruins are Indian in flavour. The gateway is flanked by two large stone elephants and there will be a temple dedicated to the Monkey God Hanuman. Naturally, there will be plenty of monkeys climbing over everything.

Cheers


Richard

 

[Gilladian]

Things that strike me as particularly indian or suitable for indian ruins would be snakes, tigers, and shape-shifters. Maybe some sort of small cult group meets in the ruins and the PCs can find traces of their presence, even if they're not there now.

A multi-armed construct statue coming to life to defend the ancient altar of a ruined temple seems terribly appropriate. Sort of a Caryatid column type creature, if 4e has one of appropriate level.

 

[RichGreen]

Things that strike me as particularly indian or suitable for indian ruins would be snakes, tigers, and shape-shifters. Maybe some sort of small cult group meets in the ruins and the PCs can find traces of their presence, even if they're not there now.

A multi-armed construct statue coming to life to defend the ancient altar of a ruined temple seems terribly appropriate. Sort of a Caryatid column type creature, if 4e has one of appropriate level.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm going to try and do a bit of work on this today if I get time and will have another look at the MM. I agree that an animated multi-armed statue would be cool.


Richard

 

[RichGreen]

I agree that an animated multi-armed statue would be cool.

And here he is.

 

[Loonook]

One of the ideas which rarely pops up in Indian themed games is the sadhu... and really, as a concept they're an amazing well of winning...

Okay, the basics can be found on Wikipedia. They live in caves, temples, and other abandoned places seeking release and enlightenment... and the Aghori sect could be seen as one of the more interesting groups for an abandoned corrupt temple.

A man who walks about in the ashes of the dead, seeking the secrets of liberation from a constant cycle of death and rebirth through understanding of the forces of destruction... I think that this could provide for an interesting 'caretaker' figure in the midst of the temple.

Slainte,

-Loonook.

 

[RichGreen]

One of the ideas which rarely pops up in Indian themed games is the sadhu... and really, as a concept they're an amazing well of winning...

I think that this could provide for an interesting 'caretaker' figure in the midst of the temple.

Great idea! Thank you!


Richard

 

[RichGreen]

Last Monday I ran the big fight in the slave market amphitheatre. One player was missing so they were down to four PCs for a tough 7th level encounter intended for 5 3rd level PCs. I had to give them a break by having the kuo-toa and shadar-kai leave once the party had killed Orloch Scragmane.

Here's what happened:

17th Maius (contd)

Leaving Sharden to look after the freed slaves, the others head through the door into the staging room beyond. From here, they go through the next door into a narrow corridor. Ella sneaks ahead and peers round the curtain – behind it she can see the red-maned figure of Orloch and his two guards, as well as the chained Sreedhar. The PCs get ready and Gong sweeps back the curtains to reveal an amphitheatre filled with auction-goers, some human and some not. The “nots” are two shadar-kai, three kuo-toa and the two zombies guarding their robed master.

As El’em attacks with burning hands, blasting the gnolls and one of the zombies, Ella shoots her bow and Krivinn moves in to attack in melee, all but one of the human attendees leaves by the double doors ahead. Then, the two shadar-kai attack the PCs: the male chain-fighter rushes across the room to attack from a distance while the female warlock curses El’em. The kuo-toa priest acts next, casting spectral jaws which bite Gong. Orloch and his two Mangy Curs attack the party in melee with their axes but El'em is able to send the gnoll slaver flying with his magic. Pinned in the corridor by the gnolls, the PCs are unable to defend themselves that well against the grave bolts of the dark-robed necromancer or the spiteful glamours of the shadar-kai warlock. Gong continues to suffer attacks from the spectral jaws and goes unconscious, as does Krivinn when he is struck first by the shadar-kai chain-fighter (as he dances across the room) and then by a 30 hp critical hit from Orloch’s execution axe.

El’em uses a couple of healing potions to revive the pair as Ella takes down Orloch with her bow. The shadar-kai warlock unleashes her cursebite which knocks Gong and Krivinn unconscious again – this time first aid is needed to revive the two healers. The two other gnolls are killed and all four PCs are now back up on their feet. When this happens the shadar-kai and kuo-toa leave. The party finishes off the necromancer and his one surviving zombie after deterring El’em from going after the kuo-toa. With the battle over, the PCs lock the doors using Orloch’s keys and rest. Krivinn takes Orloch’s axe; Ella takes the necromancer’s +1 gloaming shroud.

After wandering aimlessly in the tunnels of the Hidden Quarter for a while, the PCs find their way back to the Dock Ward streets via the sewers – by this time it’s late at night. Arranging to meet Sreedhar tomorrow, the PCs head back to the Fat Grouper after Gong fails to persuade Heera and Pallavi (the two pretty Sahasran girls) to come with him.


18th Maius

The PCs escort Lady Patricia back to her home in the Imperial Quarter’s Grand Ward. Her husband, Didymus, doesn’t seem that thrilled to see her but gives the PCs a small bag of gold bezants as a reward. Back in Flotsam, the PCs buy potions of healing from Jagadamba before meeting up with Sreedhar. The Sahasran scholar tells the party about the ruins in the Feyshore Forest but he doesn’t seem to know much about Ashna or her murder. He does tell Ella that the tattoos she’s seen belong to the Golden Scimitars, a powerful thieves’ guild.

That evening, the PCs head to Orloch’s slum tenement* base. Gong opens the lock on the gate after disabling the trap and the party heads inside, killing the five sentries who were guarding the alley without too much trouble.

*this is the slum tenement in Sellswords of Punjar. Although the colour map sheet is very nice, the rooms and alleyways are just too small to have a good tactical battle.

 

[RichGreen]

Session #10 Cutpurse Alley

Hi,

Here's what happened in last Monday night's game as the PCs continue to explore the ground floor of Orloch Scragmane's base in the slums (see Sellswords of Punjar):

El’em and Sharden guard the entrance to Cutpurse Alley while the others move down towards the mold-encrusted fountain at the far end. When movement is spotted at the window above, Krivinn kicks in the door to the left. Inside are two toughs who attack the dragonborn with their maces, knocking him to the ground. Meanwhile, two bowmen fire at Ella and Gong from the first floor. Ella returns fire while Gong goes to help Krivinn. The two ruffians are joined by Arturo the fence who the paladin kills. When Ella enters the room she goes near the curtain at one end and is grabbed by the tentacle of an otyugh in the cesspit beyond. Fortunately she manages to get out of the grab as the others finish off their enemies.

The PCs decide to leave searching the room – a treasury of miscellaneous purloined junk – and Arturo’s office and bedroom until later. Krivinn heads upstairs, triggering a tripwire which sets a load of pots and pans crashing to alert the occupants of the room above. Here the PCs, now joined by Sharden, battle five “Dog Brothers”, human members of the Mangy Curs who wear scruffy furs to appear as gnoll-like as possible, and their plate armour clad captain who fires his massive longbow down from the floor above. The Dog Brothers surround Krivinn, knocking him unconscious, but Gong brings him round and the party wins the day. The captain flees through a secret door after Sharden sets him on fire, leaving the PCs to interrogate their captive, a wretched man named Cosmas who tells them that Madame Zeboltha now runs the place following Orloch’s tragic death.

The PCs leave Cosmas tied up and search the captain’s quarters, finding treasure hidden inside the chimney (after Sharden triggers a painful spear trap) and discovering a secret door they can’t open. They head downstairs, outside, through the door opposite and up the stairs into a large, smelly common room. The party opens a door to a storeroom full of rats. Two swarms attack – although they clamber all over the PCs, the rats are destroyed in short order.

Any comments?

Cheers


Richard