Arabesu's East meets West Story Hour

[Arabesu]

I’ve been here a long time.

Lurking.

Watching as an obscure DnD news site grows to be a community. Watching it as forum after forum joins the message boards. I have argued about rules with Caliban and have cursed him for always being right. I have participated in contests: I wrote “Surprise! You’ve Just Been Double Crossed” and “An Imp in Set’s Clothing Gets Help from Scaly Friends” for the encounter contest awhile back. I have seen this community develop from humble beginnings, to have its own awards ceremony at GenCon. Thanks Eric. Who new you’d have such a legacy?

A big thanks goes out to Morrus. I can't imagine how much time and headache goes into maintaining this place.

A few months ago I discovered the Story Hours. Wow. I’ll say it again: Wow. Never have I seen so many talented writers putting it on the line for so little compensation. I am inspired to come out of lurking and participate. Jonrog1’s DarkMatter d20 story hour banter is what finally did it for me, but I must give credit to Wulf Ratbane’s grim and gritty story and PirateCat’s political epic. There are many other great story’s here at ENworld, but these three have had a profound affect. [Begin Mike-Daisy-esque-insecure-slacker-whine] It would be nice to receive such adulation. It would be nice to have such praise and a feeling of membership. But I’ll be content if a few people read this, think its nice, and my players show up more consistently for having been introduced to a more descriptive rendition of the world that I have presented them. [End Mike-Daisy-esque-insecure-slacker-whine] On with the show.

What follows is the rambling and somewhat overly descriptive account of the action that takes place in a DnD 3rd edition game that I’ve been running since April. Initially, the story will be somewhat light on the dialog, as I want to avoid putting words in the characters mouths that were not actually spoken in game. Mistakes will be made in recounting the details but hopefully it’ll be an enjoyable yarn. If nothing else, it should make for a nice recap for my players who have by now an extensive catalog of villains, plots, and locations to recall. I’m beginning with what happened in the first encounter of the first session, then I’ll follow that with the campaign info given to the players when we began, then proceed with the remaining sessions.

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Session 1, (A chance meeting):

Knom Ironhand looked down at the table of trinkets in front of him.

He was angry.

He was probably about to get in a fight.

If he didn’t calm his rage over this minor dispute, who knows what he might do next? He thought back, trying to make sure that he was justified; how had the argument with the merchant over the price of a small ritual anvil located on one of his tables begun in the first place?

The merchant had stated that everything on that particular table was 1 silver coin but when Knom tried to purchase the anvil, the merchant swore that it was from a different table where everything was 1 gold coin. Then he had the nerve to claim that Knom had moved the object over from the other table when the merchant’s back was turned. This had infuriated Knom who had drawn his hammer, since he didn’t take too kindly to being called a cheat and a liar. Seeing that he was about to be pummeled, the quick thinking merchant was trying to weasel out of the insult, and to come out ahead in the transaction, by calling for a third-party arbitration.

It was the law in the city of Forestral that any merchant could call for a third party to judge as a sort of ad hoc ombudsman and to determine if he was treating a client fairly. This usually went in favor of the client rather than the merchant, except with regard to outsiders where the merchant usually won out. A dwarf this far south, and just inside of the border of the Empire of Süt, definitely qualified as an outsider, so the merchant felt he had a good chance of success. He called to a nearby shopper; a halfling who’s back was currently turned to him. Then the merchant realized his mistake, the third party he’d selected was a local cutpurse, Rosencranz from Gildenstern, or “Gilder” for short. This merchant had swindled one of Gilder’s acquaintances earlier in the week when they were fencing some goods. Naturally, Gilder sided with Knom and the merchant was forced to give Knom the lesser price for the small holy symbol.

Flash forward, Gilder had come to Knom’s defense and Knom had hardly finished with the transaction when he noticed that Gilder had gone. It was always the policy of devote followers of Moradin that those who help the cause be thanked appropriately and so Knom set off to find the young halfling and give him his reward. Perhaps he was in need of healing services or some other minor blessing that Moradin could bestow. The marketplace was crowded with shoppers and stalls and Knom’s hope that he would find the little man was fading fast, until he caught the sight of the Halfling ducking down an alley at the last minute. Knom gave chase, but became disoriented by the maze of corridors between buildings. It was nearly sunset and already it was getting too dark for easy trailing. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem for the dwarf, except that the alleys were longer than the range of his vision in this darkness. So he would look down alleys and it was unclear as to whether the alley ended in a dead end, an elbow, or continued on. He also was new to Forestral and certainly didn’t know the alleys as well as the halfling must. So he got very lost.

Meanwhile, Gilder was just setting in for a good night’s work. Normally a forger by specialty, he had also been known to swipe a few coins from members of a crowd or to sneak into unprotected places where wealth might be obtained. Gilder had been told that a particularly posh kip was unoccupied for the evening, and he had decided to have a look. Gilder was also an accomplished cat burglar but despised confrontation; so the prospect of a B&E job without intervention on the part of the owner was too tempting to pass up. He had already mounted his harness just above the second story window, and was just about to finish popping the lock when he felt a tug at his waist. A rather brutal looking Orc was just below him pulling at his belt with a quisarme.

The orc, looking up and squinting, spoke in an unusual variant of Süttese, “Baaaay. C’mon slay’ay’ay’ve. Procknock gotta gitcha ta da udders a’fore de’e’ay all go nerrrrth.” Then Procknock pulled and two of the pins in Gilder’s harness came loose. He was hanging by one strap stretched out between his own harness and Procknock’s pole-arm and quickly spinning away from the lock-picks left in the window. Gilder managed to right himself and with desperation turned the picks. A sudden click and one of the twin panes swung open, just as the harness gave way from the wall. He grabbed the window and clung tight as what remained of the harness slid off. With that, he was free but not yet to safety. However, the Orc had stopped paying attention to the dangling halfling, as a stout bewildered dwarven cleric had just stepped into the alley. The orc let out, “A dwarfffff! Dey bring dwice what a pip like you’ou’ou bring. Snort, neihg’y’y’y.”

Knom, the dwarven cleric of Moradin, charged and Procknock the slaver-wannabe waited, readying his quisarme. The orc swung as the dwarf closed and missed. The dwarf brought his hammer down from above, but Procknock dodged most of it, only taking a light blow on the shoulder.

Gilder looked down at the melee. Procknock had dropped his polearm, had stepped forward and swung twice at the cleric with claws jutting out of the back of his gauntlets. The dwarf had a heavy war-hammer, but the orc had two sets of claws and was probably going to attack twice as often. He could slip inside of the open window, but that would leave the cleric alone with the Orc and it was unclear who would be the victor. Begrudgingly, the little thief dropped down behind the orc, and drew his short sword. It would be a moment before he could strike. One of the Orc’s claws bit deep into Knom’s shoulder, while the other was deflected by his heavy armor. Knom hit him with a glancing blow, but it was clear that the cleric was taking more then he was giving. Procknock was aware that Gilder had dropped down behind him but was unable to watch both combatants at the same moment. When Procknock swung at Knom, Gilder stabbed up with his short-sword. With the Orc’s attention on the cleric, he had left his side exposed and Gilder slid the blade up through his torso. Procknock felt blood burble up into his lungs. That had hurt him badly. Nevertheless, he was still standing and decided to flee.

With a hop, he jumped over Gilder onto some crates and then ran along the edge of the water cistern, up against which Gilder had backed. This astonished Gilder in particular, because even he was unable to run along the 1-inch edge of an open water cistern with such grace and speed. It must have something to do with the goat-hoofed boots that Procknock was wearing. Must have been a big goat; each hoof was as big as Gilder’s head. Procknock felt two swipes miss him as he ran along the cistern, one from the halfling, and another from an unseen source. He didn’t have time to look around him and just ran on.

During the fight, the noise of Procknock’s baying, neighing and exclamations had woken the man sleeping behind the cistern. His name was Eric but he liked to be called “Eric the Dragon.” He had a dragon tattoo just above his left eye that he had thought was fearsome looking when he had gotten it. Eric was smart for a soldier but he just couldn’t resist a drink, even when he knew he’d be worthless in the morning. So the evening before, after having several tankards too many, he decided to lay down behind the cistern and sleep. He’d be able to sleep in and wouldn’t have to travel all the way back and forth across to the other side of the large city of Forestral, which could take a day or more to travel across on foot. He had an appointment for tomorrow night in a nearby neighborhood and didn’t feel particularly motivated to traipse back and forth across Forestral a couple of times every other day. Therefore, his sleeping behind the cistern had sounded like a good idea at the time.

He stood up just to see Procknock running by on the opposite edge of the cistern in front of him. Luckily he’d propped himself up on his sword and so it was readily at hand. He swung his massive two-handed sword and missed, taking a chunk of the cistern with it. He never really liked orcs, and it probably was safer to take this one down and find out what he was up to later rather than to try to parlay. So, when the dwarf yelled to stop him, Eric gave chase. The orc was fast, but he had to jump down from the cistern before he could take real strides. So Eric sprinted past him. When Procknock ran by a moment later, Eric was able to swing his sword at him. It was a last ditch effort because the orc was very fast, but Eric still had some forward momentum. Thus, rather than simply wounding the orc, which had been his intention, he swung clear through his body cleaving him into two pieces.

There just wasn’t much left of Procknock to question after that.

Gilder was already slinking off to the other side of the alley. It is better to leave the scene than to be caught. Knom was trotting up toward Eric but remembered the halfling at the last moment. He called back “Hey little-un. I haven’t had a chance to thank you.” Gilder was about to keep going, but he suddenly remembered: The orc had had gear; darn good stuff too. The boots and the claws were probably quite valuable. If he worked this right, he might be able to end up with the lion’s share of the reward. So he headed back.

Soon, the three of them were looking down over two piles: a pile of the bloody remains of the orc and a pile of “loot-able” and possibly valuable items. The cleric used a blessing from Moradin, which allowed him to see the magical resonances in all things enchanted. The boots were magical but nothing else was.

It was at that moment that Eric realized that Olidamarra had smiled upon him. Tomorrow night he was to have a meeting with Habrin Sneed about a business proposal. One of the conditions for the meeting was that Eric had to find two other adventures for the job. So now, all he had to do was convince these two that the money was right for the job…

 

[Rybaer]

Nice character introduction. I particularly like the way you handled the "negotiation" between the merchant and the outsider dwarf.

Look forward to more.

 

[Arabesu]

campaign info

When this campaign began I emailed or printed this background information for each of the players. It is worth noting, that the campaign rules were from an earlier campaign I ran before the d20 Oriental Adventures Setting book was released. Later I restarted this campaign and bought the book only much later. Thus in later installments of the story, the L5R clan structure is introduced even though it wasn’t present here.

Background:
Initially, the campaign will be set on the continent of Ancev, a young world that is still recovering from a cataclysm two millennia ago. There are three major locations, the Empire of Süt to the South which is an oriental feudal monarchy, the North (comprised of Verdentia, the largest forest, and the Spine of the World, a mountain range) which is the traditional fantasy setting, and the Great Wastes to the west which is the site of numerous holy wars and is the source of most clerics and divine warriors. Because of the divine forces that clash in the desert, numerous portals and gates have formed to other planes in that bleak wasteland. As a result, a few planar creatures have emigrated to Ancev, although they are usually quite secretive about how they arrived, and often relocate to areas on the continent which suit there personalities and skills. As a result several colonies of planetouched beings have formed over various parts of the continent.

The South and the Empire of Sut
The Empire of Süt dominates the southern half of the continent of Ancev. The population is mostly human but also contains many halfling gypsy bands. The land is predominantly plains and low hills with a few small forests clustering near the few waterways and lakes. Monsters and magic are quite rare and most people tend to depend upon the burgeoning technology and human ingenuity. Gunpowder is the most expensive commodity, outselling gold pound for pound. Although the Süt technology is predominantly stolen from the Northern gnomes, much of it may have been sold to the Empire by dwarves from the very far north. Humankind in the Empire is noted for its improvement of gnomish and dwarven technology, often obtaining heretofore unheard of applications.
The current emperor is Bo Yu Pha, and is only the 17th emperor of Süt. The imperial family Bo has ruled since 1341 A.C. when the Empire was first formed. The Empire is divided into provinces; each overseen by a regional governor called a Fong. Corruption of the Fong is commonplace, leading to an inefficient bureaucratic system where the emperor has surprisingly little actual control. However, the emperor controls a large army, The Crimson Guard, and any Fong or province that that overtly opposed Bo Yu Pha would be quickly crushed. Although each province selects their Fong differently, some by election and others by the previous Fong’s appointment, the emperor can depose a Fong at his discretion or decree. The westernmost provinces of Uh and Leet have their own standing armies to ward off invaders from the Great Wastes. In Uh every man and unwed woman must serve in this army when they are fifteen. The capital of the Empire is the massive coastal city of Uh Vra in the extreme south of Uh, although the city of Forestral on the northern border of Leet is arguable the largest city in the Empire. The eastern portion of the Empire is divided into many small provinces, while the west and center are controlled by Uh and Leet.
The official deity of the land is Amateresu, although few actually worship her. She is a relic from times when the Empire was first formed and the Knights of the Great Empire still patrolled the land. The only truly functioning knighthood is the “Knights of Watch” and the major monastic order is at the monastery on Mt. Tskuba. In actuality, most people of the Empire worship money rather than gods. Religion appears to be delegated to the very wise, the very stupid, or the very wicked. Inhabitants of the empire speak Suttese, a dialect of the common tongue.

The Radiant Monks of Mt. Tsukuba
The Radiant Monks of Mt. Tsukuba are the shining representatives of Amateresu. Usually, only humans and aasimar are inducted into this organization and usually only as children (approximately 13 years of age or less). As they grow and develop they are trained as both noble warrior (i.e. paladin) and monk. Thus 1st level Radiant Monks have apprentice levels in both paladin and monk. Furthermore, as they advance they can feely multiclass between monk and paladin. Other classes are strictly forbidden and a Radiant Monk who multiclasses into a third class (even a prestige class) loses both his paladin and monk extraordinary and supernatural abilities. Radiant Monks deny themselves the benefits of magical potions and often avoid magic items altogether, except for their primary weapon which is usually enchanted with good magic. When a Radiant Monk gains the Diamond body ability (11th level) it also extends to potions, as they see potions as a kind of poison. Radiant Monks dress in simple attire and usually shun material goods, armor, and shields. Most Radiant Monks wear common monk’s robes and hide their more powerful weapons under strips of old cloth. Unlike most paladins, Radiant Monks are not restricted from hiding their identity or from using subterfuge to trick evil opponents. They have even been known to lie, although they are honor bound to reveal any charade once the proper time arises. They are particularly good at infiltrating dark organizations, setting up an elaborate sabotage and revealing themselves immediately before capturing the leaders. A favored expression is “The Sun is brightest at dawn.” The paladin spell list for a Radiant Monk includes Change Self in place of Read Magic. Obviously all Radiant monks have a personality which is both disciplined and noble (i.e. LG). Radiant Monks do not gain a mount upon attaining 5 levels of Paladinhood, instead they gain a blink dog familiar, using their combined monk and paladin levels for determining the powers of the familiar, as per table 3-19 of the PHB. Blink dogs have been known to associate with Radiant Monks even when they aren’t the familiar of that particular monk. Radiant Monks traveling with small packs of them have been recorded historically. Blink dogs are often cohorts to Radiant Monks who don’t yet have access to a Blink Dog familiar. Blink dogs are natives to Mt. Tsukuba and often help non-evil climbers and travelers who wish to visit the monastery there.

The West and the Great Wastes
Little has been recorded about the Great Waste as any libraries have been destroyed by the numerous holy wars that seem to spring up every century or so. Thus, the west is quite mysterious and almost nothing is known for certain, except that a vast desert separates most of the Empire of Süt from the western coastline of the continent. Near this western coastline is a chain of islands called the serpent’s teeth, which are inhabited by pirates and merchants from the less civilized continent of Pav-cru on their way to the southern city of Uh Vra. Most forms of poison originate from the west as the desert is filled with deadly insects and serpents. Frequently, marauders who worship Set or Sekhemet attack the towns on the western provincial borders of Uh and Leet, wielding envenomed falchion and scimitar, and leave a tremendous wake of destruction. Most inhabitants speak Celestial, Abyssal, or Infernal; those few who know other languages also often speak the common tongue or Suttese.

The North, Verdentia, and the Spine of the World
The North is the land of magic and fey, populated by elves and gnomes with many human barbarian tribes throughout. As one crosses the Xen Doa River on the north border of Süt the great forest of Verdentia is encountered, which is rumored to stretch as dense as fur from the eastern coastline to the western coastline. North of Verdentia is the Spine of the World, a mountain range wherein dwell the dwarves. The surface of the Spine of the World range is nearly uninhabitable although giants have been known to eke out an existence while waging an age-old war with the dwarves. Beyond the mountains is the frigid northern glacier which is completely uninhabited.
The elves of Verdentia are organized into a government called the Council of Courts. Each court represents some abstract territory and thus provides a rudimentary framework for maintaining peace. The two most powerful and largest courts are the Court of Leaves and the Court of the River. The dwarves, on the other hand, lack an obvious government but have a group called The Dark Protectors who seem to maintain order and settle disputes when they arise. The gnomes lack any official organization or territory as they are mostly integrated into Verdentia and the northernmost provinces of Sut. As such, gnomes are often used as diplomats and liaisons between the Council of Courts and the Empire of Süt. Most inhabitants speak the common tongue, although some human barbarian clans have their own languages.

Timeline (similar to the Gregorian calendar, ie 12 months per year, 7 days per week)

0 A.C. A cataclysm alters the land of Ancev, throwing the continent back to a prehistoric wilderness setting.

139 A.C. The surviving elves rediscover magic and the first wizards of the new age are trained.

150 A.C. Barbaric humans from the continent of Pav-cru immigrate to Ancev and begin repopulating the continent.

525 A.C. Southern humans forge iron weapons with the aid of ancient, pre-cataclysm dwarven forge techniques.

788 A.C. Monastary at Mt. Tskuba is built.

1001 A.C. Court of Leaves forms

1299 A.C. The provinces in the south solidify into sovereign nations.

1307 A.C. The Council of Courts is formed along with several new Courts.

1341 A.C. Emperor Bo Bu To unites the provinces as an Empire by military might.

1500 A.C. Adamantine weapons are sold to the Empire by the dwarves, although the Empire is still unable to forge them.

1700 A.C. Gnomes invent gunpowder, and humans steal an early inferior formula in 1781 A.C.

1809 A.C. Mythril armor, to outfit the army of Uh, is bought from the dwarves at a tremendous cost, destroying the economy of Uh.

1999 A.C. Present day; the 28th day of the 12th month of the 31st year of the reign of Emperor Bo Yu Pha.

Pantheons:
Northerners adhere to the Greyhawk cosmology presented in the PHB.

The Empire of Süt only condones one religion, the Temple of Amateresu (a female version of Pelor). However, the temple as a whole has lost favor as the followers of Amateresu have views which are not purely aligned with most of the Fongs. Unofficial temples to other deities are growing in number, although they are heavily taxed. Only the Temple of Amateresu has avoided taxation due to its official status and favor with the emperor. The principle deity that opposes Amateresu is her brother, the storm god Izanagi. Nearly all of the temples of Izanagi have been destroyed, but rumors of secret Izanagi-worshiping-coveys plotting to destroy the Temple of Amateresu are quite commonplace.

In the Great Wastes, religion is complicated and important, as one would expect for a region populated by religious zealots. The principle powers of influence are Horus-Ra, Set, Sehkemet, Neith, Thoth, and Osiris. To a lesser extent Anubis, Nephthys, and Isis hold sway over a number of worshipers. Ironically, the Northern god Vecna has accumulated a small and isolated group of followers in the desert.

Anubis – The jackal headed god of embalming, son of Osiris; clerics have domains of Healing, Travel, or Death.

Geb – The god of earth, son of Ra; clerics have domains of Earth, Law or Strength.

Horus-Ra* – The falcon headed sun god, a fusion of Ra and great grandson Horus; clerics have domains of Good, Sun, Fire, or Healing.

Isis – The goddess of women, rivers, and animals, wife to Osiris; clerics have domains of Water, Animal, or Good.

Neith – The goddess of hearth, home, family, and defensive warfare. Opposes Sekhemet; clerics have domains of War, Protection or Healing.

Nephthys – The goddess of children and curiosity, wife to Set who coupled with Osiris to give Anubis; clerics have Luck, Trickery or Chaos.

Nut – The sky goddess, daughter of Ra, who swallows him at night; clerics have domains of Air, Chaos, or Luck.

Osiris* – The old god of death, slain by Set, grandson of Ra who fathered Horus and Anubis; clerics have domains of Death, Good, Law or Plant.

Sekhemet – The lion headed goddess of war and destruction; clerics have domains of War, Strength, or Destruction.

Set – The god of jealousy and ambition, who slew the serpent Apep and took its power; clerics have domains of Evil, Death, Trickery or War.

Thoth – The moon god of magic and knowledge; clerics have domains of Knowledge, Magic, or Air.

Vecna – The alien god of evil and magic, who seeks refuge from the rest of the Northern pantheon; allied strongly with Set (same as PHB).

* - Followers of these two deities are tolerated throughout the Great Wastes except by the followers of Geb, Set, and Vecna. The followers of the remaining deities do not accept one another, although the animosity is strongest between Neith and Sekhemet, and Osiris and Set.


House Rules/clarifications to core rules:

Skill focus: This feat grants a +3 competence bonus to one skill rather than +2.

Hit Dice: At any point during a character’s career they may begin to have average hit points for their hit dice. However, once this is chosen it affects all future hit dice rolls, even if they are of a different die type and the ability to roll for hit points can’t be restored.

Level drain and hit points: Players do not normally need to write down the exact hit points rolled at each level (I trust you). When a PC is drained of a level and loses a hit die, then that die result must be recorded. When they attain a level in a class with that same hit die the subtracted hit points are gained back instead of rolling. For example, the 2nd level Ranger Natasha has 11 hit points at 2nd level. She is level drained down to first level and rolls an 8 on her d8 (see below). She now has 3 hp at first level. If she advances in any class with a d8 hit die, she gains 8 hit points in lieu of rolling the d8. Thus PCs only need to record the exact hit die rolls when levels are lost not when they are gained. The minimum number of total hit points a character can have is 1. If Natasha had one level of rogue and one level of ranger she might have as few as 7 hit points with no constitution bonus or penalty. If she had rolled a 7 or an 8 on her d8 it would have been treated as a 6 instead. When she gained back her level of ranger she would regain 6 hit points instead of rolling.

Harm: This spell has a Fortitude save for partial. This spell deals 10 times the cleric’s caster level upon a successful Fortitude save. Normally no save is allowed, but with this house rule a failed save has the normal result.

Countering Spell-like abilities: Spell-like abilities can be countered as if they are spells. The normal rules for countering spells apply. All spell-like abilities are treated identically to spells which have had the eschew materials metamagic feat applied. Thus spell-like abilities which are based upon spells with verbal components also require verbal incantation, although the caster’s native tongue may be used if neither Draconic or the language of magic can be spoken. Generally, spell-like abilities that are similar to spells requiring a costly material component also require that component.

Clerics/Paladins without deities: Clerics must choose a deity or sacrifice the ability to cast domain spells. Paladins do not need to choose a specific deity, but spells can not be prepared unless a specific deity is prayed to and worshiped. Paladins can worship multiple deities, but if a paladin ever prays to a particular deity (for spells) then that paladin is considered to worship that deity. Paladins who worship multiple deities are beholden to each and so are recommended to choose deities whose ethos and will are unlikely to come into conflict. If either a cleric’s or paladin’s deity is unable to perceive their prayers (such as by being on a plane totally isolated from that deities influence) then they are unable to prepare new spells. Divine keys can often be used to permit such a connection even when one is not normally present.

Quickened spells: Quickened spells can only be cast when a caster has opportunity to take an action such as during her turn or when a readied action is triggered or during an attack of opportunity. Unless the spell specifically designates, they can’t trigger upon having to make a save or by being attacked unless the attack provokes an attack of opportunity.


Psionics Revisions:

Body Fuel: A limited amount of temporary ability damage caused by the use of this psionic feat can be healed by the use of either Lesser body adjustment or Body adjustment powers. Either power can heal up to twice the manifester level in ability damage dealt by the Body Fuel feat per day. A divine or arcane method of restoring temporary ability damage is not limited, nor is the natural process of healing temporary ability damage. This revision is intended to prevent the Body Fuel, Body Adjustment, Trigger Power combination from generating unlimited power points, although the combination can be used to generate a few more power points per day at the expense of a couple of feats.

 

[Arabesu]

Session 1 (cont)

It wasn’t too difficult to convince Gilder and Knom. Both had been looking for work anyway. Eric mentioned that someone named Habrin Sneed was looking for a group of adventurers to retrieve an item of value. Gilder was cautiously interested. Knom was less so. It sounded too much like stealing, in which Knom would never participate. Nevertheless, Eric didn’t know the exact details and they were all desperate, so they agreed to the meeting. Gilder was obviously interested in the money, Eric was more interested in adventure, and Knom also was interested in adventure, but more importantly felt that he owed it Gilder to help if he could.

They were to meet Sneed at The Grey Griffin, a mediocre tavern on the northern edge of Forestral. The proprietor had described Sneed to Eric as “a bookish little snob who conducts ‘is business at my tables without so much as a copper given over to me as commission. He comes in every night though so I can’t complain too much; at least he never causes any trouble.”

Before they went to the Griffin, Gilder offered to appraise the merchandise they’d found, and to have the boots identified by one of his associates. The boots were “The Boots of the Goat.” They could provide the wearer with incredible balance, jumping strength, and climbing capacity under suitable conditions. The only drawback was that the wearer continually talked much like a goat would, with a series of neighs and grunts interspersed within the wearer’s normal speech, which explained why Procknock had talked in such an unusual manner. The claw gauntlets had been crafted by a master artisan and brought enough gold to identify the boots and to buy some additional supplies. Gilder sold the rest of the gear, pocketing an undisclosed amount, and gave the rest to Knom and Eric. Each was reluctant to wear the boots, particularly Knom who felt that the boots would interfere with spellcasting. Finally, Eric agreed to wear the boots, but only when the group was engaging some obviously dangerous situation such as crawling around a cavern.

The Grey Griffin was moderately busy but they were able to get a table with a stern look at some local commoners. The proprietor’s son, whom he called “The Boy,” as in “The Boy will bring your grub,” served them with a cautiously curious demeanor. Sneed arrived, in a flurry of cloth, papers and books, sniffing and wiping his nose on his large dangling sleeves that seemed to function as pockets for yet more papers and books. He was bespectacled, which confused the party greatly since none of them had actually seen a pair of glasses before, although Gilder figured it out quickly since he had always had his eye on the jeweler’s loop used by one of his associates. They observed as The Boy served Sneed supper, which he ate somewhat casually while inspecting some papers. Several peasants nearby were anxiously waiting for him to finish before they approached. When he finally did, a small struggle broke out as to who would speak to him first, the winner stood at his table edge for a short time before Sneed looked up.

The party looked on as the poor sap paid what must have cost several weeks wage to ask a couple of questions. Sneed wrote them down, took notes, or scribbled something while the pauper talked at which point they were able to determine that the man was to return in a week, presumably for an answer. They had already asked around as to Sneed’s occupation and all sources indicated that he was an information broker. The party approached Sneed quickly before another peasant could approach.

Sneed: “Yeees? You have some questions.”

Gilder: “Our colleague here,” pointing to Eric, “overheard that you were looking for three clever adventurers for some arduous task. One for which we could be richly compensated?”

Sneed: “I have such a job. You will need someone who can disable traps.”

Knom and Eric look to Gilder he shrugged then nodded.

Sneed continued “and of course, there may be guardians.” After looking them over to see if they had weapons, he spoke again, “I’d like for you to retrieve an important item of value to me, a ring. It once belonged to a man named Varg, and I have reason to believe that it was buried along with him in crypt that is near here. The crypt was constructed by the gnomish architect, Znute, who was widely renowned for his cunning use of traps to protect the rich from tomb raiders. I desperately wish to possess Varg’s ring and will pay …” he peered into his back of coins, “200 gold coins to the group who retrieves it.”

The party stepped aside for a moment to discuss it. Gilder and Eric were interested but Knom was leery. It sounded like they would be robbing the dead and Knom didn’t want to participate. After some discussion, he was convinced, but he was still reluctant. They agreed to Sneed’s terms, made arrangements for meeting up later at the Griffon, and Sneed gathered up his books to show them the way to Varg’s crypt.

 

[Arabesu]

The crypt

Session 1 (cont):

Rain and a chill wind.

Gilder wanted a warm bed and a warm meal. He was thinking to himself, “Why is it that any time that dwarves or humans go adventuring they don’t have the common sense to come in from the rain or have a proper meals? They hadn’t even had time to snack at the Griffin, what with watching for Sneed and all.” He stirred from his thoughts at the sound of a snort and neigh from Eric who was by now wearing The Boots of the Goat.

Sneed led them through the rain to a small cemetery. He pointed to a crypt at the back, said a few encouraging words, then reminded them to meet him tomorrow night at the Griffin with the ring and left. The group used stealth and caution to approach, for no apparent reason. The crypt was well sealed; the sole window at the back was barred and the handle had long ago rusted off the heavy stone front door. With effort, they pried open the front door with a spike from Knom’s gauntlet. It was dark inside. Gilder entered and began lighting a candle. As soon as the little tongue of flame sprang to life, everything went black. Somewhere, someone had cast darkness.

The group sprang to action; Gilder was listening as Knom and Eric drew weapons. They heard “Flit, Flit, Flit.” Knom asked, “Bats?” Gilder responded, “I don’t think so.” Suddenly Eric gave out a yelp that was quickly and suddenly muffled. They could hear him struggling, and mumbling as if under a blanket. Feeling for him they found him struggling with a leathery skinned beast that had wrapped itself around his head. The heard a second flapping and Knom felt it brush past him with tremendous force. Arriving at the same conclusion immediately, “Darkmantles,” Knom and Gilder retreated out of the crypt, hauling Eric with them. They scurried about trying to find the edge of the darkness as Eric succeeded in killing the beast by head butting the side of the crypt. He was dizzy, but he would recover, at least he could breath again. They found the edge of the darkness and realized that the second darkmantle hadn’t followed them. They waited until the darkness ended, resting briefly. When they returned, they were attacked again but no darkness fell. They reckoned that they were lucky. The one that had survived was the one that had generated the first darkness effect and it had spent its “darkness gland” for the day.

Looking around them, they saw that the interior of the crypt was a small room with no stairwell or doors. Two small sarcophagi flanked the doorway with a third larger one at the back. They cautiously pried open the lid of both of the nearer vaults after Gilder had confirmed that they were safe. Inside each was the desiccated corpse of a small child. After, opening the second one, they had all almost lost their nerve to proceed. Yet Knom had a strange sensation, one of a dark and malevolent force nearby, and he desperately wanted to destroy it.

They carefully replaced the lids on the two smaller sarcophagi and inspected the third. It was covered with diagrams depicting an historic battle. Imbedded on the vertical surfaces were carved panels, three panels ran along each long side and one on each end. The top was a massive relief of an 8ft tall humanoid at rest. Time and the elements pouring through the barred window at the back of the crypt had conspired to wear away nearly all of the detail of the top, but the side of the sarcophagi farthest from the window was in much better shape. The stone panels featured a tall ogre or half-ogre wielding a massive flaming greatsword in one hand and a longsword in the other. A large shield was stowed at its back. The artist had given the ogre a pristine expression of peace that was neither ugly nor gruesome. Furthermore, the carving evoked a sense of holiness about him. The last panel that they could inspect showed a tall half-elf at his coronation. Nearby, in the background was the ogre, radiating nobility, friendship, and approval.

During their inspection of the stone panels, Gilder and Knom found that on both of the narrow ends was a narrow groove that ran from the lip of the stone top to the floor. Upon further inspection, they discovered that a thin cable, tightly anchored in the top, lay within the groove and ran into a hole in the floor. The presence of the cable at either end, made the sarcophagus difficult to open with out snapping or stretching the cable. Finally, they decided to cut one of the cables and to pivot the lid about the other; hopefully any trap that had sprung would be only partially active.

Gilder pulled the cord out and cut it with his dagger while Eric and Knom heaved on the top pivoting about the second cord’s anchor point. The sound of stone scraping on stone was deafening. Gilder stood up and looked in. No body, instead there were stairs. Knom and Eric stopped shoving on the top, but the sound of stone moving against stone didn’t stop. They all listened at the stairwell and heard the distinctive sound of a stone door opening down below.

And then the sound stopped and all they could hear was their loudly beating hearts.

 

[Arabesu]

Session 1 (cont):

Luckily, Eric had enough foresight to bring torches. With torch in hand, Gilder reluctantly descended the loosely spiraling staircase. At the bottom was a short corridor ending in a door. After inspecting it briefly, he proceeded to solve the lock. THUNK. A seven inch needle whizzed by Gilder landing squarely in Eric’s shoulder. Within seconds, Eric was weakened but was still able to stand. The poison had long ago lost most of its potency. He’d be recover fully in a day or two.

Eric: “Beeee, more caaaareful next tiiiiime.”
Gilder: “Yeah, yeah, whatever goat-boy…hey wait! Do you hear that? There is something shuffling on the other side.”

They readied. Gilder threw open the wooden door, and Eric charged in with Knom close behind. A single horribly decaying zombie was stumbling about in the room before them. Eric cleaved it in two with one blow. Knom grunted in satisfaction. The room they’d entered had three doors with two stone doors opposite one another on walls perpendicular to the wooden door. The right stone door was open. A long length of cable lay coiled about near the door. They could hear more zombies in the room beyond. They waited and cut down each of the two zombies as they emerged from the second chamber.

Gilder pointed out that the coil of cable must have been the line they’d cut above and opening the entrance sarcophagus had open one of the two stone doors. They assessed their condition. After Knom cast some healing spells, they were nearly unharmed and felt confident to proceed. Gilder found the symmetric cable near the ceiling and cut it, opening the other stone door. They looked down another banking staircase. In the room beyond out of sight they could hear more scraping of stone on stone and then a loud crash like a massive rock falling to the floor and breaking into rubble.

They hurried down the stairway, wanting to catch whatever waited below before it could ready for them. Emerging into the room they found a Large skeleton (note the capital L) stepping out of a sarcophagus nearly identical to the one above. It was armed with a longsword wired into its right hand. A ring on that same hand glowed very slightly. It had a jet black shield on its left arm. Eric charged not realizing that the creature could attack him before he could. The skeleton swung wildly as Eric closed, and impaled him on the blade. Eric slid off the weapon unconscious and immediately began to leak massive quantities of vital fluids onto the crypt floor.

Knom held up his hammer and called upon the power of Moradin to push back the undead. It turned and cowered in the far corner. Gilder walked up to it carefully and began hacking away small fragments with his short sword, but it was very slow work. Knom was still desperately tending to Eric when Gilder pointed out that he thought the skeleton was about to rise again. Thinking quickly, Knom slid his hammer over to Gilder. Raising it with both hands, the halfling brought it down onto the skeleton, blasting it into an explosion of bone splinters only after his second attempt. Knom eventually revived Eric barely to consciousness with magic but Eric was still quite shaken. Gilder looked over Varg’s remains. A master artisan had constructed the sword and the shield was made from a strange wood that he wasn’t very familiar with. The ring that Sneed had sent them here to retrieve was there as well.

Gathering the gear and shouldering Eric, they proceeded back up to the surface. Knom and Gilder managed to replace the top of the entrance sarcophagus after some effort. Gilder was in the lead and had just stepped out of the crypt when the heavy metal door was slammed shut separating him from his friends still inside. Two thugs had pushed it closed behind Gilder, and Sneed, with a sneer on his face was waiting for them. Before he could react, Sneed began casting a spell.

Magical energy shot forth from Sneed’s hand. Gilder could not avoid the magic missile spell. But the result was not as Sneed had expected. Sneed assumed that they would be worn out and tired, giving him relatively good odds that he could slay them quickly. But Gilder was still nearly unharmed, except for Sneed's spell. Gilder drew his weapon and closed with Sneed making it difficult for Sneed to cast further spells.

Meanwhile, Knom was desperately heaving against the door trying to shove it open. It wasn’t working. He felt Eric beside him. Together they strained, pushing it open far enough for Knom to step through. However, the exertion was too much for Eric and he lapsed back into unconsciousness. Yet, the situation had changed. Sneed realizing that his plan had failed, fled, but not before Gilder was able wound him. Together, Gilder and Knom were able to slay one of the thugs, subdue the other, and still have time to restore Eric to consciousness. Nevertheless, with Eric still heavily wounded, and Knom flush out of spells, they would have to wait another day to hunt down Sneed and have their revenge.