D&D 5E [Campaign] The Valley of Baron Utherden

[atanakar]

My lastest 5e campaign started in May 2019.

SESSION ZERO

The characters are the children Baron Cerdic Utherden. He is married to Mathilde, the daugther of the King Charles II. As nobles the characters were raised and trained in the capital. After that, they had to go to the front to fight in the war against Duke Imberk, who is trying to encroach on the Baron's land. They have seen action prior to the campaign, so they begin the game at level 3.

• Aquila, female, fighter and cavalier. Member of the King's Army. Eldest of sibblings.
• Rory, male, fighter and arcane archer. Member of the King's Army.
• Suliman, male, cleric and knowledge domain. Worships Vereline & Andalin. The divine couple (good).
• Endricks, male, rogue, arcane trickster. Part of the King's spy network.

During their time at the front, their father, Cedric Utherden, was assassinated. Their mother, thanks to the help of the King Charles II, was able to maintain control over the barony despite lineage contestations by other members of the extended Utherden family. The assassin was never found. The characters return home to mourn their father...

Map of the area and the valley. Each hex is 24 miles and 1" so I can add more detail as the story progresses. I draw by hand by choice to get away from the computer. The capital of the barony is at the bottom right of the picture. A medieval city on top of a small mountain. The valley is at the top left.

After the ceremony, Mathilde informs her children that the trade route which passes through the valley has been blocked for more than a month. Trade with the other kindgoms at the other end of the road is no longer providing vital income to continue the fight against the Duke. She asks her children to ride up the road and reopen it to trade. She sends 5 guards to accompagny them. The next morning the party leaves, with supplies, for a long journey in the less civilized section of the barony.

----TBC---

 

[atanakar]

Design Notes :
At this juncture I don't know more than what I have written above. Gone are the days that I would spend hours preparing kingdoms, pantheons and historical backgrounds. Start small works for me.

What I do know is that this is not LOTR. There are no elves, dwarves, halfings, etc in this campaign. If I decide to insert humanoid races later on it will be at the tribe level only and they will be novel races not in the PHB.

 

[atanakar]

SESSION ONE

The first five days of the expedition take place through what is mostly farm land. As they approach the trade route pass, the Utherdens and their guards, admire the majesty of the Atalas chain of mountains. The trade route to the Eastern kindgoms was opened by their great grandfather. It follows a very turbulent river. At the entry of the pass the Utherdens meet with a small contingent of guards who are in charge of controlling its access. The men are not surprised to meet the nobles. They are the ones who used a pigeon the warn the Utherden family of the sudden lack of caravans. In May, merchant caravans should be passing their post each day. Aquila grills them with questions but they have nothing more to offer. The next day the party resume its trek. They enter the mountain pass and travel along a 60 feet wide canyon. The river is to their left. There is a discussion if they should travel incognito or as Utherden. Aquila, the cavalier, convinces her siblings that going as Utherdens is better. It's more noble and less cowardly. They are still on Utherden lands after all.

By mid-afternoon the weather sours to light rain. They arrive at wider area with average size rock formations and several trees. «The perfect place for an ambush» says Suliman. [Never give the DM ideas]. So since he asked for it, an ambush it is.

Design notes :
In preparation for the session I did some research with the Creature Codex by Kobold Press. I'm using this book to keep the players on their toes since they do not know the creatures. Character knowledge is the same as player knowledge. I like that.

The party is attacked by two Dark Ones, a sub-race of humans who worship ancient evil. Suliman is extremely surprised to see them since according to his religious knowledge they are supposed to be extinct, after an Utherden expedition led by their grandfather. With the Dark Ones is an Orthrus, a two-headed monstrous dog with a snake for tail. The Dark Ones are fantatics and figtht to the death. The combat lasts 4 rounds. One guard is killed. Another is at death’s door. Suliman heals the guard.

Rory searches the cadavers and finds a small roll of paper a quarter inch wide and two inches long in the pocket of one of the Dark Ones. The message inscribed on it is writen in a language he doesn’t know. Sumilan deciphers the message : «Kill the Utherden bastards». The enemy is using pigeons to communicate. Endricks sends his hawk familiar in the air to do a quick surveillance of the immediate area. It finds nothing. The Utherdens are now alert. After a short discussin they decide to let one guard go to alert their mother of what they found. The party resumes travel along the road.

Design notes :
Since I pre-selected the Dark Ones as foes for the party I spent some time thinking about the evil gods. I opted for an infernal couple that mirrors, Adalin and Vereline, the holy couple. Andalin is the god of law, civilisation and order. Yerrine is the goddess of creativity, nature and fecondity. The evil Karadon is the god war, chaos and death. Yerrine is the goddess of disease, bad luck and decadence. Law vs Chaos is an old school archetype but it is fine for my purpose. Creating a polytheiste pantheon similar to greek gods is not something I fancy in my campaigns. Four gods is more than enough.

[Roll for random encounter = Yes. Is it positive, negative or balanced? (1-2 positive, 3-5 negative, 6 balanced. Result = balanced.]

The negative
Late in the afternoon the party is looking for a dry place to set up camp for the night. Resenting the intrusion in its territory an Irijaq charges and attacks Rory from behind. The seven foot tall bypedal caribou with large antlers savages the archer. After three rounds of combat the creature retreats into the mountain, to lick its wounds.

The positive
Shortly after, three men announce themselves as they approach the camp. They are dressed in furs and leather. They have a rugged appearance. They are trappers. A man and his two sons. They have a cabin not far from here. They offer lodging for the night to the Utherdens. They are glad the Irijaq was seriously injured. It will leave their traps alone for a while. The party are very happy to spend the night in a dry environment. They eat a basic, but hot meal, drink strong alcohol and listen to the two sons playing music. The night is rest full.

They next day after goodbyes, and a few gold coins for the trappers, the troupe resume their mission. At midday the pass is much larger. 120 feet wide. 300 feet in front of them they observe a dark one on a nightmare. In front of him 12 skeletons have their weapons drawn. «Turn around Utherdens if you value your lives! We own the pass now and it is closed for business!» Despite the party's best effort to influence the dark one, he remains firm in his resolve [Fanatic with advantage]. The Utherdens march forward slowly weapons drawn. Aquila, on her horse, makes a surprise charges against the leader but fails miserably with her attacks. She discover that he is a necromancer. After inflicting necrotic damage the dark one prefers to leave the combat to his skeletons and flees the scene, flying away on his nightmare. Rory shoots a few arrows and hits the dark one, but it is not enough to kill him.

End of session one. The characters earn half the XPs needed to reach level 4.