Deuce Traveler's Last Stand of the Dorinthians

[Deuce Traveler]

Silas, Danica, and Dartis all receive 825 XP for this part of Chapter 3. Moving onto the final part after we all introduce ourselves with the new characters in the IC section.

As for the two new players, please feel free to click on the Last Stand of the Dorinthians: Chapter 3 link below. Also, please fill out any holes (like descriptions and backgrounds) you might have as soon as you can. Otherwise, please jump right in!

 

[GlassEye]

I tried to get innvolved with my big confession, and then we just moved past!

But seriously, dont worry, Fenris. The rank on the characters means thisis innevitable. Poor Danica does not feel left out.

So much was going on at the same time that Danica made her confession that it was difficult to know what to respond to. And wizardry is such a big part of who Silas is that for him to find out that magic is a part of someone else's life is no great surprise to him. Though, her feelings towards it might baffle him, and he might feel a wee bit of jealousy at the ease with which she uses it...

As for all of us being involved in every scene, you all were more than patient while Silas went on his jaunt to try to recruit the Formians to the Dorinthian cause. I figure it doesn't hurt for him to take the back seat once in a while And Fenris, I appreciate you leaving openings for us. The great thing about a character with average charisma (like Silas) is that even when there isn't an appropriate opening you can still make one and pass it off as a lapse in politeness/judgement.

Oh, thanks for this chapter DT. I enjoyed it very much.

And FINALLY...welcome hafrogman and Nephtys!

Oh, wait, I've a short list of things we picked up in the Dwarven caverns that we should divy up. Though Silas has been blessed with treasure so far and would readily give up some to share the wealth...
[sblock=Found in the Dwarven Caverns]keyring with four black keys with curvy shaped lengths
a well-made sling
two small sapphires (150 gp each)
ten crude gold pieces with the face of a lizard-humanoid emblazoned on both ends
a silver ring with runes of an unknown language etched upon its surface[/sblock]

 

[Deuce Traveler]

By the way, to have gotten the formians on your side, you would have had to offered them land outside your new abode. They would have stopped fighting and sent scouts, but if they liked what they saw they would have moved underneath the town's trash dump and lived off the scraps of what the farmers and butchers threw away. I meant that part to be hard to resolve, since if you brought peace to them they would have become allies for later, and formians are pretty powerful.

I'm going to ID for you the items you've collected, since it saves time and you would do it anyway:

Nefius' staff (gift for Silas): Rod of the Python... can be used as a quarterstaff +1
Light Crossbow taken from Imperial wizard (gift for Danica): Light Crossbow+1, seeking
Of course, the shield is for Dartis. The party will have need of it in the final chapter.

The keyring would have opened up doors farther in the dungeon, but you would have had trouble surviving. The treasure would have been greater, but the danger equally so.
The sling is a sling +1
The gold pieces are non-magical.
The silver ring is a ring of protection +1

If you want to sell them, a dwarven merchant offers to purchase the two gems for 125gp each.

 

[Nephtys]

And FINALLY...welcome hafrogman and Nephtys!

Thanks. I have a question. How much does my (and his) character know about the significant NPCs (other than what's on pg1) and the actions of the other PCs?

What is the situation right now? The incompetent king murdered and enslaved the nobles and taxed the commoners into rebellion. The country was invaded by its stronger neigbour and its people are either massacred, fled or enslaved, its armies defeated and scattered. Does anything remain that can call itself a legitimate authority? What allies/servants/lords do the party work for and what are their resources? What about their enemies?

 

[Fenris]

Does anything remain that can call itself a legitimate authority?

Me.

What allies/servants/lords do the party work for and what are their resources?

Me again.




Seriously though. There are a handfull of Dorinthian nobles seeking to reunite the scattered peoples of Dorinthia. The two highest ranking are Baron Dorin and Baron Dartis Kalnian. Outside of this there are a few militia leaders. Nothing central has, as yet, asserted itself, outside of Baron Dorin ridig herd over some of the refugees.


The party has at this point been aiding the various peoples who have been aiding the refugees. the gnomes and the dwarves both sheltered Dorinthians, and we have helped them defeat various enemies, including those who we share (the Imperials who were just driven off).

Our allies have been generous with food, shelter, healing and mundane equipment.

Enemies. Well we've killed a kobold sorcerer, a crazy gnome shoving crystals into kobold heads, and the Imperials. Oh and a giggling troll who rips people apart. I believe that Imperial forces will remain on ongoing threat as we attepmt to shelter and re-establish the refugees.

My comments above were only partly in jest, as Baron Kalnian is my character

 

[Fenris]

Hey Hafrogman,
Hopefully what I have proposed is OK by you. I kind of had to walk the line between


'All is forgiven, welcome to the party'

and

'Drag him along in chains'

This should let you be free and keep your weapon, while still maintaining an appropriate distance for a bit. One that hopefully will be quickly resolved

Hey DT, Do we get to keep Kel for a bit still?

 

[Nephtys]

Thanks, Fenris.

So you're the leader of the party? I have no problem with that. My character certainly wouldn't want that responsibility. But he's not really a follower either so don't expect any blind obedience. That shouldn't be a problem as long as we're all fighting the same war, though. And my character will go along with whatever you guys decide as long as it's not too crazy.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Some more background stuff... the adventure started with the refugees being granted a camp in the elven lands. This has been the cause of a lot of tension in the elven courts between those who wanted to give up the refugees to the Imperials, and those that wanted to help the humans. Anyway, the humans needed a new home, and the elves agreed to help the party locate the remains of a half-elf town (looked like a human settlement deep in the woods) that got wiped out by an orc invasion generations ago. The party succeeded in this by making friends with a local kobold tribe and wiping out the goblins that had pushed the kobolds out previously. The town has yet to be renamed.

The party has made a lot of friends and have created trade and diplomatic links with kobolds, gnomes, and now dwarves. The elves are also friends, but the threatening gestures of the Imperials, frequent orc invasions that come each generation (they're due for another), and past problems with Dorinthians have made them wary of outsiders.

The party has been sent to rescue another band of refugees that were hiding with the dwarves who gave them shelter (which is where Nephtys' character comes in as he was one of them). They are also looking for Baron Dorin's son, a paladin and leader of the remaining Dorinthian cavalry force. Unfortunately, the cavalry broke free of the siege to try to get help and hasn't been seen since (which is where hafrogman's character can help).

I hope that is a decent catch-up. You might want to take the time to quickly go through the previous threads (in my sig) to see the plot twists along the way... like the mad gnome who tried to use kobolds to genocide his own people... he considered it a mercy killing since he could see the future and saw the 'greatest crime that was to be committed' and that the elven capital would burn.

 

[hafrogman]

Hey Hafrogman,
Hopefully what I have proposed is OK by you.

It sounds like a good compromise to me. I figured I'd be in for a bit of a struggle, starting from the wrong side and all. But hopefully, since Ventus is above all a creature of honor, they will learn to trust him quickly enough, even if they still hate him

Should be a fun path.


One thing I noticed is that the start of this game seems to have been lost in the great board crash. Did we miss anything more significant than DT's summary?

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Hey DT, Do we get to keep Kel for a bit still?

I'm thinking yes. His separation from the party is an important part of the story as I see it (although a small scene), so he has to at least return to the town the refugees have claimed.

Otherwise, he'll be spending most of his time healing the critically wounded Rix and Alexander. Do you want me to NPC him for the next section of this chapter or have him stay in the dwarven stronghold to lead the militia and refugees until your party returns?