Vindicator
First Post
On the outskirts of the village it stands. A three-story house, wooden, ancient, leaning slightly to one side. Painted black—everything, including the windows—black as the deepest pits of the abyss. It seems almost a living, breathing thing, staring at the village of Karin-Kurr with malevolence and sinister intention, as if resenting them for being what it is not, for being living while it is dead. Or, perhaps, undead.
One morning, with no warning, no premonition, no reason, it was there. No one had built it, no one had commissioned it, no one had discovered it. One morning it was there, in a desolate field outside the town, a field that had been vacant the previous night.
Now one week has passed and the children are dying. Some are feverish, some wracked with horrific cold, some weeping with the agony of festering boils. But whatever their ailment, the children are dying.
For the adults it is perhaps even worse; they remain in perfect health. Their only symptom is the nightmare that they all share each night: a man in black, his face cloaked in darkness, hovering over the village, laughing with a wet, choking whistle, as if forced to breathe through a hole carved in his throat.
You have come to Karin-Kurr not for glory, not for fame, not for treasure.
You have come to do what is right.
After the meeting in the tavern, which serves intermittently as a crowded town hall, it is decided: a party must enter the house and discover the horrors that lie within; discover them and snuff them out. There are few young men (or, for that matter, young women) in Karin-Kurr and fewer of the able-bodied who know how to fight.
It is thus with difficulty that a party is finally chosen: Viviana, Terrance, Rhodan, Greyore Silverson, and Hamras. It is believed that this balance of spellcasters and warriors, natives and outsiders, male and female, will perhaps lead to victory.
Perhaps.
* * *
It is dawn. A short walk from the village brings you to the house. Every one of your senses tells you this is unholy ground. Greyore Silverson stretches out his hand and uses the paladin’s gift to find the evil in men’s hearts and senses a presence so sinister feels his blood run cold.
http://www.enworld.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=14386
There seem to be three possibilities: you are facing a dilapidated front door that hangs uneasily in its rusted hinges. In addition there is a storage shed just to the NW of the house. Finally, there may be other entrances.
What do you do now?
[Vindicator’s rant: It is assumed that you all talked to the villagers and got as much information as possible, which is very little. They know nothing more than (a) the house appeared, (b) the children began getting seriously ill, some nearly to the point of death, and (c) the adults of the village are tormented by the nightmare, every night, of the man in black floating above the town, laughing his strange, uncanny laugh. It is also assumed that Greyore Silverson and Hamras would have used their healing abilities to help the children as best they could; but it is obvious that they are only postponing the inevitable.]
[On characters: I’ve gone over the proposals for two of the characters, Viviana and Rhodhan. On Rhodhan: It costs 100 gp to aquire a familiar (PHB p.54), so you aren’t in a position to do that yet. During the course of the adventure it will become a possibility, so I’ll keep the stats for the toad until then. Also, as a human Rhodhan gets an extra 4 skill points at first level, which haven’t been spent yet. Otherwise, everything checks out for Rhodan.]
[On Viviana: everything looks good. I'll go through the other three characters today and post comments tomorrow (Saturday).]
[TO ALL SPELLCASTERS: Please let me know what spells you’ve prepared for the day.]
[TO Viviania: You will control the actions of Crokks, but I will ask for Handle Animal checks in certain situations.]
One morning, with no warning, no premonition, no reason, it was there. No one had built it, no one had commissioned it, no one had discovered it. One morning it was there, in a desolate field outside the town, a field that had been vacant the previous night.
Now one week has passed and the children are dying. Some are feverish, some wracked with horrific cold, some weeping with the agony of festering boils. But whatever their ailment, the children are dying.
For the adults it is perhaps even worse; they remain in perfect health. Their only symptom is the nightmare that they all share each night: a man in black, his face cloaked in darkness, hovering over the village, laughing with a wet, choking whistle, as if forced to breathe through a hole carved in his throat.
You have come to Karin-Kurr not for glory, not for fame, not for treasure.
You have come to do what is right.
After the meeting in the tavern, which serves intermittently as a crowded town hall, it is decided: a party must enter the house and discover the horrors that lie within; discover them and snuff them out. There are few young men (or, for that matter, young women) in Karin-Kurr and fewer of the able-bodied who know how to fight.
It is thus with difficulty that a party is finally chosen: Viviana, Terrance, Rhodan, Greyore Silverson, and Hamras. It is believed that this balance of spellcasters and warriors, natives and outsiders, male and female, will perhaps lead to victory.
Perhaps.
* * *
It is dawn. A short walk from the village brings you to the house. Every one of your senses tells you this is unholy ground. Greyore Silverson stretches out his hand and uses the paladin’s gift to find the evil in men’s hearts and senses a presence so sinister feels his blood run cold.
http://www.enworld.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=14386
There seem to be three possibilities: you are facing a dilapidated front door that hangs uneasily in its rusted hinges. In addition there is a storage shed just to the NW of the house. Finally, there may be other entrances.
What do you do now?
[Vindicator’s rant: It is assumed that you all talked to the villagers and got as much information as possible, which is very little. They know nothing more than (a) the house appeared, (b) the children began getting seriously ill, some nearly to the point of death, and (c) the adults of the village are tormented by the nightmare, every night, of the man in black floating above the town, laughing his strange, uncanny laugh. It is also assumed that Greyore Silverson and Hamras would have used their healing abilities to help the children as best they could; but it is obvious that they are only postponing the inevitable.]
[On characters: I’ve gone over the proposals for two of the characters, Viviana and Rhodhan. On Rhodhan: It costs 100 gp to aquire a familiar (PHB p.54), so you aren’t in a position to do that yet. During the course of the adventure it will become a possibility, so I’ll keep the stats for the toad until then. Also, as a human Rhodhan gets an extra 4 skill points at first level, which haven’t been spent yet. Otherwise, everything checks out for Rhodan.]
[On Viviana: everything looks good. I'll go through the other three characters today and post comments tomorrow (Saturday).]
[TO ALL SPELLCASTERS: Please let me know what spells you’ve prepared for the day.]
[TO Viviania: You will control the actions of Crokks, but I will ask for Handle Animal checks in certain situations.]
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