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Message: <blockquote data-quote="THEMNGMNT" data-source="post: 8686939" data-attributes="member: 6809274">27th session of Monte Cook's 3E Banewarrens campaign run with Shadow of the Demon Lord on Owlbear Rodeo.Five player characters at Level 5:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Dwarf Fighter/Warrior. Heir to a lost kingdom. His trinket is half of a treasure map. However, after being kidnapped by mysterious forces, his consciousness has somehow transferred into a Clockwork Rogue/Artificer. The whereabouts of his body are unknown.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Elf Wizard/Magician. Outcast from elven lands, raised in Ptolus, keeper of a dark secret. His magical traditions are Arcana, Teleportation, Chaos, and Fey.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Goblin Oracle/Magician. Responsible for the destruction of his tribe. Specialized in the Fire and Forbidden magic traditions.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Changeling Spellbinder/Rogue. Created by House Vladaam to replace a child they kidnapped and held in servitude. Naturally, she wants revenge. Two weapon fighter with the Battle tradition.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Human Paladin/Priest. Cleric of Lothian, the primary god of Ptolus. His magical traditions are Life, Theurgy, and Battle. His wife was murdered by undead and now he seeks answers.</li> </ul>Six sessions ago the dwarf fighter was kidnapped in the Banewarrens and taken into Ptolus. This session the others player finally got him back.They knew he had been kidnapped by the Pactlords of the Quaan and they'd discovered the Pactlords had an agent known as the Veiled Woman. She held court at a sort of high society/low life speakeasy called the Onyx Spider. The Onyx Spider was neutral ground where no blood could be spilled. A great place for shady dealings.They split the party -- one in disguise at the bar, another on the street outside, and three who approached the Veiled Woman directly. They asked her what she wanted in return for their kidnapped comrade -- but they already knew the answer: The Bane Key.The Veiled Woman was ready to do the swap right here, right now. The dwarf for the Key. The players were incredibly reluctant to give her the Key, even though they believed they could simply follow the Pactlords into the Banewarrens, ambush them, and recover the Key.What followed was a game of three dimensional chess as I tried to figure out how to orchestrate the exchange. The characters missed a few opportunities to backtrack the villains to their lair and locate the dwarf -- a recurring theme over the last several sessions. I could sense it was time to resolve this subplot and move on. Ultimately, the deal was done -- the dwarf for the Key.As the Veiled Woman and her bodyguards exited the Onyx Spider with the Bane Key in their possession, the wizard followed under an invisibility spell. He watched as a wyvern descended from the night sky. The Veiled Woman mounted the wyvern, then turned to face the wizard -- as if she could see him. She took off her mask, revealing the face of their supposed ally, the half-elf sorceress Jevvica Norr. She gestured for the wizard to join her on the wyvern. "Well," she said, "what are you waiting for?"Next session: Sting of the Wyvern!PS: During the ransom, the characters learned that the Pactlords hoped to find a magical plague within the Banewarrens and unleash it upon civilization. So stopping them is more important than ever.</blockquote>

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