airwalkrr
Adventurer
What follows is an adaptation of the very first D&D campaign I ever ran. It began as an AD&D 2nd edition campaign that eventually converted to 3rd and later 3.5. I've been keeping notes on this campaign and occassionally running adventures for it for nearly 15 years. This is a retelling of that story using many of the same characters, plus some that I wish had been around for the first run. I hope you enjoy it as much as my players and I have.
It was the end of their first tenday, and already the travelers were weary. There were four, two of them men, one of them part elf, the fourth part orc. None of them had known each other long, nor did they know much about the world in general, but this was not to define their existence for long. They had just set out upon a simple journey which they expected to last four or five tendays, but scarcely more, or so they believed.
Their mission was a simple one, as the Elder Telpen had explained to them before leaving the city of Manacea. A friend of the Elder's had expressed a desire to return to his monastery to visit with his old master, the one who had led him to enlightenment. This friend was a monk named Omar, and he suffered from amnesia. You see one year previous, Omar had been discovered in the city of Manacea lying face-first on the ground in a dark alley. He was dressed as a member of the city militia and so was supposed to be a militia man, though no militia captain claimed to have seen him before. When he was found he remembered only his name and a brief moment before he had been brought to the alley, a moment where he glanced the face of a dark-haired man with a finely chiseled chin and a green cloak. It was many tendays before it was determined by the city council that this man was not, in fact, a member of the militia but actually an orphaned monk from the Citadel of Gea to the northeast. How this man had come to the city was anyone's guess, for the monastery had not seen him for several years. It was only by chance that a passing traveler who had recently been to Gea noticed his features resembled those of a man whose description was given him while he visited with Master Galren of the Citadel.
When this information was brought to the attention of the city council, they believed the mystery of Omar's origins had finally been solved. Elder Telpen had been the one who suggested Omar's original pilgrimage to his home at Gea. As luck would have it, a monk named Tyrus who was living in the city and had trained under Master Galren was known to Telpen. He made a request of the monk that he would escort Omar back to his home at Gea where he could be among his own kind once again. Tyrus readily agreed, and, with his two comrades Mathren and Celen, began the trek to Gea.
Omar's and Tyrus' homecoming was not to be an easy one however. When they arrived at the Citadel, they found it overrun by assassins who had slain many of the monks, including Master Galren. Led by an evil priest named Andarius, the assassins had invaded the monastery to procure the Mystal of Death, a powerful artifact that was guarded by the monks. Fortunately, their mission failed, as the Mystal of Death was well hidden and the monks refused to speak. Tyrus, Mathren, Celen and Omar arrived just as Andarius was attempting to divine the location of the mystal from Master Galren's lifeless body. They disrupted the ritual and Andarius fled, cursing them for their meddling and vowing revenge.
In the months that followed, Tyrus, Mathren, and Celen hunted down the wicked Andarius, chasing him all the way to the Titan Mountains far to the north. They finally caught him in the dwarven ruins of Duomir after securing the aid of a deep gnome who called himself Bannocker, or simply "Banny" for short. With Banny's help, they learned of Andarius' plan for the mystal. A vast dwarven cemetery was located deep beneath Duomir, housing the bones and weapons of both legendary dwarves and their enemies. Andarius wished to use the Mystal of Death to create an undead army from these remains. When they finally approached the entrance to Andarius' mausoleum, the vile cleric assaulted them with black magic, leaving them all but destroyed. However, Andarius fared no better, and he barely escaped with his life. After they had recovered, the heroes laid waste to Andarius' lair, destroying all of his studies on the mystal and its necromantic applications. His terrible plot had been thwarted.
It was the end of their first tenday, and already the travelers were weary. There were four, two of them men, one of them part elf, the fourth part orc. None of them had known each other long, nor did they know much about the world in general, but this was not to define their existence for long. They had just set out upon a simple journey which they expected to last four or five tendays, but scarcely more, or so they believed.
Their mission was a simple one, as the Elder Telpen had explained to them before leaving the city of Manacea. A friend of the Elder's had expressed a desire to return to his monastery to visit with his old master, the one who had led him to enlightenment. This friend was a monk named Omar, and he suffered from amnesia. You see one year previous, Omar had been discovered in the city of Manacea lying face-first on the ground in a dark alley. He was dressed as a member of the city militia and so was supposed to be a militia man, though no militia captain claimed to have seen him before. When he was found he remembered only his name and a brief moment before he had been brought to the alley, a moment where he glanced the face of a dark-haired man with a finely chiseled chin and a green cloak. It was many tendays before it was determined by the city council that this man was not, in fact, a member of the militia but actually an orphaned monk from the Citadel of Gea to the northeast. How this man had come to the city was anyone's guess, for the monastery had not seen him for several years. It was only by chance that a passing traveler who had recently been to Gea noticed his features resembled those of a man whose description was given him while he visited with Master Galren of the Citadel.
When this information was brought to the attention of the city council, they believed the mystery of Omar's origins had finally been solved. Elder Telpen had been the one who suggested Omar's original pilgrimage to his home at Gea. As luck would have it, a monk named Tyrus who was living in the city and had trained under Master Galren was known to Telpen. He made a request of the monk that he would escort Omar back to his home at Gea where he could be among his own kind once again. Tyrus readily agreed, and, with his two comrades Mathren and Celen, began the trek to Gea.
Omar's and Tyrus' homecoming was not to be an easy one however. When they arrived at the Citadel, they found it overrun by assassins who had slain many of the monks, including Master Galren. Led by an evil priest named Andarius, the assassins had invaded the monastery to procure the Mystal of Death, a powerful artifact that was guarded by the monks. Fortunately, their mission failed, as the Mystal of Death was well hidden and the monks refused to speak. Tyrus, Mathren, Celen and Omar arrived just as Andarius was attempting to divine the location of the mystal from Master Galren's lifeless body. They disrupted the ritual and Andarius fled, cursing them for their meddling and vowing revenge.
In the months that followed, Tyrus, Mathren, and Celen hunted down the wicked Andarius, chasing him all the way to the Titan Mountains far to the north. They finally caught him in the dwarven ruins of Duomir after securing the aid of a deep gnome who called himself Bannocker, or simply "Banny" for short. With Banny's help, they learned of Andarius' plan for the mystal. A vast dwarven cemetery was located deep beneath Duomir, housing the bones and weapons of both legendary dwarves and their enemies. Andarius wished to use the Mystal of Death to create an undead army from these remains. When they finally approached the entrance to Andarius' mausoleum, the vile cleric assaulted them with black magic, leaving them all but destroyed. However, Andarius fared no better, and he barely escaped with his life. After they had recovered, the heroes laid waste to Andarius' lair, destroying all of his studies on the mystal and its necromantic applications. His terrible plot had been thwarted.
*****
