Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Fenros" data-source="post: 4758" data-attributes="member: 975">First Adventure – “From The Woods Come The Undead” Part 1: (Hope you find it entertaining . . . <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />  )The small elven town of Valindrea was where Kindar, Rashino, Pelbek, and Evanstil had grown up. All but Evanstil had remained near home most of their lives. Taking their place as local Rangers in the case of Kindar and Rashino, a Cleric of Corellon Larethian with Pelbek. Evanstil had left home many years ago and had traveled north across the ocean, to the human lands, to study at the Elemental Gardens. There he learned to be a Monk with a preference for the Flying Cloud Stance in his fighting style.  When his basic teachings had ended he returned home to Valindrea to visit family and friends.Speaking of family, Kindar's half brother Victor Bane had just arrived in Valindrea with a dwarven companion named Golorn the Enchanter and a human diplomat named Atalos. Victor had just finished his training as a Paladin of Pelor in the human city of Selora (a human middle kingdom) and was traveling to Valindrea to visit his human mother. Victor’s father (also a Paladin of Pelor) had died when he was young and his mother Ellen remarried an elf some years later. Kindar was born in the early years of this new marriage. Victor’s elven stepfather raised him along with Kindar in Valindrea until he was about thirteen. Then he had left home to go back to the human lands to follow in his original father’s footsteps.  Atalos was a diplomat he became friends with in Selora. Golorn the Enchanter was a strange dwarf he and Atalos had met while traveling south. Golorn wanted to visit the elves because it is they, above all other races, that knew most of magic. Since Victor and Atalos were headed in the same direction as Golorn, they became traveling companions and then friends.Victor, Atalos, and Golorn stride into Valindrea and see Evanstil the monk walking on the main road leading out of town.  Victor recognizes Evanstil right away and they strike up a conversation in the road.  Evanstil says he’s glad to see Victor again and relates a little of where he had been too. Golorn and Atalos are introduced. Golorn starts to talk to Evanstil about whether or not he’s into magic and other such things, but Victor interrupts and suggests they all continue on to his mother’s house. The four of them proceed into town further.Valindrea is a town built between large evergreen trees. The houses are constructed around the bases of these enormous trees. The architectural styles of the elves here lend to curvy homes made of wood finished in various natural hues. The curves of the homes compliment the curves of the terrain around the base of the trees. Halfway to Ellen’s home the four run into Kindar and Pelbek.  Kindar recognizes his brother right away and gives him heartfelt greetings and hugs. Pelbek says a brief greeting as well. Before Kindar can ask Victor about his travels, Victor begins to tease him. “Were you off playing in the woods again? Dancing in flowery fields? Sipping dandelion wine?” Kindar brushes aside the comments and proudly declares that he is now a part of the local rangers. Victor heavily rolls his eyes and insist he continue on to his mother’s house without anymore more delays.Victor, Atalos, Golorn, Evanstil, Kindar, and Pelbek make their way to Ellen’s home. Upon reaching her house, Victor knocks on the door and his mother answers. She is pleasantly surprised and so very glad to see her son again after so many years. After prying her mom from hugging him for the twentieth time, Victor makes his way inside. His mom invites all his friends to enter as well.  Ellen insists everyone stay for dinner to celebrate Victor’s return home. Victor remarks that he hopes he can eat her famous boar meat pie. Ellen tells him that, had she known of his approaching arrival, she would’ve tried to prepare his favorite meal. Unfortunately, she had not and all she has available for the night is a spiced veggie stew. Everyone says that the stew is more than fine while Victor is a bit disappointed.Then Victor’s elven stepfather Orindall enters the house, gives his stepson his warmest greetings, and meets everyone else as well.[ Extra DM Commentary/Notes:My friend playing Victor never had established any details of his elven stepfather. So I told him whatever blanks there were, I’d just fill them in myself if that was cool with him. He seemed fine with this. Since he hadn’t given him a name, I did so. I just called him Orindall, some name off the top of my head. He didn’t seem to mind the name I’d given his stepfather and said nothing.  However, he did eventually intercede and say that his surname should definitely be ‘Boneblower’. Everyone at the table was like, “What?!?” Trying to keep a straight face, my friend tried to justify the name by saying that his stepfather’s profession was making flutes made of bones. Then he started cracking up. I told him, “No, I’m not going to call Victor’s stepfather ‘ Orindall Boneblower’.” Through out the rest of the campaign, whenever Orindall is brought up, he insists again that he be called ‘Boneblower’.  Then I would say ‘No’ again. I didn’t want to name some NPC that name just to satisfy his sense of humor using silly homosexual innuendoes. Or whatever .] Dinner is over, and as Ellen cleans up, everyone starts to make idle chit chat. Talking of where they have gone, what they did overseas, and so on. As the evening winds down and a few start lighting up pipes, Orindall begins to ask Kindar how his day went. Kindar remarks that he, while on his usual patrol through the woods, had found areas where the underbrush was disturbed as if by something very large. There he found large prints in the ground, like that of a bear, but much much larger. He reported this to the lead ranger in Valindrea and the consensus was that it was to be investigated more on the following day.  Such creatures were not native to the local area. Evandil then asks for more details to what was seen. Kindar doesn’t say much more other than he followed the large bear tracks for a while and then they seemed to vanish. Victor isn’t too sure the local rangers will be able to handle the situation and suggests the group investigate it themselves.The next day arrives and the party sets out to investigate the area where Kindar saw the large tracks. As they head out of town they meet Rashino. Rashino joins the party in their investigation.[Extra DM Commentary/Notes: An old friend finds out that a bunch of us are playing D&D and wishes to join. I say, “Okay”. I’ve DM ed seven before. Should be okay right? ]Victor says, “Pshaw…..more elves….” and rolls his eyes. Evanstil starts to think that Victor may hate elves.They travel for most of the morning and by noon arrive at the spot Kindar was at on the previous day. Various members of the group suggest that Kindar attempt to re-establish the trail of the mysterious creature. Kindar flounders around in the area for a while but finally manages to indeed….find more tracks.  Victor makes some comments on how Kindar makes a poor ranger. The creature’s tracks lead the party to some human ones. They figure that perhaps the creature was chasing the human. They follow the trail some more and then come upon a dead human male body lying at the bottom of a cliff. They deduce that the creature must have cornered the human at the edge of the cliff, and that the human accidentally, in fright, fell off the cliff to his death or the creature ran into him and the impact pushed him off the cliff.Atalos, using his climbing gear, climbs down the cliff to investigate the body. Evanstil decides to go down too. Then Rashino also decides to climb down as well. Atalos searches through the contents of the human’s backpack. He finds two scroll cases, an empty dagger scabbard [uh….do daggers have scabbards? Or are they put away in something that’s called something else? I dunno what to call them  ], and some gold pieces.Atalos pockets the gold pieces and declares that he intends to give them to the man’s next of kin….should they ever be found. Evanstil protests and strongly suggests that he be the one to carry the coins. Basically eluding that Atalos maybe a thief.[Extra DM Commentary/Notes:The player who plays Evanstil knows that the player playing Atalos is playing a rogue and thus where his character’s suspicions come from. Although in the game, Atalos has been introduced to all as a human diplomat.   ]Atalos, Evanstil, and Rashino climb back up and rejoin the rest of the party. Evanstil reports to Victor that Atalos has pocketed some gold from the dead body. Atalos repeats his plan to give the coin to the man’s next of kin and if they cannot be found he’ll put the gold in a ‘widows & orphans ‘ fund. Coins from the ‘windows & orphans’ fund will be given to widows and orphans when they run into them.  Everyone but Atalos and Victor roll their eyes and start to express their disbelief in Atalos’ intentions. However , before anyone can say anything, Victor loudly sticks up for Atalos and decrees that his plan is sound and that he completely trusts him. Everyone else drops the subject and goes along. Evanstil wonders how Atalos will find the dead man’s next of kin if no one knows what his name was.Atalos examines the scroll cases. One has a map in it. The map has markings on it written in the human common language. The map is of the areas southwest of Valindrea. An obvious destination mark is over an area that is a day’s travel (on foot) southwest of their current position. Kindar, Rashino, and Pelbek comment on the fact that the mark on the map is well within the middle of a portion of the forest that the elves consider sacred. This sacred area has always been left alone for as long as anyone can remember. Its a local custom, no one is to travel there. It’s simply to honor an ancient generation of elves that used to live in that area. To let their spirits rest undisturbed in their original forest.  The second scroll case contains a piece of parchment that had been stuffed in there hastily. The parchment is completely blank.Each party member takes turns examining the parchment. Holding it up against the sun, smelling it, so on and so forth. In the end all they can tell about it is that it’s blank.Kindar looks around. He sees that by the tracks of the creature, that it paused at the edge of the cliff and then took off southwest. The party believes the creature must’ve come from that ‘sacred area’ of the forest.The party heads southwest.As night falls, Kindar loses the trail of the creature in the dark. Victor admonishes Kindar for being a lousy ranger.  Kindar asks why Victor must always have such a low opinion of him. Victor tells him because he IS a lousy ranger. He lost the trail!The party makes camp for the night. They set up watches and take turns sleeping.  Not to far into the night an eerie mist from the south flows over the party like a slow tidal wave. Then those on the third watch hear some noises off in the distance. Rashino’s keen ears catch the sounds of something clacking together. He wakes everyone up. They all listen for the noises. Many of the party members start to believe that what they’re hearing are the sounds of many skeletons moving in the mist. No one questions anyone else on whether or not they have ever heard skeletons moving before.They wait, with their weapons out. Getting ready to fight at any second as the sounds draw closer and closer. Then suddenly, skeletons do come out of the mist and into view. But they’re not human skeletons. They’re the skeletons of undead wolves running toward them.To be continued . . . .</blockquote>

Verification