For any who read this thread, I'm a relatively new DM. After being asked to DM for my roommates, I mentioned my experience to my Wednesday night DM. He half-jokingly asked when I was going to run a session for the group. Since he has been DMing an additional, different campaign on alternate Saturdays, I said I might try to get one ready for the next Saturday we were going to play (the 5th). I knew he had been DMing since last August and he had mentioned he wanted to play. I managed to get an adventure together, along with some world flavor (which I intended to use the other campaign I am now running). So, here's the world I presented to them. It's mostly a typical D&D with a few flavor changes and a different diety list (Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms combination with one, Alnaria, that I made up myself).
The World of Low’verok
Capital – Andeluvay, in the northeast on the Tonver River.
It is governed by a single king, King Xargo, and there are 48 high noble lords (mostly humans, genasi, and half-elves, but there are two gnomes and three halflings amongst them), three dwarven noble lords (from Silver Citadel, Amber Citadel, and Firegold Citadel), two elven noble lords (from the Farlight and Black Pine forests, respectively), and the current Council Speaker from the Sea of Song that govern their various parts of the country.
Low’verok has very strong ties to the elemental, para-elemental, and quasi-elemental planes, and genasi of all types are common (though some more than others). Elemental and half-elemental creatures also are seen with relative frequency, and they are generally considered lucky.
Small gods are quite frequent, and many trees and pools of water embody the essence of the divine. Signs that indicate the presence of a god are taken very seriously (some even include favored sacrifices). Particularly for gods of ponds or springs, a small sacrifice of coin or food is required before taking water. There are even a few small gods of berry bushes or fruit or nut trees, so small prayers before taking the fruits of the land are a part of everyday life. Also, there are gods of the various animals and other creatures, so short prayers after taking the life of a creature for food or in self-protection are routine.
Because of the close ties to the land through the elemental planes and small gods and nature spirits, it is rare that settlements abuse the land. Logging, mining, hunting, trapping, etc. are usually done in a responsible manner (usually through treaties with local elven or gnome communities).
The gods of Low’verok (and their domains) are:
Alnaria – neutral good Protector of children, Goddess of Innocence, Unicorn Queen (Animal, Good, Luck, Protection)
Akadi – neutral goddess of air (Air, Illusion, Travel, Trickery)
Beshaba – chaotic evil goddess of bad luck (Chaos, Evil, Fate, Lucky, Trickery)
Boccob – neutral god of magic (Knowledge, Magic, Trickery)
Corellon Larethian – chaotic good god of music and the arts (protector of elves) (Chaos, Good, Protection, War)
Ehlonna – neutral good nature goddess (Animal, Good, Plant, Sun)
Erythnul – chaotic evil god of slaughter (Chaos Evil, Trickery, War)
Fharlanghn – true neutral god of travel (Luck, Protection, Travel)
Garl Glittergold – neutral good god of jokes and humor (protector of gnomes) (Good, Protection, Trickery)
Ghaunadaur – chaotic evil god of slimes, oozes, and aberrations (Cavern, Chaos, Evil, Hatred, Slime)
Grumbar – neutral god of earth (Cavern, Earth, Metal, Time)
Gruumsh – chaotic evil god of domination (protector of orcs) (Chaos, Evil Strength, War)
Heironeous – lawful good god of valor (Good, Law, and War)
Hextor – lawful evil god of tyranny (Destruction, Evil, Law, War)
Hoar – lawful neutral god of retribution (Fate, Law, Retribution, Travel)
Istishia – neutral god of water (Destruction, Ocean Storm, Travel, Water)
Kelemvor – lawful neutral god of death (Fate, Law, Protection, Repose, Travel)
Kord – chaotic good god of strength (Chaos, Good, Luck, Strength)
Kossuth – neutral god of fire (Destruction, Fire, Renewal, Suffering)
Lliira – chaotic good goddess of joy (Chaos, Charm, Family, Good, Travel)
Loviatar – lawful evil goddess of pain (Evil, Law, Retribution, Strength)
Moradin – lawful good god of the forge (protector of the dwarves) (Earth, Good, Law, Protection)
Nerull – neutral evil god of undead (Undeath, Death, Evil, Trickery)
Obad-Hai – neutral god of nature (Air, Animal, Earth Fire, Plant, Water)
Olidammara – chaotic neutral god of thieves and tricks (Chaos, Luck, Trickery)
Pelor – neutral good god of the sun (Good, Healing, Strength, Sun)
Siamorphe – lawful neutral goddess of nobles (Knowledge, Law, Nobility, Planning)
Sune – chaotic good goddess of beauty and love (Chaos, Charm, Good, Protection)
Talona – chaotic evil goddess of disease and poison (Chaos, Destruction, Evil, Suffering)
Talos – chaotic neutral god of storms (Chaos, Destruction, Fire, Storm)
Tymora – chaotic good goddess of good luck (Chaos, Good, Luck, Protection, Travel)
Valkur – chaotic good god of sailors (Air, Chaos, Good, Ocean, Protection)
Vecna – neutral evil god of secrets (Evil, Knowledge, Magic)
Wee Jas – lawful neutral goddess of death and magic (Death, Law, Magic)
Yondalla – lawful good goddess of the hearth and family (protector of halflings) (Good, Family, Law, Protection)
There are two important things that everyone in Low’verok knows. One is about the song pearls, and the other is about the Forbidden Lands.
Song pearls or glass pearls are worth, at the bare minimum, ten times platinum for a single one. The rare, translucent pearls have many powerful magical properties, from allowing one to understand magic, to healing, to making one stronger, or other equally wonderful things. Song pearl beds are rigorously guarded by aquatic elves and often raided by kelpies or other aquatic monsters that like shiny things. At least one open war was fought to control the song pearl trade (the Pearl War, which led to the creation of the current “free trade zone” around the Sea of Song). No noble may control the trade, and no merchant may bargain with more than two aquatic elf communities for their supply. As a matter of fact, there are no nobles controlling any community near the Sea of Song. The towns and cities in that region each send a representative to Albon (the largest city of the region), and a leader is elected to represent the interests of the Sea of Song in the noble’s council in Andeluvay. Song pearls are frequently bought by the king for use in the army, but there are also some markets for adventurers and very wealthy wizards or nobles.
The Forbidden Lands are in the far southwest of Low’verok. The coast around the peninsula is treacherous and rocky, and there is not a single good port around it, not that any sailor could be convinced to try. The land leading up to the Forbidden Lands is inhospitable desert, inhabited only by nomadic tribes. The edge of the Forbidden Lands is impossible to miss, as it is a shear cliff that drops straight down two hundred feet, as if the land had been cut by a knife. There’s a common expression that goes simply “Nothing good comes out of the Forbidden Lands.” And nothing ever has. The only things people have ever seen come out of the Forbidden Lands are strange and deadly monsters. The nomadic peoples of the Unwanted Desert (the border of the Forbidden Lands) have a strong warrior tradition and consider themselves the first line of defense against the horrors of the Forbidden Lands. So far, none who have gone into them have come back to tell tales of it. The phrase “I’ll send you to the Forbidden Lands” (or various permutations thereof) is uttered between deadly enemies or by assassins.
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Since my usual Wednesday night group has a lot of odd races, strange classes, and weird spells, and we really didn't have a lot of time to roll up characters, I decided to use a NPC generator to give me characters that my group could choose from. I got one of each of the 11 classes, using only PHB feats and races. Everyone got to pick one, though they could change skills, feats, gender, name, spells, and even race (assuming it came out of the PHB), because the generator came up with some weird stuff. There are a few powergamers in the group, and I didn't want them to start pulling things out of various orifices I didn't want to deal with.
They could buy any mundane item, or scrolls or potions with their 2500gp (I started them at 3rd level). Then I gave them each some randomly chosen alchemical items, and a couple minor magical items (+1 dagger, brooch of shielding, etc) because I planned some hard fights. So, yakking done, getting on to the story!
Boris- human cleric of Tymora (my usual DM)
Thamiis - halfing wizard (my boyfriend)
Gard - half-elf monk (buddy from my old dorm)
Eniaust - half-elf rogue (guy who usually plays our psion, who dies every five sessions normally)
Daphne - half-elven sorceress (played by a woman who usually plays everything but the normal). She took a screech owl familiar.
Akar - human druid (played by our resident powergamer). Took a great horned owl as an animal companion.
Also I had decided that in my world, most adventurers belong to the Adventurer's Guild. If the adventurers go back on their contract, they get fined; if their employers go back on their contract, they get fined. If the contract is suspicious, the Guild officials can look it over and make compromises. Also certain inns that bear the symbol of the Guild on their door give discounts to adventurers. Thus the group was part of the Guild and went by the name The Brotherhood of Fate.
I decided to put them in the town of Tillsborrow, where they had come looking for work. They were staying at the Broken Sword Inn. The town did a certain amout of trade, so it's not too difficult to get employment. All Adventurer's Guild inns have a notice board with notices about employment, and that was duly consulted. An older notice was one for the lord of the region looking for additional guards, along with a contact for one Wilkin Farnot. Further perusing showed that this was the most lucrative job at the time.
The inn also contained a small group of fighter-types, and one wandering priestess. Eniaust went over to talk to the fighter-types to ask them if they knew anything about Lord Randor as an employer. The guards were somewhat drunk and ended up calling Eniaust, "Eddie," but answered his questions. Lord Randor was a decent lord, and he paid well. The guards had run his goods from this town to one further down the road before, but had decided to run one for an elven merchant this time around. Satisfied, the group decided to look into the job.
Since they were aware that it was common practice to indicate your interest to your employer so that he/she could consult the Adventurer's Guild on your reputation, they sent Gard to the contact point, the Three Crowns inn. Wilkin Farnot, an eldery man that was Lord Randor's steward, took down the name of the group and said he would be back to them inside of an hour. Gard returned to the inn (a very nice one on the good side of town), and before the hour was up, a messenger came to the inn seeking them. Wilkin met them at the Three Crowns and explained the job.
There had been greater than normal raiding activity around the keep, and Lord Randor couldn't spare his own guards to take the things from the keep to Tillsborrow. The keep is fairly deep in the woods, and does gold mining (with a dwarven head miner), logging, and trapping. Since it's been two weeks since Wilkin has had word from the keep (not too unusual), he assumes the wagons are ready to go as soon as the party gets there. The pay is 250gp a head.
Since it was only late afternoon, the party decided to leave immediately. The day was quiet, as were the next two, aside from a short altercation with a pair of gryphs. However, on the third, they heard hoofbeats and hyena-like laughter (or gnoll-like rather). A horse bearing a female rider burst out of the woods, with the rider screaming to them "Help me!" She was being chased by three gnolls. The gnolls soon died, and the rider slid off the exhausted horse. She was a druid, one Kialin Moonshadow, and said just yesterday she found the horse wandering in the woods. She recognized the fine bridle that it had to be one of Lord Randor's horses. She was riding back through the woods to the keep when she was attacked by the gnolls. She had just left the woods for the road for more speed in running away when she saw the PCs.
She feared for Randor's keep, but was too scared to go back. She was able to defend herself, but feared for the horse. The PCs agreed to take the horse back and continued to the keep. They hustled and go there around dusk. They smelled smoke and saw smoke in the sky behind the keep. The wooden doors of the keep were shattered, though the outer walls were intact. There were bloodstains, and footprints of gnolls and humans, along with drag marks, but no bodies. Tracking the drag marks led them to the back of the keep where a human woman and a dwarven man were burning bodies.
They explained their presense - the dwarf was Ulfic Stonehammer, the master miner. He was deep in the mine, closing it up while the attack occured, and when he finally left the mine, saw only the retreating backs of at least 10 gnolls, and the dead bodies of those he knew and cared for. He said he was aware only of a few missing servants, most likely carted off for food, but could account for the rest of the bodies. This included Lord Randor, his wife, and children. Also all the treasure of the keep was gone, including Lord Randor's sword, Glorystrike. The woman was Bella, a frequent trader from a villiage further north that had just arrived a short while ago.
Further investigation of the outer keep walls showed chips near the top of the wall, like from grappling hooks. Also, after trying to prepare dinner using water in the well of the keep's basement, Thamiis and Akar noticed something funny about the water. It was tangy. Akar cast detect poison, and it lit up like a bonfire. The group was worried that this might have been an inside job.
Regardless, they spend most of the evening tearing down dead trees and cannabalizing the stable doors to create a new front gate. Further investigation of the tracks showed a random pattern going away from the keep, so they weren't too sure where the gnolls had come from.
Boris and Gard went to go find clean water, and had to go about a half-mile into the woods to find it. When he did find it, it had a sign next to it saying "Respect the god." The spring itself was a deity. Smaller script indicated "food not gold." Boris put some food next to the pond. A turtle crawled out, took the food, and then Boris felt a great sense of peace. He was able to get the water without further incident.
After that, they continued their conversation with Bella and Ulfic. Ulfic said there were at least two cousins of Lord Randor that might be able to claim the keep, but they had businesses in Albon (major trade town) and hadn't been back home in a while. Akar also sent off a message to Kialin (by way of animal messenger) to tell her what happened. Kialin sent back with her regrets, and the information she had spied the gnolls in the east. Bella, however, cut in with her concerns.
Everyone in the keep was dead, and Bella's concern was for the gnolls. She was the guardian of a village of Alnaria's Chosen - people that had minds like children, who knew no pain, fear, or deciet. The mentally unbalanced were brought there to regain their equalibrium, because of the aura of the goddess that clung to the village.
Bella said that she was terrified that the gnolls would find her village. She was the only fighter of her village, as the Chosen didn't know how to fight (they wouldn't understand). But there was a person in her village called Burning, whom Bella described as "a seer," who would probably be able to help them. The party stayed the night and set out the following morning for the village of Alnaria's Chosen. The left their mule and cart with Ulfic, who was staying to guard the keep.
Eniaust and Gard were the scouts, but all was clear on the trail to the village, and all gnoll tracks going in that direction veered to the east. The village itself had all of its buildings made from stone and half sunk into the ground. There were no walls around it, which alarmed the party. Bella explained that the village had some magical protections, which was usually sufficient, but not against a determined band of murderous gnolls, should it come to that.
She led them to the house of Burning, and quickly explained about her. Burning had once been a celestial guardian of the forest. However, one day she saw some great atrocity that drove her quite mad. She became like a human warrior and laid waste to all she could fine. But when she killed a priestess of Alnaria, she was struck down by the goddess and cursed with a terrible wasting sickness. She now guards the village by her divinations, and Bella acts as her mobile half.
Burning was confined to her bed, obviously unable to rise. She was an old woman, with a red, starburst mark on her forehead and intensely blue eyes. Her voice was raspy and weak; she obviously had trouble breathing. Boris tried to determine what type of sickness she had, but when she approached the bed, she grabbed his arm and told him that she was cursed, and to heal her would be blasphemy.
Then she drew a quick map, showing the party where the gnolls were, as where she had seen them in her diviniations. The party immediately left, and headed out with Gard and Eniaust scouting to the side. Eniaust heard some strange sounds ("growl, yip, thwak, thump, thwak-thwak-thwak-thwak..."). He snuck up on the sound, only to see a flail snail beating the body of a gnoll into jelly. After telling the rest of the party, they left the flail snail alone. Bella was fairly alarmed at the proximity of the gnoll to the village though.
During the night the party was attacked by three gnolls, one of whom was foaming at the mouth. The attack was fierce, but eventually all the gnolls lay dead. On the body of the largest was a highly decorated bag, inside of which were several pieces of gold, several gems, a pearl, and a blue song pearl (the variety known for its healing powers). The party was mightily impressed by the treasure.
They continued on the next morning and found the ruins were Burning indicated the gnolls were. On one wall there was a very large and healthy vine which was recognized as an assassin vine. Careful scouting revealed a gnoll and a kamadan (leopard with snakes coming out of its back) at another part of the ruins. A plan was formulated, and the party got into position. A combination of entangle and web stuck both the gnoll and kamadan down. Peppering both with arrows brought a swift demise. The assassin vine was also taken care of at range. Akar found the kamadan had a golden collar from which was suspended an amber pendent with a spider inside. At the base of the assassin vine Boris found three flasks of alchemist's fire, a tin of healing salve, and a sapphire.
Eniaust took care of another gnoll scout that had been nearby and heard the commotion. The bodies were disposed of, and Bella decided to remain outside as a scout. It was found there was a trapdoor in the ruins, and the party went below. Two corridors were there, one to the left which ended in rubble, and one straight ahead that ended in a door. They decided to quickly check out the rubble-choked corridor. To their surprise, they found a secret door.
The passage was very narrow, and Eniaust checked for traps and other things. To his surprise, he found a very well hidden secret door. Inside was a tiny temple to Nerull. The symbol of Nerull was carved on the opposite wall. Two candelabras with black candles flanked the altar. On the alter was the dried, naturally mummified corpse of a woman dressed in white, with a dagger in her breast. The dagger was clasped by the skeletal hands of a man in priest's robes, kneeling on the floor, collapsed against the altar. A shelf was on the right wall near the altar.
Thamiis detected magic, and saw some on the shelf. He traipsed in to investigate and unleashed a horror. The woman pushed herself up from the altar and lunged for Thamiis. Her hands locked around his throat and she began throttling him. Boris was able to turn her, and Daphne and Akar attacked her with spell and scimitar respectively. Then Gard hit her with his fists, and she collapsed. As he began searching her body, she lurched upright again, startling everyone. More attacks brought her down, and this time she collapsed into dust. Thus the party survived their attack with the coffer corpse.
Gard investigated the shelf, which contained a black hat and a tiny chest. In trying to pick up the chest, he was attacked by the hat, actually an executioner's hood. It was unable to do any damage, but it set the party even more on edge. The chest was recovered and found to contain a magical necklace with a moon pendent, two rings (one made from a red gem, one silver with a leaf motif), and a great deal of pink and blue pearls. The party boldly struggled onward down the passage.
They noticed two membrane-covered holes across from each other, and thought something be in there. Gard and Eniaust tried to toss alchemist's fire in the holes, but Eniaust's splattered on the wall instead. Out poppped two annoyed and hungry cave morays. Much archery ensued and much slime was tossed about. Both ended up dead.
They pressed on into a more natural cavern and spotted the two mantaris before they attacked. A few spells and arrows and the mantaris went splat. At the end of the cavern there were two passages. One looked more traveled, so they went down there. The passage changed from natural to worked, and there were a small set of steps down. Eniaust disabled a pit trap by jamming the door with a rock, and they went on to the door at the end.
They could hear what sounded like someone either doing weapons practice or beating someone up. Some excellent sneaking allowed Eniaust to peer in. A nine foot tall gnoll was busily beating the snot out of a wooden dummy. Eniaust and Gard thought they might sneak in and try to flank/sneak attack him. Excellent Move Silently/Hide checks allowed them to get mostly into position. Craptactular rolls meant they both whiffed their attacks. Thrak (the big gnoll), beat Gard halfway across the room while the rest of the party attacked. During the fight, Gard was nearly killed, but some cleaver tactics saved his life. Daphne used magic to create ghost sounds of someone in a different corner of the room, and lift some smelly rags from his "nest" and drop them on his head, both of which I ruled distracted him enough for the PCs to get in some decent hits.
It was a very hard but decent fight. After it was over, the PCs discovered a scarf tied over the gnoll's ears. Upon removing them, the gnoll became an ogre (hat of disguise). He also had a key, which went to a chest in the corner. The chest was a magnetic one, so picking it might have been a bear. The box had a lot of silver and copper, as well as a smaller decorated box full of gold, gems, magical jewelry, and two song pearls.
The PCs retreated back upstairs for the night. Bella reported that she had seen five gnolls go in, but none go out. The PCs figured they must be in the door at the end of the hallways they hadn't explored yet. The next day they went downstairs and down the other hallway. Eniaust searched for traps, but was unable to find a pressure plate. He was sprayed with blood, and then a hungry worg was released at the end of the corridor from a hidden cage. The worg got in a couple good bites, but was killed. However, the commotion got the attention of the gnolls in the room at the end of the hallway.
They came bursting through, but Thamiis got two of them with sleep, and one was hit by an arrow. Eniaust put on the scarf of disguise in order to appear as Thrak. Being unable to speak Gnoll (the other gnolls were demanding something of him) he Innuendo'ed his way to saying he was with the party now. Two gnolls were too confused to deal with this, but the third one still standing screamed treachery and threw himself at the party. The other two joined him and slaughter ensued. The two sleeping ones had their skulls bashed in.
And investigation of the room turned up a golden ankelet, still on an ankle, as well as a few gems. Then the party decided to go down the cave corridor they hadn't explored the other day. They found a pool of water and Thamiis spotted the crystal ooze before it attacked them. However, it was so slow it was easy to kill from afar.
Their troubles weren't over yet though. They heard a tremendous repetative crashing from the other corridor, where Thrak had been. They went down it and found that something in the pit trap was trying to get out. They popped the jammed rock out, and in a few moments the doors few open. Out flew a gelatinous cube. Literally flying.
The party retreated like bats out of hell, but they couldn't outrun the incredibly quick cube that mowed down Boris. He was able to escape the cube and ran away, but it kept ramming after them (it hadn't been fed that day). Many punches, arrows, and mace hits later, the thing collasped into goo. (It was an air element gelatinous cube, which is technically illegal, but whatever, it was a scream!)
That was the last fight for the night, and the PCs prepared to go back with several questions. Lord Randor's sword hadn't been recovered, so where was it? Who poisoned the well? Were there any other gnolls, and if so, where were they? We'll see next time...
The World of Low’verok
Capital – Andeluvay, in the northeast on the Tonver River.
It is governed by a single king, King Xargo, and there are 48 high noble lords (mostly humans, genasi, and half-elves, but there are two gnomes and three halflings amongst them), three dwarven noble lords (from Silver Citadel, Amber Citadel, and Firegold Citadel), two elven noble lords (from the Farlight and Black Pine forests, respectively), and the current Council Speaker from the Sea of Song that govern their various parts of the country.
Low’verok has very strong ties to the elemental, para-elemental, and quasi-elemental planes, and genasi of all types are common (though some more than others). Elemental and half-elemental creatures also are seen with relative frequency, and they are generally considered lucky.
Small gods are quite frequent, and many trees and pools of water embody the essence of the divine. Signs that indicate the presence of a god are taken very seriously (some even include favored sacrifices). Particularly for gods of ponds or springs, a small sacrifice of coin or food is required before taking water. There are even a few small gods of berry bushes or fruit or nut trees, so small prayers before taking the fruits of the land are a part of everyday life. Also, there are gods of the various animals and other creatures, so short prayers after taking the life of a creature for food or in self-protection are routine.
Because of the close ties to the land through the elemental planes and small gods and nature spirits, it is rare that settlements abuse the land. Logging, mining, hunting, trapping, etc. are usually done in a responsible manner (usually through treaties with local elven or gnome communities).
The gods of Low’verok (and their domains) are:
Alnaria – neutral good Protector of children, Goddess of Innocence, Unicorn Queen (Animal, Good, Luck, Protection)
Akadi – neutral goddess of air (Air, Illusion, Travel, Trickery)
Beshaba – chaotic evil goddess of bad luck (Chaos, Evil, Fate, Lucky, Trickery)
Boccob – neutral god of magic (Knowledge, Magic, Trickery)
Corellon Larethian – chaotic good god of music and the arts (protector of elves) (Chaos, Good, Protection, War)
Ehlonna – neutral good nature goddess (Animal, Good, Plant, Sun)
Erythnul – chaotic evil god of slaughter (Chaos Evil, Trickery, War)
Fharlanghn – true neutral god of travel (Luck, Protection, Travel)
Garl Glittergold – neutral good god of jokes and humor (protector of gnomes) (Good, Protection, Trickery)
Ghaunadaur – chaotic evil god of slimes, oozes, and aberrations (Cavern, Chaos, Evil, Hatred, Slime)
Grumbar – neutral god of earth (Cavern, Earth, Metal, Time)
Gruumsh – chaotic evil god of domination (protector of orcs) (Chaos, Evil Strength, War)
Heironeous – lawful good god of valor (Good, Law, and War)
Hextor – lawful evil god of tyranny (Destruction, Evil, Law, War)
Hoar – lawful neutral god of retribution (Fate, Law, Retribution, Travel)
Istishia – neutral god of water (Destruction, Ocean Storm, Travel, Water)
Kelemvor – lawful neutral god of death (Fate, Law, Protection, Repose, Travel)
Kord – chaotic good god of strength (Chaos, Good, Luck, Strength)
Kossuth – neutral god of fire (Destruction, Fire, Renewal, Suffering)
Lliira – chaotic good goddess of joy (Chaos, Charm, Family, Good, Travel)
Loviatar – lawful evil goddess of pain (Evil, Law, Retribution, Strength)
Moradin – lawful good god of the forge (protector of the dwarves) (Earth, Good, Law, Protection)
Nerull – neutral evil god of undead (Undeath, Death, Evil, Trickery)
Obad-Hai – neutral god of nature (Air, Animal, Earth Fire, Plant, Water)
Olidammara – chaotic neutral god of thieves and tricks (Chaos, Luck, Trickery)
Pelor – neutral good god of the sun (Good, Healing, Strength, Sun)
Siamorphe – lawful neutral goddess of nobles (Knowledge, Law, Nobility, Planning)
Sune – chaotic good goddess of beauty and love (Chaos, Charm, Good, Protection)
Talona – chaotic evil goddess of disease and poison (Chaos, Destruction, Evil, Suffering)
Talos – chaotic neutral god of storms (Chaos, Destruction, Fire, Storm)
Tymora – chaotic good goddess of good luck (Chaos, Good, Luck, Protection, Travel)
Valkur – chaotic good god of sailors (Air, Chaos, Good, Ocean, Protection)
Vecna – neutral evil god of secrets (Evil, Knowledge, Magic)
Wee Jas – lawful neutral goddess of death and magic (Death, Law, Magic)
Yondalla – lawful good goddess of the hearth and family (protector of halflings) (Good, Family, Law, Protection)
There are two important things that everyone in Low’verok knows. One is about the song pearls, and the other is about the Forbidden Lands.
Song pearls or glass pearls are worth, at the bare minimum, ten times platinum for a single one. The rare, translucent pearls have many powerful magical properties, from allowing one to understand magic, to healing, to making one stronger, or other equally wonderful things. Song pearl beds are rigorously guarded by aquatic elves and often raided by kelpies or other aquatic monsters that like shiny things. At least one open war was fought to control the song pearl trade (the Pearl War, which led to the creation of the current “free trade zone” around the Sea of Song). No noble may control the trade, and no merchant may bargain with more than two aquatic elf communities for their supply. As a matter of fact, there are no nobles controlling any community near the Sea of Song. The towns and cities in that region each send a representative to Albon (the largest city of the region), and a leader is elected to represent the interests of the Sea of Song in the noble’s council in Andeluvay. Song pearls are frequently bought by the king for use in the army, but there are also some markets for adventurers and very wealthy wizards or nobles.
The Forbidden Lands are in the far southwest of Low’verok. The coast around the peninsula is treacherous and rocky, and there is not a single good port around it, not that any sailor could be convinced to try. The land leading up to the Forbidden Lands is inhospitable desert, inhabited only by nomadic tribes. The edge of the Forbidden Lands is impossible to miss, as it is a shear cliff that drops straight down two hundred feet, as if the land had been cut by a knife. There’s a common expression that goes simply “Nothing good comes out of the Forbidden Lands.” And nothing ever has. The only things people have ever seen come out of the Forbidden Lands are strange and deadly monsters. The nomadic peoples of the Unwanted Desert (the border of the Forbidden Lands) have a strong warrior tradition and consider themselves the first line of defense against the horrors of the Forbidden Lands. So far, none who have gone into them have come back to tell tales of it. The phrase “I’ll send you to the Forbidden Lands” (or various permutations thereof) is uttered between deadly enemies or by assassins.
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Since my usual Wednesday night group has a lot of odd races, strange classes, and weird spells, and we really didn't have a lot of time to roll up characters, I decided to use a NPC generator to give me characters that my group could choose from. I got one of each of the 11 classes, using only PHB feats and races. Everyone got to pick one, though they could change skills, feats, gender, name, spells, and even race (assuming it came out of the PHB), because the generator came up with some weird stuff. There are a few powergamers in the group, and I didn't want them to start pulling things out of various orifices I didn't want to deal with.
They could buy any mundane item, or scrolls or potions with their 2500gp (I started them at 3rd level). Then I gave them each some randomly chosen alchemical items, and a couple minor magical items (+1 dagger, brooch of shielding, etc) because I planned some hard fights. So, yakking done, getting on to the story!
Boris- human cleric of Tymora (my usual DM)
Thamiis - halfing wizard (my boyfriend)
Gard - half-elf monk (buddy from my old dorm)
Eniaust - half-elf rogue (guy who usually plays our psion, who dies every five sessions normally)
Daphne - half-elven sorceress (played by a woman who usually plays everything but the normal). She took a screech owl familiar.
Akar - human druid (played by our resident powergamer). Took a great horned owl as an animal companion.
Also I had decided that in my world, most adventurers belong to the Adventurer's Guild. If the adventurers go back on their contract, they get fined; if their employers go back on their contract, they get fined. If the contract is suspicious, the Guild officials can look it over and make compromises. Also certain inns that bear the symbol of the Guild on their door give discounts to adventurers. Thus the group was part of the Guild and went by the name The Brotherhood of Fate.
I decided to put them in the town of Tillsborrow, where they had come looking for work. They were staying at the Broken Sword Inn. The town did a certain amout of trade, so it's not too difficult to get employment. All Adventurer's Guild inns have a notice board with notices about employment, and that was duly consulted. An older notice was one for the lord of the region looking for additional guards, along with a contact for one Wilkin Farnot. Further perusing showed that this was the most lucrative job at the time.
The inn also contained a small group of fighter-types, and one wandering priestess. Eniaust went over to talk to the fighter-types to ask them if they knew anything about Lord Randor as an employer. The guards were somewhat drunk and ended up calling Eniaust, "Eddie," but answered his questions. Lord Randor was a decent lord, and he paid well. The guards had run his goods from this town to one further down the road before, but had decided to run one for an elven merchant this time around. Satisfied, the group decided to look into the job.
Since they were aware that it was common practice to indicate your interest to your employer so that he/she could consult the Adventurer's Guild on your reputation, they sent Gard to the contact point, the Three Crowns inn. Wilkin Farnot, an eldery man that was Lord Randor's steward, took down the name of the group and said he would be back to them inside of an hour. Gard returned to the inn (a very nice one on the good side of town), and before the hour was up, a messenger came to the inn seeking them. Wilkin met them at the Three Crowns and explained the job.
There had been greater than normal raiding activity around the keep, and Lord Randor couldn't spare his own guards to take the things from the keep to Tillsborrow. The keep is fairly deep in the woods, and does gold mining (with a dwarven head miner), logging, and trapping. Since it's been two weeks since Wilkin has had word from the keep (not too unusual), he assumes the wagons are ready to go as soon as the party gets there. The pay is 250gp a head.
Since it was only late afternoon, the party decided to leave immediately. The day was quiet, as were the next two, aside from a short altercation with a pair of gryphs. However, on the third, they heard hoofbeats and hyena-like laughter (or gnoll-like rather). A horse bearing a female rider burst out of the woods, with the rider screaming to them "Help me!" She was being chased by three gnolls. The gnolls soon died, and the rider slid off the exhausted horse. She was a druid, one Kialin Moonshadow, and said just yesterday she found the horse wandering in the woods. She recognized the fine bridle that it had to be one of Lord Randor's horses. She was riding back through the woods to the keep when she was attacked by the gnolls. She had just left the woods for the road for more speed in running away when she saw the PCs.
She feared for Randor's keep, but was too scared to go back. She was able to defend herself, but feared for the horse. The PCs agreed to take the horse back and continued to the keep. They hustled and go there around dusk. They smelled smoke and saw smoke in the sky behind the keep. The wooden doors of the keep were shattered, though the outer walls were intact. There were bloodstains, and footprints of gnolls and humans, along with drag marks, but no bodies. Tracking the drag marks led them to the back of the keep where a human woman and a dwarven man were burning bodies.
They explained their presense - the dwarf was Ulfic Stonehammer, the master miner. He was deep in the mine, closing it up while the attack occured, and when he finally left the mine, saw only the retreating backs of at least 10 gnolls, and the dead bodies of those he knew and cared for. He said he was aware only of a few missing servants, most likely carted off for food, but could account for the rest of the bodies. This included Lord Randor, his wife, and children. Also all the treasure of the keep was gone, including Lord Randor's sword, Glorystrike. The woman was Bella, a frequent trader from a villiage further north that had just arrived a short while ago.
Further investigation of the outer keep walls showed chips near the top of the wall, like from grappling hooks. Also, after trying to prepare dinner using water in the well of the keep's basement, Thamiis and Akar noticed something funny about the water. It was tangy. Akar cast detect poison, and it lit up like a bonfire. The group was worried that this might have been an inside job.
Regardless, they spend most of the evening tearing down dead trees and cannabalizing the stable doors to create a new front gate. Further investigation of the tracks showed a random pattern going away from the keep, so they weren't too sure where the gnolls had come from.
Boris and Gard went to go find clean water, and had to go about a half-mile into the woods to find it. When he did find it, it had a sign next to it saying "Respect the god." The spring itself was a deity. Smaller script indicated "food not gold." Boris put some food next to the pond. A turtle crawled out, took the food, and then Boris felt a great sense of peace. He was able to get the water without further incident.
After that, they continued their conversation with Bella and Ulfic. Ulfic said there were at least two cousins of Lord Randor that might be able to claim the keep, but they had businesses in Albon (major trade town) and hadn't been back home in a while. Akar also sent off a message to Kialin (by way of animal messenger) to tell her what happened. Kialin sent back with her regrets, and the information she had spied the gnolls in the east. Bella, however, cut in with her concerns.
Everyone in the keep was dead, and Bella's concern was for the gnolls. She was the guardian of a village of Alnaria's Chosen - people that had minds like children, who knew no pain, fear, or deciet. The mentally unbalanced were brought there to regain their equalibrium, because of the aura of the goddess that clung to the village.
Bella said that she was terrified that the gnolls would find her village. She was the only fighter of her village, as the Chosen didn't know how to fight (they wouldn't understand). But there was a person in her village called Burning, whom Bella described as "a seer," who would probably be able to help them. The party stayed the night and set out the following morning for the village of Alnaria's Chosen. The left their mule and cart with Ulfic, who was staying to guard the keep.
Eniaust and Gard were the scouts, but all was clear on the trail to the village, and all gnoll tracks going in that direction veered to the east. The village itself had all of its buildings made from stone and half sunk into the ground. There were no walls around it, which alarmed the party. Bella explained that the village had some magical protections, which was usually sufficient, but not against a determined band of murderous gnolls, should it come to that.
She led them to the house of Burning, and quickly explained about her. Burning had once been a celestial guardian of the forest. However, one day she saw some great atrocity that drove her quite mad. She became like a human warrior and laid waste to all she could fine. But when she killed a priestess of Alnaria, she was struck down by the goddess and cursed with a terrible wasting sickness. She now guards the village by her divinations, and Bella acts as her mobile half.
Burning was confined to her bed, obviously unable to rise. She was an old woman, with a red, starburst mark on her forehead and intensely blue eyes. Her voice was raspy and weak; she obviously had trouble breathing. Boris tried to determine what type of sickness she had, but when she approached the bed, she grabbed his arm and told him that she was cursed, and to heal her would be blasphemy.
Then she drew a quick map, showing the party where the gnolls were, as where she had seen them in her diviniations. The party immediately left, and headed out with Gard and Eniaust scouting to the side. Eniaust heard some strange sounds ("growl, yip, thwak, thump, thwak-thwak-thwak-thwak..."). He snuck up on the sound, only to see a flail snail beating the body of a gnoll into jelly. After telling the rest of the party, they left the flail snail alone. Bella was fairly alarmed at the proximity of the gnoll to the village though.
During the night the party was attacked by three gnolls, one of whom was foaming at the mouth. The attack was fierce, but eventually all the gnolls lay dead. On the body of the largest was a highly decorated bag, inside of which were several pieces of gold, several gems, a pearl, and a blue song pearl (the variety known for its healing powers). The party was mightily impressed by the treasure.
They continued on the next morning and found the ruins were Burning indicated the gnolls were. On one wall there was a very large and healthy vine which was recognized as an assassin vine. Careful scouting revealed a gnoll and a kamadan (leopard with snakes coming out of its back) at another part of the ruins. A plan was formulated, and the party got into position. A combination of entangle and web stuck both the gnoll and kamadan down. Peppering both with arrows brought a swift demise. The assassin vine was also taken care of at range. Akar found the kamadan had a golden collar from which was suspended an amber pendent with a spider inside. At the base of the assassin vine Boris found three flasks of alchemist's fire, a tin of healing salve, and a sapphire.
Eniaust took care of another gnoll scout that had been nearby and heard the commotion. The bodies were disposed of, and Bella decided to remain outside as a scout. It was found there was a trapdoor in the ruins, and the party went below. Two corridors were there, one to the left which ended in rubble, and one straight ahead that ended in a door. They decided to quickly check out the rubble-choked corridor. To their surprise, they found a secret door.
The passage was very narrow, and Eniaust checked for traps and other things. To his surprise, he found a very well hidden secret door. Inside was a tiny temple to Nerull. The symbol of Nerull was carved on the opposite wall. Two candelabras with black candles flanked the altar. On the alter was the dried, naturally mummified corpse of a woman dressed in white, with a dagger in her breast. The dagger was clasped by the skeletal hands of a man in priest's robes, kneeling on the floor, collapsed against the altar. A shelf was on the right wall near the altar.
Thamiis detected magic, and saw some on the shelf. He traipsed in to investigate and unleashed a horror. The woman pushed herself up from the altar and lunged for Thamiis. Her hands locked around his throat and she began throttling him. Boris was able to turn her, and Daphne and Akar attacked her with spell and scimitar respectively. Then Gard hit her with his fists, and she collapsed. As he began searching her body, she lurched upright again, startling everyone. More attacks brought her down, and this time she collapsed into dust. Thus the party survived their attack with the coffer corpse.
Gard investigated the shelf, which contained a black hat and a tiny chest. In trying to pick up the chest, he was attacked by the hat, actually an executioner's hood. It was unable to do any damage, but it set the party even more on edge. The chest was recovered and found to contain a magical necklace with a moon pendent, two rings (one made from a red gem, one silver with a leaf motif), and a great deal of pink and blue pearls. The party boldly struggled onward down the passage.
They noticed two membrane-covered holes across from each other, and thought something be in there. Gard and Eniaust tried to toss alchemist's fire in the holes, but Eniaust's splattered on the wall instead. Out poppped two annoyed and hungry cave morays. Much archery ensued and much slime was tossed about. Both ended up dead.
They pressed on into a more natural cavern and spotted the two mantaris before they attacked. A few spells and arrows and the mantaris went splat. At the end of the cavern there were two passages. One looked more traveled, so they went down there. The passage changed from natural to worked, and there were a small set of steps down. Eniaust disabled a pit trap by jamming the door with a rock, and they went on to the door at the end.
They could hear what sounded like someone either doing weapons practice or beating someone up. Some excellent sneaking allowed Eniaust to peer in. A nine foot tall gnoll was busily beating the snot out of a wooden dummy. Eniaust and Gard thought they might sneak in and try to flank/sneak attack him. Excellent Move Silently/Hide checks allowed them to get mostly into position. Craptactular rolls meant they both whiffed their attacks. Thrak (the big gnoll), beat Gard halfway across the room while the rest of the party attacked. During the fight, Gard was nearly killed, but some cleaver tactics saved his life. Daphne used magic to create ghost sounds of someone in a different corner of the room, and lift some smelly rags from his "nest" and drop them on his head, both of which I ruled distracted him enough for the PCs to get in some decent hits.
It was a very hard but decent fight. After it was over, the PCs discovered a scarf tied over the gnoll's ears. Upon removing them, the gnoll became an ogre (hat of disguise). He also had a key, which went to a chest in the corner. The chest was a magnetic one, so picking it might have been a bear. The box had a lot of silver and copper, as well as a smaller decorated box full of gold, gems, magical jewelry, and two song pearls.
The PCs retreated back upstairs for the night. Bella reported that she had seen five gnolls go in, but none go out. The PCs figured they must be in the door at the end of the hallways they hadn't explored yet. The next day they went downstairs and down the other hallway. Eniaust searched for traps, but was unable to find a pressure plate. He was sprayed with blood, and then a hungry worg was released at the end of the corridor from a hidden cage. The worg got in a couple good bites, but was killed. However, the commotion got the attention of the gnolls in the room at the end of the hallway.
They came bursting through, but Thamiis got two of them with sleep, and one was hit by an arrow. Eniaust put on the scarf of disguise in order to appear as Thrak. Being unable to speak Gnoll (the other gnolls were demanding something of him) he Innuendo'ed his way to saying he was with the party now. Two gnolls were too confused to deal with this, but the third one still standing screamed treachery and threw himself at the party. The other two joined him and slaughter ensued. The two sleeping ones had their skulls bashed in.
And investigation of the room turned up a golden ankelet, still on an ankle, as well as a few gems. Then the party decided to go down the cave corridor they hadn't explored the other day. They found a pool of water and Thamiis spotted the crystal ooze before it attacked them. However, it was so slow it was easy to kill from afar.
Their troubles weren't over yet though. They heard a tremendous repetative crashing from the other corridor, where Thrak had been. They went down it and found that something in the pit trap was trying to get out. They popped the jammed rock out, and in a few moments the doors few open. Out flew a gelatinous cube. Literally flying.
The party retreated like bats out of hell, but they couldn't outrun the incredibly quick cube that mowed down Boris. He was able to escape the cube and ran away, but it kept ramming after them (it hadn't been fed that day). Many punches, arrows, and mace hits later, the thing collasped into goo. (It was an air element gelatinous cube, which is technically illegal, but whatever, it was a scream!)
That was the last fight for the night, and the PCs prepared to go back with several questions. Lord Randor's sword hadn't been recovered, so where was it? Who poisoned the well? Were there any other gnolls, and if so, where were they? We'll see next time...
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