Prologue - The Passage Opens
The first day of summer had finally arrived. You and your cohorts had managed to discover that the Whispering Hollow's passage only was accessible on this particular day and you'd decided to spend the week at the Hanging Bough Tavern. There, you noticed a few other groups and it didn't take long for you all to realize you were here for the same reason.
As the day arrives, you get together with your cohorts to plan your mission... bur first...
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Rhiannon brings with her both a cleric and warrior from her uncle's inner circle, as well as a dear friend and thief she knows from her time on the road.
Thaliel Eamane
Male Elven Ranger
Str 13, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 8
Skill points in: Climb, Handle Animal, Knowledge (Nature), , Knowledge (Geography), Perception, Ride, Stealth, Survival
Agna Rognar
Female Dwarf Cleric
Str 14, Dex 10, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 10
Skill Points in: Diplomacy, Heal, Knowledge (Religion),
Alandre Burton
Male Human Rogue
Str 12, Dex 16 (14 +2 racial), Con 12, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 14
Skill points in: Acrobatics, Bluff, Disable Device, Disguise, Escape Artist, Intimidate, Knowledge (Dungeoneering), Perception, Sleight of Hand, Stealth,
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Bleek is accompanied by two childhood friends and the father of a child he saved in his village.
Isamo Clael (Friend)
Male Human Bard
STR 12 | DEX 10 | CON 14 | INT 11 | WIS 12 | CHA 16
Skills: Use Magic Device, Sense Motive, Perform, Preception, Knowledge (Nature), Knowledge (Dungeoneering), Knowledge (Geography), Appraise
Braig Yerth (Friend)
Female Human Wizard
STR 8 | DEX 12 | CON 14 | INT 18 | WIS 10 | CHA 10
Skills: Craft, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Engineering)
Wil Irani (Friend and Father to saved child)
Male Human Fighter
STR 17 | DEX 13 | CON 14 | INT 10 | WIS 10 | CHA 10
Skills: Climb, Handle Animale, Intimidate
Cyrioul brings his fiancee(a somewhat direputable, but chraming, woman), his older brother (a wizard), and a tower guard from his order.
Reinala Dennsdotter (Fiancee)
Female Half-Elf Rogue
STR 8 | DEX 17 | CON 13 | INT 14 | WIS 10 | CHA 12
Skills: Appraise, Bluff, Craft(Traps)(Skill Focus), Disable Device, Disguise, Knowledge(Dungeoneering), Perception, Sleight of Hand, Stealth
Dolv Fasar (Brother)
Male Human Wizard (Divination School)
STR 10 | DEX 14 | CON 13 | INT 17 | WIS 12 | CHA 8
Skills: Knowledge(Arcana), Knowledge(Geography), Knowledge(History), Knowledge(Nature), Linguistics, Spellcraft
Gustav Verhu (Guard)
Male Human Fighter
STR 17 | DEX 13 | CON 14 | INT 10 | WIS 12 | CHA 8
Skills: Handle Animale, Knowledge(Engineering), Survival
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Thorin's three companions are :
Winston Binderbook. His foster fathers personal scribe and lorekeeper. Halfling Wizard
STR- 8 DEX- 16 CON- 12 INT- 15 WIS- 10 CHR- 13
Skills: Spellcraft, Kn. Arcana, Kn. Religion, Kn.Planes
Malcolm. Human Ranger, foster fathers best friend, second in command. Lost a hand in an old battle long ago.
STR- 14 DEX- 14 CON- 14 INT-10 WIS 13 CHR- 10
Skill: Handle Animal,Heal, kn. geography, kn.Nature, perception, survival, stealth
Lyssa - A young half elf rogue he hid when she escaped from slavery when she was barely a teen. Since then, has been a bit of a silent guardian of Thorin. (may or may not have a crush on Thorin up to the gm :)! )
STR- 11 DEX- 14 CON- 12 INT- 16 WIS- 10 CHR- 12
Skills: Appraise, Bluff, Climb, Disable device, Escape artist, Craft trapmaking, sense motive, perception, slight of hand, stealth, use magic device.
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Thorin whistled a jaunty little tune while he waited at the tavern, his associates would be along soon enough, He had time to kill. He was a bit shocked the place wasnt busier, then again perhaps some people had sense. Dragon hordes were by nature not something easy to acquire. He took another look about the room with a slight grin.
Calaster has brought along some old friends and previous colleagues who share his desire for freedom and adventure. These remarkable individuals are also driven by their desires and personal agendas but have learned to cooperate as well as a any trained group of mercenaries.
Thorin Greatbellow, a jovial and boisterous dwarf and Calaster's best drinking companion. He wishes to build his own abbey/brewery in which to begin a new order of clerics.
Male Dwarf Cleric
STR 14, DEX 10, CON 12, INT 10, WIS 16, CHA 12
Skills: Heal, Profession (Brewer)
Flodynia Draenen is a witty and tempting elf who has been as much a thorn as a boon to Calaster in the past. She wishes to travel the world and document it's landscapes.
Female Elf Wizard
STR 10, DEX 15, CON 10, INT 16, WIS 13, CHA 12
Skills: Appraise, Knowledge (Arcana), Knowledge (Geography), Linguistics, Spellcraft
Helfarch Saeth is a half-orc borne from the womb of a mother who despised him. Contrary to many others of his kind, Helfarch is a caring individual who fights for the equality of all races and the preservation of nature.
Male Half-Orc Ranger
STR 16, DEX 12, CON 12, INT 10, WIS 14, CHA 10
Skills: Handle Animal, Heal, Intimidate, Knowledge (Nature), Perception, Survival
Cyrioul returns Thorin's rakish look about the room with an arched eyebrow. "That's a happy tune, friend. What brings you to the Hanging bough?"
Cyrioul lifts his cup of whiskey. "To adventure, then. Cheers! It would appear that at least one of our goals is the same. I, too, await friends. They should be along shortly."
Rhiannon orders some ale as she regards the people in the inn. The words 'dragon treasures' catch particular interest, and she turns her head toward Thorin and Cyrioul. She slips over into an adjacent table nonchalantly to hear the details more closely.
At the bar, Calaster is intrigued by some snippets of the conversation the two humans are having.
"Let's see what they have to say, better to learn as much as possible before trying to make friends" he thinks to himself with a grimace, remembering some not so fond memories of his past .
As he reseats himself on his stool, he takes in the general look of the two humans having the discussion.
The barman overhears the discussions.
"If it's the Hollow you're seeking, I'll remind you all that you have until tonight to head in. Of course, the last fellas who went in never came out but what am I to do about it."
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Now, each player who is ready to enter Whispering Hollow must roll a d100 and we can get started.
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" A good thing then, that im here waiting for my friends."
He said with a laugh. He couldnt help by notice the beautiful woman change tables to get closer to their conversation, after all, he had been trying to attract her eye. Still The way all their ears perked up made him a bit more cautious.
"Thorin O'Connel with 'the Black Watch.' A little mercenary group my father ran for a time, a pleasure to meet you all, but I suppose I should go prep for crossing over. Good day." He said as he finished the last of his ale shooting one final wink at the woman who moved seats before he whistled his way out of the tavern.
Rhiannon remains quiet even as he winks at her, remaining steely as she finishes her ale and heads out. "Mercenary group" sounds like she's up against people a little better organized than she had hoped for.
"And I'm Cyrioul Fasar, of the Church of Arenthea. May you find what you seek... shortly after Arenthea leads us to it." He toasts the health of all gathered, downs his whiskey, and leads his missionaries to the arch for crossing over.
"And I'm Cyrioul Fasar, of the Church of Arenthea. May you find what you seek... shortly after Arenthea leads us to it." He toasts the health of all gathered, downs his whiskey, and leads his missionaries to the arch for crossing over.
1d100
Calaster let's out a short laugh at the boldness of the two humans, a smile of excitement on his face. After finishing his glass of wine, he makes to leave the tavern. As he passes by the lady, he gives her a winning smile
"Looks like we're all in this together then, guess i'll be seeing you on the grounds soon enough"
As each one of you crosses the Arch threshold you feel a strong gust of wind and find yourself opening your eyes to an entirely different scene. Though your men are all unnerved, it was to be expected as per the legend.
Thorin, you and your team find yourself beside a large lake in a vast field. You see mountains all around you, but they seem quite distant.
Essentially the hex you are in is a plain and the one adjacent to the North is the start of the lake. The mountains are still quite a ways away.
You and your team find yourself within the center of the forest. It appears to surround you on all sides.
You and your team find yourself atop a large hill overlooking a snow swept series of other hills. Directly to the N-E lies the beginning of a soaring series of frigid peaks.
You and your team find yourself in an open field of tall grass. Upon closer inspection you find that it looks surprisingly like rice fields. You hear seagulls overhead so the ocean or body of water can't be too far.
Each of you notices a large stone ring carved with runes. If legend serves right, these are the Whisper-Rings, allowing you to speak telepathically to anyone else also attuned to the rings. It is up to you whether you wish to attune yourselves or not.
When using the Whisper-Rings, please simply make a spoiler post with the title of Whisper-Ring. Anyone who chooses to be attuned can read the contents. This is an open decision but must be posted before you can read the contents. This decision can be made at any time.
For now, the Whisper-Rings can do no more but there are ways of enhancing their powers.
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There are currently no missions available for cohorts so you may choose to send them on exploration missions.
I have decided to simplify travel and exploration for the sake of this campaign. Traveling to another hex takes the day and exploring takes another. For example, say you send your Cohort to explore South. Day 1 is spent travelling, while Day 2 would be spent exploring. You would receive your information on Day 3 when your Cohort returned.
You yourself can explore of course and it's probably a lot easier for you to do so.
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Your workers can be spent constructing various buildings for your garrison once you choose the location. For now, they simply work on making living spaces, shelters, etc.
There is no need for abstract things like checking food supplies and etc.
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When exploring, simply make it very clear where you wish to go. For example. Each player's Hex 1 is their initial Hex. Whenever you enter a hex, it is assigned the next number.
I travel North from Hex 1.
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We will go Day by Day on these events. Any other questions? Feel free to ask them in discussion
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Rhiannon makes sure to attune herself to the Whisper-Rings before settling in, seeing no reason not to have that private line to her competition.
After settling into her location, she establishes the line of command; herself, Agna, Thaliel, and the head worker. She orders the construction of the garrison where they stand; the abundance of lumber around her will make for easy access to supplies, and provide a good location to rig in the woods traps should the need arise.
Once everything is settled, she decides to scout out the surrounding area, sending Thaliel South from Hex 1, Alandre North-East, and traveling North-West herself.
Once all are set, Cyrioul heads N-E to explore the base of the mountains. He directs Gustav to head S-E to explore, then Reinala to the S to explore, and Dolv to head S-W to explore. He appoints Morgrym the dwarf as lieutenant among the workers, and Brodun the human as Morgrym's second. They are directed to establish a primary camp here. Cyrioul is hoping that the hills or mountains could be mined to make a stone stronghold.
Calaster makes sure to attune himself with the Whisper Rings, having heard of their powers and guessing that they could come in very handy if ever he wished to build an alliance.
Calaster then proceeds in taking in a deep breath of the cool slightly salty air as he follows the seagulls with his eyes.
"Flodynia, Helfarch... Looks like we are near an ocean or lake. Split up and search to see if you can find it. If you happen upon the coast or are injured return here as fast as possible, dying will do us no good in finding this hoard" he says with eyes full of the flames of adventure and discovery.
Flodynia goes North, Helfarch goes South-East and Calaster goes South-West
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He paced back and forth in front of the whisper ring stones thinking. This spot wasn't a bad place at all, a lake with water, open view to see trouble coming. mountains in the distance which had a good chance to have caves.
Malcom have the workers set up camp here, but don't get dug in just yet, Winston and I will explore to the north closer to the lake. if that's a better site I will want our permanent camp there along the lakeside. If its not we might settle here. Once you get the men set in head east with Lissa and explore there.
Glancing one more time to the stones he decided to try to use them, attuning himself to them. (whatever that requires)
Day 1 Actions
Each of your characters travel in the direction you've indicated. You must now choose whether to explore or not. I've given each Hex a designation key following the same code: Letter of your first name, Hex, #. So mine would be VH 1, 2, 3, etc.
Traveling into an area indicates any LANDMARK locations and reveals the hex land type. This will come in handy earlier. A LANDMARK must be explored separately (so you would need an additional day of exploration to explore a landmark.) LANDMARKS are indicated after the terrain type.
S(RH 2) - Forest - Landmark: Valdaria Crevasse
NE (RH 3) - Forest
NW (RH 4) - Plains
NE (CH 2) - Mountain
SE (CH 3) - Hills
S (CH 4) - Hills
SW (CH 5) - Lake - Landmark: Norvar Village
N (CaH 2) - Plains
SE (CaH 3) - Swamp - Landmark: Broken Lajatei Shrine
SW (CaH 4) - Coast
North will take you into the lake quite literally. As for East, did you mean North East or South East. Sorry I didn't pick up on this earlier. I won't move to Day 2 until you've replied, don't worry.
Flodynia explores the plains, interested by these new and unknown lands
Helfarch is intrigued by the mysterious ruins and decides to explore them
The map is restored and ready to go! As well, I realized I hadn't shown how resources work. Since we are using a simpler method of exploration and management, this is how everything works.
Each Hex has a chance of containing Resources. Your HQ can only profit from a single instance of a resource. For example, a second Darkstone node won't give you more than just having one. However, you may trade away these resources for ones you can use. This means meeting other players or involving yourself in NPC diplomacy.
Whenever your HQ attempts to build certain buildings or attempts a task, you may assign suitable resources to it.
Resources are split into different types and as soon as I get the list of actions available up, I'll add which resources can be used for which purpose.
Finally, to be able to use a Resource, you must assign a WORKER or COHORT to that region. I highly recommend you assign WORKERS. This choice takes no time and as soon as you confirm a worker assignment, you may add that Resource to your HQ.
South from RH3 - RH5 - Plains
South from RH4 - RH6 - Plains
Valdaria Crevasse
Thaliel spends the day exploring the upper reaches of the crevasse. His climbing skills easily allows maneuvering among the harsh rocks and pitfalls. No monsters were encountered but Thaliel noticed beast tracks and recognized them as wolf and bear tracks. They did not seem to go very deep into the area however.
Exploration of the mountain and hill hexes have revealed that they are indeed suitable places to gather resources.
CH 2 - Deepstone (Stone)
CH 3 - Wildgrass (Plant)
CH 4 - Wildgrass (Plant)
Norval Village
The village is deserted from what you can tell. Scorched buildings and ruined houses easily show that a draconic force was the cause. It would have happened a long time ago however.
Searching the ruins, you do discover a modicum of wealth in the form of Coins (Monetary Resource).
North from CaH 4 - CaH 5 - Coast - Landmark: Wreck of the Dilettante
Exploring the Plains reveals a Sungrass (Plant) resource.
Broken Lajatei Shrine
The shrine seems to have been destroyed ages ago and all that's left is the foundation and mosaic stone floor.
If you choose to do so, you may dismantle the mosaics to obtain Glass (Material) resource.
There is a lingering spiritual presence here however.
TH 2 - Plains
TH 3 - Plains
Exploring these hexes reveals two fine resource nodes, Bitterleaf (Plant) in TH2 and Wild Game (Food) in TH3.
Exploration plans are as follows:
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** spoiler omitted **
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I want to skirt along the lake as best I can, would it be possible to eventually build a little dock or boats for the lake?