Kingmaker Expansion (Filling Things Out)

The abandoned fort has several mysteries hidden within its walls-- for PCs eager to spend some time exploring.

LOCATION

A2- Spiderhold
A DC 20 search under one of the beds reveals a loose panel.

If opened, under the panel a bottle can be found, sealed with a wildwood cork stamped with the Alestir Alehouse label. Within the bottle is an old parchment letter from a soldier who used to be stationed at the fort.

The letter details the location of a treasure trove, buried about half a day's ride east, underneath a rock. The letter goes on to lament "what must be my untimely demise," and then it urges a "Jonathan Trentovy" to deliver the treasure to the author's "fair Ophelia in Brevoy" if found. The letter is dated over forty-years old and is signed by a one Bartholemew Eledemon and further encourages the bearer of the letter to "let Ophelia know that I love her and to name our child after my father- Eudorus." Also included in the bottle is a wedding ring, worth 10 gp.

LORE: Bartholemew perished in a raid, along with Jonathan. No one else in the barracks knew that the letter was hidden there. The treasure trove is a bunch of recovered goods that Bartholemew and Jonathan lifted off some brigands instead of turning it over to their Captain.

Wilderness Lore???, Knowledge Geography (DC 15) or Knowledge Local (DC 18) to discover the treasure trove given the old, outdated directions.

The Knowledge Local check can be supplemented by +2 with advice from Oleg.

BATTLE FOR THE TREASURE: Some giant spiders (CR 3) have taken up guarding the rocks where the treasure is hidden.

TREASURE: When found, the treasure consists of 300 gp, a silver necklace worth 10 gp, two masterwork longswords, and strangely well preserved boots (with a magic spell of protection against elements +5 on them).

DEVELOPMENT: Ophelia may be located in Brevoy with a Gather Information DC 15 in the city. She is now 58 and is married to a butcher named Fenris (58). They have four children, ages (34m (exp 2), 26m (rog 2), 24f (exp 1), 22f (com 1)). If asked, Ophelia reveals that she miscarried her first child on hearing about Bartholemew's demise. Only the first two children currently live with them; all save the 26 year-old male have married. Ophelia welcomes the return of the wedding ring, but lets the adventurers know she is going to send it on to Bartholemew's family since the memories of Bartholemew have long since passed her by.

[Experience award for this, but little else, although you do now have a friend in Ophelia, and the second son- the 26 year old (rog 2) expresses some interest in your adventuring party since he does not have enough money to get married- he wants to adventure. If pressed, he admits to "skulking around" to gather coins, and fears that the next time he is caught by the guard he'll be for the gallows- only his father's respect in the district has gotten him out of trouble the last three times.]

EVENT

Mail Delivery

A particularly enterprising trapper left a few letters at Oleg's for delivery south. Seeing as you are headed that way, Oleg wonders if you might be able to drop them off.

If pressed about details regarding the trapper, Oleg remembers her as a particularly competent young woman who wore a bow and traveled with a few others. She has visited the post a few times and appears to command the loyalty of a small coterie of associates.

1. Breeg Orlivanch (Dead Trapper in area E)

CONTENTS: "Breeg. I've got a few more of those special bear traps for you-- ready to import into Oleg's. However, I've received some reports that a few travelers were caught in your traps. Could you be more careful about your placement, maybe signify their location with a flag or something.

"Signed; Constance Devine"

NOTES: If read before the party heads to Area C, reduce their chance of wandering into a trap from 20% to 10% or less per hour if they take special precautions.

DEVELOPMENT: Twenty bear traps arrive at Oleg's 1d8 days after the "delivery" of this letter. Three of the traps are coated with a special immobilization poison extract (2 Con damage).

2. Davik Nettles (Area S)

CONTENTS: "Davik. I'd like to try to negotiate a better price than the toll you currently charge to cross your bridge. I can pay in bulk up-front for the entire season for myself and my associates and all of our cargo and gear that will be transported. If you are amenable to discussing this and the other arrangement we had regarding the passage of news and your little "black book" of travelers; then the rewards can be quite great. As a token of my appreciation for your ear, I am enclosing a gold sovereign.

"Signed; Constance Devine"

NOTES: Gold sovereign enclosed.

DEVELOPMENT: In Area S, hidden under stones, there is a "Little Black Book" that records the comings and goings of all travelers among the waterways. It notes the coming of the Stag Lord and Davik's experience driving him off. It also notes other travelers who have passed along the way.

Miles Bandy, a young man, is fishing in the river. He has two poles and three nets scattered around, but he is having trouble catching anything and his nets have mysteriously been cut each night.

He used to sell some fish to Oleg's in return for firestarters, tobacco and gear, but he hasn't been able to travel there in some weeks. He's barely caught enough fish to provide him sustenance.

He lives in a little hutch just Northwest of the hex at the edge of the forest. He came to the forest six months ago hoping to become an adventurer like his "famous" uncle- Timitius Bandy, who died two years ago fighting a Tatzlwyrm. Miles intended to gather around himself a bunch of adventurers and with them avenge himself on the Tatzlwyrm.

But when Miles arrived in the forest, a couple of bandits set upon him and stole all of his gear; his Uncle's secondary sword (which had been left at home when he went to slay the Tatzlewyrm), masterwork dagger, and Miles's new personal leather armor and cap, which he had saved up for ever since his Uncle had perished. All Miles was left with were the words of Oleg mentioning that there might be a couple of trappers who would be amenable to helping him with his quest.

Wandering beaten and bloody through the forest, he found Breeg Orlivanch (Area E) who took pity on him but refused to join his fool quest. Breeg patched him up and dropped him back at Oleg's, then told him to get lost and get back to civilization. Miles then talked Oleg into lending him a fishing pole and walked back to the Thorn River and started living off the land.

Miles is too proud to return home until he can at least recover his gear (at minimum his Uncle's sword since it's all he has left of him), but he has given up on the idea of being an adventurer, as the danger of the life does not suit him.

NOTES:
The Fairy creatures at (area F) have been playing tricks on Miles. They like to see him mend his nets and they feel sorry for the fish that he has been catching- he used to catch quite a lot.

DEVELOPMENT:
1. When the players are talking to Miles, suddenly a large fish gets entangled in the nets and Miles rushes in to wrestle it to the shore. The fish is a giant catfish, about 3 1/2 feet long. Grapple checks will be needed to get the thing to shore. The players can help out. (XP 75).
Giant Catfish encounter.

2. Fairy pranks may begin in this area. (See Location F for information on these pranks).
When the fairies are eventually encountered, if reasoned with (Diplomacy 15) they may agree to stop messing with Miles and really mean it. Diplomacy of 10 gets them to "promise" to stop messing with Miles and to lay off him for about a week, then they'll start back up again. Any lower and they can make no promises since he's too fun to play with.

3. Miles tells the players about the Tatzlwyrm's den at U, giving a somewhat vague description of the general vicinity. At the Tatzlwyrm's den, the skeleton on (page 28) is not the boy's uncle. That skeleton was the leader of the adventuring party his Uncle was with.

Instead, the boy's uncle's remains is that of another explorer whose refuse lies beside the other deceased one.

(Add the following treasure to Area U) Masterwork Longsword, dagger, highly damaged unwearable leather armor, adventuring journal (contains complaints about the party leader "bossing him around" and "taking all the glory" and how he has to "sleep outside in the rough while the party leader gets to enjoy himself at inns" and explaining how much he "hates the adventuring life.", dessicated letter from Miles to his "favorite Uncle" wishing him luck, 15 feet of rope, 9 gp, 10 sp, 30 cp.

4. The thieves at area K have additional treasure: Longsword, masterwork dagger, leather armor and cap.

Rime Marner (Rog 1) CR 1/2 is injured at the bottom of a pit trap. He carries twelve bottles of wine, one half drunk, and eight now smashed; all of which were stolen from (Area K) and that were intended for the Stag Lord. These bottles are not the same as the ones discovered in camp however. These are special imports from the River Kingdoms.

Rime had been planning on stealing the bottles, leaving the bandits, taking the bottles to Restov and selling them for a pretty price.

NOTE:
The pit trap had been set by Varn Losum (See Event 3) in order to capture elk in a dead-fall trap to break their legs. He usually checks the trap every five days, but has been late to check the trap this time due to increased bandit activity in the area.

DEVELOPMENT:
1. Rime tries to bargain for his life with one bottle, claming that all the other ones have been smashed and that he will smash this one too if the players don't help him out. He insinuates that it is worth a great deal of gold to the right people.

2. Rime can't actually fight considering his injuries, but he does have a dagger that he could use if a player approaches too close and Rime feels in danger. Rime will not attack unless he is removed from the hole and he feels threatened with death or arrest or being turned back over to the Stag Lord's men.

3. Rime can reveal general details about the camp at location K, such as its location, and the number of bandits in the camp (he overestmates by four, expecting that Happs and his three bandits are still alive) . He can also generally explain the usual bandit camp defense tactics. He talks about Kressle in general terms, and can mention some information about the Stag Lord. He can explain about the Stag Lord's alcoholism. He also reveals the password (page 31).

TREASURE:
The three remaining bottles of River Wine (red wine aged 25 years) are worth 125 gp each. The bottles were originally stolen from a merchant caravan headed to Restov from the River Kingdoms. Perhaps they could be returned to their rightful owner in Restov. If traded to Oleg, Oleg can only offer 95 gp for each bottle, and he suspects they may have been stolen from someone.

DEVELOPMENT:
Varn Losmun has a shack at the far north of Area C on the edge of the forest. He is very thankful to the players if they have taken out the bandits at Area K and if they have proof of that destruction or he has heard about it from Oleg, he'll let the players keep the wolf pelts, which they can sell for 25 gp each at Oleg's. Varn also gives the players his maps of six hexes; the area west of C, C E, F, I, and N (including mention of the Statute- a really weird tall thing he saw); which vastly speed exploration of the areas. (Decrease time to explore them by half).

Quest: Treant w/ a Sliver
Source: Treant: "Gnarl-Root"
Task: Has a festering wound, needs PCs to remove the object of ire. A broken off piece of a unicorn horn.

(the unicorn is of course the dead unicorn at area T.)

Gnarl-Root tells the PCs that the unicorn was possesed and crazy - and charged the tree and buried it's horn in it - as a reaction, the treat swatted the unicorn aside - breaking off the piece inside him - the unicorn limped away. (obviously to die elsewhere). The horn could not be reached by the branches which didn't bend the right way to reach it (like an itch on you have on your back that you need someone else to get). The learn that the only way way to remove the horn which has magically fused itself to the treant's body is to find the unicorns body and burn it. After PCs find body in T, and burn it, they can return to Gnarl-Root and remove the horn.

Reward: Gnarl-Root is a darkwood tree. As a reward, he breaks off a piece of his wood for the PCs to make something with it - the material should lend itself to making whatever the item is automatically magical - perhaps if it's a shield - have fire resistance already in it.

Tie In # 1:

Why did the unicorn go mad? Instead of Nyrissa killing it, she drove it insane with a chaotic corrupting fey touch.

Tie In # 2:
What do we do with the horn? Perhaps another hex has something that needs the horn of a unicorn in order to restore something (like the temple of Erastil for instance).

NOTES:
Investigate DC 15 notices a rusted piece of metal sticking out from the ground. 1d4 hours of excavation later, the group can find more remnants of an old battle-scene, made visible after heavy rains washed away a good part of an old cliff.

Scrap metal is discoverable and 1 medallion (75gp).

Knowledge Local (DC 15) or Knowledge History (DC 10) reveals that this is the site of a battle between Barbarian Lords and ancient Brevoy.

The artifacts may be worth about 400 gp if carted back to civilization. Oleg can offer 275 gp for the remains.

If the group stores the goods, then maybe an interested buyer might emerge in the future to purchase the relics. Oleg charges 1 gp/week for storage. Diplomacy 15 can get him to change the amount to 1gp/month.

DEVELOPMENT: Regardless if the spot is found or not, later in the adventure, an excavation team from Restov ends up in the area consisting of a scholar (exp 3), three diggers (com 1), and one guard (ftr 1). If the area is discovered, they beeline for it for future excavations. If undiscovered, they are found at Oleg's with this quest.

These buyers will offer 500gp if the players have held on to the artifacts at Oleg's.

Something to put those Perception checks on entering quadrants of a hex to use!

(Medallions are worth 75 gp each)

Hex 3 (counting from left to right)
Hex 7
Hex southwest of Area B
Hex to the Right of H
Hex I
Hex J (2 coins)
Hex Q by the bridge
Area N (3 coins)
R (inside the mite laye;r 2 of the medallions are mounted on the wall as shiny reflectors)
Forest by V
Z

Signed; Constance Devine"

NOTES: If read before the party heads to Area C, reduce their chance of wandering into a trap from 20% to 10% or less per hour if they take special precautions.

DEVELOPMENT: Twenty bear traps arrive at Oleg's 1d8 days after the "delivery" of this letter. Three of the traps are coated with a special immobilization poison extract (2 Con damage).

"Signed; Constance Devine"

NOTES: Gold soverieign enclosed.

DEVELOPMENT: In Area S, hidden under stones, there is a "Little Black Book" that records the comings and goings of all travellers among the waterways. It notes the coming of the Stag Lord and Davik's experience driving him off. It also notes other travelers who have passed along the way.

Cave Fisher (CR 2) (Bestiary pg 41)

A successful Knowledge (Nature) check will reveal the bit about their filaments being usable as silk rope. The enterprising player may want to keep this puppy alive so it can become a silk rope maker. (i.e. they can visit the cave, throw a chicken or something in, once they hear the grim ba-gawk, they can go in and collect the filament from the last sacrifice. Of course, that only works until someone wants to build a gold mine.

The dead trappers gear has mostly all been destroyed during the consumption by the cave fisher, but a masterwork silver dagger had fallen to the ground when the cave fisher attacked the trapper.

Oooh.... maybe even throw some silk rope into the kobolds cavern, and they can talk about their old god of stong rope!!!

Reward: He grants them a pot of gold 500 gp, and a special luck blessing, that allows the PCs each to re-roll one D20 roll at some point. Furthermore, he can provide some foreshadowing of Nyrissa.

I'm portraying her very flirtatious and full of love and spirit. I'm playing Oleg a bit dim-witted, and superstitious of magic.

Now the players have their conspiracy radar in full speed.

"why is SHE with HIM?"

She must be a succubus!
She must be a vampire!
She must be some fey creature that has him charmed!

In truth I haven't decided WHAT to do exactly.

But this thought occured to me:

Having the woman as something other than what she looks is too cliche' - the seductress vampire/succubus/fey etc. What if I throw em all for a loop and in fact, Oleg, the dim-witted superstitious one is actually the culprit and instead has HER for a pet..... They're all thinking she's got something of foul nature going on with her, and so they're really nervous (as players) around her, thinking everytime their character gets near her, it's going to lead to trouble for the PC. What a grand surprise it could be then when they find out the truth someday that she's just normal and he's the one with 'issues'.

To add to the mystique, I've so far:

Had her go up and hug all the male PCs when they arrived (the adventure indicates her and Oleg think the PCs are there to save them from bandits). During the hug, I took the PC with the best Charisma (cleric of Desna) - and had him make a Will save.....they don't know why.....and I said "For some reason, you feel like she may have hugged you a bit warmer and closer and a bit longer than she did with you companion.....you wonder about that for a moment, and then shake your head and persuade yourself that it's just your imagination."

In truth - it WAS just his imagination - as a male, I know how we decevie ourselves at time to think when a woman is genuinely nice or gratious towards us we somehow trick our minds into thinking there was more to it - like she's REALLY in to me. So I used that normal male response against him and let him think there was more to it than just a welcoming hug.

I also up-played the horror and fear she felt when her and Oleg described the bandits and the way they joked about what they'd do to her if they took her as payment. This REALLY fired up the players as they pictured how meek and vulnerable she was. This, too, has their emotions in the game.

I also have her say things that have other meaning - simply because of her lack of command of the common tongue. It sounds more outlandish than she means - they're just faux pas expressions.

For instance: she told the cleric (whom had to make the will save) who was the only person with a horse upon their arrival: [in gypsy romanian accent] "When you are ready to turn-in, I will gladly massage your ass for you." (the players nearly had a heart-attack....until they realized she was speaking about the horse).

Later when she was making sure their guest quarters are prepared for them, she said to the wizard character, [in same accent] "I need to know - are you good and hot in bed? Or do you need my help to come make you warmer for you?" (of course she meant "will the bed be warm and good enough for them that night") But the double meaning phrases being made so innocently has made for a wonderful envirornment, and has the players totally invested in her - and wondering what more to make of Svetlana.

Vampire would work. I have set the stage with hearing of the baying of wolves at night, and even the sounds of flying bats, and with mist etc etc. The book gives a description that does sound a lot like Ravenloft/Barovia/Romania gothic horror. It would fit fine.

So would a lyncanthrope. She could be a were-wolf, or were-panther or something. Once I started considering perhaps Oleg was indeed the guy with issues, I wondered if perhaps HE was a were-wolf and she was his "turned prey" that now serves him.

Or perhaps they're a mated pair from the beginning....not necessarily evil mind-you......just not normal.

Other ideas were:

*She is a Mail-order bride kinda thing.
*He won her as part of some Varisian Tarot/harrow deck card game
*She doesn't look that young and beautiful to him - just to everyone else, so he doesn't understand peoples dismay that she's with him. (Perhpas she's fey, or some varisian spritual thing)
*His real wife is dead, and she's a ghost that has manifested in this body.
*He is a sorcerer/enchanter and she is a thrall.
*He is a necromancer and he magic jarred his wife into that body, and he's now looking for a suitable male body for himself. (Like that movie The Skeleton Key w/ Kate Hudson)

So nonetheless the possibilities are nigh-endless, and I haven't decided on a course yet, and I just wanted to share how someone can use them to add more intrigue into the campaign.

(That's Akiros, obviously)

You flinched back as he raised his hand, as he had a hundred times before. Yet as you cowered, awaiting the blow, you remembered the Dream. Your hand shot up almost without your instruction, catching his wrist. For a moment the two of you locked eyes, and for the first time, you saw something alien in his gaze. It took you a moment to recognise it; fear. You glanced down at your hand. His wrist felt small in your grasp. How long had you been the taller one? How long had his bones seemed so fragile? You squeezed experimentally, and saw a flash of agony on his face. Then you struck him, the blow dashing him to the ground as if he'd been struck by a stone. You followed up with sledgehammer kicks, feelings ribs crack under your strikes. You kept beating him until his drunken pleas faded into broken whimpers, and then you watched him for a while. You savoured the new feeling within you, one as alien to you as fear had been to him; power. Yes. You think you could get used to power.

(The Stag Lord, naturally)

You had been so sure. It had to be him! He was an outsider, new to the town, and it was only after his arrival that the killings started! Yet as he bobbed and twisted in the wind and his face went from purple to blue to white, there were no sudden spasms, no final shifting of shape. In the end, you were left looking at a man on the end of a rope, and you had no answers left. It was a few days later that the hunter came into town dragging the carcass of a worg. He said he'd tracked it to its lair nearby, and that its tracks showed it had been to this town more than once before. You couldn't face them after that. You couldn't face their stares, their sullen guilt, their blame, or worse of all, their pity. You slipped out of town in the middle of the night, but you can't escape the memory of that purpled face. You prayed and prayed, asking for a way to redeem yourself. And then you were given one.

(This one is Jhod)

Of course, some of you may note that these accounts are not exactly accurate. Akarios's killing of his lover's husband isn't mentioned, nor is the allegiance of the 'innocent' man that Jhod strung up. They're also very vague. Both of these things are intentional.

Nikos plays the flamboyant and successful merchant, using his long residence in Jalmeray to one-up anyone else's life to date. He claims that he's come to the Stolen Lands as part of a daring bet, and that his triumph here will win him great acclaim when he returns. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth. Nikos was being investigated in Jalmeray for his shady business practices, and fled the country just in time to avoid a meeting with the headsman's axe. Nearly penniless and utterly friendless, at the end of both his funds and his endurance, the PC's fledgling kingdom offer Nikos a final, desperate opportunity to reclaim a tiny fragment of his lost power and wealth. As such, should his initial bombastic overtures be rebuffed, Nikos will grow more and more desperately pleading, begging pitiably for a position in the PC's government.

Sharina Alind (NE female human bard 4; Str 10, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 8, Cha 18)

Sharina is a cunning and dangerous woman who thrives on danger. Not danger to her, of course, but to those around her. Seeking ever greater legends and tales of derring do, Sharin naturally gravitates to heroes. While their exploits are frequent and impressive, she is content to watch and applaud, but should the adventuring life grow sparse, Sharina's not above causing a few problems to give the PCs something to do. In time her meddling will grow more and more extreme, and she may end up causing more trouble than the players would like to handle. Sharina is selfish to the core, and everything she does is to further her agenda. Having said that, she's a skilled diplomat, and an asset to the government – at least until she decides to try and topple it.

(Yes, Sharina is basically a levelled down version of Sharina Legendsinger from RPG Superstar 2009. I kept the name to indicate this fact, I'm not trying to pass this off as my own idea. I think Kingmaker is somewhere she'd fit right in!)

Shaderick Havaad (LN male human fighter 5/hellknight 1; Str 14, Dex 10, Con 18, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 8)

Shaderick is Judge Dredd, crossed with Vhailor from Planescape Torment, as played by Alan Rickman. He punctuates. Every. Sentence. Never unclenches his teeth. And answers every question with total honesty, but no elaboration. Any investigation into his past will inform the investigator that Shaderick was thrown out of the Order of the Scourge for conduct unbecoming a Hellknight, and that in Cheliax he is wanted for rape and murder, among other crimes. A little more digging will reveal this story to be almost totally false. Shaderick was, indeed, stripped of his standing in the order, but his only 'crime' was to prosecute a minor noble with powerful friends to the fullest extent of the law. His only regret is the killing of 2 fellow Hellknights when he fled rather than face the false charges that had been brought against him. Shaderick is an utterly unbending and totally impartial man. Despite his fearsome demeanour and reputation, he will serve loyally in any legitimate government, and is utterly incorruptible. Oddly, Shaderick retains his Hellknight powers despite his separation from the order, and his murder (as he sees it) of two of his fellows. This is a source of much bewilderment and soul-searching for the dour Hellknight.

- I do realise that Shaderick is a bit similar to Akiros in his backstory, but I think he's different enough to be fun. Plus the idea of my players handling an ex-Hellknight is kind of hilarious!

Sample conversation with Shaderick:

PC: So, I've done some research. You're a wanted man in Cheliax. Murder, theft, rape, bestiality...the list continues. Care to explain yourself?

SH: Most of the charges are false.

PC: ...Most of the charges?

SH: Yes.

PC: But...not all?

SH: No.

PC: ....

SH: *stares impassively*

One of the players figured out that it was the shape of a unicorn horn.

Also, with my group I ran this encounter several days after the PCs attacked the Thorn River Camp, and he was one of the 4 bandits that was out of the camp when the PCs attacked.

This encounter works very well as a random bandit encounter, in case the PCs missed any information you want them to have about the bandits.

I also had the leprechaun offer himself to accompany the players in their search for his lucky-coin (in my case I told them that he thought the mites had robbed the coin). It was funny seeing the PCs trying to convince the leprechaun of how dangerous adventuring life was.

Finally, I ruled that part of the leprechaun's bad luck had rubbed onto the PCs, and that night they suffered a horrible thunderstorm and as a result were fatigued for the following day due to lack of sleep.

Hundreds of years ago, two spellcaster got into a brutal rivalry. The witch (or druid, or cleric, etc) was the first to resort to manipulating creatures to act as her agents against her opponent, but it was a trick the wizard (or alchemist,sorcerer, cleric, etc) was quick to pick up on.

Howler-at-the-Night, a worg empowered by the witch, was not her most powerful of her creatures, but he was clever and a survivor. After the witch's death, he hunted down the wizard avenge his mistress. The hunt was to on avail, as the wizard was killed by his own creations, only moments after his victory. Free now of master and obligation, Howler left the area, seeking to lose himself in a distant woods.

Ulric Ranulf, a werewolf who served the wizard, had taken great pleasure in hunting down the witch's brood, and kept with it. He infiltrated human society to gain positions of powr, where he could use the new resources aid in his Hunt. He has tracked the worg down to the Greenbelt, where he and the Iron Wraiths (see page 13, in the Stolen Lands), using the cover of killing barbarians to hunt down the crafty worg.