Rob Bastard's page

I'm mainly addressing this to Erik, since he wrote the backdrop article, but anyone else feel free to chime in.

Does Diamond Lake have a local magistrate, or are all criminals transported to Greyhawk?

I'm planning on having Filge tried in Greyhawk (should Smenk be unable to secure his release), given the potential seriousness of his crimes (housing a small gang of undead creatures), but what about for crimes such as assault, theft, disrupting the peace, etc? I can't imagine Neff performing any judicial duties, given his lazy, self-centered nature.

And what about legal representation? Your average miner couldn't afford it, but Smenk & Dourstone could. And are all legal proceedings done in Ancient Sueloise, as they are in Greyhawk?

My PCs knocked Filge into the negatives, then stablized him. I think they learned it's sometimes better to question NPCs rather than kill them--they learned this the hard way when they coup-de-graced Kullen & Co (the only PCs who remembered they needed to ask about the Land skeletons were both unconscious).

They've since turned Filge in to the garrison, & are contemplating whether to confront Smenk or just head into Dourstone mine w/o speaking to him.

What I think I'll do is have Natalo Bask (from AoWO) get Sheriff Cubbin to arrest the PCs for the murders of his brother (Merovinn) & Kullen & co. Smenk of course is behind this--he's pissed about his lackeys being slain, as well as the whole Filge situation. To top it off, Filge will be tranported to the jail & placed in a cell with the PCs, much to their annoyance.

A few hours after their arrest, someone will go the PCs' bail--they'll think it's Allustan at first, & they'll receive a note to meet their benefactor for dinner at the Hungry Gar. Turns out, it'll be Smenk--he makes a deal with them--he'll get the witnesses to the PCs' crimes to recant in return for keeping his involvement with the Ebon Triad secret. This way, he brings down the Ebon Triad in DL, gets an opportunity to snatch Dourstone's holdings, & keeps his nose clean.

Hell, I may even have him secure Filge's release & have him join them in the mine--they need the help, after all. The paladin won't be too happy about it, though.

The coolest thing to come of of the PCs' failure, IMO, is that they'll eventually get to face down a death knight.

They're in 53 &54, too. Tirra is described as an elf in these strips & has the ears to show it. It looks like different artists on both strips, as Khellek also has more hair.

54 has them fighting a purple worm--fitting, considering "the Champion's Belt."

54 may've been their last appearance, only to be replaced in later stips by new characters--I think one was an elf named "Indel" or something.

I was just looking for something in the Dragon Archive, and in issue #52, there is an ad for AD&D featuring Auric, Tirra and Khellek. The artwork shown there clearly was the inspiration for the artwork showing those three in AoW.

Probably these three turned up elsewhere als well?

Stefan

Great find, Stefan! Tirra looks human, though, & Auric was a skinny lad back then (but cut, like in an Iggy Pop sort of way). Khellek looks pretty much the same though.

Here's the text:

Narration: "Forbidden by the people of the lowlands, Auric, Tirra, and the wizard, Khellek . . ."

TIRRA: "There's magic brewing down here . . . I can almost taste it!"

N: "Enter the ruined dungeons of Roakire abandoned centuries ago by a mysterious race. Auric advances ahead when suddenly from out of the darkness . . ."

AURIC: "Something behind me! A jakalwere!"

N: "The hungry lycanthrop [sic] monster lunges for Kellek [sic] with sharp fangs and claws!"

AURIC: "Don't look at it's [sic] eyes or you'll sleep forever!"

The rest of this one-page comic strip is ad copy.

My PCs ended up killing Kullen & his cronies BEFORE they thought to extract the information on the location of the Land bodies from him. The only player who remembered was the mage, & he was unconscious when the battle ended. This led the group on a little jaunt to purchase a scroll of speak with dead from Jierian Wierus, who was quite angry to learn of the graverobbing, since the Lands were parishoners of his.

As a side note, in AoW Overload, one of the Emporium employees is named Natalo Bask. I'm thinking about having him seek retribution for Merrovin Bask's death (no relation is stated, but 2 Basks in DL--gotta be brothers or cousins or something).

I think the distance between DL & the WC was something that slipped by the editors. If you read the campaign journals of Erik's players, you'll see that the Fant house seems to be only a few hours walk from DL.

IMC, I'm making it about a day's walk from DL, which is still technically less than a day's ride.

The only thing Smenk could really be charged with is an aiding & abetting charge. Though evil cults are verbotten in Greyhawk, charges against Smenk would probably be dropped, especially if he agreed to testify against Dourstone, would would be in some real trouble.

IMC, my players turned Filge over to the garrison, which charged him with 5 counts of graverobbing & something like 13 counts of possession of an unlicensed monster, plus several other minor crimes. Smenk is requesting the PCs be charged with tresspassing, since he owns the deed to the observatory.

I'm considering having the tomb motes (the PCs never examined the shed, & the text says the other one was out delivering a message to Smenk) break Filge out of jail & having the PCs track him down--some need a few more xp to be pushed to 3rd level, before tackling Dourstone Mine.

Can Erik's campaign truly be called a "playtest," considering there's so little (if any) time between play & publishing?

After a few DM-player warnings, he had a divine servant of his god show up, and hand him the ethos of his god and the precepts of a paladin on steel plates, commanding him to memorize them and carry them with him wherever he might go

Was this celestial servant named Moroni, by chance?

IMC, I'm making the cold iron longsword a masterwork item, and having the PCs discover that it belonged to Amon Kyre, the former high priest of the Chapel of Heironeous, before he disappeared 2 years ago (shortly after the Faceless One arrived).

We've decided on who we'd like to write part 12, but have not yet approached him with the offer. So we can't anounce this one yet.

Hmmmm. I guessing "Zagyg" &/or "Robilar."

The abandoned mining office they are supposed to use as a base is about an hour out of town and the Cairn is ten minutes past that.

Where'd you get that from? According to Dungeon #124, the Cairn is a day's ride from Diamond Lake.

The title of this thread brought to mind something totally different--check urbandictionary.com if you don't follow.

The idea of him being a Simulacrum reminds me of the adventure "Threshold of Evil" in Dungeon #10, where the PCs are up against an archmage in his hollow mountaintop. It is chock full of simulacra. The Archmage himself is level 21 or so, so his simulacra range from level 1 to 11, along with a cloned fighter. One scene in the throne room holds two simulacra of the archmage and two or three of the fighter, along with the originals - quite a challenge...

Azurax Silverhawk, was his name. Never got a chance to play the adventure, but it was a great read. The mage was a Dorian Grayesque character, who aged through a painting. I ended up working Silverhawk into my Greyhawk campaign (IIRC, I placed Mt Thalask in the Hellfurnaces), intending to use the adventure at a later date, but never got the chance.

Although I do like the idea of one of the evil proests being the lost priest from the temple in town. Anyone feel like doing up a cool back story on that? Betrayal, lost faith, maybe something valuable stolen from the temple in town...

The big problem there, however, is explaining why the missing high priest ("Amon Kyre," IMC) is a wizard & not a cleric.

Okay, here's a couple long-winded rumors I whipped up for my players today, regarding this subplot. I'm not sure yet whether to have Kyre dead, or perhaps for the PCs to find him later (maybe even as a prisoner in the Hall of Harsh reflections).

Rumors:

“Valkus Dun came to Diamond Lake two years ago, to replace the previous high priest, who mysteriously vanished. Dun was the one what opened up the chapel of Heironeous every Godsday to the common folk. By the end of 594, his congregation had grown quite a bit–one reason the high priest at the Church of St Cuthbert, Jierian Wierus, doesn’t like Dun. Wierus lost some of his flock to Dun. He’s got no problem with soldiers going to the Chapel of Hieroneous, but he always felt that the common folk “belong” to St Cuthbert. However, despite the increase in Dun’s congregation, its been decreasing significantly in recent months, almost back to its original size. But they ain’t goin’ back to Wierus, either–his flock’s been shrinkin’, too. At first it was thought that the townsfolk were goin’ across the lake to the Cult of the Green Lady, or turning to the Old Faith at Bronzewood Lodge, but no one’s seen any real increase in their numbers. The people ain’t left town, either–they’re still around, but they jus’ don’t seem interested anymore.”

“Amon Kyre was the name of the former high priest at the Chapel of Hieroneous. Two years ago, he just up an’ disappeared! He was a very private person, they say, and kept pretty much to himself. Some say he preferred to work alone, ‘cause if’n there were any glory to be had, he’d want to claim it for himself! Anyway, the chief healer at the Chapel, Velias Childramun, says that Kyre seemed real restless the last few weeks afore he disappeared. He’d leave the garrison alone at night, all geared an’ armored up, and take off on his horse into the hills, like he was lookin’ fer sumthin’. Sometimes he’d just ride through town, talkin’ at shady-lookin’ characters, or lookin’ at people all strange-like. Two days after he disappeared, a patrol found his horse a few miles southeast of town, half-eaten by scavengers. Kyre was nowhere to be found. Some think he may’ve been captured by bandits, but ne one ever heard talk of ransomin’ him. Most think he may’ve run into a band of orcs, or goblins, or even ogres or trolls, and eaten, but no one knows for sure. A full investigation by the Sanctum of Hieroneous in Greyhawk, the garrison commander, and the local sheriff turned up nuthin’. Hells, even usin’ magic didn’t do no good–-to this day, they’re not even sure if he’s even dead!”

BTW, I named the missing priest "Amon Kyre," in a Gygaxian homage to the author.

Melinde wears chainmail in Dungeon #124, but plate in OL.

My players' party consists of:

Romero: human priest 1 of Wee Jas/ sorcerer 1
Cimmerii Acanthus: half-drow ranger 2
Reinhart Silverfox: human paladin of Heironeous 2
Fin: human rogue 1
Remus Winterbeard: dwarven fighter 3
Hailleck Beeblebrox: dwarven bard 1

They were just joined (session 3) by
Jethias Talimor: human wizard 1

My campaign log is here: http://tux.ius.edu/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=2770

Fant's Mine/Office is 1 hour Northeast from the center of Diamond Lake. I use the Emporium as the central reference point. Assuming a normal human at walk speed; that translates to roughly 2 miles (I break it down to 1.5 miles by hills-trail and 0.5 miles by hills-trackless).

This is your campaign, I assume, and not official?

Dungeon #124 says the WC is within a day's ride from DL (2 days on foot, I presume), but the first installment of Wormfood says the Fant house (10 minutes from WC) is on the "outskirts" of DL.

Isn't a 2-day walk too far to be considered the outskirts? If DL teens were regularly visiting the WC, wouldn't that be a bit of a haul? And judging by the campaign journals of the playtest group, the WC is likely within a day's WALK.

Anyway, now to my one complaint/question about Blackwall Keep. What's up with all the different beasties in the lizardfolk lair? Why an otyugh? Harpies?

As for the harpies, Sean may have been paying tribute to the "sample" lizard man lair in the City of Greyhawk boxed set, which included some harpies hanging with the lizards.

my pc's think kalamanthis is close to halfling pipe weed or the blue poppy from Batman Begins...I haven't confirmed or denied their theories

I'm thinking krrf, from Thieves' World.

Now that Paizo is selling "Critter Packs" of D&D minis, why not make up some with AoW themes? After all, judging by the number of posts in the AoW forum alone, it seems to be more popular than Shackled City (they could also make critter packs for that), & I'd wager that a large percentage of dungeon's readers are playing it, & many of those would purchase such packs. I know I would.

Although I think this is an interesting take, I think you need to involve the Hextor temple as well. They would be the most appreciative of a Heironean priest's death. I am at work and can't look at the adventure, or I would give a few ideas of my own.

I considered that, but I believe Theldrik & his cronies arrived in Diamond Lake after the HP vanished. Of course, you could say that Theldrik wears the armor of the HP--& the unholy symbol on the chestplate has actually been made with the HP's own blood.

In the description of the Chapel of Heironeous in Dungeon #124, it's mentioned that Valkus Dun came to Diamond Lake 2 years ago (593) to replace the previoys high priest, who "vanished under mysterious circumstances."

Coincidentally (or perhaps not), in 3FoE, we learn that the Faceless One came to Diamond Lake about 2 years ago as well. Could the Faceless One be responsible? Has anyone addressed this in their campaign?

I'll probably have the magic shield in the Faceless One's lair belong to the old HP, as well as the cold iron longsword in the grimlock's/choker's lair (though the grimlocks arrived after the HP's murder/sacrifice, the Faceless One could've given the sword to the Grimlocks as a gift). The skeleton w/organs in the Faceless One's lab I'm considering making that of the HP himself.

Anyone else looking into this subplot?

" those strange discs we’d discovered in the Whispering Cairn—the discs that summoned mad slashers when they broke."

What are these? I don't remember seeing them in the adventure.

So how did Tirra get such a godly Intelligence score? I mean, 110! That's insane. She's smarter than Boccob. The odd thing is that you'd think that her skills would reflect that. But it seems she's suffering a huge circumstance penalty, probably because all the gods are mad at her for being so smart.

In case you didn't get it that was a joke. I know it's a typo but a funny one nonetheless. Am I correct in assuming her Int is supposed to be 10?

Speaking of typos--I think Valkus Dun is gonna be pretty pissed when he learns that his assistant (don't remember the guy's name) actually worships Pelor!

Overall, pretty decent pdf, but it seems some of the chronoligy has been changed. For example, Overload states that the Whispering Cairn was rediscovered 3 years ago, while the adventure says 10. Also, OL claims Alastor died 10 years ago as opposed to 30 in the WC. Are these figures right or are they also typos--If Alastor died 10 years ago, his family was already dead.

Dungeon #124, p.53, says that Lazare was a dragonchess champion in Greyhawk "some 20 years ago," & used his winnings to buy a mine in Diamond Lake. The it says he was bankrupted withing 3 years & forced to sell his mine to Balabar Smenk.

Assuming Lazare moved to Diamond Lake soon after winning, he would've arrived in 575 or so, the sold his mine to Smenk around 578. The problem is that Smenk has only been in Diamond Lake 10 years (page 52).

Which of these figures is wrong:
1. Lazare's reign as dragonchess champ (575);
2. Lazare's bankruptcy (578); or
3. Smenk's arrival in Diamond Lake (585)?

Rob Bastard wrote:

At the bottom of the state.

Evansville area, Louisville area, or Cincinnati area? I live in L'ville, but go to school in Cinci.

Louisville.

Rob Bastard wrote:

Still waiting in Indiana, too.

where at in indiana? I am starting a Waterdeep campaign and looking for one more player.

At the bottom of the state.

And I just got mine today.

Oh, and Dragotha (the infamous undead dragon first mentioned in S2, White Plume Mountain) is mentioned.

IMC, I do falling damage the old-school way, to account for increased speed, the farther one falls:

10'=1d6
20'=3d6
30'=6d6
40'=10d6
50'=15d6
60'+=20d6

My players haven't gotten far enough to find the trap yet, but they'd best hope they make their search checks.

Still waiting in Indiana, too.

There are several area maps available for the Cairn Hills & Domain of Greyhawk. IMO, the best one is found in the Doomgrinder module--it shows more locations than any other map I've seen of the Cairn Hills, and even shows the location of 3 cairns near Diamond Lake--two across the lake (the Cult of the Green Lady's cairn & presumably the Stirgenest) & one north of it (the Whispering Cairn, possibly?).

Great story so far, James, but I have a question:

We know that Tyralandi was upset over the graverobbing at the Land homestead, yet how does she reconcile that with the group plundering the Wind Duke's tomb?

On a related note: anyone know of a good site that has dungeon tiles, accessories (dungeon dressing), & monster counters that could be used in AoW?

I've found these so far: http://www.dungeoneering.net/downloads.php5?page=tiles

My original plan was to draw out all the maps on clear acetone sheets placed over a battlemat, but I've decided to print out tiles & attach them to the acetone w/ double-sided tape instead.

So far, i've finished the shower room in the Whispering Cairn, & am now working on the 1st floor of the observatory.

There are a couple of Living Greyhawk adventures ("The Reckoning" & "The Final Reckoning" by Sean Flaherty & John Richardson)which feature a place known as the Forlorn Cairn in the Cairn Hills. This cairn is quite similar to the Whispering Cairn in that it also has tubes extending to the surface which catch the wind. Someone in the Greytalk chat once told me that the Forlorn Cairn was built by the Wind Dukes. The cairn is inhabited by seven animated skeletons which are tall, with elongated skulls and willowy fingers. They also have wing bones.

My question is: Are/were Wind Dukes winged?

As depicted in the Rod of 7 Parts boxed set, they are tall, ebony-skinned, wingless humanoids, but the guardians of the Forlorn Cairn have wings.

How exactly are the Wind Dukes depicted in the Whispering Cairn?

I'm using an Undying Soldier from WotC for one of the Wind Warriors & I'll probably use a Man-at-Arms for the other.

I'm using WotC's Celestial Black bear for the owlbear, & a Warforged hero for the Guardian of the Veil.

Also, supposedly there is a "secret knock" to get into room #2, but the adventure doesn't seem to mention exactly what this "secret knock" is. Is it so secret even the DM isn't supposed to know? Or have I just overlooked it?

Adventures don't have privies,

You must have missed the Whispering Cairn. Erik put privies AND showers in it.

We can just assume that they find a place to do it. Where they go or how people do it, does not need explaination or detail in a heroic adventure. It's not part of the game, and that is a good thing.

Hey, thanks for telling me how I should run my game. Maybe your players aren't that inquisitive, or you're more interested in running a hack & slash game and aren't concerned with dungeon ecosystems. A major hook in 3 Faces is that Smenk is supplying foodstuffs to the cult. If the dungeon features storage rooms & beds, but no privies, smart players (& DMs) will notice.

Hailleck Beeblebrox

Male dwarf bard 1

Background – Richfest 7, 595 CY

You were born Hailleck Grobadore 545 CY in Greysmere, an isolated lakeside dwarven community on the western edge of the Abbor-Alz Hills, just south of the Mistmarsh. The headman of Greysmere is a surly dwarven warrior named Fionor the Rude, who comes by his nickname honestly.
Disinclined to follow traditional dwarven pursuits, you often found yourself having a hard time fitting into the dour, structured lifestyle of the dwarves in Greysmere. In fact, most of the other dwarves viewed you as a bit wild and unpredictable, and often a magnet for trouble. Attempts to learn “useful” trades like mining, smithing, and stone carving ended in dismal failure. The only craft that you had any patience for was the crafting of musical instruments, and eventually you were apprenticed to Galen Craggenhilt, Greysmere’s aged historian, who crafted musical instruments in his spare time.
Occasionally Galen would be visited by his old friend Gnorl, a dwarven bard who would beat out ancient historical epics on his drum. Gnorl spent most of his time wandering the Cairn Hills north of the Mistmarsh, and was working on an epic history of the land. The fires of your imagination were lit sitting at the feet of your master and Gnorl as they spoke of lich kings, Wind Dukes, and Isles of Woe. Much of what you know of music and history you learned from these two men, and always looked forward to Gnorl’s visits.
Upon completing your apprenticeship, you found yourself quite idle,. Much of your time was spent in the local drinking hall, entertaining your fellow dwarves with song or sleight of hand tricks. One of your signature tricks was to make pebbles appear to turn into bugs. The owner of the hall dubbed you “Hailleck Beetle-Rocks” because of this trick, but he was often drunk and your name came out as “Hailleck Beeblebrox” when he introduced you. The name stuck, but you didn’t mind.
Unfortunately, you had to leave Greysmere about five years ago. It seems your decidedly “non-dwarven” eccentricities caused a bit of trouble in Greysmere and you had to leave. Your father sent you to Diamond Lake, a rowdy mining town in the Cairn Hills, three days ride from Greyhawk City. You are nominally there to assist your uncle, Galuth Grobadore at the Greysmere Covenant, which represnts greysmere’s interets in Diamond Lake and neighboring communities. The delegation is led by Dulok Blitzhame, a cunning, pragmatic councilor. Your uncle and a dwarven woman named Bitris Ruthek serve as his deputies. Fortunately, you have few duties, though you’ll occasionally provide entertainment for honored guests (you once performed for Governer-Mayor Lanod Neff, though he doesn’t seem to be a big fan of dwarven music). Galuth is often away representing Greysmere in the neighboring towns of Blackstone nad Steaming Springs, and feels it’s better to let you run wild in Diamond Lake (but not in the Greysmere Covenant building) than to spend time “breaking” you.
In truth, you’ve enjoyed your time in Diamond lake, muddy s@!&hole though it is, and have little desire to return to Greysmere. You spend much of your time in the gambling halls of the Emporium, entertaining soldiers at the Spinning Giant, or entertaining the ladies at the Midnight Salute. Gnorl would even occasionally visit to give you a lesson, but sadly, he was slain by trolls three years ago about two days west of Diamond Lake. You’ve even visited other communities in the region, including Steaming Springs, Blackstone, the halfling town of Elmshire, and the druidic community of Bronzewood Lodge.
Recent talk in town concerns a band of adventurers intending to raid the Stirgenest Cairn across the lake. Having been here five years, you know that all the cairns in the area have already been raided. However, just three nights ago, while entertaining Richfest revelers in the Spinning Giant, you were approached by Cimmerii Acanthus, a dusky-skinned, half-elven ranger that you knew from Bronzewood Lodge. It seems she’d been approached earlier in the day by a man seeking a guide to a “forgotten” cairn a day’s journey outside of town. The man had asked her to bring along any interested companions whom she thought trustworthy. Knowing your interest in histories and mysteries, Cimmerii thought of you. You are to meet your companions at daybreak tomorrow at an old roadside shrine to Fharlanghn about a mile outside of town.

Romero

Male Human Priest of Wee Jas

Background – Richfest 7, 595 CY

You were born 565 CY in the port city of Safeton, several leagues south of the City of Greyhawk, and you lived in that town until your death five years ago.
Safeton lies near the northern border of the Pomarj, an orcish empire headed by Turrosh Mak, a powerful orcish warrior. Though Safeton used to be one of many free cities on the Wild Coast, it has been subject to Greyhawk since the Greyhawk Wars over a decade ago. Due to its proximity to the Pomarj, Safeton is under martial law, and firmly under the control of Turrin Deathstalker, the town’s military governor.
All able-bodied men in Safeton are required to serve rotating stints in the town’s militia, and you were no exception. Your military career came to an abrupt end in the spring of 590 when you suffered a serious blow from an orcish mace during a border skirmish. Believing you dead, your fellow militiamen brought you back to town, where you were buried in the town graveyard.
Whether you were really dead or not, you’re unsure, but you do remember hearing a soft, seductive, feminine voice whispering, “No, your time will come, but not so soon.” At that moment you opened your eyes and found yourself in total darkness, entombed in a shabby pine box under six feet of earth!
With a strength born of desperation, you managed to crawl from your grave. Making your way back home, your loved ones were horrified to find you alive, and thinking you were undead, called for the watch. You managed to escape by stowing away on a ship that night.
The ship left Safeton that morning and arrived in the female-ruled town of Hardby the next night. Realizing you couldn’t return to your old life (which wasn’t all that great to begin with), you decided to start a new one. Suspecting that the voice you heard in the grave was that of the Dark-Eyed Lady, Wee Jas, goddess of death, magic, vanity, and law, you made your way to the local temple, where the high priestess allowed you to stay and begin learning the ways of the Ruby Sorceress.
Five years later and your training is complete. You have been given permission to leave the temple in order to explore the Cairn Hills to the north. The Cairn Hills first sparked your imagination four years ago when you spoke with a dwarven bard from the hills named Gnorl who was visiting the city. You’ve decided to seek him out and learn more about the mysterious cairns and cairn builders, and perhaps even visit a few of the tombs. The high priestess suggested you begin your search in Diamond Lake, a muddy smudge of a mining town three days east of Greyhawk. She gave you the name of a cartographer at the garrison there, Dietrik Cicaeda, and a letter of introduction.
You’ve been in Diamond Lake only a few weeks now. Dietrik directed you to two cairns across the lake. One cairn is called the Stirgenest Cairn, which yielded little more than a few interesting wall rubbings. The other cairn is occupied by a mysterious group called the Cult of the Green Lady, which seems to be an offshoot of the traditional Jasian faith. You’ve decided to hold off on visiting them until you can find out more about their take on Wee Jas–they could be heretics, after all.
At the start of the Richfest Festival this week, you heard talk of an adventuring band from Greyhawk looking to explore cairns in the area, starting with the Stirgenest. Realizing that there may be more cairns locally, and that this group was more interested in plunder than preservation, you returned to Dietrik. Though he didn’t know of anymore cairns nearby, he did allow you access to his map room, filled with hundreds of maps of the Cairn Hills, some centuries old. Finally, you stumbled across a 70-year old map of a place a day’s ride from town called the Fant Mine, which you knew was long-abandoned from seeing other maps. Unlike the other maps, however, this one had an extra location on it, a place near in mine called the Whispering Cairn. Not taking a chance on someone else finding the map, you stole it, vowing to assemble your own group to explore the cairn.
Your first step was finding a guide to the mine, which you found three days ago in Taggin’s General Store–a dusky-skinned, half-elven woman from the druidic community of Bronzewood Lodge to the northeast. You asked her to bring along one or two others who were trustworthy and whose skills might come in handy. You’re to meet at daybreak tomorrow at an old roadside shrine to Fharlanghn about a mile outside of town.

So far, I've written three. I'm waiting on one player to name his rogue & two other players to commit.

Cimmerii Acanthus
Female half-drow Ranger 1

Background – Richfest 7, 595 CY

You were born Midsummer’s night Richfest 4, 575, under the full light of Oerth’s two moons, Luna and Celene. Your mother, a human ranger named Cartissima, gave birth to you while taking refuge in the Downs, a village in the northeastern portion of the Pricipality of Ulek. Of your father you know little, only that he was a dark elf named “Fear,” and that he was a member of a slaving organization in the Pomarj know as the Nine.
When your mother became pregnant, she feared for her life and that of her unborn child because Fear’s paramour and fellow slaver, a sadistic drow witch named Edralve, would surely tear the child from her womb. Fear helped your mother escape to a druidic conclave in the Pomarj headed by a man named Dallic Clay. As the Pomarj was no place for a woman with child, Dallic and his companions escorted her to the Downs, where she gave birth to you in the Happy Farmer Tavern.
A few years later, when you were old enough to travel, your mother brought you to the Bronzewood Lodge community in the Cairn Hills, where she received her training, as would you once you came of age. Bronzewood Lodge lies about three hours northeast of the mining town of Diamond lake. Unlike elsewhere, your drow heritage has never been an issue at the Lodge, though you do receive raised eyebrows and stunned looks occasionally from visitors.
The Bronzewood Lodge is led by an old priest of the nature god Obad-Hai named Nogweir. Though your community is often at odds with the mining operations of Diamond Lake, Nogweir insists on cautious cooperation with Diamond lake mayor Lanod Neff, as outright hostility could cost Bronzewood Lodge far more than it could gain. Diamond lake, its sister mining towns of Blackstone and Steaming Springs, the halfling town of Elmshire, and several other communities in the area are subject to the Free City of Greyhawk, three days ride to the west.
Though you were born elsewhere, you were too young to remember your life before coming to the Lodge. You learned most of what you know from your mother, though you picked up a thing here and there from other members of the community. You’ve never been to Greyhawk, though you have been to Blackstone, Steaming Springs, Elmshire, and various other locales in the Cairn Hills. You’ve even made a few forays into the Mistmarsh to the south. You visit Diamond Lake frequently, perhaps once every month, usually with fellow members of your community to pick up supplies, trade or sell pelts, venison, or other goods, and to keep abreast of local happenings. For the most part, however, you can’t stand the place. Diamond Lake is choking, polluted s**#hole for the most part, with brothel-lined roads that alternate between dusty and muddy, uncouth savages running the streets and town alike, and a once-beautiful lake now little better than a depository for sewage and mine tailings. Venelle, who owns a shop dealing in fine bows and other weapons, is about the only resident of the town you have any liking for–how she can stand living there, you’ll never know.
Three days ago, some of your friends from the Lodge took you to Diamond Lake, where they bought you a new bow from Venelle’s for your birthday. The town was quite festive, due to the annual Richfest celebration, so you decided to stay awhile a pick up some supplies. While shopping in Taggin’s General Store, you were approached by a man looking for a guide. He had an old map marking the location of a “forgotten” cairn he wished to explore. You agreed, and he asked you to invite one or two other individuals skilled in cairn exploration who were trustworthy. Later that evening at the Spinning Giant you ran into Hailleck, a dwarven bard who’d visited the Lodge before. Since you knew he had a strong interest in “histories and mysteries,” you asked him along. Everyone is to meet at dawn tomorrow, Reaping 1, at an old roadside shrine to Fharlanghn, god of travel, about a mile outside of town.

in Three Faces of Evil go to the bathroom? Seems like something was overlooked.

Also, why don't the Kenku have nests or the Faceless One a bed? His acolytes do.

For question #2, see page 26, "Ghosts in the machine."

It's a bit more complicated than that. Check this thread for some possible solutions: http://paizo.com/paizo/messageboards/dungeon/ageOfWorms/spoilersAnySolution ToTheAlastorLandMystery

philarete wrote:

Either it was the only one and/or the cultists have cleaned out that lab since Smenk was there, or we have ourselves the first continuity error of the Age of Worms Adeventure Path.

The first continuity error appears in the Whispering Cairn, with the whole "How did Alastor get through the mouth if the Seekers already took the lantern" issue.

Ernest Mueller wrote:

Hey, public service post and questions for Erik. The Twilight Monastery has been mentioned long before by our intrepid editor, in the old Oerth Journal "Baklunish Delights" articles:

Alternatively, could the Twilight Monastery also perhaps be dedicated to Celestian, an old Oeridian deity?

It could, but Xan Yae is a better fit--after all, she is the "Mistress of Twilight" or whatever, & has long been associated with monks.

Celestian would work better with the cult that used to inhabit the old observatory.

I'm running Aow in Greyhawk, preferably with six players. So far I have the following four:

Cimmerii Acanthus, half-drow ranger
Romero, human priest of Wee Jas
Haillech Beeblebox, dwarven bard
and
An unnamed human rogue

I hope to add a wizard or sorceror and a fighter, paladin, or barbarian.

I'm going with iron-ore mine, mainly due to the entry under Greysmere Covenant inDungeon #124.