Castle Caldwell and Beyond: (A 5e Campaign) - The Wrecking Crew (Inactive)

Game Master Terquem

"Wait we need to carry our own gear? What sort of company is this anyway?"

Victor turns to Perry, "She is probably related to the trees that this building is built of, overcome with grief. Yes that must be why she burst on out of here. I would like to buy some provision though I must say, staying at an Inn each night and filling our bellies with warm food instead of hard tack is probably worth the 4 mile walk each way each day".

Klodd picks up a small tent, and 5-days or Rationing.

"Fergus will provide for me if I need anything else. Let's go".

Victor approaches the group with a Donkey laden with many wares.

" A fine steed, it will behoove us to bring him, for when we find the secret treasure room, it will be hard to carry all of that with us! I am ready if you all are, we just need to find that Elf..."

Niall rolls slowly around the bend, carefully driving a small cart drawn by another donkey. He pulls up next to the group.

" Great minds... " he says nodding at Victor.

"I'm ready," announces Mittak, looking nervously through the gates at the world beyond civilisation. "What did they say? Six miles?...it doesn't sound far."

"What do you plan on doing with those animals while we're inside the castle"?

As the party approaches the gate, Ayita pops out of a nearby bush covered in dirt and with twigs caught in her hair.

"Oh hi friends. I was seeing if there were any edible fruits or berries around Pawkatukit but it appears there is not. Near my village it was never this hard to find a juicy apple or strawberry."

Ayita scrunches her face angrily when she sees the two mules. "I understand how these majestic mules may alleviate some of your burden but did you forget there will be wolves around the castle. If anything should happen to them..." Ayita starts to tear up.

At the east end of Pawkatukit, Ayita would have found apple trees, but they would be quite noticeably behind fences, planted in neat rows. There would also be cultivated blueberries and blackberries, and some early spring vegetables, but again, it would be clear that this growing harvest was cultivated, and not wild. Of course, this might not deter her efforts, and it might be that as the group leaves Pawkatukit, passing the farms at the eastern edge of town, a few angry, but reserved, folks would be staring , rakes and hoes in hand, at the girl with blueberry stains on her lips, as she walked away.

Yes, she probably would have found something if she didn't roll a 2 on her survival. =)

Perry nods at Klodd and Ayita's hesitations about the mules.

"Yeah, I'm not sure that plan will go as smoothly as you hope. I mean, it will certainly make the trip there easier, but I would advise against loading up more than you're able to carry back. Speaking of which," Perry says, turning to Lijan, "Do you want me to carry your tent for you?"

"Tie them up outside of course. What sort of manners do you think I have that I would bring a Donkey into a Castle..."

"If they die we can eat them. And if they draw wolves, that means we won't have to go hunting for the pack," Magnus says, nodding in approval at Niall and Victor. "Donkey isn't bad - better than horse - and the bones make a good soup."

The towering Vangar priest is clad in a dark gray cloak, faded from long use, and his pack is bulging with supplies.

Bought a tent, another five days' rations, a healer's kit, herbalism kit, vial of acid and vial of holy water, supplementing the 50 gp with some unused funds from character generation.

Ayita's jaw drops and she stares aghast at Magnus. She shouts, "We can not use the donkeys as wolf bait!", balling her fists and stamping her feet.

Thanks you Perivius ,yes I would be glad Histoff says as he puts down the heavy tent.

In response to Magnus, Histoff adds
I have bought a cook's utensils...we could cook him should he deemed ... Histoff stops to talk when he looks at Ayita angered state and thinks for himself
well...that was close,it was only a joke with Magnus

Anyway I bought a shovel for the tents
Histoff resumes to speak adding with a cheerful smile
I also bought 2 water skins for the mules just in case they will be thirsty and an Antitoxin vial in case someone get poisoned

He then puts the shovel and the Cooking utensils and the filled water skins on the mule backpack.
it's not that heavy and we can always throw it on the way back
He says the last sentence in order to calm Ayita.

"What else would we use for wolf bait? Wolves do not like rations fair Elf Maiden. I suppose we could cover one of us in the blood of a small woodland animal as bait.."

Perry hoists Lijan's tent onto his back, then butts into the animal discussion.

"Okay, look," Perry says, pointing first at Victor, "First of all, there's no need to 'bait' any wolves, regardless of who the bait would be. Our job is to clear out the castle, not kill every predator in the countryside. Anything we need to get rid of, we'll be running into as we sweep the place anyway."

Perry then turns to Ayita and says, "I'm sure the mules will be fine while they're tied up."
No idea if they'll actually be fine or not: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16
"My understanding is all the dangerous stuff will be in the castle, so any wolves will be busy defending their dens from us, not roaming around outside. All the more reason for us all to do our best, right?"

Perry then surveys the group as a whole and asks, "So, are we ready to embark, then?"

Wait for me! Says a man obviously out of breath. I've been chasing after you forever.

He stops when he approaches the party. I am Sigil. I was told my services would be of use to you.

Sorry for being late. It looks like I have some posts to catch up on.

" I'm sure we can make a room safe near the entry or something and keep the animals safe there. There is probably worse mess than donkey dung that needs cleaning in there. If you all want to lighten your loads feel free to throw your tents and such into the cart. "

According to the rules a donkey can pull 1900lb in a cart. (That's got the weight of the cart already factored in.

"Welcome to the team, Sigil," says Perry with a hopeful smile. Good, maybe THIS one will be normal, he thinks to himself.

"Sigil eh? Well met. What skills do you add to the team? This appears to be quite the competent group but the more the merrier".

welcome Sigil, hope you didn't forget to buy all the supplies you will need because it will be a long 2 weeks outside Pawkatukit

In response to Victor Histoff says abruptly fast
probably a fighter or a knight.
Histoff the proceeds to stand near Sigil and says more slowly
Just look at how he looks ! and points at Sigil armor

I guess all of this by the icon of Sigil, hope I am right

I am a Soldier, no more no less. His face is covered by his helm in fact none of his skin is visible. He stops dead in his tracks at the utterance of how long the trip will be. Is there a military outfit around here so I can get some requisitions?

I will be a Paladin/Bladelock. By the end of it, more bladelock than anything else.

Day 1, Wednesday approximate time of day, 10:30 am (turn 64). Location: Chapel Hill Lodge, Pawkatukit, Harrispania. Lighting is by day light.

The road, the locals call it the River Road, is a wide hard packed dirt road that winds across the countryside, roughly following the course of the river. Along both sides of the road there are short wooden fences made of straight cut lumber and split rails. The farms and fields along the road are neat and well ordered, even the cows, pigs, and chickens seem well mannered and well behaved. It is quite and cool, clear and bright with only a few puffy white clouds overhead in a bright blue sky.
Walking eastward at a slow but comfortable pace, set by steady clop, clop, clop of the donkeys, you pass farm houses and barns for a while, until you are about one mile from Pawkatukit. The last house, on the left, goes by and ahead of you is nothing but gently rolling fields of tall green grass.

After a good long walk, you see the Mackenzie Bridge in the distance, on the right. It is a covered bridge, looking almost like a long red barn. It spans the narrow channel of the river where the waters make a slight bend to the southeast. The length of the bridge has always been something of a point of contention among the locals; some say it is two hundred forty three feet long, while others claim it is three separate bridges of different lengths equaling only two hundred thirteen feet. The reason for the discrepancy is that the bridge rests on two foundations, sunk to the river bottom at fourteen feet deep and nineteen feet deep, one foundation under the center of two sections of the bridge, while the last section of the bridge rests on a small island just fifty feet from the southern bank. It’s all very confusing, but always something to be argued about in the taverns on long cold winter nights.

As the bridge gets closer and closer, you spot something unusual. A wagon is sitting at the cross roads of River Road and the Gillian Road (the Mackenzie Bridge is technically part of the Gillian Road, and the River Road ends at the Gillian Road Crossing north of the bridge). All around the wagon are small sacks, and bundles and a pair of young Halflings are busy picking up the packages one at a time and placing in the wagon.

One of the Halflings, a young woman with short, dark red hair, notices your group approaching from the west, and she moves slowly toward the other Halfling, a young man with slicked back black hair, and she taps him on the back so that he turns around and looks in your direction

Ayita spots the two halflings and hails them with a wave.

"Hail friends! It looks like you've run into trouble. Perhaps we can be of assistance?"

Ayita is unsure what to make of the situation so she searches for clues focusing on the small sacks the halflings are loading or any suspicious gestures the halflings might make.

Perception (To notice anything unusual): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13
Insight (Sense Motive): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

You need help? The warriors voice echoes from inside the armor but still wary of what exactly might be out here.

perception: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (7) + 0 = 7
investigation: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (9) - 1 = 8

Shuddering at the thought of what it must feel like to be approached by this group while alone and vulnerable, Perry rushes to the front with a big smile and a friendly wave.

"Yes, as the elf said, perhaps we can help. You can call me Perry. What might your names be, friends?"

Persuasion (persuade them to be at ease): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16

Victor turns to no one in particular,"Are we getting paid to help them?"

Klodd, suspicious as ever looks around the area to ensure that this is not an ambush of some sort. He really never did trust halflings, and in fact most times he'd been robbed it was them that did it.

1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6 Perception

Perry glares at Victor.

"Only the 'payment' of learning what sorts of people we really are," he says, as much to himself as to Victor.

"Know thyself and all that, so you are a philosopher as well as a gleeman. Multi-talented, good to know. I suppose as long as these halflings are honest folk we can help them, I for one cannot stand a liar".

Perry opens his mouth to say something, then thinks better of it and smiles at the halflings.

"I expect you'll have payment ready the next time you ask a favor of the gods, then?" Magnus asks Victor. "Best have plenty of silver on hand - Vodhan does not make change."

Keeping his face a blank mask, the cleric moves to the aid of the small folk. He decides to let the overly-friendly blond man do the talking, but favors the halflings with a forced smile.

Victor chuckles at Magnus' comments, "I guess I shall be charging by the draw for my blade then man of God? Let's call that a fair barter".

Hello There Histoff says in Thieves Cant ( a rogue language)
Trying to see if one of the halflings understood that
He then proceeds to talk in Halfling
Hello there, do you need help? Histoff then moves towards the halflings with the intention of helping them.
But he still tries to see if they stole something, by Trying to see if they look like they are going to run after stealing and by trying to figure what are in the packages.

Insight: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16
Investigation: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21
Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 7

Currently I think I forgot to add one proficieny will send message to Terquem about it anyway I rolled perception as a non proficient skill

Hope I am rolling the dice ok as I am new to dnd 5ed gasp

" What's the hold up? "

Niall pulls up his cart and hops down moving through the group to see the Halflings.

is it a halfling sized wagon? Or modified with extra steps to get up to the drivers seat?

As the large group approaches the halflings, shouting and calling friendly greetings, the two small individuals stop their work turn and smile. Their smiles soon fade as they take stock of the types of people calling to them

The male halfling calls out, to your group

We don’t want any trouble, we’ve had enough already thank you.

When your group is closer and Lijan offers his help, the halflings move defensively between the scattered goods on the road and your group.

The female answers the whole group by saying with a smile and wide spread arms, keeping her eyes toward Magnus

We could definitely use some help, and let us be the first to offer you some advice, be careful when you cross the bridge.

The male tugs the female’s arm and tries to shush her, and then says

Look, Perry, he says addressing the Alodoan man we don’t have anything to offer you, in the way of payment, but kindness will go a long way. We meet some elves on the south side of the river, and they seemed friendly. They followed us across the bridge, and once we made this point they attacked us, knocked us to the ground, and went after our goods.

Yes, and they must have been told what we were carrying the woman says moving closer to Magnus and looking at him curiously. Someone with knowledge of the business we did with some Vangar traders in Seaport, must have told them we were carrying something worth their interest.

Hillary, don’t tell these strangers our business. They can help us load what we’ve got left, and we can be on our way. There’s nothing else we can do, the male halfling says.

It is a halfling sized wagon, that appears to be normally drawn by a single pony, but there is no pony around here now.

"And how will you be on your way, with no pony to draw your cart?" Magnus asks, ignoring the implied accusations leveled by the suspicious halfling. "Tell us what else these elves stole from you and perhaps we can recover it for you, along with your beast."

History: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (9) - 1 = 8
Ayita is oblivious to the history between halflings and elves.

Did I notice anything unusual about their cargo or mannerisms?

"Fair halflings, I am appalled but what has befallen you. Surely these elves who assaulted you by no means represent the rest of our goodly race. Please allow me to make whatever reparations that are within my power to provide."

Addressing Lijan and Victor. "We should give them one of our donkeys to pull their cart. I know it is not my animal to offer but i counter by offering to pull the cart or carry all of the supplies across the bridge myself. Bearing this burden would be the least I can do. It can't be much further to Seaport and I will purchase you a new donkey once we arrive."

"I would like to offer our services to track down these bandits but I fear diverting our efforts will put our primary mission at risk. I already failed the first mission the Solution Society gave me. I am not eager to fail again. However, I cannot in good consciousness not help these poor halflings either."

In the meantime, Ayita also begins searching for any tracks the elf bandits may have left behind.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15

History: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16
Histoff looks at the halflings and thinks.
They are scared from me.....why ?
it's fine by me Histoff says in response to Ayite and looks at Victor.
He looks at Ayita looking for tracks of the elf bandits and tries to find anything that the elf bandits might leave behind as a clue to their next destination.
Trying to help Ayita means she can get an advantage right ?

second post because of the rolling of the dice
Histoff hits himself in the head as if remembering something.

While helping Ayita finding some clues, sometimes near her and sometimes far from her, in one of the instances of them nearing each other He briefly explains her in Elven:

When Magnus points out the obvious, the halfling woman turns, looks at the wagon, and then turns back with a smile

The load wasn’t great, mostly sacks of seeds, a few sacks of flour and some beans, a bolt or two of cloth from Orimar, and a few bottles of whiskey from Baylor. We could manage,

Then the elven girl offers her help and begins talking to the others about offering a pony, when she mentions the Solution Society, the male halfling brightens a bit, letting down some of his guard. He rushes up to Magnus and says

The Solution Society, you don’t say. A regular company then, off to take care of the bandits using the old castle as an outpost I’m sure. I mean it was only a matter of time before somebody pulled the right strings. Here, let me explain. My sister, Hillary and I, inherited our parents business when they left for Orimar to set up import and export opportunities there. We had a little saved up, from selling some property we used to own, and we paid a Vangarian Pir…um merchant to bring us back pearls from the land of Elitha.

We invested everything we had in those pearls the Halfling known as Harry says

His sister interrupts him and adds, And not just pearls, we got lucky in that the fellow who brought us the pearls brought back a few rare gems, bloodstones and an emerald, we bought the lot. And then the bandits attacked, they had to know to be on the lookout for us. They took the box Hillary shows the size of the box with her hands And our pony after knocking us out with some sort of spell that put us to sleep.

You will not find any tracks on the bridge, the floor of the bridge is made from sanded wood planks stained with linseed oil that has dried to a hard water tight seal

Ayita's eyes widen with surprise as Lijan gives her a brief history lesson.

In Elvish, "I had no idea. I am only 26 and I was never good at learning history. I am ashamed that my ancestors would do such a thing but that knowledge only energizes me more to help out these victims. I desire to represent my people in an honest and positive manner."

Ayita pokes Lijan's forehead with her pointer finger. In Elvish, "You sir, are a smarty. I am glad to have you as an ally."

History: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9
INT: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 1 = 18

Perry scans around the group, thinking, then says, "You know, we have only one cart, but two donkeys. Victor, would you let me buy your donkey from you, to give to these folks to pull their cart? If we distribute its burdens among us, I think we'll be fine without it; heck, I could probably carry most of it myself. How would that be?"

Sigil begins loading the wagon for the bends scoffing at the oblviousness of his elven kin.

history: 1d20 ⇒ 15

Victor sighs, "No payment is necessary. If Bandits have taken your goods and we should retrieve them, I will take recompense from what we find. After all, Banditry should not be tolerated, well perhaps in limited circumstances but not here. If we do not, then see this as a gesture of good faith so that you fine wee folk can see that not all people on the road have plans to waylay you. I agree with Ayita, we simply cannot afford to track these bandits in addition to what we already need to accomplish".

Victor begins loading his goods from the donkey formerly known as his to Lijan's wagon.

Knowledge History 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

Perry raises his eyebrow at Victor's suggestion of taking stolen goods as payment if the bandits are encountered. "Well, er, we'll settle it one way or another in the end. Thank you, Victor."

Hitching up the donkey to the halflings' cart, Perry asks, "I am very sorry that we don't have time to go looking for the bandits. However, in case we should happen to come across them and they still have your goods in hand, can you give me an address where you can be found? That way, someone in service of either the Society or my own House Lalomaundriale can return your goods to you."

"We should keep a watch for these elven bandits - those pearls are valuable," Magnus says, directing his comments toward the group rather than the halflings. "The Vangar trade for them from the wild tribes of Tafganor and dwarven rebels that live on the north coast of Baylor. They are available from no one else, and carry a dear price - few even know what the Vangar pay for them."

He keeps his tone neutral, giving no indication whether his motives for recovering the pearls are benevolent or selfish.

Victor comes closer to Magnus whispering, "Odd that these halflings who seem to have little wealth could afford such expensive wares no? Are we perhaps being duped to retrieve property which is not theirs for them?"

Insight 1d20 ⇒ 7 Does the tale seem true?

I am glad too Histoff mumbles, blushing a little because of Ayita, thinking to himself
A cute optimistic dummy
After thinking one moment his face becomes more serious thinking
Wait...she is older then me and yet I look more older then her

Histoff begins to wander off looking at the sky and the clouds thinking about his service at the army and the things that can age a man in so little time.

He then goes on to help Sigil (probably finish) loading the wagon.

Int 1 : 1d20 ⇒ 16
Int 2 : 1d20 ⇒ 20
Wow lucky rolls.

Niall quietly goes about finding the lightest things to load them into the Halflings wagon.

" Which way did these Elven bandits escape? Back across the bridge? "

Welcome to the Discussion Thread for the Castle Caldwell and beyond, 5e Adventure

Below are some mildly interesting facts about the setting

The game begins in the City of Pawkatukit, on the Deer Creek Falls River, which is 12 miles from the coastal town of Seaport, which is reached by the taking the River Road east to where it meets Gillian Road, then taking Gillian Road southeast to Seaport. The nearest other town is Gaderston, five miles to the northeast. To the west of Pawkatukit are many small farming villages.

In the City of Pawkatukit there are four taverns, and three Inns (and each Inn includes a tavern of its own). The city has a population of 3,500. I wouldn’t mind if players felt free to begin naming the Inns and Taverns of Pawkatukit

The city should have a Southern New England feel to its naming conventions, for streets, taverns, Inns, and business.

The city has many guilds and organizations. One of these, the Solution Society, has a large building, on West Main Street, near Chapel Hill (a hill with several denominational houses of worship, including Druidic, that is sort of like a combination training hall, and low rate Inn. The rooms are small, but comfortable. Members pay annual dues to be able to take advantage of the camaraderie and a dry warm bed.

Here's Magnus:

A tall, wide-shouldered man with pale eyes and a forked beard, Magnus Ravenson strikes an imposing figure. Fair of skin like the Alodoans, his blond hair marks him as a foreigner as much as the strange, runic tattoos that covers his arms.

Born at sea to Vangar raiders, Magnus was raised among the veteran warriors and shield-maidens who stayed in Harrispania as sellswords. Sworn to the service of the blind Crow God, Vodhan, at an early age, he was a soldier in the Harrispanian army briefly but clashed with the native soldiers over his strange religious practices, which included leaving the fallen to be feasted on by crows after a battle.

Ah, yes another "soldier." Would you look at the spoiler I listed for DeWay and Lijan, in the recruitment thread. I think I will want to work you into the same history there, the same battle, fighting alongside the Alodoans

Perry is a minor noble, heir-apparent to a well-established family. He's been strong, healthy, and talented ever since he was born; nearly everything he's tried has not only been successful, but downright easy. He excelled in swordsmanship classes, mastered all manner of social graces, and took to magic like a fish to water; he even managed to master spells from more than one discipline! Comfortable in his talent and achievement, Perry grew fond of excitement and adventure, knowing he would always be able to handle whatever he encountered.

Then he ventured out into the real world.

Perry joined the Solution Society for no other reason than it sounded fun. However, his overconfidence was his downfall: he didn't take his first assignment seriously, and it was a disaster. For the first time in his life, he was scolded, reprimanded, and considered a failure. This served as a massive reality check for Perry; though he still knows his own capabilities, he nevertheless struggles with worries that he will let his house down. His ego has shrunk dramatically, and he now wishes to do whatever it takes to redeem himself and prove that (as long as he truly applies himself) he is indeed a talented and capable heir to House Lalomaundriale.

I will read all of this and update my profile later buried at work and have to leave in an hour to get to the gym.

Ah, yes another "soldier." Would you look at the spoiler I listed for DeWay and Lijan, in the recruitment thread. I think I will want to work you into the same history there, the same battle, fighting alongside the Alodoans

Sounds good. I'll get it added into my background.

First to Dance is the meaning of Ayita's name in her elven language.

Ayita is a beautiful young female wood elf. She has the copper-brown skin common to her race and long dark hair braided down her back. Her eyes are a striking blue-grey color. Her elders explain it symbolizes water is her dominant element. Ayita typically wears little more than a blue-dyed doe-skin tunic. She has little sense of modesty and values a closeness to nature.

Ayita was raised in a sheltered Iarishean wood elf community on the outskirts of Harispania. Her people are a simple folk who live off the land through farming and hunting. There, under the tutelage of the high shaman, she learned the ways of her people. Although Ayita is not very bright, she is very enthusiastic about things that interest her. These include nature; religion; and the legends of Rowtag, a local folk hero of her clan. She eagerly recites from holy texts or bardic tales if given the opportunity to do so.

Once Ayita reached adulthood, she sought out adventures of her own. She left her people despite the elders' warnings about the ways of humans. Pawkatukit was the nearest city to her clan and so she headed there. Lacking knowledge of human cities or any real direction, she took to street performances, showing off her martial arts skills, and helping the needy when she came across them. Ayita was naive to human ways and was frequently taken advantage of during her first few days in Pawkatukit even though she didn't realize it. Eventually one of her performances caught Branhilde’s attention and she was offered an introductory assignment for the Solution Society. Ayita saw this as her big break to finally get a chance at adventure.

Unfortunately for Ayita, her fighting skills, although impressive to watch, were untested in a real world situation. Her first mission ended in disaster. Undaunted, Ayita readily awaits the chance correct her initial errors and to prove herself again.

So far - the introductions are fantastic, and I think I do not need to send out personal messages to help get us started, so...

I am opening the game thread now. You can post there (if you are one of the nine I selected)

I describe the situation at the bottom of the opening post, but basically, it is early morning, Clifton Caldwell and Branhilde have gathered you all to the main hall of the Chapel Hill Lodge of the Solution Society, where Clifton is explaining his situation.

Once you have satisfied all of your questions, and gotten to know each other better, you can plan on an approach to the Castle.

Maps are being created, but it will probably be the weekend before I get them linked at the top of each thread (I use a dropbox link to share maps, hope that works for everyone). I try to save my maps in bitmap files so I hope everyone has a computer that can look at those files.

Yes I should not have trouble viewing those files

So were we all on the same first mission that failed and thus know each other from that? Or were we each given separate missions that all failed and are meeting for the first time now?

Yes, the second assumption is correct, each of you failed (independently) or if you and another player are interested in creating a back story where you worked together, that would be alright as well.

Now, you have one year to earn your reputation with the Society, by being part of the
Wrecking Crew

Question: Do the trait/ideal/bond/flaw have to be taken verbatim from the book? Some of my options are better fits than others...

Well, I like the choices you've made, and I think they will work, but

I didn't want to be accused of introducing "house rules," but the Player's Handbook does suggest that players can create their own backgrounds.

So I think you can keep what you've got

House Ruled Backgrounds are ok with me :-)

Victor is the son of a Nobleman who squandered the family fortune. Through sheer perseverance, Victor was able to overcome the failings of his father and win his fortune back.

Just as Victor was seeking to restore his family's honor, his enemies began plotting ways to bring him low. No doubt jealousy played a part in the scheme against his return to Iarishea.

Perhaps it was the lousy Bard Cornelius Milus jealous of Victor's success where his own was dwindling or perhaps it was the Crime Lords of Urandoma come to claim the fortune his father never paid, regardless, Victor's very house was usurped by a clan of pretenders!

They claimed to own the rights to his Keep, stating they were kidnapped by some sort of vague raiding tribe from who know where. Vangar, I mean really, does that even sound like a real place?

Before Victor could clear up the misunderstanding his enemies had him sold like a common slave to a Dwarven slavemaster.

Oh, don't tell Branhilde I said that! One could only dream what she would do to me.

Really what I need is a band of adventurers who are willing to set me back i my rightful place.

A, I see, another chance. Well why not, the first group failed me, er the quest. Now, let's see if this next group wants to be true heroes...

Niall's features favour his elven mother. Fair skin, light brown hair and green eyes.

Niall is used to disappointing people, a failure at Wizardry he disappointed his parents by cutting deals with the Fey in return for magic. Sick with shame when his parents found out, he left home seeking to make things right, prove that the deal he made was not a mistake. He's off to a rocky start with the Solution society but ever the optimist he's confident he can complete the year in the Wrecking crew and become a success.

Hi My character likes to be called Histoff

His appearance his that of a common half-elf, he has a pointed ears.
His eyes are green his a little bit short at 5.57 foot but that helps him sneak away.
He has a black jacket he likes to wear.

Background
Grew up at the less Colonial side of the empire, to a mixed parents.
He joined the army and quit after a year.
His reason to quite the army was because he had a friend who was lost in battle and he had to flee to survive, also he despises the army now because he likes freedom.
After quitting the army he went to the Solution Society, wanting to do something a little bit different, he was in a mission go bad and now he is here.

He is a rogue as he likes to be in a less front-type job and he wanted to change direction in life, to more subtle and deadly and useful.

I'd like to point out that I am really excited about the range of characters here, and for everyone's information we have a variety of players from long time participants on these boards to a couple of people who are new, so lets all try to be patient with each other.

There are many things about this edition that I might need to be reminded about, so don't hesitate to call me out if I make a mistake.

For the record, I started playing D&D in 1976, and Palace of the vampire Queen was the first Dungeon I ran as Dungeon Master (in 1977), so even though I've been doing this for a long time, I still have many things to learn.

Okay, let's try to have some fun

One last thing. This weekend is a Holiday (for those of us in the US) and many people like to go camping, so if we slow down over the weekend don't fret (too much anyway) and look for me to finally get at least one helpful map posted.

This is my first 5th edition game so I don't know the rules that well myself. I started playing when 3rd edition came out and switched to Pathfinder instead of 4th edition. Ugh. That's already like 15 years ago.
Among my friends, I'm currently playing a character in a Rise of the Runelords campaign and am GMing a Curse of the Crimson Throne campaign.

Camping? I stay indoors whenever possible. =)

Terquem: I notice you're including the day, time, and other information at the top of your Gameplay posts. Might I suggest instead putting that information in the "brief description" field of the Campaign Info tab? That way, it'll be visible at the top of every page for easy reference, without you having to re-post it over and over and over again; you only have to update it when something changes. I've been doing this in a game I'm running, and it's going well.

Just a thought, to save you some work. :)

EDIT: Here's a link to the Campaign Info tab of my campaign, for you to look at as an example of what I mean, in case I wasn't clear.

That's not a bad idea, but with turns changing frequently I'm not sure that I'd forget to update it, and throw things off kilter. I like to use the header of the Campaign Info tab for map links.

Also, the date, time, location stamp will drop off, occasionally, when I get to excited to post, or I'm posting from another machine or device.

I hope it's not annoying.

I'm going to try to get a game post up for all of my games today, and this one still has a few players checking in late

Four Characters have jumped into the game thread

Perry
Ayita
Victor
Magus

Can I get an update on when the rest of you might be ready, please?

That's not a bad idea, but with turns changing frequently I'm not sure that I'd forget to update it, and throw things off kilter. I like to use the header of the Campaign Info tab for map links.

Also, the date, time, location stamp will drop off, occasionally, when I get to excited to post, or I'm posting from another machine or device.

I hope it's not annoying.

I'm going to try to get a game post up for all of my games today, and this one still has a few players checking in late

In my Vamp game I do the same thing, allows me to more easily search later on when looking through the thread if I want to see what happened on what day.

Name is Klodd Rockhopper, but I like to be called Rockhopper. If you make fun of my name you'll make me angry. You won't like me when I'm angry.

Klodd is of average height for a Dwarf, but has narrow shoulders and wide hips, unlike the normal Square Dwarven build. He tends to trip a lot, and drop things that are breakable. Though he's spent most of his life in various military camps, he talks the talk, much better than he walks the walk. In fact if not for his connection to (Insert Dwarven God of War name here) he would probably have been sent deep into the dwarven holds, to wield a hammer at something that doesn't fight back... like iron, but his skills as a healer, blacksmith, and sometimes fighter have kept him on the fringe of employment.

He had worked with three different Mercenary companies over the past decade, and usually the commanders put up with his lack of physical dexterity, by putting him somewhere in a back-up or supporting role... there to patch soldiers up when the sprung a leak, more than fight himself. Unfortunately his last job with the "Sheer Panic" Mercenary group didn't turn out as he hoped. The commander of the troop put Klodd and some of the other marginal fighters to cover the rear of the band, during a raid upon some hill Gnolls. All went according to plan, until a small band of Gnolls appeared from an unexpected direction. Klodd, always more confident in his ability than warranted, left his post to engage them, and was of course summarily over ran, and left for dead. Finally the commander had a real reason to let him go, and gave him a small pittance of his salary, and sent him away.

So now here he is. One more chance to redeem himself, and prove himself worth of a career as an adventurer. Couldn't let this one pass.

Do we have a name for the Chaotic Good God of War among the Dwarven Pantheon yet?

No, we don't go ahead and see what you can come up with.

keep in mind that Baylor has a decidedly "Hollywood" idealization of the Black Forest of Germany, feel to it (Hansel and Gretel, type fairy tales are common) and that Dwarves on Baylor live above ground, not in deep mountain halls

There are deep mountain halls on Baylor, and most of them are vacant, suggesting something in the past, that dwarves do not like to talk about, must have changed the way they live. See this post for more information

Waglinde Tells a Story About the Dwarves

Just based on the character descriptions for our group, I do think that 5E does lend itself to players thinking a bit more about their characters idiosyncrasies versus other D&D systems.

Name is Klodd Rockhammer

*raises one eyebrow*

One of the players suggested keying each figure in the Pantheon to a type of rare earth mineral, so I am working that out now, but basically we have

Mevboll Golden Hand (Sharindlar) – The Goddess of Natural Beauty (Lust, Fertility, Spring, Renewal)

I've only made this much progress with the Dwarven pantheon

Klodd Rockhopper wrote:

Name is Klodd Rockhammer

*raises one eyebrow*

Whoops! Changed, thanks.

Fergus Mithril blood (Hanseath) Dwarven god of War, Carousing, and Alcohol. CN. (Chaos, Strength, Travel, War)

There is already an "Iron" dwarven god. Perhaps Steelblood or Bronzeblood? Although they aren't minerals. They are alloys. But you also don't want to use a soft metal to represent the god of war either.

I choose Mielikki as my goddess of nature. If that's not okay, I can change it.

I have a feeling this group is going to be hilarious.

I concur. :)

There is already an "Iron" dwarven god. Perhaps Steelblood or Bronzeblood? Although they aren't minerals. They are alloys. But you also don't want to use a soft metal to represent the god of war either.

I choose Mielikki as my goddess of nature. If that's not okay, I can change it.

The Pantheon(s) of the people of Alodoa, have not been developed

So for our first Deity we have

Mielikki- The Goddess of the natural world.

Sorry guys. This game has taken off while I've had a very busy day at work. I'll get a post into the gameplay ASAP.

Ayita is ready to kick in some heads.
You get a kick in the head: 1d20 ⇒ 11
And you get a kick in the head: 1d20 ⇒ 14
Everybody gets a kick in the head: 1d20 ⇒ 8

Your foot gets a headbutt: 1d20 ⇒ 5

First - I am a terrible artist, I have little to no talent. Having said that I am about to post Caldwell's hand drawn sketch of the outline of the castle with his brief notes - Please Don't Laugh

Second, I've purchased the DD module for my CC+ mapping software and I am trying to learn how to use it, so hopefully better maps of the castle are in the future, but for now I will be making basic maps using MapTools and posting them.

Still waiting for a couple of characters to join in.

Some extra funds will be given to the characters and then you will be sent to talk to Nickels before you leave for the castle.

At the top of each page in this game, below the title of the thread is a short description of the game, followed by a link to a dropBox png file

You could not be a worse artist than I am so don't sweat it :-)

Well the map is pretty much how I pictured it. Looks good enough to me. I like how it looks like it is on parchment.

Your map looks great!

Yes, well thank you. I bought a small pack of sheets of paper that look like scrolls, and I try to use it in table top games for hand written notes and crude maps. I didn't even think, until today, of scanning one into a file for an online game

We now have 6 out of 9 applicants responding in the game thread.

Perry
Ayita
Victor
Magus
Klodd
Nail

Can I get an update on when the rest of you might be ready, please?

DaWay - I will wait for you guys to get something ready before we go any further

Mittak

Lijan van Histoff

You guys should have posted something by now, is there something you are waiting on?

Sorry for my absence. I was travelling, got back to a mountain of work and am now very sick. I'll have everything written up by the weekend and catch up on this thread - I just haven't had any creative energy. Apologies to all - I'm still very keen..

No worries,

We will pause, for a little bit, while the last two characters get ready to jump in then I will describe the very boring walk eastward to Mackenzie bridge, where...maybe something interesting might happen.

I will shop for my gear tonight and post in I/C thread.

Did my shopping: just a couple of mundane odds and ends, plus a tent and more rations. Saving most of my cash for now. Ready to rock!

Victor's Shopping List

Donkey
Saddlebags
Tent (Two-Person)
Blanket
20 more days of Rations