5E Adventure's in Midgard – North (Reaver's Spring)

Game Master Tareth

Not sure honestly, I'll have to go back and reread that part. I don't really firmly grasp why we came to Radovan (I was gone during that).

More distant future, I was hoping for something like an urban sandbox personally, like in a somewhat hostile/turmoiled metropolis...Courlandia maybe or an evil one across the bay. Somewhere with lots of places/people to explore...maybe establish a headquarters for ourselves and become bigger players in the world.

Short term I just need a place to buy/sell stuff. :D Was hoping Rad could do some kewl wondrous items.

"Seems to me the only one in these parts who might have an idea of what to do is that old codger Radovan. If he hasn't fried his own brain, the conjurer might be able to help." She takes a tentative sip of the steaming tea. Smack her lips and nods with satisfaction.

Yes looks like just coming to Rad to figure out what to do with the real sword.

More distant future, I was hoping for something like an urban sandbox personally, like in a somewhat hostile/turmoiled metropolis...Courlandia maybe or an evil one across the bay. Somewhere with lots of places/people to explore...maybe establish a headquarters for ourselves and become bigger players in the world.

Short term I just need a place to buy/sell stuff. :D Was hoping Rad could do some kewl wondrous items.

That would be interesting. I would actually like to go to Zobeck and romp around there, but Courlandia would be good too. One thought I had was going to a fey city since the campaign seems to be leaning towards more and heavier interactions with the fey, especially given the loose end of the Crone of Calamity.

I wonder, is there a city, besides Zobeck, that has strong ties to the Fey?

Fey, yes. Shadow Fey, no. Some elves became Shadow Fey in Zobeck and all their history is there with Castle Shadowcrag and such. The shadow roads were actually made by normal elves before the turn and so predate shadow fey.

The Grand Duchy of Dornig (which Courlandia is a major city, but sort of isolated geographically from) is the heart of the Arbonesse elves. That's where the River Court is. The real capital where court is held is in Reywald at the moment, but its sort of a nomadic thing (the Great Procession, changes every 3 years location)

When the elves left, everything went to s*$! in the west with the Mage Wars and such. There were some leftover Arbonesse elves though that made elfmarked in important positions which somehow gave Dornig an advantage.

Sarastra's shadow fey and the Imperitrix' Arbonesse elves in modern times deal with each other like somewhat amicable countries might. In fact that Ambassador you guys met in Zobeck was actually from Dornig.

Courlandia is sort of its own thing despite being officially part of Dornig, since its ruled by a Red Dragon. Dornig is northwest of Zobeck, Courlandia northeast. Then, in between Courlandia and the main part of Dornig is Krakova (due north of Zobeck)...the Blood Kingdom of Morgau. That seems to be where our antagonists are coming from, or were at one point anyways. (Crone included)

So yeah, lots of cool possibilities.

Still are. Bunch of ghouls hit us shortly after I joined up. Don't know if you remember Yumyum or not, but he was the lone survivor, by virtue of being somewhere else entirely. Though given his run in with the Crone shortly after the fight started, that may have been a mixed blessing for him. Thanks for the information. I'm not as versed in Midgard as I am in Golarion. I'm learning though. :)

By the way, it took me until this post to realize you ran the Courts of the Shadow Fey game that Raseri was in. I almost went with her, but decided to remix a different character of mine that Atlas has played with before.

Still, if Kali winds up being put out of action, I may see about bringing in a different version of the feisty tempest cleric. I can just see Aterro's reaction now. :D

Aw...I was/am really fond of that one, it was the most fun I've had DMing on the boards. We were so close to finishing but then I got burnt out playing so much in Covid quarantine...was playing a bunch of games and running I think 3 at the time, one of which was like a level 17th game that was really taxing (would take like 4 hours for me to update combat).

I really liked Raseri as a PC, the concept of the hag feeding on her slowly through the generations. In fact that was just a f%*#ing amazing party in general imo. My all time favorite character from Jubal as well! Carnadine the Dhampir Knight! >:D

I've been thinking of running something in Barsella. ;) I found a really cool Kobold Press splatbook from the pathfinder era with tons of stuff about it and even modules linking up 1-10 with sandbox in between. But I also feel like my DM skills have not yet really returned and am self-doubting etc.

But yes Zobeck is a great city with lots of unique possibilities and super cool story, pretty easy to bring to life. Midgard has a lot of really interesting locations though. On the other hand I never cared for Golarion, the one exception being Kaer Maga which I think is sort of a masterpiece.

How could I have forgotten Carnadine! He was an amazing character and a lot of fun to interact with.

Pathfinder was my first TTRPG, so Golarion kinda has a soft spot in my heart. Kaer Maga is a great city, but I have to say I loved the Lands of the Linnorm Kings more, possibly because that was what inspired the Whitescale clan. Of course, that could be ancient Scottish and Scandinavian ancestry talking. ;)

If you do run something in Barsella, let me know, I enjoyed playing with you as the GM and I hope I could come up with something you like as much as Raseri. I think I have a barbarian with a pet mouse that would make for a great swashbuckler.

Thanks for that support. :)

Hmm. Carnadine would be an interesting addition to this party. ;D

Sure, if we can keep him and Aterro from trying to kill each other.

Then again, that'd be half the fun of it. ;)

Well. Vrindel won't do well in urban. And it would be great to play Carnadine again.

cheers

It'd fun seeing him and Aterro meeting for the first time. Carnadine's sword isn't half as sharp as his tongue.

'We are the metal. You can't destroy the metal. They tried to kill the metal. Hahahaha. But they failed as they were smite to the ground.'

I remember being like 15 in the late 90s and the only one in my group of friends with HBO, hence the only one who knew wtf Tenacious D was. Eventually I copied some of the shorts on VHS and spread the gospel. Good times. The one 'With karate Ill kick your ass' and the friendship medallion still my fav.

Guys, I'm still here. Vrindel dumping Int doesn't help, but I've had a rough couple of weeks.

cheers

It's alright. Hope things are looking up for you, though.

I've been thinking about what Scramsax has said and I feel like Kalisuel would be more interested in exploring the wilds than the city, unless it was one that had a lot of opportunities to explore the fey realms that mirror Midgard. I thought about playing Raseri again if Jubal did decide to swap Vrindel for Carnadine, but then I had an evil thought, what if I played a priestess of Marena that was attached to Carnadine somehow. Break the mold a little and play someone who's relentless cheerful.

Although, I'd have to make sure I didn't annoy Carnadine enough to plot killing her in her sleep.

'Priestess of Marena' together with 'relentless cheerful' sounds absolutely terrifying, loving it. XD

And I wasn't trying to push the campaign urban or anything, just seemed like a possibility and I was hopeful. Totally fine with continuing wilderness, or jumping from quest-location to quest-location as we've been.

'Priestess of Marena' together with 'relentless cheerful' sounds absolutely terrifying, loving it. XD

Yup, and very much in the blood and murder side of things. If you do run another Midgard 5e game, I'll definitely be playing her in if I don't here.

And I wasn't trying to push the campaign urban or anything, just seemed like a possibility and I was hopeful. Totally fine with continuing wilderness, or jumping from quest-location to quest-location as we've been.

I didn't think you were, I was just saying if we do go that route. I may wind up sticking with Kalisuel, it just all depends on where I think she is at the time. In any case, I'm perfectly happy seeing where the game takes us. :)

It's the weekend so I finally have time to remember what I keep forgetting.

@DM Tareth:

'No, my friend. No. Had any other sought to place their hand upon this sphere of magic, then, aye, you might have a chance. But I have seen this play before. More than once. I know the lines, I know the dance.

I know how this ends.

Be off with you now, and come back when you have aught of interest to say.'

Some might say that a player bringing together several different events from the past to tie together in a tableau to explain why he's able to resist another attempt at epic-level mind control might perhaps be worth Inspiration?

I seem to recall Tareth mentioning forgetting about Inspiration out of habit.

I'd also be interested. :D

Hey all, sorry, I lost my internet yesterday. Apparently a little bit of wind and rain can take out core infrastructure here in the PNW. ;)

Anyway, yes, I'm horrible with inspiration. Constantly forget about it. Especially when the entire group is great at coming up with good ideas and lots of RP, which this group absolutely is.

So at for this moment, everyone gains Inspiration.

And if in the future, anyone would like to nominate someone for inspiration please feel free to do so.

I plan to get caught up and post later today barring anymore unforeseen weather or work related events.

Weather is evil, down with weather!

Also gratitude for the inspiration. Alas easy come easy go.

[dice=Arcana to study the Glamor with Detect Magic still up]1d20+7 plus [dice=Guidance]1d4

Wohoo! A 30!

Well that's a mighty nice roll...I'll have to think on what effect that'll end up having. :)

Gah, had a hunch it was something like that. Oh well, I'll make a gp one day. :P

Well this certainly got fun.

Creature: *lies*
Party: Hi, what's your name?
Creature: ...
Party: *attempts to rob everything*

Everything seems in order. :D

Hey, he was rude. That means all niceties are out the window. :P

GM, I forget, are we using the flanking rules? I was hoping to give Aterro advantage on his attacks by moving around the fiend.

Kalisuel: Nope. We are not using the flanking rules.

Ah, gotcha. I'll try to remember that.

You would burn your Action, but you could Help to give Aterro advantage as long as helper (you) is within 5 ft of target.

Yeah, but with the spear, I think I can do more damage with Aterro than Aterro could on his own, even if he crits.

Now if Aterro had the Thorspear, it'd be different, but since he doesn't and doesn't seem to want it back, I guess Kali will just have to continue using it. ;)

I've my RL game tonight, so bot me if necessary

cheers

I think I can do more damage than Aterro

*grabs popcorn* XD

Yeah, but with the spear, I think I can do more damage with Aterro than Aterro could on his own, even if he crits.

Now if Aterro had the Thorspear, it'd be different, but since he doesn't and doesn't seem to want it back, I guess Kali will just have to continue using it. ;)

I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of HOW AWESOME I AM! =D

Yes, because a +1 mace is obviously better than a spear that is forged from lightning. :P

Have the e-peens arisen for this all hallows eve? ;)

Changing gears, I'm pretty eager to see where this goes when the fight is over. I'm not really sure how devils work in Midgard.

edit: ooh, I need this. really THIS.

Yes, because a +1 mace is obviously better than a spear that is forged from lightning. :P

When _I_ use it is!

Especially when that spear is habitated by the spirit of Ex-Wives Past while the mace is full of All Things METAL.

Oh man, I should have played Raseri. I imagine mishima would find the exchanges between Aterro and she hilarious since he GMd the last game she was in. Oh well, I guess I'll have to settle for Kalisuel goading him when he fails to hit. :D

That would've been a wacky match for sure, 'exchanges' most likely meaning lightning bolts thrown at each other while incredibly perturbed. Or they'd end up thunderbanging each other and give birth to a new slayer.

Got this cool diagram of the how the planes work in Midgard setting if any interested.

That Guide to the Planes book also details some Spelljammer-esque 'voidships' in the blackness surrounding it all. XD Might tie it into Scram somehow. Its way less encyclopedic than the worldbook, but still has some neat ideas.

It sort of describes the path of afterlife as well. Interestingly perhaps for Kalisuel, is that upon taking a dip in the River Lethe all memories of mortal life are lost.

Oh man, I should have played Raseri. I imagine mishima would find the exchanges between Aterro and she hilarious since he GMd the last game she was in. Oh well, I guess I'll have to settle for Kalisuel goading him when he fails to hit. :D

And you were just a hairsbreadth away from playing with Wraith. And THAT would have been an interesting day.

Got this cool diagram of the how the planes work in Midgard setting if any interested.

That Guide to the Planes book also details some Spelljammer-esque 'voidships' in the blackness surrounding it all. XD Might tie it into Scram somehow. Its way less encyclopedic than the worldbook, but still has some neat ideas.

It sort of describes the path of afterlife as well. Interestingly perhaps for Kalisuel, is that upon taking a dip in the River Lethe all memories of mortal life are lost.

I may be just entirely ignorant of all this, but isn't one of those supposed to be Asgard?

Got this cool diagram of the how the planes work in Midgard setting if any interested.

That Guide to the Planes book also details some Spelljammer-esque 'voidships' in the blackness surrounding it all. XD Might tie it into Scram somehow. Its way less encyclopedic than the worldbook, but still has some neat ideas.

It sort of describes the path of afterlife as well. Interestingly perhaps for Kalisuel, is that upon taking a dip in the River Lethe all memories of mortal life are lost.

Okay, I have a new book to see about getting.

And yeah, that is very interesting. I definitely want to read more about that.

Kalisuel wrote:

Oh man, I should have played Raseri. I imagine mishima would find the exchanges between Aterro and she hilarious since he GMd the last game she was in. Oh well, I guess I'll have to settle for Kalisuel goading him when he fails to hit. :D

And you were just a hairsbreadth away from playing with Wraith. And THAT would have been an interesting day.

Yeah, that would have been interesting. Not sure how that would have turned out since I don't know Wraith as well as I do Aterro.

Still, interesting to think about. I'm curious to see where things go at the moment. Maybe Kali and Aterro can learn to respect each other, or maybe they'll just wind up hating each other's guts. We'll see.

isn't one of those supposed to be Asgard?

Top left is 'The Infinite Halls'. This consists of 'Seven known Heavens' but then others like Asgard are known to be there but the exact location is simply unknowable to mortals.

However later it also mentions Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge to Asgard being located in Valhalla. And...in typical confusing plane-s@*# fashion, Asgard exists simultaneously in both The Infinite Halls and Valhalla.

The splatbook has a quite large section on Valhalla. It mentions the rainbow bridge was once on Midgard (in the Northlands ofc) but vanished when the first elves opened the shadow roads. So you should probably kill them all.

I definitely want to read more about that.

I'm just glancing through it for the first time, but seems there is a thing called the Ever River which runs all over Yggdrasil and touches all the planes. There are many branches of the Ever River like Styx etc that only go to certain planes. Planar travelers need to cast a spell on the banks of a river/sea on Midgard then bargain with the ships that pass by to get a ride, and can theoretically get anywhere in the planes.

So the Lethe is another branch of the Ever River that runs direct into Evermaw (the plane of the undead). It is also known as the River of Tears and is supposed to be everyone's first stop when dead (unless you are going to Valhalla, then you get to keep your memories ;D). The memories are collected into the Cliffs of Gathered Memory (miles wide, 500 ft tall orange-white stone honeycomb like structure). The millions of voices that eerily echo from it attract undead.

Brother Aterro wrote:

And you were just a hairsbreadth away from playing with Wraith. And THAT would have been an interesting day.

Yeah, that would have been interesting. Not sure how that would have turned out since I don't know Wraith as well as I do Aterro.

Still, interesting to think about. I'm curious to see where things go at the moment. Maybe Kali and Aterro can learn to respect each other, or maybe they'll just wind up hating each other's guts. We'll see.

They say if you say "Wraith Whiteangel" three times she appears!

But then she drinks all your booze and crashes on your couch for a week.

Lvl 7 hp roll: 1d8 ⇒ 8 Oooh, that's nice!

Sneak now +4d6
+Evasion

hp: 1d8 ⇒ 4

Hi team

OK. I'm bringing in a new character that I can better get into. Tareth has reviewed and approved. He is an elfmarked Light Cleric of Khors. Tareth will bring into the game asap, Vrindel will become an NPC until he exits the scene.

So Atlas, you can do the same for Aterro. Meaning, don't feel the need keep playing a cleric, if you want to change AGAIN. You always said that you wanted to play a front-liner. On the other hand, don't feel the need to change, because we're essentially swapping one divine caster (Vrindel) for another (Luthael). Your choice.

I'll let Tareth introduce the character to the scene, and we'll go from there.

cheers,
Jubal