Ganon Malfoy's page

It's not so much that ice spells were going out of style (though of course they are).

But when I hear someone casting protection from energy my only thought is "Challenge accepted!"

The battle for Westville could have been over before it started. Sending masses of easily-influenced humanoids against us was not wise. But it was important that the battle actually occur so that some Pitaxians would live to remember the horrors of Hooktongue Slough. The giants going mad, gigantic animals appearing from nowhere, and the attack of the swamp monsters should deter future incursions.

And we'll remember the story of the 300 simple villagers who held off ten thousand men, giants, and wyverns, and the sacrifice of the battle's single casualty.

Calistril

I've signed on to an expedition from Brevoy South to the Stolen Lands
in the River Kingdoms. It is clear that we are essentially to be
given rulership of the Green Belt if we succeed at pacifying the
territory, and surely the rest of the Stolen Lands will follow.

Adventuring is much more interesting than banditry. While bandits are
easy enough to manipulate, they can be a bit of a wildcard; you never
know when you'll have to act with bluff and bluster to escape the
violence of a drunk or status-hungry ape.

My compatriots are an even more colorful group than the last band of
bandits I'd holed up with. Rolani seems to fancy herself nobility - I
doubt anyone else would find himself burdened by any such delusions
about her, as she doesn't mind getting her hands dirty. One of the
gnomes seems entirely unpredictable and volatile, while the other is a
bloodthirsty barbarian - I'll have to think hard on what I can do to
get in their good graces, if something doesn't come along and eat them
first. The elf is the strangest druid I've ever seen, but I like her
ideas. Ending scarcity would surely lead to stability and be better
for everyone. And the orc... well, it's not good to speak much of the
cursed, and I'll just hope he doesn't want anything from me.

Pharast, week 1

We've begun our conquest of the Green Belt by acquiring Oleg's Trading Post.
It was a simple enough matter to sell him his own fort, in exchange for
letting us send him free help in the form of reformed bandits. Venture altruism
seems to be working so far.

It looks like banditry in the Stolen Lands isn't very rewarding work.
I shall have to establish a reputation for accepting defectors; it
will probably be very profitable. It looks like Rolani has already
begun to fancy herself a monarch; it should be easy enough to play
into that conceit and direct the flow of the kingdom. The druid does
not seem very diplomatic, so I think she'll need some help if she's to
convert the Stolen Lands into some sort of paradise.

Pharast, week 2

We met some kobolds, defeated their dread nemesis the Smurfs, and freed them from
the terrible reign of some sort of invisible purple lizard. I managed to sell
them their own mine, in exchange for an amulet of natural armor and Svetlana's
wedding ring. Also, we gave them pelts, weapons, and treasure (The rest of the
party didn't even blink when I gave the kobolds treasure!) And we conjured up an
ancient relic they were looking for, ended an ancient curse on their people, and
promised to destroy any lingering Smurfs. The gnomes weren't very happy, but
luckily they were distracted by the toy catapult they found.

Some time later, we found a gold mine which we also gave to the kobolds, and from
reports, we're getting credit for delivering dire weasels to them. I hope they
still think we're the ones in charge.

Gozren, week 1

We arrived at the Stag Lord's fort. The horrible male gnome has left
us, along with his monstrous companion. I'm not sure if I'm relieved
to have him gone or worried that I didn't get to see his dead body. A
helpful fisherman joined the crew without even requiring me to cast any of
my spells, and we all decided a "frontal assault" was the best option. Which is to
say, "The Lady Rolani Astin requests an audience with His Eminence the Stag Lord".
And they actually let us in to talk! Which just goes to show, if bringing gifts
doesn't work, just confuse the hell out of everybody.

Luckily, we were able to take down the Stag Lord with few casualties - he was far too
drunk and ornery to deal with, and would not make a good vassal. I convinced some
bandits to stay out of the fight, and apparently even the Stag Lord's second-in-command
was moved by my words. We let him decide which bandits were worth keeping and left
him as the steward of the castle.

Gozren, week 3

Brevoy has blessed us with resources to start a kingdom, and we've all assumed roles
of leadership. I've managed to put myself in a position to be the first contact in
court, so we should be able to avoid any diplomatic screw-ups. I've recruited a
treasurer who's as paranoid as a kobold. Artemis seems to be setting up a state
religion to help with her gardening, and has started to train rangers. We've finally
found a job that the gnome will enjoy, and she's already done her first official state
execution. The fisherman seems to be an adequate arcanist, so we've already devised
plans to give him his own mage tower so he'll stick around. The orc seems to be the
intermediary between the common folk and their government, so I imagine we won't be
hearing from them except in the direst of circumstances. And wedding bells are in the
air for Rolani, though we're waiting for the treasury to improve before we hold a
festival in honor of our new monarch.

So far, our city planners seem put off by my insistence that we follow the elf's plans
to build a forest kingdom. But my plans are falling into place...