RoTR / CotCT Hybrid Campaign Adventure

[DM_Iziak]

Welcome! If you haven’t seen it yet, I’ve just added some new information to the Discussion thread for this game about the use of spoilers and out-of-character text. Please read that before you begin here.

[DM_Iziak]

ALGRET:

Spoiler:

As a part of your daily clerical regime, you clean the Sculpture of Torag at the temple. This day, though something is different. Just as you get around to the back of the intricately-designed sculpture, you see a small card leaning up against the statue’s left foot; a Harrow card, in fact, an item used in fortunetelling. This particular card represents The Paladin, used as a symbol of strength, not only as a term or rank within the church. As you pick it up, you notice that there is writing on the back:

I know what the goblins have done to you. They have wronged me as well. I know where a small group of them dwells, yet I cannot strike at them. Come to my home at 3 Lancet street at sunset. Others like you will be there. The goblins must face their fate, and justice must be done.

What do you do?

CORVIN:

Spoiler:

You are sitting in your small, rented apartment, leaning over your spellbook and studying its arcane runes and sigils. As you begin to turn a page, you feel a small object between the next two pages, a small thing slightly thicker than the paper that you normally use for your spellbook.

Turning the page, you see that it is a Harrow card, one of the cards that belong in a 54-card deck used primarily for fortunetelling. The card in particular is The Wanderer, and as you turn it over you see that there is writing on the back.

I know what the goblins have done to you. They have wronged me as well. I know where a small group of them dwells, yet I cannot strike at them. Come to my home at 3 Lancet street at sunset. Others like you will be there. The goblins must face their fate, and justice must be done.

What do you do?

GOBURN:

Spoiler:

Your travels have brought you to the grand city of Korvosa, one of the three major cities of power in the land of Varisia. You’ve rented a small apartment for yourself, just a block away from the nearest bar.

While reaching for your enormous weapon before leaving your home (for you never leave without your axe), you feel something lying on its hilt: a card. A simple Harrow card, used in fortunetelling and in a gambling game called Towers. This particular card represents The Keep, a symbol of strength and unshakability. Looking at it, not knowing where it may have come from, you see that there is writing on the back.

I know what the goblins have done to you. They have wronged me as well. I know where a small group of them dwells, yet I cannot strike at them. Come to my home at 3 Lancet street at sunset. Others like you will be there. The goblins must face their fate, and justice must be done.

What do you do?

LIANDRA:

Spoiler:

Your most recent delivery run involves the transportation of some “valuable papers” to another crimelord. As you hand the box over to one of his thugs for delivery, a tough brute who you’ve never heard speak, slowly opens it up and peers inside before letting out a small grunt.

“What is this rubbish?” He asks you, picking up a small card from inside the box: a simple Harrow card, used in fortunetelling and in a gambling game called Towers. It’s back towards you, you can see that there is writing on it.

Having helped package the box, you have no idea how the card managed to get there, but you apologize and take it from the gruff man, who you hear mutter, “Bloody half-breed.”

But you know not to argue.

As you return back to your home, you study the card in more detail. It represents The Rabbit Prince, a symbol for capriciousness of combat. Studying the writing on the card’s back, it reads:

I know what the goblins have done to you. They have wronged me as well. I know where a small group of them dwells, yet I cannot strike at them. Come to my home at 3 Lancet street at sunset. Others like you will be there. The goblins must face their fate, and justice must be done.

What do you do?

SKAZZ:

Spoiler:

Your travels have brought you to the grand city of Korvosa. You’ve rented a small apartment for yourself, just a block away from the nearest weapons store.

As you are leaving your home to investigate the region surrounding Korvosa, as you often do in your search for vengeance, you see a small object lying right before the door out: a card. A simple Harrow card, used in fortunetelling and in a gambling game called Towers. This particular card represents The Mountain Man, a symbol of strength of power. Looking at it, not knowing where it may have come from, you see that there is writing on the back.

I know what the goblins have done to you. They have wronged me as well. I know where a small group of them dwells, yet I cannot strike at them. Come to my home at 3 Lancet street at sunset. Others like you will be there. The goblins must face their fate, and justice must be done.

What do you do?

[Liandra Nightwind]

DM

Spoiler:

Puzzled, intrigued and absolutely paranoid, Liandra takes a series of twists and turns, alternating between the shingles and the back alleys to take the most indirect path to the location. Keeping to the shadows she stakes out a position in an alley across the street, giving her a good view of the place.

Stealth 29
Preception 14 (sight/sound)

[Skazzgrakk]

DM

Spoiler:

A slow smile creeps accross my face as I look to the sky and offer thanks.
"At last...fate has pushed me here. Perhaps the sweet taste of vengance is at hand"
I return to my room and lie down, Tusk-Taker's blade cold beneath my fingers as i cradle it's weight in my arms.
"I swear to you my people that I will not rest until I see you avenged"

One hour before sunset I leave my dwelling, nodding to the proprieter in thanks after getting directions.

I stride out into the late afternoon sunlight, a faint smile on my face, as I head towards this mysterious rendevouz.
"Come Tusk-Taker. Our destiny awaits for we have goblins to smash!"

[Algret Durthane]

DM:

Spoiler:

I continue to dust and clean the statue while slipping the card into my belt. I take the time to use my earth sense to see if anyone is in the immediate vacinity visible or not. i use the rest of my daily chores as a moving prayer to Torag, praying that I am making the right choice and that my actions will reflect favorably on my clan and my faith.

I straighten up my room, change into my armor, make sure I have my healers kit, grab my shield and hammer and head out to 3 lancet street. If someone stops me or starts to ask questions, I tell them "I have recieved a sign that someone may be in need of my help this night. If I need assistance I will contact the temple immediately. May the blessings of Torag be upon" and keep walking.

[Corvin]

His curiosity sparked by the message somehow left within his most prized possession, Corvin scanned his room, already knowing that such a working is beyond him, or his ability to penetrate. Getting the sense that he should be well prepared for anything to come, Corvin donned his jacket and hat, and headed off into the markets to procure the various magical trinkets that he would need to bring his magic forth.

Upon returning to his apartment, Corvin spends the rest of his day preparing his mind for the magic he might need, his mind effortlessly moving through the requires spell forms.

Before the appointed hour, Corvin gathered his gear, again donning his coat and hat, and taking his staff, feeling comforted by the familiar thrum of magic that coursed through it. Heading off into the city, Corvin made his way to the house, keeping an eye out for any potential danger.

Perception: 19 <-- I know I won't find anything, but I figured I'd roll anyway.

[Goburn, Son of Ogrun]

Spoiler:

Goburn, thinking on the matter at hand, slowly polishes his weapon. After wondering about the message for a while, Goburn decides to do some reconnaissance on the location before making an appearance. First, though, Goburn feels it necessary to eat some food at the local bar. Once finished with his meal, Goburn saunters off in the general direction of the house, all the while thinking of what the job might hold in store for him.

[DM_Iziak]

Corvin, Goburn, please use spoilers for things like that that other characters wouldn't know. Thanks!

ALGRET

Spoiler:

You encounter no resistance along the way. A sign in the window indicates that the owner of the house/shop uses Harrow cards for fortunetelling. The street around you is mostly empty.

CORVIN

Spoiler:

How do you know you won't see anything? You notice a pair of dwarves and a half-orc converging on the same location, although from different directions... strangely, the rest of the street seems to be deserted. A sign in the building's window indicates that the owner of the house/shop uses Harrow cards for fortunetelling.

GOBURN

Spoiler:

[ooc]Thanks for the change with the spoiler, Goburn. Also, in the future could you try and remember to put "DM" or something in front of it, so that the other players know that its just for me? Thanks![ooc] The house appears normal, although a sign in the window indicates that it is a fortuneteller's abode.

LIANDRA

Spoiler:

As dusk approaches, you see four others approaching the otherwise deserted street... two dwarves, a human, and a half-orc. Nobody else seems to take any notice of you. The window of the target building has a sign advertising it as a fortuneteller's home.

SKAZZ

Spoiler:

Although the street around the building that you move towards seems to be deserted for the most part, you do notice one human approaching the same building. The building has a sign in the window, reading "Harrow Fortunetelling."

[Liandra Nightwind]

Spoiler:

Liandra waits till everyone has entered, and after five minutes sneaks up to the window and eavesdrops.
roll again or use the same?

[DM_Iziak]

LIANDRA

Spoiler:

Use same. I will post an update after everyone else has determined actions.

[Preston]

DM

Spoiler:

I look around to see if anyone else is outside or watching, walk up to the front door and knock firmly...

[Algret Durthane]

sorry, fogot to switch the avatar over...

[Corvin]

Sorry about that. I forgot to add the Spoiler Tags.

DM:

Spoiler:

It was just a guess - I doubted that there would be anything interesting to notice this early into the adventure. Of course, I was wrong!
Noticing the others as he approached the house, Corvin mentally prepared himself for what would no doubt be a strange encounter.

"Greetings, ladies and gentlemen." Said the young mage. "I take it you all got the message as well? What a curious thing." His voice is calm and pleasing to listen to, and he sweeps his hat off his head and bows as he greets the massing individuals. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Corvin."

[Skazzgrakk]

dm

Spoiler:

Skazz slowly moves toward the building, looking all around for signs of deceit. If he catches the humans eye as he approached he nods . Pausing to look around once more and loosen Tusk-Taker, Skazz enters the building. He doesn't knock

[DM_Iziak]

For all of you (except Liandra), you can feel free to stop using spoilers for the moment and interact with everybody else (except Liandra). Here’s a general description of the scene:

The female dwarf walks up to the building’s door and knocks, but there is no reply. In a moment, the half-orc reaches the front door and flings it open before walking inside, slightly shoving the dwarf out of the way. Right before he enters, he nods briefly at the human who has introduced himself as Corvin.

Just to let you know, Algret, once you’ve posted, you can edit the post and the Alias/avatar by clicking the edit button, right next to the reply button, on the post you want to edit. After a period of time (I think about an hour), you lose the ability to edit the post.

SKAZZ

Spoiler:

The cozy chamber within this small home is filled with a fragrant haze of flowers and strong spice. The haze comes from several sticks of incense smoldering in wall-mounted burners that look like butterfly-winged elves. The smoke itself seems to soften edges and gives the room a dream-like feel. The walls are draped with brocaded tapestries, nine in all, each depicting a different Harrow card. Several brightly-colored rugs cover the floor, but the room’s only furnishings are a wooden table covered by a bright red throwcloth and six elegant, tall-backed charis. A basket covered by blue cloth sits under the table. There is also a small note lying on the table, written on normal paper, that reads “Thank you for coming. I had to step out for a bit, but shall return shortly. Please, have a seat while you wait. The basket under the table contains bread and drink for you."

LIANDRA

Spoiler:

Do you change your actions at all now that the other characters have announced what they are doing?

[Algret Durthane]

Skazz and Corvin:
Algret calls to the overly tall half orc. "Hello, is this your house?"
turns to the human and extends her hand for a firm, quick handshake "Hello, my name is Algret,Priestess-of-Torag-may-he-bless-your-life-with-bounty-and-you-craft- with-great-skill, are YOU the person who left me the invitation?" all the while slowly walking into the house and looking around assuaging her curiosity...

[DM_Iziak]

ALGRET

Spoiler:

The cozy chamber within this small home is filled with a fragrant haze of flowers and strong spice. The haze comes from several sticks of incense smoldering in wall-mounted burners that look like butterfly-winged elves. The smoke itself seems to soften edges and gives the room a dream-like feel. The walls are draped with brocaded tapestries, nine in all, each depicting a different Harrow card. Several brightly-colored rugs cover the floor, but the room’s only furnishings are a wooden table covered by a bright red throwcloth and six elegant, tall-backed charis. A basket covered by blue cloth sits under the table. The half-orc is standing near the table, looking at a small note, written on normal paper, which you can just barely read as saying, “Thank you for coming. I had to step out for a bit, but shall return shortly. Please, have a seat while you wait. The basket under the table contains bread and drink for you.”

[Goburn, Son of Ogrun]

DM

Spoiler:

Goburn sees the house and, not thinking it a threat, proceeds to enter. Being a stereotypically gruff dwarf, Goburn does not greet the others in front of the house and simply nods his head in acknowledgment.

[Liandra Nightwind]

DM

Spoiler:

Still expecting a trap, Liandra is going to quietly observe the proceedings before making her presence known. If there is a window or other way to see inside in addition to listening she'll use that all the while trying to stay hidden.

[Algret Durthane]

To no one in particular: "Nice incense but I would have used more dandelion and less hibiscus...this is just a little too sweet...
Oooh, what's in the basket?"

She reaches down to pull off the cloth, in the hopes of finding a nice dark ale!

[Skazzgrakk]

I sniff and then sneeze as I move through the incense cloud; "Damn allergies! Where I come from we are used to the smell of Blood and Dung!".
Skazz glances at the dwarf woman.
"Does this look like my kind of house?"
He roughly shakes the offered hand, all the time staring suspiciously at the dwarf.
"I am Skazzgrakk, of the Six Bears. Our host is both late and lacking...I see no Meat"
Skazz loosens Tusk-Taker and props it against the table and sits in a chair next to it.
"So Algret,Corvin where do you both hail from?"

[DM_Iziak]

Goburn, you didn’t need to use a spoiler for that… all of the characters could see your action (except Liandra).

Corvin, I’m going to assume that you cautiously enter the house. If that is not the case, we can reverse time a few posts.

”Goburn” wrote:

Goburn sees the house and, not thinking it a threat, proceeds to enter. Being a stereotypically gruff dwarf, Goburn does not greet the others in front of the house and simply nods his head in acknowledgment.

GOBURN and CORVIN (assuming you enter)

Spoiler:

The cozy chamber within this small home is filled with a fragrant haze of flowers and strong spice. The haze comes from several sticks of incense smoldering in wall-mounted burners that look like butterfly-winged elves. The smoke itself seems to soften edges and gives the room a dream-like feel. The walls are draped with brocaded tapestries, nine in all, each depicting a different Harrow card. Several brightly-colored rugs cover the floor, but the room’s only furnishings are a wooden table covered by a bright red throwcloth and six elegant, tall-backed charis. A basket covered by blue cloth sits under the table. The other three people are standing near the table, looking at a note written on normal paper, which you can just barely read as saying, “Thank you for coming. I had to step out for a bit, but shall return shortly. Please, have a seat while you wait. The basket under the table contains bread and drink for you.”

LIANDRA

Spoiler:

You sneak up to the building, looking in right past the sign which hangs in a window. The cozy chamber within this small home is filled with a slight, smokey haze that comes from several sticks of incense smoldering in wall-mounted burners that look like butterfly-winged elves. The smoke itself seems to soften edges and gives the room a dream-like feel. The walls are draped with brocaded tapestries, nine in all, each depicting a different Harrow card. Several brightly-colored rugs cover the floor, but the room’s only furnishings are a wooden table covered by a bright red throwcloth and six elegant, tall-backed chairs. A basket covered by blue cloth sits under the table. The other four people are standing near the table, looking at a note written on normal paper, which you can just barely read as saying, “Thank you for coming. I had to step out for a bit, but shall return shortly. Please, have a seat while you wait. The basket under the table contains bread and drink for you.”

You can now hear and see everything that is said inside. Also, I put the note about you not being able to see in above to mislead the other players into thinking that you really aren’t around… I hope you’re okay with my helping you be a rogue like that by trying to prevent metagaming.

EVERYONE:Algret reaches down and picks up the basket. Taking the cloth off, you see that it contains some bread, as the note had said, and a bottle of wine. Neither looks to be high quality, but passable.

[Liandra Nightwind]

DM

Spoiler:

That's perfect, thanks.
Liandra quietly listen's to their conversation while keeping an eye out for the person who obviously set this up. That an stray fireballs or other means that might be used to kill a group of people at once.

[DM_Iziak]

LIANDRA

Spoiler:

Unless there's anything else you need to say beforehand, you can just jump in if/when you are ready to enter the house, react to other happenings, etc.

EVERYONE:If I need any of you to make skill checks, and you haven't made the check on your own, I'll roll for you. Common times where this could be used is for Perception. If any of you would rather that I tell you to make the check, let me know... I think that this will just keep gameplay going more smoothly.

[Liandra Nightwind]

DM

Spoiler:

Got it

[Goburn, Son of Ogrun]

DM

Spoiler:

Goburn, used to the clear air of the wilderness, sneezes as he enters. Upon seeing the food, Goburn's wary disposition lightens somewhat and he begins sampling the bread. As Goburn eats, his eyes wander about the room, taking note of the others in his vicinity.

[DM_Iziak]

This quote is from Goburn's spoiler. Everybody can read it.

Goburn wrote:

Goburn, used to the clear air of the wilderness, sneezes as he enters. Upon seeing the food, Goburn's wary disposition lightens somewhat and he begins sampling the bread. As Goburn eats, his eyes wander about the room, taking note of the others in his vicinity.

Um... you didn't need to put this in a spoiler. Everyone's in the same place, except Liandra (who I'm confident will only read what she's supposed to be), so putting things in a spoiler that aren't really only for me will get rather confusing.

[Skazzgrakk]

Skazz mutters under his breath as he watches the second dwarf enter the place...
"Humph! Just what I need. I get invited to a party, the host doesn't show up and i'm stuck in a room that smells of gods knows what with of all things...dwarves! Wonderful!!"
Raising his voice "Might as well try the wine"

[DM_Iziak]

Skazz

Spoiler:

Now that's acting in character. Nice! The wine tastes normal... relatively low quality, but not bad.

[Skazzgrakk]

DM

Spoiler:

Thanks. Love this character...Think I'd get Ron Pearlman to play him if you made this into a movie!

"OK, so it's obvious that i'm the big token ugly guy with an axe...what's everyone else's story...?"

[DM_Iziak]

GOBURN

Spoiler:

The bread is slightly stale, but edible.

EVERYONE: Prompted by Skazz's question (it is okay if I call you that, right?) shall we assume that you all make introductions and discuss character backgrounds? If there's anything that you'd rather leave out of your backstory when describing it, you can say so, but otherwise I think it would be easier to assume that you all get to know each other at this point, rather than taking another day or more to tell the other players things that they can find out just by looking at the profile pages. If there's any problems with that, please be sure to let me know. Liandra, of course, is not present, so you still don't meet her and vice versa.

[Liandra Nightwind]

DM

Spoiler:

Liandra looks around the area more intently, convinced that some enemy of hers wants to get rid of all their problems at once. She racks her brain as to who's method this would fit. Attempting to figure an angle of attack she's going to wait 10 minutes and if nothing has happend as yet, take action.
Perception 20 (sight/sound), low light vision to pierce the twilight

[DM_Iziak]

LIANDRA

Spoiler:

You can't think of anyone who'd do this kind of thing, but as you stand there, you see an elderly, female women come around the nearby street corner and turn your way.

[Liandra Nightwind]

Spoiler:

With a practiced motion a dagger slips into her hand and she readies a throw at the first sign of malice

[DM_Iziak]

LIANDRA

Spoiler:

I can’t tell from your post if you are concealing you dagger or making it visible, so I’m posting for both situations. Please only read the one that is correct for the action you took.

IF YOUR DAGGER IS CONCEALED: The women continues to walk towards you and the building, “My, I didn’t expect you to still be out here. Please, come inside.” She beckons you towards the door. Sense Motive=6. You detect no deception

IF YOUR DAGGER IS VISIBLE: The women continues to walk towards you and the building, before her eyes light up at the sight of your dagger, “Please… don’t hurt me… I’m here to help you!” Sense Motive=4. You detect no deception.

[Liandra Nightwind]

Spoiler:

was keeping it concealed

Liandra looks into the woman's eye's and finds no guile. either she's telling the truth or a damn good liar.

"You know me? You saw me??? Who the hell are you anyway?"

[DM_Iziak]

LIANDRA

Spoiler:

I was under the impression that you had approached the main building to see what was going on, and were therefore visible to anyone in the street. You have to be in the street to be able to see in the building... could you clarify for me where you are?

[Liandra Nightwind]

Spoiler:

I was trying to stick to the shadows of the building itself since the sun went down. It's ok as is, her confidence in her stealth is higher than it should be anyway

[Corvin]

Corvin bows to the gathered individuals as he take some food, sweeping his hat of his head.

"Corvin. Graduate of the Academae, at your service."

I will now assume that all of the players know that Corvin is a Wizard, but that they won't know about why he has the scar.

[Skazzgrakk]

Skazz will reveal most of his background but will leave out all details about his hunt for THE DWARF.

[DM_Iziak]

EVERYONE: I know that the four of you in the building really don’t have much to do right now. I just need to tie up this thread with Liandra before we can continue much inside… it shouldn’t take long, though.

LIANDRA

Spoiler:

Sorry about that mistake. It can just be hard to tell specifics of location, etc. playing this way. “My name is Zellara… I summoned you here. I can only assume that the other four are inside at this point. And… I have my ways of knowing where you are.” She reaches into a pocket to reveal a deck of Harrow cards, “These tell me more than they tell most people. Please, come in. I’m terribly sorry about the delay.” Sense Motive=10. She still seems perfectly honest.

[Algret Durthane]

Sniffs the wine slightly disdainfully. Pulls out her water/ale skin and takes a swig to wash down the slightly overly dry bread. she announces to the group, "If you do not want the watered down grape juice, I do have some good dwarven ale. You can help your self." She hold out the water skin. "just please leave some for others".....

[Liandra Nightwind]

DM

Spoiler:

"After you" she says, stepping aside but keeping the conceled knife hidded in her cloak.

[DM_Iziak]

LIANDRA

Spoiler:

"Why thank you." The woman walks into what you assume is her home. I'm assuming that you also enter.

[Liandra Nightwind]

DM

Spoiler:

Liandra enters after taking one last look around

[DM_Iziak]

The door into the building opens, and you see two women enter: a young half-elf and a human who’s not exactly old, but does not have the youth of the half-elf.
Perception checks: Algret 21, Corvin 11, Goburn 18, Skazz 5. Liandra’s Slight of Hand: 11.

ALGRET, CORVIN, GOBURN

Spoiler:

The half-elf is trying to conceal a dagger that she is holding.

LIANDRA

Spoiler:

The last look around outside shows nothing new. As you enter, the human and two dwarves glance briefly in the direction of your dagger.

EVERYONE: “Welcome! I am Zellara and have summoned you here to discuss a group of common foes. Please, sit.” The human women beckons to the chairs, “I’m terribly sorry about the delay.”

[Skazzgrakk]

Skazzgrakk rises from his chair. He smiles at the leather clad half elf, showing his teeth, before turning to the old woman. He nods his head in her direction.
"Good to see you old one. You obviously know more about me than I do of you. How about we get to the point of why I'm waiting in some gods awful place that reeks like a Varisian harlots pleasure wagon? No offence mind...It's just I've got plenty other things I could be doin' right now...like drinkin', fightin'...you know the drill..."

Skazz sits back down, looking slightly embarassed.

[DM_Iziak]

I’ll wait until more people have responded to respond myself. Also I want to remind you that the human isn’t “old,” but more middle-aged (it was kind of hidden in my previous post).

[Liandra Nightwind]

Liandra laughs at the half-orc's colorful description. Following the eyes of the others she slowly and deliberately sheathes the dagger, holding eye contact the entire time. Giving the half orc a nod she takes a spot against the wall near the window.

"Indeed, do tell us why anyone here should blindly trust that you haven't poisoned them all"

She glances pointedly at the food and wine.

[Skazzgrakk]

Looking at how Liandra moves toward the window, Skazz nods back, and lowers his face, concealing a half smile. He mutters to himself "Good move girlie, good move..."