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Hello,
I plan on starting a PbP version of Kingmaker as soon as I get more planning and preparations complete concerning the changes and additions I want to add. I loved reading through Kingmaker and love the potential it has for anything, really. That being said, as written, I felt it was lacking resolution to the nature of the beginning of the AP in the first place. Rostland the Restov are using the PCs to secure a new kingdom and ally/pawn to play against Issia and House Surtova. I want to change that. Instead of enemies from the First World, I want the major issues of the campaign be the realm succumbing to civil war and the threat of an awakened Karzog looming over everything. Using the power of collective minds of DMs who are already running this game or planning to, I'm hoping to streamline my ideas and make things flow naturally and organically.
Naturally, in case you forgot my obnoxious use of asterisks and capital letters in the topic title, here is a disclaimer:
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The game would begin at a wedding between one of the Swordlords of Restov and House Orlovsky in a small chateau outside of Restov. House Orlovsky recognizes the illegitimacy of House Surtova's claim as not regent but true king and this has made them look for allies. This wedding was arranged to "seal the deal" on their alliance with the a prominent Swordlord's son and finalize any and all plans of exploring/mapping the Stolen Lands and growing new allies against Issia. Naturally, House Surtova isn't a big fan of these schemes and have sewn the seeds to stall the expedition and break the alliance. Through layers of intermediaries, a sect of 7-star tattooed (skinsaw men perhaps?) assassins and hired bandits from the Stolen Lands are called to raid and massacre the wedding party.
I'd run this very similarly to the Swallowtail Festival opening of RotRL with plenty of games, competitions and contests. This would let me introduce lots of high level NPCs from several different houses and swordlords. In addition, the families of the bride and groom will be showcasing their soon-to-be-explorers. Including a group destined for the Greenbelt.
As far as the assault goes, all goblinoids will be replaced by humanoids. The leader of this raiding party is an up and coming bandit ranger named Bruthazmus and a mysterious Stag Helmed foe. It will be a combination of a special ops assault and turncoats on the inside. This fight will be largely cinematic with most of the fighting going on around the PCs like in the Swallowtail Festival. They'll see an elf named Shalelu battling it out with this Bruthazmus, unarmed nobles running away, getting shot at and carnage. Keeping true to the Rise of the Runelords AP, during the fighting they'll rescue Aldern Foxglove.
After the assassination attack is foiled and damage is surveyed: lots of nobles lay dead. Among the dead is the entire would-be adventuring party to the Greenbelt. As part of the reward for their heroic defense, they are promised the dead groups exploration charter with a Kill-On-Sight clause for any bandits. It will take a few days for Magister Ironbriar in Restov to sign off on their new charter.
During this time, they can once again talk to the survivors who now have respect and admiration for this new band of explorers.
Aldern Foxglove would love to take them, as a treat for saving them, near the stolen lands to hunt a boar named Tuskgutter. On their way down, they stop at Oleg's and that encounter runs as written. After they take down Tuskgutter, they return to Oleg's. From here a rider from Restov gives them the charters as requested and Aldern bids his farewell for he must return to his chateau for "urgent matters" and wishes the PCs the best. From here I'll run Kingmaker-1.
I'll limit the number of encounters and add much more imagery and capture the feel for the land since this is a PbP. There are LOTS of great ideas on these boards to add flavor to the game. I'll be including weather and lots of ambient details (like the wyvern's flying overhead at night, troll footprints, and some other surprises.) Dudemeister's Hargulka's Monster Kingdom will also be used. I love this idea and it will give an early taste for inter-kingdom diplomacy.
Once they have dealt with the Stag Lord, they'll get their kingdom-making charter from Magister Ironbriar from Restov. They discover upon investigating the Stag Lord's keep that the attack on the wedding was paid for by someone. It was a not a random bandit attack.
At this point, the party is building their city and more and more folks are coming into their city with strange 7-star tattoos. Hargulka goes to war against the PCs as Ironbriar requests their presence in Restov to discuss their discoveries of the attack. The PCs could also use this time to request for aid against Hargulka's armies. Ironbriar is using this visit as an assassination attempt on the PCs for the Skinsaw Murders.
Now not only do the PCs have an army of giants and trolls at their fledgling nation's doorstep, they'll be neck deep in the skinsaw murder mystery and realize something much bigger is going on. (The awakening of Karzog). Xanesha seemed to trying to start communicating with someone near Varnhold. (Right when reports from Varnhold stop coming through.)
The Skinsaw Cult shows up as one of the intermediaries and it is discovered that Ironbriar tipped off House Surtova about the true nature of the expedition and Rostland and Issia mobilize for war.
Houses reveal their alliances and the PCs are caught in the middle of a civil war, a monstrous army on marching toward their kingdom, and the awakening of an ancient Runelord. Very Game Of Throne's, no? :)
Thanks for reading that wall of text and I appreciate any and all input to improve my ideas and make this PbP game amazing. Better than DM Barcas and DM Alexander Kilcoyne games-tier. :)
Special Thanks
I just wanted to thank Greycloak of Bowness for his amazing campaign journal, Dudemeister, Alexander Kilcoyne, Nethys, and everyone else whose ideas and hardwork I've stolen or will be stealing as I plan out this game.
you've really given this some thought.
How do you plan on...hmm.. one sec.
how do you plan on handling King Ironvetti and will you include Briar? will Vordakai be a lich pawn of the Runelords or a wild card?
Uhh, thanks I suppose! I think we can talk openly without spoilers.
My original thoughts would be Vordakai to be a once-pawn to Karzog but is unknown of his master's preparations for arrival. Xanesha contacting him would give him some clues. I'm also thinking about leading the PCs at that point to the Skywatch observatory and solve some mysteries around there, fight some crazy scary space monsters/Leng and deal with ancient magic. Karzog's minions could have activated the ancient observatory for its power to bring him back.
Pitax and King Ionvetti would be very interesting. I'm right now picturing him a wildcard to game of thrones happening in the region. His megalomania would mean he'd love to conquest. Perhaps Issia could spur him to attack the PCs or the PCs kingdom use him as a buffer kingdom against Issia. Briar will not be included in the game since I'm leaving most of the First-World stuff behind and any strange plane happening will be relating to Leng/Deep-space Lovecraft stuff.
I'm also considering other allies the PCs could appeal to or could make an appearance in my game:
Hellknights/Cheliax Intelligence Agency members (the ones who are prolonging the red revolution in Galt), Numerian agents could be spurred into this after promises of Leng and other space/strange technology, and the other cities of the Stolen Lands.
As far as the mechanics of the game goes, I'm thinking 6 players, 15 point buy, Core and APG. UM/UC stuff will be available upon a case-by-case basis. If I didn't have enough preparations, I'm also going to research the feasibility of playing an E8 kind of game.
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Uhh, thanks I suppose! I think we can talk openly without spoilers.
My original thoughts would be Vordakai to be a once-pawn to Karzog but is unknown of his master's preparations for arrival. Xanesha contacting him would give him some clues. I'm also thinking about leading the PCs at that point to the Skywatch observatory and solve some mysteries around there, fight some crazy scary space monsters/Leng and deal with ancient magic. Karzog's minions could have activated the ancient observatory for its power to bring him back.
Pitax and King Ionvetti would be very interesting. I'm right now picturing him a wildcard to game of thrones happening in the region. His megalomania would mean he'd love to conquest. Perhaps Issia could spur him to attack the PCs or the PCs kingdom use him as a buffer kingdom against Issia. Briar will not be included in the game since I'm leaving most of the First-World stuff behind and any strange plane happening will be relating to Leng/Deep-space Lovecraft stuff.
I'm also considering other allies the PCs could appeal to or could make an appearance in my game:
Hellknights/Cheliax Intelligence Agency members (the ones who are prolonging the red revolution in Galt), Numerian agents could be spurred into this after promises of Leng and other space/strange technology, and the other cities of the Stolen Lands.As far as the mechanics of the game goes, I'm thinking 6 players, 15 point buy, Core and APG. UM/UC stuff will be available upon a case-by-case basis. If I didn't have enough preparations, I'm also going to research the feasibility of playing an E8 kind of game.
It sounds interesting keep us posted--- I've kept most of the story intact for my group I just adjusted for their background stories and actually expanded quite a bit.
I'll definitely keep this updated when I get the game going. Right now I'm waiting to get more input and working out the NPCs, speeches, and fun competitions at the wedding.
I'm definitely having the Graul's manor in this game somewhere.
Maybe during the skirmishes to keep the troll army back, the PCs kingdom will get word of a hideous brute squad ransacking outskirts/farms. They are known for humiliating prisoners before gnawing their legs off or leaving them to fates worse than that.
The recruitment thread is coming along nicely. I'll be choosing the (un)lucky six this sunday. Its going to be difficult choosing only 6. I'm very happy with the selection pool. To get everyone a better idea of some recent events in Brevoy, I've been doing some newspaper articles about banditry, a couple character backstory events, the weather, politics, the expedition and the wedding itself.
I think I'll begin the game with "you may kiss the bride."
Weddings bells will begin ringing and I'll have the games set up all around for the afternoon and a joust to watch. There are so many great games in various journals and on-going games to use. I'll make sure to have plenty of individual games and cooperative games. Free lunch will be followed by a ceremony for the members of the expeditions followed lastly by the joust. I'm thinking the attack will happen as the horns sound for the first joust.
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The recruitment thread is coming along nicely. I'll be choosing the (un)lucky six this sunday. Its going to be difficult choosing only 6. I'm very happy with the selection pool. To get everyone a better idea of some recent events in Brevoy, I've been doing some newspaper articles about banditry, a couple character backstory events, the weather, politics, the expedition and the wedding itself.
I think I'll begin the game with "you may kiss the bride."
Weddings bells will begin ringing and I'll have the games set up all around for the afternoon and a joust to watch. There are so many great games in various journals and on-going games to use. I'll make sure to have plenty of individual games and cooperative games. Free lunch will be followed by a ceremony for the members of the expeditions followed lastly by the joust. I'm thinking the attack will happen as the horns sound for the first joust.
Keep us posted.
I'm planning on keeping this thread updated as the game goes on. I'll keep posting when I have ideas and thoughts and I will journal my groups progress and make entries about the successes and pitfalls of my planning and preparations when appropriate.
If anyone has any ideas, comments, thoughts or suggestions about anything let me know! I'm very open to ideas and suggestions.
After I select my group, I'll post a compilation of all the Restov Times articles in here.
Well I just discovered The Fanged Legion. I'll be thinking about how they will play a role into my campaign all day today. Right now, I'm seeing them as wildcard in the civil war. Their primary purpose of finding the rightful Rogravia heir puts them at direct odds with Issia, but they want land themselves in the Stolen Lands and rule (especially their Arch-Druid). This puts their Rostland in a tricky place. I think Rostland, if allied with the PCs, will be torn between supporting the PCs kingdom or not paying the Fanged Legion for their services against Issia.
Right now, I'm thinking more about Choral the Conquerer and how he was an ancient Red Wyrm. This means I'm basically re-writing Karzog and what it means to be a runelord... but basically Karzog and Choral are the names of the Ancient Red Wyrm that is the symbol of House Rogravia. Choral being the sword and Karzog being the spells, naturally. I'd have A LOT of thinking to do about this but this sounds so awesome. I think an artifact.. maybe even something involving Leng was found in Iobaria by some barbarian who was able to channel Karzog/Choral's might and founded Brevoy.. but something made it so Karzog/Choral sucked his entire line back to Leng with them...
Perhaps the Fanged Legion discovered another artifact in a raid in Iobaria during the campaign and no works with the Skinsaw men/Xanesha/Vordakai or something...
I'm not sure where I'm going with this but I am definitely excited about having a great Two headed ancient red wyrm BBEG for my entire campaign. :)
1st of Lamashan of the year 4709
NEW TRADE ROUTES CONFIRMED IN THE WORKS THROUGH THE STOLEN LANDS
The latest talks between Restov and the Capital have given insight into the plans going into re-opening the old traderoutes in the Stolen Lands. Exploration groups are being assembled by the Swordlords with the final permissions being granted by our wonderful king to quell banditry and re-open the lost routes and pacify the region. Many will be eager to hear about their exploits and settle in this new region.
26th of Lamashan of the year 4709
*EXCLUSIVE* Orlovskys to marry Aldori Daughter
Sources from Mt. Veshka tell us those "high above" decided to come down from their perches to good old Restov looking to marry off their boy Gregan to Peitros Aldori's only daughter. Many thought this to be a possiblity after the several Orlosky visits to the southern Free City of Restov the past months during lulls in the exploration talks...Peitros promises a "wonderful and extravagant" ceremony and reception for his daughter... Rumors talk of these explorers being present for special ceremony after the wedding...
28th of Lamashan of the year 4709
Bandits growing bolder
Sources from the south report more and more organized banditry in the region. The elusive Bruthazmus struck and killed several farmers and traders on their way to the city of Pitax in the River Kingdoms. The caravan got through, but their tactics proved lethal to over half of the guard. His particular hatred of elves shown through with the deaths of an elven father and mother. Rumors are rising that the upcoming elven ranger, Shalelu, counts her parents were among the dead...
5th of Kuthona of the year 4709
THE COLD FREEZES PLANS FOR TRADE ROUTES
Rumors from the capital say the king is halting plans for exploring the Stolen Lands. The recent social unrests have lead him to be suspicious of the motivations of these trade routes...
7th of Abadius of the year 4710
STOLEN LAND PACIFICATION UNTHAWED
Talks resumed after the holiday break concerning the pacification of the Stolen Lands. It is unclear what got through to our wonderful king, but the orginal explorers are to be chartered by Justice Ironbriar of Restov, with permission of the King, to explore the Greenbelt. This is definitely good news for Peitros and the Orlovskys as their wedding draws closer!....The particularly harsh winter going on will no doubt bring increased banditry to Southern Brevoy when the thaws come may have something to do with the king's decision. We'll have to wait and see. In the mean time stay warm everyone!
2nd of Pharast of the year 4710
GREGAN ORLOVSKY SAVED BY BASTARD. NEW TATTOO LINKED TO BRIGANDRY?
Yes that's right. This groom to be of House Orlovsky was on his way to New Stetvan on business when his convoy came under attack by a well organized band marauders. Without any thought to his own saftey, Bregan Stone, bastard of the lands of House Orlovsky, took the killing bolt himself. Bartalk says that he may be the newest accepted member to the Greenbelt expeditionary group. Magistrate Ironbriar has no comment on the matter at this time.
Several of the assailants had that upcoming seven symbol tattoo. As you can recall from our lengthy investigation last month, criminalogists, doctors, priests, and arcanists who were "experts" agreed it is merely an ancient symbol for good luck. Upcoming Surtovan physician Bennedict Darcy said, "No one knows why these things become popular. Those unscrupulous types think it helps them win games of chance! To say everyone is a part of some gang is rediculous and scientifically unfounded."
4th of Gozran of the year 4710
ANOTHER CLOSE CALL FOR ORLOVSKYS AT THE ICREBREAK FESTIVAL
Vitaly Orlovsky could fare to loose a few pounds after he crashed through the weakening ice flows during this year's Ice-Break Festival. He was saved by a curious girl named Valeska. For her kind deed, she was invited to head south for Gregan's wedding. Lucky her!
The 17th of Erastus
Wedding Festival Already Spurring Economy
In these troubled times, our King has assured everyone he has plans to keep the country together, safe, and a chicken in every pot. Although a lot of his economic plans may take time to reach fruition, progress is already being seen in Restov and the nearby areas as the surge of guests for Gregan and Syra's wedding make their way to the upcoming event of the season. After the ceremony in the Chapel of the Great Dreamer, the afternoon festivities include a wonderful cornucopia of foods from vendors from all around. Many of them have gotten together and are hosting a friendly competition for who has the best dish. The cooks won't be the only ones having a round of friendly competition on this joyous occasion, though. To keep with Rostland tradition, Peitros Aldori, with the assistance of several merchants of Restov, will be providing plenty of games and challenges for those looking for prizes and bragging rights. Rumor has it that music will be provided by the popular dwarven musical troupe from Druma, "The Rolling Stones."
Recruitment is over! I found my six.
Cast of Characters
- Ser Bregan Stone - A sword for hire who incidentally became a hero after taking a crossbow bolt intended for the groom as he tried to run away. His reward for his bravery is to join the Greenbelt Expedition team.
- Areanna Dilante - The daughter of an elven diplomat, she is a minor celebrity in New Stetven and a good shot with a bow. Too bad her finer elven tastes are lost on most of the hard, simple people of Rostland.
- Ravens - Stable/Raven-Roost boy of Peitros Aldori, the father of the bride. He is still in love with the bride.
- Valeska - Half-Elf gal from the northern territories of Orlovsky land. Her life was changed after a visit from a talking raven and after she rescued the cousin of the groom from an thin-ice accident. She knows she has a destiny but she doesn't know what it is as well as knowing she has a fantasized and heroic Elven father but she never met him nor did her mom talk about him (She'll be in for a surprise when she finds out it is Justice Ironbriar! >:D).
- Tiomir- An old gnome professor from Magnimar made the long journey over to Brevoy after his continuous fascination with the land and its people with his loyal dog-like eidolon, Rufus.
- Vishoon - A half-orc inquisitor from the harsh Issian north. His tribe was wiped out and a priest of Lamashtu gave him the list of those responsible. He pays homage to the mother of beasts as he seeks revenge.
Ok I think I have a working chain of events that ties Choral to Karzoug.
Choral the Conquerer was an Iobarian warlord who happened to find an ancient, ornate metorite gemstone-socketed glove of considerable power. It is a goregous relic of solid gold with a dragon with two heads on it. This ancient tool is what gave him the power to control red dragons and claim Brevoy. He sensed its use was channeling power from somewhere and after he used it on Skywatch, his suspiscions were confirmed as on that day, it awoke the original owner of the device who still has the other glove. Karzoug, the Runelord of Greed and twin headed ancient red wyrm is preparing for his return to Golarion.
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This sounds like fun. I know I'm not running KM until next year, but I'm keeping my eyes open for ways to integrate a bit more with politics "back home."
I take it the wedding scene is taken from RotRL? I don't have that AP, so I need to ask.
No, the original RotRL #1 event was a religious festival celebrating the opening of a new temple on a day holy to one of the deities of the temple (Desna). It was called the Swallowtail festival. But really you can use the scene with any celebration type event easily.
I'd run this very similarly to the Swallowtail Festival opening of RotRL with plenty of games, competitions and contests. This would let me introduce lots of high level NPCs from several different houses and swordlords. In addition, the families of the bride and groom will be showcasing their soon-to-be-explorers. Including a group destined for the Greenbelt.
Thank you for clarifying that for me redcelt32, your use of Game of Thrones/The Wedding Knight definitely helped inspire this game. so thanks for that!
We are currently running through the games. Everyone is having a good time, I think. I'm introducing some soon-to-be dead and not characters. I still have to figure out who I want dead and who I want alive after the smoke clears this festival evening....
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Ah sorry, was clarifying for Lee, who I thought assumed he needed Burnt Offerings for info on the wedding. Just wanted him to realize that most of the wedding info was probably yours and not in a published source :)
Sounds like you are going to have an awesome game using your blending of my two favorite APs and mixing in ASOIAF :)
No need to be sorry! Thanks for explaining that to him!
Thank you. That's what I'm hoping too!
Well the game has begun and we are currently working our way through the bandit attack.
The game started out with the "You may kiss the bride."
Great amounts of cheering is had right after the wedding ceremony. Peitros Aldori, Captain Hemlock, and Father Zantus all gave speeches and from then everyone was ready to either find people to talk to or play games.
Ser Bregan is nervous about the expedition and mainly moped around all morning. Valeska was running a harrowing tent, Tiomir and Rufus found and talked to the bride, Syra, Ravens was so upset over seeing Syra he couldn't bring himself to play any games. Ravens and Ser Bregan meet up and talk about the Greenbelt. Ravens has a strong dislike for Ser Bregan and thinks he is a jerk. Curiously enough they find themselves meeting again in the stables not much later. Ravens looks for the head of stables to learn more of the Greenbelt while Ser Bregan was looking for his horse lucky to walk around. Vishoon has a lovely time catching a greased pig first try. Areanna tries her luck at an archery competition. She does very well against her friend/opponent Lionel. (a member of the Expedition to the Greenbelt called the Mithral Falcons).
He tries to brag to her how his family is nothing but amazing archers and proceeds to land one single arrow into the easiest to hit area of a cutout of a wyvern. Valeska talks to a gnome named Lord Parooh and about to get into a competition about who has the smartest raven familiar when Ravens shows up to the tent to hear his fortune.
Lunch was had and everyone loved the salmon by Ameiko. After lunch was a cermony honoring the future expeditions. Ser Bregan catches up with another member of his doomed expedition (Shelaina is a red-robed sorcereress). He catches up to her praying in the chapel.
Vishoon destroys the Ogre Smasher strength game with a natural 20 destroying the machine and granting him a bonus on intimidate checks. (which will come in handy later). He also earned a voucher for a free weapon or armor upgrade.
Ravens' fortune is told by Valeska who predicted a great tragedy to befall today. Ravens confesses his love of Syra and Valeska told him that in this trajedy there will be a new hope for him. Ravens interprets this as something awful happening and possibly Syra having feelings for Ravens.
Simultaneously as Ravens/Valeska are discovering a great and terrible omen, 2 guards come into the chapel where Ser Bregan and Shelaina were talking asking Ser Bregan to leave and go to the joust at once. Suspecting nothing to be wrong, he leaves but hears, as the door closes and locks, the sound of unsheathing steel. He demands the door to be opened and the other guard (who is stationed outside) refuses.
Ravens left to find Syra in hopes that she'll confess her love for him. He thinks she might be at the chapel. He comes up to the chapel to see Ser Bregan run the guard through with his bastard sword.
Around this same time, a trumpet blares for the start of the joust. Peitros comes up on stage and declares something but is interrupted by another horn and thunder as well as an arrow landing near him. Bandits have scaled the walls and are killing men women and children near the jousting area. Some guards turn out to be bandits in disguise and also are mercilessly killing innocents.
Ravens is shocked and is commanded by Ser Bregan to call the guards which he does. He also approaches and stabilizes the dying guard. Ser Bregan crashes through a stained glass window into the chapel to find the guard raping Shelaina. The crash alerted him so he stops and holds her hostage via a dagger.
Ser Bregan charges the hostage taker and slices his hamstring of one of his legs taking the hostage taker down to disabled condition. They do not know that the hostage taker as already sealed the fate of Shelaina with a stab wound in her chest in the shape of the 7 pointed star. (Foreshadowing of the murders in Skinsaw).
Back at the jousts, Vishoon intimidated a nobleman into giving him a longsword (thanks to his bonus). Areanna who is next to him has no such luck in finding a bow to use. She spots a loaded light crossbow nearby however. Rufus leapt at a guard who just decapitated a nobleman while Valeska defensively puts up obscurring mist over where she was seated to help protect innocents.
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Well the game has begun and we are currently working our way through the bandit attack.
The game started out with the "You may kiss the bride."
Great amounts of cheering is had right after the wedding ceremony. Peitros Aldori, Captain Hemlock, and Father Zantus all gave speeches and from then everyone was ready to either find people to talk to or play games.
Ser Bregan is nervous about the expedition and mainly moped around all morning. Valeska was running a harrowing tent, Tiomir and Rufus found and talked to the bride, Syra, Ravens was so upset over seeing Syra he couldn't bring himself to play any games. Ravens and Ser Bregan meet up and talk about the Greenbelt. Ravens has a strong dislike for Ser Bregan and thinks he is a jerk. Curiously enough they find themselves meeting again in the stables not much later. Ravens looks for the head of stables to learn more of the Greenbelt while Ser Bregan was looking for his horse lucky to walk around. Vishoon has a lovely time catching a greased pig first try. Areanna tries her luck at an archery competition. She does very well against her friend/opponent Lionel. (a member of the Expedition to the Greenbelt called the Mithral Falcons).
He tries to brag to her how his family is nothing but amazing archers and proceeds to land one single arrow into the easiest to hit area of a cutout of a wyvern. Valeska talks to a gnome named Lord Parooh and about to get into a competition about who has the smartest raven familiar when Ravens shows up to the tent to hear his fortune.Lunch was had and everyone loved the salmon by Ameiko. After lunch was a cermony honoring the future expeditions. Ser Bregan catches up with another member of his doomed expedition (Shelaina is a red-robed sorcereress). He catches up to her praying in the chapel.
Vishoon destroys the Ogre Smasher strength game with a natural 20 destroying the machine and granting him a bonus on intimidate checks. (which will come in handy later). He also earned a voucher for a free weapon or armor...
Great start to the story!
It's too bad this thread came up when I was on vacation. I look forward to seeing what you come up with! I'm sure I can contribute to the brainstorming as well. My Kingmaker game has a lot of political intrigue as well, though it's more focused on the six Houses jockeying for power and alliances.
Lebeda and Garess are pretty tightly allied in my game, with Orlovsky sort of more loosely on their side. The others are under House Surtova. (There's a link in my alias that gives the political circumstances at the start of the campaign.)
My heart skipped a beat when I saw you posting here Barcas! Thanks for putting your hat into the brainstorming. I read over your post and loved it. I'd rather not re-invent the wheel where I can so I'll just tweak what you have if you don't mind Barcas.
House Surtova took control of Brevoy in 4699 when everyone in House Rogarvia mysteriously disappeared, basing their claim to power from the marriage of a Surtovan princess to Choral the Conquerer. Their house is led by the young King Noleski Surtova, who took the regency following the death of his father in 4707. He is not married; his choice of bride may prove the final piece in causing or preventing civil war. His sister Natala Surtova wields quite a bit of power and will surely have a deciding role on who her brother marries. His brother Thamas Surtova married young and has already produced two young sons, providing another avenue for Surtova to maintain control if Noleski were to die. The King has been pushing for the other Houses to recognize him as a true regent rather than a steward waiting for House Rogarvia to return. This has been the primary source of friction between Surtova and the southern houses, as they fear that such a concession will give him the ability to demand a greater share of their produced goods and food in order to enrich Issia.
This is perfect.
House Lodovka is Surtova's strongest ally. They primarily control the trade routes in the Lake to the north, as well as its fishing areas. With their navy controlling the Lake, Surtova can turn all its attention to the south in the event of a war. They are led by Lord Kozek Lodovka, who has probably spent more of his life on the sea than on the land. His adult children, Sergei and Nadia, have ambitiously courted an alliance with Surtova. Nadia, who is quite beautiful if cold and ruthless, is one of the rumored potential brides for the King. Sergei has been trying to woo Natala as a backup plan.
Perfect too. I'm keeping this as is.
House Garess has turned to House Surtova in the last decade as it tries to maintain its strength, though it still maintains good relations with the Rostland Houses. Previously engaged in heavy trade with the dwarves of the Hold of Golushkin before their mysterious retreat deep into their keep in 4700, House Garess lost quite a bit of income in the years following. This, along with the only heir to Lord Howlan Garess being his adopted dwarven son, Toval Golka-Garess, has caused quite a bit of jockeying for position amongst the minor nobles of the House. If something were to happen to Lord Howlan, they may choose not to honor the adoption, causing a succession crisis that could easily spark military attention from the other Houses. The potential ore in the mountains, currently inaccessible because of Garess' reluctance to allow a foreign House's investment in the mines for fear that they might invade or attempt a coup, makes their land quite the potential target.
I like this too. I think I will add to it though. House Garess hasn't fully turned to House Surtova to insure their claim over their lands. Everything what you said is true, but I think they might also have been feeling out how Orlovsky and Lebeda to just to make sure their name and mines are heard and could be available for resources if war broke out.
House Lebeda leads the Rostlandic bloc of Houses, pushing hard against the King's attempts to secure Surtova's power. The leader of the House, Lord Oleksandro Lebeda, proudly refuses to acknowledge Noleski as a true King. His wife, Lady Sarrona Lebeda and he have three children: the beautiful and charming Elanna, who is rumored to have captured King Noleski's heart despite the objections of his sister, Jemini, who recently led an expedition into the Stolen Lands, and Lander, who is almost old enough to join in the family business of ruling. The House's primary concern is the ability of their merchants to do trade, making them the richest of the Houses, though with the least amount of self-produced manufactured goods. Their farms are among the most prosperous in the nation.
I like this. For me, Jemini is a member of the Iron Wraiths.
House Medyved is strongly allied with House Lebeda, though the inhospitable Gronzi Forest makes most of its lands either along Lake Reykal or the Icerimb Peaks. While they produce hearty soldiers, they produce little else of use. Their leader, Lord Gurev Medvyed, is beginning to show his age. His only son, Ivahn Medvyed, shows great strength as a warrior but little aptitude as a politician.
Medyved is as you described, but I don't see them taking sides and more a wild-card. I sort of see them as some sort of hybrid of House Frey and House Martell from A Song of Ice and Fire. They have plenty of children but they keep to themselves mostly and are a little odd with their connections to the older ways of the world and their connection with the forest. When spurned to action though, the strength and size of their host could just be the deciding factor should war breakout.
House Orlovsky is nominally allied with House Lebeda, though it is mostly a measure of convenience. Their leader, Lord Poul Orlovsky, holds clear ambition to rule Brevoy himself, a matter of great friction between him and Lord Lebeda. Neither of them wants to see King Noleski gain any more power than he already has, and thus continue to work together. House Orlovsky provides the most well-trained troops in the greatest numbers, something that the other Houses do not fail to recognize.
This might be where I have to make the biggest changes.
Lord Poul Orlovsky is considering ruling but I'm not sure about the ambition part. He is a very honorful fellow who believes that House Rogravia, although no heirs are found at this time, are the true rulers. He thinks House Surtova is nothing but a bunch of scheming scum that do not deserve being King, and feels the time to be above conflict has come to an end. Orlovsky's troops aren't the biggest sized army but possibly the best trained. Thier lands and hills make their castles and positions easily defended. (I'm imagining their lands similar to the Vale and the Eyrie but with less banditry.) He isn't ready to openly declare defiance to King Surtova, but Poul arranged the marriage between Gregan, his son, and the daughter of a reputable swordlord of Restov to help influence this other wild-card should he be forced to play his hand. He knows his lands are technically Issian but the Surtovas have gone too far.
In my game there are three (possibly four if you include House Garess) wildcards.
Restov is the Free City. They are predisposped to Rostland and even some of the Swordlords, like Lord Peitros Aldori, are already telegraphing their allegiances publicly but the Surtovas are a crafty lot and Restov could very well be able to "recognize the errors of their ways" and realize House Surtova should be the true rulers of Brevoy. They have many agents at work in the city.
House Medyved has already been talked about. Regardless of the plotting and war they believe they'll persevere like they always have through anything. If they can be convinced to action they will be very valuable.
The Fanged Legion is the final wild card. They are a band of mercenaries who are actively looking for a true Rogravian heir. Thusly, they hate the Surtovas and their claims for legitimacy. They could be persuaded to side with the Surtovas if they, say, had found a heir before them and keeping him hostage... or possibly just outright extravagantly pay them. The Fanged Legion has fallen apart and quite destitute since the vanishing and could use the gold and rise in status.
I think Karzoug really could care less about the politics right now. At most, he would be pleased to see the greed and ambition for power in the Surtovas for claiming to be king. Too bad their greed is directed at his greed which means they must be destroyed... assuming the PCs and other houses don't destroy Karzoug and/or House Surtova first.
I wonder what happened to that Talon of Leng that Choral had. After his line vanished (assuming his line vanished to Leng where they are fortunate to just be food to the denziens of that place or tourtured/twisted into minions of Karzoug if not). Maybe Karzoug has it.. maybe someone else has it. Hmm...
I like mixing campaigns. I don't have ROTRL, so I can't add much from them. I do like what I see so far, especially about Choral and the Runelord.
Jemini is one of my PCs in my game, as is the thought-to-be-dead son of Poul Orlovsky. (They don't know it yet, but Poul is a real bastard whose hunger or power is quite ruthless. I changed him so that I can really turn the screw on Zander at some later point.)
Oooh I like that. Maybe Poul is actually greedier than even I suspected. He's just ultra good at hiding it. So good that he fooled even me! haha.
None of my characters actually have ties directly to any of the noble houses but most are affiliated or neutral. I need NPCs from different houses so Jemini Lebada is part of the Iron Wraiths and would work. :)
Poul will have more than one son. This is known. Gregan wasn't the first son but right now I don't know how many he has. Gregan and Syra known each other for a while and the fact they are getting married was mostly arranged to help keep Peitros Aldori aligned with House Orlovsky (or is it the other way around? >:] ) as they would very much like new allies in the River Kingdoms/Stolen Lands is quite a surprise. Too bad the Surtovas knew. Maybe even those who are getting Karzoug back knew too and they are just playing both sides to weaken both armies for Karzoug's glorious return.
Perhaps Justice Ironbriar, one of House Surtova's best affiliates in Restov, helped give information about the expeditions to the Surtovas as well as the reasons behind the wedding (also helped with hiring the Stag Lord/Bruthazmus to stage the attack). At the same time, he was playing the Rostlanders by making sure their expeditions are approved because he needs to awake Vordakai but isn't sure where he is. Also, the backlash of disturbing an evil cyclopian lich is something he would rather not personally feel.
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Oooh I like that. Maybe Poul is actually greedier than even I suspected. He's just ultra good at hiding it. So good that he fooled even me! haha.
None of my characters actually have ties directly to any of the noble houses but most are affiliated or neutral. I need NPCs from different houses so Jemini Lebada is part of the Iron Wraiths and would work. :)
Poul will have more than one son. This is known. Gregan wasn't the first son but right now I don't know how many he has. Gregan and Syra known each other for a while and the fact they are getting married was mostly arranged to help keep Peitros Aldori aligned with House Orlovsky (or is it the other way around? >:] ) as they would very much like new allies in the River Kingdoms/Stolen Lands is quite a surprise. Too bad the Surtovas knew. Maybe even those who are getting Karzoug back knew too and they are just playing both sides to weaken both armies for Karzoug's glorious return.
Perhaps Justice Ironbriar, one of House Surtova's best affiliates in Restov, helped give information about the expeditions to the Surtovas as well as the reasons behind the wedding (also helped with hiring the Stag Lord/Bruthazmus to stage the attack). At the same time, he was playing the Rostlanders by making sure their expeditions are approved because he needs to awake Vordakai but isn't sure where he is. Also, the backlash of disturbing an evil cyclopian lich is something he would rather not personally feel.
I don't do political mayhem very well -- so I'm enjoying this a lot.
A lot of political mayhem goes on behind the scenes of the PCs, which makes things a little easier.
More campaign updates
Ser Bregan's "speak once then charge him with a bastard sword" style diplomacy meant the guard sucessfully was slain. Unfortunately as he was at 0-hp, he sliced the neck of Shelaina who was bleeding out. Ravens BOLTED to her side as Ser Bregan slew the guard by slicing off his head. Ravens tried and tried saving her and stopping the bleeding and saves her just in time. He thought she was dead, but he felt a strange calling that she was alive. Just barely. (She will be in a coma for a long time.) Ser Bregan did not help and decided to slay the guard Ravens saved earlier outside the door and whistle for his mount. Ravens made sure Shelaina was resting safely as he rushed out and got on the back of the horse with Ser Bregan. They darted to the sounds of combat raging down near the jousting area.
While they were rushing down to join their comrades, combat rages on.
Tiomir's eidolon leaped into combat and ripped the leg of the guard he was fighting and goes down. Vishoon invokes his goddess' might and rolls natural 20s like a champion with a longsword he wasn't even proficient with. (He didn't confirm either one, but still!). He gutted the guard and the body dropped between his feat in death. Areanna got stabbed in the leg by a guard after she picked up a heavy crossbow. She fired straight into the mouth of her attacker instantly killing him. It also reminded her of shooting the mouth of the wyvern earlier that day.
Valeska spots a crying child near the kid's dead mom in the mists and now she is carrying him while she prepares to cast sleep on one of the remaining guards.
Through Valeska's mists comes 2 men on a horse. Ravens swiftly dismounts and tries to throw a magic stone at the guard but misses. Ser Bregan rears his mount and commands the bandit to stand down. The guard was so intimidated and shaking when he went to swing at Ser Bregan's mount that the poor sap dropped his sword!
From here they'll be tempted to either check on the VIPs or stop a burning cart from catching some buildings on fire. Hopefully they choose the later. Then the final part will be saving Aldern. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I made Valeska save the child, but if Aldern takes a liking to Valeska... he'll offer to parent the child and they'll be in for another treat when it is time to run book 2 of RotRL.
The one piece of advice I can give you is to make your expectations known to your players that you want quality work. If they don't meet you expectations, gently let them know and try to help them achieve what you want. If you've picked the right players, you can get amazing results.
I guess I have to think about what exactly it is that I want from them then. Thanks Barcas.
I like what you've done so far. Post #35 (Ser Lionel being a schmuck) is a really good post. I want to hit him. One of the most challenging things about DMing is making NPCs who are interesting and memorable. I want to see your players interact with him, which is a good sign. That's a quality post, the sort of post that you ought to aspire to make all your posts like.
Your strongest poster is Ser Bregan, in my opinion. Ravens has a lot of potential, especially in connection to Bregan and Areanna. I recommend putting them in situations together to build their rapport and interactions. Dragging Vishoon, Valeska, and Tiomir (especially the former, as he seems somewhat disconnected in his posts) might take a bit more effort than the others. I find myself glazing over their posts, while taking the time and effort to really enjoy Bregan and Ravens.
If you trust you players, I recommend giving them the AC/saves of their enemy, so that they can write their own success/failure narrative. (This also has the benefit of speeding combat up.) However, if there's one thing I can't stand in my games, it's non-narrative cues. (See Post #116 or #155 for an example, where Vishoon lays out a block of OOC text.) Your players and you need to have a strong enough trust that they can do something like intimidate a weapon out of a noble's hand without waiting for you to tell them if they succeeded. You point this out in Post #124, so you're on the right track.
The rape was a little unexpected and gritty, as was the throat-slashing.
Well the plans didn't include rape, that was the NPC's choice. He got carried away by her beauty and couldn't let a body like that go to waste. These guys are bandits.. not trained assassins.
I, too, feel I need to include Tiomir more into the game the most. He seems the most disconnected right now and I understand... I just am at a loss right now to fix it.
I do trust my players (well some more than others) to handle not just crunching out attacks and using that info to make well illustrated posts. I think I'll try out giving them more stats of their enemies after this current encounter.
If you are up to the current part of the game, this entire showdown wasn't supposed to happen. I intended for the party to recognize that the bandits heard Ser Lionel coming and are hiding away in buildings, being quiet, and waiting to ambush Ser Lionel as he investigates the sounds of battle.
Ser Bregan led the idea that Ser Lionel is evil and I admit I'm making his word choice a little more ambiguous than I planned now. This will lead to an interesting friendly fire incident and possibly the death of Ser Lionel by Ser Bregan himself. In the OOC thread, Ser Bregan expected to find Ser Lionel dead in a pool of his own blood. What twist it will be if he becomes the scheduler of the appointment between Ser Lionel and that pool of his own blood.
Naturally, the bandits in the houses are not going to come out until both groups are good and bloodied. Why kill one group of defenders when you let them kill each other?! You don't have to be a trained assassin to know that. This incident could also help illustrate the utter shock of a betryal and attack like this could have in a setting like this. No one knows who your enemies are and sometimes mistakes are made.
I thank you again, Barcas, for your great insight. I very much appreciate the feedback you're giving me as I find my path and make this game a wonderful experience for the players, those reading along, and myself.
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Well the plans didn't include rape, that was the NPC's choice. He got carried away by her beauty and couldn't let a body like that go to waste. These guys are bandits.. not trained assassins.
I, too, feel I need to include Tiomir more into the game the most. He seems the most disconnected right now and I understand... I just am at a loss right now to fix it.
I do trust my players (well some more than others) to handle not just crunching out attacks and using that info to make well illustrated posts. I think I'll try out giving them more stats of their enemies after this current encounter.
If you are up to the current part of the game, this entire showdown wasn't supposed to happen. I intended for the party to recognize that the bandits heard Ser Lionel coming and are hiding away in buildings, being quiet, and waiting to ambush Ser Lionel as he investigates the sounds of battle.
Ser Bregan led the idea that Ser Lionel is evil and I admit I'm making his word choice a little more ambiguous than I planned now. This will lead to an interesting friendly fire incident and possibly the death of Ser Lionel by Ser Bregan himself. In the OOC thread, Ser Bregan expected to find Ser Lionel dead in a pool of his own blood. What twist it will be if he becomes the scheduler of the appointment between Ser Lionel and that pool of his own blood.
Naturally, the bandits in the houses are not going to come out until both groups are good and bloodied. Why kill one group of defenders when you let them kill each other?! You don't have to be a trained assassin to know that. This incident could also help illustrate the utter shock of a betryal and attack like this could have in a setting like this. No one knows who your enemies are and sometimes mistakes are made.
I thank you again, Barcas, for your great insight. I very much appreciate the feedback you're giving me as I find my path and make this game a wonderful experience for the players, those reading along, and myself.
Keep em coming!
Betrayal
The sound of Ser Lionel and his men coming into scene made the group scared. Figuring them for more traitors, the party spread out in order to ambush them. Unknown to them is that the real bandits still lie in wait inside the houses.
Areanna adeptly shoots a bandit on a rooftop she spotted hiding in wait. The bandit lets out a muffled yelp which Ser Lionel hears. His group begins to move forward as they investigate the sound.
Ser Bregan and Ravens proceeded to flank around to the north and swoop down on them. (The group is in the north-east of the map while Lionel's men approached from the south west.)
Vishoon stepped forward after saying a prayer to challenge the paladin.
Ser Lionel declares for him to stand down when to his side he spots Ser Bregan. Confused at seeing Ser Bregan, he assumes Ser Bregan is a traitor. I mean he already is a bastard.. it isn't that far of a leap to make for him. After Areanna shoots an arrow into one of Lionel's guards, Lionel's forces say screw it and ride out to the meet the party in attack formation. Ser Bregan and Ser Lionel clash as Ser Bregan hits on a natural 20. He also gets hit pretty hard by Ser Lionel's charging power attack. Lionel's smite fails and he curses Ser Bregan. (Who wastes a move action to detect evil if your friend gets shot?). Ser Bregan calls for him to stand down, but he does not. He died thinking he was defending the bridal party.
Personally, I'm kind of scared now about the rammifications of killing too many innocents. In a way, I could actually see everyone be banished to the Stolen Lands. Misguided in their attempts to defend, but still must be punished, they must go to the Stolen Lands and not return until they have dealt with the bandits. Brevoy will offer them no support...
If I do this, it will be hard to fit Aldern Foxglove into the mix.. he might still be discovered and maybe he could argue on behalf of the party.. hmmm... this might be even more interesting! I have lots to think about.
This was Raven's harrowing as rolled and spelled out by Valeska:
Tzerny lets out a caw and hops back on Valeska's shoulder, ruffles, and settles into his position.
Valeska takes the deck and turns over the first card: The Carnival. She rests a moment, inhaling deeply. "You saw something that wasn't there, lost in the translation. You found yourself with something you couldn't reasonably attain. But why would your dreams grow like this?"
Valeska turns over the second card: The Sickness. She touches the card a moment. "Strange in this position. You found your dream during a disease? No, this is a weakness, this is a moment of pain. It was though the weakness that the dream could flourish. What stood against you?"
Valeska reveals the third card: The Vision. She lets out a short breath in understanding. "Madness, of course. This love, it is like a fever, all consuming, threatening to rend you apart. It is rapacious, it consumes your health and dreams more suredly than any disease. But this is only the past. What brings you to this state, today?"
With a flourish, Valeska flips the fourth card: The Cyclone. Valeska sighs in compassion. "Oh, you poor man, tossed to and fro. You are here today, hope beyond hope, looking for that slightest bit of comfort, unwavering in your hope, knowing that there is something that can be done. There is something in the air. What might it be?"
Valeska feels for the fifth card, turning it face up. She gasps as The Hidden Truth is revealed. "There is something in the air. Everything before, that was just hopes and dreams... but just behind it all, there is indeed something more, something true your your dreams. Perhaps it was just false long ago, but that seed of love has germinated. But there's something even greater in the way..."
The sixth card is revealed: The Peacock. She nods. "Something ephemeral. Something beautiful, but only for a moment, and then it's gone. Something happening today..." Valeska inhales in shock. She whispers, "The wedding? Is that it? The... oh, dear, it's Syra, isn't it?"
Tzerny lets out a deep throated chuckle. "And now we're seeing the truth of the matter," he taunts.
"Quiet!" Valeska commands. "There is still the future to be read. We can't let our thoughts get in the way!" She calms herself down as she reads the seventh card: The Fiend. Valeska swallows in fear. "Calamity. Your hope is in calamity. If you take decisive action when evil strikes, that will be your salvation. But why? what's going on?"
Her hands tremble as she reaches for the eighth card. The future is always the hardest part of any reading, and she is always afraid of what it means... The Betrayal. "No..." Valeska pleads. "Something's wrong here. Something very wrong. Selfishness leads to ruin... Don't raise the calamity yourself, sir, it's already coming. What is it looking like?"
She practically ignores Ravens as she grabs the final card, nearly crushing it in her worry. She places it on the table: The Dance. "What?" Valeska shakes her head. "This is totally the wrong place for a card like this. Everything moving in perfect order, creating beauty... Or is it in the order that calamity is caused? Everyone acting in unison, shuffling toward disaster? Or is it..."
Just an idea- I don't know how I'm going to do it right now, but the Stag Lord will not be Bruthazmus. The Stag Lord will be Ser Lionel. I have to think of a story why he's undead(ish) and in the Stolen Lands now.. but I'm sure I'll think of something.
I prefer keeping them separate entities, as the Stag Lord represents the chaotic cruelty of survival of the fittest and might-makes-right. A corrupt noble is somewhat of a contrast, showing that civilization is simply a veneer for man's cruelty and greed. They might make good allies, or even rivals who are both looking for the upper hand in control of the Stolen Lands, something that the PCs get in the way of.
Again, I don't really know anything about Bruthazmus, so I can't speak as to his motivation/style. Perhaps Lionel and Bruthazmus can be one and the same?
Bruthazmus is a bugbear ranger from Rise of the Runelords AP-1 known for his rivalry with the elven ranger Shalelu. That's about it as far as motivation and style goes. Basically I re-skinned him to be a digraced human ranger who has a severe disdain for elves and half-elves and is the one who killed Shalelu's parents.
I think I'm going to hold off on Ser Lionel being the Stag Lord. I had an idea that would kind of work but the problem is that the Stag Lord needs to have a connection to Ironbriar and I'm not seeing how I can do that. If Ser Lionel were to be the Stag Lord, then Ironbriar had to convince Ser Lionel to lead the attack with the help of the bandits. At the same time, he had to be ignorant of any planned attack and logically be confused and angry enough to try and kill Ser Bregan.
Ironbriar convinced the Stag Lord (how?) that attacking the festival would be a sound plan. House Surtova keeps their hands relatively clean of interfering while Restov licks their wounds and still explore determined to root out the bandits. All the while secretly making it safe for Ironbriar to discover Vordakai.
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@Olondir, if your game were not a mashup, I would probably be stealing stuff straight up from you on a regular basis for my Kingmaker game. It's that good, so congrats! :)
@Doomcrow- I have been following your game thread as well, very cool, and I might lift the who Drelev/Natala concept for my game. It fits the style of my political landscape, where my players are always going OMG what?? as the landscape shifts 180 degrees with one poison vial, kidnapped noble, or betrayal at the worst possible time. If you haven't read/watched (reading is better by far) Game of Thrones by George RR Martin, I think it would inspire you to new heights of Brevoy noble treachery and twistiness. Its a great read/watch as well :)
I wish I could post my own game, except I'm not sure some of my players don't peek here from time to time.
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I would hope my players wouldn't peek in here and read spoilers, especially in regards to my campaign's content. If they did and I found out about it, frankly, they'd be done playing in my games. I run three separate groups (Kingmaker, Legacy of Fire and a homebrew PF game in Oathbound setting), with 16 separate players total, and I have no tolerance for those kinds of shenanigans.
So if you are looking at this, one of my players, cease, desist and forget what you're doing, and hope I don't discover this betrayal :)
Thanks DoomCrow and redcelt32!
I definitely recommend the Song of Ice and Fire series by George RR Martin with redcelt32. If you wanted to get a literally/television example of intrigue. If you do watch the show I must warn you that you will most likely not leave your chair for the total 10 hours of TV show.
I know I wasn't going to have a lot of fey influence in my game since I'll be dealing with Leng and didn't want too much planar dimension stuff, but that was before I listened to the Hazards of Love. The album has inspired me so much that I'll love to put it into my game somehow. Honestly- this song perfectly encapsulates (for me) how an evil fey behaves. The Queen's Rebuke I definitely need to get the Margreve when I get paid this weekend and see what I can use for those deep, dark, capricious forests of the Stolen Lands.
Orphan is raised by Fey-Queen. Orphan falls in love with human woman. Fey-Queen gets pissed. Fey-Queen hires a rake to abduct woman and take her away. Man rescues woman. Man and women die in a river.
Alas my players are still fighting fires and bandits during the Swallowtail Festival. Thanks to everyone's ideas here they have no idea what level of awesome they are in for. :)
Fireworks
After the party killed Ser Lionel, more fireworks came about causing more explosions and smoke. The bandits lying in wait became overwhelmed with smoke and the party helped them and placed them in the custody of the 3 knights remaining of Ser Lionel's party. While this was going on, a particularly nasty firework flew and blew up half a building. From underneath the rubble came an unscathed dwarf named Holbrecht. (Dwarven Rogue and replacement for the summoner).
Since then Holbrecht helped open the lock of the door to the barn that the bridal party used for their escape. Underneath the barn they found a portcullis and a tunnel system below it. (The beginning of the catacombs of wrath if the PCs wanted.) They heard footsteps and a man shouting as well as a dog. Aldern Foxglove came bolting down the corridor as his dog died to a retinue of skeletal constructs. 6 of these skeletons marched towards Aldern who pleaded with the group to get this portcullis up and save him. They successful spotted the secret opening mechanism and he slid under it just in time. The party did a few rounds of battle with the skeletal construct guardians but ultimately decided to jam the portcullis down and lock them in place behind it. The constructs did not pursue nor attempt to reactivate the portcullis since that is beyond their programming.
Valeska was the first to really pay attention to Aldern and thusly got Aldern's eye. He praises her for her beauty and caring nature. When he discovered she had a child he was a little upset thinking it was hers and there must be a father, but since he it is neither hers nor is she married he is fine. Hopefully Valeska will be persuaded to let the child 's custody go to Aldern who will raise the child. By that I mean raise the child into a ghoulish man eating undead monster that sings Valeska's lullabies when nearby. >:)
Ser Bregan was asked by Peitros to assemble a new team of Falcons since everyone but him is either missing, wounded, or a traitor. (Mishka, a member of the Falcons, is actually an agent working for Ironbriar who was helping the Stag Lord with positions/attack strategies in the days/weeks prior to the wedding.)