Lead Designer
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Last night was the first session of a new home campaign I am running, set in Golarion. One of the folks over on my fan page suggested I start a campaign journal over here to recount the action, which seemed like a good idea to me. Here is a recap of the first session.
Wing of Ruin Campaign, First Session Recap
So, the first session of my new campaign went quite well. The players started off on the morning of the first snow in the sleepy town of Crowstump, near the border with Lastwall in Nirmathas, on the shores of Lake Encarthan. Each character was greeted by an old friend from town, Narthar Polamin, a retired scholar, who asked them to meet him at the Wheel Hall, the local chambers for the town council.
Once there, they met with Nathar and Mayor Tyn, who informed them that they had a special task they wanted them to perform. To celebrate the first snow of the year, the town was planning to hold a great bonfire the following night, as they have done every year. This fire would be started with some Elder Tree branches, and wreathed in the flowers of the ghostberry bush, which only flowers in the snow. It was a secret tradition that each year, the town would pick a handful of its young folk to go on a small quest to retrieve these objects to start the celebration, and this year, that honor fell to them.
Packing up their things, the PCs left town at once and traveled to the small enclave of Eldeskar, on the edge of the nearby Silent Grove. This wild place is preserved by the elves of Eldeskar and is the only place that the rare Elder Tree branches might be found. Upon arriving, the PCs met with the enigmatic elves and spoke with the leader of the town, an elf who referred to himself only as "The First Voice". Giving him a gift from the people of Crowstump (a wooden puzzle box), the PCs were allowed entrance to the forest, but only to gather fallen branches. They were not to cut any down, nor were they to hunt or harm the animals, unless in self defense. Scouring the small wood, they soon found the ancient trees and began gathering branches, but they were interrupted by a feral boar, angry at them for intruding on its territory. Fortunately, the druid of the party calmed the beast before anyone was hurt and the fight was avoided.
Leaving the woods, the PCs ventured into the Whisper Hills to look for the Ghostberry flowers, but it was getting dark and they decided to camp. Ruin nearly fell upon them, because during their preparations, a pack of hungry wolves snuck up upon them, but the diviner in the party had just cast an alarm that alerted them to the attack. The rogue of the group scored first blood, skewering one of the wolves with a single slash of his rapier. In the end, the battle was fierce and many of the characters found themselves with terrible wounds, but they prevailed and the wolves were slain.
The next morning, the snow began to fall quite heavily, making the search for the pale flowers quite difficult, but the diviner remembered a gift from Nathar that helped them locate the elusive plants. Gathering up what they needed, the PCs rushed back to town, intent upon arriving in time for the evening bonfire.
After hours of hard march through heavy snow, the weather began to lighten just as the town came into view, but something was not right. The smoke coming from town was black, and flames leapt up from many of the buildings. The source of the destruction was soon made clear and a small group of orcs, part of a larger warband, rushed out of cover to attack the characters. Their leader, a vicious brute with a razor sharp axe, charged them with a howl dealing a terrible wound to the lumberjack, and fighter, of the group. While the untested cleric healed the wound, the fighter returned the favor, splitting the raging orc's skull. Dealing with the rest of the orcs, the PCs found an ominous leather badge pinned to their tattered cloaks, bearing the symbol of a local tribe, the Bloodclaws.
After dealing with the marauders, the characters rushed to town, only to find the battle all but over. The militia had routed the remaining invaders and were dealing with the wounded. Rushing to the home of their friend and mentor, they found the front door to Nathar's abode torn from its hinges. Of Nathar, their was no sign.
And thats where we ended it for the first week.
For more tidbits about the game and photos of the maps and handouts, head on over to my facebook page. More to come next week!
Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
I love the introductory setup for this with a group of PCs being rounded up by the town elders to help prepare for a winter festival celebration. It helps root the players in the setting and gives them a good sense of belonging to the community too.
I'm really eager to follow this one and see how you develop it.
I'm even more eager to see what's in the puzzle box.
I totally agree. Seems like the beginning of a potentially highly entertaining story.
In addition, it's nice to finally see orcs getting some mention. I really hope that orcs will maybe appear again some time later on or will even play a major role in this campaign.
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Wings of Ruin Campaign, Second Session Recap
At the end of the first session, the PCs returned to the town of Crowstump, after completing their errand to find it in flames, under attack by a large band of orcs. After dealing with some outriders from the group, the party returned to town only to find their friend, Nathar Polamin, missing.
At the start of last night's session, they were in Nathar's home, looking for clues as to his disappearance. They quickly learned that not only was Nathar missing, but so were a selection of books from his library. As many of them were friends of Nathar, they came to realize that the missing books were none other than his life's work, a series of hefty tomes detailing the life and times of all of the people living around the Lake Encarthan region. Other than the mess, there was little else to be learned in his house. Outside, they learned that the orcs came from the north, but left heading west, toward the Wood Road, leading up toward Sawteeth, a small logging community about a day away from Crowstump.
Assuming the worst, they rushed back into town to find Captain Westiron in charge of getting the town back into order. Little damage was done by the raid, and a few supplies were stolen, but Westiron was intent upon marshaling the militia to chase down the band, which fled back to the north. Upon learning of Nathar's disappearance from the PCs, Westiron was concerned, but also convinced that any orcs that fled west, were simply getting out of town before heading north to rejoin the main group. He asked the PCs to investigate the trail in the morning as a precaution, convinced that he would find them overnight as he pursued the main band.
Adowyn and Brother Cahill bristled at the thought of leaving their friend in the hands of orcs overnight, but in the end, they decided it was best to get some rest and not risk chasing orcs in the dark during a snowstorm.
In the morning, the group left town at first light, hoping to find the group of orcs that took Nathar, or at the very least, confirm that they group did indeed head north, meaning that Westiron was already in pursuit. After 3 hours of marching through the cold, the trail continued west before suddenly taking a turn to the south! Confused by this sudden shift, the PCs continued to follow the trail, off into the snow covered countryside. After another hour of travel, the group was making their way through a snow covered field, when the ground on either side erupted around them and they found themselves ambushed by a pair of orcs, dressed in white furs and leathers.
In the blink of an eye, Sirhan went down in a pool of blood, taking a vicious hit from one of the orcs, while Adowyn engaged the other attacker. While Brother Cahill restored Sirhan, the orc and Jean Paul traded terrible wounds with their axes. Meanwhile Adowyn and her loyal ape companion laid low the other orc. Sirhan skewered the orc from the ground, ending the fight. Looking through their belongings, they found something a bit odd. Both had a pouch with exactly six platinum pieces inside, a princely sum for a lowly orc. Stranger still, the platinum coins were of very old mint, of a kind not seen around here for hundreds of years.
After catching their breath, the group continued to follow the trail, leading eventually to a cave in the side of a snow-covered hill. Carefully, they ventured inside. At the bottom of a short set of steps, the group found a small chamber, and through their careful observation, they notices a trio of orcs lying in wait to ambush them. Sensing a chance, the PCs ambushed their would be ambushers, dealing with the trio rather quickly. Again, they found another trio of platinum coins, identical to the others.
Surveying the cave, they saw three exits. One was blocked off by a bunch of wooden boards, but they could hear dripping water from the other side. Another led to sounds that could perhaps be snoring or growling. A final passageway seemed quiet at first, but a careful ear detected the faint sound of conversation in the distance.
Hoping to ambush the snoring creatures, the PCs snuck down the path with Sirhan and Adowyn's companion leading the way to a chamber in which slept a pair of orcs. Fortunately, the ape noticed a pair of wolves resting in a nearby chamber and retreated from the attack before the group was spotted. After consideration, the group decided to instead make their way down the third path, toward the conversation. Alexander had previously detected faint conjuration magic from that path, so when the PCs ventured forth, they were puzzled to find another small chamber, with two exits, both leading down.
In the center of the room was a small pool of brackish yellow water, surrounded by limestone stalagmites. As the PCs approached, the water churned and boiled, and slowly rose from the pool, taking a vaguely humanoid shape. As it moved, drips of water fell from its form, hissing as they hit the floor. It advanced....
And that was the end of the second session.
Great scene with the winter-time ambush from the snow, very visually appealing!
How long do your sessions typically run?
Thanks for the answer, Jason. Looking forward to seeing the next session log!
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Lead Designer
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Wings of Ruin, Third Session Recap
(This was from last Monday and we did not play last night due to me being on the road at Winter Fantasy)
When we last left our heroes, they were exploring a cavern occupied by a group of orcs that had split from tge main force that attacked Crowstump and had taken the scholar Nathar with them.
Exploring a chamber with a brackish cistern, a terrible being made of acidic water rose up to challenge them. The creature struck Sirhan, wounding him with aweful acid burns. Jean Paul responded, slicing off a large part of the watery menace while Brother Cahill warded the warrior with the blessings of Iomedae, protecting him from evil. When the terror struck again, it found that it could not touch the warrior. Meanwhile, Adowyn healed Sirhan, whose nimble blade put and end to the acid creature, causing it to collapse into a puddle.
The fight was not over though, as the sounds of battle awoke the orcs in an earlier chamber, who joined the fray with their pet wolves. Adowyn's ape friend blocked the way, but paid the price, falling with serious wounds. Flying into a rage, Adowyn pinned one of the orcs to the wall with her spear. After the brief fight, the ape was saved, and the heroes got a chance to plan their next move.
Exploring the orc den, they found little of interest, including a refuse pit. They decided to press even deeper into the caves, down an unexplored passage. After traveling a way, Sirhan set off some sort of alarm. All hesitation flew from the heroes as they heard strange voices arguing in the distance, but one voice was clear. Adowyn's keen ears heard Nathar pleading "I dont know what you want" before being suddenly silenced. At the sound of his voice, the PCs raced down the passageway.
They arrived in a large chamber with a trio of orcs blocking their way to a rise on the far side. Atop the rock was a small figure, dressed in black with a golden crown atop its head, clutching a volume of Nathar's work. Behind this Black Master was the prone body of Nathar, unmoving.
The battle was desperate. The orcs were led by a brute, wielding a pair of bloodstained axes, and the robed figure cast some sort of sorcery that made his orc minions supernaturally quick. Both Sirhan and Jean Paul were dealt grave wounds by the axe wielding orc, while his kin engaged the others. In the end, Alexander entered the fray, spraying flame from his fingers in a bid to distract the orcs so that Adowyn's ape could strike, tearing the orc leader apart.
Up on the platform, the robed figure saw the battle turning, produced a scroll and vanished in a burst of smoke with Nathar and all of his work. Only burning scraps of parchment were left behind, drifting through the gloom.
Their friend more lost than ever, the heroes returned to Crowstump with the snow quietly covering their trail...
And that wrapped the third session. The next will be in two weeks.
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Lead Designer
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Wings of Ruin, Fourth Session Recap
After a tense battle with a group of orcs and their "Black Master", our heroes returned to Crowstump without Nathar, who vanished along with the mysterious villain. Being so close to retrieving their friend, only to have him slip through their fingers cast a pallor over the quiet journey.
Arriving back well after dusk, they quickly went to the Mayor Tyn's residence to report their findings. He was troubled by their report, but suggested that they get some rest, and he implored them to stop by his office in the morning to discuss matters further. Leaving the mayor's home, they went to the Barge Bilge, a local run-down watering hole to drown their sorrows.
The next morning, after selling off some of their loot from the orcs, the group wen to speak with the mayor. He informed them that the town was still having some troubles after the orc attack. With most of the militia out hunting the fleeing orc warband, he was terribly short staffed. A local merchant, and owner of the Quiet Glade Inn, had lost one of his oxen during the attack, and it fled to the south. Father Gorman, from the temple to Erastil, was concerned about a boy who was orphaned during the attack. Old man Osil, owner of the Emerald Gift, a local shop selling herbal remedies and odd curios, was asking all around town for a missing tracker who vanished the day of the attack. And finally, the owner of the grocer and general store was still trying to round up all her chickens after the orcs smashed the coop.
A missing ox, chicken running rampant over town, a troubled boy, and a wayward scout. The mayor explained that he was truly having troubles solving these problems without the local militia to help. Fortunately, the PCs offered to investigate some of these problems for him. They started off by paying a visit to Ilyira Blackleaf, the proprietor of the Forest Chest.
Ilyira's shop was a mess, but she greeted them kindly when they entered. "Im afraid Im fresh out of eggs, but everything else is available." They offered to help track down her chickens, but she waved them off, explaining that the chickens were not the problem. If they could not catch her only rooster, she was going to have troubles come spring. Chasing down one rooster seemed easy enough and the characters decided to spread out to look for the wayward bird. Alexander, wanting nothing to do with these chickens, went to Nathar's to do research on the scraps of parchment left behind by the vanishing villain and anything else he might learn about the Blood Claw orcs that were behind Nathar's abduction.
Leaving the shop, Adowyn's keen eyes spotted the rooster not two blocks away. Unfortunately, the rooster noted them too and took off running. It was a crafty bird and the chase was on!
Dodging under fences, over crates, past irrate bakers, the rooster got a sizable head start on the characters, who struggled getting past a garden wall to catch up with the bird. Eventually, it stopped at a fruit cart, pecking merrily away at a fallen apple, almost as if taunting the characters who were having trouble clearing obstacles to reach the crowd that had gathered around the large bird. Sirhan managed to leap across a number of gaps, bringing the rooster to within reach.
Drawing close, it took off again, breaking out into the countryside. Meanwhile, upon arriving at Nathar's, Alexander found there was a large hen sitting at the front door. Shooing away the bird, it wandered into the path of the oncoming rooster, with took note, crowing at the lovely hen before moving on. Racing across a ravine, the rooster encountered Adowyn's animal companion, her fierce and loyal ape. Undeterred, the rooster dodged the ape and ran off, right up to the edge of a ravine.
This is where its luck ran out. Bursting through the clearing, Jean Paul caught up to the rooster. It tried one last desperate attempt to flee, but it could not clear the ravine and Jean Paul used the flat of his axe to knock out the rooster.
Returning to the Forest Chest victorious, if a bit bedraggled from their chase, the heroes returned the rooster and were well rewarded by Ilyira, including some free gear from the shop and future considerations should they ever need goods.
At the end of the session.. they left the shop, seeing the rooster in its coop, staring at them with menace, while wondering what other simple errands they might run.
Jason, did you use the chase mechanics for the rooster chase? If so that is quite possibly one of the most hilarious uses for chases I've ever read.
Beautiful! I was skeptical about the chase deck myself when it was announced, but a player in my group purchased one, and it's been a great tool to use for spontaneous chases that I haven't accounted for ahead of time.
I'm loving the feel of this particular campaign. There's something very down-to-earth about it thus far. The characters all feel very much like ordinary heroes in extraordinary circumstances (all roosters aside).
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Lead Designer
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Wings of Ruin, Fifth Session Recap
After the dramatic chase for a wayward rooster, the group reunited to consider their options. There were still a number of troubles in town that needed investigation after the orc attack and with the militia out chasing down the warband, our heroes had their hands full.
Weighing the various problems, they decided to pay a visit to Father Gorman, the high priest at The Lodge, the local temple to Erastil. Made from an old log lodge, the timbers of which had been encouraged to grow into a living steeple with flowering pews. Meeting with the aged priest, they began to question his capabilities, having left a young boy on his own overnight after the loss of his only surviving parent during the attack. Daris is only seen 8 winters after all, but Father Gorman thought it best to give him some time to grieve before moving him to the temple to be properly looked after. Unfortunately, this morning, upon checking with the boy, he discovered him missing. The PCs agreed to investigate.
Making their way to the house, they found it vacant, but after a quick search of the yard and bedrooms, it was clear that he had not packed up and vacated, but instead was just missing. After talking to one of the boy's friends, they found that the kids often played in the local lighthouse, but that it was badly damaged by a fire during the attack.
Approaching the leaning structure they realized that much of the internal staircase had collapsed, most likely sometime after the fire. After much consideration and more than one attempt, they managed to scale the walls until they could reach the part of the stairs that were still intact. First Jean Paul, then the rest of the party. Meanwhile, Alexander scaled the outside of the tower, counting on his magic ring to protect him should he lose his grip. Arriving at the top, they found the lost boy, frightened and alone, not wanted to talk to anyone. After a few thrown rocks, they managed to calm the wayward youth, convincing him to return to the temple with them. Brother Cahill confessed to the boy that he too was an orphan and that it would get better over time. He even convinced him to look into a life of service with Iomedae, so that he might one day seek vengeance on the orcs that took his father from him. Returning the boy to the temple, Cahill agreed to visit the boy again in a week, to take him to talk with his fellow clerics.
That problem solved, the group decided to investigate a tracker that had gone missing in the woods north of town on the day of the attack. Speaking with "Old Man" Argos, the owner of a curiosity shop called the Emerald Gift, they learned from the irritable shopkeep that the scout was out gathering ingredients for him on the afternoon before the orcs attacked and had not returned. He asked them to find him and return the herbs if they found him. Curious to his intent, Adowyn discovered that the ingredients could be used for a potion of strength... or possibly virility depending on the formula. They ventured into the woods.
Scouting out the small forest to the north of town, they spent an hour wandering the game trails before coming upon the body of the tracker, pinned to a tree by a nasty orc spear. Unfortunately, there was also a bear in the clearing, investigating the corpse. The fight was brief, as Jean Paul's razor sharp axe struck true, taking the bear's head from its shoulders. Gathering up the herbs, they made their trek back to town.
With Crowstump just coming into sight, they heard a noise behind them in the forest, the sound of horses and their reigns. Taking cover with the body of the tracker, they found a trio of local militia looking ragged and exhausted making their way back to town. Approaching them, the group said they needed to report to the mayor as soon as possible, bearing news of the militia's chase.
After dealing with the tracker and a grateful shopkeep, the group rushed back to the mayor's house to hear the news. After convincing the mayor to allow them inside, they listed to the sergeant's tale. The militia tracked the orcs far to the north, loosing a few men in the forest near the border. The sergeant did not seem to have a reason for this, blaming it on desertion. Shortly thereafter, in the foothills beyond the wood, as the fog rolled in, the militia found themselves under attack by the orcs they were pursuing. The ambush caused chaos in the ranks. The militia was divided and confused. Although they could hear Captain Westiron barking orders, they could not manage to rally. The sergeant and his men found themselves divided from the main group and on the run. Eventually they made for home, after losing the group of orcs that was doggedly following them.
The fate of Captain Westiron and the rest of the militia... was unknown.
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Lead Designer
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Wings of Ruin, Sixth Session Recap
After escorting the wounded militiamen back to town, the PCs convince Mayor Tyn to let them hear the details of the ambush that scattered the group that was chasing down the orcs that had attacked the town only two days ago.
While the mayor discussed strategies with the guardsmen, the characters talked about what action they could take to help. After weighing the options, they offered to go investigate on their own, but the mayor was reticent to send such untested adventurers into such a dangerous situation. Brother Cahill, Sirhan, and Adowyn balked at the notion, concerned that this orc warband was now their only lead to tracking down their missing friend, the scholar Nathar.
Ultimately, the mayor relented, but only if the PCs agreed to a scouting mission to the field of battle, to learn of the final outcome, and to help any survivors if things had gone poorly. As it was already late, the PCs decided to head out in the morning, after meeting with the mayor who promised them mounts and supplies for the journey.
That night, while Brother Cahill and Alexander turned in for a good nights rest, the other members of the band went out for drinks at the Thirsty Owlbear, a popular local tavern. Inside, they found one of the militia members, drowning his sorrows. Deep into his cups, he mentioned that they had lost two members of their group to the Moss Wood itself, before ever encountering the orcs. They "just wandered off into the woods, with no reason, and never came back". Although they knew some tales of the old wood, nothing could account for this danger. Ultimately, they agreed to avoid the Moss Wood if they could.
Leaving the next morning, the group quickly made their way north, into the White Hills, so named for the chalky white stone that is so common in the area. As darkness fell, they found a place to camp under the overhang of an ancient stone portico, possibly leading into some long-forgotten crypt.
Brother Cahill was on first watch, after Alexander cast an alarm spell to warn them of any intruders in their camp. Keeping an eye on his sleeping companions, he noticed that the sealed door of the crypt contained, what he thought to be, the symbol of Iomedae. Investigating further, he brushed off the ages old dust and frost covering the door. Moments later it slid open.
Inside, Brother Cahill saw a number of figures, rising from crumbling stone biers, looking like holy supplicants, led by a high priest, possibly even an angel of Iomedae. Enrapt by their presence, he did not notice the alarm going off.
The rest of the party sprang from their beds, looking in horror upon the moldering skeletons shuffling out of the crypt toward an oblivious Brother Cahill. As the first of the undead monstrosities raked its claws across his face, the false vision ended and Brother Cahill reacted in horror and outrage. With fire and the wrath of Iomedae, most of the skeletons crumbled to ashes, but their leader remained, dressed in an tarnished silver breastplate, carrying a gleaming mithril sword. With skill in its boney hands, it struck out at Jean Paul, nearly putting him to the ground, but thanks to the coordinated efforts of the entire group, they managed to destroy the horror before it could drag any of them down into the grave with it.
Recovering from their wounds, they claimed the breastplate and gleaming longsword, with Brother Cahill claiming the beautiful weapon. In addition, they found a large diamond set into the back wall of the crypt, but it radiated an intense evil and powerful necromancy, so they thought it best to leave it be.. despite Sirhan's temptation to steal it in the night.
The next day, they continued their journey, arriving at the site of the battle in the late afternoon. A murder of crows swarmed the site, picking at the bodies of militiamen, their horses, and orcs alike. The battle appeared to have been a chaotic mess, but it was clear that neither side had completely wiped out the other. Adowyn's skill at tracking gave them two more valuable pieces of information.
The orcs fled north, with a number of captives and horses in tow. But there was a second group, consisting of 4 or 5 humans, that fled south.... into the Moss Wood.
And that was all for this week.
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Lead Designer
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Wings of Ruin, Seventh Session Recap
Upon completing their investigation of the battle site, the character's had a serious quandary on their hands. Should they follow the orc horde, to get an idea of their camp and see if they still held any prisoners? Or should they follow the survivors that fled into the Moss Wood with a wounded person in tow? Jean Paul and Adowyn wanted to head into the woods to catch up with the fleeing guardsmen, while Brother Cahill and Sirhan wanted to chase the orc warband. Alexander seemed just as willing to head home and report what they had found.
After much debate, they decided to follow the warband, hoping to catch up with them despite their two-day lead. Soon after, while heading north following the very obvious trail of the warband, they found the remnants of their camp. While their were no orcs present, it was clear that they had camped here on the same night as the battle, perhaps even waiting in ambush. Looking over the site, they found little of interest, some animal bones in the firepit, large wolf prints tied up around some trees, and clear signs that the prisoners from the battle had been brought here before being taken along with the warband, continuing their journey north.
One of footprint was found. A clawed print only 6 or 7 inches long. After must discussion, Brother Cahill thought it might have come from a Kobold, and such a creature might indeed by the Black Master they encounters a few days prior.
While the search of the camp continued, Sirhan spotted a lone mounted figure far to the north, just on the other side of the Tourondel River. After just a moment, it disappeared behind a hill, but Sirhan could just barely make out that it was clearly not a horse that was being ridden. In fact, it may have been a gigantic wolf.
Pressing on with renewed vigor, the party resolved to cross the river and catch the scout before it could give away their approach.
The river was broad, but relatively shallow this close to Lake Encarthan, allow them to easily cross. Once on the other side, they approached the hill where Sirhan spotted the orc, and he dismounted to quietly climb the hill and scout about.
Reaching the top, however, he found himself facing off against not one, but two terrifying orcs mounted atop snarling dire wolves! Unfortunately for Sirhan, one of the orcs had spotted him. As his allies charged up the hill, the wolf ripped into the lone rogue, dropping him to the ground in a pool of his own blood. The other rider was stymied in his approach by long grass that sprung up from under the snow thanks to Adowyn's magic.
The battle was desperate, with Sirhan, Jean Paul, Adowyn, and her loyal ape companion all receiving life-threatening wounds from the orcs and their mounts. Brother Cahill spent the entirety of the battle healing them, but his resources were dwindling quickly. Alexander managed to scorch the orcs with his flames, but even that was not enough to stop their advance.
In the end, it was a combination of their talents that won the day, but just barely. As the last orc fell, after his mount had been slain from underneath him, Brother Cahill quickly bound his wounds so as to allow them to question the brute.
There was no time for questioning however. A warhorn sounded in the distance and the group saw an entire pack of mounted orcs making their way toward them from around a nearby hillside. The heroes of Crowstump, turned to flee back toward the river, hoping that they could make it before the orcs overtook them!
And that is where we wrapped up for the night.
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Lead Designer
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Wings of Ruin, Eighth Session Recap
After defeating the orc scouts and their dire wolf mounts, the PCs kept one of the orcs alive for questioning, but quickly realized that they were in trouble. An entire group of mounted orcs was seen in the distance, racing toward them.
They quickly mounted and fled south, heading back to the Tourondel River and the safety of Nirmathas. Arriving at the river, they found the two rafts used by the orc warband as it marched north. Jean Paul and Brother Cahill went to work on one of the rafts, destroying it in just a few minutes, while the rest of the group herded the horses onto the other raft.
Crossing the river was torturously slow, but safer than trying to get their mounts across any other way. By the time they reached the other side, their pursuers reached the northern shore of the river. One of them drew out a warhorn and let loose a pair of short blasts, a signal which was returned by a similar horn somewhere to the south. The PCs quickly realized that they had enemies on both sides of the river.
After a quick discussion, they reluctantly made for the Moss Wood, hoping to lose the orcs in the supposedly haunted woods. After a quick gallop, they found the woods before them and followed the path of some of the militia that fled into the woods only a few days ago.
Alexander suggested that they head south-west to cut through the woods as quickly as possible and after some discussion, the rest agreed on the plan. After a short while, with no sign of anyone following them, their pace slowed as they spied a clearing in the woods. Adowyn noted a swatch of blue cloth somewhere in the clearing. A color worn by the town militia. Hoping to find the missing guardsmen, the group cautiously approached.
In the center of the clearing was a tall, "Y" shaped structure made of sticks and logs, to which was nailed the corpse of one of the guardsmen. Half of him at any rate, the bottom half of his torso was entirely gone, but his blue cloak, soaked in blood, wavered faintly from his shoulders. Gigantic crows perched atop the structure, cawing mournfully at the intruders.
Taking in the grisly sight, Adowyn and Sirhan both heard a wonderful song carried on the wind. Without thinking they began to move forward as a wretched bird creature soared into view, taking up a perch on the wooden frame. Half woman, half crow, the harpies song entranced the two, as the rest of the group prepared for battle.
The dire crows dove at them as they approached, but Adowyn and Sirhan both walked up to the harpy and offered no resistance as it tore into their flesh with talons and a large bone club. Only Jean Paul's trusty axe and the healing of Brother Cahill prevent catastrophe. After the battle, Adowyn and Sirhan came to their senses, and were horrified at what had nearly happened. The group cut down the body of the militia man, intending to take it with them back to Crowstump for a proper burial.
Concerned for the militia, but fearing for their lives, the group tried to make a hasty retreat for the edge of the wood, but stumbled upon another clearing not soon after. In the middle was another large wood structure, with two large nests perch atop it. In the center of the wooden structure was a wooden cage with three human prisoners inside. Just outside was another harpy, busily stirring a cauldron, preparing for a meal.
Despite their exhaustion and lack of resources, the PCs decided that they could not leave their fellow townsfolk in the hands of these monsters. Preparing themselves by stuffing their ears full of moss and casting what spells they had remaining, they charged in to liberate the captives. The battle with tense, but the harpy's song did not snare any of their minds. Using a bow and spells, the harpy proved to be a formidable opponent, scorching them with flames and piercing them with arrows while her giant crow minions harried their flanks. As the battle wore on, Brother Cahill found himself next to the harpy, who had ignored him because he lacked a drawn weapon. Unsheathing his mithril sword, he ran the foul harpy through.
The militia men freed, they thanked their liberators, but demanded to be taken back to town at once. "The mayor must know what happened to the militia. He must know of the orcs and their foul magics"
Thats where we wrapped for the evening. As a side note, the PCs hit 3rd level at the end of the session.
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Lead Designer
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Wings of Ruin, Ninth Session Recap
After defeating the harpies, the party searched their nests, finding some treasure, a few magic items, and a large egg. After a bit of discussion, they took the egg along with them, unsure as to what they would do with it.
They rode due west thru the Moss Wood, hoping to make the forest's edge and then cut across country to the wood road before turning south to find shelter for the night in the lumberjack community of Sawtooth.
Arriving at the gates just after midnight with their rescued guardsmen and captured orc in tow, it took a few minutes for one of the guard to come to the gate to answer their calls. After identifying themselves, the guard opened the door and ushered them inside to the guardpost where they stabled the horses and their prisoner before finding a soft cot to pass out after their long day of travel.
The next morning, Lieutenant Telon, the leader the guardsmen that they rescued, began to tell the tale of what happened to the militia over breakfast. Speaking in nonchalant tones, he started "It was a massacre. We emerged from the wood in a thick fog and decided to make camp for the night, but the orcs came upon us almost immediately after setting up. The came in through the fog, unhindered and totally silent. We lost two guards before we even knew we were under attack" He continued, gnawing on a piece of bacon. "Dragging an injured man from camp, we fled. The fight was a total rout. The last I saw Captain Westiron, he was surrounded by a group of orcs, mounted on those giant wolves. He is probably dead".
Taking in the news with grim determination, the party rode on with the guards soon after, hoping to make for Crowstump by noon to inform the mayor of the tragedy. They saw no sign of their pursuers the previous night nor the next morning and they made it home without trouble. Locking the orc up in the dungeon beneath Willow Keep, they went immediately to Mayor Tyn to report their findings. He listened gravely with all they had to say before imploring them to interrogate the captive to learn anything else they could about this orc warband.
Venturing into the dungeon, the Mayor got a scroll of charm person and zone of truth for them to use in an attempt to coax information out of the reluctant orc. Upon rousing him, the orc spit profanities at them and refused to talk until Alexander used the scroll of charm person on the orc.
"The raid was pathetic" the orc began. "We had to flee before it was over. Chief Nagas gave the orders, we were only there to steal the smart one and anything else we could carry. We could have killed and taken so much more, but no. Nagas was obeying the wishes of that tiny runt. Black Master.. hmmmph. Despite all his gold and sweet words, I still want to run him through. At least him and that old pink skin will be gone in a few days."
"Why is that?" Alexander pressed.
"Because in four days the door will open again and that little runt will leave with his old man in tow"
As the orc spoke, the group began to notice something odd. The cell was growing chill and dark, as if the torches in the hall were dying. As he finished, a black shadow emerged from the corner, vaguely human in form, its body dripping darkness toward the ceiling. It reached out and with a shriek, the orc fell silent, hanging dead from his chains. Sirhan jumped at the shade, but his weapon passed harmless through it. Adowyn changed tactics and summoned a ball of rolling flame which seemed to harm it somewhat, but not completely. Brother Cahill called upon Iomedae's blessing to destroy the foul creature, diminishing its shadow, but not completely destroying it. Fortunately, Jean Paul grabbed the mithril blade from Brother Cahill's side and sprung at the thing. As his blade passed through, it trailed a wisp of shadow. Like a tapestry being undone, the wisp unraveled the undead creature, drawing its essence into the blade.
Mayor Tyn, who witnessed the battle came forward. "My friends, I am sorry I ever doubted you. The town of Crowstump is truly in your debt, but I am afraid I have one more task for you. With only 4 days until it is too late, it appears that you are our only hope of rescuing Nathar and Captain Westiron.
And that is where we wrapped up for the night.
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Lead Designer
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Wings of Ruin, Tenth Session Recap
After getting some help from Mayor Tyn, the group planned their course north, intent upon raiding the orc village and freeing their friend Nathar before the Black Master could abscond with him in four days. They also hope to free any of the militia, including Captain Westiron, that were captured in the ambush a few days ago.
Heading north, they camped just south of the White Hills, where they had encountered undead just three days prior. Sirhan could not help but think back to the gemstone they left in the wall of the crypt. Despite it radiating evil and powerful magic, they had decided to let it be, not daring to touch it. After consideration, the party decided to leave it alone, for they had a more important goal in front of them and did not want to risk everything on a dangerous errand.
After setting watch, the evening started off uneventfully. During the second watch, while Sirhan and Jean Paul were keeping an eye on the camp, both noticed strange movement in the hills to the north. There was a gentle fog in the hills, and the cloud cover made for poor visibility despite a mostly full moon. In one break of the cloud, Sirhan could have sworn he saw forms.. humanoid forms, crawling and shambling about in the hills, but when the Jean Paul looked, he saw nothing.
When the watch changed, Sirhan once again looked to the north, this time spying a lone figure, floating above a hill top, its arms outstretched, with glimmer set into its chest. The rest of the group began to doubt him, seeing nothing to the north. The following morning, Brother Cahill attempted to detect evil in the mithril sword they found in the tomb, finding nothing there, he noted a strange pollution in Sirhan's aura, but mentioned nothing to the rest of the group.
Troubled by the events of the previous night, the group decided to pay a visit to the tomb, just to see if anything had been disturbed. Adowyn could find no tracks in the hills and when they arrived at the site of their previous camp, there was no sign of a door. Alexander could detect no magic at the site either. It was as if it was never there. Unnerved by the scene, the party hastened north, toward the orc village.
Crossing the Tourondel River, the party made their way into the Knuckles. They narrowly missed a orc patrol, and soon found their path blocked by a pair of patrols irregularly crossing through the area. After watching the patrols for almost 30 minutes, they made a break for it and avoided detection. It seems that the orcs and their wolves were not very skilled scouts in the daylight.
Soon after, they saw smoke rising from the chimneys of the orc village and made their way to the camp. The bloodclaw tribe's settlement is nestled between three hills and almost entirely surrounded by a wooden palisade. After some discussion, Sirhan was sent closer to scout the camp and give them a rough idea of the layout so that they could plan their infiltration. Climbing a nearby hill, he could just make out the layout. In the center, surrounded by numerous wooden huts, was a larger central structure, bedecked with bloodclaw banners. Off to one side, not far away from a wolf pen is a cave. While he was watching, he spied a small figure, cloaked in black, make its way from the large hut to the cave.
And that is where the session ended for the evening.
I'm really enjoying the campaign descriptions - please keep them coming. I like the whole feel of them dealing with survivors of orc attacks, orc wolf riders, etc. It's very Two Towers. The haunted wood is a nice touch as well.
What were your inspirations for this campaign? Have you been mostly using all original homebrew material (to the extent that any of this material is truly original) or have you taken any content or encounters from existing source material/published adventures and adapted it to your needs?
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Lead Designer
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Wings of Ruin, Eleventh and Twelfth Sessions Recap
(I missed the recap last week, so here are the eleventh and twelfth together, wrapping up the first chapter of my home campaign)
After scoping out the orc village, the PCs began to formulate a plan. They would sneak in through the back, climbing up a rock face to avoid the walls and then take out whatever was inside the hut atop the hill. From there, they would sneak down into the cave, hoping to find their friend and mentor inside, along with any other prisoners the orcs might be holding. After preparing a number of useful spells, they made their approach.
Alexander cast spider climb on Brother Cahill, so that he might more easily scale the cliff. Upon reaching the top, he dropped a rope for the others. He then cast silence as Jean Paul sliced open the back of the hut.
As they expected, the village shaman was inside, but he was not alone. His pet owlbear was also inside, and it was wide awake. A furious battle ensued in the silence. Sirhan was nearly ripped limb from limb before Jean Paul could put down the ferocious beast. Meanwhile, the shaman had awoke, and without any spells or any ability to warn the rest of the camp, he lit a smokestick to draw attention to the area. Although the move cost him his life, smoke began to fill the hut. Alexander moved quickly and closed the chimney up top to prevent the smoke from escaping and alerting the others.
The first challenge met, the PCs prepared to sneak down the hill and into the cave. Sirhan used a potion to become invisible and made his way below past the guards at the cave entrance. An unfortunate tumble sent him down the stairs into the darkness. Hearing the noise, the orc guards went down to investigate. Fortunately, Alexander had given Sirhan the ability to speak orc with a spell and he was able to confuse them long enough for the rest of the party to sneak in behind them. Using another silence spell, they attacked the guards.
Adowyn and her ape companion leaped in the fray, with the ape taking serious wounds, but the orcs were no match for the heroes and within moments, they were down, but it was then that the PCs noticed a door in the back of the chamber, with a small window sliding shut. They had been seen!
Jean Paul drank a potion of bulls strength and within seconds, battered down the door. Beyond, they found a winding passageway that led to a vast chamber. The path turned into a narrow plinth of rock, crossing over a 50 foot deep chasm.
Venturing out, Sirhan quickly realized that something was not right as the wind picked up and took the form of a large menacing cloud. Using their newly acquired teamwork feats, the group started moving past the foul air elemental without provoking attacks, but not before it changed into a vast whirlwind that threatened to pick up Sirhan and throw him into the void. Dodging this attack, it was soon upon Jean Paul, Alexander, and Brother Cahill. Fortunately (and with some very good rolls), all of them avoided a similar fate while Jean Paul proceeded to slice away at the elemental with his trusty axe. After recovering from his wounds, Sirhan pelted the creature with alchemist fire to just barely manage to finish it off.
After healing up their wounds, they moved on to find that the cave led to a prison cell. Although dark, they soon saw the shambling forms of the town militiamen captured by the orcs, including Captain Westiron! They looked ragged and pale, many of them covered by strange lesions. They shambled toward the bars with vacant stares. Adowyn used her magic to notice a strange emanation coming from the center of the room that was soon identified as necromancy. Westiron reached forward and grabbed her tunic. In a moment of clarity he whispered "the black master is beyond.. with the scholar.."
Unsure about the mental state of the prisoners, the group pressed on rather than release them to an unknown fate and they made their way deeper into the caves, approaching a vast chamber.
Just inside was a bubbling pool of foul-smelling green liquid, similar to a smell that they noticed when vanquishing the air elemental. It was ringed with mushrooms and other fungus. Around it was four orcs covered in lesions and chanting in a strange tongue. Near them were a pair of sickly wolves, covered in scales with long wicked tongues. On the far side, atop a raised stone stage was a pair of iron rods, with black electricity arcing between them. Before this was the prone form of Nathar, the friend and mentor to the PCs. View of him though, was blocked by a menacing form. The black master pulled back his hood to reveal his reptilian features. One eye missing, he glared at them with a pale green orb. He called out, "Fools, you have come here only to die. Minions! Peel the flesh from their bones!"
Springing to their feet with oddly jerky motions, the orcs moved to attack, drawing large greataxes and the wolves leaped toward the heroes. Sirhan and Jean Paul went to work on half the orcs, while Adowyn and her loyal ape took on the rest. Although not particularly tough, the orcs delivered terrible wounds to any they managed to hit, while the wolves attacked with oddly long claws and acid sprays from their corroded maws. Meanwhile, the black master assaulted them from afar with acid blasts and defended himself with a confusing array of images that made him difficult to target.
Combined, the group managed to take down a pair of the orcs while Alexander used well-timed magic missiles to foil some of the black master's spells, including a fireball that would have devastated the heroes. Brother Cahill struggled to keep everyone in the fight, but used his blessings wisely and prevented any fatalities. Jean Paul and Sirhan moved on to take on the black master while Adowyn and her ape held off the remaining orcs. Unfortunately a well aimed attack nearly killed the ape, but after some healing it managed to take down one of the orcs from the ground, turning the fight in their favor.
Climbing up to take on the black master, the found that he had extraordinary powers, casting more than one spell in just a few seconds, nearly sending Jean Paul and Sirhan into the darkness. They persisted though, and managed to destroy the images protecting him. Realizing his peril, the black master called out to the pool and a large bubble formed, which turned into a great, lidless eye. It seemed to communicate with the master, who realized his fate. He dropped another fireball at his feat, nearly killing them all.
When the smoke cleared, the heroes were wounded, but still standing. The black master knew he was doomed, but as the killing stroke came down from Jean Paul's axe, the image of the master shattered and he reappeared on the other side of the platform, unharmed from the attack. A strange green symbol flared on his head as he used up the last of his power. With the rest of the group closing in, he was out of tricks. Jean Paul brought down his axe again, and this time in landed. The black master fell, his body quickly withering away into a noxious green vapor. The eye receded into the pool and vapor fled from the chamber.
Gathering up Nathar, they heroes found him catatonic. They healed his wounds, but still he did not stir. As this occurred, the black lightning from the rods intensified, slowly opening up a doorway to a strange swamp that even Alexander could not identify. There were more kobolds, like the black master, making their way to the portal. With their resources exhausted, the group gathered up Nathar and what treasure they could find and fled.
They freed the prisoners and returned to the surface, hoping to make a quick escape, but what they found was yet another mystery. A gigantic green cloud hovered over the camp, raining a corrosive acid on the orcs and their home, burning and melting everything in sight. The cloud was the same color as the mist that coalesced from the body of the black master. The orcs and their threat to Crowstump was no more.
And that was the end of the first part of the Wings of Ruin campaign. The PCs are now 4th level after 12 sessions. They managed to avoid any fatalities during this session, despite the last encounter being about CR 8.
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Lead Designer
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I'm really enjoying the campaign descriptions - please keep them coming. I like the whole feel of them dealing with survivors of orc attacks, orc wolf riders, etc. It's very Two Towers. The haunted wood is a nice touch as well.
What were your inspirations for this campaign? Have you been mostly using all original homebrew material (to the extent that any of this material is truly original) or have you taken any content or encounters from existing source material/published adventures and adapted it to your needs?
Thanks.. almost all of this campaign is homebrew, but I do use a number of core books quite extensively. I am finding the NPC codex to be pretty invaluable.
Jason
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As a quick note.. here is the group roster.
Jean Paul - Human Fighter
Alexander - Human Wizard (diviner)
Brother Cahill - Human Cleric of Iomedae
Sirhan - Human Rogue
Adowyn - Half-Elf Druid
Just found this thread - what a blast to read!!!
Are the players of these characters anyone we might know or are they just friends of yours? It's always fun to know who is playing the PCs ... :)
I'm really enjoying this, can't wait to read more!
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Lead Designer
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As a quick note.. here is the group roster.
Jean Paul - Human Fighter
Alexander - Human Wizard (diviner)
Brother Cahill - Human Cleric of Iomedae
Sirhan - Human Rogue
Adowyn - Half-Elf DruidJust found this thread - what a blast to read!!!
Are the players of these characters anyone we might know or are they just friends of yours? It's always fun to know who is playing the PCs ... :)
Only one works for Paizo, so that is the only one I will identify...
Erik Mona is playing Brother Cahill.
Glad to see folks are enjoying the tale.
Jason
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Lead Designer
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So, it has been forever since I have updated this, due to me being a slacker, but the campaign has progressed quite a bit in the past year (we just had our 1 year anniversary session). Here is a condensed recap of the games.
After returning to Crowstump with Nathar, the PCs quickly came to realize that he would not awaken. Although alive, he was catatonic and no form of magic would revive him. Trusting him to the care of the local high priest of Erastil, the group spoke with the mayor to tell him all that had happened. The town rejoiced that the threat was eliminated and hailed the group as heroes. A celebration was planned for later that week.
As the days rolled on, the group began to make plans to build their own place in town, a brewery and guildhall that has come to be known as the Gilded Orc, named for one of the pieces of treasure they recovered from their recent adventures, a gilded orc skull. As their plans started to come together (using the downtime rules to build their building), the town held a celebration in their honor, but the festivities were interrupted by a fire at the Barge Bilge, a dive tavern down by the water. The PCs sprang into action to help, only to find the building being burned by devious fire elementals that split in two when struck. Putting out the fire, it became clear that the owners had been dealing in strange black market magic items that caused the fire. They were soon after arrested.
The months rolled on, and still Nathar did not wake. Winter came and went, spending its fury on the sleepy town. All seemed calm until a barge arrived just as the harbor cleared of ice. Masked priests came to town, hailing the Living God and offering to show the good people of Crowstump all of the wonders of worshiping Razmir. They gave out gold, and food, telling the folk that the path to prosperity led to Razmir and all they had to do was follow his steps.
The heroes of Crowstump were not amused.
What was first a simple visit turned into an extended stay and the heroes tried to talk the people out of venerating this strange god. But their own reputations would get in the way. Brother Cahill got drunk and wild one night, hurting his credibility with the folk (even though he remembered nothing of it and in fact may have been poisoned and coerced into such acts). Rumors were spread that they PCs were against the prosperity, that they were against the common folk. Then came the murder. A priest of Razmir (one of the new recruits from the town) was found dead on the docks, with one of Sirhan's daggers protruding from his chest and the Faith Barge was aflame. The group realized they had been framed, but they had no proof and the local militia had no choice but to investigate them for murder and arson. Taking matters into their own hands, the group infiltrated a warehouse nearby only to find all of the goods from the barge had been removed before the fire and their were sinister plans afoot. It turns out the cultists were planning on much more than just a visit. They wanted to open a temple, using coercion and blackmail to get their way. A terrible fight ensued, but in the end, the cultists were all captured or fled (ditching their masks, they became impossible to track) and their corruption revealed.
Weeks past and spring arrived, bringing with it hope for Nathar. Father Gorman (the local high priest) had sent word to those in his church about the comatose scholar and now help had arrived. Father Hallen came by boat to town to see Nathar and offer up a possible solution. It seems that while his body was present, the scholar's soul was being held captive. If the PCs could find the soul they might be able to free him, but to do that they would need Erastil's help. The mighty hunter could find anything with the right tool and the PCs would need to gather the materials to build a Soul Arrow. This magic item would lead them to Nathar's soul, but the ingredients would be difficult to find.
They would need to make the shaft of the arrow from the heart of a tree, felled by the sky. The fletching would need to be made from the swiftest hawk, a bird known as the Jade Hawk, thought now to be extinct. The arrow head could only be made from soul stone, a rock infused with the magic of the spirit world. Father Hallen knew a bit about these things, but it would be up to the PCs to find them. He suggested they go speak with the Elves in Aldeskar, as they might know more.
The PCs left at once for the elven enclave, not half a day from Crowstump on horse. They had not been there since that fateful day last winter, when the orcs attacked and this whole mess began. Arriving in the afternoon, the PCs spoke with the First Voice, who understood their problem, but said that he could not spare anyone to help them. It was spring and the woods and beasts must be nurtured. Perhaps if they helped out, the elves could find time to help them in return. He told them to seek out Alanyara, a wayward member of the group and to aid her.
The found her in the Fangwood, hunting foul goblins, but so obsessed with her quest that she had little time for them or the problems of her people. Her disdain for the group, especially Adowyn a half-elf, was more than clear. The heroes quickly came to realize that they did not need to help Alanyara with the goblins, but instead they needed to help here realize the pain and trouble she was causing her people. In helping here defeat they goblins, they exposed her weaknesses and revealed that she did need the aid of others, and they in turn needed her.
Returning to Aldeskar with Alanyara, they arrive at dusk to see a star falling through the spring sky. Alanyara had an idea and rushed off to confirm her suspicions. She knew where they might find a "tree felled by the sky". The journey would lead them to the Bloodsworn Vale.
Setting out through the Fangwood, the PCs faced trolls, drawn to them by a foul smelling bug repellant put on by Brother Cahill. They defeated spiders and raced through the blighted hollows, with sickly leaves and oozing roots. Reaching the other side, Alanyara (who was guiding them), suggested they resupply in Skelt while she scouted ahead. She refused to visit the town, claiming it to be a foul place.
They ventured to Skelt only to find it far worse than they had imagined. The people of Skelt were greedy and cruel, charging them for the smallest kindness or aid. They found a place to stay, but were warned that a local bandit lord had taken and interest in them, a villain known only as "The Crafter". That night, they were ambushed in their rooms by assassins, intent upon liberating them from their valuables and magic. Beating off the cutthroats, the group decided they had more than enough from Skelt and decided to leave, taking one of the assassins with them as prisoner (who offered to tell them about their foe in exchange for freedom). Unfortunately, another assassin's arrow cut short the life of their prisoner and after a tough fight, the group fled the corrupt mining town. They swore to return one day to purge it of its evil.
Rejoining Alanyara, the group made its way toward the Bloodsworn Vale (although Alexander was now very suspicious of the Elf, claiming that she might in fact be The Crafter). Making their way into the Mindspin Mountains, the PCs faced off against gruesome ogres who had slain a wandering missionary. Brother Cahill quickly came to realize that this was one from his church and gathered up his belongings and messages to return to the shire of Iomedae in Crowstump.
Continuing the journey, the PCs found themselves assaulted by a terrible spring storm and soughy shelter in an old abandoned tower, but not all was as it seemed. There was some foul thing haunting them. Some twisted black, shrieking thing was appearing in the corner of their eyes, just out of sight. And in the ruins, they finally saw it. Horrid and pitiful, it wailed before vanishing again. It was then that they found that they could not leave the ruins. There were three passageways, each with a trial of some sort. The passage of fear tested their courage in an ever darkening chamber, where the shadows were filled with nightmars. The passage of insanity saw them feasting with the dead, and only by gorging themselves could they break free. The final passage was marked death, and at its end, the PCs had to dig up their own corpses, which they then fought in a brutal duel. Defeating all three, they found a new way open and it led to a tiny chamber atop a tower. Inside the room was the spirit of Nathar, busily writing in a gigantic tome. He had called them to his prison. He had done so to give them a message. "Hurry my friends. It holds me, twisting my mind, demanding my work, but when I am finished, it will have no more use for me. Hurry, my time grows short." And with that, the PCs awoke in the ruins, as if none of it had ever happened (this was the Halloween game).
Continuing on their journey, the group eventually reached the Bloodsworn Vale. They went to the Rose Keep to speak with the lords there and find out what they could. Alanyara confirmed her suspicions and told the PCs that they must travel into the mountains and visit an ancient valley, scarred for all time. A piece of rock fell from the heavens there and ruined the place. There was but one tree in the valley and it had turned to stone when the falling star shattered it. Surely this must be the tree they sought. They set out at once.
Facing off against roseblood sprites and fire drakes, the group eventually made it was to the vale. Alanyara had already departed, heading home so they were on their own. The valley was a cursed place, with foul ooze creatures, twisted parasitic dog beasts, and at its heart, the fallen star and the shattered tree. A madman watched over them both, his body filled with sickness, but charged with arcane rage (this was an early bloodrager playtest). The defeated him, but it was no easy battle. By its end, most of group had started to feel ill from the effects of the valley. They carefully removed the heart of the tree and fled.
The journey back to Crowstump was mostly uneventful, with the group boarding a barge to ride it back on the Tourondel River. They approached a small town called Heatherbridge only to find it in flames. They went to investigate only to find most of the town empty. It looked like the people had been taken. In the center of town, they found the remains of tunnels just as they ran into the culprits. A band of kobolds was burning the town and taking its people underground. The defeated those that remained, but could not give chase. The tunnels were all collapsed. Intent upon warning other towns of this new threat, they set out at once, but it appears that this was just a lone occurrence.
Returning to Crowstump, the PCs learned that Nathar's health was starting to fail, but fortunately, Alanyara had returned to her people before them and apparently had some news as she had sent Sirhan (who is a bit smitten with the elf) a note. They raced back to Aldeskar to learn the news.
The elves had found out a bit about the Jade Hawk, as their people used to keep them. There was two options before them to find the elusive bird. The could visit the grave of the last Hawk Keeper and retrieve his whistle that could be used to call the birds, but it was dangerous as his grave is now in a part of the Fangwood overcome by the blight. Or they could pay a visit to a mad druid said to live in the southern Fangwood. Going by the name of Volgarna, she is said to hate all things civilized, but rumor also claims that she keeps a menagerie of rare and exotic beasts and birds. With Adowyn in the group (a druid herself), the group decided to pay the menagerie a visit.
They traveled from Aldeskar through the Green Vale, where they spent the night with a rather excitable halfling farmer and his family before pushing on to Crystalhurst to learn a bit about Volgarna. The druids there explained that she was once part of their group, but her ideas had gone too far and they exiled her. They told the PCs of various ways to reach her domain and the PCs decided to loop around and come from the south, as that would be least expected.
They ventured close to the border with Molthune and dealt with some skirmishers intent upon causing trouble before turning north to approach Volgarna's domain...
That that catches you up to the session we had on Monday, which probably deserves its own post, as it was the one year anniversary. The PCs are now 6th level, creeping up on 7th.
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Lead Designer
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Wings of Ruin Recap
(Last week was the 1 year anniversary of the start of the campaign)
As the heroes broke camp and made for the Fangwood, Brother Cahill remembered that it was Nathar's Birthday. It was one year ago today that they had all met, helping to arrange a celebration for their dear friend's birthday. As they rode on, they recounted the tale for one another...
Alexander had spent the morning studying with Nathar, who thanked him for the birthday wishes, but insisted that he not go out of his way for his birthday. "Why make such a fuss" he insisted. Alexander left soon after to experiment with his alchemy. He had a new formula of chicken feed to try on the local flock. Although most of the chickens were uninterested, a particularly feisty rooster could not get enough of it.
Brother Cahill finished his morning prayers and was wondering over to meet the scholar, carrying a stack of books. As he made his way he tripped right in front of the Wood Lodge, the local temple to Erastil. Father Gorman was on the front steps and began to laugh, but Brother Cahill did not catch that it was a chuckle at one of his own acolytes who was having trouble with a bow. It was a perceived slight he has not forgotten to this day.
Jean Paul (who has always been larger than life in his tales, was actually larger than life for this session) was wondering down to the Barge Bilge to get a drink over lunch with his friend Sirhan. The two sat having drinks while the owners spoke with some stranged fellow wearing robes and a mask. The Krant kids ran about the place, causing problems. It was a typical morning.
Finally, Adowyn was out in the woods gathering herbs for her poultices and herbal cures. She ran into a local shopkeep, gathering herbs for her shop. After a chat, she offered her a ticket to the carnival parked just outside out town, mentioning that they had wondrous beasts there for all to see. Although concerned about the captivity of such creatures, she took the ticket to investigate for herself.
One by one, each of them recieved a note or message from Arina, one of the barmaids at the Thirsty Owlbear. She wanted to speeak to them about something urgent.
One by one they arrived, and Arina thanked them for coming. As friends of Nathar she wanted to let them in on a secret. The town was planning a surprise party for the sage and she needed their help. The inn had run out of the honey needed to make his favorite cake and she was wondering if they could visit the beekeeper and get some more. They left at once.
Making their way to the outskirts of town, they soon found themselves amongst the massive hives of the beekeeper. After chatting with the fellow, he agreed to give them some of his finest honey, infused with a rich and spicy cinnamon. He asked them to avoid his fields making their way back to town and they cut through the woods to get back.
Half way back to the inn, the group was passing through a small clearing in the woods. Something stirred in the brush and they froze. Leaping from the shadows was a foul and terrible Orc and his wolf mount. Fighting back their fear, the heroes lept into action. The fighting was fierce against such inexperienced characters, but in their retelling they seemed to have all of their powers (of course the orc was stronger as well). In the end, the heroes prevailed, felling the orc as he mounted his terrible wolf. The beast bolted into a ravine and both were lost in the tumble of mud and rock. The last thing they saw was some strange badge on the orc's shoulder (one they would come to recognize later).
Making back to town, Arina thanked them greatly for their aid and went to work baking the cake. Stories of an orc in the woods were seen as nothing more than a fanciful tale told by kids with an overactive imagination.
Later that night, Nathar came to the tavern only to find in dark inside. As he entered, the lights came up and all of his friends sprang from hiding to wish him a happy birthday. The celebration was on.
One by one, the heroes presented the scholar with gifts from a lectern to bookends, a rare tome and candles to help him focus. Grateful for all his gifts, Nathar gathered his friends around to thank them for celebrating his birthday. He looked to them and said "You are ready"
One year later, the meaning of that cryptic message became clear. It was there time to venture out at the winter festival to help the town. It was there time to become members of the community. It was their time to become heroes.
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Lead Designer
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As an aside, the group was very excited to see some of the origin stories behind each others characters. In this game, we learned where Adowyn got her ape (she liberated it from the circus), how Brother Cahill came to dislike the church of Erastil and how the local barmaid took an interest in him (he ended up with her while in a stupor due to being poisoned by the Razmirans), that Sirhan came from a family of money and first met the Krant kids (who he now employs using the downtime rules as his eyes and ears around town), how Jean Paul has always seen himself as mighty and huge (despite having humbler beginnings), and how Alexander's memory of himself is not nearly so consumed with ACD and prime numbers (although the rest of the group is unsure if this is due to his memory or some event that happened later that caused these neurosis).
We also got to see the origin of the dreaded rooster, the first inklings of the church of Razmir visiting town, and the first orc scout investigating the community, which would herald the attack a few months later.
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Lead Designer
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Venturing into the Fangwood, the party quickly found themselves traveling through incredibly dense foliage along a narrow trail. Arriving at a clearing, they had to leave the horses behind as the terrain had become too rough. In the small clearing, they also noticed a number of morbid charms hanging from the trees.
As Alexander and Brother Cahill set to investigate, Sirhan found one that contain a rotting finger within, still wearing a silver ring. His lust for the ring was tempered, however, by the obvious signs of disease that infesting the severed digit. After quite a bit of rinsing and some dagger work, the ring was free and put to use for its protective qualities.
Venturing further, the group found that the foliage around them had become like a wall and even Adowyn (a druid of some skill) could not pass through as she could normal vegetation. The path eventually forked and to one side, the group found the way blocked by a door of thorns. Hesitant to even approach it, Alexander used his magic to see through to the space beyond, which seemed to be home to a wide variety of wondrous, long forgotten beasts. There was a huge sloth, a group of feathered lizards, striped canines, a stone serpent, and most importantly.. a jade hawk (whose tail feathers they need to cure their scholar friend). Unable to pass through the door however, the party set off in the other direction.
Venturing past a small clearing overrun with long, leafy plants, the PCs stumbled upon another opening the forest, this one far more disturbing than anything they expected. Four fetid pools were arranged around a wheezing plant that was coughing out clouds of spores. Around each pool were corpses, looking like soldiers from Molthune, foresters from Nirmathas, and others too decomposed to identify. All bore the signs of rampant disease. As they looked on, Brother Cahill heard one of the bodies call out "help me" quite faintly. They went in to investigate. As they approached, the plant thing suddenly sprung to life, lashing out at them with diseased tendrils. Clouds of spores choked the air as Adowyn (and her Ape companion) and Jean Paul sprung forth to deal with the menace. Alexander opened a pit beneath it, but its tendrils kept it from falling in. Brother Cahill and Jean Paul were wounded by the thing and its foul ichor seeped into their wounds, but in the end, they managed to defeat it.
Investigating the survivor, they found him to be too far gone to save. The plants had rooted into his body and he was thick with illness. Brother Cahill gave him a final prayer before ending his misery. It was clear that the druid, Volgarna was far more dangerous than they had anticipated.
Pressing on, they came to a clearing at the center of the wood. There they found a mound, with a cave entrance going deep into the earth...
And that is where we left off for the night. Tonight they venture into Volgarna's lair.
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Lead Designer
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Venturing into the underground lair, Sirhan quaffed a potion of invisibility to scout ahead. He found a narrow passageway that opened up to a larger chamber above, with all sorts of plants and mushrooms growing on the ledges. As the rest of the group advanced, Adowyn quickly spotted that some of the plants were hostile assassin vines that would choke anyone they could reach. The party leapt into action with Jean Paul and Adowyn's ape advancing to take on the plants, while Sirhan maneuvered to strike unseen. The battle was short, despite the plants disturbing a bunch of mushrooms that released toxic spore clouds.
Moving deeper into the complex, the party came to a junction with one path leading down and another staying level. The junction was also marked by a number of large holes in the wall and ceiling, as if they were tunnels for some small creature. This reminded them of the large snake they saw lurking about in the forest above but there was no sign of it now.
They took the level path, which led them to find horrors beyond imagining. In a narrow chamber they found the body of a man, riddled with disease, propped up above a table with thin tendrils of fungus leading down to cured meats, hard tack, and other edibles. The tendrils were leeching disease into the food. Worse still, there were crates nearby, labeled for delivery to nearby communities such as Tamran, Canorate, Fort Ramgate, and Crowstump. Volgarna was planning to unleash a plague! Determined to put an end to the threat, they pressed on.
They found themselves at the far end of a long chamber. Near them was an immense nest with a shed snake skin laying nearby. Further on, they noticed a shallow pool of water, filled with large blood sucking leeches. On the far side, was a throne of bones, wood, and mud. They knew they had reached Volgarna's chamber. Eager to investigate a stone chest they saw on the far side, Adowyn turned into an Ape so that here and her companion could ferry people across the pool by gripping onto the many stalactites and stalagmites that dotted the chamber. Just after the Ape and Jean Paul crossed, two gigantic serpents slithered out of the wall into the room. Jean Paul charged one of them and dealt it a vicious blow. Sirhan, meanwhile carefully crossed the pool and used his necklace to lob a fireball at the other serpent, burning it badly. While one serpent bit and constricted Jean Paul, the other swayed back and forth, casting a spell, summoning a thick mist into the room. Fortunately, Brother Cahill was close enough to heal the fighter before the snake could take him down. As the battle raged, the snake (which was plainly revealed to be Volgarna herself) cast a wall of thorns, trapping most of the party in a incredibly tough tangle. Adowyn was able to get free easily and she paralyzed the snake (Volgarna's animal companion) after which, Jean Paul finished it off by decapitating it. Adowyn and her ape engaged the druid, who soon after resumed her humanoid form, flying into a rage over the loss of her pet. Alexander floated across the room using magic, aiding with a few well timed magic missiles, but his levitation was soon dispelled and he found himself mired in the wall of thorns. In the end, Volgarna spat out a death curse and dropped a column of flame on herself, Adowyn, the ape, and Jean Paul, nearly killing them all. As the smoke cleared, the druid was found to be dead, but the party barely survived.
After waiting for the wall of thorns to dissipate, the party explored the chamber, taking Volgarna's dragonhide armor, magic headband, and a good deal of additional loot. Of particular note was a wooden ring that would allow them to pass through the thorn walls located in the forest above. They had what they needed to reach the Jade Hawk.
Leaving the dungeon, they destroyed her laboratory and its grim cargo. They explored the other path only to find that it led to a cell with a number of captives. Although these were Molthuni soldiers, they freed them and helped them return home. They were grateful and promised to keep this kindness in mind when they returned home to Fort Ramgate.
Returning to the surface, they went to explore the menagerie. Adowyn went in alone to converse with the Jade Hawk, hoping to convince it to give up a few of its tail feathers. She found the bird hoping about on the back of a Giant Sloth. Despite all the dangerous predators around her, the druid found herself with an overriding sense of calm as she approached. Apparently the animals felt this as well. She could take no act of violence against the bird, but her abilities allowed her to speak with it. It wanted food.... preferably a tasty squirrel or chipmunk. With no such provisions available, Adowyn changed into a Jade Hawk herself and went to find the bird's nest. Nestled up in the trees, it was difficult to find, and as she approached, the Jade Hawk flew up to greet her. It began to dance and hold out its wings. Adowyn did the same, hoping to get it off its nest so that she could grab the feathers. After a few attempts the bird finally moved and Adowyn returned to the group victorious.
The party left the grove then, returned to Crystalhurst to tell the druids there of the fate of Volgarna. They were relieved to hear that she was gone and promised to set the rare animals free as soon as they could. Just over a day later, the party rode back into Crowstump and rushed to Nathar's bedside. He was still alive, but Father Gorman and Father Hallen warned that his health was failing. Fortunately, there might still be time. Father Gorman mentioned that they might have discovered a way to get the last ingredient needed to save the scholar's life...
And that was the end of the session.
Just found this thread today, and read it start to this point in one sitting. Really got me hooked on following this now. Nice!
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Lead Designer
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Almost at once, the heroes set out for the White Hills, just to the north of Crowstump. Father Gorman and Hallen informed them that the tombs there were ancient and they might harbor the Ghost Stone needed to complete the Soul Arrow (the artifact needed to find their friend Nathar's missing soul).
They arrived later that same day, but only performed a cursory exploration before retreating from the hills. The last time there were in the area, they saw armies of the dead rise from the hills at night and they did not wish to be caught in that onslaught. As before, as dusk came, the spectral forces rose, but they did not leave the hills and the heroes were safe from them.
The next day, they ventured in, seeking out the center of the ruin. They quickly learned that many of the hills were in fact overgrown structures. In the center, they found a ring of hills surrounding a central building. Atop the nearest hill they found a bench, with a faded map of what they determined to be some sort of necropolis or large graveyard, of which they were in the center.
Watching over the horses, Jean Paul noticed a small cave at the base of the hill while the others were on top, getting a sense of the terrain. Inside, they discovered a dirty and faded bas-relief. It showed a family harvesting what they needed from nature. Soon after they explored the central mound, in which they found a sealed door that looked as if it had not been opened in ages. Running down the middle was a series of square holes, six in all. Above the door, resting on the lintel sat six stone blocks, each with a symbol of a god; Erastil, Aroden, Gozreh, Shelyn, Pharasma, and Desna. Each blocked looked as if it might fit in one of the holes. The puzzle, of course, was the order to the stones.
The rest of the day, the PCs explored the surrounding hills, finding a total of five murals, each depicting a scene that seemed to relate to the gods. Through strength, magic, and cunning, they managed to uncover each mural, as many were hidden or obscured. Sirhan skillfully climbed into a sealed chamber from above, Adowyn used her magic to move stone, while Jean Paul was helpful in moving rocks to uncover the clues. Meanwhile Alexander and Brother Cahill studied the murals to uncover their meaning.
As the afternoon wore on, they thought they had discovered the answer. The murals gave them hints as to the order of the gods. All except Pharasma, which they believed to be at the top (it being a funeral site). Placing the stones, a wave of negative energy washed over them causing serious wounds. They had made a mistake. Realizing that Pharasma comes for all in the end, they moved her stone to the bottom. With the loud rumble, the doors to the undercroft opened.
Venturing inside, they found themselves in a wide chamber that appeared to be designed to give offerings to the dead. Between two benches was a table covered in long decayed offerings of food and flowers. A slit in the wall offered a narrow view into a large chamber on the other side. It appeared that some had offered coins to the dead, as they were piled up on the other side. Before the offering table were two knights, clad in rotting ring mail. Kneeling in silent prayer these corpses suddenly shambled to horrible unlife to battle the heroes. Far more powerful than ordinary undead, it was a deadly fight that nearly cost the lives of more than one hero.
Defeating the sentinels, they PCs noticed two doors leading out of the room. One featuring a a carving of a beautiful living woman. The other showing her skeletal form. Only the living door would open, so they ventured inside. Beyond they found a small chamber, partially collapsed. In the center was an embalming table, surrounded by shelves of ancient tools and jars of murky fluid. Exploring the room further, there was a shift in the rubble. A large worm like creature burrowed out from the mud, intent upon eating Sirhan as a snack. Jean Paul jumped into action, battling it with his caustic axe. The beast spewed foul fluids that burned the flesh as it fought, but in the end, the PCs were again victorious. Looking about the room, they noticed that on the back of the door was a sun symbol. They realized that the other door would probably only open at night.
They would have to stay in the undercroft at night, with the spectral armies surrounding them.
Leaving the place with only a few hours before dusk remaining, they led their horses to safety before returning for the night. They arrived just in time, as the doors to the undercroft close. Spirits of the dead rose through the floor to the land above, but they fortunately paid no heed to the heroes. A low, mournful organ was playing from deep within the undercroft and the dead door in the offering chamber silently opened, leading to a staircase going down.
Venturing below, they were deposited into a grand cathedral. On the far side of the room was an altar with a huge stone and brass organ. Arrayed around the room was a host of the dead, listening to the mournful tune being played by the dead priest at the altar. Brother Cahill used a scroll to hide the heroes from the dead and Sirhan ventured within to inspect another door on the side the room, hoping to bypass this sermon entirely. It did not work. The priest slammed his hands upon the organ keys, letting out a wail and turned to face the heroes.
Using the protection of Brother Cahill's magic the PCs ventured into the room to deal with the priest, but the moment they attacked, the magic faded and undead from all around the room rose to attack. Sirhan and Jean Paul took on the priest, while Adowyn and her ape tackled many of the undead. Brother Cahill let out a blast of his Iomedea's divine wrath, causing many of the undead to burst into white flame and crumble to dust. Meanwhile the battle with the priest raged, as it was supernaturally tough and using a low dirge to crush their spirits and bolster the dead. Countering its magic, Brother Cahill was pivotal in turing the tide. As Adowyn cleaned up the last of the lesser dead, Jean Paul and Sirhan finished off the priest with the help of Alexander's magic.
Exploring the room, they found a few items of value on the priest, but the interesting treasure was found on the ledge above (the opposite side of the wall from the offering table). There they found a number of ancient coins, of a similar make to those they found on the orcs and the Black Master many months ago). They also found a strange clay token, with a star-shaped hole in the middle.
Pressing on through the doors, the PCs were again confronted with a huge staircase. They ventured down a long ways before the staircase came through the ceiling of a vast chamber, almost 1000 feet on a side and about 200 feet high. Although the light was dim, they could make out a large series of catacombs about the floor of the room. Not truly a maze, but confusing a difficult to navigate nonetheless. Tiny glowing motes floated about the room above the level of the catacomb itself, giving them an indication of its size. Reaching the floor of the room, the stairs deposited them in the center of the catacombs, which rose up to a height of 40 feet around them. Niches dotted the walls, filled with the bodies of the dead.
Unsure of where to go, Alexander called up on his divination magic to find the nearest alabaster, the base stone that would become ghost stone if exposed to spectral energy for countless years. His magic indicated north. Making their way through the twisting passages, they eventually made their way to a small clearing, in front of tall pair of doors. Three symbols were clearly visible, each in a large stone disk: a star, a moon, and a sun. Beneath this was the faded carving of a high priest, appearing as if it had been touched so many times that it had lost much of its detail. Brother Cahill determined this to be the resting place of the high priest of this place. Unfortunately the doors would not open.
Adowyn and Sirhan heard a shuffling behind them. Turning around, there was a veritable tide of undead approaching them from every passageway. Springing into action, Adowyn sealed off two passageways using a wall of fire from a scroll. Jean Paul burned the remaining group to a crisp using a fireball from his helm (which can create that once per day). Unable to open the door, the PCs fled toward an open area to the west they spotted when coming down the stairs. There were undead hordes roaming the catacombs, but they were easily avoided. Reaching the open spot, they found a passageway in the wall that led to a small chamber with a stone sarcophagus in the middle. On it was the stone carving of a priest with a moon shaped amulet on its chest, the moon protruding up from the amulet.
Next to the sarcophagus was the long withered corpse of a grave robber, his hand just touching the tomb, his flesh burned and withered. Taking caution, they freed a bag from its withered grasp and found more coins and jewelry inside, along with another clay disk, this one with a sun symbol. Upon investigating the loot, the body of the robber crumbled and a vengeful wraith emerged, intent upon drawing the life from Sirhan. Fortunately, Adowyn had just the spell prepared to deal with the threat. Sunlight filled the room and the wraith fled.
The PCs ventured on to the south, toward another opening in the wall. Inside they found a similar crypt with a similar sarcophagus. This one had a sun symbol amulet on its chest. Getting out the amulet from the previous chamber, Adowyn bravely marched up and placed the clay disk over the amulet, finding it to fight snuggly over the raised sun image. As she did so the palm of her hand touched the symbol and when she drew her hand away she found a faintly glowing sun symbol had appeared on her palm. The heroes came to the conclusion that this might be the way to open the high priest's tomb. They ventured to the east to investigate the final crypt.
Upon arriving however, they found an undead mob lingering around the passageway. In the center was a corpse dressed as a priest, leading them in an unholy prayer. Around its neck, on an ancient leather cord, was another of the clay disks, this one with a moon pattern.
And that is where we ended for the night. This recap covers about 4 sessions of play. The PCs are just on the edge of 7th level, but have not gained any XP since entering since they have not had the chance to rest.
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Lead Designer
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Too busy writing and running the game to post up any updates as of late, but I figured everyone would appreciate a shot from last nights session...
The Sultan in all of its glory, as a war band of kobolds attacks the town of Kassen!
Mona is looking particularly shocked...
Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
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Too busy writing and running the game to post up any updates as of late, but I figured everyone would appreciate a shot from last nights session...
The Sultan in all of its glory, as a war band of kobolds attacks the town of Kassen!
Mona is looking particularly shocked...
Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
That's a cool table! Jason is it yours or were you playing somewhere else? Can you some detail on the table ? Looks like Plexi-glass over the grid maybe? Maybe a few more pictures? :)
I'd like to build a gaming table at some point ...
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That table is a Sultan by Geek Chic and it belongs to a good friend of mine. We play on it every week.
You can find out more details about the table right here.
Jason
I really enjoyed reading this recap. I'm excited to see more when you get the chance.
Found this thread today. Hope it isn't dead forever. Love the read.
Really? That's disappointing. But as long as there are reasons, I guess...