I noticed on other boards people sharing the exploits of their adventuring parties and since I just started running this AP for my group in the past month I thought I'd share it with everyone who might be interested.
The PCs were generated by rolling 4d6 and dropping the lowest and started w/ 150 gp base for each. The characters are below w/ brief notes on their backgrounds. The group is a bit diverse with three adult players and two young teenagers (one player's brother and his friend) which sometimes results in some interesting moments and characters and it also means it's rare that all five players are at one session.
Siph: LN Female Aasimar Oracle of Bones
Str 16 Dex 17 Con 12 Int 13 Wis 11 Cha 17
A young woman who was attending the University of Korvosa working to become a scribe when she started to display divine powers and was framed for murder. Despite being cleared when the authorities learned a Catfolk had also been framed the University expelled her. Her parents are merchants in the city and knew nothing of her Aasimar heritage until it revealed itself. She is a follower of Pharasma and has issues with things such as spirits and the undead and tries to keep her abilities a secret from her parents.
Background Trait - Framed (Dropout)
Notes: Took the tongues curse and is specialized in utilizing inflict spells. She carries around a morningstar in combat with a light crossbow as a secondary weapon and is the parties primary face w/ the most social type skills. Eventually she will receive some sort of sign from Pharasma that will help her to come to terms with her divine powers. The most experience player of the group.
Preacher: LG Male Human Paladin of Cayden Cailean
Str 18 Dex 13 Con 15 Int 10 Wis 12 Cha 15
Younger brother to Ghost both of whom were orphaned by Lamm at a young age and raised by a worshipper of Cayden Cailean. They grew up to become Paladins worshiping the God and seeking to bring Lamm in for justice.
Background Trait - Love Lost (Orphaned)
Notes: Fights up front with a longsword and shield and wants to work on building up his AC to be a tank-type character. Has already started trying and develop a relationship with Siph and takes great joy in razzing Siphelele.
Ghost: LG Male Human Paladin of Cayden Cailean
Str 15 Dex 19 Con 14 Int 8 Wis 11 Cha 16
Older brother to Preacher both of whom were orphaned by Lamm at a young age and raised by a worshipper of Cayden Cailean. They grew up to become Paladins worshiping the God and seeking to bring Lamm in for justice.
Background Trait - Love Lost (Orphaned)
Notes: Snipes from the back w/ his longbow. He sees himself as quite the ladies man and already is in a friendly competition with his brother to win Siph's affections while also flirting and making the moves on any attractive female he encounters (provided they aren't married or anything).
Siphelele: CG Female Catfolk Ninja
Str 15 Dex 18 Con 14 Int 13 Wis 4 Cha 17
Siphelele's father was at one time a ninja who abandoned his clan and fled to Korvosa with his family and a few other of his people who made a home in the Shingles of Old Korvosa. He taught his daughter his ninja ways to help protect herself and when he was framed for murder by Lamm she became determined to clear her father's name. The witness vanished but the Korvosan Guard learned that a young Aasimar was accused of the same crime and dropped the charges yet her father never returned home. Searching for him she fell in with an orc named Issac and together the two caught up to the group.
Background Trait - Framed (Family Honor)
Notes: Struggles with working as a team as she wants to snatch stuff and be sneaky like with party treasure and such. Started off two weapon fighting w/ a katana and wakizashi but switched to wakizashi and dagger for the time being. I did let the player know I would let him work towards a feat similar to Dervish Dance but that would affect his katana since he doesn't want to give up on the katana/wakizashi combo for good.
Issac: LG Male Orc Samurai
Str 19 Dex 13 Con 14 Int 5 Wis 9 Cha 9
Rescued by a ronin samurai who escaped to Varisia from Minkai and the Jade Regent while he traveled through the Hold of Belkzen. The samurai saved the boy after witnessing the abuse laid upon him by his parents and the act inspired the samurai to open an orphanage when he arrived in Korvosa that became known for taking in those such as half-orcs or other less desirable orphans. Issac was taught by the samurai in the ways of the warrior to help keep his natural savage instincts under control. The samurai was killed when he intervened to prevent Lamm from abducting some homeless children to make in lambs and was killed which led Issac to take his mentor's old katana and hunt down Lamm.
Background Trait - Dockside Avenger
Notes - the most inexperienced player of our group but very much plays the role of 'Orc Smash' utilizing a katana.
Those are the characters, if there's interest I will post summaries of our first few sessions and keep posting them as long as people keep reading. The backgrounds have already given me some ideas to integrate individual stuff for each character as additional side quests and such but if anyone has suggestions I'm always open to them.
Hi IK
I'd be interested to read what your players have done. However, the section on "campaign journals" might be a better place to post this.
Yep.
Flag the post as "in wrong forum" and the moderation staff will kindly relocate it there for you.
Well I went with the suggestion I've read elsewhere about extending out the opening scene to give Lamm a bit of more appeal considering his ties to the characters and gave it a try.
Session 1
Each member of the party met at Zellara's home where they all settled in to enjoy the bread and wine left for them. At Zellara's arrival they discussed their options and Zellara provided them with the clue she had which was the name of a known fence for Lamm's stolen goods in Middleland. The group chose to try and diplomatically investigate the manner and arrived shortly after the pawn shop opened.
The ninja Siphelele snuck around the back way to keep an eye on the back entrance and make sure no one tried to escape. Out front of the shop (which had been described as having large glass windows to display goods) Ghost took up a position across the street as a lookout/archer to cover them all while Siph went in the front door with Preacher and Issac remaining by the door in case trouble started. Almost straight away, without any guile or subertfuge, Siph asked the fence if he knew where Lamm was which caused him to give a quick single to his guard to attack.
The guard unleashed a crossbolt that missed Siph who suddenly began shouting out in celestial (which none of the party can speak) and swinging her morningstar as the fence's head, caving it in with one fierce blow. Preacher and Issac come barreling into the pawn shop even as another guard, alerted by the noise emerges from the store room, and the battle is on. Ghost unleashes a pair of arrows from across the street the first of which just sticks into the glass and the second that shatters it while his other allies engaged in a fight which ended quickly with both guards and the fence laying on the floor in puddles of blood.
The group attempted to stabilize the fallen foes but failed miserable with the fence and one guard dying as a result. Meanwhile Siphelele entered through the back and caught up to the group. As they bound the unconscious guard up the ignored the gathering crowds outside the windows and instead sent Siphelele into the office while Issac took up a position at the bottom of the stairs to guard it. Shortly thereafter, thanks to concerned citizens reports, two members of the Korvosan Guard arrived on the scene to find two corpses and adventurers in the pawn shop.
Upstairs the fence's wife shouts down that they were attacked (the party never bothered to check upstairs) even as Siphelele gets the safe open and gathers up its contents shouting to the rest of the party she got the safe open (to the player's credit she only has a Wisdom of 4). Siph tries to talk them out of the situation and despite her diplomacy skills it's all a bit far-fetched. The two Guard members to demand the player group surrender themselves peacefully and accompany them into custody so that they can work things out. The group agrees but as the one approaches Siph and when she mentions the king the Guard makes a comment of not being sure that their king is so good (since he's known for his philandering ways) which sets her off. As he approaches she touches his arm and casts an inflict light wounds spell on him and then crushing him with her morningstar.
Another brief fight leaves one Guard dead and the other injured and the group rushes off having recovered the fence's ledger and taking the fence's one surviving guard with them even as people start to shout at two members of the Korvosan Guard being killed. Returning to Zellara's the group interrogates their prisoner and learn he knows nothing and after seemingly putting the fear of god into him let him flee. Consulting the ledger they found leads the group to a small drug den in their quest for Lamm.
After a day of resting up and some healing potions the group took on the old warehouse at night. They entered the warehouse with no troubles and found young teenagers toiling away under the supervision of armed guards. The group took on the guards with relative ease although there were some difficulties once their boss, a rogue named Arthur Black, joined the fight and managed to get a flank of Siphelele and nearly dropped her with his sneak attack before meeting his end at the end of Issac's sword. After finishing off the goons and suggesting the young slaves look for some help from one of the nearby orphanages.
They then took on searching the den and found crates of shiver that the slaves were seperating into little vials for sale on the street although the PCs only figured out it was for some sort of drug. Siphelele triggered a trap to the office and was dosed with dream spider venom but managed to avoid the effects. Inside they found notes that led them to tracking down Lamm's last address at the Old Fishery. Knowledge in hand they went home to rest up and planning to hit Fishery the next day.
Session 2
The players make their moves to assault the Old Fishery and they strike during the day. Initially they scale a nearby warehouse and the brother Paladins decide they want to attempt to get on the roof of the Fishery so Ghost launches an arrow attached to a rope (becoming a favored tactic it seems) from one roof to the other. Preacher then attempts to climb upside down across the water on the rope only to fail his check and plunge down into the waters below where he found himself the victim of the prowling Jigsaw Shark who took a chunk out of the Paladin before his brother hauled him up and out of the water with the rope that they had secured around him before starting.
After this failure the group decided to enter through both the side entrance and the front door. Siphelele and Issac both go in through the side entrance while Siph and Paladins went through the front door. Siph makes short work of the dog Bloo while Siphelele takes a splash of acid from Yargin and then shuts the door leaving the older man to turn and attack Siph with a failed wand. After taking a hit he withdrew from the fight and the group let him leave, fleeing to Lamm’s side while they got their acts together. A quick strategy talk later and with the others all ignoring Siph’s advice the group splits in two to take the rest of the Fishery.
Siph, Preacher, and Ghost go into the Upper Workfloor where Hookshanks got the drop on Preacher with a quick strike with his kukri while his lambs helped attack the others. The group realizing they were facing children ignored them as best they could and focused on taking down Hookshanks who was finally dropped with a arrow from Ghost and the lambs scattered like the wind with their oppressor dead but it was a tight fight thanks to the lambs providing an added problem.
Siphelele and Issac meanwhile went through the office and straight onto the fishery floor where the battled Giggles. The half-orc took great joy in taunting the full-blooded Issac who couldn’t seem to hit at all. Giggles even just laughed when his flail got entangled on Issac’s katana on the first round of combat disarming him. Instead Giggles just laughed and started to punch with his fists as the full-blooded Orc. Siphelele was punched unconscious by the brawling half-orc and Issac staggered when his hit points dipped below zero. Issac finally however managed to get the upper hand and cut Giggles down as the others burst in from the upper workfloor.
Badly bloodied and Siph having expended all of her spells the group beats a hasty retreat from the Fishery leaving Lamm to his own ends. After buying some scrolls of cure light wounds and potions of healing and recovering the group came back the next day, expecting Lamm to have cleared out of dodge. Instead the group failed to notice the sniper that was positioned on the same rooftop they had tried to use previously. The sniper took her single sleep arrow and struck Siphelele with it sending her into a deep slumber. The group then turned on the sniper and took her down with relative ease. Wanting to wake up their ninja Issac took Siphelele and dunked her into the water to wake her up and she took a bite from the prowling shark (rolled a 1 on percentile for a chance of the shark being close enough) which earned her an instant nickname of ‘sharkbait’.
Entering into the fishery the group encountered two trios of guards that Lamm had hired and tore through them but failed to realize that there was a level below that they could access through the floor (poor perception rolls all around) so Siph and the Paladins elected to investigate the abandoned ship behind the fishery. They left Siphelele and Issac in the office to avoid too many on the weak flooring. Siph leapt onto the boat and fell through the floor and into the dream spider’s den where she was besieged by the small insects.
Activating her halo and trying to shout out in celestial Preacher went to leap up and help her (tying a rope to himself) and instead slipped and fell into the waters below. Ghost turned his attention to trying and get his brother out of the water before the shark showed back up while Siph realized she could do nothing to try and hit the tiny dream spiders (although one did bite another killing it and another one tore its own muscles on critical failures) and lit her torch as Ghost finally got a rope over to her. As she climbed out she dropped the torch into the bowels of the boat and they fled, grabbing Issac and Siphelele as they fled, to the shores and watched as the entire fishery started to go up in flames.
They watched as a raft left from beneath the fishery with Lamm and Yargin aboard and with them towing an alligator behind them. Meanwhile a massive wooden crate also floats out and Siph shoves the Issac into the water to retrieve it. The orc actually fails his initial swim check and sinks into the water before getting his wits about him and retrieving the box. Inside they find Zellara’s severed head with her harrow deck shoved into her mouth and the jeweled covered brooch. The group is sufficiently rattled and start back for Zellara’s house when the first whisps of chaos breaks out in the streets and the word spreads that the king had died.
After a confrontation with an old man preaching the end of all the group decides instead to shack up for the night at Preacher and Ghost’s home although Issac is concerned as he left his horse tied up inside Zellara’s house when they headed off for the fishery that morning. After a night of rest the group decided to first sell off their loot and learn that the brooch belongs to the Queen and a reward is out for its return. After a couple attempts to get rid of the brooch the group decides to return to Zellara’s and find an abandoned building looking nothing like what it had. More concerning though is that Issac’s horse is missing, the reins used to tie it up cut. After a conversation with Zellara’s ghost, during which Siph displayed her dislike of all things spirit world, the group decides that their next step will be to try and return the brooch to the Queen.
So far Lamm escaping has done wonders as my players are really itching to get at him and they're assuming because he drug his Gobblegut out with him that he must be a Druid of some sort which has them a bit concerned since he is a spell caster.