[Coming Soon] The Heart of Albion, a Hexcrawl Campaign for Castles & Crusades

The Heart of Albion Hexcrawl Campaign Setting

By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler

The year is 1400 AUC, as the world has fallen into the cold-hearted grasp of Fimbul Winter.

 

Summer is as autumn, spring is as winter, and winter? Winter is as some cold slice of the Hells. Glaciers are rolling out of the mountains; new lands rise as waters retreat; and the very earth cracks under the weight of the Wrath of Eldisor.

 

The Great Northern Isle of Skandza has shattered into a thousand isles under the weight of these glaciers, and the survivors struggle to survive amidst the ruins as the Old Gods fight for their survival. Elsewhere, the remnants of the old Tyrrhenian Empire are being swept away by waves of barbarians and savagery…

 

The peninsular realm of Albion, far in the northwest and forgotten by Tyrrhenia and Skandza alike, is undergoing similar convulsions.

 

The native Kymrae and Brigantian tribes, Tyrrhenized and free, are threatened by the invasion of the barbaric Reichlanders from the east and the Caledonians from the north.

 

The native demi-humans and fairies are caught in between, and also drawn into the internecine battles between the various families of the Old Gods of Albion and the Reichlands, and even those from further afield, in their struggles with one another and with the rise of the new faith, the Holy Temple of Law.

 

And here and there still stand a few settlements and strongholds of Jordvann and Tyrrhenia, where the Jordvanner seek to rebuild civilization and the Tyrrhenians seek to conquer its remnants amongst those dimming points of light.

 

Follow the development of this classic Hexcrawl Campaign, The Heart of Albion, and explore the history behind the Continental Realms of the current Isle of Eldisor setting.

 

The development of this new Castles & Crusades setting will be featured on my blog, Adventures in Gaming v2, to edify those who wish to learn how to develop their own campaign settings in the classic Hexcrawl Sandbox fashion.

 

For fans of Labyrinth Lord, never fear; Castles & Crusades is readily adaptable to Labyrinth Lord (just as Labyrinth Lord is readily adaptable to Castles & Crusades).

 

Further Labyrinth Lord development of the Isle of Eldisor in the current era will follow the completion of The Heart of Albion, notably the northern half of Eldisor, The Northlands.

Follow developments on these pages!

Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition Review

So at Gen Con I picked up a copy of the new, 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook.

I hadn't really followed much of the brouhaha over the new edition, nor had I play-tested it; while I had downloaded the free starter set information, I hadn't even read it yet. But, it was the new edition of D&D, so I had to give it a try. Heck, I even gave 4th Edition a try... howsoever brief. So why not, too, 5th Edition?

Here's the short of what I think: 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons is a lovely home-brewed, house-ruled version of the Castles & Crusades system and the ideals of Labyrinth Lord with a dash of Dungeon Crawl Classics and HackMaster 4th Edition for flavor.

The long of it: Based on the PHB, this is probably a game I would play. Heck, if the MM and DMG live up to what I've seen in the PHB, I might even want to run a 5th Edition game. I would have never said that about 4th Edition, and after running a fair bit of 3rd Edition, I gave up on that, too.

But this game really tickles my fancy. And by my fancy, I mean my desire for a nice, simple system. And the new edition honestly delivers. It basically strips the d20 System down, much like Castles & Crusades does, and rebuilds the system using the ideals of the original and early editions... again, much like Castles & Crusades does. It makes certain different assumptions on making the numbers work, but it really feels like a Castles & Crusades variant.

So while I won't be changing my core, go-to game systems... Castles & Crusades and Labyrinth Lord... I will definitely be adding 5th Edition to my repertoire of playable games.

A few specific notes, good and bad, some to chew on, others just to remark upon:

I really, really, REALLY like the way they do spell memorization and spell slots. I'm going to have to steal that system for my house-rules for both C&C and LL.

The halfling art in the book is ridiculous... horrendous, even, in some spots. Otherwise, the art is quite nice. Very medievalesque, yet very inclusive and diverse. Really, better art than any they've had since 2nd Edition.

Oddly, there is no one place where the skills Open Locks and Find/Remove Traps are defined, systematically. You kind of have to piece together bits from the descriptions of Thieves Tools and Dexterity Ability Checks. Would have thought there would have been something definitive in the Rogue description, but no... I guess that is all for the DMG.

There are three Arcane spell-casters, the Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard, each doing magic slightly differently. I could see having maybe one, maybe two in a single campaign, but three... I dunno. Seems a bit heavy. And then, too, you have the Eldritch Knight and the Arcane Trickster Archetypes/Demi-classes (shadows of Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea), so really there are five arcane spell-casting classes...

Grappling is nice and simple, as is Two Weapon Wielding. These I like.

Feats are optional, seriously optional, and I think work much better than they did in 3rd Edition. I also like the Backgrounds. One minor note, that I know is going to be a complaint from some players, is moving Charge from a combat option to a feat... I think that will be house-ruled in my games, considering how charge-happy my players are...

And then there is Healing. Using Hit Dice for Healing in Short Rests, recovering all HP and all HD during a Long Rest... that is likely to change. Maybe requiring a Full Day Rest to recover a used HD. Though really, you know, using the rules as written would just make the game go that much faster, with less down-time going back to town to rest and relax. We shall see...

Some of the spells are nerfed, others go way up in power. I think it balances out to make arcane spell-casters more useful in general, especially when combined with the new memorization and spell-slot system. I've usually given wizards a "mage-bolt" power as it was, so it fits in with my way of gaming pretty well.

Essentially, as I went through the book, my thoughts went more often to "ooh, I can use this/steal this" rather than "this makes no sense," as it did often when reading the 4th Edition books.

So the upshot is, 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons is a game I would like to play... maybe even run. I can't really give it a better recommendation than that...

[C&C] Return to the Haunted Highlands Kickstarter

The Troll Lords have a new Kickstarter up, this time for Casey W Christofferson's Return to the Haunted Highlands. It is a complete campaign setting designed for use with Castles & Crusades. Casey does some great work, and this builds upon a long series of excellent adventures placed in the Haunted Highlands. You should definitely check this out if you like Castles & Crusades or classic fantasy campaign settings! 

Here are the details:

The Castles & Crusades Return to the Haunted Highlands includes everything you need to start a game in the Haunted Highlands. Return to the Haunted Highlands Kickstarter includes two books (and possibly more) and a Map.

The Castle Keeper's Guide to the Highlands, 200+ pages: Includes all relevant setting material, adventures (DB1-DB6 expanded and updated), new monsters and more.

A Players Guide to the Highlands, 76+:  includes racial variants, class specializations, new spells, magic and more (also includes expanded and updated material from the Black Libram).

Maps: 12 x 18 full color Map of the Haunted Highlands.

The Haunted Highlands

Upon the bloody northern marches lies a curious Roadhouse. Here are gathered the flotsam of the world: miscreants, mercenaries, soldiers of fortune, adventurers. Dirty Bowbe's Roadhouse they call it, and it's as rough and safe a sanctuary as any will find in those dark and bloody grounds!

Once, long ago, a Kingdom thrived here and the wealth of its coffers flowed across the lands as honey from a jar. From the deep, blue waters of Lake Veyona to the broken crags that overlook the Northern Steppes the King ruled a realm, both prosperous and contented.

But all things must end. And the wages of war and plague overwhelmed the King and his people and ground all to ruin. And the days of the Highland Kingdom are long past so that now nothing but memories remain . . . memories and their shadows.

Or so such tales are spun by the hearth fire at Dirty Bowbe's Roadhouse to any and all who pass through, for that legendary tavern lies at the center of the world.

To the northeast of Dirty Bowbe's lie the ruins of Bortenski and the hazardous wastes known as the Witch Moor. Beyond that, the village of the Ugashtan and further still lay the broken crags of the Mythnoc Cairns where the proud barbarian people once buried their cherished dead. More, there are the trees of the Grove of the Green Man, the Crater of Umeshti, the Fey Wood and Troll Downs, the Free City of Eskadia, land ripe with the forgotten or lost treasures of a realm long passed.

These are the Haunted Highlands

Industry nominated, award winning author Casey Christofferson has long been a part of the Castles & Crusades experience. With over 30 RPG books to his credit he knows the genre and craft well. Crusaders have enjoyed the Haunted Highlands for years, wanting only for more. Now with Return to the Haunted Highlands, Casey delivers that with a punch.

Click here to check out Return to the Haunted Highlands

[Now Available] Magnificent Miscellaneum Vol. II

Magnificent Miscellaneum Vol. II

By James Mishler & Jodi Moran-Mishler

Published by Troll Lord Games

Troll Lord Games has released the second volume of the Magnificent Miscellaneum, filled with material designed for use with Castles & Crusades!

This volume includes:

10 WHITE BOX MENACES

Gloedfoers: Infernal sheep who dance on their enemies heads and unleash a terrible form of hellfire!

Majamadhu: Spawn of medusa these tiny creatures pack a fearsome punch in their quest to avenge the death of their dam!

Muhafitaz: Lovely crystalline constructs that bring a shimmering doom to those who would steal their treasures!

Mwizikili: That which you cannot see, cannot hear, cannot smell, cannot taste, and cannot feel cannot actually kill you, but it can make you wish you were dead!

Najanma: Perhaps the most horrid undead creatures ever created! Use at your own risk!

Pankhaliya: A strange ally for heroes and adventurers, or a deadly enemy for hunters and villains...

Songdutha: These friends of druids will rock your world if you do not respect their authority!

Thitwee: Surely, this creature’s name shall become an insult applied to fellow gamers at tables everywhere!

Thûtuszlak: The next time your friend tells you his character was killed by a slug, don’t laugh; it might have been one of these...

Varasuma: If you don’t have a sense of humor, pray you do not encounter these mirthful fairies!

POTENT PRIESTCRAFT

Four spells powerful and unusual:

Bonumcanis: Summon a hound from heaven to act as your guardian!

Choreamortis: Use the dead to your best advantage!

Luxbeata: Call upon the shining light of the heavens to punish evil and purify the good!

Malumcaligo: Conjure a terrible black fog to protect you from your enemies!

WONDROUS WIZARDRY

Introducing Eyebites, spells that can be cast with but a single glance, word, or motion, outside of normal initiative!

Calegrandt’s Celeritous Sidestep: Avoid fate!

Foudrecout’s Somnuscent Interjection: Enchant your opponents with a magical sleep!

Malendrian’s Malefic Stuttering: Ruin your opponent’s ability to cast spells!

Velophandre’s Toxic Revelator: Call upon all poisons to reveal themselves to you!

MYSTIC MAGIC ITEMS AND AMAZING ARTIFACTS

Claw of the Lich: Gain great power over the undead!

Eye of the Gorgon: Ruin your enemies by turning them to stone!

Ear of the Fish: Speak with fish!

Jar of Light: Let no darkness overtake you!

* Published by Troll Lord Games *

* PDF $1.25 *

* By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler *

Buy Magnificent Miscellaneum II at DriveThruRPG

  

Buy Magnificent Miscellaneum II at RPGNow

[Now Available] Magnificent Miscellaneum Vol. 1

Magnificent Miscellaneum Vol. 1
By James Mishler and Jodi Moran-Mishler

Every issue of this ongoing series of supplements contains a magical mix of wondrous wizardry, potent priestcraft, monstrous menaces, mystical magic items, and more. With a touch of humor and classic gaming goodness, the Magnificent Miscellaneum is a collection of various materials for your Castles & Crusades, Amazing Adventures, Harvesters, Tainted Lands, Star Siege, and Fields of Battle games, for both players and game masters. We may have sold 12,000 copies of the Castles & Crusades Players Handbook and released five separate printings, but it doesn’t mean we all can’t use more! The Crusade goes on!

This first issue includes three new spells for Castles & Crusades, a crazy and weird monster in classic B-Movie style from the Cold Depths of Space, five new monsters in the quick and easy format used in the Castles & Crusades White Box Set, and a mysterious NPC for Amazing Adventures.

At $1.25 it’s a great bang for your buck! Buy your copy of Magnificent Miscellaneum early; buy them often. And let us know in our forums at www.trolllord.com what you want to see more of in the Magnificent Miscellaneum.

About James Mishler
You may know him from work on the Wilderlands of High Adventure at Adventure Games Publishing. You might recall his work as an Editor at Scrye Magazine and Gaming Report.com. Perhaps you ran into him when he managed Chimera Hobbies in Appleton, Wisconsin. Or maybe you were one of the lucky few to have died in his Castles & Crusades demos at Gen Con. But he's back, he's rolling dice, and he's writing magnificent bits of miscellaneous goodness from his keyboard straight into your heart. And this time he's fortified by the love and creativity of his amazing wife, Jodi Moran-Mishler!

Click here to buy it at DriveThruRPG

Click here to buy it at RPGNow

[Sixth Age] More Complete Session 01 Plus Down-Time 01

SIXTH AGE CAMPAIGN JOURNAL

Session #01: June 9, 2012                                                                               

At the beginning of the adventure the party consisted of:

Keela (CG Female Half-Orc 1^st level Fighter, MLC, Dublin) [Jessi]

Nesta (CN Male Half-Orc 1^st level Wizard, ULC, Roadpigs) [Rob]

Niena (CG Female High Elf 1^st level Fighter, MUC, Dublin) [Julie]

Salantra (CG Female High Elf 1^st level Cleric of Solonor Thelandira/Wizard, MUC, Berklee) [Nathan]

Salyena (CG Female High Elf 1^st level Cleric of Solonor Thelandira/Wizard, MUC, Berklee) [Robbie]

Ëalor “Stabytha” Duskwind (CN Female High Elf 1^st level Thief, UMC, Berklee) [Zel]

Thurn (LN Male Dwarf 1^st level Fighter, MMC, Mount Diablo) [Bailey]

Hirelings and Henchmen included:

Stefan the Bastard [Torch Bearer]

Party Connections:

Salantra and Salyena are twin sisters;

Salantra and Salyena know Niena through upper-class social circles, often hanging out together at the Shield and Grail, a high-class club in Berklee;

Salantra and Salyena met Stabytha through the local bureaucracy, her father being a mid-level official connected to the Wizards Guild;

Salantra and Salyena met Keela through Keela’s half-sister, a student at the Imperial College of Wizardry;

Salantra and Salyena met Nesta when he tried to apply to the Imperial College of Wizardry;

Keela and Nesta knew each other as they both hung out at the same lower-class dive bar and flop-house, the Jolly Outlaw;

Thurn overheard the group talking about their impending delve into the dungeon and introduced himself, “Pardon me, ladies, but you aren’t thinking of going into a dungeon without a dwarf, are you?”

The party initially met at the Tipsy Apprentice, a middle-class tavern in Berklee, to discuss the possible targets for their first endeavor. They decided to tackle the Maul of Mindor the Magnificent, a recently re-discovered ruin in the Debatable Lands of Fremon, south of the Shadow Wall that guards the Ten Towns from the things out of the Hell Pit of Sanjo. A maul is a vast underground labyrinthine structure, buried by the detritus of centuries, and occupied by many different species and races; essentially, it is an underground city, town, or village occupied by a wide variety of creatures inimical to the “goodly races.” Wizards and clerics especially are known to use these as recruiting grounds, thus many towers and temples, and the ruins thereof, stand atop these mauls.

Thursday, June 9^th, 900 AC

The adventurers set out from Berklee. They took the daily coach from Berklee to Haywar, and stayed that night at the Crowing Cock Inn, a less savory locale on the south side frequented by adventurers of various stripes. There they spent an otherwise unremarkable evening in revel with others of their type in the common room.

Friday, June 10^th

The party set out to the south, again on the Old Coastal Road, this time afoot, as there was no coach service between Haywar and Castle Nihmits. Around noon they passed through the gates of that pile of stone, the lynchpin in the Shadow Wall. They took the opportunity offered by the guard to scale the tall tower and view the Debatable Lands from a high vantage point. From the top of the tall tower they could see well into Fremon, and could espy the Ardenwood Keep and the great mound of the Maul amidst the swampy forest and bracken. Further to the south, though, the land was covered by the Shadow of the Hell Pit, that coruscating inky bank of cloud and mist that obscured the land for miles around the Hell Pit, protecting many of its denizens from the pure light of the sun.

At this point the guards pointed out that, once they’d had their view of the Shadow, many others had turned back north, deciding that a long if boring life as a clerk or farmer would be better than facing the things under that Shadow. Though they all thought for long moments, none of the party members faltered in their decision to seek out gold and glory under the veil of the Shadow. As they walked down the stairs of the tall tower, they heard behind them guards grunting and chuckling, as some handed to others bits of copper and silver to satisfy bets… many especially over the fateful decision made by the twins Salantra and Salyena, whom the guards fancied were better off in a convent or mayhap some seedy saloon as serving wenches…

And so they continued south. Past Castle Nihmits, the Old Coastal Road turned more into a trail or path, though here and there they could see where there had been recent work to fix a hole or shore up the pavement stones. Still, though it were but short miles from the castle to the keep, the sun was well toward evening when they arrived at the keep… already, it seemed, the Shadow played tricks on them. They decided that discretion were the better part of valor, and secured lodgings at the only inn in the keep, the Balrog’s Head Roadhouse.

There they filled their bellies with a fine fish stew, a bit of roast joint, an orange pilaf, Haywar cheeses and sausages, and topped off their meal with the local Amber Mead, brewed from the honey made from the local eucalyptus trees.

Keela met a pair of adventurers returning from an excursion to the Maul; they had an unpleasant encounter with other adventurers, mercenaries really, who had hired on with one of the resident goblin tribes, the Dwarf Stompers, who were at war with another goblin tribe, the Orc Rippers.

Stabytha met another group of adventurers who were giving up on the Maul; they had lost a companion to a terrible many-tentacled monster that had dropped down from the ceiling and ripped off their companion’s face. They fled, and eventually had to put their friend out of his misery. They had decided that adventuring was just not worthwhile, as all they had to show from their adventure was a dead friend and many small wounds.

Thurn sat with some local folk discussing the old legends concerning Mindor’s magical weapons. For it was said that Mindor recruited a clan of dwarven rune smiths to join him at his Maul. There they built a great business in the production of magical blades, of lesser and greater sort, some of which were still held as heirlooms by noble and gentry families.

That night after even the locals had stumbled off home to sleep, the three shared what they had learned with the party; what the others had learned, if ought, was known but to them.

Saturday, June 11^th

After a good nights sleep, the party paid for a personal room three days in advance and there stored their travel bags and such items as were superfluous to the immediate expedition. They then set off to the south to tackle the Maul of Mindor the Magnificent…

8am to 10am

Walk from Ardenwood to the Maul

10am to 12noon

Check Ruins Above

12noon

Enter Dungeon via Southeastern Entrance

12noon to 1pm

Dragon Lair

Fledgling Fang Dragon (Dissected)

10 Lizard Men

1pm to 2pm

Dragon Toilet

Store Room

Smashed Lab

2pm to 3pm

Crossbow Trap Room

Trap Room

            Thurn in Gas Trap

Lizard Men Lair

            Salyena Rot Grub

            Treasure

Secret Door

3pm to 4pm

Pit Room

            Slimy Green Stuff or Green Slime?

Grand Hall

Nest Room

Grand Hall

            Norkers

4pm to 5pm

Gas Trap Room II

Strange Cache Room

            Piercer (bagged by Nesta)

Giant Spider Room

            2 Giant Spiders Slain, 2 Giant Spiders Burnt

Grand Hall Pit

14 Giant Rats

Dragon Nursery!!!

            Doors slammed and shut

5pm to 7pm

Walk from Maul to Ardenwood

End Session 01, Begin Down-Time 01                                            

Sunday, June 12^th

Return to Haywar, Rest at Crowing Cock Inn

Monday, June 13^th

Keela: Rest & Heal

Nesta: Rest & Heal

Niena: Rest & Sell Treasure

Salantra: Rest & Sell Treasure

Salyena: Rest & Sell Treasure

Stabytha: Rest & Heal

Thurn: Rest & Sell Treasure

Tuesday, June 14^th

Keela: Rest & Heal

Nesta: Spell Training

Niena: Return to Berklee via Coach

Salantra: Spell Training

Salyena: Spell Training

Stabytha: Rest & Heal

Thurn: Research, Meet Hwil Haywar

Wednesday, June 15^th

Keela: Rest & Heal

Nesta: Spell Training

Niena (Berklee): Shop

Salantra: Spell Training

Salyena: Spell Training

Stabytha: Rest & Heal

Thurn: Research, Make Enemy of Hwil Haywar

Thursday, June 16^th

Keela: Rest & Heal

Nesta: Spell Training

Niena (Berklee): ____________

Salantra: Spell Training

Salyena: Spell Training

Stabytha: Carouse

Thurn: Find out how much trouble you are in

Friday, June 17^th

Keela: Rest & Heal

Nesta: Spell Training

Niena (Berklee): ____________

Salantra: Spell Training

Salyena: Spell Training

Stabytha: Carouse

Thurn: Flee to Berklee via Coach

Saturday, June 18^th

Keela: Return to Berklee via Coach

Nesta: Spell Training

Niena (Berklee): ____________

Salantra: Spell Training

Salyena: Spell Training

Stabytha: Carouse (Invest 233 gp in bad deal)

Thurn (Berklee): Shop, get fitted for Plate Mail

Sunday, June 19^th

Keela (Berklee): Rest

Nesta: Rest

Niena (Berklee): Rest

Salantra: Rest

Salyena: Rest

Stabytha: Rest

Thurn (Berklee): Rest

Monday, June 20^th

Keela (Berklee): Shop

Nesta: Return to Berklee via Coach

Niena (Berklee): ____________

Salantra: Return to Berklee via Coach

Salyena: Return to Berklee via Coach

Stabytha: Return to Berklee via Coach

Thurn (Berklee): ____________

Tuesday, June 21^st

Keela (Berklee): ____________

Nesta: Rest

Niena (Berklee): ____________

Salantra: Rest

Salyena: Rest

Stabytha: Rest

Thurn (Berklee): Pick up your plate mail

Wednesday, June 22^nd

All are in Berklee

Keela: ____________

Nesta: Cast Summon Familiar

Niena: ____________

Salantra: Research

Salyena: Research

Stabytha: Visit Father

Thurn: ____________

Thursday, June 23^rd

All are in Berklee

Keela: ____________

Nesta: Research

Niena: ____________

Salantra: Research

Salyena: Research

Stabytha: Visit Father

Thurn: ____________

Friday, June 24^th

All are in Berklee

Keela: Meet @ Tipsy Apprentice, Speak with Thurn

Nesta: Research

Niena: Meet @ Tipsy Apprentice, Speak with Thurn

Salantra: Research

Salyena: Research

Stabytha: Meet @ Tipsy Apprentice, Speak with Thurn

Thurn: Meet @ Tipsy Apprentice, Speak with Thurn

Saturday, June 25^th

Keela: Go to Haywar via Coach

Nesta: Poof! You’re a woman! D’oh!

Niena: Go to Haywar via Coach

Salantra: Finish Research

Salyena: Finish Research

Stabytha: Ask Around Upper Class Contacts

Thurn: Go to Haywar via Coach

Sunday, June 26^th

Keela (Haywar): Check out Hwil Haywar

Nesta: Meet to discuss your problem @ Tipsy Apprentice

Niena (Haywar): Check out Hwil Haywar

Salantra: Meet to discuss Nesta’s problem @ Tipsy Apprentice

Salyena: Meet to discuss Nesta’s problem @ Tipsy Apprentice

Stabytha: Ask Around Lower Class Contacts, bump into trio

Thurn (Haywar): Yup, still persona non-grata!

Monday, June 17^th

Keela (Haywar): Check out Hwil Haywar

Nesta: Meet to discuss Thurn’s problem @ Tipsy Apprentice

Niena (Haywar): Check out Hwil Haywar

Salantra: Meet to discuss Thurn’s problem @ Tipsy Apprentice

Salyena: Meet to discuss Thurn’s problem @ Tipsy Apprentice

Stabytha: Meet to discuss Thurn’s problem @ Tipsy Apprentice

Thurn (Haywar): Hide in room

Tuesday, June 28^th 

Keela (Haywar): Check out Hwil Haywar

Nesta: Go to Haywar via Coach

Niena (Haywar): Check out Hwil Haywar

Salantra: Go to Haywar via Coach

Salyena: Go to Haywar via Coach

Stabytha: Go to Haywar via Coach

Thurn (Haywar): Hide in room

Wednesday, June 29^th

All are in Haywar

Keela: Check out Hwil Haywar

Nesta: Check out Hwil Haywar

Niena: Check out Hwil Haywar

Salantra: Check out Hwil Haywar

Salyena: Check out Hwil Haywar

Stabytha: Check out Hwil Haywar

Thurn: Hide in room

End Down-Time 01, Begin Session 02                                            

Thursday, June 30^th

The session begins with the whole party having breakfast at the Crowing Cock Inn in Haywar…

[Sixth Age] Session 01, June 9, 2012

Session 01, June 9, 2012

At the beginning of the adventure the party consisted of:

Keela (CG Female Half-Orc 1^st level Fighter, MLC, Dublin) [Jessi]

Nesta (CN Male Half-Orc 1^st level Wizard, ULC, Roadpigs) [Rob]

Niena (CG Female High Elf 1^st level Fighter, MUC, Dublin) [Julie]

Salantra (CG Female High Elf 1^st level Cleric of Solonor Thelandira/Wizard, MUC, Berklee) [Nathan]

Salyena (CG Female High Elf 1^st level Cleric of Solonor Thelandira/Wizard, MUC, Berklee) [Robbie]

Ëalor “Stabytha” Duskwind (CN Female High Elf 1^st level Thief, UMC, Berklee) [Zel]

Thurn (LN Male Dwarf 1^st level Fighter, MMC, Mount Diablo) [Bailey]

Hirelings and Henchmen included:

Stefan the Bastard [Torch Bearer]

Party Connections:

Salantra and Salyena are twin sisters;

Salantra and Salyena know Niena through upper-class social circles, often hanging out together at the Shield and Grail, a high-class club in Berklee;

Salantra and Salyena met Stabytha through the local bureaucracy, her father being a mid-level official connected to the Wizards Guild;

Salantra and Salyena met Keela through Keela’s half-sister, a student at the Imperial College of Wizardry;

Salantra and Salyena met Nesta when he tried to apply to the Imperial College of Wizardry;

Keel and Nesta knew each other as they both hung out at the same lower-class dive bar and flop-house, the Jolly Outlaw;

Thurn overheard the group talking about their impending delve into the dungeon and introduced himself, “Pardon me, ladies, but you aren’t thinking of going into a dungeon without a dwarf, are you?”

The party initially met at the Tipsy Apprentice, a middle-class tavern in Berklee, to discuss the possible targets for their first endeavor. They decided to tackle the Maul of Mindor the Magnificent, a recently re-discovered ruin in the Debatable Lands of Fremon, south of the Shadow Wall that guards the Ten Towns from the things out of the Hell Pit of Sanjo. A maul is a vast underground labyrinthine structure, buried by the detritus of centuries, and occupied by many different species and races; essentially, it is an underground city, town, or village occupied by a wide variety of creatures inimical to the “goodly races.” Wizards and clerics especially are known to use these as recruiting grounds, thus many towers and temples, and the ruins thereof, stand atop these mauls.

Thus on Thursday, the 9^th of June 900 AC the adventurers set out from Berklee. They took the daily coach from Berklee to Haywar, and stayed that night at the Crowing Cock Inn, a less savory locale on the south side frequented by adventurers of various stripes. There they spent un otherwise unremarkable evening in revel with others of their type in the common room.

The next morning, June 10^th, the party set out to the south, again on the Old Coastal Road, this time afoot, as there was no coach service between Haywar and Castle Nihmits. Around noon they passed through the gates of that pile of stone, the lynchpin in the Shadow Wall. They took the opportunity offered by the guard to scale the tall tower and view the Debatable Lands from a high vantage point. From the top of the tall tower they could see well into Fremon, and could espy the Ardenwood Keep and the great mound of the Maul amidst the swampy forest and bracken. Further to the south, though, the land was covered by the Shadow of the Hell Pit, that coruscating inky bank of cloud and mist that obscured the land for miles around the Hell Pit, protecting many of its denizens from the pure light of the sun.

At this point the guards pointed out that, once they’d had their view of the Shadow, many others had turned back north, deciding that a long if boring life as a clerk or farmer would be better than facing the things under that Shadow. Though they all thought for long moments, none of the party members faltered in their decision to seek out gold and glory under the veil of the Shadow. As they walked down the stairs of the tall tower, they heard behind them guards grunting and chuckling, as some handed to others bits of copper and silver to satisfy bets… many especially over the fateful decision made by the twins Salantra and Salyena, whom the guards fancied were better off in a convent or mayhap some seedy saloon as serving wenches…

And so they continued south. Past Castle Nihmits, the Old Coastal Road turned more into a trail or path, though here and there they could see where there had been recent work to fix a hole or shore up the pavement stones. Still, though it were but short miles from the castle to the keep, the sun was well toward evening when they arrived at the keep… already, it seemed, the Shadow played tricks on them. They decided that discretion were the better part of valor, and secured lodgings at the only inn in the keep, the Balrog’s Head Roadhouse.

There they filled their bellies with a fine fish stew, a bit of roast joint, an orange pilaf, Haywar cheeses and sausages, and topped off their meal with the local Amber Mead, brewed from the honey made from the local eucalyptus trees.

Keela met a pair of adventurers returning from an excursion to the Maul; they had an unpleasant encounter with other adventurers, mercenaries really, who had hired on with one of the resident goblin tribes, the Dwarf Stompers, who were at war with another goblin tribe, the Orc Rippers.

Stabytha met another group of adventurers who were giving up on the Maul; they had lost a companion to a terrible many-tentacled monster that had dropped down from the ceiling and ripped off their companion’s face. They fled, and eventually had to put their friend out of his misery. They had decided that adventuring was just not worthwhile, as all they had to show from their adventure was a dead friend and many small wounds.

Thurn sat with some local folk discussing the old legends concerning Mindor’s magical weapons. For it was said that Mindor recruited a clan of dwarven rune smiths to join him at his Maul. There they built a great business in the production of magical blades, of lesser and greater sort, some of which were still held as heirlooms by noble and gentry families.

That night after even the locals had stumbled off home to sleep, the three shared what they had learned with the party; what the others had learned, if ought, was known but to them. After a good nights sleep, the party paid for a personal room three days in advance and there stored their travel bags and such items as were superfluous to the immediate expedition. They then set off to the south to tackle the Maul of Mindor the Magnificent...

Also of note, the party hired on a likely local youth, Stefan the Bastard, as their lantern-bearer.

 

To be continued...