outer reaches rumors: trouble brewing

The taverns are abuzz with talk of the farmer Chadwick, and his findings in the Spiderwood.

The Spiderwood is a rather small, though dense forest to the south and west of Riverside.  It takes its name from a native variety of small, green-gold spiders who spin elaborate, delicate webs.  The venom of these spiders is known to be mildly toxic, though seldom fatal.

There are lumberers that work the wood, and several farmers who maintain large farms of root vegetables that benefit from excellent soil quality.  One such farmer is Chadwick, famous for turnips of exceptional size and quality.

Chadwick has farmed the Spiderwood for a decade, living on a humble farmstead near the wood.  He knows the forest trails well, and on a typical afternoon walk, he encountered something altogether surprising--a small grove of poplars in a ring, surrounding a dilapidated hut, in front of which boiled a huge black cauldron over an open flame.

Confident that he was neither lost, nor had the grove been there on walks past, Chadwick made to investigate the hut, but was confronted by a pair of hags who charged forth from the hut with cudgels, threatening to boil the skin from his back and, as Chadwick reports, still terrified from the encounter, "To turn me into a newt!"  Gripped by fear that Chadwick insists was supernatural, he fled the grove.

Some of the townsfolk who live nearest the Spiderwood, especially a few lumberers who camp nearest Chadwicks farm, are concerned--hushed conversations of witches dominates the common rooms of taverns and homes, and there are rumors of folks planning to gather to "burn the witches out of the Spiderwood."

nash: while you were farming

Donnel pushed back the thick brush with the end of his walking stick and worked his way through the thorny mass. It was already mid afternoon and he had found only fleeting passage marks of his fathers lost sheep. “The wretched creatures are probably rotting in the belly of a snape by now.” He cursed.

A sudden crash in the brush behind him sent Donnel leaping to one side, his long wooden staff poised to strike like a woodcutter's ax.

A man of medium build stumbled through the thicket, briers clinging to his clothes and enough red scratches on his face to question if he had recently had another disagreement with one of the many disgruntled barn cats back on the farmstead.

If the scratches hurt him, the man showed no realization of it. He just stared at Donnel with his dull eyes and his mouth locked in that same wit-less grin he always had.

“Henry!” The young man’s voice cracked, “what the crows are you doing here? You just about scared the life out of me.”

“Follow Donny, where’d he goes? Follow Donny, Henry knows!” The dim man chimed proudly.

“Pa send you? I told him I don’t need no help to find some crow begotten sheep,” Donnel began to protest, “but of all the hired hands, why did he have to send you? With all that crashing racket you make’n, you prolly sent every living thing running for the Green Hills.”

Donnel finished his rant uninterrupted by the witless man. One could never really tell if Henry understood much of what was said to him, or if he even heard it. His dull eyes always wandered, though he nodded his head in a steady rhythm of feigned understanding, his lips stretched in that same witless grin. 

“Trees,” Henry responded, as if none of Donnels rant had even reached his ears.

“What?” Donnel started in frustration, “What about the trees? You afraid of the forest or somp-thin?”

“No.” Henry said with a hint of apprehension, “birds live in trees.”

“Birds?” Donnel was growing impatient. “We aint got time to be gawking at no birds in no forest. I need to find them sheep and head back home before supper.”

“What about those birds Donny?” Henry gestured above the treeline of the encroaching forest.

Donnel suddenly became aware of a distinct lack of sound around him. The thicket had become silent save a distant caw-cawing. Where one caw rang out a dozen more answered. Donnel forced himself to look up to see a black cloud of wings. “Crows…” Donnel whispered. His throat suddenly very dry. 

The scavenger birds had amassed and were circling over the edge of the nearby forest.

Donny swallowed and tensed his stomach against a fear that washed over him. Where there were crows in mass, there was death. He wanted nothing more than to turn and run back to the safety of his families farmstead but he could not return empty handed. He had to bring something to his Pa about the sheep, even if it was news of their deaths.

The young man gritted his teeth and pushed nimbly forward through the brush, Henry clumsily crashing behind.

As they reached the edge of the briers, their senses were assaulted with what Donnel had feared most, death. A dozen or so sheep lay butchered at the edge of the forest. Their bodies and life-blood strewn among the trees in a grisly display of brutality. Limbs and entrails alike lay torn across the grass, the blood still seeping gently into the soil. 

Donnel’s stomach lurched and his lunch escaped him in a sudden fit of vomit.

A crow called out nearby and Donnel looked up from his misery in time to see a set of sharp claws rake toward his face. Instinctively, the young man threw up his hands in defense. There was a red hot burn as the goblin tore a streak of flesh from Donnel’s forearm sending him falling backward into the carcass of a dead sheep. The creature shrieked in frustration and bounded toward the young farmer, fangs bared in feral rage.

Time seemed to slow down. Donnel could hear the crunch of each step the creature took on the forest floor. The creatures sickly looking maw was covered in blood that ran generously down its chin. Its skin was pock-marked and covered with ruptured sores and blisters. Two fingers were missing from its left hand, and several of its claws were broken in jagged edges. Donnels heart beat, violently pounding blood through his brain. Was this where he would die? Chasing runaway sheep? Mauled by this creature. His entrails strewn about the forest like the lambs before him? The creatures glazed eyes burned with hatred, pain, and rage as it dove for Donnels throat. That hideous face, those terrible claws, it was all too much. The young man closed his eyes and braced himself for the end.

But the end didn’t come.

There was a sickening hiss and wet thump.

Donnel looked up to see Henry standing over him, steel in hand, and the headless body of the goblin writhing at his feet.

“Stay down,” Henry whispered, and turned to give Donnel another one of his witless grins. 

Nash stood over the young man, the dead goblin before him and three more of the creatures hissing and screaming nearby. 

Nash took a deep breath, sized up the field, and the creatures charged.

At the last moment, Nash lept forward to meet them, his booted foot catching the first square in the face with a sick crunch. Nash twisted to the side mid-kick and dodge the second goblins clawed strike. He lashed out with his blade and cleaved the creatures arm from its body. Spinning, Nash flicked his wrist and a dagger blurred though the air to bury itself up to the hilt in the third creatures throat. The first goblin staggered back, clutching its face where its nose had been. Nash followed through the spin and in a blur of motion used the momentum to part the creatures head from its neck. The second creature raked wildly at Nash with its remaining arm but Nash ducked under the blow and swept the creatures legs from beneath it before driving his sword deep into the creatures heart.

Nash exhaled.

With a flick of his wrist, Nash removed the blood from his blade and the sword disappeared onto his person.

“How... Wha... What the? What the crows just happened?!” Donnel stammered, his mouth gaped open in dismay.

The dim witted farm hand turned back to Donnel with his same witless grin and blank look he always had. “Henry hungry,” He mumbled.

outer reaches rumors: goblins!

Spring turns to Summer, Summer to Autumn, and and our companions find themselves at ends in Riverside...

Several months have passed since the Sowing and the adventures surrounding.  The citizens of Riverside met the return of the companions with much celebration--having saved several of the crew and much of Holden's goods, they were rewarded as promised, and given places of honor during the numerous ceremonies and feasts of the Sowing.

Despite the successful resolution, a nagging interest tugged at the attentions of Granny and Kragh--that of the feral goblins encountered early in their journey.  Begging some time to investigate the matter and further help the town, the companions settled in for some time, finding work and recreation among the town's common folk.

Several outlying farms suffered from ferocious attacks of goblins and their diseased hounds. In the aftermath of one such attack, a suspicion of Kragh and Granny was revealed to be true--all of the goblins seemed to suffer from some kind of skin rash, and showed signs of disease such as pox marks and cloudy, though blood-shot, eyes.  It is unlike anything that anyone, including the town's healers and herbalists, have ever seen.

As Summer fades to Autumn, the occurrence of attacks, as well as their ferocity, only seems to increase--spurring the companions to act.  Is there some evil presence at work, a fell leadership behind the goblin attacks?  Is it just that the goblins themselves are raiding in preparation of Winter?  Is there magic at work, or is it some sickness that has affected the goblins' behavior?

Bonus!

In preparation for the next session, and as an offer to earn some extra experience (even for those that might not make the session, or that have yet to join in), any character may contribute posts detailing how they've spent the past few months in Riverside, or how they may have investigated the matter of the goblins.  I'll progress any sub-plots as necessary within the comments of the post, for questions and such.

As always, anyone who hasn't yet may also submit character backgrounds and descriptions.

I'm hoping to host the next session just prior to Christmas, perhaps Saturday, December 21st?  Please let me know if you think you might be able to make it!

outer reaches #1: rewards!

Here's a breakdown of the XP rewards from the first session.  I feel that it's fair to be transparent--that also gives you guys an opportunity to remind me if I forgot something!

Gold pieces secured (Holden's payment): 80 XP
Enchanted dagger: 100 XP
Potions (unidentified): 250 XP total
Silver goblet: 600 XP
Lacedon (ghouls): 178 XP total
Goblins: 53 XP total
Skeleton: 21 XP
Rust monster: 253 XP
Traps: 10 XP
Award for securing Holden's goods: 1,000 XP
Bonuses: 300 XP

Total: 3,045 XP

Divided by five players at the session, result is 609 XP per player, plus any applicable bonuses due to ability scores.

Regarding the loot:

The silver goblet found in the final chamber, once cleaned up, actually reveals it to be of remarkable workmanship--a coiled serpent forms the handle, the vessel itself molded to be the serpent's distended jaw.  Tiny rubies form the serpent's eyes.  If sold, it will fetch a handsome price--600 gold pieces.

The dagger, secured by Nash, has a silver handle of twin, coiled serpents, whose heads form the blade's guard.  The blade is undamaged by the passage of time, even underwater, and the edge still razor sharp.  It clearly bears some enchantment.  In practice, Nash discovers it to be a dagger +1.

Two potions in glass vials, stopped with wax, are discovered in the satchel.  One is a translucent, bluish liquid [discovered by Daisy to be a potion of healing], the other is a swirling dark red liquid with some sediment at the bottom of the vial.  If anyone wishes to taste either potion to attempt to determine their effects, please let me know...

underleaf: out of sight, out of mind

For anyone who asks, Daisy freely shares that she was born to a Monk's tribe who follows and worships the Goddess Dearmad.  She speaks highly of her Monk brothers and sisters, and seems to wish she was there with them, but never explains why she is not.  She carries a small wooden symbol in honor of her goddess.

Though this is the story she tells, it is clear that there is other information in her past she does not speak of. A scar on her cheek implies she has seen a tougher side of life than she describes.  If an inquiry about the scar is made, she states that it was a during a lesson that she received it, and offers no further explanation.  

She is of average height and size of for a Halfling.  Her dark eyes, skin and hair are also typical for a Halfling. There is nothing remarkable about her appearance in a positive or negative view, save for the scar.  It is easy to see how someone like Daisy would lean towards thieving, as she naturally blends into the background. 

After a few days of travel with her, most discover she refuses any sort of gambling game, some even see a look of fear in her eyes when presented with the option to play.  She always states she'd rather save her luck for battle.  Although she does not partake in a gambling vice, it is clear early on she has a love of ale or meade or wine, or whatever alcoholic beverage be available.  She can drink a dwarf under the table and still ask for more.  Since she is not particularly friendly or flirtatious, she is often working to simply pay for her drinking habit...

in-character posts

As we discussed at the end of the first session, I will award XP bonuses to anyone who posts in-character comment to the blog.  This can be anything from character background, images of your character, session recaps--anything that adds flavor and depth to the characters or the setting.

As an example, I awarded Ethan 250 XP for his character background post.  For this bonus XP, any bonuses due to ability scores will not apply.  I think it's fair to reserve those bonuses for XP gained during gaming sessions only.

I will XP for all material commensurate to the quality of the content--if you'd like me to look anything over before you post it to the site, please send it to me in an email first.

Hope to see more material from everyone!

unreliably-reliable: a character bio of nash

Description:

A striking and handsome man who hardly looks of his early 30’s. His care-free and cheerful smile from behind sky blue eyes and golden locks never seem to betray a mysterious pain lingering inside. He is of medium build, quick witted, light on his feet and charming of tongue.

Though he greets friend and stranger with an ever pleasant grin, he can be surprisingly brutal and thorough in combat. Preferring to finish the job first and clean up later.

Though he enjoys the companionship of others, when convicted of a course of action, he is hard to sway otherwise. He will regularly disappear or seem to be at odds with his group, only to surprisingly return when most needed.

Nash has shown himself to regularly be generous and quick to aid those in ‘genuine’ need, but he shows little-to-no mercy for those who are at odds with his purposes (such as feral goblins who chew half his HP away).

Biography:

Orphaned and starving, Nash and his younger brother Edrik did what they could to survive on the streets. They would often steal food from travelers or market vendors. The two brothers became quite adept at this task and one day caught the eyes of Renec, Guild Master of The Howling Wind. Renec took the children from poverty at a young age and trained them in the Howling Wind Guild (The Howling Wind Guild is the elite combat unit of the Menogene. They have two important tasks: To protect important people and assassinate them. The guild also takes part in espionage, sabotage or any other request requiring subtly. Training in the guild is highly secretive and is rumored to even pit members against each other in mortal combat.) 

Undergoing ruthless training that often brought them to the brink of death, Nash and his brother strengthened each other and survived. Nash showed great skill and cunning, and carried out many successful contracts early on. However life in the Howling Wind was not for Edrik. Knowing this, Nash helped Edrik fake his death and flee the guild. Years passed. Edrik settled down in a remote village, married and was content to live off the land with his wife. Nash would visit his brother in secret once a year to bring money and news. Each visit, drik would urge his brother to abandon the guild and live a life of peace but Nash would refuse. Later, Nash was contracted to assassinate a “troublesome” rebel leader at an Inn. Upon reaching the targets location, Nash was surprised to find none other than his brother Edrik. Renec, knowing Nash had deceived the guild by helping his brother flee had staged the encounter. Refusing to kill his rother, Nash and Edrik fought off their pursuers and fled.

Fearing for his families safety, Edrik returned to his home accompanied by Nash. Upon his return, Edrik was horrified to find his wife and children slain. Nash and his brother were confronted once again by the Howling Wind Guild and fought ferociously against their assailants. Seeing the guilds leader, Ranec, Edrik became blind with rage and dove at the master. Though the battle was fierce, Ranec proved to be the better and delivered Edrik a mortal blow.

With his last breath, Edrik urged his brother once again to turn from his life in the Howling Wind and live a peaceful life. Ranec, thinking him demoralized and defeated, offered Nash forgiveness if he would return to the Guild. However, Nash, having lost what little joy he still found in the world, refused. Conflicted and seeing that he would be overpowered, Nash fled into the wilderness.

Nash wandered the wilderness alone for months, despairing of life itself. Coming upon the head of the great river Turrion at the fall of Lillaeth, he threw himself over the edge, thinking to end his life. But fate would not have it be so. Barely alive, Nash’s body was found by a small community of nomads along the river’s edge. The simple, but kind people cared for Nash and welcomed him into their community. Life slowly began to return to his weary soul as he experienced the peoples kindness, heard them laugh, and watched them care for one another. As the years passed, Nash became as a brother to the men of the tribe, sharing in their joys and sorrows. Committed to honor his brothers dying wish, Nash put away his weapons and lived at peace within the community. 

Peace and happiness proved to be elusive. Rumors of bandits began to pass through the quiet community from other tribes. Though they tried to hide it, Nash could see the fear in the eyes of his new brothers and sisters (a look he had only ever seen in the eyes of his own targets). Tensions grew as woman and children began to arrive, having fled their own homes in fear. Nightmares of his past exploits began to torment Nash through the night. In his dreams, he would relive many his missions for the Howling Wind, but each of his victims faces were those of the new community he had become a part of. 

Late one night, men from a neighboring village came asking for help. Their homes were under attack by bandits. They were tired and desperate; they could not protect their own families. There were no warriors in the tribe, but the men gathered to help anyway. Nash accompanied the men to the other village even if to only protect them from as much harm as he could. None were prepared for what hey found. 

Homes still burning, woman and children lay slain in their sleep. Nash’s memory reeled with images of his own return to Edrik’s home that fateful evening. Nash was jarred from his memory by the wails of sorrow around him. Looking out over the destroyed homes, Nash caught sight of two bandits who had lingered in their plundering. Without a moment’s hesitation, Nash was upon them. His heart burning with rage, he slew the two men in an instant. 

Stripping the men, Nash clothed himself in the garb of a bandit and set out to find the men’s camp. Though they were stunned at his sudden and brutal slaying of the two bandits, the villagers offered to accompany him. Nash refused, and vanished into the forest before there was any protest. Coming upon the camp by twilight, Nash crept from tent to tent slaying each man silently. By dawn, Nash had not left a soul alive. 

In a daze, his hands stained with the blood of a dozen men, Nash returned to the quiet village that had shown him so much kindness. But he could not enter. Though his heart willed it, and people would have received him gladly, there was no returning to that dreamlike life of peace. His blood stained hands truly had no place among a people so kind and gentle. 

Nash could not escape his past, but he could embrace the future. Though he had taken many lives, he could also protect life. In that moment, as he turned away from the peaceful tribe, he vowed to live the rest of his life to atone for his past. To help the helpless and protect the weak, he would once gain wield his blade. He would allow his hands to be stained with blood so that others may know peace.

outer reaches #1: maiden voyage

Wherein the characters assemble in the town of Riverside, encounter something unexpected floating down the Whitewater, plunder a forgotten temple and return to Riverside as heroes.

A new campaign is finally underway - we played our first session on Saturday evening, using AD&D 1st Edition as the rule set, in a setting of my own creation.  Our game began in the small, frontier town of Riverside, nestled upon the bank of the Whitewater, a river which flows from the mountains to the north.  The town and surrounding hamlets and farmsteads are independent of any government, having fled the tranquility and safety of civilized lands to the southeast, trading this for the opportunity to live in freedom in a region that is largely untamed.

Assigned as guards to a caravan of goods, the adventurers arrive safely in Riverside, having traveled from Greymarsh, a struggling village to the south.  Riverside prepares for the Sowing, a springtime festival where merchants, farmers, laborers and others congregate to buy and sell seeds, services, tools, and implements for the coming planting season.  The adventurers now find themselves at loose ends--they are:  Daisy, a halfling with shadowed past; Granny, a venerable half-elven sage and herbalist; Kanaen, a stalwart dwarven commander on a mission from his king; Kragh, a simple (yet mighty) half-orc priest, warrior and animal midwife; and Nash, a private, though impulsive human skilled with blades.

The morning after the group's arrival in Riverside, they awake to cries and commotion at riverside, where several men are setting up tents and pavilions for the coming festival.  Floating down the Whitewater are several waterlogged crates, barrels of goods and broken timbers, signs that a river boat due to arrive today with a shipment of goods has run into trouble.  As the party searches the debris for clues, Kanaen appeals to the chief shareholder responsible for the shipment, a grey-haired and stern-faced man named Holden, and offers the group's services to investigate the wreck and search for survivors, as well as to ensure that future shipments have safe passage.

The likeliest site for the wreck is a sharp bend in the Whitewater, referred to by locals and river folk as the Scythe, about a day and a half journey north of Riverside.  The party makes preparations and leaves immediately, accompanied by six porters employed by the shareholders.  At dusk, they encounter an aggressive band of goblins--the party had heard rumors of especially feral goblins raiding outlying farms--but they quickly put the threat to rest with a volley of missiles and some blade-work.  The night, and the rest of the journey is uneventful, until eventually they arrive at the wreck--the river boat pinned between the muddy shore and a large boulder, in the middle of the Scythe.

Several corpses of oarsmen are found, and Daisy encounters the boatswain of the vessel, Crawford, who had locked himself in the cabin.  He explains that the night watch was attacked, the anchor somehow cut or raised during the attack, and the boat entered the rapids of the Scythe at night, eventually crashing upon rocks and breaking up.  The attackers were humanoid, but not much more could be made out--Crawford seemed extremely shaken up by the attack, noting only that he's sure that the men were dragged off, and that they were alive.

Some of the shipment remained unspoiled, so the porters set to work under Crawford's direction preparing them for return to Riverside while the party investigated the forest, following bare footprints and drag marks from the wreck deep into the wood.  After some time, they came to a finished, open stone entrance and stair leading into the earth--the stones surrounding the entry were adorned with pictographs of men and serpents, as well as text in an indecipherable language.  Muddy footprints lead into the dark, with stairs covered in mold an lichen--signs that the temple was flooded in the past.

Descending carefully, the party actually discovers that some of the stairs are missing, concealed by a clever illusion--a pit trap!  The pit leads to a natural cavern below the stair flooded with water and the party, deciding that discretion is the better part of valor, leaves the cavern for future exploration, instead following the trail deeper into the cavern.  More pictographs and text decorate the walls, and three separate passageways lead from the entry chamber.  In one, the party sees that the wooden slats of the door are piled up in the entryway, the iron binding the slats having disintegrated.  Inside, they interrupt a scavenging arachnoid--actually a rust monster--and  Nash throws caution to the wind, instigating a reaction from the creature.  Daisy and Kragh suffer losses, having their respective weapons and armor destroyed by the creature, before they finally overcome the beast with pummeling fists and lit oil.

Another chamber reveals an eerie sense of old and dark magic--the chamber is lit by a green, glowing stone--with an altar to a forgotten serpent deity.  A hole in the floor leads into the cavern below, and Kragh thinks he catches sight of a humanoid before hearing something drop into the water below.  Cautious of the room, and of the shadowy inhabitant, they spike the door behind them while they investigate further.

The center passage is actually a huge, distended snake's jaw, worked into the stone--Daisy's search for traps reveals nothing, so they group passes into a worship chamber, the tunnel ending in another snake's jaw on a landing above the floor.  The floor is about 12' below the landing, with twin stairs leading down one side of the chamber and up the opposite side, but the room is flooded, the water stagnant with a thick layer of algae.  Kragh takes the plunge, swimming to the other side to anchor a rope, but is nearly pulled underwater by the grasping claws of a submerged skeleton.  Kragh is able to pull it from the water and smash its skull against the wall, but not before it gouges his eye with its bony thumb.

The rope is soon anchored, however, and the party crosses into the next chamber--where they find surviving members of the crew!  They find, them, however, in a pool of stagnant water up to their chins, literally being pickled, by a pair of lacedons which also reside in the chamber, attacking them from two sides.  Kanaen falls to their paralyzing claws early in the fight, though assists in finishing off the first, while Granny shatters a lit lantern against the second before falling to the ground paralyzed, having been struck at the same time.  The others finish off the ghoul, some time is spent in recovery, and the group escapes the drowned temple after some quick looting of the chamber.

Returning to the wreck, the party finds that the porters have assembled the goods, and the surviving crew and party stagger wearily into the forest.  They are eventually caught up by a second river boat, laden with goods, which picks them up and the session ends with the party returning to Riverside as heroes.  While some of the crew were lost, half were saved, as well as a portion of the goods for the festival.  A most excellent beginning!