A DM's Journal [Archive] - Wizards Community

A DM's Journal [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
chimpman
02-01-04, 01:53 AM Well, I had an idea the other day to share with all of you a DM’s perspective journal from my currently running campaign. I’m doing this for several reasons:

1) Partly I’ve been inspired by all of the various “Addicted to Fireballs” type PC journals floating around on these boards. They’re entertaining. It’s always nice to see what someone else is doing, and sometimes you can draw great ideas from other people’s plots.
2) I’m not a new DM, but I have been out of it for a while… 15 years at the very least. I thought it would be nice to share my ideas with fellow DMs and perhaps be able to benefit from their experience and knowledge.
3) Currently we play online (using OpenRPG) and I’m learning/relearning how to handle PCs, especially over this medium. Dealing with PCs over the net is very different from dealing with them in person. Hopefully I’ll be able to leave some of my own knowledge and experience for others who might need it.

I don’t know if this is the right forum for this. Since I think my target audience will be mostly other DMs (and since I’d like their input on my campaign), this seemed a likely enough place to post. I’ll let the moderators decide whether it needs to be moved or not.

First I’ll share a little information about my campaign. I’m running the campaign in a homebrew world called Errad. So far most of the story has unfolded in a city called Tor-Gathau, one of the handful of city states in the area. I was a little fuzzy about the overall goals of the campaign when I started, but slowly it is evolving pre-cataclysmic themes. The characters will have to start dealing with their world as it begins to fall apart. Not entirely original I know, but nonetheless I’m interested in seeing how they handle things.

I mentioned before that I started playing this campaign online with two (now three) other players. I know all of the players intimately (2 of my brothers and one of their friends), and I may include additional players later on. For now 3 is all I can handle.

So far we’ve had 15 sessions since July of 2003. We try to meet every week, but lost about a month over the holidays. I’m going to try and sum up all of our previous sessions so that I can jump right into the new stuff. There’s not much point in getting feedback from people about events that happened months ago.

By the way, if Simon, Unglar, or Losh happen to see this thread, read no further.
chimpman
02-01-04, 01:57 AM Session 1

Before we started playing we had decided that the campaign would be based from a central city location, and that it would be full of intrigue.

The two players I started with created their characters. Simon is a rogue from the city of Tor-Gathau. He has spent most of his life struggling to stay out from under the sway of the city’s local thieves guild, but his social status has made that hard for him. He knows many of the city’s seedier inhabitants by name if not by sight. His interests include Entarrin (his people) history. Unlgar is a half-orc monk from a wilderness monastery in the northwest. He was orphaned at the monastery’s doorstep and taken in by the monks. After progressing well in his training his masters sent Unglar out into the world to experience it for himself. He is trying to piece together his past.

The two heroes met on the streets of the city while lending aid to someone being waylaid in an alley. The two quickly dispatched the young victim’s assailant. The boy’s name was Tallik and he happened to be a student at the local mage guild (called the Scriptory).

Sessions 2 - 3

Elements from within the Scriptory thanked the two heroes and informed them that much of the city’s recent turmoil was due to racial and cultural tension within its walls. The native inhabitants, the Entarrins still worshipped the elder gods and practiced wizardry, while Dashwa immigrants from the south worshipped younger gods and practiced clerical magic. For decades the two peoples had been living peacefully, but now they feared some force from the south was stirring up trouble. The Scriptory wanted to get to the bottom of these problems and offered Simon and Unglar the opportunity to do so (for modest compensation). In effect the pair became agents of the Scriptory.

Session 4

The party headed off to the south, down the main trade route through the local forest. After a day’s journey they stumbled upon the still smoldering remains of a caravan and investigated it. Trekking off into the forest the pair stumbled upon several goblins and stirred up a stirge’s nest. Before bedding down for the night they were set upon by a wounded (and possibly rabid) wolf.

Session 5

Weakened from their previous encounters Simon and Unglar contemplated turning back when a lone figure entered their camp. The short man introduced himself as Maiark, a mage of some repute and the leader of the doomed caravan. He explained that his caravan was attacked several days ago and his cargo (a shipment of weapons) was taken into the woods. He prevailed upon the characters to help him retrieve his goods. When they agreed he produced several healing potions bringing them back up to full strength.

The brigands turned out to be a druidess and her wolf companions. The battle was hard fought. Simon was brought down by the druidess’ magic, though not killed outright. Unglar and Maiark managed to put down the wolves (due in most part to their erratic behavior) and slay the druidess. After stabilizing Simon Unglar and the wizard inspected their booty. The masterwork swords were plunged into the ground before a grotesque wooden idol, many of them showing rapid signs of decay. Maiark thanked Unglar for his help before blasting him with a Color Spray and laying him out. When Unglar awoke, both Maiark and the swords were gone. Unglar brought Simon around and the two stumbled back to Tor-Gathau.

[DMs Notes: Unknown to the characters Maiark is a goblin sorcerer disguised as an Entarrin merchant. His shipment of weapons was attacked by agents of the Ancient Nature gods (who hold little love for either human or goblin). The goblins that the PCs encountered before were actually the remnants of Maiarks guards. I left several clues to that effect, but am unsure whether or not the PCs picked up on them. Probably not.

The PCs were clearly outmatched in their encounter with the druidess so I didn’t play the wolves to the best of their abilities. They were blinded by sorrow and rage at the death of their companion, killed by the PCs the day before. The wolves could smell her blood on Unglar (who had also eaten the wolf’s corpse for dinner and breakfast – gotta love half-orcs and the PCs who play them).]
chimpman
02-01-04, 02:01 AM Session 6

The PCs return to the Scriptory to heal their wounds and report back to their masters. The Scriptory wants to know who Maiark is and why he is bringing weapons into the city. They feel that this might be related to the current tensions among the populace of the city. This suits the PCs fine. They want Maiark’s blood.

By luck Simon and Unglar see Maiark wandering through the merchant’s district. Simon tries to sneak up on their foe, but Unglar has other plans. A direct charge at the treacherous merchant alerts him to the danger and Maiark slips into the crowd and disappears.

A little footwork leads Simon to the local merchant that Maiark is doing business with. The merchant is a silver smith and was tasked with crafting several small “clockwork” pieces for Maiark. The PCs scared Maiark away before he could close the deal, and the merchant recoups his loss by selling the pieces to the PCs. From him they also discover that Maiark is staying at an inn called the Dawn’s Light. In a bewildering twist of fate the PCs decide to lay low for a while instead of following the villain to the inn.

[DM’s Notes: This is just another example of how the PCs can surprise you. They wanted to lull Maiark into a false sense of security before ambushing him. Maiark had different plans however. After seeing the PCs in town he rushed back to the inn, packed up his things and left for a more secure area. Oh well.]

Session 7

Things have cooled off in town so the PCs decide to head back into the forest and collect all of the loot they weren’t able to haul back the first time (They had coins found near the stirge nest and wanted to collect the druidess’ wooden idol as well). They hired some porters and mules and set back toward the forest. The porters freaked out when they saw the dead goblin bodies, but the PCs convinced them to continue on. The coins were easily packed away, but the idol was a different matter, for it was carved from the stump of a dead tree. Unglar took to the task and started hacking away at its base, only to rile up a swarm of wasps that were living inside. Simon was left to deal with the pesky bugs.

On the way back to the city Unglar, Simon, and their porters were attacked by a worg. Again Simon is brought below 0 hp and Unglar is close behind. Luckily for both of them the worg fumbles its attack and Unglar makes two critical hits in a row. It’s not enough to bring the monster down, but it is enough to give it pause. The worg retreats into the forest, leaving the party to lick its wounds.

[DM’s Notes: Poor Unglar has a phobia of insects. When the swarm burst out he ran for the hills. This left Simon pretty angry. I explained to Simon’s player what was going on OOC, which was probably a mistake. This is just the kind of thing that could have led to some nice role playing, but because of the uncertainty of playing over the net I blew it. I’ve made a concerted effort to keep my mouth shut in these kinds of circumstances after that, and I think it’s starting to pay off.]

Session 8

Before leaving Tor-Gathau Simon and Unglar had some of the Scriptory Students appraise their loot. Upon their return the students have information for them. The onyx carvings they found are of Naganaz, the elder god of fear and darkness and patron of the goblins. Rumors say that long ago Naganaz was imprisoned by the gods of light. Unfortunately one of the Scriptory Masters saw the artifacts and confiscated them, removing them to the Scriptory archives below the school.

More digging around the city uncovers the fact that Maiark has dealings with a single weapons shop called T’armr Voorj (knightly armor). Poor Simon still feels like he’s missing something and so finally breaks down and pays a visit to an “old friend” of his named Lernung. Lernung basically confirms all that Simon knows already, but can’t add any new information. Nevertheless Simon now owes Lernung a “favor.”

[DM’s Notes: Simon had studiously avoided using his contacts in the underworld while trying to figure out what Maiark was up to, or where he could be found. I left enough clues around so that he didn’t actually need to ask them, but in the end he was so certain he had missed something that he just had to go back to the slums. Poor, poor Simon. Yes, I’m creating a kind of Godfather situation… not original, but it works…]

Session 9

The PCs finally decide to investigate the Dawn’s Light inn. They come up with several schemes to ingratiate themselves with the owner so that they can snoop around, but all of their efforts are fruitless. Simon persists however and the pair breaks in after hours, ultimately causing quite a commotion. This brings them to the attention of one Talon Sitsk (aka. “The Serpent”), who happens to be staying there. Sitsk is a major purveyor of drugs and poisons, and has dealings with the thieves guild of the city. Unknown to the characters, Sitsk has them followed.

After their abortive attempts at the inn, the PCs pay a visit to T’armr Voorj. The shop owner is busy conversing with one of the town guards, and the PCs are able to confirm that the masterwork weapons are in this shop. They try to snoop around some more, but the owner’s mastiff puts a stop to that. Unglar catches a glimpse of the dog’s eyes as they glow red. The heroes leave the shop.

[DM’s Notes: Another case of the PCs running in the wrong direction, I just couldn’t pull them away from that darn Dawn’s Light inn. I decided not to let this whole session be a waste and so invented Sitsk on the spot to liven things up. He would visit them shortly.]
chimpman
02-01-04, 02:03 AM Session 10

Tallik takes the boys out to his favorite hangout, a tavern called the Crying Jester, and introduces them to the bard Lahdwey. It’s fairly evident that Tallik has a little crush on her, and has been feeding her stories of the hero’s exploits in order to get to know her better. This makes both Simon and Unglar fairly nervous. The two make plans to stake out the weapon shop while Lahdwey is on stage singing. Tallik has a little too much to drink and Unglar sends him home. Lahdwey helps Tallik stumble back to the Scriptory.

After hours of sitting in a dark alley the PCs discover that they are not the only ones prowling the streets. A worg enters the dark alley, its eyes glowing red, and leaps to attack. Fortunately for the heroes Tallik was not as drunk as he claimed to be, and he and Lahdwey had trailed them. They came to the rescue and soon the four defeated the worg. Simon discovered a trinket (a collar dangling a severed dog’s ear) around the beast’s neck, but before Tallik could identify it the group heard voices approaching them. They managed to hide as two men passed, one dressed in the garb of the city guard. “Never send a mut to do a man’s job…” one of them mumbled to the other as they examined the worg’s crumpled body. The hunters were being hunted.

[DM’s Notes: The owner of the weapon shop is a member of an ancient knightly cult. Long ago the knights were the protectors of the Entarrin people and were tightly bound with the Scriptory. Betrayal led to the disbandment of the order and Scriptory Masters took over the knight’s political powers. The knights and the goblins now have an (very fragile) alliance. The goblins are making masterwork weapons (unlike any that can be found in the city) and the knights are passing those weapons on to various dissident groups in Tor-Gathau. The plan is to get these groups to cause enough turmoil inside of the city so that the goblin/knight alliance can enact a coup, replacing the king with a puppet of their own.]

Session 11

Simon, Unglar and the rest return to the Crying Jester only to find Sitsk lying in wait for them in Lahdwey’s room. His thugs subdue the group and the sorceress with him casts spells to detect their surface thoughts. Sitsk then begins to question them about why they were snooping around the Dawn’s Light. Convinced that he was not their target, Sitsk finally extracts information about Maiark and T’armr Voorj. The name T’armr Voorj sets Sitsk off and he tasks the party with infiltrating the establishment. He takes a personal item from each of them and then leaves.

[DM’s Notes: Sitsk is actually the vassal of an ancient green dragon, and as such is the sworn enemy of anything knightly in the realm. Before the Voorj were discredited they were the foes of wyrms, and put many of the creatures to the sword. Sitsk has a hunch that their degenerate cult is up to something and is using the PCs to discover what that is for him. He took a personal possession from each to make it easier for his sorceress to scry on them.
This session didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to. I did too much of the talking, and I think I was really railroading my PCs at this point. Bad DM! I don’t really want to railroad my PCs so I’m going to have to watch out for this sort of thing in the future.]

Session 12

Tallik has some time to play around with the gruesome collar they took off of the worg and determines that it radiates alteration magic. After some experimentation he and the PCs finally understand the magic. If placed around the neck of a canine it will transform it into a mastiff.

Finally ready to explore T’armr Voorj in more detail Simon and Unglar pick up a few supplies from the Scriptory (healing potions) and wait until dark. They watch the shop for several hours but see no activity. After breaking in the group (Simon, Unglar, Tallik, and Lahdwey) are ambushed by the two men they heard the previous night. They manage to kill both men.

[DM’s Notes: One of the men was a city guard, and killing him will cause the PCs trouble down the line. This whole business made Tallik nervous to no ends, but the PCs took no heed of it.]

Sessions 13 - 14

T’armr Voorj is infested with goblinoids, which the party has no trouble dispatching. Unglar discovers that the goblins are sworn to the Malygoth, and ancient group of demons that were imprisoned in the northern mountains and supposedly guarded over by his own monastic order. Both he and Simon fear the worst, that the monastery has been destroyed and the demons set free.

Exploring the tunnels beneath the shop the PCs come across a large blackened chamber with 4 tunnels leading into it (the one they entered from and 3 others), and a large obscene idol in the middle. While searching the room they are attacked by a shadow that leaps out from the idol. They dispatch it, but Simon has felt the effects of its touch. A faint breeze can be felt coming from one of the tunnels and the PCs decide to take that route in hopes of reaching the surface.

[DM’s Notes: What can I say, the players read me pretty well this time. This was an attempt to bring Unglar’s history into the story and hopefully provide him with some meaningful goals. The Malygoth are not yet freed from their prison, but their servants are searching for the key to release them. Unknown to Unglar he wore this key around his neck until Sitsk took it from him.]

We ran session 15 last week so the next post will have a bit more detail to it.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
chimpman 02-01-04, 01:53 AM	Well, I had an idea the other day to share with all of you a DM’s perspective journal from my currently running campaign. I’m doing this for several reasons: 1) Partly I’ve been inspired by all of the various “Addicted to Fireballs” type PC journals floating around on these boards. They’re entertaining. It’s always nice to see what someone else is doing, and sometimes you can draw great ideas from other people’s plots. 2) I’m not a new DM, but I have been out of it for a while… 15 years at the very least. I thought it would be nice to share my ideas with fellow DMs and perhaps be able to benefit from their experience and knowledge. 3) Currently we play online (using OpenRPG) and I’m learning/relearning how to handle PCs, especially over this medium. Dealing with PCs over the net is very different from dealing with them in person. Hopefully I’ll be able to leave some of my own knowledge and experience for others who might need it. I don’t know if this is the right forum for this. Since I think my target audience will be mostly other DMs (and since I’d like their input on my campaign), this seemed a likely enough place to post. I’ll let the moderators decide whether it needs to be moved or not. First I’ll share a little information about my campaign. I’m running the campaign in a homebrew world called Errad. So far most of the story has unfolded in a city called Tor-Gathau, one of the handful of city states in the area. I was a little fuzzy about the overall goals of the campaign when I started, but slowly it is evolving pre-cataclysmic themes. The characters will have to start dealing with their world as it begins to fall apart. Not entirely original I know, but nonetheless I’m interested in seeing how they handle things. I mentioned before that I started playing this campaign online with two (now three) other players. I know all of the players intimately (2 of my brothers and one of their friends), and I may include additional players later on. For now 3 is all I can handle. So far we’ve had 15 sessions since July of 2003. We try to meet every week, but lost about a month over the holidays. I’m going to try and sum up all of our previous sessions so that I can jump right into the new stuff. There’s not much point in getting feedback from people about events that happened months ago. By the way, if Simon, Unglar, or Losh happen to see this thread, read no further.
chimpman 02-01-04, 01:57 AM	Session 1 Before we started playing we had decided that the campaign would be based from a central city location, and that it would be full of intrigue. The two players I started with created their characters. Simon is a rogue from the city of Tor-Gathau. He has spent most of his life struggling to stay out from under the sway of the city’s local thieves guild, but his social status has made that hard for him. He knows many of the city’s seedier inhabitants by name if not by sight. His interests include Entarrin (his people) history. Unlgar is a half-orc monk from a wilderness monastery in the northwest. He was orphaned at the monastery’s doorstep and taken in by the monks. After progressing well in his training his masters sent Unglar out into the world to experience it for himself. He is trying to piece together his past. The two heroes met on the streets of the city while lending aid to someone being waylaid in an alley. The two quickly dispatched the young victim’s assailant. The boy’s name was Tallik and he happened to be a student at the local mage guild (called the Scriptory). Sessions 2 - 3 Elements from within the Scriptory thanked the two heroes and informed them that much of the city’s recent turmoil was due to racial and cultural tension within its walls. The native inhabitants, the Entarrins still worshipped the elder gods and practiced wizardry, while Dashwa immigrants from the south worshipped younger gods and practiced clerical magic. For decades the two peoples had been living peacefully, but now they feared some force from the south was stirring up trouble. The Scriptory wanted to get to the bottom of these problems and offered Simon and Unglar the opportunity to do so (for modest compensation). In effect the pair became agents of the Scriptory. Session 4 The party headed off to the south, down the main trade route through the local forest. After a day’s journey they stumbled upon the still smoldering remains of a caravan and investigated it. Trekking off into the forest the pair stumbled upon several goblins and stirred up a stirge’s nest. Before bedding down for the night they were set upon by a wounded (and possibly rabid) wolf. Session 5 Weakened from their previous encounters Simon and Unglar contemplated turning back when a lone figure entered their camp. The short man introduced himself as Maiark, a mage of some repute and the leader of the doomed caravan. He explained that his caravan was attacked several days ago and his cargo (a shipment of weapons) was taken into the woods. He prevailed upon the characters to help him retrieve his goods. When they agreed he produced several healing potions bringing them back up to full strength. The brigands turned out to be a druidess and her wolf companions. The battle was hard fought. Simon was brought down by the druidess’ magic, though not killed outright. Unglar and Maiark managed to put down the wolves (due in most part to their erratic behavior) and slay the druidess. After stabilizing Simon Unglar and the wizard inspected their booty. The masterwork swords were plunged into the ground before a grotesque wooden idol, many of them showing rapid signs of decay. Maiark thanked Unglar for his help before blasting him with a Color Spray and laying him out. When Unglar awoke, both Maiark and the swords were gone. Unglar brought Simon around and the two stumbled back to Tor-Gathau. [DMs Notes: Unknown to the characters Maiark is a goblin sorcerer disguised as an Entarrin merchant. His shipment of weapons was attacked by agents of the Ancient Nature gods (who hold little love for either human or goblin). The goblins that the PCs encountered before were actually the remnants of Maiarks guards. I left several clues to that effect, but am unsure whether or not the PCs picked up on them. Probably not. The PCs were clearly outmatched in their encounter with the druidess so I didn’t play the wolves to the best of their abilities. They were blinded by sorrow and rage at the death of their companion, killed by the PCs the day before. The wolves could smell her blood on Unglar (who had also eaten the wolf’s corpse for dinner and breakfast – gotta love half-orcs and the PCs who play them).]
chimpman 02-01-04, 02:01 AM	Session 6 The PCs return to the Scriptory to heal their wounds and report back to their masters. The Scriptory wants to know who Maiark is and why he is bringing weapons into the city. They feel that this might be related to the current tensions among the populace of the city. This suits the PCs fine. They want Maiark’s blood. By luck Simon and Unglar see Maiark wandering through the merchant’s district. Simon tries to sneak up on their foe, but Unglar has other plans. A direct charge at the treacherous merchant alerts him to the danger and Maiark slips into the crowd and disappears. A little footwork leads Simon to the local merchant that Maiark is doing business with. The merchant is a silver smith and was tasked with crafting several small “clockwork” pieces for Maiark. The PCs scared Maiark away before he could close the deal, and the merchant recoups his loss by selling the pieces to the PCs. From him they also discover that Maiark is staying at an inn called the Dawn’s Light. In a bewildering twist of fate the PCs decide to lay low for a while instead of following the villain to the inn. [DM’s Notes: This is just another example of how the PCs can surprise you. They wanted to lull Maiark into a false sense of security before ambushing him. Maiark had different plans however. After seeing the PCs in town he rushed back to the inn, packed up his things and left for a more secure area. Oh well.] Session 7 Things have cooled off in town so the PCs decide to head back into the forest and collect all of the loot they weren’t able to haul back the first time (They had coins found near the stirge nest and wanted to collect the druidess’ wooden idol as well). They hired some porters and mules and set back toward the forest. The porters freaked out when they saw the dead goblin bodies, but the PCs convinced them to continue on. The coins were easily packed away, but the idol was a different matter, for it was carved from the stump of a dead tree. Unglar took to the task and started hacking away at its base, only to rile up a swarm of wasps that were living inside. Simon was left to deal with the pesky bugs. On the way back to the city Unglar, Simon, and their porters were attacked by a worg. Again Simon is brought below 0 hp and Unglar is close behind. Luckily for both of them the worg fumbles its attack and Unglar makes two critical hits in a row. It’s not enough to bring the monster down, but it is enough to give it pause. The worg retreats into the forest, leaving the party to lick its wounds. [DM’s Notes: Poor Unglar has a phobia of insects. When the swarm burst out he ran for the hills. This left Simon pretty angry. I explained to Simon’s player what was going on OOC, which was probably a mistake. This is just the kind of thing that could have led to some nice role playing, but because of the uncertainty of playing over the net I blew it. I’ve made a concerted effort to keep my mouth shut in these kinds of circumstances after that, and I think it’s starting to pay off.] Session 8 Before leaving Tor-Gathau Simon and Unglar had some of the Scriptory Students appraise their loot. Upon their return the students have information for them. The onyx carvings they found are of Naganaz, the elder god of fear and darkness and patron of the goblins. Rumors say that long ago Naganaz was imprisoned by the gods of light. Unfortunately one of the Scriptory Masters saw the artifacts and confiscated them, removing them to the Scriptory archives below the school. More digging around the city uncovers the fact that Maiark has dealings with a single weapons shop called T’armr Voorj (knightly armor). Poor Simon still feels like he’s missing something and so finally breaks down and pays a visit to an “old friend” of his named Lernung. Lernung basically confirms all that Simon knows already, but can’t add any new information. Nevertheless Simon now owes Lernung a “favor.” [DM’s Notes: Simon had studiously avoided using his contacts in the underworld while trying to figure out what Maiark was up to, or where he could be found. I left enough clues around so that he didn’t actually need to ask them, but in the end he was so certain he had missed something that he just had to go back to the slums. Poor, poor Simon. Yes, I’m creating a kind of Godfather situation… not original, but it works…] Session 9 The PCs finally decide to investigate the Dawn’s Light inn. They come up with several schemes to ingratiate themselves with the owner so that they can snoop around, but all of their efforts are fruitless. Simon persists however and the pair breaks in after hours, ultimately causing quite a commotion. This brings them to the attention of one Talon Sitsk (aka. “The Serpent”), who happens to be staying there. Sitsk is a major purveyor of drugs and poisons, and has dealings with the thieves guild of the city. Unknown to the characters, Sitsk has them followed. After their abortive attempts at the inn, the PCs pay a visit to T’armr Voorj. The shop owner is busy conversing with one of the town guards, and the PCs are able to confirm that the masterwork weapons are in this shop. They try to snoop around some more, but the owner’s mastiff puts a stop to that. Unglar catches a glimpse of the dog’s eyes as they glow red. The heroes leave the shop. [DM’s Notes: Another case of the PCs running in the wrong direction, I just couldn’t pull them away from that darn Dawn’s Light inn. I decided not to let this whole session be a waste and so invented Sitsk on the spot to liven things up. He would visit them shortly.]
chimpman 02-01-04, 02:03 AM	Session 10 Tallik takes the boys out to his favorite hangout, a tavern called the Crying Jester, and introduces them to the bard Lahdwey. It’s fairly evident that Tallik has a little crush on her, and has been feeding her stories of the hero’s exploits in order to get to know her better. This makes both Simon and Unglar fairly nervous. The two make plans to stake out the weapon shop while Lahdwey is on stage singing. Tallik has a little too much to drink and Unglar sends him home. Lahdwey helps Tallik stumble back to the Scriptory. After hours of sitting in a dark alley the PCs discover that they are not the only ones prowling the streets. A worg enters the dark alley, its eyes glowing red, and leaps to attack. Fortunately for the heroes Tallik was not as drunk as he claimed to be, and he and Lahdwey had trailed them. They came to the rescue and soon the four defeated the worg. Simon discovered a trinket (a collar dangling a severed dog’s ear) around the beast’s neck, but before Tallik could identify it the group heard voices approaching them. They managed to hide as two men passed, one dressed in the garb of the city guard. “Never send a mut to do a man’s job…” one of them mumbled to the other as they examined the worg’s crumpled body. The hunters were being hunted. [DM’s Notes: The owner of the weapon shop is a member of an ancient knightly cult. Long ago the knights were the protectors of the Entarrin people and were tightly bound with the Scriptory. Betrayal led to the disbandment of the order and Scriptory Masters took over the knight’s political powers. The knights and the goblins now have an (very fragile) alliance. The goblins are making masterwork weapons (unlike any that can be found in the city) and the knights are passing those weapons on to various dissident groups in Tor-Gathau. The plan is to get these groups to cause enough turmoil inside of the city so that the goblin/knight alliance can enact a coup, replacing the king with a puppet of their own.] Session 11 Simon, Unglar and the rest return to the Crying Jester only to find Sitsk lying in wait for them in Lahdwey’s room. His thugs subdue the group and the sorceress with him casts spells to detect their surface thoughts. Sitsk then begins to question them about why they were snooping around the Dawn’s Light. Convinced that he was not their target, Sitsk finally extracts information about Maiark and T’armr Voorj. The name T’armr Voorj sets Sitsk off and he tasks the party with infiltrating the establishment. He takes a personal item from each of them and then leaves. [DM’s Notes: Sitsk is actually the vassal of an ancient green dragon, and as such is the sworn enemy of anything knightly in the realm. Before the Voorj were discredited they were the foes of wyrms, and put many of the creatures to the sword. Sitsk has a hunch that their degenerate cult is up to something and is using the PCs to discover what that is for him. He took a personal possession from each to make it easier for his sorceress to scry on them. This session didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to. I did too much of the talking, and I think I was really railroading my PCs at this point. Bad DM! I don’t really want to railroad my PCs so I’m going to have to watch out for this sort of thing in the future.] Session 12 Tallik has some time to play around with the gruesome collar they took off of the worg and determines that it radiates alteration magic. After some experimentation he and the PCs finally understand the magic. If placed around the neck of a canine it will transform it into a mastiff. Finally ready to explore T’armr Voorj in more detail Simon and Unglar pick up a few supplies from the Scriptory (healing potions) and wait until dark. They watch the shop for several hours but see no activity. After breaking in the group (Simon, Unglar, Tallik, and Lahdwey) are ambushed by the two men they heard the previous night. They manage to kill both men. [DM’s Notes: One of the men was a city guard, and killing him will cause the PCs trouble down the line. This whole business made Tallik nervous to no ends, but the PCs took no heed of it.] Sessions 13 - 14 T’armr Voorj is infested with goblinoids, which the party has no trouble dispatching. Unglar discovers that the goblins are sworn to the Malygoth, and ancient group of demons that were imprisoned in the northern mountains and supposedly guarded over by his own monastic order. Both he and Simon fear the worst, that the monastery has been destroyed and the demons set free. Exploring the tunnels beneath the shop the PCs come across a large blackened chamber with 4 tunnels leading into it (the one they entered from and 3 others), and a large obscene idol in the middle. While searching the room they are attacked by a shadow that leaps out from the idol. They dispatch it, but Simon has felt the effects of its touch. A faint breeze can be felt coming from one of the tunnels and the PCs decide to take that route in hopes of reaching the surface. [DM’s Notes: What can I say, the players read me pretty well this time. This was an attempt to bring Unglar’s history into the story and hopefully provide him with some meaningful goals. The Malygoth are not yet freed from their prison, but their servants are searching for the key to release them. Unknown to Unglar he wore this key around his neck until Sitsk took it from him.] We ran session 15 last week so the next post will have a bit more detail to it.