Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 stormonu Jun 04, 2008 1:12:47	Friday is coming! If you're one of the DM's who isn't running KotS and is looking for a way to get the party together or start an adventure, I'm dedicating this thread to you. Maybe it will give you some ideas. Seaborne Misadventure You awaken, misty-headed, as your head collides with something solid. Your stomach feels slightly queasy and you're not sure if its the after effects of the ale you drank or that last meal you had back at the tavern. As your head clears, you begin to realize something isn't right. Your lying on your side, but your hands and feet have been tied. Likewise, you've been gagged. The slow rolling you feel isn't your head, you're beneath the deck of a ship that must be somewhere at sea. You don't have time to contemplate when you hear cries from above and the clash of blades. A moment later, a hatch nearby opens and a human, armed and armor half walks, half tumbles down the stairs towards you. He carries in his arm a bundle of weapons, implements and other items. He collapses to his knees in front of you, spilling the bundle across the floor. Breathing heavily and with his armor showing a growing red stain, he pulls a knife from his belt and slashes away the bindings holding your hands. With your hands free, you can pull down the stifling gag and work at the bindings holding your feet. "They're overtaking the ship," the human winces, clutching at his reddening side once he's finished freeing you. "Take up your weapons. If you don't drive them back..." he coughs, blackish red blood spitting from his lips, "They'll kill us ... all." and with that, the human keels over at your feet. ------------------------------------------------------------ The Glint of Coin You figure that Jenkins probably owed just about everyone in town a silver or two at one time or another, but he seemed to take it to the extreme with you - and a few others who have been gathered for a reading of his will at the local tavern. How fitting, considering most of the money you lent him for his various schemes ended up getting spent here. But Meeps, the barkeep, had hinted there was some coin - and actually quite a bit of it - to be dispensed at the reading. Had one of Jenkin's schemes finally paid out? It's somewhat sad, since he'd been found face first in the pig's pen, apparently having drank himself into a stupor and suffocated on a face full of half-dried mud. The tavern has been closed for the reading, and only you and a few others are here. Obviously, the others sitting around the other tables must likewise be on the receiving end of whatever Jenkins left behind. Then there's Meeps, the barkeep, and his two most trusted barmaids, passing out free drinks to the lucky inheritors. Finally, there's the hooded priest of Ioun, who sits with a stack of papers - obviously the will of Jenkins - and his two armed and armored guards - obviously present in case someone doesn't take well to the reading of the will. One of the barmaids has just finished setting down your drink, when the priest clears his throat. "Before we begin," he says in a gravelly voice, "Did anyone bring Jenkin's journal? My notes here - and, ah, Jenkin's will - have some very specific instructions involving it." The priest waits a moment as each of you sitting around the tavern glance about, apparently uncertain and as if expecting someone else to step forth with the book. After a few moments, the hairy fist of the priest slams on the table. "Enough of this farce," he growls, casting back the hood to reveal an animalistic, feral face. "Rolvars, Greeves, check their dead bodies and bring me the book!" "Damn ya," Meeps calls out from behind the bar, drawing a crossbow out as the two bar maids draw daggers from hidden scabbards. "Ya were supposed to wait 'til the drugs took effect," the barkeep yells as he levels the crossbow at one of the patrons while the barmaids point their daggers at others. "Now we'll have to do it the hard way!" ------------------------------------------------------------- I'll be back with more, but if you've got any, share them here!
#2 stormonu Jun 04, 2008 1:36:51	The Survivors Gladeshaven has fallen; you are among the last. The town burns around you, sputtering fires raging from several once-fine homes as the streets around you are filled with the orcish footsteps and howls as the raider's ranks have collapsed and the looting has begun. Behind a low wall, the last survivors huddle in the final bastion against the orc horde. The bluescale commander who has driven you to stay alive is bloody and beaten, his eye covered with blood-soaked gauze and his shield arm strapped in a brace. Many others are not so lucky, the half-fallen building you occupy is littered with the bodies of the defenders who have made it as far as you. All of you keep low, hoping the orc horde will forget you in the spree of looting that has erupted over the corpse of the crumbling, inflamed city. It is then that a deep bassoon voice calls out over the chaos. "Defenders of Gladeshaven: You are beaten!" There is a slight pause, and a menacing chuckle that echoes through the dead streets. "But I have an offer for you! I will give the remaining survivors their lives, to spread word of our deeds, if one will come forth and give my son glory in a final one-on-one combat!" With his challenge given, the orc warlord awaits the reply. Each of you glances at the others in apprehension. The odds are not good; staying where you are, it is likely that you will eventually be found if your position is not already known. Sneaking out of the city will be difficult, if not impossible. This course of action, fighting the warlord's son, gives a glimmer of hope, but is anyone bold enough to risk their lives for the rest of you? Before anyone else can speak, the bluescale commander decides the issue. " I will go," he states resolvedly. "The rest of you, follow me. I will die if I must, but the rest of you must warn the other cities of what has befallen here. The hordes are on the move. The elves, the dwarves - the cities of man must join together to stop them. You must deliver that message to them." Without awaiting your reply, the bluescale commander rises and hails back the orc warlord accepting the challenge. Then, picking up his longsword, he straightens up to his full height, and motions for you to follow him.
#3 smerg Jun 04, 2008 7:25:34	The King's Gold You are waking up from a heavy bout of drinking. You see two people that were drinking with you and buying rounds testifying that the money spent had been a King's Gold Piece. [note: possession of a specially minted gold coin called a King's Gold Piece is considered proof of acceptance into the King's army]. Having been witnessed by two individuals and signed into the army log, the 'gentleman' are paid a bounty for returning a wayward recruit and sent on their way. You and your companions are sent to join the scouts. The scouts lead the army and are known to have a low survival rate compared to the army regulars. Looks like the party has just begun. ----------------------------------- He is not dead, he is living impaired You and your companions have been given the job by a mercenary agency to watch over a wizards tower and guard it while the wizard is away. You arrive to find the door not locked. Going up to the top floor, you find that someone has already killed the wizard. The tower is filled with wonderous opportunities, if you can just convince everyone that the wizard is not dead. [note: this is a cross between a Weekend at Bernies and a Night at the Museum.] --------------------------------- Destiny arrives You and some others were minding your normal lives when you noticed some flashes of fire and lightning in the night sky. The flashes illuminated huge wings. The sound of blasts of superheated air and monstrous lungs roaring could be heard for miles. Finally, one of the titans of the air comes spiraling out of the air and crashes at your feet spilling the body of the rider on to the ground. [note: Give the players a typical round or two to react to the situation.] You hear the roar and the flapping noise of another titan of the air getting closer in the night. [note: Player's cue to finish up what ever they are doing and run for the hills.] You then see the great form of a red dragon land on top of the other dragon. It bellows with delight that it has caught its prey and proceeds to pull chunks of flesh from its dead body. The rider of the red dragon alights to the ground and goes to check for the other rider. [note: If the player's have looted something then they have a mc guffin to carry around. If they choose not to loot the body then other person can take the body away. If you want, you can have the players 'find' a mc guffin that was 'tossed' by the rider before they crashed and thus was some distance away and only discovered after the rider of the red dragon leaves. ]