Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 pukunui Sep 14, 2015 5:21:10	Hi all,   I recently started a new 5e campaign, and I thought I'd post a log of the group's adventures. I'm running a fairly episodic campaign based in a rather nebulously-defined homebrew world known as Erathis. The episodes will consist of a mix of new and old material, primarily short adventures from old Dungeon mags and the like.   I decided to use Red Larch (renamed "Larchwood") from Princes of the Apocalypse for the starter town, and we kicked things off with the initial series of mini-adventures from the back of the book.   Before we begin, though, please allow me to introduce the main protagonists of our story:   CALLA - female human sorceress (red dragon heritage) Calla is a sweet, demure young lady ... until you make her mad. Then people tend to get hurt. Like Gil. That was an accident, and while he has no hard feelings (Honest! It makes for a great story about the time he faced a red dragon and lived!), she still wants to make it up to him. She briefly served in an army alongside Keluak and saved his life once, though the gruff dwarf fighter refuses to admit it. Her relationship with Keth is complicated. Best not to get into that.   GILFIDDICH - male human rogue A confident young bloke who takes advantage of Keth's trusting nature in order to con people out of their coin purses. No really, he's a swell guy. Way more handsome than his cousin, Tasklar, as well. Don't listen to that phony's stories about how Gil ended up a con artist folk hero because he wasn't good enough to make it into bard school. That being said, there's no one Gil would rather go on an adventure with than his favourite cuz! As for Calla, Gil's known her for ages and is determined not to let anything bad happen to her. She is, after all, the one who taught him that magic might not be as scary as the folks back home tend to believe ... despite the fact that she burned him once. But that was totally Gil's fault, and he doesn't hold it against her. Keluak, on the other hand, needs to lighten up a bit, and Gil feels he is just the man to help him do it!   Keluak - male mountain dwarf fighter As a new recruit in the clan guard, Keluak got drunk and fell asleep on the job the night the orcs came. His clan was nearly wiped out. But Kel doesn't talk about that. Ever. Neither will he explain why he's probably the only dwarf in existence who doesn't drink alcohol. Instead, he talks about how his clan has sent him out on a decades-long mission to learn more about the world and to become a better warrior. He once served as a mercenary alongside Calla, and he reckons she's all right. He's only just met the cousins Gil and Tasklar, but he already feels like they could do with a proper father figure in their lives ... especially one who can teach them a thing or two about fighting and maybe also make sure they get enough to eat. As for Keth, well, he may only be half an orc, but Kel just isn't sure about him yet. He bears watching. Closely.   Keth - male half-orc cleric (life) The last of his tribe, Keth has devoted himself to one of the Old Gods: Freya, Queen of the Valkyries. He has a real zest for life and sometimes forgets his own strength, which can sometimes get him into trouble (like when he absentmindedly picks something up and starts fiddling with it only to have it fall to pieces in his hands). He's known Gil and Tasklar ever since he left the steppes for more civilized lands and was once in a relationship with Calla. Or was that all a dream? It's hard to tell sometimes. Keth didn't think he'd ever see Calla again, let alone go adventuring with her. Talk about awkward. Anyway, while Keth only recently met Keluak, Freya seems to have marked him for something important. Besides, the dwarf has proven himself to be a steadfast ally who, despite his misgivings about Keth's orcish heritage, gladly has his back in the thick of battle.   Tasklar - male human bard Gil's more handsome cousin, Tasklar is an entertainer extraordinaire. An eternal optimist, he believes that the world needs new ideas and bold action. He has a quick wit, which he frequently uses to poke fun at the far-too-serious-for-his-own-good dwarf. Don't tell anyone - especially not Gil - but Keth has entrusted Tasklar with a secret (and no, it doesn't have to do with Keth's relationship with Gil's teenage sister). Tasklar is not too sure about Calla yet, but Gil trusts her, and that's good enough for him. This motley crew of misfits has come to the frontier town of Larchwood in search of adventure ...
#2 pukunui Sep 14, 2015 5:54:10	TROUBLE IN LARCHWOOD, PART I Dramatis Personae: Calla, Gil, Keluak, Keth     Bears & Bows The PCs had spent the better part of a day searching along the Cairn Road for bandits. The Larchwood constable had suggested a number of likely spots but so far they'd all been dead-ends in more ways than one. Footsore and mosquito-bitten, the would-be adventurers were just about to give up and head back to town when they caught a whiff of roast boar emanating from the trees to the side of the road.   Spotting a trail that a wagon had recently been taken down, the PCs approached cautiously. Sure enough, in a little dell in the woods were some bandits, making merry around a campfire. There was also a black bear in a cage atop a wagon. And some crossbows within easy reach of the bandits. A quick huddle and the PCs decided that Calla the sorceress would stumble into the dell, looking for all the world like a lost and helpless maiden in hopes of drawing at least one of the bandits out onto the trail so Keth and Keluak could ambush him, while Gil circled around to take the bandits from behind.   This plan would've worked if Kel and Keth had done a better job hiding in the brush. Calla managed to get the bandits' leader to come towards her, his intentions plain upon his face and in the hungry tone of his voice, but he spotted his would-be assailants as soon as he came within view of the trail. The game was up!   As soon as the fighting started, the black bear started banging against the bars of the cage and soon broke free! It immediately turned on the bandits and began mauling them. The PCs made short work of the leader, though they accidentally killed him in the process. They knocked out two of the other bandits and then rescued the fourth from the bear after she agreed to surrender if they got it off her.   The female bandit, a young human woman named Ella, pleaded with the PCs to have mercy on her. When she discovered that Keth was a true cleric blessed by the goddess Freya (which he inadvertently revealed when he healed one of his comrades), she professed to be a fellow believer. She gave Keth a big sob story about how she'd been forced into banditry by poverty and her big brother (the now-deceased bandit leader) and so on and so forth. Keth believed her and agreed to save her from the hangman's noose if she swore to turn her life around. Ella promised, and so when the PCs returned to town, they only handed over the two surviving male bandits to Constable Harburk, as well as the body making no mention of Ella. Instead, Keth took her to the boarding house he was staying at, where he asked the proprietor, a pipe-smoking prune of an old lady known as Mother Yolantha, to take her on as a chambermaid. Mother Yolantha, who also happened to be a secret adherent of the Old Faith, agreed to the deal, much to Ella's and Keth's relief.   In thanks for their efforts, Constable Harburk treated the PCs to a round of free drinks at the local tavern. Keluak politely declined any alcohol, asking for spring water instead. Keth, meanwhile, spent a bit of time getting to know the other two half-orcs in town: the older, retired mercenary Feng Ironhead, proprietor of the local arms and armor shop (who, Keth learned, had a great eye for gear but no head for business) and Grund, the village simpleton who lived by the market square, happily letting everyone pilfer his pickles. Keth vowed to ensure that some of his own coin found its way into their pockets.     The Haunted Tomb The next morning, a bold young girl named Pell marched up to the PCs and proudly informed them that she'd seen a ghost. They asked her where, and she told them up in the hills. They were able to corroborate her story by talking to the local baker, a surprisingly thin halfling named Mangobarl Lorren, and promptly headed up into the hills in search of the old haunted tomb. There they discovered that there was indeed a ghost, but they also learned that they weren't the only ones who'd been in the tomb - as the ghost couldn't possibly have propped up that bucket of wagonwheel parts that fell on Gil's head when he pushed open the tomb door.   The ghost kept asking them to leave and because they didn't do so quickly enough, it attacked them. Despite the fact that their weapons went through it, they eventually managed to reduce it to a few thin wisps of ether. Gil then set about opening the inner door and discovered a sarcophagus and a chest. Letting their curiosity get the better of them, the PCs opened the coffin only to be attacking by a flying sword! Recovering quickly, they battered it into submission, then put it back in the coffin and shut the lid. Gil investigated the chest and found a secret compartment hidden under some rotten books and cloth.   The PCs took what little treasure was in the chest and left, only to be accosted by a goblin riding on the shoulders of a half-ogre who were waiting for them on the path outside the tomb. The PCs were certainly not about to let a pair of uneducated scum rob them of their ill-gotten gains! Inexperienced though they were, the adventurers proved more than a match for the would-be robbers and left them to rot on the path.     The Last Laugh On the way back to Larchwood, the PCs came across an odd sight: a human skull stuck to a tree with a black arrow wrapped with what appeared to be parchment. Calla used mage hand to retrieve the parchment, which on close inspection appeared to be made from human skin. Written on it was a vague comment about being marked for the last laugh by someone named Valklondar. Nothing further would have come of it had not Keth stepped forward and pulled the arrow out of the tree by hand. He wanted to take it back to the village to see if anyone recognized it. That night, he experienced a nightmare consisting of the skull that had been stuck to the tree rushing at him hungrily.   Although Keth insisted on staying at Mother Yolantha's, the other PCs had set themselves up at Larchwood's only inn, the Swinging Sword. Keluak in particular was quite taken with the inn's proprietor, Kaylessa, whom he swore must be an elf queen, despite her protestations to the contrary. She was, in fact, only half-elven, but she was nevertheless flattered by the dwarf's attention. She was most keen to have Keluak and his companions in town, as she felt that the more monsters the adventurers slew, the safer the town would be! Calla asked Kaylessa if she knew anything about the tomb they'd explored, and she said that it was one of many old tombs in the hills dating back to the days of the old empires. No one in Larchwood today was descended from those nobles, but nevertheless none would like the idea of goblins and other monsters getting their hands on whatever was in those tombs, so she thanked the PCs for their work in that regard.     The Necromancer's Cave Kaylessa also took the PCs aside later on and told them she'd heard of another source of trouble. The children of the town's clothiers had been warned away from playing near Lance Rock because of plague! The PCs went to talk to the children and their parents and were duly informed that a gruff dwarf prospector (who didn't live in town and therefore couldn't be questioned directly) had warned the children about the plague. The PCs promptly volunteered to go and investigate. They soon found a sign warning of plague but decided to ignore it and pressed on. Next they found a cave with an identical sign posted outside it. Again they ignored it and went into the cave.   In the cave, the PCs found zombies. Lots of zombies. Including some zombies dressed rather strangely: one in a bear costume, another in a jester's outfit, and a third in the get-up of a high-court lady. These three zombies danced an oddly mesmerizing dance that allowed them to get close enough to the PCs to attack them, though this proved to be a fatal move on their part. The PCs pressed deeper into the cave and found a mad necromancer and some freakish disembodied hands that crawled all over them, punching and slashing with their dirty undead nails.   Flint succumbed to his injuries, and soon after the necromancer bewitched Keth and forced him to strike his downed comrade. Luckily, Keth pulled himself together and shook off the madness before he murdered his friend. As the necromancer's skeletal guardians advanced on the PCs, Keth revived Flint and the four adventurers decided now would be a good time to withdraw. And back to Larchwood they went!
#3 pukunui Sep 14, 2015 5:56:15	TROUBLE IN LARCHWOOD, PART II Dramatis Personae: Gil, Keluak, Keth, Tasklar     The Necromancer's Cave, continued Upon returning to Larchwood from their foray to Lance Rock, the PCs discovered that Gil's cousin, Tasklar, had wandered into town. And there was much rejoicing. Except from Keluak, who didn't appreciate being the butt of the bard's numerous jokes.   Reunion complete, the PCs gave Kaylessa the down-low: There was no plague as such down by Lance Rock, but there was a necromancer. They just needed to rest up for the night and then they'd go back and close the case. Permanently.   In the night, Keth experienced his nightmare with the skull again.   In the morning, Calla refused to come out of her room, so the boys took Tasklar along instead. They headed back to Lance Rock and fought their way through more zombies, including one that had until recently been a little farm girl. That made them really mad. They chased that crazy necromancer all the way into his lair, where they found a grotesque stand made of hacked-off arms holding a glowing orb with a creepy eye inside it. The necromancer leaped out from a niche hidden behind a curtain and screamed "Do you see the eye?!" as he shot magical force missiles at them from his wand. The PCs gritted their teeth and stepped forward and the necromancer was no more, vanishing in a puff of black smoke.   They took his wand and what little treasure he had beside. The orb, despite the eye having faded with the death of the necromancer, was maneuvered into a bag. They then spent an hour or two collecting all the bodies and body parts and burning them.   Back in Larchwood, they gave the orb to Kaylessa in hopes that she might know something about it. She seemed a bit miffed about that but took it off them anyway. That night, the PCs were wined and dined at the tavern by grateful townsfolk ... until a slight tremor shook the town. People started to freak out a bit. Some town elders insisted that everyone stay calm and that they would deal with it. Some of them, looking a bit worried, hurried out of the tavern. Suspicious, the PCs followed them down the road to Waelvur's Wagonworks. Barging in on the elders, the PCs attempted to ascertain what was going on. The elders were having none of it, though. While they were grateful that the PCs had helped out the town with various external threats, this was private town business and they weren't welcome here. To reinforce the point, some of Waelvur's wainwrights brandished their tools menacingly.   Recognizing the lead elder as Elak Dornen, owner of the marble quarry down the road, the PCs decided to take a peek at his place while no one was around. Fetching some meat and some pepper from the inn, they distracted Dornen's guard dogs for long enough to get a good look around his quarry and through the windows of his office. They found nothing out of the ordinary, though. They remembered that there was another quarry at the north end of town and wandered up there. They disturbed the owner, a pot-bellied whirlwind of a woman named Albaeri Mellikho, who politely but firmly told them to come back in the morning.   Bloody Treasure In the morning, Albaeri came to them and kindly told them about a treasure rumored to be hidden away in a place called Tricklerock Cave up in the hills. The PCs suspected a trap but decided to look into it anyway. The cave turned out to be a bit of a red herring, with nothing but some stirges and a hungry ghoul hiding in a pool. No treasure at all. Unless you consider an old boot treasure.         Stay tuned for the third and final instalment of "Trouble in Larchwood", which will be played out this Friday (NZST). Expect a report over the weekend!