Into the Weeping Wastes
Our weekly games group has settled down into a reasonably standard pattern with four main characters: Destiny the Melnibonean; Sir Blanque the nobleman, originally from Filkhar; Marion Shadowborn, a rogue who started life in Aflitain; and Bomilcar, the Weeping Waste warrior. I originally rolled up Bomilcar as an extra because we only started with three players; it seemed like a good way to spread potential damage. He is now being played regularly by someone else, so I can relax and just run things. There are other players who drop in and out every so often, so their characters are usually on hand as well.
Preparations are completed for the great trek eastwards, which has a dual purpose: one is to set up a viable and reasonably efficient trade route; the other is for Marion to piece together the bits of a shattered magical staff she has found, which for some inexplicable reason various people they meet keep calling 'The Runestaff'. Anyway, the characters all load up with extra camels and riding horses (except Destiny, who has a demon of travel in the form of a horse anyway), as well as waterskins and provisions. They all invest most of their money in the new bank in the town of Gorjhan, which I've decided to call the IBCI - International Bank of the Consortium of Ilmar. They keep some items on them that may be of use in lands that won't recognise Young Kingdoms coinage: silver, gold and various gemstones and pieces of jewellery. The other four people on the expedition will be: Duke Avan Astran of Old Hrolmar; his bodyguard Nadjana, originally from Pan Tang; Ehlessa, Bomilcar's sister and chieftain of the Pure Horse Tribe; and Lady Alexia, a renegade warrior-priest of Chaos from Eshmir. Avan Astran is the one who first posited the idea of such an expedition, and the presence of Alexia is fortunate because she knows the lands well and speaks the language. Jorthan Nikorn stays behind to run the bank and look after his baby daughter. He has agreed with the Duke that the first thing the bank will invest in as a going concern is the construction of a caravanserai outside Gorjhan; this will be started just after the party leaves for the lands of the east.
There are two possibilities for the trade route itself. These are dictated by the massive ridge of mountains that separates the Weeping Wastes from the eastern lands; this ridge is so long it even continues into the sea, forming an almost impassable barrier that has stopped sea travel. Nobody knows how far south this mountain chain continues. There is one reasonably well known pass across these mountains, which have various names including 'The World's Spine' - at least, that's how they are known to the nomads. The problem with this pass is height and steepness, which makes it less than ideal as a possible route for caravans and trade.
However, Alexia traversed the mountains much further to the south than this pass, near the point where the World's Spine meets the sea. Apparently there is a much lower crossing point there in the form of a valley; there are even the remains of a long-abandoned border fort of some kind, although standing in the middle is a strange, entirely untouched windowless tower with a blue sheen to it. This hidden valley is directly to the east of Gorjhan, which would have the advantage of making the route reasonably straightforward, at least in terms of ease of navigation in either direction. The tower also sounds interesting to those in the group with sorcerous capabilities, and Avan Astran is always thirsty for new knowledge too. This is the route they agree upon, because although it is not without its dangers, it seems more manageable for caravans than the other possibility. At this point Destiny mentions [critical on Music Lore] that Melnibone did at one time rule the fabled east, and used elementals to build a secret military road under the World's Spine at a different point than either of the two already mentioned. However, nobody has used this in a least 1,000 years because of the disruptions caused by the Dharzi Wars, so there is no knowing its condition. In any case, magical lighting would be needed for such a long tunnel, and this would be beyond the capabilities of trade caravans. It's worth remembering for future reference, though.
The group sets out at the beginning of the fourth month. This is also the second anniversary of the main characters first coming together as adventuring companions. There are no mishaps on the four days' travel from Gorjhan to Ginjada Oasis on the plateau of the Weeping Wastes; even the steep climb up the escarpment leading to the Wastes via the old river trail goes without any hitches. The group's nervous old friend Akrat Bey, leader of a small band of nomadic warriors, greets them at Ginjada, which has pretty much become his base of operations. The Brass Dog, as he is known, wants to cut a deal: if the party helps him destroy some enemies, he will undertake to protect any caravans making for the waters of Ginjada. This seems like a good suggestion, so they all settle into some discussions.
The enemy of which he speaks is a large band of at least 20 or 30 warriors with support from a minimum of one very large creature, going by their tracks. Akrat Bey's men have not initiated contact with this band because they are too powerful and seem to be trying to expand their influence. The tracks point towards a base location of some sort in hills to the east, about a week's ride away. This lies right across the route the party is planning to take, and they agree that the presence of a sizeable force of marauders will be a threat to their plans. Besides, they don't like the sound of whatever is making those very large footprints their new comrades keep mentioning.
Eventually, a plan is formulated. The Brass Dog and his men will accompany the group to the hills, and then the band will scout out the general location for any hints and clues. They manage to do so without anyone giving themselves away, although at one point they decide to ride northwards a little around a rather nasty looking swampy area; Bomilcar recognises signs of the dreaded Moleworms of the Wastes and advises caution. Several sets of tracks (raiding parties) converge on an area of rough ground and hills, coming together into one main trail going up a large low hill to an area bounded by cliffs to either side. At the far end of this dry upland valley is a large steep hill, which is higher than the rest. This would provide an ideal vantage point from which to scout closer. This is what the four main characters will do, while the others stay behind with the horses, just in case a random band of raiders appears. Akrat Bey's men will wait until they think the player characters are in position and then make a move up the main trackway onto the small valley.
The four main player characters skirt around to the north on a reasonably clear night by the light of a half-moon. Carefully cresting the high rise behind the valley they are targeting, they try not to silhouette themselves. Fortunately for them, the guards below them are too busy chatting, not really expecting to be disturbed [I rolled a fumble for their lookout skills. Typical.] The guards are split into three groups of two, standing in protected hollows on top of some of the large boulders lying around the place, presumably debris from the cliff faces. The players also hear some strange scratching noises coming from a pile of dung and refuse off to one side of the valley, far enough away from the brigands to be of no concern to them. They can obviously hear the noise, but must be used to it. There is a large formal entrance dug into one of the cliffs, flanked by the crumbling remains of statues. Torchlights winks from inside, and the players can see enough to make out a fully faced passage leading into the hills - possibly a tomb of some sort, belonging to a long forgotten power.
The attack takes the guards entirely by surprise, and the follow-up by Akrat Bey's men helps to finish off the six guards. They do manage to raise the alarm before being wiped out, though, and sounds of shouting and commotion are coming from the interior passage. Destiny orders a fire elemental to stand at the mouth of the passage, blocking it; the Brass Dog's men will take up missile positions in the valley to take out anyone who manages to get through the fire wall. In the meantime, the player party have discovered a second entrance into the same hill, presumably carved by whatever was in the rubbish pile. They manage to avoid several nasty looking pit traps dug by the defenders, and pick up the trails of what look like centipedes or similar - except they shouldn't be six feet long.
Destiny orders her other fire elemental to precede the group as they enter the lair of the creatures, which turn out to be three very large chitinous things with writhing tentacles coming from their faces. The fire panics them, and they take off at full speed into the hillsides. The party gives chase, managing to stay upright in the tunnels, only to see the things smash through a barricaded door to hurtle right into the middle of a very surprised looking group of around twenty brigands, half of whom have scimitars and shields, and half have bows ready [critical strength roll for one of the beasties]. Unfortunately for them, they were looking in the direction of the main entrance, and start to go down like ninepins. One of the men is sent flying by a particularly vigorous charging thingie, and smashes unconscious against the far right corner of their barracks room. The wall there shudders in an unusual way, giving away the location of a secret door. Destiny grabs the Egg of Hylar artefact from its resting place in her backpack and concentrates, ordering the three large beasts to attack anyone who comes in here and then guard the place. As the characters head towards the secret door, they see one of their new allies starting to feast on a man on the floor, who seems to have been paralysed or something. In the glistening light of the room's torches, Sir Blanque makes out dripping venom of some sort coating the tentacles of their new friends...
Sir Blanque wrenches open the not-so-scret door and the characters descend a short flight of stairs, leaving the sounds of screaming and slurping behind them. The group is again preceded by Destiny's fire elemental, which burns its way through a door at the bottom of the stairs. Here there is some sort of guard chamber; a large demonic man thing backs away from the elemental, destroying another door in the process. It flees down a long passageway to another room, which turns out to be a long-looted tomb:
Cornered, the demon turns to fight at last, only to be dispelled by a rising orange glow emanating from the sarcophagus. Marion has found the next part of the Runestaff...
Umpire's notes
The main characters have now been playing for two years of game time, which translates to six months of real time, with more than 25 playing sessions now. They all have new character sheets because the old ones were starting to get rather ratty. My plan is for there to be a mix of events. This is going to be a really grand tour, and there will be several elements to it. One is Avan Astran's thirst for knowledge - he basically wants to visit every major region at least once; a second is the trade route, which will require negotiation and diplomacy in several polities; the third is Marion's quest; and the fourth is anything else in between, in the form of one-off adventures. This should keep them going.
This particular adventure is based on the first part of the Rod of Seven Parts, an epic old D&D campaign which is available here. I still have my original.
I'm using this as the basis for Marion's quest eastwards, and it's quite good fun seeing the players encounter classic D&D monsters for the first time. I don't yet have the appropriate figures painted, but I do have the 5th edition Monster Manual, so I was able to show them pictures of the Carrion Crawlers and the Troll. This was the demonic thing they encountered last, and it backed off because although it has the ability to regenerate, it can't recover damage from fire. They didn't know any of this, of course. I use humans instead of Orcs and stuff like that because this is the Young Kingdoms after all.
Preparations are completed for the great trek eastwards, which has a dual purpose: one is to set up a viable and reasonably efficient trade route; the other is for Marion to piece together the bits of a shattered magical staff she has found, which for some inexplicable reason various people they meet keep calling 'The Runestaff'. Anyway, the characters all load up with extra camels and riding horses (except Destiny, who has a demon of travel in the form of a horse anyway), as well as waterskins and provisions. They all invest most of their money in the new bank in the town of Gorjhan, which I've decided to call the IBCI - International Bank of the Consortium of Ilmar. They keep some items on them that may be of use in lands that won't recognise Young Kingdoms coinage: silver, gold and various gemstones and pieces of jewellery. The other four people on the expedition will be: Duke Avan Astran of Old Hrolmar; his bodyguard Nadjana, originally from Pan Tang; Ehlessa, Bomilcar's sister and chieftain of the Pure Horse Tribe; and Lady Alexia, a renegade warrior-priest of Chaos from Eshmir. Avan Astran is the one who first posited the idea of such an expedition, and the presence of Alexia is fortunate because she knows the lands well and speaks the language. Jorthan Nikorn stays behind to run the bank and look after his baby daughter. He has agreed with the Duke that the first thing the bank will invest in as a going concern is the construction of a caravanserai outside Gorjhan; this will be started just after the party leaves for the lands of the east.
There are two possibilities for the trade route itself. These are dictated by the massive ridge of mountains that separates the Weeping Wastes from the eastern lands; this ridge is so long it even continues into the sea, forming an almost impassable barrier that has stopped sea travel. Nobody knows how far south this mountain chain continues. There is one reasonably well known pass across these mountains, which have various names including 'The World's Spine' - at least, that's how they are known to the nomads. The problem with this pass is height and steepness, which makes it less than ideal as a possible route for caravans and trade.
However, Alexia traversed the mountains much further to the south than this pass, near the point where the World's Spine meets the sea. Apparently there is a much lower crossing point there in the form of a valley; there are even the remains of a long-abandoned border fort of some kind, although standing in the middle is a strange, entirely untouched windowless tower with a blue sheen to it. This hidden valley is directly to the east of Gorjhan, which would have the advantage of making the route reasonably straightforward, at least in terms of ease of navigation in either direction. The tower also sounds interesting to those in the group with sorcerous capabilities, and Avan Astran is always thirsty for new knowledge too. This is the route they agree upon, because although it is not without its dangers, it seems more manageable for caravans than the other possibility. At this point Destiny mentions [critical on Music Lore] that Melnibone did at one time rule the fabled east, and used elementals to build a secret military road under the World's Spine at a different point than either of the two already mentioned. However, nobody has used this in a least 1,000 years because of the disruptions caused by the Dharzi Wars, so there is no knowing its condition. In any case, magical lighting would be needed for such a long tunnel, and this would be beyond the capabilities of trade caravans. It's worth remembering for future reference, though.
The group sets out at the beginning of the fourth month. This is also the second anniversary of the main characters first coming together as adventuring companions. There are no mishaps on the four days' travel from Gorjhan to Ginjada Oasis on the plateau of the Weeping Wastes; even the steep climb up the escarpment leading to the Wastes via the old river trail goes without any hitches. The group's nervous old friend Akrat Bey, leader of a small band of nomadic warriors, greets them at Ginjada, which has pretty much become his base of operations. The Brass Dog, as he is known, wants to cut a deal: if the party helps him destroy some enemies, he will undertake to protect any caravans making for the waters of Ginjada. This seems like a good suggestion, so they all settle into some discussions.
The enemy of which he speaks is a large band of at least 20 or 30 warriors with support from a minimum of one very large creature, going by their tracks. Akrat Bey's men have not initiated contact with this band because they are too powerful and seem to be trying to expand their influence. The tracks point towards a base location of some sort in hills to the east, about a week's ride away. This lies right across the route the party is planning to take, and they agree that the presence of a sizeable force of marauders will be a threat to their plans. Besides, they don't like the sound of whatever is making those very large footprints their new comrades keep mentioning.
Eventually, a plan is formulated. The Brass Dog and his men will accompany the group to the hills, and then the band will scout out the general location for any hints and clues. They manage to do so without anyone giving themselves away, although at one point they decide to ride northwards a little around a rather nasty looking swampy area; Bomilcar recognises signs of the dreaded Moleworms of the Wastes and advises caution. Several sets of tracks (raiding parties) converge on an area of rough ground and hills, coming together into one main trail going up a large low hill to an area bounded by cliffs to either side. At the far end of this dry upland valley is a large steep hill, which is higher than the rest. This would provide an ideal vantage point from which to scout closer. This is what the four main characters will do, while the others stay behind with the horses, just in case a random band of raiders appears. Akrat Bey's men will wait until they think the player characters are in position and then make a move up the main trackway onto the small valley.
The four main player characters skirt around to the north on a reasonably clear night by the light of a half-moon. Carefully cresting the high rise behind the valley they are targeting, they try not to silhouette themselves. Fortunately for them, the guards below them are too busy chatting, not really expecting to be disturbed [I rolled a fumble for their lookout skills. Typical.] The guards are split into three groups of two, standing in protected hollows on top of some of the large boulders lying around the place, presumably debris from the cliff faces. The players also hear some strange scratching noises coming from a pile of dung and refuse off to one side of the valley, far enough away from the brigands to be of no concern to them. They can obviously hear the noise, but must be used to it. There is a large formal entrance dug into one of the cliffs, flanked by the crumbling remains of statues. Torchlights winks from inside, and the players can see enough to make out a fully faced passage leading into the hills - possibly a tomb of some sort, belonging to a long forgotten power.
The attack takes the guards entirely by surprise, and the follow-up by Akrat Bey's men helps to finish off the six guards. They do manage to raise the alarm before being wiped out, though, and sounds of shouting and commotion are coming from the interior passage. Destiny orders a fire elemental to stand at the mouth of the passage, blocking it; the Brass Dog's men will take up missile positions in the valley to take out anyone who manages to get through the fire wall. In the meantime, the player party have discovered a second entrance into the same hill, presumably carved by whatever was in the rubbish pile. They manage to avoid several nasty looking pit traps dug by the defenders, and pick up the trails of what look like centipedes or similar - except they shouldn't be six feet long.
Destiny orders her other fire elemental to precede the group as they enter the lair of the creatures, which turn out to be three very large chitinous things with writhing tentacles coming from their faces. The fire panics them, and they take off at full speed into the hillsides. The party gives chase, managing to stay upright in the tunnels, only to see the things smash through a barricaded door to hurtle right into the middle of a very surprised looking group of around twenty brigands, half of whom have scimitars and shields, and half have bows ready [critical strength roll for one of the beasties]. Unfortunately for them, they were looking in the direction of the main entrance, and start to go down like ninepins. One of the men is sent flying by a particularly vigorous charging thingie, and smashes unconscious against the far right corner of their barracks room. The wall there shudders in an unusual way, giving away the location of a secret door. Destiny grabs the Egg of Hylar artefact from its resting place in her backpack and concentrates, ordering the three large beasts to attack anyone who comes in here and then guard the place. As the characters head towards the secret door, they see one of their new allies starting to feast on a man on the floor, who seems to have been paralysed or something. In the glistening light of the room's torches, Sir Blanque makes out dripping venom of some sort coating the tentacles of their new friends...
Sir Blanque wrenches open the not-so-scret door and the characters descend a short flight of stairs, leaving the sounds of screaming and slurping behind them. The group is again preceded by Destiny's fire elemental, which burns its way through a door at the bottom of the stairs. Here there is some sort of guard chamber; a large demonic man thing backs away from the elemental, destroying another door in the process. It flees down a long passageway to another room, which turns out to be a long-looted tomb:
Umpire's notes
The main characters have now been playing for two years of game time, which translates to six months of real time, with more than 25 playing sessions now. They all have new character sheets because the old ones were starting to get rather ratty. My plan is for there to be a mix of events. This is going to be a really grand tour, and there will be several elements to it. One is Avan Astran's thirst for knowledge - he basically wants to visit every major region at least once; a second is the trade route, which will require negotiation and diplomacy in several polities; the third is Marion's quest; and the fourth is anything else in between, in the form of one-off adventures. This should keep them going.
This particular adventure is based on the first part of the Rod of Seven Parts, an epic old D&D campaign which is available here. I still have my original.
I'm using this as the basis for Marion's quest eastwards, and it's quite good fun seeing the players encounter classic D&D monsters for the first time. I don't yet have the appropriate figures painted, but I do have the 5th edition Monster Manual, so I was able to show them pictures of the Carrion Crawlers and the Troll. This was the demonic thing they encountered last, and it backed off because although it has the ability to regenerate, it can't recover damage from fire. They didn't know any of this, of course. I use humans instead of Orcs and stuff like that because this is the Young Kingdoms after all.
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