Campaign Notes #4

There is light at the end of the tunnel, and 12th level is approaching!  AND I HAVE FINALLY CAUGHT UP ON ALL THE POSTS FOR OUR PRIOR CAMPAIGN SESSIONS!!

The party are 10th level now, almost 11th, and much has changed in Hannsport.  The PCs are well established in the ever growing village, and they now have skin in the game, from setting up churches to locksmith shops, and an elven tree tower in between.

A break of a number of years in campaign time ensued after the Battle of Darmody Meadows, the NPC introduction (long awaited by me, spanning two iterations of the Dark Tides campaign, the first of which barely got off the ground) of Josie Nightengale, and (best of all) Foose's return to the fold, are some of the highlights since the last Campaign Notes post in November.

With so much going on in so short a period of campaign time, the time-break also allowed me to have everyone put their character wealth at an appropriate amount for their current level.  The story device of the break in years allowed the treasure to catch up with the flow of events.  But what does treasure really matter in the face of a good story?? Quit a bit, as it turns out...  a ONE, a TWO, a THREE...!!

And so, given that the campaign is now much more individually story driven than it was at first, due to the many interesting character choices made by the players over the course of 11 Sessions since February 2018, each player (to the extent they have chosen to develop a story arc) should hopefully experience a satisfying culmination of their personal tale before the main arc of the campaign concludes.

Everybody came up with something for their character, and yes some put forward more, and some less.  Even so, I think everyone will be pleased.

The priest achieved his immediate goal-- to start a church in town dedicated to his own unique faith tradition and spread its influence in town.  Mission accomplished, but there will be a little more to that before it's all said and done.

As for the paladin, we are now in the middle of a criminal investigation and very soon a trial-- what more could a Redeemer of St Cambrace ask for?

The gnomish rogue may also soon discover even more (that's right, even more. it's up to him to share, if he wants to) about that chest that zapped him all those years ago, and what the ongoing ramifications of that seemingly remote, trifling occurrence may ultimately mean in the big scope of things.

For Professor Malort, well, just like the priest, I think he is pretty happy with his lot at the moment- a tree tower, a brood of extra-planar servants, and a budding friendship with a certain travelling bard (not a honey trap, but it's fun to see the occasional squirm).  Not bad for a mid-campaign replacement.

On the horizon is the half-orc's archer's tale, which I've been waiting to get to for a very long time.  It was one of the very first campaign customizations that I wrote almost a year and a half ago.

In the end, each of these arcs will build on each other toward the finale, although it will not become clear how they mesh until close to the end.

Although Foose was only able to make it back for the end run of the campaign, I promise there will be lots of harrowing combat, as well as the return of the hot bisexual human female / half-drow female couple (although the gnome has "horned in" on the action) to make up for the lack of an in depth story arc.

Once the buildup concludes, the table will be completely set for the big, campaign-ending extravaganza.  I can hardly wait!

(Even the DM got a little something for himself in the campaign-- a (not-quite) death trap dungeon!  Huzzah!)

SESSION 11 - THE SCALE OF JUSTICE

Upon returning from their dangerous escape from the Black Edifice, the party was surprised to see that a carnival had set up on the southeast outskirts of Hannsport.  Making a mental note to come back after completing their task, they continued on to the village's Great Hall, where they would meet the other council members and discuss recent events.

A meeting was hastily assembled with the party in attendance, along with Brother Markus, Anton and Magda Vyrlich and Constable Dreng.  As Josie Nightengale was in Hannsport, she had also been invited to observe and consult.

The party produced the unholy disc, as Professor Malort returned the large basalt artifact to its original size.  Brother Markus noted the lingering aura of wickedness that emanated from the stone's runic markings, and suggested it be secured away under the protective wards in his laboratory.  There it could be carefully studied under controlled conditions, and far away from prying eyes.  All agreed.

With the mission then fully complete, the party returned to their various interests on town, though not before attending the faire.

Each approached the festivities differently.  Sir Donaghast, perhaps suffering under the weight of yet even more traumatic combat, sank deeply into his cups.  Father Yorik dropped a great deal of coin trying to win a giant stuffed unicorn at the mini-crossbow target shooting booth.  Professor Malort attended Josie Nightengale's open air performance and joined her for a drink and a discussion of various arcane theories afterward.  And Calgrot stealthily investigated the odd feeling of familiarity that had come over him as soon as he set foot on the grounds.

While they were enjoying the evening, a hew and cry went up-- someone had robbed the Academy of the Whispering Wind!  Not only that, but they had caught the perp red-handed, and he was one of the carnies!

The village watch soon appeared, disbursing the crowd, ending the evenings reveries prematurely.  Constable Dreng had also sent a courier to fetch the party and request their presence at the Academy as soon as they were able.

The party then reassembled at the Church, with Josie Nightengale in tow.

Dreng and Markus were waiting for them.  Someone had stolen the golden idol the party had recovered from Bracken Island months prior.  Although the boy was caught in the lab, he did not have the idol on him.  He must have passed it to someone through the open window.  But how had the boy gotten into the basement of the Church in the first place?

A large crowd had gathered outside the Great Hall, eager to see the proceedings.  Rumors and gossip had spread throughout the night, and Hannsport being a small village, all were curious to know what had really happened.

All the party were in attendance as the court opened session, with Donaghast still not yet fully himself.  They noticed that some of the carnies were also there, in the back, and Calgrot positioned himself to keep an eye out.

Magda, who was sitting as judge in Markus' absence due to the ongoing investigation and his recusal of himself, called each of the minor cases first- public drunkenness, a minor dispute over a damaged wagon, and so forth.  When the last case was called, Dreng brought the towering young man forward.

In the middle of the proceeding, a young woman lept from her seat on one of the benches and shouted "Murderer!"

She pointed at the young man. "Murderer!" she cried again.  "He's the one that killed Ginny all those years ago!"

The crowd erupted in loud murmurs, only quieting when Magda banged her gavel as loudly as she could.  "Silence!" she shouted.

"What do you say, child?" she asked the young woman, who appeared to be no more than sixteen or seventeen years of age.

The girl then described how not five years past, in the nearby, now abandoned village of Willowdown, one of the local children was found strangled.  The accused boy was seen holding the dead girl at the scene and had then fled from the village.  Despite the best efforts of a local search party, the boy was never found nor seen again.  Until now.

As mayhem threatened the proceedings, the observing carnies quietly exited, with Calgrot following behind.  Magda then brought the chamber once more to order.  She announced that she would hold the matter over until a proper prosecutor could be summoned from Logash to look into the matter, and if necessary, to present the case against the accused.

Needing someone to stand in defense of the same accused, she scanned the room thoughtfully, looking for someone in particular.  When her eyes alit on the besotted paladin, she knew she had her man.  Who could be a better choice than a dedicated acolyte of St Cambrace, she thought to herself.

As soon as she appointed Sir Donaghast as defense counsel, she had the young man returned to his cell, she adjourned for the day and cleared the courtroom.

With that, the party began its investigations, examining the scene of the theft, as well as interviewing several potential witnesses, as best they could.  They interviewed the carnies, the young girl, Brother Markus and Constable Dreng, as well as the accused, who seemed to be a simpleton of little intellect.

Given that they only had a few days, they then decided that they would travel to Willowdown to search for clues as to the alleged crime committed there.

SESSION 10 - IT'S A TRAP!

The party once again answered the call to duty to protect heir village.  They snuck into the Black Edifice to obtain the disc and bring it back to Hannsport for study.  They were unimpeded as they made it to the one-time summoning room for the third time since their adventuring careers began!

Once they secured the disc, their magical light extinguished, and the darkness echoed with the sneering laughter of an unfamiliar, feminine voice.

The woman taunted them, speaking the common tongue with a heavy, orcish accent.  From her jibes they learned that by taking the disc, they had armed all of the traps she had laid for them and boasted that they were just as doomed as their elven allies were about to be.

With that, the party began to make their way out of the dungeon.  Reigniting their lights, they saw several panels in the walls of the chamber slide open, and lifeless, shambling corpses began moving toward them!

Zombies infected with yellow mold!

Yellow Mold Zombie

As they made their way further toward the lift and the upper chambers, more wall panels opened to reveal giant skeletons with smaller skeleton archers perched inside their ribcages.  Another mighty battle ensued, and the party was triumphant.

When they arrived at the lift, the control lever rotated into the wall and was replaced with a new control panel.  The panel had three parallel levers, one blue, one yellow, and one blue.  All were in a neutral position.  After trying several combinations, and receiving a number of electrical shocks, the party was able to generate the correct sequence and ascend back up the tunnel shaft.

Leaving the platform, the party entered the statue room on their way to the exit chamber.  As they entered, the flagstones nearest the door began to drop away, revealing a spiked pit trap!

As everyone successfully evaded the trap, stone panels started lowering over the entrance and exit, and the statue in the middle of the room animated!  The stone veneer cracked and dropped away from the thing, revealing a very angry clay golem beneath, and even worse, four large stone panels in the floor opened up, revealing pits filled with gelatinous cubes!  As the battle raged, the golem grabbed ahold of Sir Donaghast and jumped into one of the pits, regenerating itself while the cube began to digest the engulfed paladin!  The party was able to overload the construct with sheer amounts of damage and mayhem, defeating their foe and saving their slowly dissolving companion!

Clay Golem and Gelatinous Cube

With the golem defeated, the blocked passages reopened, and the way out appeared clear.  But appearances were always deceiving!

Waiting for them outside was a massive, ramshackle titan constructed of a stitched together assorted collection of giant bones.

Once again the disembodied female voice taunted them.

"Behold my greatest creation," she announced triumphantly.  "I prepared it just for you, and once you are slain, I shall turn it loose upon your wretched little village and raze it to the ground!"

Kikituk

The thing roared out it's evil intent, and immediately attacked the party!  As the battle joined and the gargantuan connstruct unloaded on the party, Professor Malort withdrew backward into the shelter of the Black Edifice, only to hear the telltale sound of a lever being thrown and the grating of stone on stone as a stone panel dropped in front of him, sealing his escape!

Calgrot immediately noticed that the panel dropped shut, trapping their wizard inside.  As they battled the great unliving beast, they also tried to open the door, using another control panel they managed find concealed in the wall beside the doorway- another set of red, yellow and blue levers, again in a neutral position!

As Malort considered his options, knowing that the outside of the Edifice was warded against translocational magic, he first created a magical light, and then heard the wicked voice again somewhere in the darkness.

"Foolish elf!" she hissed at him.  "You have left yourself at my mercy, but alas, Naaruz the Witherer has no mercy to give!"

And with that the elven wizard and the orcish sorceress began a harrowing mage duel that was as violent as it was brief.  Each unleashed spells at the other that ranked among the greatest magics they knew.  With superior tactics, Professor Malort's choice won the day, as his Black Tentacles disrupted the Disintigrate spell Naaruz had targeted him with.  As the orc was being squashed by the tentacles, she released a contingent dimension door, whisking herself away somewhere back into the dark depths of the dungeon, outside the range of the elf's keen sight.

"This isn't over, filth," she spat at him.  "You will not be so lucky the next time we meet!"

Naaruz the Witherer

Shortly thereafter, the party managed to get the door open, free their wizard, and defeat the giant engine of destruction.  As a final gesture, Professor Malort summoned an earth elemental to pummel the front of the Black Edifice into rubble, sealing Naaruz in the dark depths below.

Without further ado, the party then absconded back to Hannsport, to deliver the disc to the council and reflect on what had passed.