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Here's the twist. The whole thing was a setup by the Emperor to get Lenear alone or at least without his buddies to help him so that he would be able to take the ring that had defeated Bane. To make sure the plan succeeded, he sent Bane himself to do the deed. He and a squadron of soldiers would wait outside the lair until the party made the return trip, and pounce on them in their weakened state.
The best part was the confrontation with Bane in the end. Kayla blasted his troops with an ice storm, which removed most of them from the fight, but then Bane came and handed Lenear's ass to him. In a fine bit of role-playing, Lenear gave the ring to Kayla and had her teleport out of there. This was especially poignant as she left just as Bane dealt a nearly fatal blow to the elf. For some reason, perhaps the influence of Calidor's sword, Bane spared Lenear's life, but took his frostbrand Icewind for similarly enigmatic reasons. He then told the survivors, "Follow me and die," and left. They didn't need to be told twice.
We return to Auspelis, and find that another,
smaller force of Imperials snuck back in, ostensibly looking for the same
thing (either the medallions we already have or another one), and in so
doing, kidnapped a 16-year old girl. We track down the party, and after
some extensive planning on Calidor's part and spellcasting on Starlimus'
part, we manage to defeat the Thyatians and even get a prisoner. We
discover they took the girl to the Imperial capital, and that the next
medallion is in the mountains to the south, near the Bone March. It ended
there.
All in all, a good adventure so far. I noted that the amulets were probably linked to the rings and the shadow-warriors. Chris claimed not to know about the rings... which is false, the adventure where Bane appeared directly involved the rings. More likely, he forgot that little detail. Oh well, not important in the long run, and this is one coincidence which fits neatly into the overall plot.
We snuck into Thyatis, and tracked Therian (the bad-guy wizard) down to his tower. Invading the place, we find that Therian and the girl are on one of the Emperor's galleys. We chase it down.... but a little too late. We walked in on a demon having his way with the girl. We killed the demon ("With GREAT vengeance and FUUURIOUS anger" according to Marty), and found that the seed had been sown. We took her to Pentagarn.
We, like stupid-heads, get lured to a boat where Calidor finds a chest with another medallion in it. Figuring out that reuniting the medallions is a bad thing, he sits down on the chest to keep them apart. Seeing as Starlimus was carrying two of the other medallions now (yet another was around the girl's neck), and Calidor knew that they tried to influence his behaviour, he keeps Starlimus out until he gets rid of the amulets he has. He does, and they return to Pentagarn's place, finding that the demon-child is being born. Sucking up his courage and guilt, Calidor puts the seemingly himan child to the sword, killing it instantly (it should be noted that Chris W knew at that time that the sword cannot harm an innocent). The "demon essence" leaves the child, and we hunt it down and destroy it. We later find that the girl gave birth to a second child, this one truly innocent, but a suitable host for another demon spirit. On that, we ended the adventure.
We (Lenear, Andarra, Kayla, and Gith -- Chris' dwarf character), travelled to Kendermore and found that it had been ravaged by a dragon, and said dragon had seized Elpi.
We managed to find the dragon's lair. Long story short, after making our way through the lair, we found the dragon and defeated it, rescuing Elpi and recovering the ring. After we left, though, we found that nothing had changed... the night sky was still dark. Elpi returned with us, minus most of his magic items. He suprised all by saying he won't go back to Kendermore because he had caused his people too much pain already. Yes... a responsible act from our favorite kender!
The adventure was mostly very good: there was a nice amount of
combat without going overboard like many have done. It was for
the most part very direct and straightforward as well... not a
lot of fumbling around with us wondering what we were supposed
to do. I didn't want to use the Witch-King just yet, and Chris
told me that the omen was just that, an omen, and that it only
meant that the Witch-King would rise "soon". That's good, because
I planned on doing a couple of things before the Darkness begins
(that's a pretty cool title for that particular part of the
campaign by the way, and descriptive too). The moons would return,
their absence was a sign. I personally found the part on mages
to be vague. He stated that he wanted for there to be fewer mages
in the world, but it seemed a little ill-defined: where do they go?
I'm ruling that this omen caused a major "disturbance in the essence"
which disrupted the mages for a while. I'm favoring a more subtle
approach, to simply "invisibly" remove most mages from the board.
There are a few major players (the Emperor, the Idiot King, Galadriel)
and a middleweight or two (Starlimus, Therien, Kayla). Simply put,
mages should and will be few and far between... no "magic shops" except
in the very largest cities (Nyrond, Port Blacksand, and the like) or
in Moonshade, which is supposed to have a high concentration of magic
anyway. Speaking of which, Moonshade will be the only place where
mages are anything near common, and it is not a large city, population-
wise (it covers a large, sprawling area, mostly because of the large
homes and lands of the various mages), and they tend to be of dubious
helpfulness, anyway. In short, there will be very little of going
to the "local wizard" to pick up handy magic items... we'll mostly
dependent on ourselves to make the small stuff.
I also suspect that he's using this as an excuse to re-design Kayla and put more emphasis on her priestly side, which he pretty much told me on the way back. Can't say I blame him.
Henceforth, in my own role-playing, I'm going to try to get Calidor to loosen up a little more (not anywhere near as much as Darian would like). Basically, I'm having Calidor realize that he's trying so hard to project a confident image as a leader that he's putting distance between himself and his friends. He feels like there's no one he can really talk to, and knows that it's really his own fault. He won't change his fundamentals, his beliefs, but he will "open up" a bit more, letting people into his head.
The airship returned, without Rand. "Ace" told the party that Rand hadn't checked on her in three days. It turns out that Baraban tracked him down and nabbed him, taking him to the one who issued the bounty: Lord Azzur, the notorious tyrant of Port Blacksand.
The companions bumped into Talia, and when she found out that Rand was in danger, said she couldn't help directly, as her father had a truce with Azzur. However, she did manage to provide them with the means to enter Azzur's palace.
In said castle, the party found the castle was a proverbial house of horrors. Azzur and his mage Duramax apparently made extensive practice of necromancy (one room was filled with thousands of bones), and Azzur seemed to make cruelty into an artform. They REALLY began to hate this guy.
They finally found Azzur with his "trophy", Rand encased in a huge block of an amber-like crystal. Azzur escaped with a "word of recall", and Rand was freed.
Now, it could have ended then and there, but it didn't. After what they had seen, the party had come to despise this guy. Kayla created a huge and humiliating illusion over his palace. Then they made to leave. However, they decided that this time, the bad guy was NOT going to get away. They plotted to bring down Lord Azzur once and for all. Apparently Azzur could not abide the humiliation, and so decided to take it out on his own people... by increasing his public executions. He would hang 20 people each day from the parapets of his castle every day at high noon. That was when they struck. After a hard battle with Azzur's elite guard and Azzur himself, the tyrant was killed by Rand (appropriate, and the dice just landed that way, no fudging). Rikus heaved Azzur's body to the ground below for the crowd to see. There the adventure truly ended.
They really dug the ending. It's good sometimes to get that satisfying victory, one which will have a lasting effect. Azzur became, in one adventure, one of the most memorable villains in the campaign's history. The players really wanted to get him bad, and when they got him, it was great. All in all, a very satisfying adventure.
Lenear and Elpi go to Nyrond for carnival week, which is a major league Durenor celebration. When they get there, they find out that a couple of new taxes have been implemented: the "Scroll Tax" which specifically targets spellcasters, and the "Dwarf Tax" which targets said race. They work on the theory that mages and dwarves have lots of money put away, and that those who are able to pay must do so. Still, they are clearly quite unfair.
They also learn that about a month ago, the king was attacked by an assassin, and was poisoned. While the poison was treated, it incapacitated him, a condition which lasts until now. Thus, these taxes were actually passed by the seven major lords of Durenor.
Much to their shock, they find that Calidor was one of the ones who supported them! When they questionned him, he was acting sort of strange. They noticed that he used a number of set "phrases" to respond to their questions, and his tone never changed when he said them. They knew something was wrong, and found out that he had been hypnotized into supporting the taxes. Even worse, it appeared that Darian had lured him into it deliberately!
Being aware of foul play, they found out that the other lords who supported it were also being manipulated. One's daughter was being held hostage. Another (the Archbishop!) was being blackmailed. A third was addicted to drugs, and would have his supply cut off unless he supported the taxes.
One night, they get a note warning them of danger. Later, they are attacked in their inn by assassins. One of them is Darian! She is clearly not herself, showing no emotion. They manage to alert the guard in time to have them disperse, and subdue Darian. (Chris W. kept saying that Darian could die here. Of course, at this point she was enjoying "DM's grace", and I wasn't about to let her be killed. It's just not right to let her be killed when her player isn't here.)
They bring her to the cathedral, and find she's in a trance, having been throughly brainwashed. Here's a funny bit. Lenear removed her clothes and armor (she was wearing her green bodystocking for this one) to make sure she didn't have anything concealed on her, and then covered her with his cloak. They call Calidor and Andarra, and Calidor says he'll bring her to Raskus to see if they can get her back to her old self (he succeeds, but not during this adventure). However, because Lenear is a goof, he whips the cloak off her while Calidor is carrying her, saying "Hey, my cloak's magic. Don't want to go without it." On cue, Cal averts his eyes to the now very naked Darian in his arms, and his face turns an interesting shade of red. Elpi, who isn't very experienced with the opposite gender, notes how she has "bags" on her chest.
Anyway, here's where Marty showed some good detective work. The
assassins had Thyatian insignia on their clothes, but Lenear decides
that it might not be the empire's doing. He notes the following:
* This plot was very elaborate and required a massive amount of
planning, which sounds a lot like the way the brotherhood tends to
operate.
* Darian was involved, and was brainwashed. They knew that recently she
had gained a huge diamond that belonged to Ra's al Ghul, and that he
would definitely retaliate. Also, her mental
state could definitely be his work.
* It was inevitable that someone would find out about the foul play
eventually, and Lenear began to think that this was deliberate... so the
Thyatians would be blamed.
* The Thyatians were caught up in a civil war, and there wasn't much for
them to gain by provoking another war right now.
Thus, Lenear figures out that this whole thing is designed to cause Durenor to "retaliate" against the Thyatians, forcing the empire to fight a war on two fronts, which is something Ra's al Ghul would certainly like.
They manage to track down the person who supplied the drugs to their hideout, and kill a bunch of brotherhood assassins. They also find one lord's kidnapped daughter. They rush to the palace to return her, and that lord goes to the king's chambers. There, they find Ra's al Ghul himself, along with a traitorous lord. He snuck in while most people were distracted by the huge fireworks display which marks the end of the carnival. The Ra's escapes, threatening the king's life if they don't let him go. It seems that Ra's was planning on subtly "converting" the king to his cause!
In this adventure, I had it so that Darian had been trained to be "expert" with her longsword by the Brotherhood. This is a sort of "lesser" specialization for those who are not single-class fighters (it costs one weapon prof. slot) which gives the multiple attacks of specialization, but no "to hit" or damage bonus (she uses her higest level class to determine the number of attacks, in this case, 2/1). Let me know whether or not you want to keep it.
Apparently, Garoth was there as well, and had become her "consort". As they explored this lost city, Rikus was noticed by the goddess' priestesses (mind-controlled women who Zenobia drained for their life force to maintain her youth: she was a 'psychic vampire'), and was approached to become another consort (apparently Zenobia didn't believe in monogamy).
While Rikus keeps her... occupied, Rand nips in and swipes the sceptre. Lenear and Kayla run interference. Unfortunately, Garoth shows up, and Kayla manages to push the mad prince (VERY mentally unstable) into a rage. He attacks fiercely, possessing Deathkiss -- Blackrazor's sister sword. Among its abilities is Haste, which makes him more of a thresher than Lenear. They harm him, but he runs off and slaughters some guards, draining their energy.
Rikus leaves Zenobia, spots the guards, and pursues his nemesis. Zenobia, meanwhile, finds her staff missing, and is PISSED OFF. She storms out of her room, spots Lenear and Kayla, and spitefully attacks them. After a nasty battle, she is slain.
Rikus fares poorly, against a pumped up and hasted Garoth. In a major character moment, Rikus' sword is broken in the battle. Lenear, Kayla, and a recently arrived Rand (staff in hand) show up, and chase Garoth off.
The group leaves, save for Kayla, who wants to help fix up this land which is now in turmoil after the death of their goddess. She is NOT retired as a character, and Chris plans for her to frequently teleport in. I think he has underestimated this project, however, in rebuilding an exotic society and have it rejoin the outside world.
You may notice that things are coming full circle here. I'm working on wrapping up a number of plot threads (Rikus' eventual confrontation with Garoth, Lenear's final battle with Crauser), and the whole campaign is entering is final stage. The villains are finally beginning to get theirs.
This was an epic battle. If it weren't for a healing potion, Lenear would have lost. When it came down to it, Krauser had 7 hit points left, while Lenear had 6. Krauser swung, Lenear blocked, then countered, doing just enough to beat him. After a final speech by Krauser ("In dying, I have never felt so alive...") he died. Andarra was restored to flesh. Lenear felt bad about the whole thing... he hadn't really wanted to kill Krauser, but admitted to himself that it felt good to fight someone who could truly test him on every level. He saw in Krauser someone who he once was... a man obsessed with fighting and combat skill. In many ways, Krauser was Lenear's greatest enemy.
Starlimus decides to
make a trip of it, and brings Elpi along (to keep him away from the
battles and out of Calidor's hair).Arriving, they find that Moonshade is in flux. The magelord, Filbercios, is dead, apparently ripped apart by a beast. In order to find a new magelord, a number of mages must compete in the "Rites of Rulership", a set of tasks which will determine the worthiness of a new ruler. One of the contestants is Darian's "friend" Mordraneth! Apparently Alsander returned to Moonshade to find the residents unwilling to listen to his warnings.
Starlimus enters the rites, thinking that if he were magelord, he could force the Sorcerors to support the war effort. The first rite involves each entrant going to a nearby fishing village and wiping out the orcs which have occupied them. Starlimus, Elpi, and Maria (the Harvester's real name), travel to their assigned village, and do just that. However, while they were fast, Mordraneth was faster, and that bastard wins the first challenge. (Mordraneth, a pawn of the Witch-King, didn't even have to fight them, and just commanded the orcs to leave). We wrapped up before the beginning of the second rite... defeat the Hydra and bring back one of its teeth. Note I said "the Hydra", not "a hydra".
Back at the ranch, they find out a few things. It seems that during this rite, Mordraneth went nowhere near the Hydra's island. No one thinks much of it, as he may have been working on a way to defeat it. They also bump into a smelly old drunk who knows things he shouldn't, saying that Mordraneth has been "looking under rocks for a rock." Starlimus thinks something is up with him, but has been unsuccessful finding out what.
The next rite tests Starlimus' courage. They have to journey to the underworld and bring back water from the river Styx. (Greek mythology theme here, for those who care). First, they had to get past Cerberus, a loveable pooch. They do so by giving him the entire contents of a meat shop to get him to look the other way. They then have a very nasty battle with some of the restless spirits on the way to the river (who kept taking potshots at Starlimus with missile weapons).
Before they reach the river, they come across a shrine which Elpi promptly enters to investigate. There, they are faced by a manifestation of the Lady, goddess of fate, for "judgement". Starlimus is given the chance to live up to his promise to the Harvester and is told that here she can be restored to flesh and blood. However, he has to give up life for her to have life. He agrees, and she is made human once more. (He loses one point of Con and 5 hit points -- both permanently. Very nasty for a wizard who doesn't have that many HP to begin with.) They get the water, and come back triumphant once more.
They make a quick stop at Starlimus' villa, where they find the place trashed. Jeeves tells them that a "very large man" came here, looking for a ring. He set off almost all Starlimus' magical traps, and seemed undeterred. (Elpi and Starlimus were in the party at the time the brass ring was found. Elpi was the one who actually took it.)
Starlimus returns to Moonshade for the next rite. This one is a test of his versatility in magic to solve problems effectively. He passes, but another contender does it better, and wins that rite. While Starlimus takes this test, Elpi decides to wander around the city, and finds himself followed. He turns around to confront his shadow, only to find himself face to face with Bane!
Bane demands to know where the ring Elpi took is. Elpi honestly doesn't know. (Rand, at Lenear's prompting, pulled a fast one to get the ring away from the unreliable kender). Bane is satisfied that Elpi is telling the truth, and, having no further use for him, turns on his heel to leave.
Here's where Elpi does something really, really stupid. He takes a flask of water which they got from the river Styx, and throws it smack into Bane's back. (At this point, Marty is hopping around, saying Bane will now lose his memory. Here I nix that idea. Mythology tends to get the rivers of the underworld confused, and often ascribes the properties of several different rivers to the Styx. One of these is the effect of amnesia to those mortals who touch its waters. However, this is incorrect. The river which runs through the underworld which causes amnesia is called the Lethe. Besides, there are two other factors: a) Bane isn't quite mortal, b) magical water tends to lose its special properties when removed from its source.) The result is a wet and pissed off Bane. He uses his psionic attack Psychic Crush to lay Elpi low (down to -6 hp, actually).
We ended when they found out what the last rite would be... they had to find out who was responsible for the killings that have been taking place and bring them to justice. (Along the way, one of the contestants was also killed, and more recently, your associate Alsander was slain in a similar manner). Stay tuned for the stunning conclusion!
Starlimus is now lord of the Isle of Sorcery. Marty knows damn well he's very insecure in his position. Many on the isle don't support the notion of getting involved with ourside affairs. He's also got to watch his back. Starlimus has to use all his wits to keep the Isle's support and stay alive in the process, and Marty seems to be really digging this idea. He seems to have decided that it's time for Starlimus to grow up.
As a total aside, but still very amusing, Starlimus' villa is now airborne! This was completely unplanned... Elpi was playing around with a Bag of Beans (one of those wonderful random items), and the result was all the terrain in a 150 yard radius (including Starlimus' old home) ripped out of the ground and started floating away. The house is intact, just floating somewhere. Where, I have no idea (this was basically a random event). Starlimus is taking it fairly well... being Magelord of Moonshade, it's not as though he is now without a home. He is VERY curious as to where his house has decided to go. We were rolling on the floor laughing about this. It could very well wind up in Dara, if you want to do anything with it.
On a more serious note, the elf Rhuobhe Manslayer tried to kill his clanmember Lenear and his bride to be of the race of "vermin". Cool battle ensued. Finally, Lenear and Andy had their big day, and now are on their honeymoon (giving the character Lenear a much-needed break).
Rikus and Elpi come along for the fun.
Anyway, they find that these people have been replaced (at least, that's what
they thought at the time, it's more like "changed into"... can you say "You
will
be assimilated. Resistance is futile") with people with metal parts in their
bodies that are only visible when their clothing is removed. Eventually, they
track them down to their source, a complex where they meet their enemy,
Toribrand, the wizard who created the airship, who now has a fully artificial
body and calls himself "the Construct".Here's a part that irritated me. He was about to go into his villainous spiel where he explains his actions, but Elpi attacks him right away. He is "irritated" by this, and retaliates. Since the party quickly set of an alarm when they entered and explored very little of the place before confromting this baddie, they left the adventure with a VERY shaky idea of what was going on. Anyway, they find him to be overwhelming, but then they hit on the idea of attacking the power source for the complex instead of him. Starlimus surrounds him with a Wall of Force, (which will only hold him a short time... he can reconfigure his weapons to deal with just about anything in a few rounds). The power source looks like it'll go nova, so our heroes take the high road. End of adventure.
