Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 platinumwarlock Jan 21, 2004 19:31:40	(GM notes are included at the end of the narrative, and correspond to the numbers) Ravenloft Campaign Log—Wed. Night Game—Log I Our story begins on the roads of Invidia, where a storm began blowing in. Two weary travelers, Dario and Damonion, came to a crossroads as they traveled north towards Port-a-Lucine, the jeweled city of culture in Dementlieu. Approaching from the west, just as they arrived were two grizzled warriors, both heavily armed and dressed as woodsmen. The rain drizzled down on the quartet, as introductions were made all around. Named Rimo and Tallorn, the pair of rangers told Dario and Damonion they were heading towards Darkon and agreed to accompany the two wanderers in making their way north. (1) Rain began blowing in heavily and wind whipped across the adventurers’ backs like the lash of a slavedriver. Trying to gain shelter amongst the overhanging trees, the quartet huddled beneath their cloaks as Dario attempted to light a fire. After several tries, the wily rogue managed somehow to get the wet wood to burst into flame. (2) Unfortunately for them, the soaked kindling put forth a thick smoke, which billowed around the group and left them gasping for air. When, finally, the smoke cleared, the quartet quickly found that they were in unfamiliar surroundings. The road leading north was all but gone. Dense forest pressed around them, like a solid wall of living hardwood. Immediately, all four began questioning as to what, exactly, had happened. However, the smoke that had just so recently swept around them slid slowly through the woods, and dissipated, leaving two odd figures in its wake. The first, a robed individual, stepped forward boldly and, after some odd smatterings of attempted conversation, introduced herself as Dera in an ancient form of Balok. (3) The second person, small and lithe, quickly disappeared into the shadows and scrambled up a tree for safety. Just then, the howling began. Tallorn’s ears perked up and interpreted the sound—wolves, howling as if they were of one voice, though many. (4) With a worried expression, the ranger was quick to let his comrades know of the unnatural feel to the sounds. Looking out through the shadows of the trees, wary of the wolves, the adventurers swiftly realized that there were bigger problems to deal with first. At least 75, if not more, humanoid figures were slowly forming an ever-tightening noose around the warriors’ positions. Begging the newcomer to join them in fleeing this menace, the five dashed madly through the forest, attempting to get away from the mass of bodies. Listening carefully as he ran, Tallorn recognized the sounds of a chorus of voices over the winds. In a dissonant, off-key tone, the forest echoed with the sounds of a morbid Tepestani children’s song. The look on the warrior’s face, as he recognized the tune, harrowed the very souls of his comrades. Fate was not on the warriors’ sides that night. Dodging both the howling winds and the mocking cries of the mysterious figures, the group ran through the night and to the edge of a small clearing in the woods. Edging nervously around the expanse, they noticed a line of seven figures, linked hand in hand, in the center of the clearing. Drawing blades, the group approached…only to hear the hideous song pour forth in one voice from their collective throats. As lightning flashed across the heavens, at last the mysterious figures were revealed—flesh rotted and fell from hollow bones, and each of their mouths was twisted in a hideous grin as they sang. (5) Battle was joined. Acting swiftly, Tallorn charged one of the beasts, with two swords drawn. However, he direly underestimated the unholy strength of the creatures. With a powerful blow from its meaty fist, Tallorn fell with a gaping head wound, bleeding on the rain-soaked earth. His allies gasped in revulsion, but held their ground to stave off the undead menace. (6) The conflict boded direly for the adventurers. While scoring several hits, Damonion’s was soon surrounded by three of the creatures. The hands of a girl, no more than 12 years old, soon clenched around her throat, and the brave swordsman fell. Dera, realizing the horrible fate she would endure at the creatures’ hands, summoned an arcane mount to bear her and Dario away from the combat, but as she tried to grab the young rogue’s hand, she slipped from her saddle and the mount vanished. Fearing for her life, the lithe figure fought her way past one of the walking corpses and scrambled up a tree, where she rained down crossbow bolts. Were it not for the heroics of young Rimo, though, the group may have met a grisly fate. Eschewing his favored bow, he waded into the fray with a longsword and cut down several of the creatures where they stood. Quickly binding Tallorn’s wounds, he defended Damonion until Dera and Dario regained their bearings to form a more organized retreat. As the creatures slowly fell, the staggered Tallorn managed to speak some unknown incantation, reviving Damonion and allowing all 6 warriors to continue their flight. (7) After an exhausting run, the group finally arrived at a small settlement. Strangely, though, lights still burned in the four buildings despite the fact that it was well into the night. Desperately seeking refuge, the sextet shambled into the largest of the buildings, apparently once a town hall. Deserted, the hall stood silent. No life moved in the hall, save the adventurers themselves. However, a silent figure sat face-down at a table in a darkened corner of the room. Fearfully examining the body, the warriors came upon a sheet of parchment on the desk, in a strange script: Such are the final words of Hyskosa, seer of time… A town shall be razed, then rebuilt in a day The One Who is Many shall raise them from clay. The circle of slayer and prey will be sundered. Yet death brings no rest for the world-weary hunter. The four pillars of alabaster will fall, But a demon’s sheer will shall use three as his thrall. Five that once stood shall splinter and quake, As the hordes of the Pike-Lord leave death in their wake. A house built on pain will tumble and fade And a realm will still scream though the Black Knight has paid. Truth be shown through eyes, though the Black Mists will rise. Eth radk amn liwl noos igna shi izrep. (8) While little could be discerned from this mysterious message, Damonion kept the parchment for future reference. After an hour of quiet rest, Tallorn and Rimo barred the doors, while the mysterious woman slowly explored the house alone. Coming upon what appeared to be a master bedroom, she slyly pocketed a bag of coins, each labeled “One Mournepiece” which she kept to herself. Dera, however, was not content to merely stand by. Desiring to search the remainder of the town, she lifted the bars on the door and slipped outside, while Rimo and Tallorn protested. (9) Dera did not get so far as the first house, when disaster struck. Not noticing the stench of undeath around her, she opened the door to what appeared to be a crude smithy, when a huge bald corpse smashed her skull with a massive hammer. Watching hesitantly from the door, Rimo and Tallorn leapt into action. Rimo took a rib-cracking blow to the chest, but with a powerful two-handed stroke, felled the beast and then tended to the fallen mage. Examining the hammer, the pair found it to be well made, and kept it. (10) While those three fought outside, Dario, apparently an expert of metalwork, came upon a vital clue. (11) The fireplace poker in the town hall indicated a form of metalsmithing found only in the remote forest land of Verbrek. However, how the group came to be so waylaid was beyond them all. After re-barring the doors, the group fitfully rested. Dawn broke peacefully, and no trace of the undead scourge could be found. Mystified and still aching from their injuries, the sextet set out again. (12). GM’s Notes: 1—Rimo and Tallorn were never heading towards Darkon. They were actually planning to head towards the border of Valachan and Sithicus to meet with some ranger comrades. However, they told Damonion and Dario otherwise, for reasons known only to them…seriously. 2—Dario was using his Half-Vistani talent to light a fire in any conditions. (p. 36 RLCS) 3—There is a very important reason why Dera speaks an archaic version of this tongue, which will be revealed as time goes on. I’m unsure if any of the players have picked up on the clues, though. 4—The group was never meant to find the wolves, but I needed to get them moving. They were getting just a tad too comfortable. It worked pretty well… ;) 5—If you hadn’t guessed already, this is Toben the Many, one of my all-time favorite NPCs (VRGttWD p. 108). While I was wary of using him so early on, his “Borg meets Night of the Living Dead” feel worked perfectly as an introduction. Rachel, Damonion’s player, was exceedingly freaked out; something I had worried about since we were playing in a conference room. The idea of a children’s song came from Stephen King’s “Storm of the Century” on ABC. I’ll never look at “I’m a Little Teapot” the same way again. 6—Sanity Check, using my new rules! Unfortunately, everyone passed. No fun for me… 7—Tallorn has the “Redhead” feat, as Cure Light Wounds. (p. 48 RLCS) 8—Hyskosa’s final Hexad, written in Patterna. I typed this up in a nice font, then promptly forgot to bring the handout. I had to work from memory and give them a hand-written version that was slightly inaccurate. I’ll fix that soon. The final line is an anagram; see if you can figure it out! 9—In reality, Karl, Dera’s player, was just being a bit greedy after Silas, the mysterious woman’s player, found the Mordentish gold. As such, she wanted to find something in the town. She sure did. Tallorn and Rimo, however, acted out of heroism. I awarded XP according to their motives. 10—They don’t know it, but the hammer is a masterwork adamantine warhammer. That will definitely come in handy, if they hang onto it. 11—Another Half-Vistani ability, as Dario is of the Kamii tribe. TJ, Dario’s player, was rolling surprisingly well after the combat. 12—Figuring that he’d be bored with toying with the PCs, I had Toben just leave. The majority of his bodies were only used to keep the players on edge and their characters running. Now, lost in an unfamiliar land, they’re about to meet someone who they’ll deal with for the rest of their adventuring careers.
#2 zombiegleemax Jan 21, 2004 22:30:34	Originally posted by Platinumwarlock A town shall be razed, then rebuilt in a day The One Who is Many shall raise them from clay. Toben the Many? Don't know what town. The circle of slayer and prey will be sundered. Yet death brings no rest for the world-weary hunter. I'm leaning towards Natalia Vorshkova(sp?) and George Weathermay, or the absorbtion of Arkandale into Verbrek. The four pillars of alabaster will fall, But a demon’s sheer will shall use three as his thrall. Dunno. Five that once stood shall splinter and quake, As the hordes of the Pike-Lord leave death in their wake. Ditto. A house built on pain will tumble and fade And a realm will still scream though the Black Knight has paid. When Black Roses Bloom? Truth be shown through eyes, though the Black Mists will rise. Eth radk amn liwl noos igna shi izrep. The anagram: The Dark Man will soon gain his prize. Don't know. Does it involve Strahd or the Black Duke?
#3 platinumwarlock Jan 22, 2004 1:04:28	I'll break it down for you: Verse 1: Toben the Many and the first session. He killed everyone in town and took over their bodies, aside from Hyskosa, who was writing these as he died. Verse 2: Weathermay and Natalia. As you'll find out later, Weathermay's grave will be desecrated and he'll be made into a half-undead, half mechanical golem. Verse 3: The four churches of Ezra and the Gentleman Caller, Andre Linoge. Verse 4: The Pact of Five breaks up (yes, I know it's technically the Pact of Four, but I added Lamordia to the mix) in the threat of Falkovnian invasion. Verse 5: The Butcher Street Boarding House will be destroyed by the PCs, as will Nedragaard Keep. Verse 6: Essentially, you got the anagram right. It refers to my villain, Gregorian delShonar, who borders on proving his Theory on Arcane Robotics (and becoming a darklord with it).