Campaign Experience
by Pol GinésThis is the already played story about how 4 underwater scoundrel PCs (a nixie wokani, a triton magic user, a shark kin and a merman shaman, all about level 5-6) scammed Specularum high society and obtained about 100.000 gp in jewels and coins and some powerful magic objects.
We used Threshold magazine and GAZ1 Specularum ideas and the detailed Lorenzo's Specularum Map.
The PCs based their plan in these powerful habilities:
- The nixie, because of her level and wokani condition, can Charm Intelligent Beings, 1 use a day; this is not a noisy power, it is not as casting spell shouting and dancing with her pink-stars-and-hearts little grigri. Nixies' charms last for a whole year! She is also INT18 and CHA18. She has skills such as: Dancing, Lying, Allure...
- The triton, son of a triton coral trader, speaks fluent high-class Thyatian, is CHA17 and has the Gain Trust Skill.
- The merrow, as a shaman, once a day can take dolphin shape, and, more important, he can speak dolphin language. A cleric casting Speak with Animals can verify that this "dolphin" is really speaking dolphin language.
- The nixie and the triton usually try to cast their "Sleep" spells from the water (Volaga River in this adventure) to unsuspecting lonely victims walking next to the river, usually in the evening, after supper. Once they fall asleep, they cast their Charms (the nixie special one or the classical 1st level spell) to sleeping victims (-4 to Saving Throw). Most of them are low level and easily charmed. If the charm fails, they can try it again next day or next week.
HOW IT HAPPENS:
1st step: the team charm a family of wine traders in the fields near the village of Fluvium, half a day sailing from Specularum. They pay them some pearls and their house becomes a base to send people from Specularum that they want to take out of the city.
A wise man that knew a lot (too much) about the Sea of Dread and a tin-artisan, that made false sectarian daggers, were sent there for paid holidays by their new nixie friend. The PCs did not want people in Specularum contacting them.
2nd step: the team explores the river, its sanbanks, its islands and inhabitants.
3rd step: they need a base; in point A they charm a simple fisherman, and, next night, the leader of that small village, Ferris. He will help them and tell about many things in the city.
4th step: Ferris introduces them them to the small temple of Protius and their low level clerics: they quickly Charm them. They also try the same tactic with Zirchev clerics. They ask about experts on the Sea of Dread and Sunlit Sea, they found him, they charm and send him out of the city on "paid holidays". They go to the clerical area (D) to look for people with good hearts.
5th step: they tell their horrifying tale to those candid (charmed) clerics that love animals and the sea. There is a huge conspiracy of Dagon sectarians in many port cities in the Sunlit Sea, they tell. These evil cultists are hunting and torturing dolphins and ritually sacrificing them to obtain entropic energy and open a door to Dagon's abyssal plane.
The PCs are asking money, jewels and magic objects to raise a powerful force of heroes, sailors and ships to protect the dolphins and look for cultists in the ports. All people should be concerned: Dagon cultists are in the cities and Dagon himself could come to this world.
Each time the PCs tell this story, the offer their victimns the possibility to talk to a dolphin survivor using "Speak with animals", or these Zirchev and Protius clerics as translators.
The false dolphin (the merrow shaman) is only CHA 8, but he only has to say two or three sentences ("they killed my father, they killed my mother, they killed my brothers, I'm overwhelmed by pain, I can say no more, let me cry"), in dolphin language, with his dolphin face. If that sounds strange to anyone, the nixie quickly says: "Please, let him rest, he has suffered too much".
Magicians such as Master Teldon or Marianita Lucia know that a polymorphed wizard could take the shape of a dolphin, but not speak his language. Even if they knew that merrow (mermen) and Aquarendi speak dolphin, they do not suspect there are any from those races in the city. They only see the really pretty nixie, and even without being charmed they get quite obsessed with her.
6th Step: they are trusted by the military.
There are rumours of people dissappearing in the southern ferry. The nixie and triton, helped by their new "friends", go to the fort in the island (B), they speak to the captain of the port defences, they Charm him and they offer to investigate those misteries. They find 2 underwater caves near island C with bones and recently dead people. The rumours make them think in a beholder: they think they can defeat him if they very quickly destroy their small eyes. What they finally find and kill is a Sporacle. The city captain is grateful.
7th step: looking for new bases.
They charm most of the isolated Traladaran family at F, but not all. They only speak Traladaran and avoid contact with the city. (The PCs will never know, but this is a family of reclusive werebears).
The PCs also charm most of the family in island G, but the grandmother does not get Charmed and goes to Zirchev clerics (already friends of our group) to protest. The PC do not want her to go to Halav clerics (more powerful). They let this family alone.
GOING TO THE HIGH SOCIETY
8th step: art, music, dance and the high society
The nixie and the triton buy a house in Traders Corridors and carpenters build a hidden dock accesible only underwater. They also build a theatre there, next to the water, so the nixie can dance and tank and the "dolphin" will speak his witness. The nixie decorates it with Ierendian beach style, she hires musicians, a coreographer and prepares a music show about the dolphins and the Menace of Dagon.
She also hires a few servants, and 4 bodyguards. She always introduces herself (and their friends repeat it) as "Princess Chali from the Little Faeryladies in the Southern Sea" and wears pearls and jewels.
She orders a strange but cute small carriage that is actually a bathtub on wheels, pulled by 2 lovely poneys. A bigger carriage is built for the triton. Nobody knows about the merrow or the (hidden and ugly) shark-kin.
Rich and powerful people start to come to his music show. She Charms one rich or influencing low level person each night in the show, and ask everybody to be generous to save the dolphins.
Some criminals attack those rich people coming to the show: the bodyguards and the magic of the triton make them flee. The PCs let some strange objects in the place: (fake) daggers and hood with Dagon symbols. The artisan that secretly made them is no longer in the city. The City Guard believes in the Dagon Menace.
Ambassadors (Shalander, Estela Whitehall, Abdalá from Ylaruam, Emilio the Great), Radu leaders, Guild Masters, rich nobles, even Patriarch... all go to the show. "Chali the Princess" seduces many, and Charms a few.
EVEN THE DUKE'S FAMILY BELIEVES IT ALL!
Finally, Duke Stephan Karameikos summons Chali the nixie to the Throne Room in the castle. When she arrives, she discovers that one of her bodyguards was the daughter of the Duke, Lady Adriana in disguise. Lady Adriana is not charmed, but is completely sure that Chali and the triton are working to save dolphins and fight cultists. So, the Duke is convinced too.
Duke Stephan gives Chali a chariot full of gold (22.000 gp and some magical daggers and arrows and spears). Lots of Thieves' Kingdom minions attack Chali and her guards in the way home in Merchant's Distric [letter H in the map]; and at the same time lots of wererats from another crime society try to steal in the house-theater next to the river [letter E]: they knew nothing about the strong shark-kin and the merman (they fight against swimming rats) and little about the triton. The PCs defeat their enemies.
With about 100.000 gp and many interesting magic objects (specially from the elf ambassador, the clergy and the Ducal Family) they decide they have enough treasures.
They take some time to buy the kind of strange gems (amber and others) that they can sell by a better price in Smaar the triton capital city.
Finally, they ask some rich charmed friends to pay for a great party and dinner and they say goodbye to all those friends. "Good travel, may you save the dolphins, tell us about the Dagon Menace!!", their dryskin friends tell them.
Near the coast they find a kna caravan in route to Smaar, the great triton city, where they spend their money in magic objects, Weapon Masteries and powerful spells for the triton.
PROTECTIONS
The PCs obtained a lot of money, but each victim, even the rich ones, lost only some money. Trying to hire magicians or mercenaries to track them and take revenge is more expensive than the money lost. Only a few bandits and criminal were really hurt. PCs also trade or barter some magically trackable objects by similar ones in Smaar (such as "a Radu Family +1 Protection Ring"). And the nixie is protected by a magic collar that blocks Crystal Balls. Anyway, half a year after the adventure, Karameikian ports are still speaking about a "widespread Dagonic sectarian cult problem".
