Shadows of the Halfling Hall

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DMMike
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Re: Shadows of the Halfling Hall

Post by DMMike »

Sounds like fun... I like the fleeing family bit; a good hook into the adventure IMO. ;)

I assume the Half-elf got the token human sized room in the Portly Partridge? :D

Mike
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blackmote
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Re: Shadows of the Halfling Hall

Post by blackmote »

continuing the saga of 'The Four' (as I have decided to call them)...

Mohan, Dwarf Paladin of Clanggedin
Hanzi Hammerfall, Dwarf Cleric of Helm
Dru-H'ai, Half-Elf Rogue
Valdirr, Elf Wizard & Alchemist




:::SPOILERS INCLUDED:::



Once the party agreed to investigate Brambletoe Hall, they first went to check on the Alebrook tobacco farm only to discover that the family was packing their wagons and heading to safer environs. After discovering the family from the neighboring farm missing, Crim Alestorm had quickly made the decision to move to another shire. The Four investigated the neighboring farm only to find fresh bloodstains in their entry hall and evidence of a struggle, but no obvious signs of a robbery.
From there the party set out across the vale toward the large hill containing the Brambletoe Hall. They arrived in the late afternoon with the sun at their backs. The nearby barn was devoid of life. The toolshed was practically empty as well, filled with old dusty cobwebs more so than any farming implements.
Scouting around the hill, the party immediately noticed some fresh (within a few days) tilled ground in spots roughly 4'x4' wide. Upon closer inspection, the dwarves could tell that the soil was not dug up, but instead dug out... from below. Something had burrowed up from the earth below. There were six such spots found in sporadic places around the small hill - which was approximately 50 yards across in all directions.

Hanzi noticed some nearly petrified cloth near one of the holes. This gave him reason to pause. He began looking closer at the holes. Using his pick, he dug around in a couple of them, revealing more of the torn ancient cloth. He then paced off a number of steps from one hole to the next... and to the next... and the next. Then he retraced his steps and counted off again, this time stopping on occasion in between the holes and feeling the ground beneath his feet. He discovered graves: twenty ancient, shallow unmarked graves surrounding the perimeter of the hill, six of which were upturned and empty - or rather, dug out from below.
He gave a quick blessing over each of the undisturbed graves as the party moved on to investigate the door to the estate. The smell was the first thing noticed as they approached the heavy wooden door, now wrenched partly from it's hinges. The smell of rotting flesh permeated the entrance to the halfling hall. The doors had been shut and then barred from the outside with spikes. Yet someone - or something - had wrenched the left door open.
After clearing the doorway of obstructions, the four struck a torch and eased into the short foyer. Dru-H'ai cautiously led the way, followed directly by Mohan, then Hanzi, with the elf wizard Val' bringing up the rear. Everyone winced at the smell and then the sight of several dead halflings lying in a room full of debris - overturned tables and chairs, broken crockery, and utensils strewn everywhere.



to be continued... :twisted:
"Nothing is so terrible that a huge red dragon can't make it just a hell of a lot worse."
-Dragon Magazine, issue #194, pg. 3

DMMike
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Re: Shadows of the Halfling Hall

Post by DMMike »

Kudos to the paladin for noting the graves....most playtest groups either ignored them or missed them altogether...too busy to get to the hall. ;)

Mike
The Save for Half Podcast: Old School RPGs Reviewed
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Victorious: Steampunk Adventure in the Age of SuperMankind
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blackmote
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Re: Shadows of the Halfling Hall

Post by blackmote »

(apologies for taking so long to get back to this; been busy as crap with everything else in life...)

walking as lightly as possible and ahead of the torch, the half-elven rogue Dru-Ha'i moved through the foyer and stepped just into the large hall. The ceiling was about 20' from the floor and covered in thick cobwebs. The floor itself was littered with refuse and dead halflings. While Dru-Ha'i concentrated on the webs above, Mohan took the torch and moved in to the right, eyeing more unlit torches in sconces on either side of the hall.

The dwarven paladin lit the first wall-torch and moved past a couple of hin bodies toward another torch. Meanwhile the dwarven priest Hanzi and the elven wizard Val' flanked Dru-Ha'i near the entrance. Just as Mohan reached the second torch on the wall, he felt something on his leg. Looking down he saw a hin desperately grasping at him with it's right hand, moaning like nothing alive could do. He easily jerked his leg away from the... creature... as it slowly raised itslef up off the floor. Bearing wounds that nothing 'alive' could sustain, including a missing left hand and an empty left eye socket, the hin started shuffling toward the paladin. As the others looked on, they noticed two more bodies - left hand and left eye torn from their bodies - rising up from their prone positions. Mohan used the torch to keep the hin at bay until he could prepare for combat with hammer in hand.

[I could write for the next hour detailing the combat, but suffice to say the party prevailed with minimal damage to themselves.]

As the last of the zombified hin were put down, a large spider with an abdomen the size of a large pumpkin descended quickly from it's dark webbing, attacking with stilletto-sized fangs dripping with poison. The party made short work of it as well. Hanging from the webbing in the far corner of the hall, heavy from it's initial weight, was the husk of a male halfling who bore the badge of the Newbriar Reeve.


...

(will post more soon...) ;)
"Nothing is so terrible that a huge red dragon can't make it just a hell of a lot worse."
-Dragon Magazine, issue #194, pg. 3

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PepinTheShort
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Re: Shadows of the Halfling Hall

Post by PepinTheShort »

blackmote,

I see you are in the land o' Hiram. I'm just a stones throw down the old wagon trail from you (round about ye old Lost Mountain).

Sounds like a helluva game you've got going there. I just got started with C&C this year after playing in a game with some old college buds back in Warner Robins. I had such a blast with the system and the game that I went out and spent my hard earned cash on the books and such and I've just recently started a game with a group here in Atlanta. I decided to jumble all kinds of C&C goodness into one campaign setting where I have started them off in the DB1 mod on the way to Dirty's. I decided to place the Duchy in the Kingdom of Punj, north to northeast side. My plan (once the party is done foiling my plans and gets back to the main story line) ... is to send them to Newbriar from the roadhouse.

I enjoyed reading your couple of posts here (and even more so when I realized you were just down the road). We should pull up to the local pub sometime and swap PC killing ideas! :twisted:

DMMike
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Re: Shadows of the Halfling Hall

Post by DMMike »

Let us know how it goes Pepin. I too can't wait for more with Blackmote's crew. ;)

Mike
The Save for Half Podcast: Old School RPGs Reviewed
http://www.saveforhalf.com

Victorious: Steampunk Adventure in the Age of SuperMankind
http://www.victoriousrpg.com

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blackmote
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Re: Shadows of the Halfling Hall

Post by blackmote »

PepinTheShort wrote:blackmote,

I see you are in the land o' Hiram. I'm just a stones throw down the old wagon trail from you (round about ye old Lost Mountain). ... I enjoyed reading your couple of posts here (and even more so when I realized you were just down the road). We should pull up to the local pub sometime and swap PC killing ideas! :twisted:
heck yeah man. :) have you been to Otherworld Games in Dallas, GA? We were just there today again for the second run with my group #2. I ran them through an abbreviated version of the SotHH module a few weeks ago, then followed up today with more adventures in the halfling shires. Group #1 had trouble getting back together a couple of weekends ago, so we are reconvening on Sunday March 10th to complete this mod.

Real life has still been a bear in between, so I am hoping to complete my long-winded dissertation on group #1's efforts soon. :?

In the meanwhile I am gearing up to run another D&D demo at the game store again soon. I'll try to make sure you know about it ahead of time. I'll hit you up with a PM with my contact info. We should meet up some time soon. I pass through Lost Mountain by way of 120 twice daily on my way to work in Kennesaw.

Take care,

~Hoyt.
"Nothing is so terrible that a huge red dragon can't make it just a hell of a lot worse."
-Dragon Magazine, issue #194, pg. 3

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chiisu81
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Re: Shadows of the Halfling Hall

Post by chiisu81 »

I was checking my DTRPG library and look what got an updated cover :)
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