The Turaf Isles Adventure

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Philotomy Jurament

The Turaf Isles Adventure

Post by Philotomy Jurament »

I've started to flesh out the Turaf Isles adventure I'm developing for my campaign, and thought I'd share it, here. It's still in development, and subject to change, of course. I'll probably add to this in little bits as I work on it, scan in maps, etc.

Judge's Background:

Decades ago, Padraic Wyrmbane adventured across the Wilderlands, hacking his way to fortune and fame. In his youth, Padraic made a name for himself by killing a dragon. The wyrm's hoard yielded a fortune for the victorious warrior, but it also contained two golden lion figurines of marvelous workmanship. As fate would have it, these figurines were not only works of art, but also possessed a wondrous power: they could transform into full sized lions that served their master. Padraic made frequent use of the figurines, and they became bound up in his fame. Eventually, Padraic built a keep in a remote location, and settled down. He took up his sword and called out his cats only rarely, for many years. Eventually, boredom set in, and Padraic felt compelled to undertake one last adventure that would re-ignite his fame and firmly seat his legend. He told no one what he intended, but set out in a ship with his most faithful retainers, leaving his wife and sons behind. He was never seen or heard from again, and no man has told of his fate.

A descendant of Padraic, Yod the Calvous, has discovered a secret journal hidden amongst the artifacts his ancestor's legacy, and this journal has given him tantalizing clues about the fate of Padraic. The journal speaks of bearding the dragon, Karadzath, in its lair in the Turaf Isles (a volcanically active cluster of islands south of the Isle of Blest). Yod, an illusionist of some ability, undertook study of his own, and supplemented it with that of sages and seers. His divinations were unable to tell him exactly how Padraic died, but they did confirm that his ancestor died on the Turaf Isles, and that he was slain by a cave-in, not by a dragon. Yod also believes that Karadzath is in a decades-long slumber, and is not currently awake. In fact, Yod is absolutely correct about the fate of his ancestor and the sleeping state of Karadzath: the bones of Padraic lie in a partially collapsed lava tube some distance from Karadzath's lair. However, there is a twist to the tale: the collapse of the lava tube was caused by another dragon, one of Karadzath's much younger progeny. The dragon breathed flame into the tube, igniting a pocket of combustible gas; the resulting explosion slew many in Padraic's party, and caused the collapse which killed him. The survivors, some horribly burned, found themselves trapped: buried alive. They descended into madness and cannibalism before finally expiring. Now the dust and cobwebs lie thick in their sooty tomb, and only the dead walk there, fruitlessly seeking to assuage their endless pain and hunger.

Ignorant of these details, Yod sees the situation as an ideal opportunity to find the grave of Padraic and recover his bones, his enchanted sword, and especially the golden lions. In order to make this task easier, Yod spent small fortune hiring the mages of Tula to craft an arcane orb of location which points the way to Padraic's bones. Employing a ship and mercenaries out of Rallu, he set sail for the Turaf Isles (Ghinor Map, Hex 4917). Unfortunately, the night before making landfall, the ship met with disaster. No one knows exactly what caused the fire, but suddenly the sails, rigging, and more than half the deck went up in a raging conflagration. No one on deck survived, and many below-decks perished as well. Two sailors managed to get the ship's launch into the sea, and picked up the handful of survivors, including Yod.

The PCs begin play as members of this small group of survivors (most likely common sailors or mercenaries hired by Yod).

In addition to the PCs, there are seven other survivors:

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simontmn

Post by simontmn »

Cool NPCs, definitely inspirational!
One of my favourite ever adventures was the intro adventure to the Hollow World setting, with the PC's ship on the outer world sucked down into a whirlpool that led to the HW. This can work well for all sorts of things, like having a cruise ship vanish from the Bermuda Triangle and arrive in the sea of the Wilderlands with PCs on board.

Philotomy Jurament

Post by Philotomy Jurament »

simontmn wrote:
Cool NPCs, definitely inspirational!

Thanks!

I've got quite a bit of material on this adventure, especially for the first of the three islands (maps, wilderness encounters, a small dungeon and ruined tower, etc), but I haven't got around to putting any of it on the computer, yet.
Quote:
One of my favourite ever adventures was the intro adventure to the Hollow World setting, with the PC's ship on the outer world sucked down into a whirlpool that led to the HW.

I remember that one; I think it's pretty cool, too.

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