After the untimely death of our adventurers in the Forgotten Realms campaign, we decided to move on to something new. I did not want to go to a TSR/WotC setting, as I am still a little steamed about having my AD&D .pdf's yanked. As much as I wanted to craft my own world I know that I would not have enough time to devote to it as I would like, so I decided to go with Aidhre. I have been reading through the After Winter's Dark books for a few weeks and found that the world really fits with my ideas of what a fantasy roleplaying world is all about.
The new game, which was started during the second half of our Sunday session is based in the Rhuneland and Red March regions. During my read through, the Rhuneland jumped out at me. The description (based on the materials that I own) set the framework, but didn't add so much that I couldn't paint my own picture there.
The game begins in the sleepy village of Clearwater. Clearwater is located along a creek about a day and a half south of the Upper Udunilay River. The popualtion is small, roughly a 60 people call Clearwater home. The people of Clearwater are hardy, industrious folk that live off of the land and worry about little outside of their community. The characters, all residents of Clearwater have know each other for varying amounts of time, but are all friends.
Introductions.....
Sara Rolen(NG, half-elf female, Ranger) - Sara lives in a lodge just outside of the village with her father, her cousin, a strange friend by town standards (see below), and a small group of hunters and trappers. Sara is known to be fiesty, inquisitive, and prone to letting her temper get the best of her.
Coswald Lightfoot(NG, gnome male, Fighter/Rogue) - Coswald Lightfoot is not a native of Clearwater. About five years ago Coswald was in the woods east of the village when a ran afoul of an ill-tempered bear. Lucky for him a pair of hunters were within hearshot. The two men were able to slay the bear, before it made a meal out of Coswald. One of the hunters sustained a terrible wound during the rescue. This hunter was the father of Sara Rolen. In exchange for saving his life, Coswald took an oath to protect and look after Sara since her father's was crippled from the fight. Coswald is stern but has a light-hearted side to him. He is always watchful over Sara, seeking to protect her "virtue".
Viramis (N, elf male, Druid) - Viramis wandered into Clearwater three years ago in search of his aunt. His search led him to Sara Rolen. It turns out that Sara's mother was Viramis's long lost aunt, unfortunately she died a year after Sara was born. Having no family left in his homeland Viramis decided to stay in Clearwater with the the family he has left. Viramis is quiet and often makes little jokes about Sara's heritage, but he is usually put back in his place. Viramis is a worshipper of Wenafar.
Tiyan (NG, human male, Cleric) - Tiyan left his family's home in Clearwater at a young age after showing wisdom and an understanding of the world far beyond his years. He was taken in by Brother Fenton, a cleric maintaing a small church of Ore-Tsar in Clearwater. Tiyan spent the next eight years there under the tutalage of Brother Fenton. Now he is a full-fledged cleric looking to leave Clearwater and spread the word of Ore-Tsar to the rest of the world.
Jaris Tornoth(CN, human male, Wizard) - Jaris led a life of luxury in comparison to other residents of Clearwater. His parents own the local tavern and cater to the few travelers that pass through Clearwater. One such traveler was Jaufre, a wondering magician and self proclaimed scholar. Jaufre took to young Jaris, and during his travels would stop by Clearwater and impart little bits of knowledge Jaris. On his 18th birthday Jaris was able form his first spell book, and filled a few pages with the small smattering of spells he learned from Jaufre. Jaris is quiet and reserved, but pipes in from time to time to offer a sarcastic comment when he sees fit.
Our humble adventurers begin their careers on the first day of Frostig in the year 1199md.
Our five friends are summoned to the church of Ore-Tsar that morning by Brother Fenton. A local farmer had commisioned a new plow to be constructed by a smith in the town of Two Shores, a day and a half north of Clearwater. Unfortunately the farmer can't make the trip north to pick up his plow since one his mules kicked him. Brohter Fenton supplies the group with the money to purchase the plow, and and extra 25 silver pieces, so they can have a little fun that night in Two Shores. With that our group walks down the unkept trail leading north, a few leaving home for the first time.
The first leg of the journey is quiet and without excitement. Not long after leaving Clearwater, a steady rain begins to fall as temperatures slightly cool. Jaris, Tiyan, and Coswald stay off the road under the cover of trees, hoping to stay as dry as possible. The sun begins to set and our group decides to make camp for the night. Coswald gets a fire going, while Tiyan and Jaris find a spot to stay dry and warm. Sara and Viramis head off into the woods to find some food. Our two hunters take a long walk looking for food and are gone from camp for sometime.
Sara finds a patch of berries that look like they would be edible and starts to pick away. Viramis's ears perk has he catches what sounds like a horse slowly approaching, and the sounds of clanking metal in the distance. Alerting Sara, the two begin to tip-toe towards the sound of battle. Sara come upon the horse, who is without a rider, blood is seen on the saddle, obviously whoever the rider was he is hurt or worse. Sneaking further, the cousins see the battle in progress. A young man, nursing two nasty wounds is fending off a lithe assailant cloaked in black and wielding a dagger. Sara and Viramis see the man's deep green bracers and gators and identify him as a member of the Knights of the Thorn, a mercenary order based in Two Shores. Viramis leaps from cover attacking the cloaked figure with his staff. The blow from the staff staggers the figure, the hood drops to reveal a thin but very attractive human woman. Sara fires an arrow at the woman (critical hit) the arrow strikes the woman in the leg and she appears to be moving much slower. Seeing that his assailant is well occupied the mercenary takes a few steps back to catch his breath and nurse his wounds. The cloaked woman, while slowed is able to make an acrobatic maneuver that lands her on top of a thick branch out of striking distance from Viramis. Viramis tries the same maneuver, but ends up on his back, fearing that he might be open to a fatal attack. Sara fires another arrow striking again. The woman wastes no time, with a flick of her wrist and words that made Viramis's ears hurt, a globe of darkness obscures a large section of the wood.
Looking back, Viramis can no longer see his cousin or the man they were attempting to save. Viramis springs to his feet and sees the woman above spring to another branch, but she slips during her landing and falls into the bushes. Not taking any chances Viramis casts an Entangle spell in that direction. Soon after, Sara emerges from the darkness to find the woman struggling against the encroaching mass of vines and roots around legs. Sara notches another arrow, and lets loose. The arrow connects, killing the cloaked woman.
Sara and Viramis check on the man they saved. His name is Randal, and he is a member of the Knights of the Thorn, just asthey suspected. Randal explains that he was on patrol when the figure black sprung from the shadows and delivered a strike that dismounted him. The three go to the woman and search her. They find a suit of leather armor, which Viramis puts on, 25 gold coins, four daggers, a set of nice lock picks that were concealed in a vest, and a necklace with a black iron crescent. Soon after the three return to camp.
Randal is introduced to the group, and the goods are distributed. Coswald takes the daggers as they are his weapon of choice and the picks, and the gold is divided amongst the group. Jaris reveals that one of the daggers in magical. The medallion is thrown in the fire after Tiyan recognizes it as a symbol of Unklar. After some discussion, Tiyan and Jaris believe that this woman was a member of the Crna Ruk, assassins/priests of Unklar. Randal is not too sure why he would be the target of the Crna Ruk. The group offers to assist him in returning to Two Shores, which Randal accepts the invitation.
The next morning our motley crew heads out, and by mid day they reach Two Shores. Two shores is a sizeable town of roughly 900 residents that is situated along the south and north shores of the Upper Udunilay River. Tiyan heads to the church of Ore-Tsar after Randal tells him that one is at the west end of town. Viramis accompanies Randal back to the lodge where the Kinghts of the Thorn stay after hearing that a grove of Wenafar is not too far from the lodge. The rest of the group heads to Trocktin's (the smith who was working on the plow) shop to pay for the plow. Randal tells everyone that he'll meet them at the White Lodge Inn and buy them a round of drinks that evening.
Tiyan's church visit is rather uneventful. He alerts them to the possible presence of the Crna Ruk, which they were not aware of. Viramis visits the grove, and is able to pick up a animal companion, a wolf. The rest of the group meets with Trocktin, a jovial halfling smith. They pay for the plow and tell Trocktin they'll be back in the morning to pick it up. Jaris asks Trocktin about getting magic items identified, and Trocktin tells him of a wizard that lives about 5 miles west of town.
The sessions ends as the group meets up at the White Lodge Inn, a massive three story log cabin made from ashy, white wood. They arrive shortly before dinner, pay for rooms and a meal, and find a table close to the stage. There's a performance tonight!
Next week, we'll see what happens to our small-town adventurers during their first night in a big town away from home.
Adventures in the Rhuneland (Aihdre)
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DangerDwarf
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