Session 3 Originally played on August 15th, 2009
Note this adventure was loosely based on the 3e module "A Dark and Stormy Knight". Also two players swtiched characters in this session and as such resulted in a "meeting" moment.
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We open our session with our heroes on the road from Mont Royale to Ardens as they continue to plow on towards Kestle. Only four of our previous heroes are here; Mather, Erim, Digger and Vesna. It seems that late the night before Fergus received a vision from St. Cuthbert directing him to seek out the Mre des Paladines of Sainte Aja du Lame.
As the abbey lays south into Elise and the group is heading north, Fergus announced he would be taking his leave. Worried that the large Shalesman would be at a loss in the deepest parts of Elise, Guillaume decided to join him on the journey and offer what help he can. Saying their goodbyes over their morning meal, the party promised to connect as soon as the gods allowed and rode their separate ways.
The remaining heroes ride mostly in silence except for Vesna, who is on foot and happier having let her hated horse run free. They can see that they are mostly out of the foothills and starting to level out into the Champs du Plein (the Plains of Plenty) and only the occasional hill dots the landscape.
As they survey what lies ahead spread out below them Mather notices a strange lightning storm on the horizon. Green bolts of lightning are flashing along the underside of most ominous thunder clouds. Erim decides that they need to get shelter and Vesna points to the top of the closest hill. With another flash of green lightning they see the toppled remains of a watchtower. Erim nods and urges his horse to top speed.
A bad combination of lightning, high winds, rain and a nag of a horse almost has Erim of course, but Mather manages to ride up and grab his reigns and help him get back on track. Erim curses his horse and leads the others towards the hill top.
Meanwhile, as the storm begins to crack we switch scene to the inside of the broken watchtower where a sturdy dwarven male has managed to get a small fire going under what were once the stairs leading up. As the stout man works, he hears a horse riding up with great haste. He turns cautiously reaching for his hammer as a cloaked tall figure enters the area.
She throws back her hood to reveal that she is a human female with long blonde hair and the well tanned complexion. She smiles a crooked smile and asks if she can share his fire. The dwarf grunts at her audacity and boldness, but agrees. Together they manage to make it larger and both warm themselves in its heat.
Riding up the road to the tower, a young Knight sees the light from within. Seeking shelter from the rain, he decides that it would be best not to get jumped by bandits so he tethers his horse, grabs his sword and enters the tower ring cautiously.
The dwarf and female have heard him coming and great him with their weapons drawn. The young knight quickly introduces himself as Sir Joffery of Mont Batte. Weapons are sheathed as the dwarf introduces himself as Thois and the female calls herself Beljaz. Sir Joffery asks to share the fire, but before he can get an answer there is a great commotion from outside.
As they draw their weapons again just in case, Mather, Erim and Digger all come into the battlement. After a brief moment of hesitation, everyone introduces themselves and a nice conversation is had. It is that this point Mather begins to take notice of certain details about this strange woman Beljaz.
He notes to himself that while she has the blonde hair and angular features of an Aquilaran, she is tanned like someone from the south who spends all day in the sun. Her cloak is a light wool, definitely not from northern weavers, but maybe Oletan or Corvisi. He blouse is made of a good silk that is cut in the style of Thessian sailors and her pants are baggy in the style of the Solani. Then he notices her sword. A cutlass or thinner scimitar with what appears to be an Azusan hilt no not Azusan, Tsuni! As he smiles to himself he realizes that she is looking right at him. Her green eyes seem to smile as she engages him in a conversation about where they are.
She shows Mather a large rolling stone that appears to block what may have been the entrance to a cellar. Too large to be moved by hand, Thois looks it over with his Dwarven eye and declares it is a fine piece of stonework. Digger too joins in, seeing if he can figure out the mechanism that would release the lock on it and allow access.
Mather instead is fascinated by the shield mark on it and its twin lightning bolts parallel. Beljaz knowingly asks him if he recognizes the mark. Mather nods and proceeds to tell everyone the story of the Storm Knights of Tesla and their fall from grace.
He tells how they worshipped a god of lightning named Tesla and acted as a holy order. They also we accused of taking part in bizarre and inhuman experiments involving lightning. Stories of peasants being held aloft on lightning rods in violent storms to study the effects of direct lightning strikes on them. Even tales of attempts to reanimate the dead using lightning. Eventually their evil grew and a secret society formed within the knights. A plan was hatched, to this day no one knows what, but it was so evil that Tesla himself struck down the knights raining green lightning on their towers and keeps.
As he says this there is a deafening and blinding strike of green lightning in front of them all. As their eyes readjust they see that the stone has been split in half. Still smoking from the lightning strike, they now have access to the cellar.
To be continued...
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New Dawn of the West: Session Three
Lowering a lantern on a rope down into the divinely opened access point the adventurers see that it has a ladder of iron railings leading down about thirty feet or so. One by one they climb down, the old rusting railings sigh and groaning as they do. One snaps but no one is hurt as the whole party makes it to the bottom and finds themselves in a rectangular room with three exits, each in turn blocked by a large circular door stone.
As they group searches for a way to open any of the doors, it is Mather who find the release mechanism. As the stone to the centre door rolls open, a tiny scratching noise is heard by Digger. Suddenly hundreds of rats, long trapped behind that door come swarming out and head for the ladder.
A brief freak out later and with minor bites being tended too by Mather, the rats have passed and everyone breathes a sigh of relief. Thats when Digger notices the new scratching sound.
Everyone prepares for another round of rats, but instead see eight skeletal warriors moving towards them from down the darkened tunnel. Sir Joffery draws his sword and cries for the group to rally and meet the enemy face on. This actually invigorates the group and the battle with the skeletons is on.
A flurry of blows and blocks ensues and the group does well against their boney adversaries. In short order they have dispatched of the enemy and are ready to move on.
Moving cautiously down the corridor where the skeletons came from, they come to yet another door. This one is a regular door and should be easy as pie for Digger to get open. The door wont budge. Its lock has long since rusted shut and cant be turned. No problem for Erim though, who puts his shoulder to it and splinters to old wood with bang.
Much to the surprise of the two hobgoblins standing in the next room.
A battle erupts and in short order one of the hobgoblins is dead. The second falls to his knees and begs for mercy. A quick interrogation learns that they were planning to use this place as a base for raiding and gained entry through chasm in the room. Sure enough there is a rope there coming down.
Digger climbs the rope up through the rock of the earth finds the hobgoblin camp, but no sign it has been used by more than the two scouts below.
Meanwhile back below, after they have gotten all they can out of the captive, they decide that they will let him go. Beljaz has other ideas and runs her curved blade through the hobgoblins eye and out the back of his head. When the others begin to protest, she reminds them that he was evil and if let go would just bring back the other hobgoblins to kill them.
Digger returns and confirms the camp is empty.
Moving ahead they come to an L in the next corridor. Ahead of them is a large metal door with no obvious lock or handle. Turning to the right they move into a narrower corridor which ends in an open doorway. As they look they can barely see the faint shimmer of spider webbing in the doorway.
Erim throws a torch into the room to try and burn the webbing but is surprised as it catches in the middle of the doorway and hangs there held by the strong webs. It burns some of the webs holding it, but this appears to be sterner spider stuff. The group decides to back track to the room with the three doors and look for other options.
As they search the rooms and the skeletal reamains, Mather finds a bag with a nice pile of old Verendish coins. Easily a thousand years old and marked with the head of one of the pre-Serovin emperors. This starts to give him thoughts about how old this place really is.
They manage to find the release to the stone circle door that leads to the left and step into what appears to be a mausoleum. Ahead of them is a standing sarcophagus that depicts a Storm Knight with a weird winged demon head helmet.
Then the helmet opens its red glowing eyes and the head flies out at them shrieking. It is a Vargouille and its shriek pierces their brains. Well all except Thois who smashes the thing to pudding with a mighty blow from his hammer and then remarks That was unexpected.
With the threat removed they search the room and Erim finds a platinum ring with the embossed symbol of the Storm Knights on it. It may be the very key they are looking for.
Digger and Beljaz have a conversation, that to the casual listener is about people they both might know and other innocuous things. Actually they are having a discussion in Cant about dividing up the treasure and how Beljaz has a map that has brought her here and she needs the treasure to get back to where she came from. They finally agree to an 80/20 split.
Mather notices as they spit in their palms and shake hands. He also notices how beautiful Beljaz is and finds a strange nervousness over takes him while looking at her. It would seem he has been struck by Astara the goddess of loves arrow. Beljaz notices him looking at her and smiles at him, which causes him to turn his head and blush.
Armed with the ring they decide to head back to the metal door and open it.
To be concluded...
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As they group searches for a way to open any of the doors, it is Mather who find the release mechanism. As the stone to the centre door rolls open, a tiny scratching noise is heard by Digger. Suddenly hundreds of rats, long trapped behind that door come swarming out and head for the ladder.
A brief freak out later and with minor bites being tended too by Mather, the rats have passed and everyone breathes a sigh of relief. Thats when Digger notices the new scratching sound.
Everyone prepares for another round of rats, but instead see eight skeletal warriors moving towards them from down the darkened tunnel. Sir Joffery draws his sword and cries for the group to rally and meet the enemy face on. This actually invigorates the group and the battle with the skeletons is on.
A flurry of blows and blocks ensues and the group does well against their boney adversaries. In short order they have dispatched of the enemy and are ready to move on.
Moving cautiously down the corridor where the skeletons came from, they come to yet another door. This one is a regular door and should be easy as pie for Digger to get open. The door wont budge. Its lock has long since rusted shut and cant be turned. No problem for Erim though, who puts his shoulder to it and splinters to old wood with bang.
Much to the surprise of the two hobgoblins standing in the next room.
A battle erupts and in short order one of the hobgoblins is dead. The second falls to his knees and begs for mercy. A quick interrogation learns that they were planning to use this place as a base for raiding and gained entry through chasm in the room. Sure enough there is a rope there coming down.
Digger climbs the rope up through the rock of the earth finds the hobgoblin camp, but no sign it has been used by more than the two scouts below.
Meanwhile back below, after they have gotten all they can out of the captive, they decide that they will let him go. Beljaz has other ideas and runs her curved blade through the hobgoblins eye and out the back of his head. When the others begin to protest, she reminds them that he was evil and if let go would just bring back the other hobgoblins to kill them.
Digger returns and confirms the camp is empty.
Moving ahead they come to an L in the next corridor. Ahead of them is a large metal door with no obvious lock or handle. Turning to the right they move into a narrower corridor which ends in an open doorway. As they look they can barely see the faint shimmer of spider webbing in the doorway.
Erim throws a torch into the room to try and burn the webbing but is surprised as it catches in the middle of the doorway and hangs there held by the strong webs. It burns some of the webs holding it, but this appears to be sterner spider stuff. The group decides to back track to the room with the three doors and look for other options.
As they search the rooms and the skeletal reamains, Mather finds a bag with a nice pile of old Verendish coins. Easily a thousand years old and marked with the head of one of the pre-Serovin emperors. This starts to give him thoughts about how old this place really is.
They manage to find the release to the stone circle door that leads to the left and step into what appears to be a mausoleum. Ahead of them is a standing sarcophagus that depicts a Storm Knight with a weird winged demon head helmet.
Then the helmet opens its red glowing eyes and the head flies out at them shrieking. It is a Vargouille and its shriek pierces their brains. Well all except Thois who smashes the thing to pudding with a mighty blow from his hammer and then remarks That was unexpected.
With the threat removed they search the room and Erim finds a platinum ring with the embossed symbol of the Storm Knights on it. It may be the very key they are looking for.
Digger and Beljaz have a conversation, that to the casual listener is about people they both might know and other innocuous things. Actually they are having a discussion in Cant about dividing up the treasure and how Beljaz has a map that has brought her here and she needs the treasure to get back to where she came from. They finally agree to an 80/20 split.
Mather notices as they spit in their palms and shake hands. He also notices how beautiful Beljaz is and finds a strange nervousness over takes him while looking at her. It would seem he has been struck by Astara the goddess of loves arrow. Beljaz notices him looking at her and smiles at him, which causes him to turn his head and blush.
Armed with the ring they decide to head back to the metal door and open it.
To be concluded...
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The ring turns out to be the exact key they were looking for and as Erim presses it into the notch on the door there is an audible hiss as the door slides open. The smell of ozone fills their nostrils as they look into a room that defies their senses.
It is entirely made out of metal, top to bottom, in the centre of the room sits a metal throne and on it a sculpture of a knight. Out of the top of the knights head is a lightning rod that goes up into the ceiling and presumably beyond. As the group steps into the room to get a better look, they are simply astonished at how strange this room looks.
Suddenly their hair on the arms and necks stands up as a bright strike of green lightning hits the knights lightning rod and causes green arcs of electricity to dance over its frame. Then there is a rumbling as the statue splits in two and both sides slide apart to reveal and actually armoured knight on an iron throne inside. His eyes are visible through the slit of his helmet and they sparkle with green electricity.
He stands up and steps out with a giant two-handed sword for a weapon. Enter the Lightning Knight.
Vesna attempts to turn the undead creature but it does not even stumble at her calling on Yor. Erim has had enough and strikes at it with his sword. His strike is true, running it through at the side, but lightning flies out of the wound and stuns Erim to the floor. Thois and Sir Joffery step in and try to distract the Knight from Erim, and Thois succeeds in getting the 8 foot tall Lightning Knights attention.
As he swings his hammer at it, he is surprised to learn that it can shoot lightning from its eyes! Thois holds his ground and continues to block every sword strike and return a hammer strike of his own. Digger launches a sling bullet at the metal warrior which only attracts its attention to him.
The battle rages on! Thois does an excellent job of keeping the monster focused on him and even Digger gets in and trips the thing up at one point. In the end after a long and hard fought battle Thois and Beljaz get the killing blows and the Lightning Knight is defeated!
With the threat ended the group takes some time to search the room. Digger find that under the throne of the lightning knight was a crucible of some kind that had what looked to be gold in it, though it has been turned to liquid by the process of being struck by lightning (Lighting Struck Gold, that will be important later). As it starts cooling, Digger dips both his hammers in it, gilding them with gold.
It isnt long before they find a secret door that opens up what must have been the treasure room. Inside are boxes and boxes of gold ingots and other chests. The metals they used for their lightning strike experiments. A thorough inventory later they have found the following;
1] a belt
2] an old helmet made in the same style as Sir Jofferys armour
3] a box of scroll cylinders, capped with platinum and containing old scrolls
4] a box of healing potions
5] a box with two large Mithral ingots
6] a box with a gold leafed hand crossbow and darts
7] an empty ring box, which does not fit the platinum ring they found
8] 3043 worth of gold in various denominations
They test one of the potions on Thois which reveals they are potions of healing. Slowly they begin hauling their treasure out of the lower levels. It is a long task that takes most of the night. They also take the shield and great-sword of the Lightning Knight to give to the Monks of Kalin in Kestle.
As the party does a last search they notice that Beljaz has vanished. When they get back up to so has all the treasure save a small bit (Diggers cut) and Thoiss wagon with all his Dwarven tools.
Finding their horses they chase Beljaz down and manage to stop her escape. She reveals that she is a Tsuni Pirate and the details of her deal with Digger. She explains that she was the captain of her own ship until her first mate, a salty dog named Grognard, mutinied and she had to go over board to save her life. All she wants to do is get to Kestle, buy a ship and crew up and head back to the Tsuni Sea.
The group debates but come to the decision that since she and Digger did have an honourable accord they will honor it and escort her to Kestle where her share will be enough to get her ship and crew. The rest goes to the Monks of Kalin. Thois makes it clear that the Mithral is his and thats that and the others agree that the strange items they found will be there shares.
No one notices the shiny ring on Beljazs finger.
The End.
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It is entirely made out of metal, top to bottom, in the centre of the room sits a metal throne and on it a sculpture of a knight. Out of the top of the knights head is a lightning rod that goes up into the ceiling and presumably beyond. As the group steps into the room to get a better look, they are simply astonished at how strange this room looks.
Suddenly their hair on the arms and necks stands up as a bright strike of green lightning hits the knights lightning rod and causes green arcs of electricity to dance over its frame. Then there is a rumbling as the statue splits in two and both sides slide apart to reveal and actually armoured knight on an iron throne inside. His eyes are visible through the slit of his helmet and they sparkle with green electricity.
He stands up and steps out with a giant two-handed sword for a weapon. Enter the Lightning Knight.
Vesna attempts to turn the undead creature but it does not even stumble at her calling on Yor. Erim has had enough and strikes at it with his sword. His strike is true, running it through at the side, but lightning flies out of the wound and stuns Erim to the floor. Thois and Sir Joffery step in and try to distract the Knight from Erim, and Thois succeeds in getting the 8 foot tall Lightning Knights attention.
As he swings his hammer at it, he is surprised to learn that it can shoot lightning from its eyes! Thois holds his ground and continues to block every sword strike and return a hammer strike of his own. Digger launches a sling bullet at the metal warrior which only attracts its attention to him.
The battle rages on! Thois does an excellent job of keeping the monster focused on him and even Digger gets in and trips the thing up at one point. In the end after a long and hard fought battle Thois and Beljaz get the killing blows and the Lightning Knight is defeated!
With the threat ended the group takes some time to search the room. Digger find that under the throne of the lightning knight was a crucible of some kind that had what looked to be gold in it, though it has been turned to liquid by the process of being struck by lightning (Lighting Struck Gold, that will be important later). As it starts cooling, Digger dips both his hammers in it, gilding them with gold.
It isnt long before they find a secret door that opens up what must have been the treasure room. Inside are boxes and boxes of gold ingots and other chests. The metals they used for their lightning strike experiments. A thorough inventory later they have found the following;
1] a belt
2] an old helmet made in the same style as Sir Jofferys armour
3] a box of scroll cylinders, capped with platinum and containing old scrolls
4] a box of healing potions
5] a box with two large Mithral ingots
6] a box with a gold leafed hand crossbow and darts
7] an empty ring box, which does not fit the platinum ring they found
8] 3043 worth of gold in various denominations
They test one of the potions on Thois which reveals they are potions of healing. Slowly they begin hauling their treasure out of the lower levels. It is a long task that takes most of the night. They also take the shield and great-sword of the Lightning Knight to give to the Monks of Kalin in Kestle.
As the party does a last search they notice that Beljaz has vanished. When they get back up to so has all the treasure save a small bit (Diggers cut) and Thoiss wagon with all his Dwarven tools.
Finding their horses they chase Beljaz down and manage to stop her escape. She reveals that she is a Tsuni Pirate and the details of her deal with Digger. She explains that she was the captain of her own ship until her first mate, a salty dog named Grognard, mutinied and she had to go over board to save her life. All she wants to do is get to Kestle, buy a ship and crew up and head back to the Tsuni Sea.
The group debates but come to the decision that since she and Digger did have an honourable accord they will honor it and escort her to Kestle where her share will be enough to get her ship and crew. The rest goes to the Monks of Kalin. Thois makes it clear that the Mithral is his and thats that and the others agree that the strange items they found will be there shares.
No one notices the shiny ring on Beljazs finger.
The End.
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