Endless Bag of Games

It was well known to me, that the campaign was slowly drawing to an end, but the fact that it came in today’s session surprised me. Let’s go through what happened and then I will say few words about the campaign in general.

The session began with a glimpse of what was happening elsewhere. One unit of Amn’s military forces rode steadily towards the village of Greenhay with the intentions to get rid of – once and for all – about the guerilla attacks that had been occurring against Amn recently. The village of Greenhay was supposed been supplying the rebels thus Lieutenant Ferlan and his men (played by the players) rode and eventually arrived to the village.

The players quickly adopted to their new roles and quite mercilessly found out that the rumors were true. The smith of the village had been creating and delivering arms to the rebels. Soon, one smithy burning, the troops pursued the smith who fled quickly after the soldiers arrived. It didn’t take long to arrive to the rebels hideout. A fight emerged… The head of the rebels was a big dragonborn with the symbol of Tempus with him and he almost singlehandedly took care about the attacking soldiers. When lieutenant Feral got the fatal wound the last thing he saw was how two of his soldiers transforming to werewolves and finishing the big dragonborn and the remains of his unit…

Back in the Tiger Palace, our heroes woke up among the doorstep of Prince Kamril’s tomb. The one who had been punished even in death to suffer the most foulest of curses; the Hom-dai. It took a long while to determine how they would deal with the tomb guardian, but eventually Gildin just took his place in front of the guardian, and the guardian asked him something. The problem was, that Gildin didn’t understand a word it said. Luckily Dabbil translated and together they answered the riddle the guardian asked: The answer was time.

When the doors to the chamber opened they found out the actual place was full wondrous things; all related to time and sky. Surely everything was quite different they expected to see. Prince Lauredeas ran Kamril was a ancient man, but still held an aura of power. The heroes released the prince in promise of treasures and ability to bend time to their benefit.

But when it came to actually change time and possibly unmake everything the heroes had done, the heroes were not ready after all.

So they pursued another route and searched the bastion of knowledge from Deneir’s monastery. The building was an old, ivy-veiled stone structure strongly reflecting a fortress. The huge building was more than 400 feet across and 200 feet deep. It consisted of four above-ground levels and was suspected to have an unknown expand of storage tunnels and catacombs beneath. The first floor contained the library proper with unnumbered collections of mostly unique and ancient books, parchments and artifacts. The second floor contains smaller study chambers and guest rooms for visiting scholars. From there they sought knowledge and eventually took great interest in the legend of Jintran the Warrior. The man who slayed the elder black dragon Cagoprhas and gave the wealth to the Calimshanian leaders. The plan was clear: Make sure the evil dragon dies, and while Jintran went to tell the leaders about his deeds, loot the lair.

Which was almost exactly what happened and soon the heroes were incredibly rich and the players were given the opportunity to told what happened later in the characters life…

Ok, now you see what went differently than the dungeon master expected. The DM thought that the heroes will use the opportunity to bend time, to the benefit of the Amn and make sure that werewolves never execute their wicked plan. Since that did not happen, the characters became incredibly rich and thus the players avoided the final confrontation which was planned Since the campaign ended, every player told what happened later…

Shivra hid most of her wealth in various places and followed Dabbil and Gildin in their journeys. Dabbil gave money to the people who had suffered and forced to seek a refuge after that black day in Amn (He also kept a mentionable amount to himself). Gildin and Dabbil together used a lot of wealth of recruiting a mercenary army to help the rebels and eventually the war against the lycanthropes and Amn was victorious and all the lycanthropes were all killed. After that, they set on a journey once again; to find Prince Laeredas ran Kamril, and to return Gildin back to his own time.

It wasn’t the ending that I had first thought, but it was an ending still. The campaign was pleasant to play, although I have to admit that it was not so consistent that I had first hoped for, but still! The hours spent on the campaign were pleasant and fun. We still continue to have role-playing games every Sunday, but now it is time for a new campaign. A Dragon Age campaign which takes place somewhere in the world of Thedas, in the verge of new Blight… But that requires another post!!!

As our heroes ventured deeper in the palace, they learned that the new inhabitants of Tiger Palace in Sudolphor were mainly tomb spiders and other similar foul creatures. Gildin, Dabbil, Gaukan, Maege and Shivra had decided to enter the palace with the intention of doing some tomb raiding. Although they didn’t have much knowledge about the place, they knew that the palace was supposed to include five floors. Since the sheer size of the palace was huge and the entrance they used was in the first cellar floor, it was going to take some time before they were done.

The first cellar floor turned out to be servant’s quarters. Partly now in ruins, the only valuable thing they found was the library which proved to be useful. Although the previous habitants had been slaves, the architecture and decorations showed that these slaves were not treated badly. The massive library held many very valuable books and items our heroes gathered to be picked up when they return from the bottom floors. Dabbil even found leads to knowledge concerning Arcane Wayfarers (paragon path).

“Time and space are barries to most creatures, only gods, primordials and legendary beings can break down those barriers. And – perhaps – people like you” -Arcane Wayfarer-

Although such books very valuable indeed, but they alone were not enough to compensate the fights against the poisonous spiders. They continued deeper with their hopes high.

The second cellar floor was pleasure quarters. Only courtesans and slave women had dwelled here. The illustrations and hieroglyphs made very clear what sort of pleasures there had been performed. What they found here was ancient “tools for pleasure”, fabrics and jars worth a small fortune. At least for the small folk, but our heroes needed something bigger, something more in order to be helpful to Amn. And so they continued.

The entrance to the third cellar floor was barred with iron bars, but Gaukan tore them apart with his massive strength while Shivra opened the lock with ease. It seemed that the huge goliath was determined enough for the task at hand. The third floor was titled preparation chambers and there was a warning which stated that only the priests of Talos were permitted to enter. Even the color of the stone was different. Here it was dark black. The sheer presence of preparation chambers was surprise for the heroes since Maege had told them that the preparation chambers were supposed to be located at the mausoleum, not here. Maybe here was buried someone who was incredibly rich or someone who had done something very bad and punished.

After few traps and threats, our heroes entered the study. Dabbil and Maege studied numerous codexes and tomes so they learned what was going on. The preparation chamber here was made for only one man. Prince Kamril the Golden. The one who had been punished, even in death. The prince had been caught abusing the children of the royal palace and he was punished to receive the Hom-dai. To suffer even in death, whatever that meant.

Soon they found the entrance to the fourth cellar floor. Unfortunately there was a one problem: Tomb Guardian and the magical barrier. Exhausted from the battles against numerous spiders our heroes decided to rest the night in the dungeons, until they were ready to encounter what was yet to come…

Founded by the army of the efreet Memnon, the city of Memnon reveres the entity from which it takes its name. The city’s outer walls were made of a dark, smooth rock that absorbs heat and shrugs off wear. Our heroes entered the city in hopes to meet warrior Gaukan, a mighty warrior who could prove helpful in their search for artifacts and allies for the old Amn.

2nd of Alturiak, 1480 DR
Gildin, Dabbil and Shivra weren’t aware of Calimshanian habits and the fact that every non genasi member who didn’t worship Talos was considered unenlightened and therefore open for slavery. When they reached the city walls, it caused some problems. Luckily Gildin was able to bribe the town guards despite their superior attitude. The genasi guard gave them advice to head directly to temple district and prove their faith to Talos in order walk around freely.

After the confessing their faith at the temple, they were ready to search Gaukan. They learned that Gaukan was the local arena champion, now three years in a row. He had a small apartment around the slave district. The warrior shared his apartment with Maege, a genasi rogue, who was Gaukan’s friend in their search for relics and treasure. Our heroes met Gaukan at his house. Both parties were expecting to meet sooner or later, so introductions were swift.

Gaukan told the about his problems: Treasures hidden in Suldolphor. This once-vibrant city of almost 150,000 souls is now a stretch of sand-blasted ruin where efreets battle djinns in an endless cycle of mad violence. Its streets, buildings, and palaces lie buried only feets beneath the sweltering, ever-moving dust of the Calim Desert. It was rumored that city features sometimes appear in the wake of a strong sandstorm, only to vanish again in the next battle. Gaukan however knew this to be only a rumor and a strong warrior who had once before visited the city was confident that travelling to the city ruins was not a difficult task. The difficulties were to come later.

Gaukan knew about two locations where to search for the treasure. One of these was a Tiger palace, which was the former center for the ruling Pasha. The other was the mausoleum complex of the previous pashas. The problem was, that the city was also the rumored home of other rogue genasi serving the battling efreeti and djinnis. This meant that heroes didn’t have the luxury of being seen, so everything had to be done in secret. While the surface of the city was a constant battleground, the underground was a home for giant spiders and other fould dangers. They made a choice and headed for the Tiger Palace.

After Shivra did some scouting, they decided that it would be best to use the dry water canals in the city which proved to be a good solution until they met their first furry friends. Giant tomb spiders altered by the spellplague. One bite and Gaukan went down due the paralyzing poison. Before any real harm was done, the heroes vanquished the danger. Eventually they found their way inside the palace and entered… What happens next is the subject of next session log.

Good solid session. Nothing more. Next Sunday it is time for Battlestar Galactica: The board game again. After playing it properly few times, I’ll post few words about the game.

Here is a one way how to implement character into the campaign. One of our players, Walter, wrote an excellent little novel: Shivra’s Introduction to ensure smooth implementation of his character to the campaign. Big thanks to Walter for this:

Shivra crept silently along the massive cave floor, hugging the right wall. The air inside was even more chilling than the perpetual winter winds howling outside and she was glad of the scant warmth offered by the dark green balaclava hiding her features. Rounding the next bend, she emerged into a large chamber.

She couldn’t help but take a moment to marvel at the piles of gold, jewlery and other valuables littering the flood of the chamber. As is to be expected from a dragon’s lair, she thought.

Shaking herself from her reverie, she grabbed a nearby leather satchel and started to scoop coins inside. The black and white of her darkvision made it impossible to ascertain the color of the metal, and most of the coins were of some archaic denomination. Surely no self-respecting dragon, even a young adult, would stockpile mounds of copper.

Her concentration was wrenched from her gleeful looting by the sound of something massive moving in the tunnel behind her. Damn it, I thought I had more time! Throwing the satchel over her shoulder, she quickly retreated into the lee of some rock formations near the wall.

She didn’t have long to wait. Soon the awe-inspiring form of the white dragon emerged from the tunnel and into the lair proper. It casually vomited a pair of weapons and a leather pouch unto the nearest treasure pile and started towards the largest mound in the center of the chamber. After only a few steps it stopped abruptly and sniffed the air. Shivra slowly withdrew fully behind her shelter, barely daring to move at all for fear of alerting the great beast. Soon she felt as much as heard it approach her hiding place.

Suddenly there was a clatter of rocks from the other side of the chamber, where another tunnel entered the chamber and curved out of sight. The dragon immideately turned and started towards the noise.
Good girl. Her friend had bought some time with the distraction and she wasted none of it. Shivra ghosted along the cave wall and disappeared into the main tunnel leading up and into the open plains of Mintarn.

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Why do the Gods hate me? Shivra studied the pile of coins she had uppended unto the ground from the leather satchel; her only reward for the dangerous expedition. Most of it was low-denomination silver and yes, even copper. A few lonely gold coins glinted here and there, with nary a platinum piece in sight.

”Still, it’s better than being complitely broke,” she sighed. Her pet spider studied the pile curiously with her multitude of eyes and then chirped something that sounded vaguely amused, earning her an annoyed glance from Shivra. ”Quiet, you.”

Then she noticed a leather-bound cover peaking from under the pile. Lifting it free revealed an old book, badly worn. The faded pages were full of dwarven runes.

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Kriv smashed his warhammer into the face of the charging orc with a loud crunch, blood and holy energy splattering every which way. The brute fell, it’s face a ruin of blood and bone fragments. An improvement on your looks, if you ask me. There were plenty more to take it’s place, however.

The small valley was swarming with green-skinned warriors and though the massive form of the golem Behemoth tore into them with tireless ferocity, there were far too many to quickly dispatch. Kriv risked a quick glance behind them and confirmed his earlier fears.

”They’re trying to flank us!” He roared to his allies, but most of them were neck-deep in orcs, far too busy to do anything about the warning. Kriv was forced to concentrate on the immediate threat of a new clutch of orc that tried to surround him. The next few moments were spent feverishly working his warhammer like an enraged blacksmith, pounding orcs into orc-shaped smears left and right while trying to ignore the pain from slashes and thrusts that inevitably got through his shield.

Soon most of the orc scum in the immediate vicinity lay dead and Dabbil, stepping up from behind Kriv, cleared the rest with a thunderous blast of point-blank magic. Kriv took a moment to catch his breath and glanced back, wondering why the orc’s flanking manoeuver hadn’t materialized yet. A sight of a score of orc corpses greeted him, lying face down in the frozen ground where they had fallen while attempting to charge them.

”Looks like you held them.” He told Dabbil, until he noticed that most of the orc were sporting arrows from their backs.
”I had help.” Dabbil told him needlessly.
”Who?” Kriv wondered aloud. The only cover in that direction was a copse of stunted trees. Their mysterious assistant must still be hiding among them.
”Didn’t see them, I was too busy defending myself.” Dabbil said. He punctuated his words by turning back to the still-raging battle and throwing his hand out, a ray of icy energy punching a nearby orc in the chest and lifting him off his feet.
We’ll worry about this later, there’s still bloody work to be done. And with that thought, Kriv once more hefted his warhammer and charged into the thick of it with a mighty roar.

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”So, you’re the one we have to thank for protecting our flanks?” Ilyas asked the newcomer. She had materialized unto the field of battle shortly before it’s conclusion, working her greatbow with practised ease to dispatch the last of the stragglers. A woolen balaclava under the hood of her cloak hid all but her blue eyes. She was dressed in deep greens, except the dark brown leather of her armor. ”Yes.” She replied simply, lowering her hood.
”I am Kriv of clan Moonscale and these are my allies; Ilyas, Dabbil and Gildin.” Kriv introduced them. ”May we know your name?”
”You may call me Shivra.” She replied while removing the balaclava, revealing prominent elven features, fair skin and silvery, shoulder-length hair. A moon elf, perhaps? Kriv pondered. The first impression of your typical pointy-eared tree-hugger was slightly spoiled by the huge black spider lounging at her side. Kriv caught Dabbil’s eye, worried about his morsel-sized friend’s reaction, but was surprised to find him looking slightly thoughtful rather than apprehensive. He soon went back to appraising the elf with a critical eye, instead of her pet.
There is more to this than meets the eye. Kriv thought before bringing his attention back to the conversation already unfolding. Shivra told them about her foolhardy quest to raid the white dragon’s lair in a rather concise manner, all the while absent-mindedly patting her pet spider. Kriv got the impression she was trying to put them at ease about her choice of animal companion.
”Oh, and I found this. No doubt you, Master Dwarf, will find it more interesting a read than I.” She pulled an old worn book out from a satchel and handed it to Gildin. His amazement and enthusiasm proved her right as the book turned out to be a diary of a member of Clan Ironstar dating back to the time his kin still dwelled in Mintarn. Shivra then suggested, almost casually, that she help the heroes with the cleansing of Mintarn and, perhaps in the process, earn her place in their party.

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”She’s hiding something.” Dabbil spoke up, adressing all of them. They’d sent Shivra to scout ahead, but everyone else was present, Behemoth included. It didn’t seem to notice, nor care.
”What makes you say that?” Gildin asked, arching a fuzzy eyebrow.
”She’s using some form of magic about her.” Dabbil replied, glancing at Ilyas. He nodded back, indicating he’d noticed as well.
”It’s too strong to be residual from an enchanted item.” Dabbil continued. ”This leads me to believe she’s using a spell to alter her appearance.”
”Let’s not jump to conclusions. The spell could be doing something wholly benevolent.” Ilyas pondered.
”Agreed, we have no definitive proof, but maybe we should… err on the side of caution?” Dabbil suggested.
”We could just ask her.” Kriv noted. He could almost see the gears inside the two arcane specialists heads grind to a hault at such a blunt approach to an interesting puzzle. Kriv struggled to hide a grin.

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When they confronted her about it, Shivra was surprisingly congenial, almost as if being not-so-subtly accused of trickery and perhaps downright deceit was par for the course. Of course, it all made sense when she, with an air of resignation, dropped the illusion. Her pale skin morphed into a black with blue highlights and suddenly the pet spider was not so out of place anymore. What followed was a heated discussion about racial stereotypes and biggotry, of trust and the delicate situation on the field of battle. Eventually it was agreed, in no small part due to Gildin’s defense of her generosity, that she could stay with them for the time being. Fighting the orcs was in the best interest of everyone at the moment, and the coming battles would allow our heroes to gauge her dependability. As the blood-soaked weeks and months drew on, Shivra proved herself time and again on the field of battle, slowly worming her way into the trust of our protagonists. Time will tell if that trust is well-placed or if the newest addition to the team is simply biding her time and waiting for the best moment to strike, like some dark and hideously sexy tumor ready to go into overdrive and liquify your brain.

Second session in a row without combat encounters, although many opportunities presented themselves. Nevertheless session was worth every minute considering the things what happened and maybe more, what is yet to happen…

It started when our gnome wizard got pulled out from the freezing river. After they had crossed the river, the long journey towards Sugrerblade’s tower continued. It didn’t take long to notice that their little episode at the river had been seen; orcs had sent a tracking party. Heroes made haste and went to hiding with the help of gnome wizard’s magic. After misleading the trackers, they continued their journey in the breezing cold. The wind was painful and the journey was slow paced because of the sheer amount of snow. The journey was quiet until they saw a big figure in the distanse which they quickly recognized. A white dragon. It didn’t look good for the heroes; there were pursuers still nearby and a dragon where they were headed. The only good thing was that they had seen the tower in the distance.

Midway through the journey the orcs found their tracks once again. Still, not willing to fight, our heroes made effort not make contact with the orcs. They succeeded, but unfortunately for them, they were not able to avoid the dragon. In the shadow of the mountain, white dragon approached quickly. In the wide open, there were no places to hide and they met the descending dragon. Luckily for the heroes, our dragonborn fighter was able to please the dragon by gathering magical items and wealth to give them to her as a prize. After the dragon had gotten his treasure, she announced that there were no reasons to let them live, but just before she was about to attack, our heroes convinced her that they could be useful to her. The dragon was fooled and agreed; the heroes were to go to the Dagon Many-arrows hold and bring treasures from there.

After the dragon had left, the heroes continued their journey until they reached the Sugrerblade’s tower. Tower itself was icy stone structure, invisible to the naked eye. Only because of Rolo’s equipment, heroes were able to find the tower and meet with the hermit wizard Gerin Sugrerblade. Gerin was a strange fellow. His appearance made you think of a regal ruler. He had beady eyes the color of blueberries and it was clear that his vision had suffered. His luxurious, huge, gray beard was messy yet it was worn in an utilitarian, precise style. He was short, even for a dwarf, and had an athletic build, which demonstrated lots of physical work. His skin was light-colored and he had a wide forehead and prominent ears. His wardrobe was a mixture of a smith and a wizard.

After Gildin told why they were there, he told the heroes, that he was not going to give them Frigid Eternum. In fact after he learned about Gildin’s Ironstar mace, he became most curious about it and gave the heroes another option. Gerin had spent years constructing a golem called Behemont, which was able to cleanse the lands from those orcs and make the long orc infested Ironstar clan’s dwarven halls once again dwellable. Rebels of Amn did not have place to settle yet so…

So the heroes had things to ponder. Should they help Gildin’s ancestors and return the lands to their former self or use alternative means to get the crystal from Gerin. However, Ilyas suggested that they could bring former Amnians here and with their help and alliance could be formed in the future. When the Ironstar clan could return.. they would had rebel Amnians to help them AND have their homeland returned. So the decision was made…

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17th of Nightal, 1479 DR
So it came to pass, when Gerin’s commandment to the Behemont was heard, and when the heroes were gathered together unto Gerin’s tower, the old Ironstar clan custody was once awoken. Rituals were made and spells woven; The Behemont was awoken and machine’s awakening was heard through the Moonshae islands.

And the Behemont started the orc purge, and the dwarf ancestors smiled on the lands once more. Fortress after another, Behemont smashed them down and heroes took what was their to begin with. Old dwarven relics were discovered and forgotten lore regained. Every day Behemont and the heroes fought the orcs until there was only Dagon Many-arrows to oppose them.

In those days, while Dagon Many-Arrows was sitting the Orc King’s throne: Kriv, Ilyas, Gildin and Dabbil, the heroes from Amn released their wrath against the orc king Dagon. The legend tells that they fought a whole day until Gildin delivered the final blow. From that moment on, the threat of the orc was no more… And it came to pass, in the form of Gildin Ironstar’s words that the halls of the Ironstar were at last regained.

Soon the rebellion fleet of Amn arrived and the reconstruction began. The rebel forces had found hideout and a bastion of defence to gather their strength what was yet to come. Rolo met the heroes, old and new, to congrulate them for the work they had once again done for the rebellion. It was clear that with the forces they had now, they were no threat to the Merchant’s Domain; Amn.

So he gathered his most trusted heroes, and send them to the far ends of the world, to go and seek power, to seek artefacts and allies to help the rebellion forces. Gildin and his trusted friend Dabbil with their new friend Shivra set their sails to the south where the last members of Ironstar clan had fled years ago. Ilyas and Kriv took positions in the rebellion military forces. So they parted ways at the docks. Ilyas and Kriv said their farewells to Gildin and Dabbil when they boarded the “Marlin Emperor” and set their sails towards the golden city of Memnon near the Calim Desert, home of genasi and their human slaves. There they were to meet certain individuals who could be great asset in their future adventures…

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The original idea of using the golem in the session came from The Mac who obviously has played some Fallout 3. That is one example how you can get inspired from various sources. This session however concludes the chapter II in the story. Next time we continue from level 9 from the moment the long and tiresome journey comes to an end when the heroes set gaze upon the golden city of Memnon. Gear up according the rules “starting from later levels” Next gaming session is later this month: 22th of October so next Sunday we try some board games.

Thirteen sessions behind, tomorrow we have the fourteenth so I decided to draw a small “session-map” while I was designing tomorrows session to see what has happened so far. It is a good way to summarize roughly what has happened in the campaign. I create such pictures to work as a tools in my dungeon mastering “work”. Campaign inspection and consistency is a important matter for any game master so I think that alone explains why I do draw such images.

Here are some potential benefits of a session-map:

• Dungeon master remembers what has happened before: Does these events have consequences now after few sessions has passed? Such events make the world around the players more alive.
• It reminds dungeon masters to stick in your plan and how to alter the big picture according to player character actions.
• It helps dungeom masters to see how many sessions it roughly take to make X happen (according previous sessions drawn to the map)
• Players remember what has happened in the previous sessions. How has my character responded to these events or have I just been casually gaming (nothing wrong in that.

I just want to say that I hate 4e rituals and magic.

Here is the recap of the session on Thursday:

Players were asked by Rolo Gemcutter to go on an isle of Mintarn to locate old dwarf mage Gerin Sugrerblade, an old friend of him. Because he is the one currently holding on to the powerful crystal of Frigid Eternum in his remote tower in orc infested Island of Mintarn. Heroes were given some potions to fight the cold in the frozen land and a magical telescope to find the tower which is hidden by strong illusion magic to fool the orcs. Also they were given a small sailing ship called “Countess I” with an able woman captain Krik and a crew. The party was not stunned at all to learn that the captain was a woman and instead of mocking her, Ilyas was trying to hit on her with his swordmage magnetism. Much seen and seafared captain was not impressed about Ilyas’s stories about the seasnake in his pants.

Gildin, the dwarf fighter, asks from one of the sailors if he could use some time learning to crew the ship and Kriv spends most of the days training combat manouvers on the deck. Ilyas and Dabbil exchange rituals below the deck.

During the travel, the party met an another passanger aboard the ship; middle aged Angus Araahiel. A big sized man in a robe locked in his cabin doing research on some leaves. The party knocked on his door in need of one of his boxes in the cargo hold for a table. The arrogant and stubborn man was refusing to give them any of his valuable leaf boxes and closed the door. Ilyas knocked again on the door and as soon as the man opened he punched him in the face and threw him a gold piece for the trouble and took one of his boxes. As he was knocked back by the hit, his handsome human facial appearance was seen behind the heavy robes hood. Dabbil the wizard gnome was the only one who noticed that the man had a deep scar around his neck and from the neck down of the scar was greenish and the thick skin like it could be infected or a part of some other race. Angus was too surprised to fully oppose this barbaric assault of his personal sanctity.

Shortly after Angus come to the deck to demand amends from the captain and Ilyas for this insult but is mostly confronted with laughter of the crew and more threats from Ilyas. The next day Ilyas goes to apologize to the man and feels sorry about bad start and they start to talk little and finds out that the man is a using scientific methods to studying the effects of Feykind on the flora and fauna in the world. He is interested also in the party’s gnome, Dabbil and asks to do some basic tests and to talk to him. Ilyas relays this message to Dabbil that Angus wants to do some horrific and terrible tests on him but wise Dabbil is able to see past his bluff. Reluctantly Dabbil goes to speak with Angus but refuses go give any samples or let him strike some blood out of him, even when Angus promises small reward.

Next day the party is alarmed to the yell from the deck: “New Amn’s Warship is tailing us!” The countess is a faster and smaller ship and could outrun the large heavily armer warship but if damaged by any hits from the cannons they would have no chance. The captain ask’s heroes oppinion about the matter, “Usualy they just want to check who is sailing here since there is some trouble with the pirates in thies waters and trying to avoid them raises suspicious.” Small argument follows what should be done and suddenly big boom is heard as the warship fires its front cannon as a warning over the ship. Theyr options are to hide in the ship and let the ship maby full of werewolfs catch them or try to avoid hits and outrun them. They manage to scare the crew so much that the crew forces the captain to try to run from them. Short race that will delay the journey little follows but afther few shots from the front the warship is allmost out of range and turns to give them full broadside of cannon fire but luckily none hit the ship and countess wins the race. Kriv decides to climp up to the crows nest and lecture on the man who let the Amn warship sail so close to them without giving any warning. The scary man crumbles before the dragonborn and confesses that he fell a sleep during his watch. Later in the evening the man is whipped in front of the whole crew as a punishment.

Few cold, foggy and boring days sailing on the open sea, the party is alerted to the deck by screams at midnight. The ship has run on ice and is stuck the crew starts to chop the ice around the ship with axes when Kriv the dragonborn decides to help them with his breath of fire. The seamen thank him for the help and stop working as the dragon man is now doing all the hard work. Unfortunately Kriv needs a short rest after every breath so his praises are short lived. After some time the crew and heroes decide to wait for the morning to see if this ice is allready part of the island or just some ice floe. In the morning when the fog has cleared and sun starts to shine they see peaks of Mintarn island in the distance across the icy floe. The heroes decide to leave by foot and tell the captain that they will contact them when they need a ride.

The island of Mintarn is turned to harsh, barren and cold land almost stipped of its grand forrests. The middle of the island is the largest mountain and the home of Gildins clan. On the peak Mint of this large mountain is still working volcano that has caused the earth around it to melt and form few lakes. East and west peaks of the map are smaller than the one in middle and south part of the map still has small forest where human settlement was located before the orcs came. Only in the shadow of the mountain the heroes can hope to find some cover from the cold winds, but the mountains are also populated by the orcs. Using some of the potions from rolo the party slowly adventures foward in the deep snow toward the east end of the island since that is where the tower of Gerin is told to be by Rolo. At night fall heroes find out that none of them remembered to buy any tents but using ritual “Prepare campsite” they manage to make the camp some what safe place to spend the night and whole day Dabbil was using spell: “Prestidigation” to clear theyr tracks on the snow they are leaving, the party is hard to spot or follow.

Howling of a lonely wolf are heard through the night as the moon and stars are at theyr brightest. Suffering from the cold and snowblindness the party continues to push on deeper into the island and decided to avoid the mountains and go from the northern pass to eastward. Second morning they discover some tracks of a humanoid creature walking alone, thies are difrent kind of tracks from the tracks of orcs they have seen before. Gildin optimisticly sees them as a tracks of dwarf. Maby some of his clan has survived or not ran away? They decide not to follow the tracks leading to big mountains in the middle of the island. Third morning when more then half of the potions has been spend and only slow progress toward the tower that they cannot even yet see has been made Ilyas decides to use another ritual: “Endure elements” to cover the whole party from effects of cold and heat. It negates the threat of this harsh land almost completly.

Later that day they come to the edge of fast flowing four feet wide river. They decide to try to cross it here as Ilyas uses magic and flyes over the river with no trouble. Kriv and Gildin trying to holding a rope tight between the west bank and Ilyas alone in the east bank Dabbil uses the rope to cross the river. Unfortunately when he is middle of the river his grip on the frosty rope slips and he falls to the fast flowing river. Dabbil finds out he is not a great swimmer while the others in the party try to run in the deep snow after him and throw him a rope but the river is faster and soon Dabbil sinks below the surface. Dabbil tries to hold his breath but after a minute trying to swim in the river he starts to drown and panic.

He tries to hold on to the bottom of the river to slow down but the loose little stones make that almost impossible. By lucky miracle he manages to slow down his speed and swim to the surface jsut where the other party is running. He tries to grab the rope but fails to hold on and is now again running with the river, the coast is getting near and the large ice floe’s near the rivers end would be a death trap to end under one of them. The heroes get one more chance to throw the rope to Dabbil before he is out of theyr reach, Dabbil grabs it. He endures the rivers strenght and manages to hold on to the rope and is finaly pulled to the shore.

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Note to my players, everyone had great roleplaying in this session so add 200 roleplaying points of exp to the exp you gained from this session. We ended so hastly that i forgot to give exp from the happenings aboard the Countess I