Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Session 7: Meeting the Mites

in which a group of Mites tries to rob the characters during the night

It was clear that the walking corpse really wanted the Stag Lord at his side, so Cardot promised him he would take care of it. The corpse told him he would regret it if he did not pursue the task, and went back to where it came, below the waters of the Shrike River.

The characters then explored the area and found, among the debris some distance down the river, a badly mangled corpse pierced by several hours. They buried the remains and prayed to Cayden Cailean so that his soul would reach the Heavenly Tavern.

Then they crossed the river and found, near the blackened remains of the burnt cottage, a ledger with entries to all the travelers that had used Davik Nettle's bridge in the past year. The last entry detailed how the Stag Lord and some of his men had offered Davik their "protection" in exchange for half of his profits, and how Davik had run them with the aid of his hounds. There were also some entrances about a woman called Constance Devine, who apparently had used the bridge regularly in the past months, and about a wine merchant from Restov who had crossed the bridge only 3 weeks before.

They then proceeded to explore and map the area. During the night, a small group of the miserable creatures known as Mites assaulted their camp. The pathetic creatures tried to rob the characters of some of their valuables but, even with the advantage of surprise, they were easily defeated by the group.

XP:
- 100 (exploring Davik Nettle's hex)
- 500 (Mite encounter)
Total this session: 600XP
Total campaign: 8745XP

Loot:
- 10 gp; found at Davik's bridge.

Time Passed:
- A bit more than 1 day.
The time now is 2nd Gozran (April), in the morning.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Session 6: Greenbelt Sightseeing

in which the characters explore most of the northern and eastern Greenbelt

Strange encounter
While exploring the woods near the Temple of the Elk, the characters meet some curious reptiles that Kii identified as Carbuncles. He established a telepathic connection with them and the Carbuncles managed to convince him to surrender all the candies and little foodstuff he was carrying as future gifts for the forest feys... Just as the carbuncles were pointing the characters towards Tuskgutter's lair, they shrieked in terror as a strange blob of light approached the pool where they were bathing and hit them with several bolts of lightning... The heroes decided to flee riding their horses and had to sacrifice one to the strange glowing creature...

Both the carbuncles and the ball of light creature are interesting mysteries that the group decided could well be worth researching.

Tuskgutter
The following day, the heroes investigated the area where Tuskgutter had been seen. Gam'el'gar followed the tracks of the boar to its lair. The boar was not in its den, so the heroes used again the bear traps found at the bandit camp to ambush the dangerous boar... Having climbed on nearby trees, the wait for the boar was sometimes unbearable and exhausting, but several hours later, the characters had the boar´s head in a saddlebag.

The "Merchant"
On their way back to Oleg´s the characters helped someone that had fallen victim to a pit trap in the forest. Rime Marner, the person in the trap, introduced himself as a merchant in need, but soon after being rescued, he confided to Cardot that he was really one of the bandits that had not been at the Thorn River Camp when the heroes captured Kressle. In exchange for not pressing charges against him and for buying some bottles of wine at a discount, Rime told them about the Stag Lord, his bandits, and the password phrase they used to recognise each other.

Back at Oleg´s
Approaching Oleg´s, the characters met Breeg Orlivanch, a grumpy hunter that lives in the western Narlmarches and that was traveling to Oleg´s to sell his last fur cargo. He was quite unfriendly with the characters and did not talk much.
In the Trading Post the characters, after showing Tuskgutter´s head, were received as small heroes by Svetlana, and even Oleg managed to smile at them. Jhod was also happy to know about the Temple of Erastil, and Kesten handed them a heavy bag of gold coins for having captured the bandits. Even more, he also gave them a new charter from the Swordlords of Restov, trusting them with the defeat of the Stag Lord:
poster created by WhoDrewThis

Exploring the plains east of Oleg´s Trading Post
The characters then decided to start investigating the hills known as the Kamelands, in preparation for their approach to the Stag Lord´s Fort, and because they suspected the treasure map found in the Spider´s Lair pointed them to those hills. They also paid a second visit to Bokken, who happily gave them two of his potions after mentioning that he had not seen a single bandit in the last week.

To the east of Bokken´s Hut, the characters met a bunch of creepy hulking humanoids that followed them during their exploration of the area. Whenever the characters tried to approach them, the creatures would escape. Gam'el'gar tracked them to their lair, a filthy area of mudpools, but the characters did not understand their language, so they left some food gifts to the creatures and left before the creatures proved too aggressive.

One day later, they met a kind of midget gnome. The poor creature seemed miserable and was sobbing and crying. In Sylvan, he told Kii that he had lost his lucky coin to the filthy mites that lived to the southwest, and said he had been plagued by bad luck since he lost the coin... Indeed, a small rain cloud seemed to be following the creature... The characters promised him they would try to find his lucky coin, but convinced him that adventuring was too dangerous for him and that they did not need his help (he did not seem to understand that the heroes preferred to stay dry)... the bad luck of the creature seemed to rub a bit on the characters because the following night a horrible thunderstorm buffeted their tents and they could hardly rest.


The northern Kamelands

The heroes then finally started exploring the hills known as the Kamelands. They easily found the site marked by the treasure map found at the Spider´s Lair, and followed the Shrike River looking for a way to cross it.

After two days of exploration and river following, they reached a broken bridge with what seemed like a toll house burnt to the ground. A sign told them to ring a nearby bell to call the toll keeper... Cardot soon complied and, immediately, the group felt the temperature drop down and a rotting walking corpse raised from the river bottom and started walking on the water, ominously approaching the characters: "Where is my tormentor?" - he said- "Throw the Stag Lord´s body into the river that I may look upon his death and rejoice, or join me instead"...


XP:
- 800 (defeating Tuskgutter)
- 100 (exploring Tuskgutter lair hex)
- 400 (completing Tuskgutter quest)
- 400 (completing Wanted: Bandits quest)
- 400 (completing Temple of the Elk quest)
- 100 (exploring hex east of Bokken's Hut; found strange Large creature lair)
- 100 (exploring hex east of Spider's Nest; met leprechaun)
- 100 (exploring hex with treasure cache; found thanks to map in Spider´s Lair)
- 100 (exploring hex east of treasure cache hex).
Total this session: 2500XP
Total campaign: 8145XP

Loot:
- 6 +1 animal bane arrows; 1 master longbow (Tuskgutter quest reward).
- 4 Cheliax wine bottles, each worth around 100gp (from bandit found in a pit trap).
- 400 gp (Bandits quest reward).
- Potion of cure light wounds, potion of endure elements (Bokken reward).
- masterwork dagger, wand (not yet identified), silver ring, spellbook with identify, mage armor, reduce person, silent image and unseen servant (hidden treasure cache).


Time Passed:
- Around 10 days.
The time now is 30th Pharast (March), at noon.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Session 5: Battling the Bear

In which the heroes explore the Temple of the Elk and defeat its fearsome guardian.


After trying a peaceful interaction with the guardian bear, and prodded by a dream interpreted by Cardot as sent by his god Cayden Cailean, the heroes decide to fight and kill the beast as a last resort solution.

The plan is the following: the PCs will form a line defended at the flanks by the traps found at the bandit camp; Gam'el'gar will bear the brunt of the attack while the other heroes help him flanking the bear and trying to attract it to fall in one of the traps. Trapping the bear proves a risky move, as the bear is cunning enough to manoeuvre around them and Gam'el'gar almost falls victim to one of them as he hastily tries to set it up as the bear charges towards him...

For the first time in their exploration of the Greenbelt, the heroes feel death near their necks, but a brave defense by Gam´el´gar helped by Kii and Cardot and a fortunate combination of the bear fumbling a claw attack hitting itself, and a very precise double shot by Am the monk leave the guardian bear dead on the ground. The beast emits a sigh of relief surprisingly human-like as it collapses and, under the astonished view of the characters, the bear transforms first into an incredibly old human with a look of peace in his eyes, then into a skeleton that quickly crumbles to dust. Soon after the bear's death, the entire shrine seems to grow more vibrant and colorful, and the water in the pool at the entrance to the temple becomes crystal clear.

As the heroes take a rest, one questions remains unanswered: what or who was exactly the bear? 

After searching the temple, the characters decide to finish exploring the area of the Narlmarches surrounding it.

XP:
- 800 (defeating the bear guardian of the Temple of the Elk)
- 100 (exploring the hex with the Temple of the Elk)
Total this session: 900XP
Total campaign: 5645XP

Loot:
None.

Time Passed:
- A full day.
The time now is 20th Pharast (March), in the evening.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Session 4: Temple of the Elk

After their encounter with the Trapdoor Spider, the characters investigated the ruins near the patch of moon radish for clues to the location of the temple of Erastil, of which Jhod Kavken had spoken, but after several hours of search they were unable to find the temple.

They then started exploring the forest west of their location and found two strange nests at the top of a giant fir tree. One of the nests resembled a little puppet house, and Kii mentioned he was sure they must be the dwellings of the mischievous fey that had been playing pranks on the characters. Am started climbing up the tree to check the houses, only to fall victim to one more prank from the invisible fairies. The characters then decided to leave some gifts at the bottom of the fir tree and went back to Oleg's.

At Oleg they talked with Jhod and tried to convince him to join them in the search of the temple. Jhod was wary of the characters and turned down their request, but offered them information on how to find the temple from the ruins of the forest which, from the description of the characters, he said must be a shrine to Erastil. With this information, the characters went further than ever before into the forest and found the abandoned temple of Erastil. As they approached the temple, an angry grizzly bear came out of the entrance and roared menacingly at them... The bear seemed to have some kind of uncanny sense to detect the characters as they entered the temple grounds, but did not pursue them when they moved outside the column circle that marked the temple's extension.

The characters withdrew to their camp to discuss on how to proceed and what options they had concerning the bear. The woods around them were dense and mysterious, and they got many a glimpse of several majestic elks roaming the forest.

XP:
- 100 (exploring forest hex with fairy nest)
- 100 (exploring plains-forest hex west of Oleg's)
- 600 (random encounter with several boars)
Total this session: 800XP
Total campaign: 4745XP

Loot:
- 40gp spent on gifts to try to befriend the hidden forest fey.

Time Passed:
- Around 3 days.
The time now is 19th Pharast (March), late evening, as the characters prepare their night camp.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Session 3: Spider Hunt


The characters decide to be careful and bait the spider out of its lair using some food from Oleg's Trading Post and the bear traps captured to the bandits. While waiting for the traps to have effect, they explore the area north of the spider's lair and met Bokken, a local eccentric and potion maker, who lives in the area, quite happy to be away from civilization...

In the ensuing conversation, Kii tries to have Bokken teach him some alchemy tricks, but the hermit is not convinced because of his weird looks and turns down the offer, although not entirely. Also, Bokken mentions a younger brother who beat him and his mother and fled to the wilderness, and requests the help of the characters to find some fangberries, an important ingredient for his potions; Bokken promises them a discount for his potions if they bring the fangberries, and exchanges one potion for a recipe to brew beer in Cayden Cailean style.

Back near the spider's lair, the critter has not taken the bait, so the characters decide to use live chickens and wait nearby and when the spider is caught in one of the bear traps, deftly hidden by the Ranger Gam'el'Gar, they rush to the attack; the spider almost manages to escape back to its lair, but Cardot arrives just in time to show it the "wonders" of beer tankards... pity she'll get quite a hangover...

The session ends with Kii exploring the Spider tunnels and finding in its larder (a big cavern the size of a small room) the corpse of a bandit wearing one of the Stag Lord's silver amulets; in his left foot, Kii finds also what looks like an old treasure map...

XP:
- 100 (exploring Bokken's Hut hex)
- 100 (getting to know Bokken)
- 400 (defeating the Trapdoor Spider)
Total this session: 600XP
Total campaign: 3945XP

Loot:
- One potion of Cure Moderate Wounds from Bokken.
- 10 gp, and a silver Stag Lord amulet from corpse in Trapdoor Spider's tunnels.
- a treasure map: a scrap of paper that bears a simple drawing of a claw-shaped dead tree atop an otherwise barren hill, with an “X” in blood scrawled by the tree's roots.
- Giant Spider's corpse and 4 giant spider eggs.

Time Passed:
- Around 2 days.
The time now is 16th Pharast (March), at noon.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Group Summary

Characters level4th

Total Money:
2860 gp

Group objects (assigned):
  • Gam´el´gar
- Studded Leather +1 with Light Fortification- amulet of natural armor +1 (2000 gp)
- masterwork handaxe (306 gp)
- masterwork cold iron sword
- masterwork longbow (375 gp)
- silver masterwork dagger (322 gp)
- 1 +1 animal bane arrows
- book of footprints (50 gp)
- compass (+ 2 circumstance bonus on survival not to get lost)
- map maker kit (+2 circumstance bonus on survival not to get lost )
- 1 sunrod
- 1 potions of Cure Light Wounds
- 1 oil magic weapon (+1 enhancement on attk and dmg for 1 min)
- 1 potions of Cure Moderate Wounds

----------------------------------------------
  • Am
- +1 composite longbow ( +2 strength) (2600 gp)
- 1 sunrod
- 3 +1 animal bane arrows
- 5 arrows of Monstruous Humanoids Bane (PHB469; +2 bonus; +2d6 extra damage)
- 5 arrows of Seeking

- 1 potions of Cure Light Wounds
- climber kit (+2 climbing, 250 gp)
- boots of elvenkind
- ioun torch
- 2 potion mage amor
- 1 potions of Cure Moderate Wounds
- 1 potions of Cure LightWounds
---------------------------------------------------------
  • Kii
- Hat of Disguise (1,800gp)
- Pearl of Power, 1st level
- 2 wrist sheath, spring loaded (MW)
- wand (burning hand, 2 lv, 1 charges)
- wand of Magic Missile; 20 charges
- wand of true strike
- spellbook (with 26 pages) with identify, mage armor, reduce person, silent image and unseen servant ( +- 60 gp )
- thieves tools (MW)
- 1 scroll of silent image (25 gp)
- 1 scroll burning hands (25 gp, Kii)
- 1 scroll of chill touch (25 gp)- 1 scroll of frostbite (25 gp)
- 1 scroll of corrosive touch (25 gp)
- 1 sunrod
- 1 antitoxin
- 1 flask of acid (10 gp)
- 2 alchemical fire (2 x 20 gp)
- 1 alchemical grease (5 gp,)
- 1 oil flasks (2 x10 gp)
- 2 gnomish sleeping gas (2 x 30)
- 1 alchemical solvent (20)
- 1 alcali salt (30)
- 1 antiplague (50)
- 1 Blue whinnis (120 gp)
- 2 Drow poison (75 gp)
- 1 Oil of taggit (90 gp)

- 1 smokestick (20 gp)
- stealth suit (+ 2 circumstance bonus on stealth, 50 gp)
- 2 potions cure light wounds
- 1 potions of Cure Moderate Wounds
---------------------------------------------------------

  • Cardot
- Sacred Tankard of Saint Nesteruk
- 1 antitoxin
- tunic/vestment diplomacy +2 circumstances bonus (75 gp)
- ioun torch
---------------------------------------------------------

Quest objects:

- silver locket with a tress of silky green hair (from a fey, by the Stag Lord)

- alabaster statuette of a nymph (found in the basement by nuragh):
Inscription in the base: "Florint, keep this as token of our secret love..."
In Davik's ledger, you spend another 30 minutes to find there are two merchants of Restov mentioned who have Florint as first name: Florint Kinkeldey and Florint Stetvener.

- pewter belt buckle depicting a pair of entwined succubi (from the Stag Lord casttle loot)
inscription in the buckle: "Q.T."

- turquoise earrings
nothing of note, they are very beautiful... was in the possession of Dovan (from the beatiful lady ?)

Group objects (unassigned):

- jewelry in backpack of dead explorer (a pewter drinking stein, a silver ring, a jade carving
of a nude female elf; StolenLands28).
- a watertight scroll tube with a map inside. The map describes the northwestern border of the Narlmarches (halves the time required to explore those hexes).
- stag's helm (special magical item)
- several gemstones and pieces of jewelry (a polished azurite crystal, a carnelian, a piece of hematite, a shard of obsidian, a red garnet, a pewter belt buckle depicting a pair of entwined succubi and a silver charm bracelet; StolenLands51)
- turquoise earrings (StolenLands50)
- bag with several pieces of jewelry (various silver candle supports, silver and golden rings, an alabaster statuette of a nymph, a silver necklace with shiny green stones, several Stag Lord's silver amulets,...) (Stolen Lands 53)
- trade goods, miscellaneous adventuring gear and tools worth approximately 8,000 gp (2 Building Points)
- knight and dragon toys of very good craftsmanship
- 6 + several silver Stag Lord amulet

- 4 riding horses ( 75 gp each)
- 1 riding pony (30)
- wagon (35 gp)
- longbow (75 gp, at oleg's)
- 4 wrist sheath, spring loaded (5 gp each)
- 4 wrist sheath, normal (1 gp each)

- grappling arrow (1 gp)
- grappling bolt (1 gp)

- 6 bear traps
- 6 trespasser's boot (trap, 8 sp each)

- colored objects, glass perls, little mirrors.
Also honey cookies, candied fruit, marzipan, sirup, some cidre ...
- silver ring
- a pair of silver earrings (value ?)

Consumables (not potions):
- 1 sunrods (10 gp)
- 3 bottles of potent greenish herbal liquor (value ?)

- 2 x ioun torch (2 x 75 gp)
Book, Pathfinder chronicles: local knowledge (50 gp)
Book, Pathfinder chronicles: geography (50 gp)
Book, Pathfinder chronicles: nobility (50 gp)
Book, Pathfinder chronicles: nature (50 gp)
Book, Pathfinder chronicles: religion (50 gp)
Book, Pathfinder chronicles: planes (50 gp)
Book, Pathfinder chronicles: arcana (50 gp)
Book, Pathfinder chronicles: history (50 gp)

Potions:
- 5 potion of endure elements
- 4 potions cure light wounds
- 1 potion of hide from animals
- 1 potion of jump (+10 on acrobatics for jumping for 1 min)
- 1 oil flasks (2 x10 gp)
- 2 potion of Lesser Restoration
- 4 cure light wounds (4 x 50)
- 2 protection from evil (2 x 50)
- 3 shield of faith (3 x 50)
- 1 potion of bless (1 x50)
- 1 potion of tap inner beauty (50 gp)
- 1 remove sickness (50 gp)

- magnifying glass 100
- lock, superior     150
- powder x 5 1 gp
- large treasure chest, 15 gp
- manacles MW 50 gp



Trophies:

- kobold statuette (fine work of art depicting a crouching horned devil).
- Centipede parts useful for alchemical ingredients.
- Tartuk's personal journal (given to Kesten)
- 3 silver amulets of the Stag Lord (spider nest, bandits)
- Tazelwyrm heads



Tasks pending:

Main tasks:
- peace with kobolds (800 gp) (DONE)- recover statue for the Kobolds from the mites (DONE)
- find fangberries for the heremit (55 miles SW of oleg's, 25% discuont for 1 month on potions)(DONE)
- find Svetlana's ring (bandits said it was robbed by the mites that lair under the old sycamore tree, 1000 gp credit by oleg) (DONE)
- capture Falgrim Sneeg at the Stag Lord hideout (2 masterwork weapon, 4 if alive) (DONE)
- defeat the Stag Lord (5000 gp) (DONE)
- head of Tatzlwyrm (600 gp) (DONE)
-get 5 wolf pelts (350 gp)

Side quests
find heremits brother
find Rufus Seadwell (DONE)
eliminate the Mites (DONE)
investigate the big tree with the little hut and the big nest (DONE)
find coin for the leprechaun (DONE)
continue reading the "black book of tavellers" by Davic Nettles
gold mine
investigate about the mud-men
investigate about the owl-bear
bring the body of the stag lord to Davic's ghost (DONE)

check about the temple's gost with bokken (his brother ?)
check about Timitus Bandy and his nephew, and ask about when he had found the medallion (explorer and trapper, friends of oleg)
ask about the fight between Devik and Breeg Orlivanch
ask about Costance Devine (interested for the bridge)

List of people:


Oleg and Svetlana
Jhod Kavken (Erastil's cleric)
Bokken (alchemist)
Jonah Renton (merchant attacked by the trolls, discussed with him different possibilities to develop the Greenbelt and obtained much information from him)
Grigg & butterfly-dragon
Kobolds - (Mikmek)
Breeg Orlivanch (grunchy hunter)
Kesten Garess (officer of the Restov Guard)
Rufus Seadwell (merchant freed from the kobolds, arrogant a.l.)Timitius Bandy (trapper who found the ancient medallion)
Ollix Kaddar (pathfinder who got the medallion)
Roomalaiskatollinen Pappi (Kii's cousin)

Reaver Pete (agent of the stag lord)Rime Marner (fake merchante, escaped bandit)
Akiros Ismort (ex-paladin of Erastil)
Lord Chesswick            ambassador of Mivon
Ragnar Strongarm      expert miner
Lord parsall, ruler of Liberthane
 
Notes:

Poison from the spider: 150 x 1/2 gp per poison dose.
-> http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/afflictions#TOC-Medium-Spider-Venom


About me ....

My short name is Kiire Jalka Varjoisa Maanalainen, but my friends call me Kii or Maani .
I was born in Dwimovel, in the Darklands.

My father Zarzuket is an alchemist, so I grew up in a house filled up with magical extracts, potions and oils. Probably because of this I always felt a special affinity with magic (trait Magical knack, class Magus).

My mother's mother, Trig, is a surface gnome, so I am 3/4 Svirfneblin and 1/4 surfaceling.
From my 'surface' blood I got my blunt hairs and the skin color and few other characteristics.

Since my childhood my mother Majet always told me stories about the blue sky, the green forests, the blowing wind, the big open sees, a world full of colors, and when I've got grown up enough, I convinced my parents to send me to the surface, to the big metropolis of Absalon, the nearest exit to the surface from Dwimovel, to stay with my grandmother and my aunt's family.

Wandering around for Absalon I learned many things, and I've got an insane passion for traveling. When I discovered the monumental Pathfinder Lodge and its scope, I started hanging around in the area, trying to get as many information about the Lodge as I could. I managed to meet a member, a trader from Qadira, named Abd al malik, who take me under his protection and started tutoring me and teaching me things about the wonders of Golarion, about Qadira and about their traditions (trait Desert Shadow). I also started training with the scimitar which got my preferred weapon and I got captivated by the Dervish Dance which I started exercising all the time I could.
After some time I discovered that his only goal in tutoring me was to get my trust and to use me to discover the secret path to Dwimovel, maybe for using it for a new trade route or for something worse ....

He didn't take well my 'quick look' to his secret documentation and my getting few souvenirs (between others my training scimitar and some maps) from his home,
so I decided that was time for me to change air, leave Absalom and to start exploring the world, but where to start ?

Nivi Rhombodazzle and Cayden Cailean came to my help:

a cousin of my mother, Roomalaiskatollinen Pappi, cleric of Cayden Cailean, wrote to my parents asking for advise.
Near his home town, Jovvox, located in the area of the River Kingdoms, recently have seen an increased presence of feys and some other Darklands denizens. It could be a new exit way from the Darklands, and therefore the feys coming from the Court of Ether, or maybe the fey are coming directly from the First World.
A strong activity of the dark feys from the Court of Ether would mean big troubles !
Knowing that the observation of the Court of Ether is one of the main concern of the Svirfneblin, he decided to ask for help writing to my parents.

My father, knowing my love and my wish of exploring the surface world, and trusting me as agent of the Svirfneblin, gave me as a mission to go to my mother cousin in Jevvox, to speak with him, collect all possible information and investigate the situation, reporting monthly back to him using the usual ways.

I also need to keep the eyes open concerning gnomes in danger of getting bleached and I have to report any issue about this both to my father, through my grandma, and to my cousin. They take very seriously the assignment of fighting the bleaching in any possible way.

After discussing with my cousin Room, he suggested to go to Pitax and search a friend of him, also cleric of Cayden Cailean. He probably could help me in finding contacts to get ready for my mission in the Stolen Lands.