Nekromanti Skulls of the God-Kings

[Necross]

Hej! Vi spelar något så oheligt som Legend (dvs Runequest 6) i Faerün (dvs Forgotten Realms-världen). För att sätta lite mer press på mitt krönikeskrivande efter varje spelmöte så kommer jag lägga upp inläggen här. Kanske tycker också nån av er att det är roligt att följa med i gruppens äventyrande. Händelserna är en blandning av egenskrivna scenarion och publicerade äventyr från många olika ställen.

Detta har hänt så här långt:


Prologue

You, five adventurers from various places in Faerûn, joined in Teshwave to safeguard Ulrich, priest of Gond the Wonder-maker, on his journey towards Melvaunt.

One night, just west of Zhentil Keep, you were attacked by masked, black-cloaked riders. The bandits are many, so you fled into the woods. When you return, the wagon is on fire and Ulrich is dead.

Nobody knows what was the attacker’s real goal – was it just to kill the priest?

You continue eastwards. In Phlan, you stay and try to find new work.


Chapter 1: Introductions

Date: 5th Kythorn (June), year 1372 DR (The Year of Wild Magic)
Location: Phlan, on the northern shore of the Moonsea.

You have spent six boring days in Phlan, a small city that is currently, once again, being rebuilt after one of many wars. It is the beginning of the summer. It has rained a lot, so streets and roads are muddy.

You are:
- Atair of Arabel, a cormyrean smith
- Davorin of Tantras, a shrewd, rapier-wielding mageling
- Gregor of Tilverton, a multi-talented mageling
- Saer, a somewhat mysterious Sembian
- Taiko, a barbarian from north of High Forest

None of you have any money left – you can´t even afford your cheap inn, Nat Wyler's Bell. You haven´t found any jobs as of yet, but now you have to stop being picky.

You pick up a rumour about a caravan moving north, led by the merchant Jhonen. You seek him out and manage to persuade him to hire you as outriders.


Chapter 2: Guarding Jhonen´s caravan

5th Kythorn (June), year 1372 DR (The Year of Wild Magic)
Phlan, on the northern shore of the Moonsea.

You leave Phlan towards Melvaunt, but soon turn north on a smaller road alongside River Stojanow.

After a couple of hours you find a spear with some ten severed goblin heads tied to it. Next to the spear some weird symbols are painted on a large rock. You cannot decipher them, but guess it´s the runes of the local barbarians.

These are dangerous lands, but the first day and night passes without any incidents. On the morning the second day however, you are attacked by a band of hideous goblins! They surprise you and surround you, and Taiko is seriously injured by a rock from the goblin leader´s sling. But soon you have the situation under control, and Gregor heals Taiko with his magecraft.


Chapter 3: Thorsen and the failed ambush

6th Kythorn, 1372 DR (The Year of Wild Magic)
The Wilderness north of Phlan.

You continue north, through the warm rain, on the muddy roads, and approach Thorsen in the afternoon. The village stinks of pigfarming.

You encounter some of the villagers as you rest at the Hogs Trotters Inn. You promise a teenage girl named Dalla a ride towards Aylesford. A weiry-eyed hag curses you as none of you wants to buy her divination services or potions: "The spirits are offended! They tell me of misfortunes in your path and the wrath of the dead! I see the raggedy man waiting for you with pain in his mind and blood on his hands. I see your suffering and fear. I hear the lamentations of your loved ones and many graves to be dug!"

You rushes to help Jhonen when he is attacked by an old enemy, a local merchant named Marquat.

Early next morning you continue north. The wide plains known as The Ride lies to your left, a magnificent sight.

You spend one night with a pack of wolves circling your camp, but they dare not attack you.

The next day your caution pays off, as you notice an ambush before it springs upon you: a group of barbarian riders is lurking in the bushes. After a short fight you have killed all four of them. But were they only four? You continue towards Aylesford, now more cautious than ever …


Chapter 4: The Massacre

6th Kythorn, 1372 DR (The Year of Wild Magic)
The wilderness south of Aylesford, between The Ride and Thar.

You approach the village of Aylesford, but soon you notice something isn´t right. You find a dead man lying in the middle of the road. The body shows signs of brutal violence done by blade or claws.

You search for any survivors in the village. In a mill you find two families hidden, chocked but unharmed. The rest of the village is dead or on the run.

You begin the extremely unpleasent work to gather bodies to burn them in one one the houses, but it gets dark before you are done, and you take cover inside the temple of Chauntea. You even bring all the horses inside.

The beast attacks at night – a large, strange creature, some kind of crossbreed of man and bear, but with horns and equipped with a spear. Together you manage to put it down before it can kill again.

Gregor see a lone rider out on a field. He rides away quickly.


Chapter 5: Return to Phlan

7th Kythorn, 1372 DR (The Year of Wild Magic)
Aylesford, a village between The Ride and Thar.

In the morning, you continue gathering the dead and then set fire to them. You also set fire to the dead beast, after Davorin made a sketch of it.

You talk to Jhonen, and he demand to be escorted back to Phlan as soon as possible. He just want his men to go through the empty buildings in the village first – the dead won´t complain, right? You agree.

The surviving villagers finds a couple of wagons and horses to drag them, and joins you. One family stops at Thorsen, the other go with you all the way to Phlan. Dalla has become fond of Saer and also go with you to Phlan.

Attair mends Davorins broken raiper and finds a stash of good carpentry wood.

You investigate the tracks for the lone rider on the field. He came from the north, and left the same way.

You all have nightmares of your experiences in Aylesford.

When you arrive in Thorsen you meet the village elders to warn them about what happened in Aylesford. They are worried, but can´t afford to pay you to do anything. They just muster some extra village guards.

Jhonen tells some stories of Phlans tragic history.

9th Kythorn, 1372 DR
- You are back in Phlan, and Jhonen pays you as agreed, 60 silver pieces each. You part from him and Utuk and settle at the The Laughing Goblin inn.
- You learn the recent talk of the town: The inn you stayed at the last time you were here, Nat Wyler's Bell, has been attacked. Armed men kidnapped the innkeeper gnome Gnahac Gnarlnose and set fire to the building, but neighbours and city guard saved it before it was severly damaged. Gnarlnose was found beaten in an alley in the morning.

10th Kythorn, 1372 DR
- Saer and Davorin visits the city guard office and gets to talk to one Hosian, some kind of advisor to the ruling Council of Ten. He seem really worried about your story from Aylesford, although he says the council don´t have resources to patrol the north. He promises to talk to the council about the massacre.
- Attair hires a smithy and starts creating a scalemail helmet for Taiko. It will take him four days.

11-13th Kythorn, 1372 DR
- Saer and Davorin visits the temple of Tyr. They show the sketch of the beast for the elder priest, but he does not recognize it.
- You look for any sages, but find out Phlan don´t have any resident scholars, except for the wizardess Rowena.
- Taiko works some manual labour at a construction site.
- Saer visits Nat Wyler's Bell, but Gnahac Gnarlnose doesn´t want to talk about what happened. He seem nervous.
- Taiko works as bodyguard for a local gem merchant.

 

[Necross]

Chapter 6: The precious box

13th Kythorn, 1372 DR (The Year of Wild Magic)
Phlan, a town on the northern shore of the Moonsea.

You gather this evening as usual at your inn, The Laughing Goblin. Just before going to bed, you catch a masked burglar going through stuff in the room shared by Gregor, Attair and Davorin. It turns out to be a young woman calling herself Ava, and when put under some pressure, she confesses that she was hired by a man named Patch, a shady character currently staying at another inn in town, the Bitter Blade.

Ava also tells you that she was specifically told to steal a certain object – a small box of precious wood, said to be in you´re possession. Only Gregor and Davorin seem to know about this box, which Gregor has hidden under his mattress. He hasn´t been able to open it, it is locked with a good lock.

Gregor confesses to have found the box in the wagon of Ulrich, the servant of Gond you guarded earlier, but who was killed by masked men (see “Prologue”).

After some effort, Saer manages to pick the lock of the box. Inside, you find many layers of thick, purple velvet, and in this cloth lie fragments of what seem to be bone. Many shards, fifty or hundred in various sizes. You study it close and notices it must be fragments of a human skull. Most of the larger shards has weird, indecipherable runes carved or painted on them.

You think about confronting Patch, but Saer get´s a bad feeling about how easy Ava was captured, and how easy she talked. You instead choose to leave Phlan in a hurry, this very night. You move east, toward Melvaunt, with intention of finding out more about Ulrich of Gond and his mysterious box.


15th Kythorn, 1372 DR (The Year of Wild Magic)
Melvaunt, a large city on the northern shore of the Moonsea.

Arriving in the bustling but polluted city, known for it´s industries and cutthroat politics, you head directly for the Purple Portals, the renowned temple of Gond the Wonder-maker. There you try to get to audience with the high priest, to possibly sell the box, presumably some kind of relic. But getting the high priest attention doesn´t seem to be easy – there seem to be quite a bit of bureaucracy to penetrate.

You get rooms at the Breakwater, a multi-story inn favored by adventurers.

The next day, you once again visit the Purple Portals. The high priest isn´t available, but the clerk promises that you´re matter is “priority”.

Leaving the temple, you are approached by a human Gond-priest called Fing. He offers to take a look at the relic box, and possible relieve you of it. You turn him down – you want to talk to the high priest.

Later you notice you are being followed by a ordinary looking young man. You trap him at the Breakwater and put´s him under pressure. He tells you his name is Tom, that he is the son of a senior servant in the Purple Portals, and that he was hired by the priest Fing to follow you, reporting back with your doings in the city.

Spoiler: kommentarer

Har ni anpassat reglerna nått?

Nja, inte direkt, ännu. Hade tänkt skapa egna guilds/factions/cults senare, när det behövs (men det är ju inte direkt "regler"). Och jag tänkte försöka ordna regler för t ex scrolls, potions och magiska föremål, eller kolla upp det i nån RQ-bok. Det känns ju fel att lira FR utan sånt. Eller hur menar du? Nåt speciellt du undrar?

Jag menar typ så, eller nått. Var mest nyfiken.

 

[Necross]

Chapter 7: Into Thar

16th Kythorn, 1372 DR (The Year of Wild Magic)
Melvaunt, a large city on the northern shore of the Moonsea.

You decide to once again visit the Purple Portals. You are once again denied to see the high priest, and you once again choose not to hand over the box to Fing, who seem very eager to get it.

A couple of days pass. You sell some loot and try to find work.

One night you are approached by a teenage boy, Nikolai Stendale, who offers to hire you. He takes you to his aged uncle Sergor Stendale, sage and proprietor of a small antique shop in the northeast part of Melvaunt.

Old Sergor tells you that ”the orcs and ogres of Thar tell stories of the legendary Vorbyx, first King of Thar and the only being to ever unite the various warring tribes and races of that harsh land. No one remembers who Vorbyx was outside of these legends—or even what kind of creature he was. The ogres and orcs each claim him as one of their own, but many sages feel Vorbyx could just as easily been another type of creature altogether—a demon or devil, perhaps, or something entirely different.”

The mission is simple. You are to escort young Nikolai to a place known as Vorbyx´s Watchpost, some two days into Thar. The boy know what to do there. Then you shall bring him safe back to Melvaunt. You will be payed 45 silver falcons per days work.

20th Kythorn, 1372 DR

You leave for Thar with Nikolai Stendale. The Glister road is known for being a dangerous one, but you seem lucky. You encounter some caravans and messengers, but no bandits, goblinoids or wandering monsters.

Midday on the second day of your journey, Nikolai tells you it´s time to leave the road and ride east. He points at a mesa plateau at the horizon – Vorbyx´s Watchpost.

You enter a man-made tunnel at the bottom of the mesa and soon find a large foul-smelling cave. Here are some kind of predator´s nest, a large collection of sticks and bones. At the top of the nest lie several dead humans – killed not that long ago. Nikolai say this is nothing interesting, and you rush further into a tunnel that winds upwards, up into the plateau.

You find another large cave. Here are some weird holes in both floor and walls, about fist-sized and really deep. A tunnel continues upwards, but you decide to first investigate an passage in the western wall. It´s a ledge from where you can see the surroundings west of the mesa. The whole ledge is covered in skeletal remains, and as you investigate them, three skeletal, wolf-like creatures arise!


Chapter 8: The hidden map

21nd Kythorn, 1372 DR (The Year of Wild Magic)
Vorbyx´s Watchpost, Thar.

Some of you have trouble battling these undead horrors, and Gregor is seriously wounded in both arms. But Attair let´s his big hammer speak and you manage to leave the encounter victorious.

You tend your wounds and continue upwards. In the next cave are more of the mysterious holes, as well as four dead humans, heavily armed, possibly adventurers. You guess they´ve been dead no more than a week or two.

The north western wall is painted with strange patterns. It vaguely resembles a map, but you cannot recognize of what. While you focus on looting the bodies, Nikolai investigates the painted wall. He inserts some kind of object in a small cavity – and suddenly the painted patterns lights up with magical light! New patterns become visible, and now you all see that the painting indeed is a map, and it´s a map over Thar and it´s vicinity.

Both Nikolai and Davorin start to sketch copies of the map, a rather complicated task.

Suddenly a weird sound is heard from the northern wall, and a small hole opens up! A fist-sized eye looks at you from the whole. It has some kind of small antenna-like outgrowth on it´s top, like a crown. From one of the “antennas” a beam of light shoots out, blasting a hole in the floor. You gather your things and run, but when you get to the cave two floors down, the exit is blocked by two of these eye-creatures, floating in the air and shooting deadly bolts of energy at you! You decides that you have what you came here for, and escape instead of battling these foul aberrations.

On your way back to Melvaunt you encounter two battered riders. They claim to be the only survivors of a caravan attacked by many orcs about a days ride north. You tend their wounds and they accompany you back to the city.

You escort Nikolai back to Sergors shop and are payed your services. The old man seem very excited about the map, but he need time to study it before he can promise you any more work.


Downtime – 4 weeks pass:

• Saer leaves. He mentions that ”No one is safe in my company. The bounty hunters are here.”

• On the 20[SUP]th [/SUP]Kythorn the summer solstice are celebrated, mainly in more rural areas and among druids, not much in the Moonsea area.

• By trading in your story of the fate of Aylesford to the local temple of Oghma (The House of Scholars), the clerics there tell you that the spider symbol you found might have something to do with “The Spider Queen”, a deity worshipped by the drow, the ebony-skinned elves that dwell in the Underdark. But they don´t know what the spider being seven-legged mean.

• Your cautious research about Netheril and the skull fragments are not yet successful. It seem the subject is taboo among mundane scholars, and rare also among sorcerers.

• You once again visit the Purple Portals to get to know when you are allowed to meet the high priest. But you are told that your request has been stuck from the records! Mysterious indeed …

• You all take time to study: Attair learns teaching, Taiko and Davorin learn sling (from a drunk halfling) and Gregor learn recurve bow (from a elven master who also trains the best Melvaunt army archers).

• Gregor are recruited by the city guard and signs a 3 week contract.

• Rumour: Orc-attacks are getting more frequent up north. Roads and farms are attacked. Some farmers have disappeared.

• Rumour: Two melvauntian diplomats have died during strange circumstances in Mulmaster. One was found drowned in the harbour, the other was killed in a robbery. Does this mean more hostilities between the two city-states? Is war getting closer?

• Rumour: Several young nobles have disappeared. All of them are heirs to their families. Hired goons are running up and down the streets of Melvaunt trying to find these missing youths, turning the city´s underworld upside down. Without any success though, yet.

 

[Necross]

Chapter 9: The Missing Scions

25nd Flamerule, 1372 DR (The Year of Wild Magic)
Melvaunt.

You have been invited to dinner by Attairs sister Ilyssas father-in-law, Lord Woarsten Nanther. He is the Lord Chancellor of the Council of Iron and one of Melvaunts most powerful men.

Lord Nanther offers you 500 gold lions to find his missing son Oreal Nanther, the family heir. He has been missing for five days now and the lord is very worried. What has happened to him? Does his disappearance have anything to do with the other missing nobles, also heirs?

On your way from Nanther Keep you are followed by two men. You catch one of them and Davorin uses magic to make his tell you that he was hired by one Rubar Goldtooth, some kind of criminal leader who usually can be found at the Rusty Bucket.

 

[Necross]

Chapter 10: Investigating

25nd Flamerule, 1372 DR (The Year of Wild Magic)
Melvaunt.

You begin your search for clues about the missing scions by visiting House Calaudra, the half-elf horse traders. You get to meet Andros Calaudra, leader of the house and father of the missing Kara, and his sister Maerwen, wizard mentor of Kara. They can´t give you any real clues, but they know Kara has been seeing Elaint Marsk a lot, and that boy is a bad influence on her. There has been talk of adventuring into Thar.

Before you leave Calaudra Hall you seek out the family stable master. He confess that Kara seem to have been stealing several horses from the stables during the latest months, but he has not told Andros.

You go to see Vanth Bruil, leader of house Bruil. He is the father of Halmuth Bruil, the infamous Lord of Keys, but has disinherited him in favour for his bastard grandson, Argens – now disappeared.

Vanth is an old man, but still practice fencing in the backyard. He is disappointed that Halmath don´t seem to put enough effort to find Argens. He cannot help you a lot, but informs you that Argens is a devoted follower of Tyr, the god of justice, and is training in the local temple to become a paladin.

You hurry off to visit the temple of Tyr, the Hall of Justice. The cleric Jens Galt tell you that Argens Bruil newly asked him to pray to Tyr for a prophecy about a certain location in Thar, but Galt couldn´t help him with that service.

You believe that Argens might have searched for such a divination at some other temple, so you visit some other temples without any luck.

You spend the night roaming various taverns to find out more about the missing scions, but information is scarce at best.

Late, on your way back to your inn, you are blocked by four brutes armed with cudgels. They tell you to stop investigating the disappearances and attacks you. You defeat them and get them to tell you that they was sent by Rubar Goldtooth.

 

[God45]

Vilda spekulationer:

Spoiler

Jag får rejäla The Dead Three vibbar hittills. Är skallen en av de där skallarna som Bane, Bhaal och Myrkul tävlade med när de skulle bli gudar innan Malar lade sig i och de spelade tärning istället? Och någon vill ha den i ett försök att bli en gud. Har jag rätt?

 

[Necross]

Vilda spekulationer:

Måste nog avstå från att kommentera det!

 

[Necross]

(OBS! SPOILERVARNING! Eftersom jag använder en del köpe-äventyr i den här kampanjen finns risk för att spoilers. Jag vill dock helst inte nämna här vilka äventyr jag använder - om det är intressant för dig kan du skicka mig ett pm. /Necross)

Chapter 11: Investigating, part 2

26th Flamerule, 1372 DR (The Year of Wild Magic)
Melvaunt.

You go to find The Crow´s Nest and Rubar Goldtooth. After some confusion you learn that the place has changed name to Devil´s Fire Tavern, but Goldtooth is still involved, although the barkeep claim he is not.

Taiko follows a man who leaves the Devil´s Fire Tavern. He enters a large building in the eastern part of the harbour. You find out that this is The Resting Place of the Whip, a temple devoted to Loviatar, goddess of pain.

You are denied to meet someone from the powerful Leiyraghon family.

You visit Ilyanna Marsk, mother of the disappeared Elaint. You are allowed to search his living quarters, but don´t find anything interesting.

At night you return to the Devil´s Fire Tavern. Rubar Goldtooth is in the back room, but he is not interested in meeting you. You once again encounter the strange “Loviatar-man”, and Davorin uses magic to make him think they are old friends. He tell you that Goldtooth are “trying to sell him cursed goods”, something about “they have magical tattoos” and that “the tattoos can be marks of the former owners”. The man is not interested in doing business with Goldtooth.

Back at the Breakwater Inn you meet Gregor, who has done some research on his own. He has spoken to the guard captain at the north city gate, who told him that six heavily cloaked riders left the gate seven nights ago. He recognized one of them as Dorn Crownshield, a veteran adventurer.

27th Flamerule, 1372 DR (The Year of Wild Magic)
Melvaunt.

You visit the House of Scholars, the temple of Oghma, god of knowledge, where Elaint Marsk is a cleric in training. His teacher Krystof of Vaasa tell you that Elaint indeed has been to Thar a couple of times already. You are shown some ugly old orc artifacts that Elaint has donated to the temple.

You go to The Frothy Beard, a tavern favoured by dwarves. You are told that Dorn Crownshield is a renowned orc slayer. He recently boasted something about “taking his younglings on their first real Thar adventure”.