Meet 72, Adv 5, 1/12/19

Lot of town and Larping this meeting, fluff galore. As one of the players pointed out - didn't think he rolled a d20 all night. Sometimes it happens. I've said it before - I don't hand have all the minutia and travel away - it removes from the game and the experience at the table.

For NPC's, I have a random generator I made up a while ago to give me 75% of the character in question, all I need to fill in the "type" (Commoner, warrior, expert, adventurer) and the "Class" (linkboy, shieldbearer, armorer, cleric, etc...) and hit f9 - program does the rest.

Write up follows:

On Spiritmonth the 4th about 9:30 we left the Flying Pegasus and made our way westward through the northern district until we arrived at our location – a tall 3 story structure taking up almost the entire block and identified in multiple languages as the Greater Rand Sellsword and Adventurer’s Guild. The place was well lit, neat, in good repair, and there was the main double doors leading in, and a side door where a queue of 40 or so souls were waiting in line to get in.

We asked what that was and were told that the guild Apothecist, Nythis, opened the doors here to the workshop after 8 and until 12 where he sold his healing potions to first come first serve. They were cheap, like seriously cheap – and well under what one would expect to spend. The chimney alongside the workshop section of the Guildhall had a pinkish tinged smoke coming out and there was the faint scent of berries in the air. The line was long, and most people had to wait a half hour or longer. Also, he made a certain amount each day and if wanted some, you had to make sure you came early enough to get because 150 or so was the most he made.

As for price, 17 if you were a guild member, 35 if you were not. Crowns. That’s…it? It seemed so cheap! We would mull on it another time because instead we entered the locale. A couple of tired looking half-ogres were sitting here on the sturdy couches when a half-elven thinnish man with long dark hair pulled into a pony tail came in and introduced himself as Pha-iyr Carom, the guild’s Facilitator.

He took us through some of the local halls and to a largish meeting room capable of seating 20. From there we talked about our group, gave him our letters of recommendation from Tropor Darbeard and Third Reeve Speero Illytch and talked about what we’ve done.

There was a charter for us to sign and we were allowed to read it a bit and discuss it while he had Bjorn Durkenlurk, a 50’s plus human male wearing a set of grey wizard’s robes come in. Identified as the Master of the Guild, he took us through the charter line by line.

Most of the rules made sense and were designed to support and bolster the guild and its members together. If an adventuring group is in trouble and you can help, you help. If another guild your members belong to want you to do something against either the Adventuring Guild or another group in the adventuring guild, you are not bound to do so and can tell them to get stuffed.

If you want to put something in the guild vault – it can be left their safely for 90 days at 2% of its value. No one can take it out, no one can for the guild to take it out. And even if something goes wrong, they’ll continue to hold for another 180 days until you show up and pay or they have to them sell the contents. And finally the guild wants 1% of all coin, riches or easily transmuted treasures up to 200 nobles per foray.

There were at least 15 other larger adventuring groups like ours, and hundreds of private individuals making the total member roster between 3 and 4 hundred based upon Bjorn’s dropped notes and hints. The Guild has their own Guider for the Dead if we needed services and the Esquire and Lawyer, a 20-something blond pony tailed woman named Hubiula Asalin was here to ratify our signatures and get us officially in.

When it came time for questions, Hjalgrim had taken an aggressive stance with Hubuila and the tow of them got to words before the dwarven knight stormed out of the meeting room and got one of the Half-ogres to go get Pha-iyr for him to talk to instead. The party did sign off on the document, some of them reading it, some of them not. We also picked a name: Vanguard of Ragnarok and then had to pick a nominal head of the group. It was not a leadership position, but it was the head of the group and the person(s) the Greater Rand Sellsword and Adventuring Group (GRSAG) would contact if need be. We talked amongst ourselves for some time until it was put to vote and Thalin was chosen by an almost twice the amount over the next person Darius who was 50% more desired than Hjalgrim. So we put all 3 names on in that order, had it signed by Hubuila and we were official.

We were given a small list of current “adventures” that were open at this time for anyone to participate in and reminded to NOT buy a portal stone from someone other than Bork Keep and that we should talk to Julian the Sage tomorrow to get some information about the Terror Dungeon.

We then wanted to meet with what insurance companies were around and willing to back our party. Three were about: the Gorokian Collective, House Daracloak, and Lord Shonar. The Gorokian Collective was a dwarven backers from Gorok who were willing to insure us for 4 forays, a successful foray being called 200 nobles. They wanted 35% of all liquidable treasures and 75% of all weapons and armor; anything else was ours. Each foray would reduce both percentages by 10% accordingly. They would offer 1 raise dead for each person on the charter with a cost of 1,000 crowns should another one be needed afterwards (limit of 2 total). Resurrection was offered as well a total of 1 partywide, with a 2nd and beyond costing 5,000 crowns per instance. Status issues would be at a reduced rate if need be.

House Daracloak was a trading company with ties to the oldest Sovereign Kingdom of Grimyria and their rep was a human (?) named Lord Mayfacto Daracloak. They offered 40% of all treasures regardless with a 5% reduction each foray for a maximum of 6 (with a minimum total emergence of 500 nobles for the foray to count). They also covered any status injury…but…they offered no raise dead or resurrection and the deal was anyone who dies, their bodies were to be given to House Daracloak and eventually Grimyria. We thanked him and he left, Dizzy convinced the insurance guy was a real vampire.

Finally Lord Shonar came in, the nobleman himself coming to talk to us. He was able to trace his lineage and presence in Erylond back to the Ymira of Rand and before then – the nobleman house and merchant operation having the money, time, contacts, and riches to be one of the players and shapers of Erylond these last 300 years. He had a different scale with 10% for the first foray and an additional 7 ½% for each foray afterwards, a successful foray being 250 nobles. They also offered 5 Raise Deads, 2 Resurrections, and 3 Status correction remedies for the entire party with a reduced cost for any afterwards if need be.

After they all left we liked Lord Shonar’s option and even though we were talking about going in the first time ourselves, if we did want an insurance collective, it would most likely be that one.

Back at the Flying Pegasus we rested and the next morning Teranys was able to wrangle up 3 clerics that were “looking for group” for us to interview based upon our request to add one to our roster. The first was a late 20’s 6’ tall well-built human male named Fren. Reddish hair, green eyed, worshipper of Odin, he had been in the Terror Dungeon 7 times, twice a porter and 5 times as a party member. We talked for a bit about his time and references and although he seemed good, we wanted to talk to the next two.

The next was a slightly taller human, bald, perhaps in his mid-20’s, follower of Tyr named Beiti. He had a two handed sword on his back that was his father’s and also had a smaller broad sword at his side. He had been in the Terror Dungeon twice, once with a group for less than a day and they ran out after losing some party members, and again for four and a half weeks when the group he was with fell down a large pit and dropped to the 4th level where they spent all that time trying to get out in the dark with no frame of references. Seemed a bit clumsy but we thanked him, most of the group feeling he wasn’t the best fit for us.

The last was a young dwarf, like real young. Named Brading, if he was human he’d barely be 16, 42 for dwarf age, and from Sorton, was a prospector and ranger for his family, the Scorlings. A follower of Heimdall and miner as well, he had face numerous issues and dangers in the wyld – but wanted to be something more than what he was. He had the call for adventure and after selling his sword (axes, actually) so even though he had never been in the Terror Dungeon, he was anxious to join a group and help if possible.

After meeting all three, we decided that Brading was the best bet and fit for us so we were going to approach him later and then go see Julian the Sage and equip before heading off to Bork Keep the following day.

Meet 71, Adv 5, 1/5/19

Took long enough but the group is finally on the heart of the locale and adventure for this campaign. I've run the Terror Dungeon before many many years ago when it was "new" and "fresh" - only discovered and opened perhaps a year. The party that had gone in ended up getting wiped on the 3rd level by Minotaurs so never actually discovered the purpose of the dungeon and some of the hidden bennies.

So when this group wandered into Erylond I have moved time forward 15 years of so since the last campaign had been here and that means much of the place has been explored (upper levels) and there are secrets revealed which the party will get a leg up on. BUT, the dungeon is a living environment and there is a outside issue they have to contend with regarding the Ravenstone that Barb has and Lord Emberwine wants. And the two forces are gossamerly linked together and going to drive the campaign forward.

Write up for the 5th adventure, "The Crackling Terror" begins here:

The group spent the better part of two weeks training, outfitting as needed, closing up any loose ends with Sorton and House Illytch, and finishing up our training as need be. At the end of it all, it was Spiritmonth the 1st and we had joined up with a caravan from House Illytch to Erylond and we were on our way.

The fall was cruising along, days getting shorter and temperatures dropping. The warmest days barely hit 50 and most of the trees had made the shift to vibrant colors already and were shedding leaves swiftly. Between our 12 (13 with Bobkins!), the 6 caravan guards, the 10 caravaneers, and the other 7 travellers, we were a large enough group that most of the local orcish barbarian tribes gave us no trouble.

With the arrival of the late fall months, many of the nomadic tribes had moved their semi-permanent homes closer to the roads to sell their wares and maybe trade (or steal!) until the Reetersbeard Caravan was due to come through again in the mid spring or later. Most everyone gave the orcish Randari a wide berth but Barb did make it her business to trade for some of the local wares and thanked them for their efforts.

Many of the caravan guards had a different view of things, the orcs were a nuisance and should be ignored, pushed back, or rounded up and resettled – it rankled the group and there were some nudging words back and forth over it before the caravanmaster had his men give the party a break and ordered them to stay away.

It was late in the evening when we arrived at the former orcish hilltop keep that had been repurposed as the Iron Toad Inn and Tavern. Well lit and easily defended, it was a fine place for us to rest. Meal was paid for but the group had an upgrade on their room and took their time with a bath and better choice of drink.

We were gone by 8 in the morning the following day, the temperature closer to 47 than not, with the Moratian Mountains giving way to the foothills and then eventually the low valleys where our next stop was to be – the heavily dwarven township of Tariz. Originally orcish, it had been settled by ex-patriots from Jarl’s Tooth and Sorton, most of the town’s 500 denizens being dwarvish or human, and the perhaps 30 or so orcish descended citizenry although “free” had a servile and stepford look to them. There were three inns in town, but only one of them would take our mixed company, another reason for some of the caravaneers to complain about us.

The Rotting Fish was in the poorest section of town, but the inn was surprisingly large and in good repair. It was hostelled by an orcish former arena champion for the League of Odin named Thorfeld. He was gracious to the party even though the food was a poorer than we had been used to, and he did rent us out a larger room for everyone to sleep in for what we thought was a decently low price. The brew to drink was something referred to as “Wolf Piss” which although was not an enticing name, was however a delicious bitter with an acerbic tinge that was surprisingly delicious.

He bent our ear about the Terror Dungeon, advising us to check it out and get out before we wound up dead, and that we were welcome back to Tariz and his employ should we need be.

On the following day we were out again after dawn and on our way to Erylond. The Enderlyn River burbled wide to our south, 800’ wide and moving at a stately clip. There was a bridge spanning it here, in poor repair and no longer capable it would seem of supporting columns of travelers, but possible to cross. Beyond in the distant on the horizon, there were smudges of smoke as if someone lived out there but the map we had only showed something about “Old Erylond” and no other locations marked or mentioned.

By 5:30 we had come upon Erylond itself. The city was situated on a large artificial rise near the River and enclosed in three successively smaller rings of 30’ tall walls, 9’ deep, that cordoned off more and more parts of the city. We waited at the gate for a bit and then once inside, were thanked by the caravanmaster, and given advice that we should go to the north section of town and seek an inn called the Flying Pegasus, right near the adventurer’s guild.

Erylond was home to over a hundred thousand citizens of all types. Many were going about their business as usual, some were armed and armored like us, and others were of a caliber beyond our capabilities at this time. Almost 4 miles oval, we walked though many districts: Religious, sages and records, lower class, weapons, arcane, clothiers. Along the next gate, marked as “Thakian” were the livestock section where beyond we could see various farms, demesnes, and other locales that brought their wares into the city for the teeming throng.

Beyond was the provisioners, the training grounds, the adventuring guild, and then on the north wall was the Flying Pegasus Inn – 4 stories tall, and a stone statue of a Pegasus on the roof as if in mid flight. Not too far from here was the smithing district that we could hear but we went up to the Pegasus ready to go in.

The bouncer, a huge brute of a man over 330 lbs and past 6’ 5”, stopped us and gave us a few rules. Name was Akron and the proprietor of the Pegasus was a well liked man named Teranys. No fighting in the Inn ever. We thanked him, and were introduced to Teranys. Almost 50, nondescript, but everyone in the Inn gave him a toast as he walked through and the group inexplicably liked him and found him ok to deal with.

Having a section of the bar cleared off and us in place, food came out as well as drink and he answered some questions for us about the Terror Dungeon. Even though he had some information for us, he suggested that we talk to Julian the Sage tomorrow before we trip down to Bork Keep. But before anything else, we needed to go to the Adventuring Guild and get a charter. So we were going to finish our meal and then make the trip to the Guild and get that done next before turning in for the night.