My daughter is back home after 2 plus years in FLA for college and before she came back, asked if she could have her friends over again for D&D. And she wanted me to run it for them again. So I've carved out some Wednesday nights for now and had them roll up the five count of characters. No one is playing a front line person!
Human wizard, half-elven sorcerer, gnomish wizard, half-elven druid, human cleric.
All a mix of 1st and 3.5 edition. So I took them through a modified start of Temple of Elemental Evil and they made their way to Hommlet
Follows:
Some three years earlier a poor excuse for a wizard made a serious of mistaken summoning attempts, ripping the safeguards and wards between our world and the beyond, and tried his best to wrest the attention and control of a demonic entity in order to exact his vengeance against a perceived slight from another wizard’s school.
This single cataclysmic event allowed the demon, Iuz the Foul, to enter our world. After shattering the paltry wards keeping him in space, he immediately summoned his 7 lieutenants to his side. They in turn summoned their 7 next most powerful aides, and so on until like a devouring wave, the Demon Wars were unleashed on our world.
In the intervening 29 months, it has taken an almost heroic and miraculous amount of effort, spells, swords, and loss of wizards and clerics that will shake the world for generations to come, before Iuz and his henchmen have been brought to bay one at a time. Since they are here on the Prime Material Plane, if they are slain, they will be returned to Hell where they will plunge through the Astral Plane much diminished and be denied portalling back for 100 years. Iuz is in retreat at this time but he is not defeated and is marshalling his forces for another attempt at conquest.
Verbonbac, where you and your friends have been for the last few years, is within striking distance of Iuz the Foul. The Council of Guilds wants to prevent Iuz from rebuilding his magics so has been closing and dismantling repositories in his way. Which resulted in you and your friends getting this letter a few months ago:
Congratulations on your final weeks tenure at the Verbonbac University for Higher Learning. Consider this letter as your acertation that you have completed the necessary work, study, and efforts to have achieved the status of Journeyman in your related fields.
As you are aware, the city of Verbonbac had been under the threat of the Iuz the Foul for these last 2 years. Even though his forces have been met in the field and dispersed for now, the Council of Guilds have decided for the time being to shutter the University at this time to prevent any possible issues or loss of life.
Because of this, we are reassigning your commissions to the east. Since the University is to be closed, there is no need for professorship or teaching positions to be filled at this time. What we have done though is shuffled your Journeyman cards with the Guild of Adventurers and will be sending you into the field for some practical work and potential learning! Isn’t that great? Aren’t you all lucky!
You are hereby ordered to make your way east to the end of the Duchy where you will make your home at a city called Hommlet. According to some rough reports from the King’s Men, a number of odd weather incidents have occurred there in the last number of months. This could be happenstance, or something that might be residual from Iuz the Foul and his demonic influences. Either way, you are reported to attend to the matters and resolve them. Only then and upon completion are you then allowed to return to Greyhawk, The Shining Jewel.
Once again, congratulations on your graduation and your new assignment.
Wizardlord Mordenkainen,
Archmage,
Greyhawk
It seems that the presence of a powerful demonic entity can have a direct effect on local weather patterns. With so many being investigated throughout the land, and the lack of possible investigators, your commission as teachers and professors in the College have been handed over to the Adventuring Guild. Effectively, you’ve been drafted to investigate and if need be, resolve this matter.
So, you and your friends set out from Verboncac on a single wagon with a poor horse and enough food and water for 2 weeks to the far end of the Duchy to the Town of Hommlet. Ophelia, the human Priestess of Athena; Aredhel, Half-elven Sorcerer and her fraternal twin Albert the Human Wizard; Pestle, the gnomish Wizard; and Rowan, Half-Elven Druid of Demeter. It has been a long journey and the party’s thoughts are dark and grey as the miles fade behind him. Finally on Birthmonth the 4th, 195, Courtsday, they came at long last down the long road to Hommlet.
Where they immediately felt even more betrayed. As it wasn’t a city. Barely a town. Maybe 30 buildings? Not counting barns. The first person they saw, a farmer, offered little welcome and pointed out that they should just “keep going to the Inn of the Welcome Wench, ya daft sheets got no time ta be talkin’ to road morons wandrin’ in from Zeus knows where…”
Clearly we were not going to be making friends.
The group followed the road to a decent sized 3 story structure with a carthouse and stables. A stablehand and two younger assistants came out. Named Ales, they bartered the horse and cart being stabled, even promising to fix the wonky wheel. We entered the Inn of the Welcome Wench where Ostler Gundigroot, Innkeeper, was more welcoming to us. We ate some mutton and mead, chatted a bit about the strange issues, and he directed us to go and talk to the Village Elder “down the road to the east.” He did confide that he was on the Elder’s council (numbering 7) and that Hommlet has had some “strange goings on, but doesn’t everyplace nowadays?”
We arranged a room and then after finishing our repast, went east. Near some keep and tower construction being put in place, we came upon the Elder’s Manorhouse. The gate was closed and we rang the bell until a well dressed manservant came out. He immediately took umbrage with Albert and then refused to even announce us. The group tried again, counseling Albert to “rein it in”, this time getting the manservant, Ventatia, to bring them in.
The Elder was an older man, maybe 60 plus, and he had 4 sons, two of which were very young (under 10), and two others that were in their 30’s. Named Auva, we discussed the strange going ons with the weather. Bouts of rain that were barely an hour long but dropped 2 or even more inches of water. A fire at the stonemason’s that consumed part of the wall. Even a situation at the north end of town where the waterwheel slipped off its foundation. The party can investigate, please, but DO NOT ALARM THE PEOPLE. If there is an issue? Bring it to him and the council's attention immediately. He did drop Burne and Rufus’s name, located at the tower. Burne was the town’s wizard. Also mentioned Terjon, cleric at the church of St. Cuthbert. As for the stonemason, name was Grove and he might be able to shed more light.
We opted to talk with Grove first. The Stonemason was affable and we spoke with him for a bit. There was a kiln on the east side of his yard where he made bricks and had been a hay pile on the west end of his yard. 10 or so days ago a freak fire started at the hay and consumed it all – even cracking the stone wall. But NOT the mortar. How would it start over there? The burn made no sense, neither did the destruction. Terjon had already investigated it and said that it was an accident and not a sign.
Albert and Pestle wanted to spend some time really checking it out so while they investigated the place, Ophelia, Aredhel, and Rowan went to the tower at the construction site to see if they could talk with Burne. The tower had been finished, rising 55’ over the ground, and the foundations of the keep were being put in place. Guards were watching us and eventually we met with Rufus. Rufus was in his mid 20’s, not too bright, pretty strong, and fancied himself a lady’s man. He took immediately to Aredhel and Ophelia, almost ignoring Rowan.
He and Burne arrived here 3 years ago, commissioned by the Viscount to help oversee the construction of the keep. Upon completion the Viscount was going to lord someone in town, most likely on the council, and Rufus hopes it’s him. He was chatty and led the group up the tower to Burnes’ room. Burnes was not like Rufus; a notch over 40, small pot belly, reedy, thin, wispy hair. He was also wearing a traditional wizard’s robe and hat festooned with stars, moons, and symbols. He had a habit of calling himself, “Burnes, his most Worshipful Mage of Hommlet”. They also realized that Burnes was most likely not his given name, but another name he gave himself. They talked for a bit, got the impression that he was a follower of St Cuthbert, and spoke highly of Terjon. “If he said there’s nothing to worry about, then there is nothing to worry about.”
He mentioned a few times that the group would be done in a few days with their investigation, see there was nothing to be concerned about, and be on their way soon. Rowan played coy and thanked the wizard, and Rufus led them back out of the tower, promising to “come to the Welcome Wench” and see Ophelia and Aredhel. They all left, noting the guards up top were keeping an eye on the group. “We are NOT meeting with Rufus,” both women commented, Aredhel admitting that Rufus was too creepy. “He’s like a Himbo.”
Back at Groves, they spoke with the wizards who said that there were no residual magics here but the burn and crack of the wall was too focused and intense for a simple hay fire and suspected some sort of sorcery was afoot. It was getting late but the party wanted to stop and see Terjon at the Church of St. Cuthbert.
So they all went west, past the Inn, took the road north, went through much of the town, and across the stream, on the hill came upon the Church. Pestle was weary and wanted to rest so the others went in. The main cleric was a handsome man named Calmer and he spoke with the party, talking about donations and that the church was helping to erect the keep. They eventually had the chance to talk with Terjon and Ophelia and Albert did their best to ask him questions. But he deflected answers and spoke about the investigations being inconclusive. When we tried to give some details as to what we thought, he downplayed their findings and came up with even more reasons why they were wrong. He did let drop that our concerns sounded like Jaroo, the druid that lived near the Inn, and we shouldn’t listen to “that reprobate. He smokes weed all day and is friends with a bear – not exactly someone a right thinking person would consider effective!”
We left, went to the Inn and talked. We wanted to check on with Jaroo tomorrow, and also go to the Miller and see about the millwheel. Also, it had been dropped that many of the rainstorms were on Restday – and that was only 2 days away. So we were going to keep our eye out for that. Most of us took advantage of a bath to get the road grime off (not Albert), and then we turned in and went to sleep for tonight.
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