Session Report - 007 - 27 April 1023

 

Introduction

All three players were available tonight, and they brought a slew of PCs with them. This group takes the idea of “multiple Characters per Player” in a slightly different direction than Tuesday.

DM NOTE: I allow the use of multiple PCs as it is a self-limiting endeavor. By running more PCs in a session, rather than hiring men at arms or seeking out Henchmen, the PCs reduce the amount of treasure and XP awarded to each of the characters. At the time of writing this analysis (three months after the events of the session), this has been borne out by the fact that Tuesday’s group has PCs in the 3rd & 4th level range, while Thursday’s PCs are still 1st & 2nd level. 

EDIT: One player has two PCs that have just trained for Level 3.

1. Arad, the Kordu MU

2. Funeral, Kordu Cleric, Keeper of the Keys

3. Barber, Kordu Fighter

4. Three-fifths, Berz Fighter

5. Baron, Berz Fighter

6. Boris, Berz Cleric

7. Crow, Berz Fighter

8. Raven, Berz Fighter

All  of the PCs are first level.

PART ONE 

Today they travel to Tonisborg to delve into the mysterious dungeon structure.

Funeral has met up with the senior priests in the Temple of Hades, and been invited to join the Keeper expedition to Tonisborg. They give him a scrip for passage to Rizeka and entry to the dungeon. They move in a beeline toward the last place they had a fight, only to discover a pool of congealed blood and drag marks going south toward the door.

The dead men at arms they left behind are nowhere to be found.

They burst through the door to the room (last time it was full of giant ants!) and find it basically empty. There are 3 rectangular voids in the filth on the floor, crusty ichor from ants, and scraps of ant exoskeleton.

They move through the next door, and down a long passage, checking for traps and pits as they go.

At the end they find a door marked with the symbol of the Keepers. They open the door, on the floor in front of them, blocking the passage is a terrible glyph, to try to cross would mean death!

Looking around to see what was being guarded, they spot two crossbows, on stands at the end of the hall, pointing away from them, toward another door. This second door was also marked with the holy symbol of Hades.

It occurs to them that this glyph and the crossbows are for keeping something IN, beyond that door. They choose the better part of valor and move on.

The next door also has a symbol of the Keepers, and is barred on this side. They listen and can hear snuffling and some tapping.

Arad decides to tap back.

There are several rounds back and forth of the tapping, with Arad knocking out nursery rhymes.

They pick up as many ant exoskeleton pieces as they can carry and bag them for loading on the donkey.

The group decides to head in the opposite direction now, back to the zone they discovered was being claimed by the Keeper expedition. After a brief discussion about ways to assist in the fight against the undead, Brother Borislav leads them to a stairway guarded by friendly Gnolls!

PART TWO

They follow these stairs down for a hundred steps or more, before it crossed through a cavern.

The cavern is dry and quiet, with an opening on the far side.
Arad begins creeping toward the opening, being stealthy, in order to listen and observe, in case there is a monster down here.

He fails to detect a group of Kobold guards hiding behind some boulders, and a trio of javelins is launched his way. Sadly, one of the javelins pierces Arad's torso for enough damage to end his adventuring career.

Arad art by Brian Rideout

RIP Arad.

DM NOTE: The Original Edition Dungeoneering rules that come with the Tonisborg book do not include the Thief class. On purpose. All of the players are expected to “do thief-ey things”, making Ability Score checks to determine success. For this, I am not including a thief class in the Campaign. We are still working out the best way to referee these challenges.

The group start to fire arrows into the area they believe the javelin came from, and see some Kobolds flee, further back into the cave. They follow in hot pursuit.

Their rush is brought up short by the next chamber, which is strung with a rat’s nest of cords, ropes and strings, running every which way in a nearly impenetrable web.

Barber begins trying to puzzle out some of the cords and springs a trap on himself, getting caught in a snare, hanging upside-down! So he grabs another vertical rope and climbs up enough to be able to reach the rope around his ankle. He draws his sword, cuts the rope, and falls to the ground. Well, almost to the ground, because he gets caught in another snare and drops his sword.

Baron decides to drive the donkey into the web of ropes by poking it with a blade. It manages to get a ways in before it, too, is caught up in a snare and gets a broken leg. The screams of the donkey are deafening! Suddenly, the screaming stops, as a javelin has sprouted from the donkey's neck.

Frustrated, the PCs begin simply hacking at the web of snares and forge their way to where Barber is hanging, then cut him down and catch him as he falls. Barber snatches up his sword and the party decides to exercise the better part of valor.

On heading back up the stairs, Barber drops a handful of silver coins and a bottle of poisoned nectar (meant for the giant ants) on the steps, to dissuade any kobolds following.

On the way out they stop by the Keepers’ zone and report their findings. They leave the dungeon and return to Sojenka. They are able to sell the ant parts they collected for 150 GP.

XP LOG

Total = 150 XP

21 XP each from Harvest

Grades:

Funeral - 1

Barber - 1

3/5 - 1

Baron - 1

Crow - 1

Raven - 1

Boris - 1

PC Death Toll = 4

Downtime

Barber is going to try to buy two large Stone spheres. Ideally, he's hoping that Mason will trade some of Arad’s gear for them. He's a cheapskate and doesn't want to pay in silver if he can help it.

Ten pounds, 6" diameter sphere of limestone- each takes 1 encumbrance slot

3 May 1023

The senior priest of the Temple of Hades has introduced two magic users to Funeral and the group. He tells you about a shrine on the shore that has been re-occupied by unknown persons with an unknown agenda. The Temple wants it cleared out. Bring back the miscreants, dead or alive.

Campaign Notes: After a month in the setting, we have only had a couple of abbreviated forays into the dungeon. Each expedition has been costly to the players, and only one has yielded a real profit. Trying to map the twisting, angled corridors is tedious and time-consuming. This is both a bug and a feature.

However, as we shall see in forthcoming Reports, the costs of adventuring in Tonisborg are high and lead to the Players making different choices than I had expected for the campaign.

Stay tuned!

Commercial Uses of Magic Plants

 Commercial Uses of Magic Plants

 Bat Thorne

Oil from the leaves if consumed can cure blood infections.

Requires a press to extract the oil, this is Common equipment (no charge) but takes 24-48 hours.

One dose of an elixir made from the oil is worth 50 GP

Ink Vine

Sap from this vine is highly prized by Magicians for use in magical inks, 50-70 GP per ounce

Requires a silver tap and special canvas bags to collect, then an alchemical lab to distill. 10 GP for tap/bags. Sap accumulates at one ounce per day, and it takes 6 ounces of sap to make one ounce of ink.

Red Seren Fern

The leaves of this fern are covered with tiny hairs that are extremely sharp, they get into any exposed skin and cause a horrible, itching rash.

The roots are dried and ground into powder which is mixed with vinegar to become a poison antidote.

Essentially free, takes one week to dry the roots, one hour to grind the powder. For the antidote to work the vinegar must be mixed in just before application.

One portion of the antidote is worth 50 GP

Snake Vine

A carnivorous vine, related to Sleepflower that attacks its prey with two sharp thorns on the end of its tendrils. The thorns are poisoned causing paralysis.

The thorns can be kept for 3-6 days before they lose potency. they can be pressed (see above) and the poison collected. Using an alchemical lab allows for the poison to be refined into a form that will last (d8 + 20) days.

Raw thorns are worth 25-40 GP

Refined poison is worth 100—200 GP/vial (3 doses)

Sleepflower

In its flowering phase, the otherwise deadly shoots are weakened, but sprout a large yellow flower. These produce blood-like nectar that attracts stirges. In this form, the plant spreads its pollen. If approached, the flower opens and sends out a puff of pollen that causes a narcotic asleep.

Sleepflower blossoms are worth 50-70 GP

Session Report 006 - 25 April 1023 - The Infamous TPK

 006 - 25 April 1023

Introduction

Bharat

Erikos

Jack

Accompanied by 30 Light Infantry

News in Sojenka

First Pit fight is Friday 5 May

Today the Sons of Mithra have decided to return to the Lost Temple, hidden behind the illusion in the Serpentine.

En route they encounter Raimi the Merchant,  a small caravan of 3 wagons and 20 Light Cavalry. Raimi says he has been delivering goods to a camp of Berzerkers who have stopped near the Serpentine, and plan to be there for some time.

Their interest is piqued, and they continue on toward the Lost Temple. About a mile from the base of the Serpentine they are intercepted by a Berzerker patrol.

DM NOTE: I rolled a 10 for the Reaction roll, indicating initial friendliness/positive reaction

A well-armed and armored Berzerker introduces himself to the company as Aznaro, and asks, “What draws you here? Have you come to join the exploration?”

There is a short parley, in which the Sons of Mithra engage in a bit of boasting and self-promotion.

Aznaro leads the Sons toward the Serpentine and the large Berzerker camp. There are easily 200 people here.

A priestess named Graciosa is summoned and she has her own parley with the party, “Are you prepared to journey to the next world?”

Erikos makes a great show of piousness and takes Graciosa’s extended hand. She begins to lead him toward the Lost Temple entrance. Erikos tries to stay a bit ahead of her, and as a result they both wind up trotting and almost running into the temple.
Bharat and Jack follow along, telling their men at arms to stay behind and keep an eye open for trickery.

Erikos is so intent on staying in front of Graciosa, so as to be seen to be leading her, rather than the other way round, he fails to see the ecstatic look upon her face.

They run pell-mell into the temple, heedless of any guards or possible danger, stopping just short of the green light that pours down from the ceiling like an obscene sunbeam.

At this moment Erikos stops short, swings his spear back over his shoulder, and plunges it into Graciosa’s back. She screams and falls into the light, her body appears to burn and instantly turn to ash! A greasy, black smoke rises in the air, going up into the glowing opening in the ceiling. An anguished cry, high-pitched and rising out of hearing, seems to come from far away.

The Berzerker guards move to attack!

There is a violent struggle between the three PCs and the dozen or so guards, who fight valiantly but are cut down in just a couple of rounds. Their dying screams have barely stopped when chanting can be heard from the corner of the chamber and a great lightning bolt streaks across the room!

It strikes the center of the trio of Sons of Mithra, and they are instantly burned to death.

TPK

Meanwhile the Berzerkers are outraged. The men at arms waiting outside, who had attempted to get closer during the sounds of fighting, became the prey of half-a-hundred screaming warriors. They fled into the grasslands, taking cover where and if they could.

17 Mercenaries were cut down by howling Berzerkers. The other 13 managed to hide or escape and made their way back to Samichi over the next two days, by hiding in the grass and shrubs and moving at night.

There will be no downtime log for this session, or XP log for this group of characters.

Session Report - Session 5, 18 April 1023

 

Introduction

With the previous session’s characters in training the group returned with the original bunch, fresh from training themselves.

Jack, Erikos, Bharat

8 Light infantry, 10 crossbowmen

They travel to Samichi, cross the river at the ferry, and head across the prairie toward the hidden temple. Reaching the Serpentine, they decide to follow it north and see if they can’t find the Ghost Town and follow up on a rumor of finding Sleepflower vines blooming. The flowers themselves were quite valuable..

After a few more hours they arrive on a hill overlooking the shallow vale of the abandoned village. They can see many ruined wooden buildings, three ruined stone structures, and a collapsed temple. As it is late, they decide to camp, then approach the ruin in the morning.

19 April

In the morning the Sons of Mithra used their dogs to track Goblin scent down in the vale, in the area of the collapsed shrine and ruined tower. They discovered the shrine was lousy with scorpions.

They next investigate the tower, and get into a fight with Shadow Rats, one of the dogs is bitten, its hindquarters are dragging.

They find a few coppers and silver coins, plus a small, crude iron knife. Beneath some rubble they find a small, two feet in diameter, hole in the ground. There is a stake driven into the earth nearby, with a rough rope tied to it. The rope leads down into the hole. Thus alerted to the presence of someone, they ride around the ruined town, scouting the rest of the places.

In a couple of the buildings they find overgrown Sleepvines, and some with holes in the floor to basements. Two of the ruins have movement within. These are singled out and covered by Horse Archers.

One of the buildings turns out to be a hiding place for goblins, ten are killed in fighting, the other four captured and tied up. The other building that showed some movement turned out to be a nest of stirges, and in this fight an Infantryman was killed and a cavalryman severely wounded (the next day his wound became sorely infected and he died). The last building held some flickering shadows, and investigation revealed nothing, but the ghostly tinkling of tiny bells and a screeching sound like nails on a chalkboard.

Erikos raises his javelin when he sees movement in a shadow, the javelin turns into a snake!

One of the archers saw his bow change into a bugle, which then blew shrilly, deafening everyone within 30 feet before it crumbled into tiny pieces.

The Sons decided to leave this one alone until later.

They returned to the interrogation of the goblins. Erikos speaks their language and parleyed with them a while. They offered the goblins work, exploring the holes for them.

They chose one to explore the hole under the tower. They pulled up the rope and tide it around the goblin’s waist, then started lowering him down.

He got about 10 feet down when he was attacked by a stirge and started screaming. Erikos let go of the rope.

The sons discussed options for a bit and chose to continue with harvesting the Sleepflower blossoms. They followed the instructions of the alchemist to the letter and smoked out the vines. They became still and docile, allowing blossoms to be cut free. They also bound one of the smaller plants with ropes and dug up its root ball. They put some dirt in a large sack and bagged the entire thing.

As the day was getting on, they decided to travel south along the cliff and look for another campsite. They found a triple cave entrance that led into one large chamber. They brought the remaining three goblins to sell at the market.

20 April

In the morning, Jack is awakened by serious itching on his legs, and examination reveals many tiny bug-bites. They returned to Samichi, then to Sojenka without issue.

Downtime begins 21 April

They sold the goblins to a sleazy merchant named Jadranko.

They sold the Sleepflower blossoms to the alchemist Lord Davorin.

They sold the plant to an herbalist named Adelheide.

Castile, Mithra's Bastard 

10gp, 2 days, 1 successful rumor for Castile, about the Red Wyverns adventuring company: They made a pilgrimage to an ancient temple of the Earth Goddess, to ask the gods to bless a magic sword, the one called Branko got from a dragon in the Salt Marsh 

Castile, Mithra's Bastard 

They being the red wyverns, who is he?

The Dungeon Master 

Sorry, "he" is a Spire-bred, Kordu aristo named Branko

Castile, Mithra's Bastard 

Did Branko survive and bring this sword out?

The Dungeon Master 

You learn the Red Wyverns were once led by a priestess of Demeter, but she was killed in the Serpentine and they have retired or gone on to other things. There is a Sergeant Zeljko that may know more, he's trying to form up a new troop of soldiers

Tuesday XP Log - 18 April

Jack - Grade 1

Erikos - Grade 1

Bharat - Grade 1

Liquid Loot: 4 cp, 2 sp, 1560 gp

Combat: Shadow Rat Swarm, 10 Goblins, 4 Stirges, 2 Sleepflowers - 175 XP

Total: 1710 XP

Session Report - Tuesday 11 April 1023

 Introduction

With only two of four players available, the group decided to continue exploring the Borderlands area they traveled last week.

DM Note: Using the 1:1 Downtime Pace-Setting method solves the age-old problem of a Player not being able to attend at the last moment. IF we had paused the game in media res last week, and two of the four players had not been able to join, we’d be in a predicament.

What to do about those characters? Have another player run them?

What if they get killed? Do they get a share of the experience?

By keeping the steady and predictable schedule of 1:1 Downtime, we avoid that difficulty. The Characters are all someplace safe at the end of each session and if they need to miss one the Player can notify the DM that they are working on recruiting henchmen, or crafting a spell scroll, or whatever.

Castile, Berzerker Fighter 2 and Luke, Berzerker Cleric 2

10 Light infantry and 10 Crossbowmen

Session 4 - 11 April 1023

It takes two hours to reach the nearby town of Opatiza, then three more hours to reach the village of Samichi. It took another 3 hours to reach the markers they had left in the grass. On the way they had passed some Lizardfolk fishermen on the creek and a herd of Okapi.

Castile suggested they head straight for the Serpentine, and they found more cast off equipment on the way. This was very intriguing, as it must have been the party with the dead cleric of Demeter. When they reached the cliff face, they were able to see that part of the cliff wall was hidden by an illusion. The Illusion was spoiled by a rockslide that had happened some time ago, leaving a strange gap in the wall.

On the “other side” of the illusion they found a temple had been carved into the rock, with dark windows high above and a wide doorway at ground level. The doorway was illuminated by a sickly green light.

Inside, there was a magic circle on the floor of a large chamber carved into the living rock, illuminated by a horrible green light shining from above. The consensus was to STAY AWAY FROM THE LIGHT!

At the far end of the chamber was a large semi-circular alcove with a large statue carved of black stone. It was a depiction of a snake with the head of a woman wearing a crown.

Seeing doorways on either side, they went to the left and investigated the first one. It was a short, narrow passage that ended in a wooden door with a complex lock. Two of the infantry kick the door open, and a pair of massive ax blades swung down from the ceiling, killing both men!

They dragged the bodies outside and went back in. The room was littered with broken, moldering furniture. Castile shot the couch with an arrow, and when it didn’t attack (?) he flipped it over. They found four copper and silver coins with strange, old markings. On the bottom of the couch was a brass plate with the symbol of the temple of Hades. Prying this plate off revealed a 14” bone scroll tube, the ends were sealed with wax.

Inside, Prayer Scrolls for the cult of Hades.

They went through the door on the other side and were surprised by a group of zombies. They defeated them easily, and seeing as there was possibly a cannibal cook pot on a fire in the corner, barged through the chamber into the next one, which was also guarded by freshly-animated zombies. The zombies fought ferociously, and behind them was a man in strange, tattered garb, chanting and casting spells. He split into multiple versions of himself! The crossbowmen started shooting at all of them, and the Necromancer was killed quickly. The room was painted black with bizarre and unsettling runes painted on all of the walls. They found two black candles, a scroll, and a dead snake with its head cut off. All of these items were thrown into the cook pot fire while Luke intoned battle chants of Ares. Two infantrymen picked up the dead Necromancer and his staff, which they carried back outside, careful to avoid going near the light.

Guarded by the rest of the infantry and crossbowmen, they exited this cursed temple in good order. As they crossed the threshold of the temple, the body of the Necromancer dissolved into a cloud of ash and dust. Only his tattered and moldy robe remained.

As it was getting dark, the sun was setting behind the Serpentine, they traveled about a mile south along the cliff until they found a cave to spend the night in. The crossbowmen took turns guarding the entrance, with loaded weapons!

In the Necromancer’s clothing they found a metal scroll, carefully would around a thick wooden rod. Unrolling it, they were unable to decipher its contents.

12 April 1023

In the morning they returned to Samichi, then to Sojenka. They paid were-gild to the families of the fallen soldiers. They went to the Old Market in Sojenka, looking for some vendors or merchants that might be interested in buying any of the loot they had found.

In a round-about way they were introduced to Varga, a Kordu merchant known as “The Horse Trader”. He purchased some items from them, and recommended they take the rest, including the strange metal scroll, to be identified by the Academy of Ancients, magic users that were always looking for lost lore.

Bringing the items to the Academy is a very positive experience, as the scholars there are indeed excited to gain any bit of lore. They take the items and ask that Luke and Castile return on the 14th for the information.

13-14 April 1023, Downtime and shopping

On their return to the Academy, Castile and Luke meet a kindly-looking elderly gentleman who gives them a bit of a description of the items, especially the metal scroll. He tells them it is a star chart, a very old one.

This scroll tells of a battle with an ancient necromancer of the First Men and his ultimate defeat. It records the location of an ancient relic, his blood.

Needless to say, this blood could be dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands.

Here, then is the relevant section:

"But finding it will not be easy,

The key to castle, kept so breezy,

On the Island of the First Men,

Guarded fiercely, by swords and glen."

This, of course, points us to the ruins of Tonisborg, on the isle of Rizeka.

The senior magician asks where they found this relic, and they tell him it was an old temple “near the Serpentine”, but it collapsed as they were leaving.

Castile has more questions:

What is the interest in star charts?

The star charts detail moon positions for a ritual using this relic. We'll need to do further research to determine whether this ritual is for good or ill.

What about the snake goddess?

The goddess Nin-Hursag of the First Men is said to have battled a necromancer. It is Nin-Hursag who is sometimes revealed as a woman-headed snake wearing a crown. Perhaps this is related.

What can they tell us in general terms about the old gods, and their relationship to the daily and nightly heavens.

There are three who reign over heaven and earth, NANA-SIN - god of the moon and keeper of the dead; NIN-HURSAG - goddess of the earth and dragons; UTU - god of the sun.

It would take much time to explain the astrology of the First Men, much of which is lost in any case. Settle for knowing the scroll refers to a time of the year called Hinstellen, which you would know as Taurus.

Afterward they go to see Varga again, and have tea with him. He sells them a small bock of tea, wrapped in an expensive piece of cloth. They don’t really want it, but he is strangely insistent. They want him for a friend so they agree.

Once away, they unwrap the tea to find a note stashed inside:

“My friends, you are in great danger from the Red Wyverns. They dislike competition.

Most genuine Vargas”

Unsure about this, they begin asking around about the Red Wyverns.

Tues XP Log - 11 April

Castille - Grade 1

Luke - Grade 1

Liquid loot: 1500 XP

Loot: 600 XP

Combat: 6 Zombies, 1 Thrall (MU) 260 XP

Total: 2360 XP

From the Downtime discussions:

Cassander - you learn the Red Wyvern Company is, or was, a group of hot-shot adventurers looking for fame and fortune. They had some small success in the Salt Marsh and decided to go poking around in the Serpentine. Turns out they bit off more than they could chew, a bunch of them and their men at arms got killed. Now a Serjeant Zeljko is bad-mouthing them all over the place and looking for a new crew

Castile - you need to spend 1d4+2 GP per day that you spend rumor-mongering (for drinks and such). Then make a Charisma check (d20 roll under) and see how well you do. 

Thursday Session Report - Thurs 6 April 1023

 Session Report | 6 April 1023, Imperial Calendar

The first session for the Thursday night crew was interesting, to say the least. First of all two of the players could not make it, so we ran with just the remaining two.

They each brought two PCs and they hired three men at arms:

Baron

Three-Fifths

Arad "the Wit"

"Funeral" Unlaich

Ivan, Javor, and Zunich

We started by sharing a bit of recent news:

3 April - the Golden Lions return from patrol with a couple of dozen captured Goblins

Pit-Fighting Season starts in April

5 April - An infantry serjent has been overheard talking about a failed expedition by a group called the Red Wyverns, who found a hidden temple in the Serpentine. They nearly cost him his entire squad, and two of their own. Others say these adventurers ran into a tribe of Sagath in the Ghost Town.

The party traveled to the island of Rizeka to brave the Lost Dungeon of Tonisborg. After being shocked and appalled by the 5gp entry fee and learning about the 10% tax on any loot recovered, they decided to go ahead and enter.

The entry chamber on the first level is guarded and maintained by the Verratcho Zemaya, a cult-like company of soldiers who traditionally serve the Imperial Grand Vizier, an archaic post once occupied by the emperor's chief counselor and wizard. Since magic has been outlawed in the empire for generations, these soldiers have become a hereditary militant order. The guardians charge a toll for those entering and exiting the ruins. 

The guardians do not aid or assist any delvers, much to the dismay of the new explorers.

First they decided to go north, and encountered the Keepers of the Keys Faction, which has an expedition underway to put to rest the many undead that are said to inhabit this dungeon. A member of the sect had accompanied a group down here some time ago, and most of them were killed. The Keeper managed to escape and reported back to the temple. Now they are here in force.

Funeral, a Keeper himself, decided against joining the expedition and the group turned around and went south. Here they found markings of previous adventuring groups, but did not know what to make of them. They plunged forward, going through several empty and mysterious chambers. They found a pit descending deep into darkness, and a dropped torch fell for a long time before banging into something metal at the bottom, and going out!

They tried another passageway, only to surprise a pack of giant rats. Zunich was bitten quite badly. They pressed on and discovered a secret door that led into what looked to be an old study or small library. The chamber was inhabited by giant ants and there was quite a battle!

Ivan, Javor, and Zunich were killed fighting the ants and the rest decided discretion was the better part of valor. They fled the dungeon and returned to Sojenka, penniless and defeated.

@Thursday Session you may roll new characters for next week if you want. 

These can be retired, or get work, or do hijinks, or beg or steal...

Lessons

This session was an object lesson in what happens when you are not prepared for what you might face in a dungeon. The challenges were admittedly tough, but the party walked away from an offer of assistance and support from an existing expedition.

By way of contrast, the Tuesday session entered the dungeon with 14 members, 10 of them men at arms, armed and equipped for multi-rank fighting and a clear procedure for how they would engage any opponents. This allowed them to defeat the giant ants they encountered, and gather some loot.

Giant ants have 5 HD and are tough opponents. But with planning and careful tactics they can be defeated by smart play.

Downtime 6-26 April 1023

(all of the players were under the weather for a couple of weeks, so there was an extended break)

here's the plan:

Arad is frustrated as hell, and so will take a three-pronged approach.  First: he will sell the mule. Second, he will get himself cleaned up and presentable in that time, and try to set himself up as a budget scrivener, computer, and linguist in a cheap part of town with parchment, charcoal, lampblack, and cheap fixants if the mule cannot finance it. If that fails to get him enough coins , he will use the sleep spell to roll groups of drunks in an alley by day 5.

Funeral will talk to the Cardinal about what he saw and discovered,  and ask if the Keepers might finance another foray to see where that secret door goes. Ideally with a few blocks of poisoned cheese.

Arad is able to get biz = 30SP + 33SP + 33SP + 36SP

Funeral's superior asks him if he would like to join the expedition that has taken up residence in Tonisborg.

His presence would be welcome. The mission of the expedition is to lay to rest the many undead that haunt those subterranean passages.

Any treasure recovered of course would be submitted to the church in order to continue financing this important work.

Funeral — 04/13/2023 11:07 AM

Funeral will join the mission, although this will probably separate him from my other PCs.

The Dungeon Master — 04/13/2023 12:39 PM

The superior tells you that you are of course allowed to bring other companions. It would be your share of any treasure recovered that would be submitted to the church. In return of course the expedition would provide supplies (food, armor, weapons, et cetera).

META: You would still get the experience for any treasure recovered due to your donation to the church. .Any gold piece value of treasure so donated would count toward any training costs you might have. Obviously if you went on any expeditions out into the wilderness any treasure you gathered would be your own. (edited)

Arad — 04/27/2023 11:29 AM

Sorry about the late update. Here is what I am hoping for, as we've had some extra time:

Arad will keep up the slum scribing and try to earn enough silver for the help of a barber/surgeon, fresh clothes, and putting away 50sp to get into the Dungeon again... Plus enough to front Barber 3gp and get him in.

Any additional material will go into trying to get a cheap poison used in killing insects, and some lumps of cheap meat. Hopefully enough to sicken the giant ants.

Funeral will see if the Keepers will cover his entrance fees and he will bring Arad, and —--'s characters with if they can come.

The Dungeon Master

The Keepers provide Funeral with scrips to give the ferryman and the Gatekeeper on the island. These scrips will allow you and your companions to gain access to Tonisborg. You will need to check in with the Keeper Colony to submit any treasures you recover. He also gives you a copper censer and a cone of Incense of Protection from Evil (as the LI cleric spell). He says it will burn for up to an hour and give you some protection against the creatures of the dungeon.

The next Thursday session will be 27 April 1023.

Tuesday Session Report - 4 April 1023

 The second session of the Tonisborg Campaign began with a review of the Downtime activities of the initial characters.

The Campaign is operating with a Braunstein Tier, using 1:1 Timekeeping as a tool for tracking Player and Patron activities. This method allows for keeping accurate track of who is where, and what they are doing at any given time. In addition it drives the Campaign world ever forward at a predictable pace.

It is the predictable nature of the flow of time that is the most important part of the 1:1 Timekeeping model. Players and Patrons can initiate activities, knowing more or less how long they will take, and set those plans in motion. When the due date comes they can expect a response and initiate an OODA loop for determining how they will react.

Erikos the Fighter began training for second level on 30 March with Krieger of the Iron Bear Company.

Luke, Cleric of Ares, is training with the Temple of Ares in Sojenka.

Participating Characters

Sikandar - Berzerker Fighter

Cassander - Berzerker Fighter

Player Notes

Got scooped by Golden Lions, captured goblin tribe responsible for raids.

The day prior to the session, the party members witnessed the Golden Lion Mercenary company return with a few dozen captured goblins to turn into slaves. 

They entered Sojenka on the road from the North. While the group knew Goblins were kept as slaves by some Sojenkans, they didn’t know much of the economics of it. Asking around, they found that Goblin Slaves cost 50-150 gp to purchase, depending on their training.

Opatiza is the largest of outlying settlements, Market Class IV, known for metalwork: iron, gold and silver. 

Ores come from the Dravinek mines. Opatiza is large source of fish supply 

The Head of local government (Ivan Horvat) is Elected, first chair of the elected Council of Merchants, long in power. 

City guard reports to Horvat 

4 April

The party decided to travel north and investigate the rumors of the Borderlands.

Pass merchant caravan on the road, 4 wagons, 20 guards. Blue and yellow colors, fish merchants. 

While traveling, they spotted a lone sentry, pennant of cyprus tree, hail. Outrider for Golden Lions, Wilhelm of Matulgi.

Samichi is a village with a small palisade, 3 stone towers, and a low population. . Just outside the city gates are two gibbets with hanged men, thieves, the guards say. It was here the guards asked to record the name of this traveling company, and “Sons of Mithra” was chosen.

The party decided to camp outside of town. During the early evening two young people came out to the camp with baskets of fruit and cheeses for sale. The company bought the lot for 2 GP!

5 April

Asking around about the area, they found there is a place called Ghost Town and another called the Crystal Necropolis nearby. The Sons were told they need to register with the Lord of the manor (Mirko Babic) if they go exploring there. They don’t precisely need permission to enter the necropolis, but if they don’t come back no one will bother looking for them.

On a whim they bought a net, before being ferried across.

They decided to investigate Ghost Town. The company took the ferry across the Gablun. The river here is 200 yards wide and four to ten feet deep. After crossing the Gablun they indicated they would signal the ferryman to pick them up on their return. 

On the ride across the ferryman informed the Sons about Feral Sagath at Ghost Town, look out for them. Apelike creatures, 8' tall, semi intelligent, they dwell as a tribe in little villages, hunter/gatherers. The Sons had thought of them as Boogeyman for the littleuns.

On the rolling plains in the shadow of the Serpentine the Sons first encountered a days-old campfire site. There were plenty of charred game-bird bones in the ashes. Scouting around revealed a path in the grass, leading toward the campsite from the west. As it was early afternoon they decided to follow the backtrail and see what was what. They found discarded wineskins, Pieces of grease-stained oilcloth, and remains of cooked, then hastily eaten rabbits.  Closer to the Serpentine they found the corpse of a dead Sagath and an empty clay bottle. From this site there was a blood trail going north.

The Sons followed this trail, surprising a wounded Sagath. One of the PCs had the presence of mind to throw the net on it and get it tangled up. They then beat upon it with staves and torches until it was unconscious. Thinking it could be worth something in the city, they tied it up and bandaged its wounds.

While figuring out what to do with it, they were attacked by a giant trapdoor spider! Hans the halberdier was snatched and taken into the spider’s hidden lair!!

In the tunnel-battle that followed, three of the men at arms were injured or killed. A crossbowman is still breathing, but lay paralyzed for almost an hour.

Investigating the spider hole, they found an ornamental Mace with leaf motif, green leather boots, Chain mail, & a Helm in a horse's head design. These accouterments suggested a cleric of Demeter. Indeed, stowed in her pouch was a Holy symbol & a small black canister.

A second pack and some bones that had been stripped clean were found in the hole as well. The second pack contained 40gp, 20sp, 2in diameter crystal snowflake, 4 small sacks, 12 iron spikes, hammer, 50' rope, Rations, prayer book (Demeter), 2 large sacks, 6 torches (dried out), Tinderbox, ruined rations, polished brass mirror.

I believe it was Cassander who opened the black canister, it had been sealed with wax. Inside it was full of ash, and when poured out revealed two pulsating purple pods connected by slick black tendrils. They immediately burned this abomination! They made a travois for the deceased cleric and turned back toward the river. Around 7 pm , as the sun went down behind the Serpentine, they stopped to make camp.

The night passed uneventfully.

GM: While Ghost Town is officially in the Wilderness, the stream the Sons were following was mostly in the Borderlands. The Realm and the Borderlands have different encounter tables. Both areas also have a “special” encounter table that is just weird signs, portents and (mostly) non-hazardous encounters. I like to throw these in for world-building or verisimilitude.

6 April 

In the morning they tried to speak Common to the partially-recovered Sagath, to no avail.

When they reached the river they signaled the Ferryman and returned to the Realm. It takes about five hours to walk to Sojenka from Samichi. Since Ghost Town is about five hours from the ferry, it is a full day of traveling in good weather to get there.

Once back in the city, they returned the body and effects of the dead cleric to the temple of Demeter. They were rewarded with 2 crystal phials of *Holy Water*. 

7 April

The next day they went to Market Delve district and found the Goblin market, in the hopes that someone would want the captured Sagath. They found an animal trainer, Roko Hriljac, who wanted nothing to do with the monster, but he knew a trainer and collector of exotic animals (his cousin, in fact) who would gladly buy it.

Because the exotic animal dealer was found in the more upscale Merchant’s Borough, the Sons cleaned up and put on fresh togas to be more presentable.

Gabrijel Faraguna, the dealer in exotic animals, was delighted to receive this beast. He paid a princely sum in gold. 

NPCs

Dog Trainer - Roko Hriljac

His Cousin the Exotic Animal dealer - Gabrijel  Faraguna

8 April

The Sons went back to Merchant’s Delve, and commissioned two trained dogs and a hawk from Roko Hriljac.

The Sons paid a bonus of one month’s pay to the mercenaries and paid a sum to the families of the dead men.

Tues XP LOG

4 April 2023

Combat

Spider 800 XP

Sagath 40 XP

Loot & Liquid Treasure

Reward for return of deceased Cleric 175 XP

Beast sale  4,200 XP

Crystal 100 XP

Coin 42 XP

Total 5,357 XP 

2,678.5 XP each

FRP Grades:

Sikandar - 1

Cassander - 1

Downtime begins 9 April 1023. The next session is 11 April 1023.

In the 1:1 Timekeeping model, as much time as is needed is allowed to pass during the Game Session. In this case the Party was “adventuring” and using in-game-time from 4 to 8 April, when they returned to the camp they are building outside Kastav, “The House of the Elephant”.

All of the party members who participated in this adventure session will have two days for resting, shopping, recruiting hirelings, or what have you before the next session. Sikandar and Cassander both begin Level Training on 9 April and therefore will not be available for play in the 11 April session. Although Holmes/Blueholme do not have rules for level training, IMO it is an important part of the overall game experience.

Later in the campaign the Training Time rules will take on some more importance as we add additional skill-types and areas of knowledge to the training regime.

Downtime Activities

APR 9-15 Sikandar in training @ Hydaspes Dojo. Sending the gold & goons to the House of the Elephant

APR 9 Bharat authorizes a w/drawal of 1500gp from the Sons of Mithra treasury to pay for upgrades to the House of the Elephant.

(totalling 2kgp for a 2-storey wood building, 10 10-man tents, surrounded by 520' of 10' tall earth ramparts)

Cassander trains 4/9 with the Iron Bear.