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.
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