Averlorn Campaign - A Murder Most Foul and an Evil Tome bound in human flesh...

Recap from 1/20/2013 Averlorn Online Session using Map Tools

I don't usually blog recaps about our online game using MapTools, but I took a lot of notes during the 1/23/2013 session which was mostly a story based adventure within the City of Caursetti in the Archipelago.  I thought it would be worthwhile endeavor to post a recap here since it has all of the elements of a good murder mystery.  The background was that as our campaign started, we were hired to escort one Gundar Thoricson, a Wealthy Thugee merchant, on a ship bound for Caursetti.  The ship hit rough waters and possibly shoals, and sank off of the Devil's Cape, also know as point Chuddoc on the southern tip of the Island of Rhaghaera.  The cape was known to be prowled by Sahugin (Sea Devils) and sure enough, we were attacked by them while floundering in the water and trying to swim for the shore.  During the fight, our benefactor Gundar was slain and the Sea Devils tried to make off with his possessions, including a curious puzzle box which we found out later contained some kind of Arcane Tome, not unlike the Necronomicon, which just so happened to be bound in human skin.  Amazingly, the group of 1st level characters managed to fend off two Sahugin while in the water who were slain during the fight, and we later dove into the shallows to retrieve both the puzzle box and his enchanted short sword.

What follows is a recap of the session in Caursetti where we were trying to extricate ourselves from a tricky legal and political situation within the Gleaming City of Arches.  We had employed an Elven Sage by the name of Lady Erslantz, a Sea Elf wizard, to identify the foul tome bound in human skin for us.  The next day when no one answered the door, our wizard cast Reduce on the door to gain entry suspecting foul play.  Sure enough, they found the body of Lady Erslantz and her handmaiden and a strange substance on both the blade and the floor.  It appeared that the lady had been strangled in her sleep and that her handmaiden and servant had first been hit by some sort of magical attack (like magic missile) and then gored by some fell creature, where-after she bled out and died.  The group left the premises and the door returned to normal size, and they notified the city watch that they were supposed to meet them at a certain time, and when they didn't answer that they went straight to the watch to ask them to investigate since they suspected foul play.  Of course, the city guard immediately assumed they were guilty of the crime and what follows is the narrative that occurred afterwards when we tried to extricate ourselves from a legal and potentially political situation within a country with strict laws, that just so happened to be at war with their enemy in Mallithorn which is led by Ravishar the Undying:

Sorrin, our Gnomish Cleric/Illusionist met with Frunsharn the learned, the gnome illusionist in order to discuss the enchantment on the door to one of the hideouts of Arham of the Cult of the Red Snake that we found in the Pod Caverns of the Sinister Shroom (Arham was apparently Grakhirt’s former master).  He said that the magic on the door was likely triggered by touching it and that if you could avoid touching it while trying to open it somehow, that you might avoid the enchantments.  He also said that the knock or dispel illusion could work to defeat the illusionary defenses along with a few other enchantments.  One of our companions was laid low by a powerful illusion spell in a previous session that had been placed on the door and was in a comatose like state.  Frunshar's efforts to revive the unwitting halfling met with failure and he remained in a deep magical slumber.

There are two armed camps in the Falconbridge neighborhood of Caursetti.  One of these is the Iron Keep which is a huge fortress where the Brotherhood of the Black Crowes are stationed and quartered.  The Crowes are an order of fanatical warrior monks in the service of the God King.  It is almost a city unto itself and occupies an area almost equal in size to a borough of the city.  The other one is the Embassy of the Sea Elves in Caursetti.  The Sea elf kingdom of Alatheon, which lies is to the Northwest of the island, has a smaller fortress and embassy located in Falconbridge to represent its interests in the kingdom.  It contains a small Elven contingent, and when within the embassy compound, one is considered to be upon Elven ground and subject to Elven laws.

Beyond the entrance to the Elven Embassy we were greeted by one Finoleth Oldemain – a star elf who told the group that he would talk to them about our problem.  During this time the characters there noticed a strange occurrence and commotion outside – a flight of Sea Elf dragons were approaching the city in a long slow formation in order to indicate that they held no hostile intent towards the city.  He went on to say that he spoke with his dead cousin the Elven sage a few hours ago (presumably using the Speak with Dead Spell) and that she was confused about what transpired the night that she died (she was murdered by some fell creature shortly after starting the task of investigating the Evil book’s magical properties).  She told the ambassador that she was tasked to identify an item, but that she died violently under uncertain conditions shortly after beginning the process of identification.

After he looked at the sword of the servant that we produced, and the oily substance on it, he indicated that it was a foe from Malithorn that attacked and had slain his cousins.  He said the sword belonged to the Sage’s handmaiden Kaselris and that the family of the slain handmaiden would want it back so the characters gave it to him.

They also told him about the book that the group had obtained from Gundar Thoricson that had presumably caused the enchantment.  They produced it from the puzzle box for him to see and he said that he believed that a considerable enchantment was on it to protect it from prying eyes.  He also said that Sea Elf Nobles and sages were often able to provide identification of such arcane items as this.  When the group told him that we were attacked by the Sahugin off of the Devil’s cape when Gundar Thoricson was killed (he was carrying the book at the time), he explained that the Sahugin can sense magic.  When our ship went down off of the Devil’s cape, the book was what likely drew them to us, for the book clearly has powerful magical properties.  He indicated that we might want to rid ourselves of such a foul and evil thing (it is bound in human skin after all), and if we were to toss it into the sea in the area around Caursetti or the Elven holdings, that it was unlikely to be found by the Sahugin or others at the bottom of the ocean.  The Sahugin in the area mostly live in the seas around Devils point (point Chuddoc) but are not known to prowl in the areas around Caursetti or where the Sea Elves reside.

He also told the group that Rallemon of Ilimus is a potent wizard and Archmage who is well connected within the city of Carusetti.  He said it was wise to deal with him cautiously with regard to such powerful and evil magical artifacts.  He went on to say that he is known to interact with the enemy (Ravishar’s minions) and that he frequently travelled freely amongst them.  He also said that he has powerful allies amongst the wizards in iron keep, Home of the Brotherhood of the Black Crowes who are the faithful servants of the God King.  He went on to explain that it was quite likely that the enemy would get the book if we sold it to Rallemon according to the ambassador.

Afterwards, he said that the group is currently in a compromised situation with regards to the slain elves that we employed to investigate the book.  He explained that the constabulary in the borough that we were residing in (God’s walk) is a man of ambitious political desires, and wields his power and influence in order to prove that he has full control over his borough in order to further his future political aspirations.  He then said that he will not stop until this matter is resolved.  The legal system in the great city is not what one would normally expect based on those found in other realms, but that the neighborhood, and others like it, are ruled with an iron fist especially the more affluent and secure neighborhoods in the city.

One option he presented, which he said would not be cheap, would be to have a close associate of the Sea Elf ambassador carry the item to Tol Alatheon where a wizard of the court could ascertain its properties and potential dangers.  He then said that we could secure passage on a human vessel and leave an advocate here from the Sea Elf embassy to answer to the charges, upon our honor that we would return at a later date if required by the powers that be in Caursetti.  He then said that the relatives of the slain cousins were unlikely to press charges in the matter of the deaths of their kinsmen, since other elves (including star elves) were involved in the alleged crime.  The only possible criminal charges to be brought were breaking and entering using sorcery which can carry the penalty of death in Caursetti, especially in the more affluent and strictly controlled boroughs such as Gods Walk and Falconbridge.

He indicated that he would send a representative (a barrister or lawyer) to meet with us to aid us in this matter.  He also said he would send an associate to the Kingdom of Alatheon in order to negotiate for us to have the elves there identify the book and its properties safely, though it would likely be a costly endeavor.  “There are spells that predate our world that are exceedingly dangerous which may be contained in the book.  We don’t want those spells to fall into the hands of the mortals” according to the Ambassador.  On the other hand, he said it may just be a spell book with protective magics bound into it that had caused the deaths of the elves.

The star elves in the group trust the Elven ambassador implicitly.  If a good deal can be made, he and his associates will do right by us and we will be justly rewarded as a result of the transaction.  During the meeting at the Elven embassy, an entire wing of Elven Blue Dragons were seen flying from the windows, and later landed in the courtyard below making a great commotion.  It was a very formal affair during which the bodies of the slain elves were taken away to the Elven court in Tol Alatheon to the northwest some 200-300 miles away.

Meanwhile, Thorvald the Thugee Barbarian, the Volkyr Monk Scetis, Gash the human fighter, the dwarven fighter Niric Dragonbane, and Sorrin the Gnome Illusionist/Cleric went to the dock district in Grimward to try and negotiate passage to the Devil’s cape aboard a ship so that we could investigate the hideouts of Arham of the Cult of the Red Snake that we had found notated on the map from Grakhirt’s lair.  Thorvald learned on good authority from a relatively sober Thugee sailor about the Broken Wife Inn which was to be found within the city (we had a document that Gundar was to meet him about the book before his demise).  It is located in the Coinbridge neighborhood across the river. There are two neighborhoods south of city and across the river in Caursetti that are rough neighborhoods to say the least.  Coinbridge is only marginally safer than the nearby South Hill neighborhood, both of which are considered to be rough parts of town. 

A local inn owner then told the Scetis the Monk of one Captain Jettit Obergin who is the master and captain of the Fickle Shark which makes the run from Caursetti to the Devil’s Cape regularly.  When we arrived at the ship at the docks, it was apparent that the crew was busily making preparations to depart.  The Fickle Shark is a simple merchant vessel that appeared to be well kept and run from our observations.  He said that they were not going in that direction but we negotiated a price for passage to the Devil’s Cape aboard ship, and embarked at the end of the session two hours after the evening meal.

Later that evening before we departed, we were approached in the Inn of the Scorned Weasel in Gods Walk by a sea elf named Aefelearth Bale Bitterbriar.  He had been appointed by the Elven Ambassador as our barrister and we told him everything that transpired concerning the book and the death of the Elven sage and her servant.  His Sun Elf bodyguards showed up at the Inn as a show of force to keep the local constable from trying any monkey business.  He said from the information that we gave him that he could stall the proceedings for five to seven years.  In our defense he said the Elves in our group were honor bound to protect their cousins out of fear for their safety which justified their illegal entry onto the premises.

Afterwards, when we met with Rallemon he said he was a trader of magical items, some of which were ancient and some of which were of a more recent manufacture, and that he had clients in the west that would pay top dollar for the more rare magical items, particularly those considered to be forgotten lore.  When questioned about the lands of Ravishar to the east he said that the border between the Kingdom of Raegeleth (the god king’s realm) and the lands of Ravishar is known to be defended by demons and the like, but that the coastal villages were not unlike normal Volkyr towns found elsewhere on the island.  Their denizens typically live in fear and are in a perpetual state of servitude to Ravishar the Undying.  He inquired about the rumors of some demon unleashed from an evil book and inferred that he thought that we were somehow involved, but we declined to comment on the matter.

There was a glisten of water on the floor behind him that we noticed as he was walking out the door of the Inn.  I mentioned to the DM that maybe he was a Deep One (Shades of Shadows Over Innsmouth) and he said he wasn’t – at least not yet anyway… LOL

Averlorn Campaign - Cities and Towns of the Archipelago

The Gleaming City of Cauersetti with her renowned arched bridges lies some seven days west of the Free City of Harbor Reach across the shallow ink-black sea.  Cauersetti is the capital of the Volkyr kingdom of Raegelith which lies on the island of Rhaghaera in the northern reaches of the archipelago. The city can be found along the western coast of the island.  Iron Keep is a fortress in the Falconbridge neighborhood of the city (a nice part of town) where the Brotherhood of the Black Crows are garrisoned (a mercenary Brotherhood of warrior monks who serve the God King).  Grimward is a dangerous vermin infested nasty quarter of the city adjacent to the dock district.  Other notable city quarters include a few rough neighborhoods such as Devil’s ward and Serpents walk, but there are much more well patrolled and peaceful districts such as Falconbridge, Merchant’s Ward and God’s walk among others.  Some of the great arches of the city are decorative in nature but the majority actually serve as bridges that connect the various districts of the city that are separated by the many waterways that wind and weave their way through the great metropolis.

The God King reigns supreme in Caursetti and much of Rhagheara and he alone has the sole power and authority to awaken the Imperial dragons – a special type of dragon given to the god king long ago by the Elves.  It is rumored that the Elves often come to Caursetti when the Imperial Dragons are awakened in order to help the God King’s dragon masters handle them, for they are the most powerful of their kind and the ability to control them is counted amongst the lost knowledge forgotten by most of mankind but that the Elves still yet retain.  It is also rumored that the Elves are desirous of acquiring one of the Imperial Dragons though none can say for sure.  When the Imperial dragons are summoned forth from their caves by the God King during times of war or strife, they fly high into the air above Caursetti to light the great beacons with their blue dragon fire – a magnificent site to behold!

The Free City of Cinnoros a.k.a. Harbor Reach – Harbor Reach is a prosperous protectorate of the Kingdom of Thebos which sits on an arm of land that reaches into the ocean far to the east of Thebos along the coast.  The city is quite young and surrounded by untamed lands but well located to defend itself.  Harbor Reach is a bustling center of trade and commerce and is an important trading port linking Thebos to the busy trade routes up and down the coast with the Archipelago to the west.  The city is a place the three primary human races of Averlorn regularly get together for trade.  Seven days to the West across the shallow sea lies the distant island of Rhaghaera and the gleaming city of Caursetti.  Harbor Reach is not as large or as old as Caursetti and trade frequently occurs between the two cities due to their close proximity.  Cinnoros hosts a large fleet of merchant vessels many of which are owned by its wealthy merchant families and the city boasts quite a large navy and an active fishing fleet as well.

Though it is a protectorate of Thebos, Cinnoros maintains a modicum of independence from the Theban Kingdom owing to its remote location, and people of all sorts seeking independence from the Theban kings or other tyrants often seek refuge here where they are far away and somewhat free from their former rulers or masters.  The result is that is Harbor Reach is considered a free city and boasts a wide variety of different cultures and races of people from many corners of Averlorn, including rogues, sailors, fishermen, refugees, former slaves, traders, mercenaries and adventurers all thrown together into the lively and interesting confines of the city.  It is a sanctuary of sorts for a wide variety of transient travelling folk and those who call it home, and it functions somewhat as its own city state with its own local laws and governance.  The reality is that like the kingdoms of the trench, it is really a remote backwater and is only protected by Thebos because of its importance as a gateway to maritime trade along the coast.  This invariably means that the senate in Grand Oryx rarely troubles themselves with the day to day goings on in the city unless there is a direct threat to its interests concerning trade and mercantile activity including war and the occasional act of piracy. 

The city does have a very large Oryxian guild presence due to the bustling maritime trade that occurs there, and it is sometimes referred to as “Little Grand Oryx” for this reason.  The city is well protected and has a very active and visible city watch, except in some of the rougher neighborhoods on the southern end of town.  The port in the harbor typically moors hundreds of ships at a time and the aerodrome is also very busy and usually hosts thirty or more dragon ships moored there on any given day.

The port city and shipping running in and out of Harbor reach is often plagued by roving bands of pirates which raid up and down the coastline looking to plunder lightly defended maritime shipping targets.  Adventurers, bounty hunters and mercenaries are often hired in the city to hunt down and eliminate these troublesome piratical bands and their leaders who prey upon the merchant vessels that frequent the port city.

Dark Eel Grove – a small town between Orcwall and Caursetti.  There was some trouble here recently Trouble the daughter of a trader’s cousin disappeared.  A party was sent out to find her but a Halfling was the only survivor of search party to return.

Point Chudoc a.k.a. the Devil’s Cape – point Chudoc and the town of the same name and lands nearby are located on the southwestern cape of the Island of Rhaghaera.  Point Chudoc is also called the Devil’s Cape because of the rock shoal and rough seas that cause so many shipwrecks here, and because of the many Sahugin that are known to prowl its waters.  About three miles inland from the beach, one can see a small square Norman style keep which guards the small human village that is nearby and serves as the seat of the Barony.  The town and keep are on the outskirts of the god king’s realm and the keep serves as a border outpost to guard against incursions by the forces of Malithorn.  The keep was was built by a minor noble named Emir Korin who was given the land by the God King and charged with the task of defending his borders from Ravishar’s dark hosts.

Orcwall – a.k.a. the Keep on the Borderlands is situated as a bulwark between the Kingdom of Raegeleth and Mallithorn.  The keep not as well defended as we originally thought – the baron has not been seen in some time and is presumed dead. He has been gone for 9 months or more as of the time of the Black Crowe’s adventure there.

The City of Rav'mheken – The capital of the Kingdom of Malithorn is the city of Rav ‘mheken which lies within a network of smaller islands off the eastern coast of Rhaghaera.  These islands are an extension of the Kingdom of Malithorn, most of which lies on the island of Rhaghaera in the Southeastern portion of the island.  Ravishar the Undying holds court in the tower of Nol Gremmen which overlooks the forbidding sea cliffs perched high above the city.

Tol Alatheon – a sea elf community and trading out post which is often incorrectly referred to as Alatheon, lies in the Northeast of the island of Rhaghaera along the coast. The island of Alatheon itself is to the Northwest – silly elves and their bizarre naming conventions.

Zarathus – an Etrisian coastal city much like Harbor Reach.  Zarathus is also a free city and a bustling center of trade and maritime commerce.  Zarathus is about a one week ship’s ride to the south of Harbor Reach.  Overlooking its busy harbor is a huge statue of Thor.  Despite the fact that the people of Zarathus are primarily of Ardrois stock, they worship a mixture of Greek and Norse gods.  The Crippled Ape Inn is a favorite of travelers and is usually relatively quiet.

Averlorn Campaign - Lands and Islands in and Around the Archipelago

The Archipelago is a sprawling island chain running north to south which lies across the shallow sea from the eastern coast of Averlorn  and the free cities of Harbor Reach and Zarathus.  The island chain is about the same size of all of the British Isles combined and starts in the warmer southern climate of the Grand Banks and stretches all the way to the north off of the coast of Fallen Leutra and the Northern Reaches covering a vast stretch of ocean from north to south.

The Sea Elf Kingdom of Alatheon - the Kingdom of Alatheon lies to the north of the Island of Rhaghaera.  The kingdom maintains a series of trading settlements, outposts of a sort on nearby islands including Rhageara. These are always found near the communities of their Volkyr allies and with names such as Tol Alatheon or Dur Alatheon, their names are the source of some confusion among men.

The Archipelago - The Archipelago is series of islands and island chains that is about the Size of all of the British Isles combined.  On the seas of the Archipelago, the Thugee often find themselves at odds with the sea elf culture and the Volkyr (the predominant and native human culture of the Archipelago). Currently, there is no state of war, but that's primarily because the Thugee are so disorganized and lack a central governing body.  Throw in the occasional pirate ship along with the vicious sea devils and you can see that the seas of the Archipelago are quite lawless.  The Thugee's chief antagonists are the Sea Elves, and occasionally, Mountain Elf raiders (sky wolves) who see themselves as the masters of the sky.

There are a few relatively large and xenophobic Elven communities in the Archipelago.  These realms are feudal and ruled by a monarchy chosen from one of the castes (they have a rotating monarchy not unlike what you see in Brusts' work). In that society, a Sun Elf would be seen as a soldier or perhaps a minor noble.

Big Croc Island - this island is or was a notorious pirate hangout.  The last group of pirates that were there came to a poor end 20-30 years ago.  Their hideout was reputed to be located in a series of caves found on the south side of the island off of the main inlet nearby.

Ertris – This City State is the principle rival of Grand Oryx.  Though considerably smaller in populace than Thebos, the Adroisian city state of Ertris wields surprising military might.  The superior natural resources of Ertris which exists in spite of her relatively small geographical area, allows the Ertrisians to field a formidable fleet of dragonships.  Tensions between the Ertris and Grand Oryx are always high and the occasional conflicts occur typically in the skies over the Scourge.

Fallen Leutra – This land is in the distant Northern Reaches and its primary inhabitants are the Thugee tribes of Leutra, the Northmen of Averlorn.  In the distant past, the Serpent Men Empire in Leutra stretched over much of the known world. Their greatest cities and temples were swallowed up by the vastness of the Scourge long ago but many ruins of their once great empire remain in the region of Leutra along with scattered populations of serpent men and lizard men.

The Island of Farault – this nearly deserted island is north of Caursetti.  Long ago, the Thugee erected rune stones of power here and it is seen by the Thugee as a sacred site.  The Stones of creation, as they are called, are purported to have healing power.  When Grumlor, the leader of the Black Crowes was sick (it was said that he was cursed by the gods) the healers of the Brotherhood needed the magic of stones to heal him and sent an expedition to the island to retrieve rubbings of the stones in order to perform powerful healing magics for their leader.

The Sea Elf Kingdom of Golfyria -  the Kingdom of Golfyria lies to the west of the Island of Rhaghaera.

The Great Banks – These savage Polynesian like jungle islands begin southeast of the Archipelago not far from the mainland.   Sea Elves and humans alike live in small villages scattered in and near the Great Banks.  The Volkyr people, a Polynesian like race of island dwellers, originally migrated to the Archipelago from the grand banks and the aboriginal people still dwell here.

The Island of Ilimus – a Thugee island far to the North of the island of Rhaghaera.  The island is home to one or more of the few scattered Thugee clan holdings in the north of the Archipelago island chain.

The Sea Elf Kingdom of Lothalyn – The Kingdom of Lothalyn is quite distant from Rhagheara, lying in the southwest of the Archipelago far closer in fact to the mainland. It is a single kingdom spread across a vast stretch of islands.

The Kingdom of Malithorn – Malithorn lies in the Southeastern portion of the island of Rhaghaera and is a poor swampy stretch of inhospitable land. A network of smaller islands lying off the coast is also part of the Realm of Malithorn and it is here that Ravishar the Undying holds court. His tower of  Nol Gremmen overlooks a forbidding stretch of sea cliffs perched high above the city of Rav'mheken. Ravishar periodically pits his armies against both the Sea Elf lands and the vast holdings of the God King and his Barons. The Undead Lord, for it is almost certain that he is either a lich or similar unliving monstrosity, shows very little interest in actually conquering the island, only in slowly spreading his influence and wresting away lands for his many nobles to control and rule. Not surprisingly, these borders do not remain settled for very long and frequent raiding from both sides often results in certain swatches of land changing hands with alarming frequency.

Ravishar’s humanoid armies consist primarily of goblins and orcs that bear the distinctive yellow and black Killer Bee symbol painted on their shields.  Evil clerics follow Ravishar but usually worship Orcus or other demon gods.  The Thugee of Fallen Leutra and the Northern reaches hold no love for Ravishar since so many of their kind have fallen under his sway, and it is said he uses their stock to create some of his orc soldiers.  For as long as anyone can remember the God King’s country has been at war with the minions of Malithorn.  The last war was merely three years ago.

The forces of ravisher usually slay their enemies using illusion, guile and deceit to achieve their ends and things are often not as they seem.  They often hire assassins to do these deeds who frequently use poisoned weapons. 

Ravishar is a great ally of the various Thugee tribes and most of the humans who dwell in his domain are of Thugee descent. With these hearty folk he produces a surprisingly potent breed of Orc, creatures that form the bulk of his armies, supplemented by horrendous necromantic constructs. Ravsihar the Undying is an ancient being of unsurpassing evil and malice. His deeds are even known in other lands and he appears to have contacts and minion in many lands. Though a number of his followers are indeed Necromancers, his relationship with the Cult of Orcus is strained and may be the result of a splinter cell born sometime ago within Malithorn.

Nadsul il Alatheon – Nadsul il Alatheon is a trading outpost on a small island in the north of the Archipelago not far from the Ardrois city of Harbor Reach and is something akin to a military outpost given the assaults and raids it has endured over the years.

The Northern Reaches – The ancestral lands of the Thugee who make up for their primitive ships and barbarous ways through shear numbers and tenacity.  The Thugee are raiders, not invaders and often move on rather than moving in when seeking new targets once an area has been plundered. Their dragonships are not as advanced as those of the other races, though their naval power is quite potent, but not focused in any groups larger than a clan squadron.  There are other inhabitants in the Northern reaches besides the Thugee tribes including other human and demi human settlements.

The Kingdom of Raegleth – the Kingdom of Raegeleth lies in the north of the Archipelago along the western coast of the island of Rhaghaera.  The God King Reigns supreme in the golden domed three arched city of Caursetti and has the sole power and authority to awaken the Imperial dragons during times of strife and war.  His generals control vast armies and fleets all sworn to serve him unto death making Raegleth one of the most powerful Kingdoms found in all of the Archipelago.  Caursetti is located on the northeast coast and the lands to the south are farm more unsettled and controlled by a number of small baronies which guard the ever changing border with Malithorn.

The Island of Rhaghaera – Rhaghaera, the largest and principle island of the Archipelago, lies in the northern reaches of the island chain. The island is broken into three separate kingdoms; Raegeleth in the north and along the western coast, the Sea Elf holdings of Alatheon along the northeast coast, and the cruel kingdom of Mallithorn in the south.

The Kingdom of Thebos – Ancient Thebos is the country that sits on the volcanic plateau that rises above the scourge that includes the great City State of Grand Oryx and the surrounding areas of Lykaedia (the Anvil) and the planes of the Pangaeus to the north of Grand Oryx.  It is far inland and to the east of the free city of Harbor Reach.

ICE Rolemaster Standard System, 3rd edition, and 4th edition Stone Rune Trade Dress Illustrations

While doing freelance layout illustrations and artwork for Iron Crown Enterprises in the mid to late 1990's I was tasked with drawing various trade dress illustrations for the new Rolemaster Standard System line.  One of the assistant art directors took notice of the stone borders I did for the MERP Moria module previously, and decided to use a similar style of "trade dress" for the new Rolemaster line of rule books at the time in order to help promote the new product line.  Following this description are scans of the original trade dress illustrations for the various types of magic found in Rolemaster derived from Spell Law, followed by runes for the various Rolemaster skills, racial types and character class abilities.  They were drawn with ink on vellum and done after the initial prototype drawing style was accepted by ICE for the entire series of illustrations completed for the books.

The first three runes below are my interpretation of the Essence Rune, the Mentalism Rune and the Channeling Rune from the original Spell Law book.  The runes that follow were originally envisioned as spell casting runes for the various other classes and sub-classes of spell casters and magical spells found in the tome.

Rolemaster Standard System, 3rd / 4th Ed. Spell Runes

Following this series of books, I was tasked with creating a series of runes to be used as trade dress for the various skills and racial abilities of the Rolemaster Standard System Core Rules.  The following rune drawings were generated in the process of creating the books and primarily depicted character classes, races and even a few abilities and skill class types.

Rolemaster Standard System, 3rd / 4th Ed. Skill, Class and Racial Runes

Following this series of drawings were a few various and miscellaneous runes done to fill in the gaps in the remaining product line as needed after the initial set of drawings were completed.

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Copyright notice:  All original artwork on this page is displayed for self promotion purposes only and is copyrighted by the original artist, Daniel Cruger.  This artwork may be downloaded and used for personal use only and may not be reproduced for commercial purposes in any way without the express written consent of the owner.

Averlorn Campaign - Dungeon Module B2 The Minotaur and Owl Bear's Lairs, the Gnolls and the Shrine of Evil Chaos!

Recap from 1/21/2012 and beyond...

After finally defeating the last of the Bugbears, the group turned its attention to the enchanted labyrinth we had explored previously with the confusion spell on it.  After some time we eventually found the Minotaur’s cave at the end of the Labyrinth and it was quickly defeated mostly due to the casting of multiple magic missiles in quick succession by the three wizards in the party as the others engaged it in melee.  We found some great magic items in its lair which were divvied up amongst the group.  Following our foray into the enchanted Minotaur’s maze, we returned to the Owlbear’s lair and awakened the beast in order to defeat it and steal its treasure.  It was a much tougher encounter than we had anticipated as the ferocious creature managed to bear hug and rend one of our fighters hurting him badly but eventually, the beast was defeated.  At this point we turned our attention to the other side of the complex again and entered the Gnoll’s lair.  After several tough combats we eventually took out the Gnolls and their leader and relieved them of their treasure.

Within the Gnoll Chieftain’s quarters we found a fireplace with a chimney above that lead to the surface, and which was wide enough to gain access to or egress from the place by someone able to make the climb.  We also found a secret door in the Gnoll Chieftan’s room that led to a corridor where we found a pair of Boots of Elvenkind on the body of a dead thief that had succumbed to his wounds in the little used hallway long ago.  The hallway led into a little used storage room where we were surprised by and fought a Gelatinous Cube!  At first we didn't see it and of course were surprised, but it was eventually defeated after a close call with one of the group that was nearly consumed by its quivering yet transparent body.  Within its gelatinous body we found a magic wand and some other items and a few coins.  Beyond the storage room was a series of tunnels that contained several doors.  Our Monk Amul even managed to find a staircase that led upwards at the end of the hallway but we didn't explore the area any further afterwards.  After these adventures we returned to the keep to rest for a while and eventually returned to the Caves of Chaos for more exploration.

We decided to enter the last cave within the box canyon of the complex that we had not yet explored.  The cave mouth in the center of the box canyon was surrounded by a number of twisted and misshapen trees giving the whole place a less than wholesome feel and an eerie and unnatural quiet ensued giving one the impression that even nature was afraid of this place.  As we entered the cave mouth, it led into a 10’ hallway that spilled into a larger 20’ wide hallway in which all of the sounds we made seemed to be amplified due to the slick glassy surface of the worn down smooth stone floor.  This made it very difficult to hear anything but the noises that we made as we walked down the corridor.  We continued exploring the complex and made it to a corner of the corridor that had two doors on either wall of the outside of the corner.  The one on the right led to a set of stairs down, so we decided to mark it on the map but leave it unexplored for now.  We surmised that it may have led to the stairs leading up that we found beyond the Gnoll’s lair since that area was on a lower elevation on the hillside than this area. 

Oddly enough, while we were checking out the doors, we were surprised in the noisy hallway by a large group of zombies due to the excess amount of noise we were making since it was hard to hear anything else but ourselves.  As the battle ensued, our clerics failed to turn the foul undead creatures with their holy symbols and things were looking grim for the group as our fighters were taking a beating.  Just as it looked like we were about to turn the tide of the combat, the other door opened up and we were confronted by a group of four evil clerics and a fierce melee ensued on both sides of the group.  One of them cast a command spell on one of the fighters and told him to “die” though he only dropped to the floor for a round.

We were hemmed in at this point and things were looking grim for the group, but one of the spellcasters made good use of a Protection from Undead scroll that we had acquired elsewhere in the complex, and read it aloud to save the day as we managed to defeat the vile undead creatures.  At the same time, Lorinar cast stinking cloud on the group of clerics in the room just after the door opened and they were immediately incapacitated by the gas and were gagging and vomiting on the floor of the room.  We used a rope and grapple hook to retrieve them from the cloud filled room and relieved them of their belongings and their lives.  They had a number of odd looking amulets on them which we found out later were in fact evil and we also took their robes which we thought might be useful later.

Having had a full adventuring day we decided to return to the keep to rest and recover from our exploits.  On the following day, we returned but decided not to walk right into the front door of the evil cave complex where we had fought the zombies and clerics previously and announce our presence to our enemies.  Instead, we decided to enter the complex by a different route that might attract less attention.  So this time, our Monk Amul shimmied down the chimney to the Gnoll Chieftan’s quarters below and the group followed down the rope he had used.  We started exploring the area beyond the secret door and store room and Amul scouted ahead a bit to determine if the stair at the end of the hallway connected to the area with the undead and clerics and he determined that it did.

Rather than ascend to that level, or explore a couple of other passages that branched off from the main passage, we decided to open another door that was in the hallway instead.  The door was bolted shut so after prying it open, we descended a set of stairs beyond into an old dusty crypt chamber below to search for loot.  Within were a number of coffins and sarcophagi which we proceeded to search.  When we opened up one of the sarcophagi an ancient and evil creature within sprang to life and attacked the group – it was a level draining Wight!  A fierce and tense melee ensued in which our Paladin was hit by the malevolent and evil being and was drained of a life energy level before we finally managed to slay the horrific creature.  Within a secret compartment hidden in its resting place we found a magical sword and a magical scroll.  After this combat we returned to the keep to rest and recoup.  At this time we discovered that the keep was bristling with activity and that the entire area was on alert for an attack from a large group of marauding humanoids that had been spotted nearby and that had attacked a few farmsteads!

TO BE CONTINUED...

Averlorn Campaign - Dungeon Module B2 Into the Bugbear's Lair

Recap from 1-13-2012  

The Brotherhood of the Black Crowes returned to the scene of the previous action with fresh reinforcements tasked with avenging their fallen comrades and recovering their bodies if possible. This time, knowing that there was the possibility of being hit from two sides again, Lorinar cast Stinking Cloud on the tunnel to the right to keep the Bugbears on that side from attacking (the duration of that spell is semi permanent meaning it lasts for 24 hours per our house rules) while we raided the chambers down the left hand branch of the tunnels. No sooner had he cast it than two Bugbears appeared seemingly out of nowhere and surprised the group. A brief struggle ensued and they were overcome in short order.

We went down to the room on the left and it was empty so we went up the stairs since that's where the leader that we killed came from last time we were here, and was the most likely location of the good loot. There was a door on the left and a passage straight ahead.  The monk listened and heard Bugbears whispering so we decided to open the door. Before we could though, the bugbears on the other side opened it instead and surprised us again! A fierce combat ensued between the new bugbear leader and his two female cohorts and they were finally overcome after an epic struggle. We looted the room and went down the hallway and found a storage room with lines of catnip laid out on a table that turned out to be a Thugee (Norse) shield that we later determined was magical. We bagged up the catnip for further use since it appeared to be a favorite of bugbears, grabbed the shield and a cask of oil and left the other foodstuffs there to be retrieved later.

Lorinar also found a secret door in the room that led into a natural cavern that branched into three separate tunnels that led out of it.  In the room were three giant fire beetles that attacked the group! When the group entered the room to attack them, we got a dizzy feeling so Lorinar, Ragnar and our new sea elf warrior ally Narsil backtracked to the secret door and discovered that the effect went away when you left the room - the cavern was enchanted with some sort of disorienting magical effect!  The others defeated the Fire Beatles in melee combat and then couldn't figure out which way was the way back to the secret door since they were disoriented!  Some guessed correctly but the others did not and started blundering further into the maze.  Since we were out of healing spells we decided not to risk exploring these tunnels any further since we could get lost in there for some time with no way to heal ourselves in the event that we needed healing magics.

So we went back out of the Bugbear lair and back into the cave below that smelled of death. There were bodies of dead adventurers and humanoids everywhere that appeared to have been killed by some sort of large predator. We searched the bodies and found a small amount of coinage but were attacked by a group of giant rats that were quickly dispatched. The monk listened and heard the sound of some large creature snoring and obviously asleep. Our new wizard Abscondias Akbar commanded his Figurine of Wondrous Power to turn into its owl form and we sent it in to scout ahead. It discovered a sleeping Owl Bear in a chamber at the end of one of the passages and we decided to let sleeping owlbears lie and headed back to the keep to rest up and recover spells.

The next day we returned to the caves and the Bugbear lair right before the affect of the Stinking Cloud wore off. When it was gone we went down the hallway which led to a "T" intersection and turned right down a staircase. Below were six bugbears with spears (the ones we had fought before that killed Illundria) and our vengeance was at hand! Two of the wizards cast sleep and five of the six bugbears and our new Paladin Sierra dropped to the floor. We awoke Sierra and killed the remaining bugbear and found some keys and coinage on their bodies. The keys opened up the doors to two prison cells further down the hallways in both directions. The first contained a number of humanoids including a large Bugbear that swore he would help us to defeat the other Bugbears and not attack us (this was verified with Amul's Scroll of Truth). The other prisoner we released was a very strong wildman fighter who appeared to be crazy. He was very intent on getting into "some killing" and the paladin noticed that he had an evil aura about him! He proceeded to arm and armor himself from the fallen Bugbear's weapons and armor and went up the stairs urging us to go kill the remaining bugbears. Meanwhile, we found two more humans in the other cell along with more humanoids. We released the humanoids and freed the humans who vowed to fight for us and said they were former adventurers who had been captured. The wildman at the top of the stair was urging us forward before we could equip the two humans.  Finally, our Thugee cleric Skjeorn had had enough of his ranting and cast hold person on him and we disarmed him and returned him to his cell - he was evil after all and couldn't be trusted.

We went back up the stairs with our new henchmen and down the last remaining passageway where we encountered a large number of Bugbears including females and young that appeared to be imminently hostile, so two of the wizards cast sleep and knocked them all out and it was over - the Bugbear lair had been defeated and our fallen comrades had been avenged! So having successfully completed our mission (though we never found the bodies) we left the Bugbear lair and pondered our next move.  Since we hadn't really been injured too badly, and had most of our healing spells we decided to either enter the enchanted caverns or return to the Owl Bear's lair in search of more loot!

A brief note - despite it being Friday the 13th, our luck was normal in this game. We won roughly half of our initiative rolls and were only surprised by the bugbears roughly half of the time. This made a huge impact on the final outcome of the session and contributed to our successful foray.  During the previous fight with the Bugbears, not only were we surprised on the initial encounter, we never won initiative (lost 5 in a row) and only tied twice after that and half of the group was wiped out.

TO BE CONTINUED…

NIGHT RIDER - Fiction from High School and a Cool 3D Drawing of Skull Castle!

Holmes Basic Sample Dungeon Cross Section

I was poking around in the attic the other day and finally found my two copies of Gallery Magazine that I worked on as the Science Fiction Editor back in high school.  I wrote two science fiction/fantasy stories for the magazine during that time but distinctly remember writing the second piece as a junior in 1983 because in essence, it was my first ever written recap of D&D play, and also my first attempt at fiction writing.  Rather than just writing it from a blank piece of paper which I have always had a hard time doing, I wrote up an AD&D adventure centered around a wizard's keep called Skull Castle and the story itself is called "A Visit to Skull Castle".  So where did I get the idea for skull castle you might ask?  The Holmes Basic D&D sample dungeon cross section for Skull Mountain of course!  For the second story, I ran a friend of mine through the adventure that I wrote during study hall - yeah, we weren't studying real hard, but it was for the school magazine after all!  I took notes during play about what happened and afterwards, I wrote up a recap of the adventure as a basis for the second magazine story.


I totally forgot about the fact that I had done this little prequel story first while in 10th grade in the 1982 edition of Gallery Magazine, and that it included a very cool 3D view of the castle that I drew up and inked for the story!  I was just learning drafting at the time (I took a drafting class in 9th grade in high school and eventually got a degree in architecture) but had drawn up many a dungeon plan prior to drawing this.  In fact, if it wasn't for D&D I probably would have never become an architect in the first place.  The castle drawing actually looks like a perspective but may have been an isometric type of drawing though if so, it's it doesn't look like its in the usual 30/60 degree angle format (but it may be).  I'll have to slap this sucker on the old drafting board and see if it really is a true perspective or an isometric drawing.  Either way, it's a precursor to some of the cool castle drawings I did for Iron Crown Enterprises back in the day, a few of which were 3D perspectives or isometric/axonometric projections like this one.  It also illustrates my fanaticism and intense interest in castle design and construction and castle drawing which was a direct result of playing D&D as a kid.

I had a book when I was a kid (though I'm not sure where it is now) simply entitled Castle by David MacAulay (see Amazon link here:  Castle by David MacAulay) which describes how the Norman Conquerors built their castles to control Wales after their conquest of England in 1066.  The book is wonderfully illustrated and includes plans, perspectives and illustrations of a fictitious castle supposedly built in Wales following the Norman Conquest.  The drawings are very detailed and take you from design through construction, and even illustrate a siege of the castle at the end by an opposing army.  This is where I learned the most about how actual historical castles were really built, and the book is highly recommended reading for anyone who has an interest in this topic, especially gamers and military history buffs.  I went on to earn a minor degree in Architectural History from UVA along with a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Design, and wrote my minor thesis on, you guessed it, the Evolution of the Tower Keep in Medieval England.  That's up in the attic too and maybe someday I'll scan that in to post here as well.

In the meantime, enjoy my first foray into fiction writing and an early 3D castle drawing in the story below.  I'll post the recap of the actual adventure from the 1983 publication of Gallery Magazine as a followup to this blog post.  I'll see if I can find the original plan layout for this castle and the dungeon write up to post here as well, but my guess is I've lost it at this point.  There's nothing to keep me from re-creating the castle plan and D&D adventure write up from the recap and the drawing below though!

Copyright notice:  All original artwork and works of fiction on this page are copyrighted by the original writer and artist, Daniel Cruger.  This story and artwork may be downloaded and used for personal use only and may not be reproduced for commercial purposes in any way without the express written consent of the owner.

Averlorn Campaign - Dungeon Module B2 Of Hobgoblins, Bugbears, and a Fatal Foray

Recaps from 12-16-2011 and 1-6-2012

Part 1 The Hobgoblin's Lair

After the initial encounter with the goblins, we continued searching their lair and eventually found the chief’s quarters where we fought their leader, several guards and several female goblins and managed to kill them all.  We found a tapestry woven with silver and gold threads that was worth a fair sum of gold and a pewter bowl and some additional coinage as well.  In the next room we found a store room which was guarded by four more goblins and managed to slay them in a brief but fierce melee.  The room mostly contained ordinary supplies of no great worth.

We kept exploring the other side of the complex and went up a couple of flights of stairs which ended at a door.  We opened the door and encountered a large group of Hobgoblins which the wizards managed to put to sleep without too much trouble.  After the hobgoblins were put to the sword we continued exploring the Hobgoblin’s lair and eventually came into a prison/torture chamber occupied by two hobgoblins, one of which was wielding a whip.  After a short melee, the hobgoblins were dispatched and we released a plump merchant, two men at arms and the merchant’s wife who were chained to the wall.  The merchant told us he would give us a reward for rescuing him and his wife said she would give us a magical dagger as well.  The two mercenaries who were formerly the merchant’s guards agreed to fight for us as men at arms if we would arm and armor them in exchange for rescuing them.  Since we had released prisoners that needed to be returned to the keep safely, we decided it was a good time to go back at this point.

Once we collected our rewards and equipped our new men at arms, we returned to the Caves of Chaos once again to resume the exploration.  This time, we entered the next cave entrance up higher on the hill past the hidden entrance to the Ogre’s lair.  There was a closed door at this entrance with a sign on it written in common which said “Come in, we’d like to have you for dinner!”  Amul the monk examined the locked door and found a hidden latch on the outside that slid the bolt open to allow entry into the hallway beyond.  The group went down the right hand corridor since the areas to the left looked familiar - we had explored these other areas previously including the torture chamber/prison and the room connecting to the Goblin’s lair.  As we walked down the hall, the group was attacked by a group of six guards in a room off of the hallway.  A brief but fierce melee ensued and the six hobgoblins were dispatched without too much difficulty.  And that’s where we ended the session.

In the next session, we started off in the hobgoblin lair having just fought the guards in the room on the left of the hallway.  We knew we had company coming because we could hear them moving down the hall, so we fell back into the room and formed a line with Fauna and Sulethri attempting to block the entrance with the others behind them in the room.  A mob of hobgoblins showed up in the hallway with their leader behind them exhorting them to push into the room.  We held them back for a round or so but then they broke through on Sulethri's side, and swarmed around the wizards Lorinar and Ragnar on the left.  The rest of the group behind the front line guys couldn't do much to help so both spellcasters attempted to cast sleep while being engaged in melee with their shield spells up.

Ragnar got hit and lost his spell but Lorinar managed to get his Sleep Spell off and the crisis was averted as all of the lower hit die hobgoblins (except for the leader) plus our two henchmen were knocked out.  The leader tried to flee but Amul, Fauna and Lorinar chased him down at the door and the elf managed to put two arrows in him doing maximum damage with both arrows and killed him, just as the others rained blows down on him.  We dispatched the rest of the hobgoblins and searched their lair where we found an armory stocked full of weapons and armor including two suits of plate mail, one of which was dwarf sized which we gave to Rollo the fighter/cleric.  We gave one suit of plate mail to one of our henchmen fighters as well.  We also found a potion and a magic wand.

Part 2 The Bugbear’s Lair

After sacking the Hobgoblins lair and looting it thoroughly, the group fell back to the keep and paid the local cleric to cast some healing on the two characters that went down in the previous fight who were lucky enough to survive with only broken limbs.  Then we sold and divvied up the loot.  After all of this was taken care of and we acquired provisions, we headed back to the Caves of Chaos and decided to explore some of the caves on the right side of the valley during this trip.  Amul the monk checked out one cave on the lower right side near the valley floor but it "smelled of death" so we bypassed it.  Then we went up the hill to the cave just to the left of the last orc lair we had previously sacked.  There was a sign at the door in three languages inviting any and all humanoids in for dinner (or to be dinner rather).  It said come in and report to the room on the left for a meal.  I can't believe we did it but we walked right in and did just that and were surprised by three Bugbears!  (Talk about walking into the trap...) That wasn't the worst of it though (we could have handled them) but one rang a gong and alerted the whole complex to our presence, so we decided to fall back down the hall a bit since there was a stair on our right side and there would surely be more coming up behind us.  Sure enough, a really big leader Bugbear came down the stair to join the others and more started coming down the hall behind us!

So we fell back further so that we would at least be able to escape back out the way we came if things got bad and things started going south shortly thereafter.  Fauna went down on the front line of the group to the left and about six bugbears showed up in the hallway on the right and threw their spears at the two mercenaries covering our rear.  One of them went down with a spear in his chest (he was dead) and that left one 1st level mercenary between the bugbears and the wizards!  He didn't last long and went down as well and then they were on Illundria and Ragnar.  Lorinar and the Monk retreated out the hallway (the Monk was carrying the fallen Fauna) and beckoned the others to follow while they still had a chance since it was looking like we could lose the entire party at this point if we stayed to fight.  But Illundria and Skjeorn opted to stay and to try and cast spells to cover the retreat or make a heroic last stand.  Skjeorn cast hold person on the leader who failed his save and Sulethri the half orc warrior managed to kill him.  The group had only killed about four Bugbears at this point out of eleven or twelve.  Illundria got hit and lost her spell and Ragnar got hit and was hurt badly but was still standing at the end of the round.  Lorinar yelled “get out while you still can, I'll cover your retreat!”  And the others attempted to run.  Sulethri was hit as he attempted to flee and went down as was Illundria and she fell as well.  Lorinar cast stinking cloud in the cave mouth to prevent them from following us and we waited about an hour but the others never emerged.  The DM told us afterwards that they both rolled 3’s on their Death and Dismemberment rolls and were finished.

Fauna the Ranger rolled a 4 on her Death and Dismemberment roll and lost her arm!  It could have been worse, she could have died but fortunately made her saving throw against death.  On the way back we encountered a group of four ogres blocking the way along the road who tried to attack us but we successfully evaded them and made it back to the keep.

It was an exciting but brutal session.  The decision made by Illundria and Skjeorn to stay and fight in such a hopeless situation ended up being a bad call but it inspired Sulethri to stand with them and it cost two of the three dearly.  The group had been fairly lucky in the caves so far with only one loss, but our luck clearly ran out during this session.  The decision to walk right into the trap was what led up to the disaster in the first place though and was not very well thought out but luck was not with the Brotherhood of the Black Crowes that day.  First we were surprised by the Bugbears, then we lost initiative five times in a row (talk about unlucky!) and then only got two simultaneous initiative rolls at the end using B/X group initiative.  Group initiative works fine except when you have abhorrent luck like that.  When you can’t win initiative things can get ugly real fast as they did in this session.  So in that entire combat, we never won a single initiative and paid the price!  That was the difference right there since Illundria lost her Color Spray spell when she got hit.  Also, we have had many characters go down previously but had been very lucky with the Death and Dismemberment rolls, but that luck ran out as well during this session.  This was what you call the classic low level funnel to weed out the weak and unfit so that only the strongest survive - three characters and two NPC henchmen were lost in the RPG Cuisinart of doom known as the CAVES OF CHAOS!!!

After we returned to the keep and rested for a bit, Fauna decided that her adventuring days were over at least for the time being – she could still use her sword and could even wear a shield on the stump of her arm but could no longer use her bow so she left the keep and returned to Caursetti to return to more mundane duties with the Brotherhood and perhaps even retire as a soldier.  A few days later, a female Paladin by the name of Sierra arrived from Caursetti as her replacement.  She was sent by the brotherhood after they heard of the betrayal by the evil clerics in the keep, as it was suspected that this was the work of Evil Acolytes of our arch enemy Ravishar the Undying and holy reinforcements were in order!

TO BE CONTINUED…