Greetings. Welcome to the first session of /mlpol/'s first running of the classic third edition d&d campaign Red Hand Of Doom.
On this adventure, our heroes, currently three strong, will encounter dozens of trials that will test their strength, cunning, and friendship as they face an army of goblins.
If you'd like to join, there's still room for more in the party. Don't be shy to ask.
Our story begins in Elsir Vale, with our three heroes on the road to the town of Drellin’s Ferry. The three are seasoned adventurers, and exated heroes to boot. Having fought many battles together before, they are confident in their strength. Legend has it of a vast treasure in the Vault of Vraath Keep, hidden deep in the Witchwood; our heroes, have journeyed all this way to seize the vault for their own.
Despite that, they all have their own motivations to travel to Drellin's Ferry:
Sir Whiskers, a cunning and charismatic Tibbet Jester, is travelling to meet up with an old friend of his: Princess Princess Bagel Jennifurr Fluffykinz the fourth. He hasn't met his old friend since he was a kitten, and he's eager to meet with her again. She has arranged to meet up with him in Drellin's Ferry, and to accompany him on his adventure.
Sir Brozal, a mighty Orc Crusader of Pelor, has received a mission from a high-ranking Cleric of his order has received a powerful vision of war descending on Elsir Vale under the banner of a clawed red hand, and has sent Brolaz to the far reaches of Elsir Vale to avert impending disaster... Brozal isn't exactly sure if the vision was real, or if his master just wanted to get rid of him for the year, but he never turns down a good crusade.
Brother Chad, a wise and powerful Druid, has chosen to accompany his companions on their hunt for the lost treasure in the Witchwood. Sir Whiskers requested his aid because Chad is the most experienced woodsman he knows. Chad is wary of this region, for he's heard that it is ruled by a fierce and territorial Druid, but he embarks upon this jouney nonetheless, the secrets of the Witchwood too tempting to ignore.
...So tempting that he seems to have drifted off somewhere with his horse; probably fucking it again or something. Stupid hippie.
And so, let's begin:
>The afternoon sun beats down on you; the air is hot and still. The sparsely settled lands of Elsir Vale are starting to grow monotonous, with a seemingly endless line of dusty flyspecks of towns. The town of Drellin’s Ferry lies a few miles ahead of you. It’s a settlement hard on the borders of the Witchwood, and the best place from which to begin exploring the nearby forest.
This is the part where the players ask obvious questions that I thoughtlessly ignored in the first post, as well as implore about their surroundings.
/vx/ - Videogames and Paranormal
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1970 replies and 84 files omitted.
>>135008
Aside from them riding Misty again? Not really.
Prolly she's gonna carry the breastplate too unless Brozal wants it.
Aside from them riding Misty again? Not really.
Prolly she's gonna carry the breastplate too unless Brozal wants it.
But, to be clear, you guys are headed towards Vraath keep, correct?
Okay, just checking Brozal's walking speed... You've been marching about 6 hours today (Brozal on foot), so i'm going to need Brozal to roll a Fortitude Save when he gets back.
>>135015
Okay, you avoid exhaustion from marching all day in banded mail.
After another ~5-6 hours of marching, you're well into the Witchwood, in the evening. I'm going to wait until Chad arrives to narrate the next part.
In the meantime, anybody with ranks in Knowledge (Local) or Knowledge (History) can make a check about the keep.
Okay, you avoid exhaustion from marching all day in banded mail.
After another ~5-6 hours of marching, you're well into the Witchwood, in the evening. I'm going to wait until Chad arrives to narrate the next part.
In the meantime, anybody with ranks in Knowledge (Local) or Knowledge (History) can make a check about the keep.
Witchwood is thicc, deep, and dark. The trees are tall, and clearly ancient. Various mosses and vines hang down from dead trees and loom over the path. Indeed, it would be an ideal place for an ambush...
brandishes random encounter table, counting hours of travel
The road itself, however, is relatively clear, and you suffer no serious issues traversing it. Jorr claims that the Keep is just about an hour away, to the north west, but that you'll have to take the old forest trail to the west while taking it.
>>135018
You fail, since you're not from around here.
Jorr, however, passes heroically and is able to fill you in on the story, since the the tale is common knowledge to those native to Elsir Vale.
Normally, you'd have to ask him first, but whatever...
I'm just going to post it in prose, since I don't feel like dialoging the whole thing:
>For centuries, trade through the Witchwood used the Dawn Way, and the soldiers stationed at Vraath Keep were the primary defenders of the region. Their presence kept the road safe for merchants to travel.
>A few years before the fall of Rhest, an ambitious young man named Amery Vraath inherited control of the keep. After the Rhestilor kingdom dissolved, Amery laid claim to the entire Witchwood and sought to rid his new domain of its evil reputation. Chief among his targets was a tribe of forest giants that dwelt deep in the woods. Known as the Twistusks, these forest giants generally kept to themselves but raided merchants on the Dawn Way from time to time.
>The brash young lord gathered together an impressive group of mercenaries and adventurers, and early one summer day led his force against the Twistusks. The battle was furious, but in the end Amery’s men won the day and forced the Twistusks to flee into the mountains. The soldiers burned the giants’ steading to the ground and returned to Vraath, victorious.
>Yet their victory was short-lived. One week later, the surviving Twistusks returned and attacked Vraath Keep during a tremendous thunderstorm. The giants bombarded the keep all night long with hurled boulders and massive poisoned arrows. When the sun rose, four of the Twistusks lay dead amid the ruined keep, but none of the keep’s soldiers or residents remained. Those who had survived the battle were taken away to be eaten by the giants in their own victory feast—all except for Amery Vraath. The young lordling retreated into the vault below his keep after he was shot by a forest giant’s poisoned arrow, hoping to elude death, only to perish slowly of his poisoned wound. Rumors persist that Amery’s ghost haunts the ruins, and that those who dare to travel the Dawn Way at night say they sometimes hear the sounds of his anguished cries coming from somewhere deep underground.
Ans supposedly, the ruins and skeletal remains surrounding it attest to the Keep's tragic story.
So, anyway, in case you didn't know (I'm auto-rolling Chad's nature check), there are indeed still giants in the surrounding region. The ghost stories are probably, because ghosts totally don't exist, right?
The sun begins to set behind the mountains in the west, blanketing the whole region in a dim orange glow. Those without low-light vision begin to find it difficult to see very far into the wood, but aren't significantly inhibited on the road.
brandishes random encounter table, counting hours of travel
The road itself, however, is relatively clear, and you suffer no serious issues traversing it. Jorr claims that the Keep is just about an hour away, to the north west, but that you'll have to take the old forest trail to the west while taking it.
>>135018
You fail, since you're not from around here.
Jorr, however, passes heroically and is able to fill you in on the story, since the the tale is common knowledge to those native to Elsir Vale.
Normally, you'd have to ask him first, but whatever...
I'm just going to post it in prose, since I don't feel like dialoging the whole thing:
>For centuries, trade through the Witchwood used the Dawn Way, and the soldiers stationed at Vraath Keep were the primary defenders of the region. Their presence kept the road safe for merchants to travel.
>A few years before the fall of Rhest, an ambitious young man named Amery Vraath inherited control of the keep. After the Rhestilor kingdom dissolved, Amery laid claim to the entire Witchwood and sought to rid his new domain of its evil reputation. Chief among his targets was a tribe of forest giants that dwelt deep in the woods. Known as the Twistusks, these forest giants generally kept to themselves but raided merchants on the Dawn Way from time to time.
>The brash young lord gathered together an impressive group of mercenaries and adventurers, and early one summer day led his force against the Twistusks. The battle was furious, but in the end Amery’s men won the day and forced the Twistusks to flee into the mountains. The soldiers burned the giants’ steading to the ground and returned to Vraath, victorious.
>Yet their victory was short-lived. One week later, the surviving Twistusks returned and attacked Vraath Keep during a tremendous thunderstorm. The giants bombarded the keep all night long with hurled boulders and massive poisoned arrows. When the sun rose, four of the Twistusks lay dead amid the ruined keep, but none of the keep’s soldiers or residents remained. Those who had survived the battle were taken away to be eaten by the giants in their own victory feast—all except for Amery Vraath. The young lordling retreated into the vault below his keep after he was shot by a forest giant’s poisoned arrow, hoping to elude death, only to perish slowly of his poisoned wound. Rumors persist that Amery’s ghost haunts the ruins, and that those who dare to travel the Dawn Way at night say they sometimes hear the sounds of his anguished cries coming from somewhere deep underground.
Ans supposedly, the ruins and skeletal remains surrounding it attest to the Keep's tragic story.
So, anyway, in case you didn't know (I'm auto-rolling Chad's nature check), there are indeed still giants in the surrounding region. The ghost stories are probably, because ghosts totally don't exist, right?
The sun begins to set behind the mountains in the west, blanketing the whole region in a dim orange glow. Those without low-light vision begin to find it difficult to see very far into the wood, but aren't significantly inhibited on the road.
>>135019
Whiskers and Bagel sat aloft Chad's mare, content with letting her do the legwork like always.
Whiskers and Bagel sat aloft Chad's mare, content with letting her do the legwork like always.
And since nobody mentioned picking it up...
"Don't mind if do then." Jorr says with a whistle, discarding his leather armor and slipping the plate over his chest.
"Light as a feather."
As Jorr finishes recounting the story, you arrive at the old forest road.
>>135021
"I'm from around here." The woodsman replies, strutting along the path like he owns the place, watching out for any more threats ahead
"I've been fighting my own little one-man war against the reds in these woods for years now. Blasted vermin have been swarmin' lately though." he continues
"Don't mind if do then." Jorr says with a whistle, discarding his leather armor and slipping the plate over his chest.
"Light as a feather."
As Jorr finishes recounting the story, you arrive at the old forest road.
>>135021
"I'm from around here." The woodsman replies, strutting along the path like he owns the place, watching out for any more threats ahead
"I've been fighting my own little one-man war against the reds in these woods for years now. Blasted vermin have been swarmin' lately though." he continues
>>135023
"I like my privacy." the leathery-skinned hermit says, casually petting one of his dogs
"When those damn savages aren't around."
"I like my privacy." the leathery-skinned hermit says, casually petting one of his dogs
"When those damn savages aren't around."
>>135024
"Privacy, you say?" Whiskers pipes up, curious by the woodsman "Do you hang out with anybody else besides your... canine companions?"
"Privacy, you say?" Whiskers pipes up, curious by the woodsman "Do you hang out with anybody else besides your... canine companions?"
"I was born on a farm in the Vale a few days from here, but I've lived in these woods for the better half of my life." He continues
>>135025
"Not if I can help it." the hermit replies
"The forest is nice an' peaceful, if you're sharp enough to avoid the local 'wildlife' (monsters). The only ones who give me trouble are those damn goblins who keep running through my woods like they own the place."
"Not if I can help it." the hermit replies
"The forest is nice an' peaceful, if you're sharp enough to avoid the local 'wildlife' (monsters). The only ones who give me trouble are those damn goblins who keep running through my woods like they own the place."
>>135027
"Aren't humans social creatures?" Whiskers asks, curiosity all too present in his feline features:
>"Don't give him ideas, darling," Bagel meows "or else we'd have to contend with those... flea-ridden... things."
"Aren't humans social creatures?" Whiskers asks, curiosity all too present in his feline features:
>"Don't give him ideas, darling," Bagel meows "or else we'd have to contend with those... flea-ridden... things."
>>135029
"Heh, you've got a lot to learn about humans, kitty." the woodsman says with a chuckle
He draws is bow as he peers into the distance, but lowers it after a few seconds.
"Heh, you've got a lot to learn about humans, kitty." the woodsman says with a chuckle
He draws is bow as he peers into the distance, but lowers it after a few seconds.
>>135030
>"Like why they could possibly think having those brutes as pets," Whiskers meows in disdain, hoping his demeanor didn't tip the hunter of anything.
>"Like why they could possibly think having those brutes as pets," Whiskers meows in disdain, hoping his demeanor didn't tip the hunter of anything.
Was brushing Misty for a little longer.
Yes
Situated near the junction of the Dawn Way and Old Forest Road, Vraath Keep is visible from either road from several hundred yards away.
Looming out of the shadowy woods ahead is a haunting sight—a ruined keep. The old castle sits on a small rocky hillock, and you can catch glimpses of a broken tower between the trees. A moss-covered stone at the side of the road you’re following marks a footpath that looks like it leads up to the keep.
The footpath appears to be the easiest path up to the keep from the road. Jorr scouts ahead and examines the path. He says he's found tracks, and claims that numerous medium sized humanoids and several large wolves have been using this track recently.
The keep appears to be about 5 minutes up the hill if you take the path.
Evening will set in soon.
What do you do?
Looming out of the shadowy woods ahead is a haunting sight—a ruined keep. The old castle sits on a small rocky hillock, and you can catch glimpses of a broken tower between the trees. A moss-covered stone at the side of the road you’re following marks a footpath that looks like it leads up to the keep.
The footpath appears to be the easiest path up to the keep from the road. Jorr scouts ahead and examines the path. He says he's found tracks, and claims that numerous medium sized humanoids and several large wolves have been using this track recently.
The keep appears to be about 5 minutes up the hill if you take the path.
Evening will set in soon.
What do you do?
>>135040
Whiskers' hair starts to slowly rise up, making him all poofy on Misty's back. "H-how recent are those tracks?" he asks "and where do they lead?"
Whiskers' hair starts to slowly rise up, making him all poofy on Misty's back. "H-how recent are those tracks?" he asks "and where do they lead?"
>>135043
"That's not good," the pussy mutters "it probably means they've got one of their camps stationed here."
"That's not good," the pussy mutters "it probably means they've got one of their camps stationed here."
“Whoever wanders off will get killed by a ghost. I hear ghosts can control the living.”
Jorr waits ahead on the path.
"Dusk will be upon us soon..." He says, looking up at the evening light.
"Dusk will be upon us soon..." He says, looking up at the evening light.
>>135045
That only serves to make the kitty even more scared, back starting to arch as his tail became all puffy.
That only serves to make the kitty even more scared, back starting to arch as his tail became all puffy.
Jorr apparently sees something too.
He draws his bow.
"Damnit...!" he mutters "Incoming!"
Everyone roll initiative.
He draws his bow.
"Damnit...!" he mutters "Incoming!"
Everyone roll initiative.
Brozal, are you still there?
Fuck.
An unknown monster lunges out of the woods like lightning and scores a 23 inititative. It moves with surprising speed for its size (large) and lets out a gurgling roar, stopping only 20 ft ahead you before spewing a cone of slimy green mist.
pic related
Everyone roll a Reflex save.
An unknown monster lunges out of the woods like lightning and scores a 23 inititative. It moves with surprising speed for its size (large) and lets out a gurgling roar, stopping only 20 ft ahead you before spewing a cone of slimy green mist.
pic related
Everyone roll a Reflex save.
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