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Red Hand Of Doom - Part One: The Witchwood
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.133942
133953
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.
1970 replies and 84 files omitted.
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134517
134518 134530
Pic is me getting into character as I realize I might have to roleplay every cat in the setting.

Brozal, Whiskers, I'd like to do your things today, so we can start the next session at the beginning of day 2.

I would like to begin early in the morning on Saturday. I cannot afford to play all of Sunday like last week.
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134518
Spoilered
>>134517
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134519
Chad, I'm assuming you'll have retired to the Inn.
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134521
134530
Chad, what do you have in your inventory?
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134522
134523
Okay, the local Shrine Of Pelor is a humble building: A small temple of the same fieldstone-and-wood construction used by many other buildings in the town.

Brozal trudges along the path towards the temple unarmored, having dropped off his armor for refinishing at Morlin’s Smithy. He carries a sack of coins and two gem-encrusted Wakizashi by his side.

The temple just 50 ft or so from one of the Town Watchposts, and the Watchmen glare at you as you pass. They chatter to eachother in voices to hushed and far for Brozal to hear in-character, but I feel like posting anyway.
>"An Orc slipped past! Sound the alarm!"
>"No, wait, I the courier just said one's been commissioned by captain Soranna."
>"She commissioned an Orc? Are we really that desperate?"
>"Shhh, he's coming. Stand watch in case he tries anything."
>"I've got my eyes on that bastard..."
>*loads crossbow*
Despite this,
I totally didn't mean to do a more difficult confrontation when you were entering the town for the first time... I absolutely didn't omit that that part because I was exhausted from DMing combat all day...

Brozal enters the temple without being shot. It's quite a lovely place, though not ornate in any particular way. The windows shine the last of the evening light into the room.
Anonymous
44eee0f
?
No.134523
134524
>>134522
I look for the treasurer
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134524
The Temple is mostly empty, there are a few scrolls on the walls depicting figures of knights on horses with lances or armored warriors smashing skeletons with maces, in glory to the god of strength.
It appears as though Brother Derny has been trying to motivate the local guards between preaching.
>>134523
You hear a feminine gasp come from around the corner as you turn.
"Halt, who goes there!" A deep (and loud) masculine voice, calls out, followed by a loud clang
Anonymous
44eee0f
?
No.134525
134526 134529
"Brozal the Fire Bringer. I have come to donate gold."
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134526
134527 134528
Brozal rounds the corner and sees a stout old man, albeit a very muscular one, kneeling on one foot as he tries to get up off of a stool. Laying beside him appears to be what looks an enormous iron mace: the sound of the clanking. Two nuns, dressed in white robes, stand beside him, whispering fearfully in a language that Brozal cannot understand.
>>134525
The old Priest looks up across the temple at the Orc, the getting up as he does so. His expression appears fierce until he hears the name.
"... Brozal. Hmmph, I was told you'd come here. I take it your temple sent you here?" He replies.
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134527
>>134526
>the sound of the clanking
*the source of the clanging
Anonymous
44eee0f
?
No.134528
134529
>>134526
"Yes."
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134529
134535
The old man appears to have been sweating, but quickly fixes himself up, straightening his robes, puffing out his broad chest and brandishing his holy symbol. He speaks deeply, but eloquently.
The nuns continue their whispers, but a wave of the hand silences them both.
>>134525
"Very well, charity is always appreciated here, especially in these troubled times." he says, perking up
>>134528
"And what would be your mission, brother? I take it you didn't travel all this way to appreciate the scenery."
Anonymous
a897a3c
?
No.134530
134531 134532
>>134517
What time at?
>>134521
A bunch of weapons, a bedroll and a water flask or whatever.
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134531
>>134530
I'd like to start at maybe 8:30-9:00-ish, EST. The earlier we start, the more we'll be able to cover. I was hoping to get through at least four encounters per adventuring day (not necessarily combat), and at least one adventuring day per session.
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134532
134533
>>134530
For your starting equipment I gave you a +2 Periapt of Wisdom and two Wilding claps.
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134533
>>134532
*Wilding Clasps
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134534
All three of those are leagues above what should be your item level... but they're within your WBL and should carry you for the adventure.
Anonymous
44eee0f
?
No.134535
134536
>>134529
"I am here to kill goblins." Brozal then dumps 427 GP onto the table.
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134536
>>134535
"Two kill goblins, you say?" The buff old man says, as he looks through the bag and pauses at fancy swords
"That's quite the odd mission to travel all this way for, but I can't say it isn't appreciated. Those savages have been wreaking havoc on all over lately. Merchants, farmers, woodsmen, and fisherman alike have been taken by those hordes. They've getting fiercer
and bolder every day; I can only imagine what's stirred them. They've been raiding these parts for centuries, but never this boldly, never in these numbers."
"The town guard are all but demoralized, and the townsfolk can't take much more of it..." He says, his weariness obvious, and not just from the oversized mace he was swinging earlier
"Word of you and your odd friends travelled here before you did. My alcyotes were even gossipping about a talking cat. Tell me, what did Wiston put you up to?"
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134537
>two
*To kill goblins
So many brainfarts today...
Anonymous
44eee0f
?
No.134538
134539
"To kill goblins."
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134539
134540
>>134538
The human blinks twice
"... Very well then. Good luck with that." He says
"If you are ever in need of healing, our doors are always open." he continues, handing the sack to one of the nuns
Anonymous
44eee0f
?
No.134540
134541
>>134539
"I am in need of healing."
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134541
134542
>>134540
The Cleric looks Brozal up and down, noticing the unarmored Orc's wounds.
"... Indeed you are. I'm surprised you're even standing with wounds like that."
He mutters something in an unknown language, brandishes his focus, reaches out towards your chest and taps you. A brief flash of white light erupts from his fingertips, and you feel your wounds close entirely.

Brozal is now just a couple points below full HP.

"Consider it thanks for your generosity towards our temple. Get some rest and you'll be ready for business in time for prayers (morning, for Pelorites)."
Anonymous
44eee0f
?
No.134542
134543
>>134541
Brozal will go sleep on the ground.
Anonymous
44eee0f
?
No.134543
134544
>>134542
Preferably outside the temple
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134544
134545
>>134543
The old man looks annoyed.
"If you're going to meditate, do it in the courtyard out back." He calls out

"Ascetics.. always going the extra mile..." he mutters under his breath
Anonymous
44eee0f
?
No.134545
>>134544
Brozal sleeps in the courtyard.
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134547
134548 134558
We can start whenever everyone is ready and responsive.

Whiskers elected to meet his cohort on the discord server (in part, since I wasn't exactly sure
Although interactions outside the thread are normally considered to be decanonized, I consider Whiskers meeting Princess Bagel to be "off-screen", occurring at night when the other PCs slept.
I still expect him to introduce Bagel properly in-character when he gets the chance, since he now all but controls the NPC. I have shown him Bagel's sheet and will upgrade/modify it as I see fit.
He may also rebuild his character to swap out the feats he requested earlier. Since he has elected not to attempt to attract followers at this point, no additional cats will follow him, but he may attempt to attract more at a later date.

END OF DAY ONE

______________________________________

DAY TWO BEGINNING

Chad would return to the grove of the Old Ones before dawn. I've taken the liberty of designating his spell prep ritual to occur at sunrise, since Ehlonna Epona is a sun goddess; if Chad's player would rather designate his daily prayer/meditation at another time, he may . He would traverse the woods without penalty, and find Misty sitting at the center of the stone ring covered in a blanket of flowers, with four children small sleeping peacefully beside her. He appears to be well-fed and rested, although perhaps a tad bit spoiled.
Avarthel, Keeper of Eth, the young half-elf Druid, is laying stones in a prayer ring and lighting some sort of incense. He smiles as Chad arrives, and invites him to join him for prayers.
At this point, Chad would spend an hour in meditation and prayer as the sun rises, and and his heart is refreshed with a new allottment of spells. As a vancian divine spellcaster, Chad may prepare any of the hundreds of spells on the Druid spell list that he is capable of casting, and I expect him to post his spell list as soon as he is ready. If he would prefer to instead roll with the selection of spells that I picked for him yesterday, that is fine as well. I will remind Chad's player that as a Druid, he is free to experiment with seemingly-useless or situational spells, since any of the spells he prepares can be spontaneously channeled into the ever-useful Summon Nature's Ally spell; complimented by his Ashbound and Augment Summoning feats.

Sir Brozal has squatted in the courtyard like a hobo accepted the accepted the hospitality of the temple of Pelor, he too instinctively awakens before sunrise (the light stinging him from his light sensitivity), and is offered to pray with Brother Derny and his two lovely acolytes.
Because I'm feeling Gygaxian, I'm going to make him roll a Fortitude save to see how sleeping on the ground without a bedroll effected him.
He would return to Morlin's Smithy shortly after to pick up his armor. Morlin has made good on his promise to refinish his looted armor, the banded mail now en-blazoned with symbols of the Dawnfather, with retina-burning continual flames lining the shoulders.

Whiskers would wake up in the room reserved for the party, and would dutifully go to the House of Sertieren the Wise. The old halfling answers the door groggily, having worked through the night scribing the requested scroll of Hailstones. He gives it to you with a yawn and mumbles something along the lines of "Tell your master I wish him good luck" before hobbling off to bed, evidently still mistaking Whiskers to be some strange familiar.
Mittens, the Witch-cat, glares at you as you leave, her golden eyes shining bright in the morning light.
Since Sharress is also a goddess of sunrise, I would assume that Whiskers prayers, should he choose to spend the time, would be completed at around the same time everyone else's would.

And none of y'all remembered to buy horses...

The party would meet at the Inn, early in the morning.
Anyone present may participate in dialogue as they wait for the other members to arrive.
Anonymous
a897a3c
?
No.134548
134549
>>134547
I'm here.
I will continue to use the list you made for me.
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134549
>>134548
Great.
Anonymous
44eee0f
?
No.134550
I am here
Anonymous
bfd7c80
?
No.134552
Alright. I'm here, too.
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134553
134555 134556
Okay, let me check the maps for travel time... Brozal's waking speed in banded mail is 20 ft...

Did the party decide which way they were going first?
Anonymous
44eee0f
?
No.134554
134557 134558
Okay Brozal will begin the morning by begging for bread in the town square. This happens after he fetches his armor from the smith and thanks said smith for his service. Brozal gifts the smith ten candles since he has no money.
Anonymous
a897a3c
?
No.134555
134556 134558
>>134553
I'm going to the grove.
Anonymous
bfd7c80
?
No.134556
>>134553
>>134555
Whiskers would start to do the morning ritual of waking up, recovering his spells before following Chad along.
Misty would feel the slightest bit heavier as the kittyies hopped on her, ready to set sail.
Anonymous
44eee0f
?
No.134557
>>134554
I was going to tip him with some gold but the candles will suffice.
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134558
134560
>>134555
Trips checked.
I made note of that in >>134547 you would retrieve your horse around the same time that you prepare your spells.

Pardon the delay, I'm still figuring out the timeline of events...

The party moves as fast as its slowest member, which means you guys can travel about ~16 miles in one day, assuming you don't have any delays or obstacles. Dice roll says you travel along mostly farm fields with no immediate delay...

Now, if I recall correctly, you guys wanted to find Jorr before you explored the Witchwood?
>>134554
Brother Derny hands you a piece of bread and tells you not to make a scene. He then pats you on the back and sends you on your way.
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134559
134560 134562
I need to know if you guys are looking for Jorr.
Anonymous
bfd7c80
?
No.134560
134563
>>134558
>>134559
iirc, Jorr's the druid, so yes.
Anonymous
a897a3c
?
No.134562
>>134559
Yes.
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134563
134568
>>134560
Jorr is a woodsman who knows the area.

Now, captain Soranna said this:
>If you take the Witch Trail, go left at the first big trail crossing; Jorr’s cabin is about seven miles in. Or, if you’re on the Dawn Way, take a right on a trail about nine miles from the forest edge. Jorr’s cabin is near the Blackwater.
You can either travel through the Witch Trail through the forest, or partly along the road of the Dawn Way.
Which way do you go?

I'm assuming you guys leave some time around 8-ish.
Anonymous
44eee0f
?
No.134564
134566
Can we make room for misadventures?
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134565
134568
Both paths would lead you through the Witchwood.
The Witch Trail is a track that leads through the heart of the Witchwood. The Dawn Way is a road commonly taken by merchants, surrounded by forest on either side.
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134566
134572
>>134564
Define "make room".
I don't normally plan for misadventures, but I expect them to happen.
Anonymous
a897a3c
?
No.134568
134569
>>134563
>>134565
Dawn Gay.
Anonymous
648ae9c
?
No.134569
134570 134571
>>134568
Is that a yes or no on the Dawn way?
Anonymous
bfd7c80
?
No.134570
>>134569
Dawn way's alright.
Anonymous
a897a3c
?
No.134571
>>134569
Yep.