I've started this Blog as a way to give my players info about the current campaign. I may include more as time progresses, but we'll see. Enough of that, let's get on with the session.
This first session got started late, as people needed to make characters. This took approximately half the session. Then, the game was underway.
Our story opens on the continent of
Bilaria. A month before our pc’s enter the story, a great Cataclysm took
place. Near the southern tip of the
continent, people reported seeing “falling stars” or “great balls of fire”
streaking through the sky to strike the earth. Massive earthquakes, floods, and
tornadoes hit the earth and devastated the population. When it was all over,
the southern tip of the continent was just gone, and a large part of the
southern tip dropped about 700 feet, the land beyond that was left being
blighted. About 80 % of the population of the Kingdom of Aartis is just gone,
King George, most of the soldiers, nobles, and people are missing and presumed
dead. People have only started entering what’s being called “The Waste” in the
last two weeks, and none of them have come back yet. Weird things have been
happening all over, too. Flames sometimes burn the wrong color. People fall
from great heights and emerge virtually unscathed. The dead sometimes return to
life. The list goes on and on and on.
As we
join the game, our party is entering the town of Grendal; a mining town on what
is the southern frontier, about a mile from the waste. You have Laurel the
Cleric, genuinely ready to help those in need. There’s Jeff, the hardy fighter,
ready to come to the rescue of those that need his help. There’s Joe, the
watchful Wizard, growing in power and knowledge. There’s George, the shifty
Rogue, always has three schemes going at once. There’s Noah the resilient Bard,
always friendly and engaging along with Eric, the mysterious tattooed man,
mysterious to everyone. The party, having been through town briefly before on
their way to their homes (in Aartis, a part now swallowed by the Waste) decided
to head straight to the most upscale Inn in town, the Blue Wench, when they
were delayed.
It’s a
pleasant early evening as the party enters the city gates. The streets are
teeming with people, though the mood seems somewhat muted. A jovial looking
middle aged man starts towards the party, saying hello, when a hooded man steps
out of the shadows and slits his throat.
Immediately,
Jeff leaps forward, pulling his sword to attack the assailant. There’s a little
back and forth, but one of the local guard joins the fray and the man is
killed. Laurel attempts to heal the drunk, but she’s too late. Upon rifling
through the assailant’s pockets, George finds a coin pouch with a smattering of
coins in it and what appears to be a wand. Joe takes the Wand, casting “Detect
Magic” and learned that it was a major
magic item, probably more powerful than anything he had ever held before. It becomes apparent that the assailant’s blade
was poisoned. Morgan Burnham (the head of the Guard in town) approached to meet
the party, cautioned them to “watch themselves”, and said he’d send a healer to
attend to Jeff. Evidently, several people in the last week or two have been
murdered like that. The party enters the Blue Wench Inn where they met the
owner of the Inn, a female dwarf named Melora Mountainsdeep (Moody) who offered
them room and board if Eric and Noah would perform. A healer promptly came and
healed Jeff. Joe had a meeting with Laurel and George in which he expressed
concern that Jeff may have been compromised. He cast Identify and felt compelled to point the wand out the window and
shout “SHICKETYSHACK”. A medium-sized gong appeared in the air and a mallet
struck it twice before disappearing. It was a Wand of Wonder with 49 charges
left. The group bedded down for the night.
The
next day, Laurel went to the local temple of Pelor and spoke to an acolyte
there, wishing to have a spell cast so she can speak to the spirit of the dead
town drunk. The head Cleric was busy at the moment, but Laurel expressed her
willingness to return. Meanwhile, the rest of the party (especially the Bard)
found out that all the victims were serving in the army nigh on twenty-five
years ago when the known world was fighting against the powerful Wizard Darvil
Mortuus; seems to be the only link between the victims. They’ve learned there’s
a 50 man garrison of Aartis soldiers that are staying in the city along with
the King’s Brother, Duke Brayne and his bratty-ass spoiled son Smedrick staying
in the castle. The Conglomeration has also set up shop, though nobody that got
jobs for them has returned yet.
That’s
where the session ended. The next session will see further investigation
