Episode 8 - Mining for slaves.

In which our heroes deal with an alien slaver.

The band set about consolidating their gains. While they thought Caius should bear the burden of having kingship thrust upon him they figured what they really needed was a good place to sleep wherever they went in the new kingdom. Some want fame, some want riches, others want hot and cold running courtesans. What they band desired most was a chain of pubs.

There was some argument as what to do with Aquae Arnemetiae. Cheet wanted to tear down the baths, form an alliance between the dog-people, local fey and the giant multi-headed serpent towards druidism and the old ways. The others wanted some stones still standing upon another. They were really set on the public house which was fairly large for a small community since it used to serve the tourist trade. Cheet eventually relented agreeing that bringing in tourists and pilgrims would aid in supplanting the worship of Abbathor.

The next morning brought a small snag in the entire chain of pubs plan. The local dog-man who was an actual brewer had been abducted! A thing had crept into the village, come in through a window and abducted him. The band set off in pursuit, only slightly worried by the fact that while they could follow the drag marks of the brewer the abductor seemed to have no feet. Myrdynus informed everyone it was probably a flying, lightning powered brain / tentacle beast he had seen in a book. Undeterred they pressed on.

The trail led to a section of forest that was dying. Fungi, molds and other noisome things had taken over the once lush forest. Moving through the dank mass they reached an old mine complex. Inside they discovered a large mushroom, taller than a dwarf but just as round. As they approached a mass of hyphae opened and squirmed followed by a second mass close by. The thing had eyes!

The band responded prudently and with fire and cold magics to the monstrosity and it was soon ablaze. They ventured further in and discovered a vertical shaft. Sending Scawl down he discoved the shaft was soon blocked by a mass of flesh. Further progress was possible through some sort of sphincter to which Scawl thought 'No fucking way!' The band retreated from the mine and started looking for another way in.

Outside in the fungus forest Cheet attempted to find the local fey. A blackened almost dead dryad responded, painfully crawling out of a mass of growths. She informed them that the attack had started last season and was centered on the mine. Fortunately she did know of a another way in. A stream from a broached aquifer had made an opening. The band ventured inside, crawling and squirming through the narrow gaps in the rock. It eventually opened out to a large cavern filled with tailings and covered in fungi. There were four large animate fungi around a fire. Nearby were six humanoids which had been transformed by fungi and could be described as fungus men. As the band watched another creature emerged from another tunnel.

The newcomer was a horrific fusion of cephalapod and humanoid. It had a massive ovoid head and two bulging, unblinking eyes. It's purple skin was oily and four snakelike tentacles writhed and squirmed around a lipless, quivering mouth. It wore a semblance of clothes, mainly belts and pouches to hold it's bizarre and eldritch possessions. The creature made no sound, but the fungus men lined up behind it and began to follow the creature. It was at this point that the band attacked.

The battle was quick and brutal. The monster had a mental scream that would reduce any regular mortal to an insensate heap but they prevailed against that and the thing's surprisingly strong tentacles. Soon, it was captured and after a quick charm from Sendin surprisingly talkative, if mental telepathy is talking. It was not a Watcher, but knew of them and regarded them as distant cousins or honoured ancestors, possibly both. It was an inter-dimensional traveler and miner. What it was mining was the head of a dead god floating in the space between worlds. It had come to the world to aquire miners and had allied with the fungus creatures to transform the inhabitants into slaves more able to withstand the horrors of no-space in general and the dead head in particular. It made all sorts of promises and offers, but in reality was biding it's time. Once it had enough strength it vanished, moving from one level of reality to another.

The band then ransacked the creatures local base of operations, found the brewer and left, setting the entire thing to the flame. Once outside they also made arrangements to repair the damage done by the fungus and restore the forest.

Episode 7: Earth and Water

(Last session saw Heskin depart to search in the north for Torm's axe. He was replaced by Myrdynus, a low elven wizard with an unhealthy fascination for the darker arts.)

On reaching Navio, Senden scouted ahead keeping to the tree line for cover. As he approached the fort he noticed several creatures also observing the fort. They had the appearance of wolves but walked like men and carried spears and great war bows, bigger than he had ever seen.They conversed in the language of wolves but Sendin knew a charm to translate their barks, growls and yips. The creatures were intent on the fort as well though they quickly became distracted by the scent of halfling. Thinking they had discovered him Sendin returned to the war-band.

Conferring with the rest of the band they decided to see if there were more of the beast-men. Going as a group they discovered a large band of the creatures just lounging about. With them were three large misshapen dwarves. Ogres! Transformed by some foul sorcery they were little more than brutes, dangerous in battle but not the best conversationalists. The monsters had made no attempt at a camp but were merely resting while they stopped. Having learned of this new threat the band retreated and discussed strategy. Scawl recommended the well heeled orcish tactic of waiting for the others to attack first and then doing for them in the rear. It went a long way towards explaining how the orcs seldom made any progress in their chronic warfare against elf and dwarf.

The monsters made their move at dusk. The band were briefly surprised by a second group of monsters approaching the fort as well. They were even more surprised when a lone figure walked ahead of the second  band and caused the gates to explode in a ball of fire. At this point the monsters attacked, the Ogres rushing to batter down the gates and the beast-men following. Caius then attacked with his men, coming to the relief of the fort they had planned to attack. While his force was more disciplined the savagery and raw power of the monsters was easily a match. The band decided killing the enemy magic user and his guard the best course of action.

Moving round the battle under cover of Cheet's magics the band managed to get in position. The wizard was guarded by several beast-men and an ogre as he cackled and tormented foes with sorcerous fire. As the band closed the wizard uttered a dreadful curse that bewitched and confused Scawl and Myrdynus, Fortunately the spell must of caught the beast-men as well as they attacked each other as much as their enemies.  Still, it would of gone poorly for the band had Sendin not charmed the Ogre and the wizard. With them out of the picture it was an easy matter for Cheet and Perrin to kill the beast-men.

Upon interrogating the charmed wizard they learned he was a renegade druid who had sold his soul to Asmoday, a fiend of the Hells, in exchange for power to slay every last dwarf. The beast-men were his fellow countrymen, transformed by sorcery and the Ogres the wretched remains of their former lords and masters. The band were sufficiantly horrified by his crimes and killed him on the spot. They then took his things. Of particular note was a dagger made of some unearthly metal and what appeared to be a spellbook.

Meanwhile the battle proper was almost over. With the wizard dead any semblance of order in the monsters collapsed and they routed. While the fort had been overrun clearing it of monsters was merely a formality and the band brought managed to acquire the forts pay chest in the looting. Still, there was plenty of booty for everyone.

While the war-band secured the area and rallied the defenders the band wondered what to do next. The wizard had come from Aquae Arnemetiae, a village and baths built on sacred springs with many healing powers. It was the corruption of the pools that had led to the transformation of the villagers.
The band and Caius set off to relieve the village and hopefully remove the curse.

A day later saw them on the outskirts of the village. The remaining villagers were in varying states of transformation into beast-men. The villagers were also acting like beasts. From the pools and the baths came a pulsating greenish light. While the band wondered what to do about the hundred or so beast men in the village Cheet went and contacted a nature spirit. The spirit informed Cheet that an accursed stone had been placed in one of the underground springs. A serpent guarded it and it's multiple heads ensured that it was always wakeful. She gave Cheet a dagger that would grant gills to anyone cut by it.

So the band ventured into the cavern of the spring. Sendin and Myrdynus charmed and lulled the two watchful heads so Scawl could steal the stone. Once removed they destroyed it. While the waters reverted back to their blessed state the people remained changed as beast-men though their senses returned. While thankful they were still in shock over their changed natures.

Episode 6 - The Past and Future Kings

In which our our band meet people and consider who shall rule the island.

Having secured Deva from the undead menace the band organised that the governor hold a feast for the survivors. The governor agreed on the basis that not being lynched was a good thing but did twitch at the sight of people eating him out of house and home. Leaving the town in good spirits the band took off with some of the finest and headed to the armed camp outside.

They arrived and talked with the camps leader, Caius. The low elf renegade had assembled several warbands with the express purpose of liberating Deva from the undead menace and the added attraction of looting the temple of Abbathor. He was relieved to hear that the threat had been dealt with and was only mildly worried about explaining going home empty handed to the chiefs who had joined him. Caius was also a follower of Torm the Just (and a bit stupid) having learned of the god and being impressed by the need for fairness, justice and an obligation to protect the weak and not merely exploit them. The band thought this also good and plotted to increase Caius' reputation and standing. Their thinking was that orderly rule was a deterrence to the Watchers. If the land was under unified rule, just not that of the grasping dwarves then they could be kept at bay. Some gold was found to keep the other chiefs along and the band decided the first target would be the silver mines to the east and the fort that guarded them. To aid Caius, Heskin chose to stay with him as champion or possibly to take the role of ruler himself. The rest of the band was mildly horrified at the idea of the uncompromising attitude of their companion being thrust upon the land and suggested Caius as a better candidate.

Returning to Deva  they then planed to visit the undead court beneath Deva. They managed to gain an audience with King Brettanus an ancient ruler of that part of Brittania. Some strange transformation had occurred when he died, leaving him undead. Over the millennia he had fashioned a small underground kingdom and had acquired undead followers until his court numbered some four score individuals. While the furnishings had clearly seen better centuries it was recognisable as a king's court.The band offered news of the world of the living which was eagerly accepted. One thing the dead lacked was new stories and tales. They also traded various knowledge as the ghouls had bards, druids and wizards of their own and were happy to share their necromantic arts. Scawl went acquired some new clothes for the king and his concubines which further helped cement relations.

Also of great interest was that the ghouls could hear the Watcher's tunneling and that they did not disturb their underground realm. Seldin guessed this was because Brettanus had created a zone of order which was repulsive to the watchers. The band considered aiding Bretannus in extending his dark realm but Scawl, the conscience of them all said 'no, that would be bad' and they mostly agreed.

Since creating a dark kingdom was off the menu the band returned a few days later with a deeper appreciation of Necromancy and set off to aid Caius and his troops. A few days more travel saw them to the fort they planned to take...

Interlude 2 - These are the people in your neighbourhood.

First off a word from one of the players.

Fabio here and my character is Cheet the Hobgoblin druid.

D&D is like my 1st love. It was the system that hoked me into RPG. I remember scouring through shops back in Italy in search of the "Red Box" then the "Blue Box", until I collected all four. My brother still has those back at home.

I then spend 20 years of my life dedicated to my carrier in hospitality, and stopped playing.
Once I finally got a 9-5 job in education I started searching for RPG players and discover The Dragon Quest group in Auckland. I have been playing with them for the last 2 years.

I always wanted to get back and play D&D and when William suggested to run a game with the 5th edition I jumped at the chance.
Picking it up was like riding a bike. You just need to remember some of the basics and then you are away.
The character generation was quick and easy to pick up. I rolled dice for the stats, however for the druid I follow the quick creations ideas, as well as rolling for the background. I thought it may be more interesting/challenging and fun to play something that I left to chance.

Some of the mechanics of the game are pretty much the same, however I do not remember if the 1st edition had the rolling for initiative wick I like a lot. I also like the advantage/disadvantage mechanics, however the choosing of the spells for my druid can be a little daunting. Having spell card or a good spell apps on the phone definitely helps.

Over all I enjoyed the original system and I do enjoy this new system. I personally found that some of the rules may be a bit scattered in the book but definitely easy to pick up.

High Fives all around for me on this one.

And now all those divinities you've been reading about and have been bedeviling the PCs.

The major gods of the Brittania campaign. The entire pantheon is a revised and trimmed down version of the Faerun (Forgotten Realms) mob. Why reinvent the wheel if you don't have to? But they are trimmed down. Often settings can have too many divinities which typically overwhelms players. The other reason is that the purgation of the 'good' divinities makes for a darker universe.
With the exception of Torm, Ilmater and Yondalla the other powers are neutral at best and most are, well they are the bad boys and girls of the Faerun pantheon.

Creator Gods

All these gods have created and shaped a people, a species in their image.

Abbathor: The God of the dwarves. King of Heaven. Abbathor is a god of civilisation and all that implies. He is a god of industry, order, laws, cities and commerce. However he is also concerned with tyranny, conquest, ambition and slavery. All dwarven settlements and cities will have an opulent temple dedicated to this deity. Abbathor is a dictatorial ruler of the heavens and all other gods must bring him tribute. Prefered sacrifice, gold and precious gems given to a high priest.

Maglubiyet: The God of the Goblins. Chief enemy of Abbathor, Magubliet is creator of the High Goblins (hobgoblins). He is the god of steel, the secret of which was wrested from him by the Dwarven heroine Mayani. Nevertheless hobgoblin steel is the best in the world. Magubliet also embodies tactics, order and security. The mighty ones temples are rare in Britannia but the debased goblin race erect idols to him in caves. To best secure his favour sacrifice a shaved dwarf.

Corellon: The God of the Elves. Lord of Forests, the wild and the hunt. Corellon makes each High Elf personally. Each High Elf is a special unique creation and may be male, female, neuter or hermaphrodite as pleases this lord of the fey. His place of power is Hibernia and it is where he resides and has dominion over. Sacrifice: A mighty kill with the bow. He is also patron of the gnomes.

Gruumsh: The God of the Orcs. God of savagery, of battle, rage and spoils. Gruumsh is Corellon’s brother and created the Orcs to oppose and slaughter his brother’s children. It is said in the early ages that these two deities fought. That is where Gruumsh lost his eye and the remains of his sanity to his brother. Sacrifice, a high elf.

Yondalla: The Goddess of the Halflings. Goddess of agriculture, the hearth and protection. Yondalla is an older goddess and her people have been largely supplanted by the larger more vigorous races. She is the conquered and enslaved concubine of Abbathor. Her worship is tolerated and allowed in the lands of the dwarves. Dwarves never forget to remind halflings of this divine oppression. The first portion of the harvest is her preferred sacrifice.

Annan: The god of the giants, the first peoples. God of Order: Annan’s peoples are the giants, created along with the world to play out the conflict with his rival Tiamat. Although Tiamat was caged by Annan in the Abyss her master of assassins later poisoned Annan and he now lies buried beneath the earth as near to death as a primal force of creation may be. His stirrings are responsible for earthquakes and volcanoes. Without their god, the giant civilisation collapsed and they are but a degenerate shadow of their former selves.

Tiamat: Goddess of Chaos: Her peoples are the dragons. Created like the giants, to play out the cosmic conflict between order and chaos. Eventually, Annan and the giants were victorious, slaying most of the dragons and chaining Tiamat at the very bottom of what is now known as the Abyss. It is her screams and cries that gave form to the demons. Her blood, when it fell on the earth gave rise to many of the monsters and it is said that these first monsters are immortal.

Lesser Deities

These divinities often represent an aspect or set of aspects. An A, G or E indicates their allegiance to Abbathor, Magubliet or Corellon respectively. Such deities typically appear as a member of that species. The unaligned may choose as needed.

Auril (A): The Frostmaiden. Goddess of ice, snow and winter. She acts as Abbathor’s enforcer. The further north you go the more temples to her will you find. Burn things, valuable things to get through winter.

Azuth (A): God of wizardry and arcane knowledge. The toady god. He serves as Abbathor’s wizard, advisor and grand vizier. If you wish success in scholarly pursuits or desire lost knowledge then pray to Azuth.

Bane: The Lord of All. A very presumptuous title for a relatively young deity. It is said this god of war, conquest and tyranny has been hard at work on some secret project which nears completion. Worship of Bane is confined to warlords and petty kings. It is banned in the civilised lands of Dwarf, Low Elf and Hobgoblin.

Beshaba: Lady of Fortune: A fickle and capricious goddess, she is more the goddess of misfortune, calamity and also revenge. If you have been scorned seek her out. Beshaba graces/bedevils all three divine courts. She has been mistress to many to their subsequent misfortune. Her servants are those beautiful, wonderful and terrific beings, the succubi.

Bhaal (M): God of blood, death and murder. Revered by assassins and executioners Bhaal is the god to go to when you want someone dead. He is overlord of all assassins and their organisations. His shadow cultists are both reviled and sought out in equal measure.

Cyric (M): God of Lies. Advisor to Maglubiyet and god of cunning, trickery, intrigue and deception. This god says he has no temples or organised priesthood as he needs none. Every lie and deception is considered a prayer to him.

Gond (A). God of Craftsmen: The god of industry, smithing, mining and hard work. All who work with great skill should honour this diety. His temples are common and many workplaces will have a small statue or shrine so that the master craftsman may supervise the work. To earn his favour one should sacrifice something of great value that you have made yourself. Worship of Gond is popular among city folk.

Ilmater: The broken god. God of mercy, endurance and the ending of suffering. Also known as the foolish god, Ilmater is looked down upon by most other deities and his worship scorned by right thinking peoples. Ilmater cults are however tenacious and popular among those who suffer at the hands of the mighty. Ilmater works to bring about a better world where suffering is eased for all. This is a thankless and impossible task. His only ally is the equally scorned Torm.

Loviatar (A): Goddess of pain. misery and hope. Abbathor’s torturer. Loviatar is tasked with punishing those who strayed from the path. The unworthy are corrected in her halls of pain as are rebels, malcontents and other enemies. It goes without saying that Ilmater and Lovitar are most mortal enemies.

Malar (E) : God of the Wild Hunt. Corellon’s huntsman and leader of the Wild Hunt. The Wild Hunt is a great elven frenzy of riding out to hunt, pursue and run down all they may find. His province is also that of all predatory monsters. A small sacrifice to Malar and you may be granted success in capturing, taming or allying yourself with some terrible beast.

Mask: God of thieves. Like her brother Bhaal, Mask is the capo de capo of all thieves, brigands, pirates and robbers. Your gang, your crew, your guild may have a mortal leader but she is the over-boss and due her rightful ten percent.

Myrkyl: God of Death and the Undead. All worship Myrkyl in the end. Die and you find yourself in his cold halls. If not claimed then Myrkyl will take you and use you to build his Wall of the Faithless where your eternal screams will please him. Myrkyl is also Lord of Undeath. All Undead are said to be his servants and act to hasten your journey to his halls.

Mystra (M): Goddess of Magic. This goddess is magic, she is in the ebb and weave and flow of magic about the world. She cares little how it is used only that it is. She patronises Maglubiyet since Abbathor’s mortal followers would constrain, dominate and control her. She hates wizards especially. Any sorcerer seeking additional power would do well to sacrifice a wizard to her.

Savras (M) Should a Hobgoblin have need of knowledge, be it mundane or mystical he would do well to attend to The Mighty One’s chief seer. With the right sacrifice Savras can see and reveal all. He does well in Magubliet’s court and his mortal followers are respected and honoured in Hobgoblin society. The servant of Mystra.

Sune (A) Goddess of love and beauty. Goddess also of the moon Sune is revered by all who wish to be well regarded and loved for their magnificence. She cares little but for the adoration both mortals and divines shower upon her. She is also the patron of poets, inspiration and artists.

Talos (A): The storm god. A god of storms, battle and unbridled chaos. Talos has temples so that weather is kept fair and good. He is particuarly revered at ports and one should always sacrifice to Talos before setting sail. His gift to his mortal followers is thunderbolt iron, metal from the skies that may be fashioned into weapons even mightier than Magubliet’s.

Tempus: The berserker god. Talos’s crazier and wilder brother. He is on good terms with Gruumsh and many orcs pray to him before battle. Tempus has fought with all gods on all sides for he cares not who or why he fights only that there is fighting. Tempus and Talos often compete for Bershaba’s favours. No succubi will slay a follower of either god although they may well be enslaved.

Torm: The good god. The idiot’s god. Torm exemplifies righteous and just rule. He is thus scorned and his worship outlawed. An ally of Ilmater, both gods would desire the current regime in the divine and mortal realms changed for the better. If Torm has one failing, it is that he is besotted by Sune. And that goddess likes things as they are. Often she has foiled Torm’s plans with promises of earning her favour.

Umberlee; Goddess of the ocean and the depths. A strange and fey goddess. Rumoured to be an ascended dragon, Umberlee commands all of monsters of the deep. Venture into or across her realm at your peril, for she commands many strange things that lie beneath the waves.

This is not a nice, nor happy set of gods. They exhibit ‘every madness and vice’. This is intentional. All too often in fantasy it is hard to see why anyone would be bad. Good is too powerful. Being good is demonstrably rewarded and obviously the better choice. Here the powers of good are rare, outlawed or enslaved by the dominant evil powers. And those dark powers reward those who enforce the status quo. Being good may be a challenge, but no one said a hero’s life was easy.