Waiting is sometimes the hardest, but the most common activity
for a champion. What do champions do in between assignments from kings,
rescues, and bad guys? Some of the greatest legends formed from the "off-hour"
activities of heroes. All champions are invited to take a tour of the newly
rebuilt Dragons Den and partake of its offerings. Special items will be
available for sale. Challenge a fellow champion to a game of cards or dice.
Enjoy an ale with the bounty hunter you were up against only last week.
Open a true resurrection account at a temple. Open a banking account. This
session will be heavy on the role-playing.
GM Note: This session will be held at my house. While i cannot require
it, please let me know ahead of time if you intend on showing. There will be
actual dinner & beverage served, background music, and some setup work. An
approximate number of people will give me a better sense of how much to prepare.
Feel free to bring snacks or beverages. This game will not be cancelled due to
weather. Hey, i don't have to go anywhere. ;-)
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It was the first day of the Grand Welcoming Festival thrown by the mayor
of Dragons Den. Upon exiting the portal mysts at the East side of the
city, each group was handed a complimentary map of the new city and encouraged
to roam freely. While many buildings were still under construction, most
of the businesses had some type of set up. The Gentry Tailor found an
ideal spot on the NE corner of Crafters Row (#32). Finnigan's Flattering
Arrows has found a home in the SE corner Crafters Row (#14). And a decent
Alchemist by the name of Steven Fernwood has taken up shop at #9 Crafters
Row. The Merchants Guild, as expected, seems to have secured the prime
real estate. But no one seems to mind. After all, they did pay for most
of the construction of the city.
The teams spread out and checked out several areas. The black smith, forge,
weapons shop, stables, embassy area, and the new forest area were all
on the tour. Several of the teams visited the Bazaar and purchased new
equipment. But things got tricky when Whisper and Delde visited Tagar's
Inn and found that a fellow champion was wanted for theft. The surprise
was further complicated by the details of the case. 50,000gp had been
stolen and a reward of 10,000gp was being offered for the capture of Illiri
of the Fey Veil. First of all, who has ever heard of a 20% finders fee
from the Merchants Guild? Second, if Illiri did it, she would have had
access to millions. Why would she stop at 50,000gp? One by one all of
the team became aware of the situation and moved on the situation. In
the end, the acting head of the Merchants Guild was arrested for the theft.
The Guild Master had suspected for some time. Just before leaving on a
trade negotiation in Sor-Tai, Kevin had asked the sheriff to look into
the possibility that Sotby Wilnir might be stealing from the guild. Kevin's
suspicions having been proven correct, the champions add one more tale
to their build legend.
When the money was counted, it turns out that Sotby had stolen 150,000gp over a
3 month period. At his trial, he tried to get a deal by saying that he had
actually taken almost 700,000gp, but that Illiri had taken the rest just before the
city guard and the champions burst into the back room of the bank. No one believed
him though and he was instead awarded a sentence of 3 years in the basalt mines.
For their help, the champions were each awarded a rose quartz tear and 500gp of
the reward money.
As a side note, Illiri bought free drinks for everyone at Tagar's for the next week.
The festival was beneficial for several of the temples as well as they reported
their largest donations in quite a while.
GM Note: Ghost Wind was present in this campaign
as background characters. Since i was GM for this game, they cannot gain as a
player's team can. I'm allowing the purchases for which they were specifically
sought out. This is because the actual work is outside the adventure. But all
other payments are essentially vapor.
- Thunder
Player: Julia McGinnis
Whisper (Human Female Ranger 15) and Delde (Half-Orc Female Sorcerer
9) began their tour of the city with a trip to Tagar's via the Trade
Bazaar. When they arrived, they were able to secure lodging for their
stay from a somewhat skittish desk clerk. They continued on to the
bar where they noticed the usually commotion around the bulletin board.
It is here that the bounty for Illiri was discovered. They immediately
proceeded to the sheriff's office. There they found the acting head
of the Merchants Guild. Details were fast in coming, but continued
questioning showed holes in the his story and the team became suspicious.
They hung out for a bit more appearing to review the wanted posters.
A few feet out of the front door Whisper felt a familiar presence
of magic and allowed it to take affect. Ja'Nek had sent a message
for a rendezvous. The team obliged.
In the back room of the Gentry Tailor shop they met up with Illiri and
several members of her team; as well as the Sheriff. Apparently, the sheriff in
the office had been a glamered deputy playing a role. Whisper and Delde
discovered that the actual suspect in the case was the acting head of the guild,
but no one knew of a way to force his hand. Whisper and Delde thought they had
a "forceful" solution to the problem.
Pressuring Sotby paid off. Believing he was about to be caught, he
made a run for the money. It turns out the money had never left the
bank. It had merely been hidden in a prototype fireplace that the
guild was about to start offering for sale.
Thunder survives to adventure again.
- Death from Afar
Player: Jonathan Sternfeld
Tharivol Liaden (Elf Fighter 6 / Wizard 2 / Arcane Archer 10 / Deepwoods
Sniper 2), Sargen of Hornwood (Human Rogue 8), and Andrinor Agriaba
(Human Male Cleric 5) made their way to the Trade Bazaar to take a look
at the wares available. While shopping about, Tharivol discovered that
he was being followed. The man talked to a runner that sped off toward
the east. Sending Quarion (familiar) to follow the runner, Sargen and
Tharivol cornered the spy. Obviously nervous and cornered, the person
pretended to be interest in Tharivol's cloak. Moments later, an arrow
from above ended the conversation. Looking for the attacker, Tharivol
calculated that it had come from the roof of the NE Tower Hotel, which
was still under construction. Sargen and Andrinor stayed behind to deal
with the fallen spy and the aftermath. They actually managed to cure
the poor guys wounds, but the paralysis was permanent. The arrow has
pierced the spine. Tharivol got to the tower in time to avoid being
hit by the falling body of the assassin. He climbed to the roof to find
out who had thrown him off and found a cloaked figure. The individual
gave Tharivol an unusually friendly hi sign and then jumped backward
off the roof. Looking over the edge, Tharivol spotted the man repelling
down the side of the building. The city guard would later report that
two more bodies were found on the roof under some debris. The investigation
showed that they were the ones who threw the assassin off the roof,
but the reason is still under investigation. What the cloaked figure
was doing there is also under investigation.
The team proceeded to the Merchants Mall where the runner had last been
spotted. There they ran into the other teams and cornered Sotby. Sotby ran into
the bank and locked the door behind him. Sargen picked the lock letting the
champions have access. Upon bursting into the back room of the bank, they
found Sotby laying on the floor covered in his ill-gotten gains.
When the dust settled, Tharivol looked into acquiring students for a little
extra income.
Death from Afar survives to adventure again.
- Lawn
Player: Jennifer Sternfeld
Roywyn (Ruin) (Gnome Wizard 9 / Druid 8) and the toads made another
appearance. Frolicking in the fountains and hopping through the crowds,
they will not soon be forgotten. Ruin made her way to the Alchemist's
shop and the tailor's for a little business. Then she passed through
the bazaar for additional trade and came upon the wanted posters for
Illiri. Making her way to find Sotby, she hung out at the Merchants
Mall until he arrived quickly followed by the other teams.
Moving with the others, Sotby was cornered and forced to run to the bank. A
plan that proved futile in the end.
Lawn survives to adventure again.
- Steel Order
Player: Wayne Edie
Gdarin (Human Paladin 19) and Deloth (Human Fighter 1 / Cleric 7) arrived in
the usual public splendor. Taking a tour of the blacksmith shop and forge,
Deloth soon found kindred souls and lapsed into some welcome shop talk.
Gdarin continued his tour with the stables and the practice field. He then
headed for the bazaar where he ran into Tharivol. Following Tharivol to the tower
he arrived in time to see the body of the assassin slam into the ground.
Searching the body, he found some standard items and some rather high quality
gems. Bringing the body to the sheriff's office, he tossed it into an empty cell
as instructed. Confronting Sotby about the warrant on Illiri proved useless and,
at the sheriff's direction, allowed Sotby to leave. The warhorse followed Sotby
and Gdarin left shortly after. Following Sotby into the Merchants Mall, Gdarin
met up with Whisper and Delde.
The gems Gdarin had found on the assassin matched the quality of the
gems stolen from the bank and added murder to the charges against
Sotby. By the time Sotby gets out of the prison mines, there will
not be much left of him. Justice was accomplished.
Steel Order survives to adventure again.
- Twig
Player: Vanessa Wilcox-Swarez
Lisonamit (Wood Elf Druid 20) once again gave a public showing that nature is not to be trifled with. Her dire bear made its way through the crowds to the new forest area where it awaiting a good meal of ale and an unsuspecting cow that Lisonamit ordered. Lisonamit proceeded to the trade bazaar and sought out Liz and Thomas to ask that certain items be made for his animals. Having concluded the orders to everyone's satisfaction, he retired to the forest where he began the arduous casting that would awaken the dire bear.
Twig survives to adventure again?
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