After the gray party ride home after delving into the Catacombs of Zax-Tyliuth, making it home to Odjoust safely with thousands of coins and plenty of gems. The gray party then head back to Hazelhedge to meet with the Baron Eldare since Dender had reached level 3 as a Knight and could finally be knighted. The gray party safely returned home a day or so later, and let me tell you it was certainly a nice break for them and myself while they waited a week for the Baron to arrive. Having the freedom to run only the orange party has been a bit of a treat to say the least.
The Party that Can't Catch a Break...
The orange party by comparison got much less of a break with all of the death they have run into. They continued to explore further to the east, coming across a dwarvish castle, Castle Lightway, which was luckily friendly. Thanks to the charisma of both Grayfern the Ranger and Butten the Bard, the party made good impressions on these dwarves. They found another castle north of here, Castle Albini, run by an evil halfling named Aldrich the Rat and a pair of mages Mastria and Itzam. They had heard of them keeping a few dwarves from Castle Lightway prisoner and ransoming them off to the dwarves. The party sent in a very underprepared and eager Oris the Thief, and even though he succeeded with breaking in and killing one of the mages, though the other made Itzam nearly killed him. The party ended up victorious, though they lost Fezgrim the fighter, Neuvas the magic user, and Terin the cleric. In the end, they gained a lot of money and nearly lost it all to these foes, though they made money as reward for returning the kidnapped dwarves.
The orange party explore the western passage from Castle Lightway to Odjoust discovering an abandoned manor (inhabited by a flight of gargoyles) and a mausoleum. The orange party hire on one of the dwarves they'd saved, Cledrik, Cervys the illusionist, and Merand the cleric. The party delved within the Mausoleum of Canera they'd discovered and due to an unforeseen gas trap, they again lost more characters, namely Cledrik and Cervys. They return safely now to Castle Lightway when Butten suggests they deliver Cledrik's portion of the loot to the dwarves of Castle Lightway, and the Castellan Brandor Keensong is moved by her dwarvish speech and her gift. They end the week exploring south of Castle Lightway, discovering an abbey dedicated to the god Fremarsil, though the abbey had its own drama to deal with.
Moving Forward...
I have a few dreams for these parties, and potentially becoming one party to be honest, and I can't wait to finally make my mark on this randomly generated wilderness of mine. Dender being knighted and getting permission to claim her own real estate, the parties having gained a few levels and some modicum of power, and a few magical items, all of this leads me to believe this group will likely end up in their own retirement (or grave) sooner than later thanks to hubris or continued luck. I think that one issue I am having and want to incorporate into future games in this solo experience is the Mythic Game Master Emulator; Specifically, I would love to incorporate the 2d100 oracle for interpreting events within the world. I think that this method for adding larger events in the world will allow me to create larger storylines without adding too much of my own direction and influence into the game. For those unaware, the system calls for 2d100 rolls, each corresponding to an action and a subject. For example, the Baron Eldare had one of these rolls for some sort of job for Dender to do, and I rolled up "Vengeance" and "Investment". It made sense to me to have the brand new castle Borthwick run by kobolds to have been originally built by the Empire as an outpost; sending Dender to make good of an investment for the empire will certainly appease the Baron and the Emperor. I think each month I will begin by rolling up 3 or so of these prophetic pairings and as they begin to make sense, put them together. Perhaps I am silly to crave this sort of structure but so be it.
Highlights...
- Dender finally becoming a knight and earning the right to land
- The unlikely rogue Oris the thief surviving his break in at castle Albini with only 2 HP
- The gray party taking a well earned break was a nice change of pace
- The orange party earning the respect and love of the dwarves of Castle Lightway
Notes: The weather is cold (22’F) and there are overcast skies.
The gray party attempt to head back to Odjoust with their loot, though they reach a frozen lake and run into a gang of barbarians. The barbarians get aggressive and chase them, though the party escape on horseback. The party discover the road from Odjoust to Bridgeroot. The party arrive in Odjoust with their loot and try to stay at the Broken Tower inn and tavern. The owner of the Iron Heads thieves guild greets them within the tavern and after a night of drinking, the leader offers them immunity and hirelings. The party spend 150sp on rooms for the next two nights, as well as food and drinks for the tavern goers. The party spend another 3 gold to replenish their torches, and 15 gold to buy additional rations. The party return with 16578 xp in total
The gray party attempt to head back to Odjoust with their loot, though they reach a frozen lake and run into a gang of barbarians. The barbarians get aggressive and chase them, though the party escape on horseback. The party discover the road from Odjoust to Bridgeroot. The party arrive in Odjoust with their loot and try to stay at the Broken Tower inn and tavern. The owner of the Iron Heads thieves guild greets them within the tavern and after a night of drinking, the leader offers them immunity and hirelings. The party spend 150sp on rooms for the next two nights, as well as food and drinks for the tavern goers. The party spend another 3 gold to replenish their torches, and 15 gold to buy additional rations. The party return with 16578 xp in total
Klodis levels up, gaining 3 HP, 1 more level 1 spell per day, +1 Con
Dender levels up, gaining 1 HP, attains the title of Knight, +1 Str, +1 Dex
Kelha levels up, gaining 8 HP, +1 Dex
Bert levels up, gaining 6 HP, 1 level 1 spell per day (light)
Hukdar levels up, gaining 6 HP
Offlan levels up, gaining 2 HP, and a 2nd level spell (Heat metal)
Dender levels up, gaining 1 HP, attains the title of Knight, +1 Str, +1 Dex
Kelha levels up, gaining 8 HP, +1 Dex
Bert levels up, gaining 6 HP, 1 level 1 spell per day (light)
Hukdar levels up, gaining 6 HP
Offlan levels up, gaining 2 HP, and a 2nd level spell (Heat metal)
The orange party explore the east, following the rivers between Bridgeroot and Odjoust, discovering the Dwarven Castle of Lightway. The party stay at the Twelve Pony Pub, spending 50sp to stay in comfortable lodgings and eating good food.
Day 16 of The Raven (I)
Notes: The weather is cold (36’F) and windy.
The orange party travel the forest around Castle Lightway, following the rivers and being stalked by a lynx for a short while. The orange party discover Castle Albini, and decide to raid the place in the night to free the dwarves known to be held captive there by Aldrich the Rat. Oris snuck into the second story doorway and tried to sneak attack the mages within, killing Mastrius and being seen by Itzam. The party then raid the castle keep only to lose Terin, Neuvas and Fezgrim in the melee. The party recover from the fight, retrieving treasure of the castle and freeing the dwarves held captive. The party give the captives spare rations and clothing.
The gray party follow the old road they’d discovered outside of Odjoust and follow it all the way home to Hazelhedge where Dender hires a courier to speak with the nearby Baron Eldare about being knighted. The party pay to stay within Hazelhedge at the Bronzebell for a few days while they wait for word from the courier (7 days until the courier returns) 35 gp to stay within town, 5 gp for the courier.
Day 17 of The Raven (I)
Notes: The weather is very cold (25’F) with overcast skies.
The gray party remain within the Bronzebell tavern in Hazelhedge.
The orange party attempt to travel back to Castle Lightway with the saved dwarves. Grayfern is able to forage for food and water for Oris and Butten and himself. The orange party travel slowly back to the castle with their saved dwarves and treasure, earning 400 gp for saving them by the Castellan Brandor Keensong. The orange party are now regarded as good friends of the dwarves of Castle Lightway. The party celebrate the saving the dwarves at the Twelve Pony Pub. The party return home with 13,892 XP total. Grayfern and Butten agree to donate much of the money they’d retrieved (800pp). The party hire on a pair of new party members, and a dwarf they’d saved: Merand the Cleric, Cledrik the Dwarf, and Cervys the Illusionist
Oris levels up, gaining 1 HP
Butten levels up, gaining 2 HP, +1 CON, +1 1st level spell per day,
Grayfern levels up, gaining 8 HP, +1 CHA
Butten levels up, gaining 2 HP, +1 CON, +1 1st level spell per day,
Grayfern levels up, gaining 8 HP, +1 CHA
Day 18 of The Raven (I)
Notes: The weather is especially cold (20’F) with clear skies.
The gray party remain within the Bronzebell Inn in Hazelhedge, awaiting the arrival of the Baron Eldare.
The orange party arrive in and rest within the village of Odjoust, paying to remain within the Broken Tower Inn (50sp) and running into no issues. The party take a moment to pay for healing services within the church of Pol (3 x 100 gp gems).
Day 19 of The Raven (I)
Notes: The weather is cold (30’F) with overcast skies.
The gray party remain within the Bronzebell Inn in Hazelhedge, awaiting the arrival of the Baron Eldare.
The orange party prepare to set out, leaving their treasure behind within the Broken Tower Inn. The orange party journey for the Mausoleum of Canera. The party come close to an encounter with a terribly powerful group of chaotic adventurers, but Butten is able to dissuade any conflict by acting inconspicuously. The party gather food along the road, and arrive at the mausoleum without issue. The party enter the mausoleum and battle many wandering skeletons and zombies, Cledrik discovering many hidden messages from goblins. The party are able to survive many fights along the way, even surviving an acid trap that burned Cledrik terribly. The party find plenty of coinage and a handful of valuable gems, as well as a passage to the second level. The party trigger a poisonous gas trap and both Cledrik the dwarf and Cervys the illusionist die of the gas. The party escape and journey back to Odjoust into the cold of the evening without harm. The party return with 3315 XP, 829 each.
Oris levels up (level 3 Thief), +2 HP, +1 Wis
Butten levels up (level 4 Bard), +2 HP, +1 Str, +1 level 1 spell per day, and Butten learns the dwarvish tongue
Butten levels up (level 4 Bard), +2 HP, +1 Str, +1 level 1 spell per day, and Butten learns the dwarvish tongue
Day 20 of The Raven (I)
Notes: The weather is cold (26’F) and snowy.
The gray party remain within the Bronzebell Inn in Hazelhedge, awaiting the arrival of the Baron Eldare.
The orange party venture out to bring Cledrik’s share of the loot to the dwarves of Castle Lightway. Along the road the party encounter a pack of 4 werewolves, who are in human form and not interested in the party thanks to a solid reaction roll. The party discover a spring of water south west of Castle Lightway. The party meet with Castellan Keensong and Butten impresses him with her dwarvish speech and their gift of a 1000gp gem. The party spend the night within the Twelve Pony Pub for 50sp.
Day 21 of The Raven (I)
Notes: The weather is cold (26’F) and moderately windy.
The gray party travel to the reeve Keadon Tristle’s home to meet with the Baron Eldare. Dender had explained her bravery in battle and her heroic actions, as well as her diplomatic moves with the locals. The Baron was impressed with these stories and agreed wholeheartedly to knight Dender, as well as offer her permission to establish her own foothold within the wilderness of this land in the name of the Empire of Ayiel. The Baron requested that Dender seek vengeance against the kobolds who have taken Castle Borthwick from the empire.
The orange party travel south east, encountering a group of 3 traders. The party purchase some rations, torches, and waterskins (10gp). The party continue traveling through the marshes in the area, getting lost, but eventually discovering the Abbey of Fremarsil. The party are welcomed into the Abbey, but are kept within isolated chambers after being told there is something of a scandal currently happening within the abbey of a member selling information of the newly separated abbey to the Empire of Ayiel.
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