The Venga Campaign

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cinabro
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Re: The Venga Campaign

Post by cinabro »

Session 23 finishes up The Last Initiate and begins to set up The Legions of Last Souls. Murga and the bucket from the last session grows into a party joke. "Oh look a bucket," becomes code for a bad idea or something that the CK is dangling before the party that will likely turn out bad.

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cinabro
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Re: The Venga Campaign

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Party = Murga[Dwarf Cleric 4th], Spike[Human Fight 4th], Zeebers[Human Rogue 4th]

Wednesday

They begin dividing up loot. Murga takes the Lyre of Building, Mr. Spike takes
the Mace of Smiting, Zeebers takes the Wings of Flying, and Alexia takes the cermonial
hammer. They take the other art objects, not including the chalice and donate them to
the church. The other stuff is left with Thritas and Dumas at the Howling Owl. Dumas
convinces them to go after the Hammer of Kohlasa and even pinpoints where in the city
it is, a Temple of Zeus that a few hundred years ago had its priest killed on the altar
and then sank beneath the surface, and notes that it is an area of the city that is
controlled by a gang called the
Griffons. It is well known tha the Griffons are an arm of Fenkars. Thritas talks
to the Mayor and he gives the party a token, a coin that is is smooth on one side with
a script "F" carved in it, that should give them safe passage into the under city where
the Griffons run a fencing operation and provide illicit entertainment. They decide
to disguise themselves as successful thieves out to fence the copper chalice and have
some fun.

Alexia does not want to accompany them. She thinks she is too likely
to get noticed and argues that it is a bad plan to leave Witchfire unattended when
it is clear that Junta is looking for it. Suggestions about disguising it are shot
down by Thritas who notes that it is hard to magic a powerful magic item. Dumas has
been researching destroying it, and notes that it is not such a good idea. A powerful,
evil item such as this is likely to be difficult to destroy and leave very nasty effects
if it is destroyed. Alexia really wants the time to investigate how to destroy Witchfire
and does hate to be separated from the sword.

They also argue about the Legion of Lost Souls. Murga is most distressed by
the idea of raising an undead army. Dumas notes that not all undead are evil. Some
are prevented from traveling to the lands of the dead and can be benevolent. Others
have refused to travel to the lands of the dead, wights, liches, vampires and are evil.
And finally others are forcibly returned from the lands of the dead and are usually
controlled by evil things.

They head into the city without their swords. Over near the docks they quickly
note a warehouse that is busy with people going in and out. They see painted ladies, and
toughs, etc. They head down showing their token. They are directed to a fence, a couple
of bars, and a brothel. They go to the fence, Tully, and sell him the chalice for 250 GP,
he thinks it is quite unusual, and short sword for Zeebers. Tully mentions the Ghost
and tells them where it is. They head there, find a recently dead body, see the entrance,
and decide they need more
information at the brothel. There they see Father Fodor coming out. Murga recognizes
him, and Zeebers starts talking to him. He speaks of his weakness, and they ask what he
knows about the Ghost. He tells them that they send people there who need to disappear
and that it is an old Temple. He runs off and they head back to the Temple.

Murga covers them all with Invisibility to Undead, and the being exploring. Realizing
that they have to get to the bottom they get down to the lower through a hole in floor in
the bedroom where they find the Music Box. See the sarcophogus of the giant and Murga
Speaks with the Dead on it and explains the need for the hammer. He convinces the giant to let
them take the massive hammer. Murga due to his purity is able to carry the hammer, but will
clearly have trouble weilding it. As they try to find the stairs up they stumble on to the
Boneswarm. Murga actually gets a critical with the hammer and they manage to kill it as it
tries to run back to is lair to recharge. They head up, the Ghost and his henchman try
to avoid them since they killed the Boneswarm. Murga uses his scroll of Consecrate to
bless the Temple where the long dead, but still bleeding body of the priest is drapped over
the altar. The spell banishes the ghost, but Renfrow who realizes that he is dead without
the Ghost, runs out to attack the party. They overwhelm and kill him, taking a couple of
vials of poison that he used on them. They do not know what to do with the blackened
holy symbol of Zeus that was on the priest and leave it.

They realize that they cannot just walk out with the enormous hammer. Zeebers
suggests buying a tapestry to roll it in. He goes to Tully's and he bemusedly sells
them one for 50 GP, they wrap the hammer in it, and try to head out. They guards are
suspicious, but they show their token and bribe their way out. Murga takes the
Copper Wings and flies with the hammer back to the Howling Owl. Spike and Zeebers make
their way out over the Great Bridge, and no one asks him for his sword.

They have gathered a box of carefully preserved records (names of those honored
in the sunken church - valuable to the Church of Zeus), a Music Box (that Thritas
recognizes as likely to be an unusual magic item due to its makers mark), a Tome of Zeus,
two vials of poison, and two old style scrolls of Control Water(10) and Searing Light(10)
that are etched onto thin iron plates.

Father Dumas talks to them about what to do next.

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cinabro
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Re: The Venga Campaign

Post by cinabro »

Session 24 should perhaps be known as Murga's triumph as everything he does works out perfectly. The first part of The Legion of Lost Souls is a good deal of fun with an underground city and a small dungeon crawl.

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cinabro
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Re: The Venga Campaign

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Backstory for Quilord Silverthorn, Elf Mage
=================================
It is lost in the depths of time, even to the
long lived elves, as to how and when they came to live
on this world. The oldest among you speak of their
ancestors telling them of a home world that is a paradise
that they were abruptly torn from by capricious gods.
For a while this world seemed a paradise. Elves shared the
world with beasts and fey creatures. The Elves call this
the Idyllic Age. This age came to a horrible end when
out of the Chaos Lands fell creatures ended the Elvish
idyll. There was a great slaughter among the Elves and
evil ruled the world. The survivors hid themselves
in the deepest woods and learned powerful magic which
was much easier to learn on this world than the old
home world. This age of defeat and seclusion is called
the Bitter Age.

After a thousand years of darkness the Elves were ready
to retake their place in the world and as they boiled
out of the forests led by their most powerful mages
they found that the evil creatures were already under
assault by Dwarves. They too had been ripped from their
home world by the gods, and they joined the Elves in
the War of Vengeance. The two races working together
were unstoppable, and the fell creatures were driven from
the fair places of the world. Not being satisfied with
this the Elves and Dwarves decided to cleanse the Chaos
Lands of evil. Great armies were outfitted and powerful
magics prepared. They marched off to great fanfare and
with hope of ridding this world of evil. They disappeared
into the Chaos Lands and for 250 years the world knew peace
and prosperity. The great armies may have disappeared,
but apparently they had succeeded as the Elves and Dwarves
worked together to build a world spanning civilization
untroubled by evil.

This rapturous time came to a horrible end when out
of the Chaos Lands armies of even more horrible fell creatures
descended on the forests of the Elves and the excavations of
the Dwarves. Most foul is that these evil armies were led by
the Elves and Dwarves who had years before entered into the
Chaos Lands to rid the world of evil. They had been twisted
into the Black Elves, the Red Dwarves, and things even more
foul. They are known as the Twisted Ones and they trouble
the world even to this day. The Mad Armies led by the
Twisted Ones were eventually defeated at great cost.
A second Idyllic Age dawned as the Halflings appeared in the
world. They also were ripped from their home by the capricious
gods.

The sages among the Elves and Dwarves studied carefully
the history of their people and aided by great magic came to understand
that that this world waxes and wanes between chaos and
order. They surmised that after a thousand years of idyll, evil
would rise again out of the Chaos Lands to trouble the lives
of the Dwarves, Elves and Halflings. The Chaos Watch was founded,
being the Elvish Order of the Vigilant, the Dwarvish Unbreakable
Stone, and the Halfling Warders of the Bounds. They felt
prepared for the next horror to arise from the Chaos Lands.

To Elven, Dwarven, and Halfling shock and consternation, sowing
confusion that reins
until this day, at the appointed time rather than an invasion of evil
from the Chaos Lands, men appeared in
the world. They arrived on great oared ships telling stories
of being tossed by horrible storms and when the end seemed
near suddenly the waters became calm and they found themselves
in a world not their own. The capricious gods had struck again.

The Elves took pity on these refugees and taught them
much. The Dwarves mistrusted the Humans and became estranged from
their Elven allies. They were certain that the Humans were the latest
wave of evil, and counseled making war on them. The Dwarves left
the Chaos Watch and the Unbreakable Stone was abolished. Over this
issue the Elves and Dwarves disagreed and occasionally came to blows.
Finally they were reconciled when a wave of fell
creatures attacked the mighty Dwarven excavations from below. The Elves,
Halflings, and Humans rushed to help, but the Dwarves were grievously
lessened and many of their excavations were abandoned to evil before
the invasion was defeated. There followed a series of Human Barbarian
invasions from the Chaos Lands. The Elves came to learn that these
were ripped from the same world as the sea faring Humans but at
different times and brought here at the same time. These Barbarians
devastated the Elves and the Halflings in the forests and plains.
The Chaos Watch was broken. The sea faring Humans who built walled port
cities withstood the Barbarian assault, and in time after many bloody
wars came to conquer them and construct Empires that rivaled those
of the Idyllic Ages. The Humans, advised by surviving Elves,
even saw the wisdom of reforming the Chaos Watch. Humans, unfortunately,
are constantly restless and nothing they do seems to last. Eventually
their great Empire, centered on the city of Mora, descended into Civil
War and succumbed at the hands of yet another invasion by Barbarian
Humans, and the watch on the Chaos Lands sleeps again.

You were born as the Moran Empire came apart in Civil War
and Barbarian Invasions. As a young apprentice you fought the
horse riding barbarian who swept the plains of the northern
reaches of the Moran empire, but were stymied by the magic
of the Elves and the geographic barrier of the River Nor. The
only crossing to the Elven Lands is the Great Bridge at the
city of Venga. This ancient city was the northernmost outpost
of the Moran Empire and became independent as the Empire fell
apart. It stands at the southern edge of the Wild Lands
and has always been a jumping off point for explorations to the
north by both the wise and fool hardy. The city held out
versus repeated barbarian and chaos assaults and now stands
as a beacon of tolerance where Elves from the Elven Lands to
the west, Dwarves from the Dwarven Empire to the east, Halflings
who farm the fertile Nor Valley, and the Humans who rule the
walled city all mingle peacefully cooperating in commerce
and the defense of the city.

You have been there a on a few occasions. The Vengan
Sorcerer's Brotherhood is world renowned for the study of wild
and chaos magic discovered in the Wild Lands. They periodically
hosted conferences and meetings where magic users from around
the world would meet. The human city was a bit disturbing as
besides being tolerant of Dwarves, Elves and Halflings there were
also Fell Creatures, Goblins and Orcs, working in the city. Still
you recall pleasant visits there and know an Elf Mage called
Rireon who makes his home there who provided hospitality when
you visited.

You were an apprentice to Thorakil, the chief magic user of the
Eastern Elves called an Ace. In the eastern capitol, Sapir, you learned
the art of magic from Thorakil. About two hundred years ago you completed
your apprenticeship and set up your own practice and have served the
elven community. These have been years of peace and prosperity and
you have given little thought to the outside world. In the year
980 in the late spring you are surprised to get a note from Thorakil,
who it is known has become infirm in his old age, to please come and see
him on a matter of the gravest importance.

You make his to visit your old master, and find the reports to be
true. He was already old when you worked with him and now he is barely able
to rise to greet you. With him is a young elf who seems to barely be able
to restrain himself. Thorakil begins, "I have been concerned for some time
about rising necromantic energies to our west centered on Venga. Unfortunately
someone is interfering with my ability to see what is happening there and
I have been sending apprentices to check things out. The first was Ingelt
and we have come to learn that he has been captured by agents of Chaos
in the infamous Crater of Umeshti. It seems he brought his misfortune on
himself as he turned from his mission to seek fortune in explorations of
the Wild Lands. This apprentice," he nods to the young elf sitting near
by, "Celebrin, can tell you more. Tell him your story."

Celebrin beings to speak, "Things are crazy there. I discovered
that Ingelt was going on expeditions into the Wild Lands. He was chasing
after the Scrolls of Natarus, a tome of Necromantic knowledge, that were lost
in the Crater of Umeshti, a well known nest of Fell Creatures. I joined with
some adventurers working for the Sorcerer's Brotherhood to try to track
down the Scrolls. Venga was being menaced by a young women who acquired great
Necromantic power apparently from the Scrolls. We found that the expedition
was betrayed by one of its members, Radko, and he gained tremendous power
by reading the Scrolls. Our party defeated, but did not kill Radko, and took
the first part of the Scrolls away. We also found Radko's notebooks. Reading
those he reports that he traded Ingelt to somethings called the Thune who live
deeper in the Crater. Upon learning this I returned to report to Thorakil."

Thorakil continues, "There is more to this story. This young woman, now
called the White Necromancer, not only has acquired power by reading the Scrolls
of Natarus, but also she has a very powerful weapon that dates from the Mad
Wars, a sword called Witchfire. This sword is probably why I have been unable
to figure out what is going in Venga. It has an agenda of its own and is trying
to prevent interference. I need to send someone who can be trusted to act
independently. I thought of you, as Celebrin, although brave, is young and
inexperienced. I grow tired. Celebrin can give you more details." Thorakil
is led away.

Celebrin continues, "It is more complex than I am prepared to deal with.
The head of the Sorcerer's Brotherhood, Master Ugo, lusted after the sword and
built up the White Necromancer to have enough power to retrieve the sword from
its hiding place. He then tried to kill her and take the sword for himself.
My friends and I managed to stop him, but then the White Necromancer took
the sword and disappeared. We learned from Radko's notebooks that there is
some sort of machine that performs a perfect resurrection. Apparently the
White Necromancer wants to go there and restore her dead mother to life. Look
at these articles from the Venga news papers."

Venga Valiant - Front Page Headline
--------------------------------------------------
Undead Assault Does Little Damage

Yesterday morning a large group of undead attacked Venga. The Town Guard
estimates that about 1000 creatures marched out of the Wild Lands and
attacked the northern wall of the city. Apparently there had been advanced
warning of the assault as the Town Guard was manning the wall in force
and the assault made little progress. A large group of the horrors swept
into the lake and entered the city via the fish market docks and sewers.
A large group converged on the Temple of Poseidon and a smaller group
attacked a manor in the northern section of the city.

At the Temple reports are sketchy, but there was apparently
some sort of magical duel between the Necromancer leading
the assault and Master Ugo of the Sorcerer's Brotherhood. The Necromancer
is reported to have been a young woman dressed in white. She apparently
could fly and was accompanied by four cadaverous attendants. The Mausoleum
at the Temple of Poseidon was badly damaged in the ensuing duel. Apparently
she was badly hurt in the encounter as most of the undead collapsed and
she fled the city. We also fear that Master Ugo was seriously injured as
the Sorcerer's Brotherhood says that he is presently unavailable for comment
and it is unlikely that he will be able to comment in the foreseeable future.
High Priest of Poseidon Dumas speculated that she was after some item of
power that was in the Mausoleum, Ugo tried to seize it from her, and that both
were badly hurt in the ensuing struggle. Other witnesses report that she was seen
carrying an oversized black sword as she fled. Dumas identified the White
Necromancer as a former resident of the Temple's home for fishermen widows
and orphans who had lost her mind and learned dangerous magical knowledge in
the Wild Lands.

The manor attacked belonged to Deputy Mayor Borloch. Here the assault
was more intense with 20 Town Guards and members of the deputy mayor's household
killed. The manor was left a burning ruin. Deputy Mayor Borloch had no comment
as to why his house had been singled out for attack. These undead did not collapse
when the White Necromancer fled and were eventually destroyed by the efforts
of the Town guard.

Elsewhere in the city we can confirm eight other deaths, mainly in attempts
by citizens to impede groups of undead from their goals. Besides the damage at
the Temple of Poseidon, the deputy mayor's home, and to some of fortifications
of the northern wall there was little other effect of the assault.

The whole incident is puzzling. The Town Guard clearly had advanced warning
of the assault, but did little to inform the citizenry of Venga. Apparently they
were confident in their ability to defend the city. The confidence was misplaced
and the city was only saved from serious death and destruction by the mysterious
motives of the White Necromancer who fortunately had something else in mind besides
conquering the city. We also note that besides the appearance of Master Ugo no other
prominent members of the Sorcerer's Brotherhood took leading roles in the defense of
the city. Also with an assault by undead where were the Priests of Zeus and the
other gods who would have been useful in turning back the attackers? Mayor Donal Fenkar
promised a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident.
He claimed that his office only learned of the attack after it had started, adding
yet another puzzle to this incident.

No one had any comment about the prospects for further incidents involving the
White Necromancer.

The Packet Pulse - Front Page Headline
-------------------------------------------------------
The White Necromancer Attacks Venga

The peaceful existence of the city of Venga was shattered
yesterday morning when a horde of undead horrors attacked the city.
The army was led by a beautiful and alluring young woman dressed in a form fitting
white dress, dubbed the White Necromancer. Note the eye witness drawing of her
on page 3. The host attacked the north wall
of the city and after a futile attempt to breach our stout defenses they
apparently took to the lake and entered the city via the fisherman's docks
and the sewers. There a desperate struggle ensued around the Temple
of Poseidon with the White Necromancer being driven off with her army left
behind as heaps of bones scattered around the city.

While there was little damage and little loss of life from
this incident this newspaper is aghast at the lack of preparation and
response by the city administration. How did an undead horde led by
a powerful and beautiful necromancer attack and enter the city? Perhaps
the city administration was blinded by the White Necromancer's good
looks, full breasts, and long, shapely legs? Whatever the reason we
demand a full investigation into how the institutions that are supposed
to defend our city including the Town Guard, the Sorcerer's Brotherhood,
the Council of the Olympians and Mayor Donal Fenkar's administration utterly
failed to provide for our most basic security needs.

Gornan Slan, noted Packet business man, deplored the dereliction
of duty by the city administration and renewed his call for an immediate
election to choose a new mayor and city council that would include all
members of the Vengan community including citizens of the Packet and farmers
in the Vengan Vale. Slan generously provided a troop of workers to
aid in clean up and repair activities now going on in Venga. Mayor Fenkar
thanked Slan for his contribution to the city at this time of need.

Venga Valiant - Front Page Headline
--------------------------------------------------
Sorcerer's Brotherhood Taken Over by City
=========================================
Mayor Donal Fenkar announced today that the city administration
has taken steps to incoperate the Sorcerer's Brotherhood into the administrative
structure of the city. The Mayor released the following statement:

"Less than a week ago our city was attacked by
a necromancer who my administration has learned was nurtured by a member
of the Sorcerer's Brotherhood. Apparently the plan was to use this event
as an excuse for a coup against our city by the Sorcerer's Brotherhood.
To protect our liberty from this threat I have, with the approval of the
city council, revoked the privileges of the Sorcerer's Brotherhood. At
midnight last night elements of the City Guard took over the Sorcerer's
Tower and the Venga beacon. Other assets of the Brotherhood were also
taken over. All members of the Brotherhood are required to sign a
loyalty oath to the city and my administration or will have 24 hours to
leave the city and the Venga Vale. I would like to stress
that not all the members of the Brotherhood were involved in the plot.
In an unrelated matter, Deputy Mayor Borloch has announced his resignation
as he would like to spend more time with his family. I would like to take
this opportunity to thank him on behalf of all the citizens of our city
for his long record of service."

Local residents report that the Sorcerer's Tower, which had been
under heavy guard since the attack by the White Necromancer last Monday,
was the scene of some confusion as some members of the Brotherhood
were seen to be making their way out of the city accompanied by
magical and fantastical servants. Grandmaster Denvor, one of the
only members of the Brotherhood who was willing to speak on the
record, said that these were terribly unfortunate events, but
that he understood the fear that motivated the city administration's
actions. On the other hand he hoped that the city would understand that
an independent magic users guild is beneficial to the city, and that the
Brotherhood's independence would be restored soon. He had no comment
on his immediate plans.

This newspaper applauds this action by the Fenkar administration.
To discover that the attack by the White Necromancer was in part
orchestrated by the Sorcerer's Brotherhood, left little choice
for our Mayor. Who knows what other plots and conspiracies were
being hatched by cabals within the secretive organization of
the frightening and over-educated. In these trying times we
call for all citizens of our city and the lands around to give their
unconditional support to the Fenkar administration.

Packet Pulse - Front Page Headline
-------------------------------------------------
Gross Violation of Civil Liberties by Out of Control Fenkar Administration
==========================================================================
In the dark of night the Fenkar administration took over the private
property of an association of citizens which had long provided a vital
public service. The administration claims that they have evidence that the
Sorcerer's Brotherhood had planned a coup against the city of Venga in
conjunction with the recent attack by the White Necromancer. Note that
a full color rendering of the White Necromancer dressed as a cheerleader,
apparently she has picked out her costume for Thursday's Beltane celebration,
appears on page 3 of this edition of this newspaper. The Fenkar administration
has not shared its evidence with the public leading this newspaper to
suspect that this claim is simply a smokescreen for their real agenda
of removing any other center of power standing in their way of total
control of the city of Venga and its environs. Last night their target
was an association of scholars and elderly gentleman who for years have
maintained the Venga Beacon as a service to the public. Their common
property has been seized and they have been given the unpalatable choice
of signing a loyalty oath to the Fenkar administration or vacating the
city and the Vale of Venga within 24 hours.

Gornan Slan, noted Packet business man, condemned the actions
of the administration as outrageous and illegal. He further offered
refuge to members of the Sorcerer's Brotherhood at his country estate
in the mountains north and west of the city. Master Vesaus, a long
time member of the Brotherhood, said that he would avail himself of
Slan's generous offer, and thought that many of his brothers would
also at least temporarily do likewise. He opined that many members
of the Brotherhood would not return to Venga due to the hostile climate
that they now faced. They would either relocate to Caron, Marnor,
the Elvish lands to the west, or the Dwarven nation to the east.

This newspaper is aghast at these developments. Venga has long
had a reputation of welcoming any of peaceful intent. This has been
a great source of strength as Humans from the south, Elves from the
west, Dwarves from the east, and Halflings from the Vale have settled
in the city, lived together peacefully, and prospered. The Sorceror's
Brotherhood grew out of this diverse mix from the scholarly and magically
inclined of these people. They brought together different traditions
and methods and forged a new superior methodology which has served our
city well. This has all been thrown away in one night by the arrogant
actions of the out of touch Fenkar administration. We despair for the
future of our city.
==========================================================================

After you have read the articles, Celebrin continues, "We were at
the Crater when the city moved on Ugo and Borloch. I left from there to
inform Thorakil what had happened to Ingelt and all else that I had learned.
Besides Rireon you can also trust Master Thritas of the Sorcerer's Brotherhood,
and my adventuring companions. There is Murga, a very annoying Dwarf cleric
of Hephaestus, Mr. Spike, a big Human fighter, and Neela Frangela, a sneaky
human woman. Thritas will know where to find them.

You are not sure why, perhaps as a final service to the clearly dying
Thorakil, but something about this whole thing intrigues you and make
preparations for a trip to Venga. It takes a few days and as you descend from
the mountain ridge that surrounds the city of Venga you enter and ask after
Rireon. You go to his home and are warmly welcomed. He tells you that much
has changed since Celebrin has left, and give you some more newspapers to read:

Front page headline of special edition of the Packet Pulse
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Illegal Coup In Venga
=====================
Early on the morning of Thursday under cover of our usual
happy Beltane celebration, the revelry was interrupted by a coup staged by
a small element of tyrannical individuals close to the center of power
in Venga. The prominent face the junta is former deputy mayor Ulfaz Borloch,
who less than a week ago resigned his position after he was implicated in a
plot against the city supposedly orchestrated by the Sorcerer's Brotherhood.
He has promulgated a draconian series of decrees that require the cooperation
of citizens with the junta with the punishment for noncompliance being death.
Also prominent among the junta is a former prominent member of the Brotherhood,
Master Ugo, who now styles himself Vahn Oberon. The apparent leader of the
junta is one who styles himself as Emperor Vinter of Mora. This delusional
individual claims that the coup is the first step in the restoration of
the Moran Empire.

The first signs of trouble were when the usual processions of costumed
revelers who were converging on Venga's central square were turned away by
the City Guard with tales that the celebration had gotten out of hand. They were
told to return to their homes and most either heeded this order or simply carried
out their celebration in other parts of the city. Reports then arrived of a struggle
between members of the mayor's and city council staff and some sort of elf-like
creatures on the steps of the City Hall. Mayor Fenkar and some of his supporters
managed to flee from the fighting to the Packet. A struggle broke out
on the Great Bridge between supporters of the Mayor and the junta which
ended in a draw with the mayor's supporters holding the west side of the
bridge and the junta holding the east side. The mayor apparently approached
prominent Packet business man Gornan Slann for help which was freely given,
and instrumental in stopping the coup at the Great Bridge.

Over the last days there has been an uneasy calm between the two sides with
claims and counter claims of legitimacy. Unconfirmed reports from the city
include that members of the three families, the Frangela, the Fenkari, and Calmoni,
and members of the Sorcerers Brotherhood have been singled out for arrest, punishment,
confiscation of their goods, and execution for non-cooperation. In the Packet
Mayor Fenkar with the support of Gornan Slann have been joined by a steady stream
of prominent citizens who would never even think of visiting the Packet.
Normal commerce is beginning to resume, the two sides have agreed
to reopen the Great Bridge to "legitimate traffic", whatever that may
mean, on Monday.

While this newspaper has not been friendly to the old regime led by
Mayor Fenkar, we do have to admit it was chosen in a process that is an
exemplar of democratic choice as compared to Thursday's coup. Thus we urge
cooperation with the Mayor and his supporters.

We are even confused as to what the junta wants here in Venga. It
is a very long way to Mora. It is most disturbing that prominent among the
junta are a Moran, who is essentially unknown to the people of Venga, and
a mage, who has likely gone Mage Mad. No one is sure who the "elf-like"
creatures, who may not even exist yet are said to provide the muscle for
the junta, are. Living close to the Wild Lands we are used to eruptions
of strange creatures and power mad mages bent on dominating the more
stable lands to the south. Is this some alliance between Morans
who lost in that city's endless power struggles, insane mages, and a
group of frightening Wild Land denizens who are simply bent on gathering
power at our expense without any actual vision for what they want to do next.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Front page headline of Tuesday of the Packet Pulse
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Return to Normalcy in Venga?
============================
Yesterday the junta that took over Venga in an illegal coup early
Thursday morning, announced a return to normalcy. The city gates were
reopened Monday morning at 8:00 as usual, and commerce resumed over the
Great Bridge and at the city docks. The Emergency Decrees promulgated on
Friday are rescinded, and the only obvious change in evidence were the
aggressive patrols by the Town Guard augmented by patrols of grim faced,
pale elves calling themselves the Skorne. They do not allow any
large gathering of people to remain on the streets for long, and no
one is allowed to address crowds or make public pronouncements.

One unusual measure is that anyone found entering the city
or encountering a patrol within the city has their swords confiscated.
Residents of the city claimed that over the weekend all of their swords
had been gathered by members of the Town Guard. The authorities claim that
swords will be returned soon, and careful records are being made of the owner
ship of these weapons. All other sorts of weapons are ignored as has been
the past custom in Venga.

Rumors of talks between the old regime led by Mayor Fenkar and
the new regime led by Mayor Borloch are rampant. Mayor Fenkar claims
that these rumors are false, while Mayor Borloch says that he very much
advises all residents of Venga and the Packet to cooperate with his
legitimate authority which will soon be augmented by forces loyal
to Emperor Vinter of Mora. Rumors are rampant that the main force of
the Skorne, who dwell deep in the Wild Lands in a place called the Sarangak
Forest, are making their way south to cement their hold on Venga.
Wild Land explorers know little of this place except that it is located hundreds
of miles to the north and east of Venga and is generally shunned as very
dangerous.

This newspaper does not know what to make of this strange turn of
events. The junta led by Mayor Borloch seems to have changed its face
in a very short time. It is not clear why they have done this, but the
citizens of Venga and the Packet are breathing a sigh of relief as the
very tense situation that prevailed over the weekend is noticeably calmer
with the start of the new week. We hope that the people of Venga and
the Venga Vale will benefit, although we are skeptical, from the upheaval
that took place this weekend.

In an unhopeful sign the offices of our rival newspaper,
the Venga Valiant, were apparently destroyed in a fire of unusual origin
over the weekend. Our attempts to find out more on what happened and
what the plans are for the resumption of publication for the Valiant
have not revealed anything and many of our fellow reporters cannot be
found.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rireon tells you that Master Thritas has fled the city and can
be found at the Howling Owl Ale House in the seedy suburb of Venga called
the Packet. He advises you to wait for the morning as the area is not
the safest, and offers you lodging for the night as for as long you are
in Venga. It is the evening of Wednesday, and the next morning you
find yourself crossing the Great Bridge from the city proper, to the Packet
heading from the Howling Owl Ale House.

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Re: The Venga Campaign

Post by cinabro »

Back story for Quilord as we add another player to get back to workable number of players and avoid having the very powerful Alexia as an NPC.

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Re: The Venga Campaign

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Party = Murga[Dwarf Cleric 5th], Quilord [Elf Wizard 5th], Spike[Human Fight 4th], Zeebers[Human Rogue 5th]

Thursday

The party meets Quilord Silverthorn at the Howling Owl. He has come looking
after Celebrin to continue his efforts. He gets the party's view of recent events.

They meet with Dumas and Thritas. They have a map to the Tomb and are
told something about the Five Challenges of Zeus plus some sort of barrier that
they have the Hammer of Kohlassa to get through.
Thritas tells them of a member of the Sorceror's Brotherhood who made an attempt
on the Tomb about a decade ago. He had some sort of device that could cut through
stone. He also experimented on pigs, augmenting them as he said they were smartest
of the domestic animals. Since he disappeared that area of the Wild Lands has become
especially dangerous. It should take about two days to get there.

They have a discussion about Alexia. Should she accompany them? On the one
hand it is not clear how to revive the Legion of Lost Souls. Alexia welding Witchfire
can clearly do this. On the other hand this is basically handing Alexia everything she
desires, an undead army under her control that she can use to take revenge on Ugo.
Dumas says that he has been watching her, and she spent the last few days in study.
The consensus, despite obvious reservations, is to take her along. Dumas will have
her meet them tomorrow morning.

Mr. Spike thinks about spending his money on a bar. He scouts some this
evening. What strikes him is that many of them are running a gambling game called
Metrarch. He cannot see what the fuss is about and asks Zeebers what he thinks.
Zeebers finds the game uninteresting, and overly complex.

Friday

They head out. Zeebers flies air cover, and they are carrying the Hammer
on the Wind Up Horse. Zeebers notes that they are being shadowed by the Farrow,
boar men, and tries to keep them away. This night they find a perfectly defensible
camp sight and are not bothered by the Farrow.

On the way out of the Packet they notice that a crude wall is bing built
about the suburb. They also run in to Feng Shui who tells them that while things
are calm in the city, outside the Junta is attacking the forces of the Opposition.
His best guess is that they are trying to clear the way for the Skorne army that
is coming down from the Wild Lands. He thinks they are due to arrive soon.

Saturday

They continue their journey and despite Zeebers efforts they are ambushed by
a troop of 7 Farrow. The two mages make short work of the Farrow with Quilord frying
some with chain lightening and Alexia magic missleing two and finishing one off with a
pistol shot.

As they continue Zeebers notes that large numbers of Farrow are following
them. They crest a ridge and note that there is little vegetation and that the Farrow
seem to be adverse to entering the dead zone. They get up to the Tomb and notice
the broken machine in front of the large stone doors and giant statues of Zeus.

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Re: The Venga Campaign

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Session 25 is further into The Legion of Lost Souls and the introduction of Quilord. Next is the backstory for another player.

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Re: The Venga Campaign

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Backstory for Human Ranger Rolthane Calmon
=====================================
Venga is blessed to lie at a cross roads. To the east
is the western end of the Dwarven underground realm that stretches
more than a thousand miles to the other end of the continent. To the
east is the Elven realm. Stretching away to the south is the River
Nor which is navigable from Venga all the way to the Middle Sea.
To the north are the Wild Lands where magic runs rampant and
fantastic things that can be found no where else.

Our ancestors who traveled up the Nor and found the
valley at the south end of a deep lake realized its ideal location.
The Dwarves and Elves had long ago declared the valley neutral
ground and had allowed it to become populated by the halflings who
had turned it into a bread basket. These humans founded the city
of Venga that became one of the main pillars of the Moran Empire and
its hold on the lands around the Middle Sea.

Venga flourished along with the Empire. Lucrative trade in
Dwarven manufactured goods, exotic goods from the Wild Lands, and
food from the productive farms of the valley was shipped down the
Nor to satisfy the apetites of the large cities of the Empire. The three
families that have a leading role in the life of the city rose prominence
during this time: the Frangela, the Fenkari, and the Calmoni. They did it by
dominating the commercial life of the city. During the collapse of
the Empire, which succombed to waves of barbarians form the Wild Lands
and internal strife, Venga avoided disaster through the efforts of
these families who spent lavishly to improve the city's fortifications,
maintain a large army, and attract magic users through generous support of
the Sorcerer's Brotherhood. While Venga was attacked repeatedly, it never
fell to the Barbarians.

Unfortunately with the collapse of the Empire, there were far
fewer outlets for Venga's trade. The fortunes of the city have declined
over the last few hundred years. The fortunes of the three families have
also suffered. Competition in the comercial sector has come from Gornan
Slann who arrived out of the Wild Lands some years ago, and has come to
dominate the trade in exotic goods from the Wild Lands and provides a
seemingly endless supply of goblin and orc slaves for labor in Venga.
The Sorcerer's Brotherhood has also grown far more independent with the
lack of large subsidies. The city's administration is also less
reliably under the control of the three families. It is becoming less
than obvious that members of the families will occupy the three most
important positions of power in the city, Mayor, Governor of the Venga Vale,
and Chief Justice.

The three families have grown very disturbed that an alliance
against them is being formed by Slann, the Sorcerer's Brotherhood,
and the city's bureaucrats. The goal would be to wrest power from
the families and break their dominance of the Nor River trade via
their lock on the granting of slots on the limited number of river
docks. This is especially disturbing as the river trade is starting
to revive. The city of Marnor at the mouth of the Nor has recovered
after falling to barbarians. Merchants from Mora, far Koda, and
other cities on the Middle Sea are starting to demand Vengan goods
again. This is not the time for the three familes to lose control
of the river trade.

The head of your family, Corlo Calmon, is your great uncle
and is the current Governor of the Venga Vale. Thus many of the
Calmoni, including yourself work in the defense of the Venga Vale.
You were trained in wilderness craft in the mountains, river valleys,
and forests in the lands around Venga. You have spent a few years
struggling against the Fell Creatures that seem to endlessly come
out of the Wild Lands. Fortunately they lack organization unless
some mage has gone mad, and even they tend to be not stable enough
to sustain a threatening effort.

To your misfortune a few weeks ago, you were part of a team
sent out to investigate a mad mage who launched some sort expedition
into the Wild Lands about a decade ago. His resume was rather
frightening as he had begun using pigs as the basis for an enhanced
race of servants. He had also invented some sort of mago-mechanical
device that used the power of the sun to cut through rock. Apparently
he planned to head into the mountains west of the city and systematically
loot tombs for lost treasure and secrets. His first target was a well
known location, the Tomb of the Legion of the Lost Souls, the final
resting place of an army of Dwarves and Elves from the Mad Wars who legend
claim will arise and return to save Venga in its darkest hour. The Tomb
used to be regularly visited by the acolytes of Zeus. Whatever happened
to this mage's expedition the area around the Tomb became unsafe soon
after he disappeared.

Your expedition went wrong about a day and a half out of Venga
in the mountains. A large number of pigmen armed with primitive weapons
attacked and scattered the expedition. You managed to survive, but were
separated from the rest of the expedition. You headed towards the Tomb,
and discovered that the pigmen refused to come into the valley that the
Tomb occupied. You set up camp expecting that your fellows would arrive,
but after a week you concluded that either they had fallen to the pigmen
or had abandoned you in the Wild Lands. Your attempts to return to Venga
have so far been thwarted by the horde of pigmen, and you begin to despair
that you will survive this this ordeal. You have approached the Tomb,
and are astonished by the cyclopian statues that guard the massive stone
doors, a ruined machine outside the doors, and a desicated corpse lying
near by. On the corpse you found the remains of journal. You are able
to read some of the weather damaged pages:

"The Perilous Hall of the Five Challeges...rumored to be tests of
a devine nature, but I have found proof otherwise. They are,
in fact, mechanicks traps hidden behind a facade of divinity.
The solution...not in the purity of one's soul or any true
devotion to Zeus..."
"Zeus' Breath...a test of one's vigor? His breath is a deadly
vapor spewed forth from..."
"Ah, yes...Zeus' Gaze...a seemingly unavoidable torture...involves

electrocution at the hands of..."
"...whereupon the passage indicated that Zeus' Hands seem to bridge
some kind of chasm, if the translation was indeed accurate..."
"Another trail and mayhap the last is but an 'indestructible'
barrier...Once threshold of the tomb is breached and the myriad
traps foiled, then comes the last paradox of the Gate of Souls...
apparently only an enormous force can..."

Based on this you prudently decide that entering the Tomb, you note a hole
in the door, would be a bad idea.

After you have been here a week and a half, you note that the
pigmen seem to be gathering and you hope that you can find some opportunity
to slip away. You see cresting the ridge a small party seemingly of
Wild Land exploring adventuerers heading towards the Tomb. You see a large
man weilding a gear headed mace. He seems to be perpetually arguing with a dwarf
cleric and leering at a young woman dressed in white. She returns his gaze
disdainfully and you notice a large black sword strapped to her back. There
is also an elf carrying a staff and a quiet man who is wearing copper wings.
Finally they have a heavily armored horse, that is carrying something that
is 20 feet long which is evidently heavy. They are certainly heading for the
Tomb, and you are hopeful that they may be your chance to return safely
to Venga.

You approach the party with your right hand raised in a token of
friendship, "Greetings friends. I am terribly glad to see you," you begin.

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Re: The Venga Campaign

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Backstory for a new player to round out the party and set up the next stage of the Legion of Lost Souls. Player hooked up with us on the forums, but only lasted a few sessions.

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Re: The Venga Campaign

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Saturday Continued
Party = Murga[Dwarf Cleric 5th], Quilord [Elf Wizard 5th], Rolthane[Human Ranger 5th], Spike[Human Fight 4th], Zeebers[Human Rogue 5th]

Rolthane approaches the party. They explore the machine and corpse, which
Murga fails to speak with dead on. Rolthane shares with them the journal entries.
Into the Tomb.

In the first room they trip the gong and are stumped by the Hands. They
spend some time tearing up the Hands mechanism and pass through that room.

In the next room they trip the poison fog trap, but Rolthane reacts quickly
and catches one of the falling vials while the other falls harmlessly in the water.

In the flooded room they gather up the Hammer (+3 Vermin Bane).

Zeebers is electrocuted by the Eye of Zeus. At the Barrier they use the
Hammer of Kohlasa to destroy it, but the Hammer is lost in the destruction of the
Barrier.

Down the chasm and they fight with some spiders on the way. Down the corridor
where they see a Tomb Maiden fighting with some spiders. They join in, although Rolthane
flubs and hits the mechanical woman, and defeat the spiders. The Maiden turns on them,
rolls terribly, and they manage to kill it.

They find the destroyed galleries of the legion, the galleries of the robots, and the
one preserved gallery. Alexia steps forward, draws Witchfire, and calls the Legion to awaken.
After some anxious moments the Legion arises as skeletal warriors with green glowing eyes.
Their leader turns to Alexia asking for orders. She tells them that they march on Venga.
She turns to the frightened party...

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Re: The Venga Campaign

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Session 26 is part of the Legion of Lost Souls and is great fun as the party navigates through the traps and finds the Legion. Alexi powers up...

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Re: The Venga Campaign

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Session 26 is part of the Legion of Lost Souls and is great fun as the party navigates through the traps and finds the Legion. Alexi powers up...

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Re: The Venga Campaign

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Saturday Continued
Party = Murga[Dwarf Cleric 5th], Quilord [Elf Wizard 5th], Rolthane[Human Ranger 5th], Spike[Human Fight 4th], Zeebers[Human Rogue 5th]

Alexia tells them that she, her mother, and their coven want revenge on Ugo. She
is taking the Legion to do that. The party is for that, but they want to know what
will happen to the Legion afterwards. She says that the Legion's purpose will be fulfilled
when they save Venga and that she will use Witchfire to release them and their souls should
then travel on to their deserved reward in the afterlife.

She notes that she will have to stay with the Legion to keep them animated, but
that the party should go ahead and arrange for a link up with the Loyalist faction in
the Packet.

It takes some time to get out of the Tomb due to the collapse, but once they
do and get out of the Tomb the party begins to head toward Venga. Near the end of this
day's journey they are ambushed by a small group of pigmen who they easily dispatch.

Sunday

The party arrives in the Packet at the end of the day. They ask to see Thritas
and are brought to a big meeting of those in charge of the Loyalist faction led by
Mayor Fenkar. The party tells them that the Legion will be arriving this night.
The Loyalists are thrilled. They surmise that the Junta will be attacking over the
Great Bridge first thing in the morning. Their plan is to let them break through into
a killing zone that they have set up in the Packet. They were then planning to counter
attack, but their forces are ill armed and inexperienced. The Legion will be ideal. Also
the robots of the Legion will be ideal for attacking the Skorne War Beast.

To complete the surprise they decide that the party should knock out the Watchtower
at the confulence of the Nor and the Arve. To do this they will have to enter the city
via the South Gate early the next morning and then take out the Watchtower.

Ralthayne gives his powder vial from the Tomb to Thritas to ID. Thritas will
try to get to it later.

Party is healed up and rests over night.

Monday

Front page headline of Monday Packet Pulse
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Army of Elvish Wild Landers Enters Venga
========================================
Yesterday an army of grim, pale elves from the Wild Lands arrived at
Venga. Apparently these are the source of power of the self-styled Emperor
Vinter and his alliance with these creatures of chaos is what leads him to
think he is beginning the restoration of the old Moran Empire. The army is
frightening to behold. Besides the tall, thin, pale elves there is a huge
reptilian war beast with a tower on its back large enough to support
heavy weapons.

Traffic across the Great Bridge has come to a halt, and there is a
sense that something is about to happen very soon. In the Packet feverish
preparations for defense continue. A makeshift wall has been thrown up around
the suburb, the able bodied have been pressed into service either helping
to build defenses or hastily trained in the use of arms, and many of the refugee
mages of the Sorceror's Brotherhood are seen walking the new perimeter of
The Packet.

This newspaper fears the worst will happen soon. We urge all citizens
to stand up for what is right, but to be very careful when this conflict enters
its next stage.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

To the South Gate. Ralthayne takes out a guard patroling outside from a postern.
They head through the postern into the city and encounter two more guards. Murga uses a
Silence to keep them from raising the alarm. Spike dispatches one while the other runs
away. Quilord finishes him with a Magic Missle before anyone notices.

The party makes their way to the Watchtower. They go up to the top and fight it
out with the two watchmen. They capture them before they can raise any alarm using a flare
gun. Using Command Murga gets them to tell that they have already delivered their
all is OK message for their watch. The party goes to the windows and looks out...

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Re: The Venga Campaign

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Session 27 is further into the Legion of Lost Souls. Tense as the party avoids sounding the alarm. All fortunately works for them.

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Re: The Venga Campaign

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Monday Continued
Party = Murga[Dwarf Cleric 5th], Quilord [Elf Wizard 5th], Rolthane[Human Ranger 5th], Spike[Human Fight 4th], Zeebers[Human Rogue 5th]

Party sees the smoke from the start of the battle around the Great Bridge. Captain
Helstrom arrives and tells them that the Town Guard has gone back to the Loyalist
side. He needs their help to stop the Skorne Warbeast. He leads them down to
the main square where the beast is preparing to join the battle. They move
in to attack. They struggle with guards and the gunners. Spike tries to take
down the beast while Zeebers is peppered by the guns from the fighting top.
Eventually Quilord sends a fireball into the fighting top exploding the powder
magazine and killing the beast.

Helstrom again shows up and leads the party to the east end of the Great Bridge.
They have to silence the gun tower there. They see that the battle has moved to the
Bridge with Alexia exhorting the Legion of Lost Souls and Emperor Vintor leading
the Skorne. They go up to the tower and kill the guards and the gunners. They fire
a gun at Vintor and he, wearing golden armor, falls into the river. The Skorne
break and start to retreat. Ralthayne is healed by a passing cleric who is trailing
after the army.

Helstrom again summons them to the upper city where Mayor Borlach has taken
hostages to the main courthouse. They find some battered Town Guards who says the
Mayor and his body guards have taken some important hostages, the Admiral and some
woman, and are holed up on the top. They were defeated trying to go up.
Zeebers flys up to an upper floor lowering down a rope and the party enters via
a window. Ralthayne has been here before and leads them towards the stairs up
where they stumble on the first bunch of Borlach's men. They defeat them and they
head up to the Library level. An invisible Quilord penetrates in and after a tough
fight they dispatch the second set of guards. All that remains is the top penthouse
floor...

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Re: The Venga Campaign

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Session 28 is hurtling towards the conclusion of the Legion of the Last Souls. Another party legend arises when Mr. Spike hacks at the monstrous foot of the war beast just as Quilord launches a fireball into the fighting top. Mr. Spike will claim that he felled the "dinosaur" to the accompanied eye rolls of the rest of party.

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Re: The Venga Campaign

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Monday Continued
Party = Murga[Dwarf Cleric 5th], Quilord [Elf Wizard 5th], Rolthane[Human Ranger 5th], Spike[Human Fight 4th], Zeebers[Human Rogue 5th]

They head up to the penthouse on top of the courthouse. They see Borloch
holding the Admiral, a wizard type holding an old lady, and a burly guard holding
a man that no one recognizes. Mr. Spike charges the wizard and strikes him around
the hostage. Borloch raises his weapon and shots the wizard in the head, dropping
him. The guard strikes his hostage, the Admiral runs to try to pick up the Wizards
knife, and Mr. Spike decks him with a punch. Murga uses Hold Person on the guard,
while Spike moves on Borloch who falls to his knees begging for mercy and claiming
that he is a pawn of Ugo and Vinter. Spike spares him, with the promise that he
tells them all he knows, and that he be turned over to the Leader of the Legion
of Lost Souls, aka Alexia. He tells them that Ugo and Vinter have gone off to fight,
he does not know where they are. He gathered up these prisoners to protect them
in the chaos, and he surrendurs to them. They find the woman is Lady Fenkar, the mayor's
aunt, and the Admiral Frheel who said he was trying to grab the knife and join the fight,
even though his hands were tied. The third hostage is the chief engineer of Vanga,
Tarl Schenk. The party binds all the people and head down to leave the building.

They see a crowd gathered around Alexia and Ugo/Oberon dueling in the
center of the main square. They are ringed by the Legion of the Lost Souls which
is separating the crowd from the battling mages. Alexia defeats Ugo/Oberon and
drives Witchfire into his fallen body. He seems to get consumed by the sword.
She turns to the Legion and says "Keep them all away from me. I have something
to do." She drives Witchfire into the pavement and begins to chant. Everyone
is stunned, but as her ritual nears its end she draws the garet encrusted copper
hammer to finish off Witchfire, everyone is distracted by clouds of biting insects
and rats. The cloud of insects grows so thick that Alexia is lost to sight. They
hear her scream and as the vermin disapate they see that Witchfire is gone, and
Alexia is lying unconcious and bleeding on the pavement. The Legion of Lost
Souls are lying inert and desicated, and their war machines are standing immobile.
High Priest Dumas appears out of the crowd and tends to Alexia. She awakens crying
that Ugo is gone and has escaped her vengeance. Father Dumas bears her away to the
Temple of Posiedon. Quilord gathers up Ugo/Oberon's staff.

Party turns their prisoners over to the Town Guard. The Admiral, Lady
Fenkar are released. The Chief Engineer is badly hurt, but he will recover.
Borloch and his surviving henchman are taken into custody.

Party rests back at the Howling Owl.

Tuesday

Party to the Temple of Poseidon to check on Alexia. She is resting in bed, but
tells them that she knows that it was bad idea to try to destroy Witchfire, but that
she simply wanted to destroy Ugo/Oberon forever. Her ritual was spoiled by the vermin
and as she stood up to gather the sword, someone hit her in the back of the head. She
could not see and has no clue what happened. Dumas says that she will be OK in a few days.

They find Master Thritas. Quilord asks about the staff. Indeed it is very powerful
(light, blades +3, etc.) but he suspects it is tainted by association with Ugo/Oberon.
Where is Witchfire worries Thritas also. Plan to gather this evening at the Temple
of Zeus, on the main square, to Locate Object. Combine efforts with Clerics and
Mages of the Brotherhood, and scroll party has. Thritas is very happy that
the Sorceror's Brotherhood has been reinstated, and the previous troubles have
been blamed on Ugo/Oberon.

Murga has the idea of building some sort of Witchfire locator. He gathers
stones from the main square was damaged by Witchfire. The bodies of the Legion of Lost
Souls are being respectfully gathered here to build some sort of monument. They note that
many of the sewer covers in the area are broken or lifted off of their locations. They
conclude that a cleric or druid was involved using an Insect Swarm. Murga opines that
someone gathered the sword with the intent of destroying it in a controlled and
safe manner.

Witchfire location does not go well. High Priest of Zeus and Posiedon are there,
seconds of the others, and many members of the Sorceror's Brotherhood. They only get
the vague impression that Witchfire is still in the city, but underground.
There is a discussion about what to do with Alexia. She is a powerful mage, but needs training.
Suggestions are made to send her to the Elves (pros - lots of powerful mages to check
her if she goes rogue, best possible training; cons - not humans, in the Wild Lands),
Caron (pros - humans, close, well known magic school; cons - rival to Venga, too close),
or Koda (pros - humans, best human magic school; cons - far away, need Dwarf help to get
her there).

Front page headline of Tuesday of the Packet Pulse
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Battle of Venga Ousts Illegal Junta
===========================
Yesterday at dawn the Battle of Venga began. The Wild Lander Elvish army led
by the self-styled Emperor Vinter, attacked across the Great Bridge. They broke through
the defenses of the Loyalists and entered into the main square of the Packet. There
they were met by a hail of missles and magical energy and came to a halt. As reinforcements
came across the bridge the Loyalists unveiled a surprise. An army of undead, led by the
White Necromancer, featuring some sort of metal magical giants counter attacked. Many are
claiming that this army is the legendary Legion of Last Souls. The elves fell back to the
Great Bridge and the two forces were locked in stalemate.

In Venga proper the Town Guard who had been supporting the Junta took this opportunity
to return to supporting the Loyalist faction, and began to disrupt the Elves who were
rushing to support their bretheren on the bridge. Their great beast was destroyed in
a cammando raid that resulted in the fighting tower on the beasts back being consumed
in a giant explosion. The stalemate on the Great Bridge ended when a gun tower on the east side
of the bridge which had been steadily firing in support of the elves fell silent. The
forces of the White Necromancer and Loyalist led by Mayor Fenkar broke through to Venga
proper as the elves were in full retreat. Emperor Vinter was last seen falling over
the side of the Great Bridge while he desperately tried to rally his retreating forces.
Since he was wearing full plate armor he surely perished in the deep, cold waters of
the River Nor.

As the Loyalists army began to clear out the city, the final battle took place in
the Municipal Square. There the White Necromancer confronted Master Ugo, aka Oberon,
and a frightening duel between the two powerful mages took place under the eyes of a growing
crowd. The White Necromancer prevailed, and using her trademark out-sized black sword finished
off the traitorous sorceror. At this point it is not clear what happened next. Apparently
a swarm of vermin over ran the square. When the repulsive creatures cleared out, the White
Necromancer was prone on the square with her sword gone. Most believed that she her self
called up the swarm which carried off the sword to Hades to deposit the soul of the despised
Ugo. She clearly paid a large price as she was bleeding and carried off by High Priest
of Posiedon Dumas to the lake-side Temple devoted to the Lord of the Seas. The undead army
that she led fell inanimate and their war machines became inert.

A spontaneous celebration broke out among the people of the city as Mayor Fenkar
spoke from the balustrade of the City Hall declaring that the city was liberated.
He thanked the people for their loyalty and support over the last two weeks, and said that
all citizens owed thanks to the White Necromancer who had sacrificed so much to bring an
army to liberate the city. He declared the rest of the week holidays to be devoted to the
clean up and recovery of the city.

The jubilant celebration began in the municipal square and spread over the whole
city with the revelers finding members of the White Necromancer's army who had fallen in
the battle. Their remains are being gathered at the site of the final confrontation where
an informal memorial is being constructed. Spokesmen for the adminstration said that
planning would begin immediately for a formal memorial, but dampend speculation that the
Packet would be annexed to city in the next days.

This newspaper joins in the celebration and eloquent expressions of gratitude
made by the mayor. This nightmare that began two weeks ago appears to be over.
We can certainly expect better days to come.
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday

Quilord sees the Priest of Artemis, Labelle. He can find no curse on Quilord
from handling Ugo/Oberon's staff. He tells them that some of the Halflings in the
valley around Venga are Druidic, and directs him to where their sacred grove is.

Murga to the Temple of Hephaustus to talk about a "Witchfire Compass".

The party goes to see Gatria Solar. She tells him that her son, Iltumar Solar, is
involved with some strange cult, and she shows them the broken square pendant that he has.
She wants them to investigate this cult. They arrange meetings by going to Delver's
Square after dark on Saturday, display their symbol, and then someone will direct them
to the meeting place. The participants are given some sort of disguise such that no
one knows who is at the meeting. She has convinced her son not to go to the next meeting,
and the party elects not to talk with him.

They hear that Borloch's case is being talked up by the Admiral. The Admiral
is is crediting Borloch with saving their lives by taking them out of the prison.

Lifestyle Section Wednesday of the Packet Pulse
------------------------------------------------------------------
"Mayor" Borloch Saves Lady Fenkar and Admiral Frheel
====================================================
One of the most amazing stories of Venga's recent troubles is that of
Ulfaz Borloch who over the last 17 days resigned as Deputy Mayor after being implicated
in a plot to take over the city perhaps in collusion with the White Necromancer and
the Sorceror's Brotherhood, re-emerged as the public face of the Junta that took over
the city in an illegal coup as the "Mayor", and is the savior of Admiral Frheel
and beloved Lady Fenkar in the chaotic events of Monday's Battle of Venga. In an
interview the subdued ex-Mayor described his horrible ordeal that has gone on for
longer than ten years.

It began when business partners of his introduced him to the magician known
as Ugo and his patron Vinter. These two claimed to be from Mora and had fled north
after ending up on the wrong side of one of Mora's endless civil wars.
Ugo would gain magical might by using the power of an artifact, the black sword
welded by the White Necromancer. They threatened Borloch and his family with dire
consequences if he did not cooperate. In his position as a magistrate he launched
a literal witch hunt as the black
sword gave power to its welder based on the power of the mages it had killed. The
sword was used to execute many minor magic users operating in Venga and its environs.
The plan went awry when after executing a beloved coven of witches who served the
fishing community, the Temple of Poseidon insisted that the slaughter come to an
end. To insure its end the sword be buried in a protected locale on the
grounds of their lake side temple. Borloch hoped that this would be the end
of his ordeal.

It was not to be. Vinter and Ugo apparently had an alternative plan.
This was a long term plan to restore Vinter to power in Mora. Apparently they
had contacts with the Skorne, a race of albino Elves who rule a chunk of the
Wild Lands, and planned to convince them to act as Vinter's strong right arm in
his bid for power in Mora. Apparently the delay was to allow the Skorne's
warbeast to mature as they would not venture out of the Wild Lands without this
creature to lead their army.

Ugo and Vinter supported Borloch's political career with money and
Ugo's magically controlled servants. Borloch admits that he did some terrible
things, but that he was forced into his behavior by threats from Borloch
and Vinter and the occasional terrifying meeting with the Skorne. The
rise of the White Necromancer apparently led to a change of plans as Ugo
wanted to use her to obtain the sword.

The last 17 days have been a terrible nightmare as Borloch was forced to
represent the Junta. When Ugo and Vinter became distracted Monday morning,
Borloch siezed the moment to try to rescue the most important prisoners that
the Junta was holding namely Admiral Frheel and Lady Fenkar. He was still
being watched closely by guards loyal to Ugo and Vinter so he took them to
the Main Courthouse where a rescue team eventually showed up. He used
the confusion to kill one of the guards and help free the hostages.
The other guard later died of his wounds.
Both Lady Fenkar and Admiral Frheel expressed their thanks to Borloch
for getting them out of prison.

Borloch hopes that he can make amends to the city he has wronged, by
being involved in the large reconstruction effort that will be required.

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Re: The Venga Campaign

Post by cinabro »

Session 29 is the completion of the Legion of Lost Souls, and the Witchfire trilogy. The plot is twisted a bit to start the next phase of the campaign which has been setting up over the last few session. I will review all the modules, etc. when I get to the end, but the Witchfire trilogy is excellent. Probably the biggest bang for the buck of any module I have ever encountered.

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Re: The Venga Campaign

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Party = Murga[Dwarf Cleric 5th], Quilord [Elf Wizard 5th], Spike[Human Fight 5th], Zeebers[Human Rogue 5th]

Wednesday Continued

Spike spends the evening celebrating and has a good night. He wastes most
of it playing Metrarch.

Zeebers finds that Marden, head of Thieves Guild, has been killed and that there is turmoil
in the ranks. He does find a +1 Short Sword after discovering the difference between
the high priced, but artistic Elves and the l ow priced but mass produced Dwarves.

Quilord sends a note back home with the tale of what happened.

Party discusses an expedition to recover the treasure of the Legion of
Lost Souls.

Murga goes to the Temple of Hephaestus to see about building a "Witchfire
Compass". Murga is not interested something that give pin point location, but
good enough for a general area indication at long range. They also discuss a
locator for "powerful magic items".

Thursday

Party recieves invites to ceremony and Ball afterwards tomorrow. They are told that
they will be honored in public for their service to the city. They suggest that
since they are still working, they would like to avoid public recognition, and the
Mayor's office suggest that they come an hour early to the Ball for a private expression
of the city's gratitude. The story will get spread that those that killed the War Beast
were killed in the blast that destroyed the beast.

They speak with High Priest Dumas and Alexia. She tells them what she knows
about the Scrolls of Naterus. Dumas tells them that the Scrolls and
many of the city's and Sorceror's Brotherhood's magical items have gone missing.
They ask Alexia about the War Machines. She tells them that they need fuel, coal
usually, and that they are linked to a controller who can command them. These
were members of the Legion of Lost Souls. With all of them gone the machines
are inert. She guesses if some could figure out how to "reprogram" them then
they could be made to work.

They talk to Master Thritas about the war machines. The party, egged
on by Spike and Quilord, thinks that the machines should be destroyed, dumped into the Lake.
Thritas tells them that he thinks they could be quite valuable and they are being
gathered up with some going to the Sorceror's Brotherhood and some to the
Temple to Hephaestus for study. Quilord does suggest that at minimum they
sould be stored away from the city.

At the Temple of Hephaestus, Zeebers asks for some more cross bow
magazines. They see no trouble in doing that and will have them
ready in a few days.

Rolthane visits his family and finds them in a very strong position
as their army remained loyal to the cause, and a number paid the ultimate price.

Zeebers and Spike go out to play Metrarch and scout bars. Neither
are drawn in, and they observe the strange nature of the game. The bar owner
supplies the cards and dice and thinks of the game as a good money maker
as the players can spend quite some time in the bar, but he makes nothing
off of it. Both of them have a good night in other respects.

Friday

They go to the memorial ceremony. It starts in the Municipal square where a
makeshift monument has begun on the spot where Alexia killed Ugo. Heroes of the
Battle of Venga are honored. Alexia is there and cheered by the crowd. Mayor Fenkar
also does well and gives a speech calling for reconcilliation and the incorperation
of the Packet in the city proper. Borloch is also honored for saving the Admiral and Lady
Fenkar. It is announced that he will be prominent in the reconstruction effort.
The ceremony then moves in a solemn procession
down to the Market Square where the remains of the Warbeast, dead Skorne, Ugo, are
burned. After this a celebration begins.

The party meets with the Mayor and his Aunt. They receive V for Venga and Victory
medals and their profound thanks. The party looks pretty bad (Spike - a barbaric
fighter, Murga - dirty as he has just come from the workshop and has no plans to
go to the Ball, Zeebers - ideal for him as he looks ordinary, Quilord - he looks
great and the Elven community notices him, Rolthane - some sort of faus pax, possibly
touting his attachment to the Calmoni rather than Venga patriotism). The party warns the
mayor about Borloch and the Mayor agrees saying that he does not really trust the guy.

Spike volunteers to escort Lady Fenkar and she accepts. The mayor tells them that he will be
happy to give them whatever help they need for their further investigation.

Banquet is very sumptuous. Lady Fenkar tells Spike that the Fenkari Bank is the
place to do business and Spike thinks of a place to launder the money from the Legion
of Lost Souls Treasury. She excuses herself after dinner, she is old and frail, and Spike
and Zeebers compete for Alexia, who looks a bit lost and overwhelmed by all
the attention she is getting. Spike sweeps her away and growls at the many who try to
make time with her. High Priest Dumas notes what Spike is doing and commends him for his
good deed. Alexia tells Spike that she is going to the Elves for further magical training.
She is going to rest here for a few weeks and then go to Sapir. She is a bit apprehensive,
and asks if she can correspond with Spike while she is away.

Zeebers blends in and manages to swipe without attracting any attention
some nice piece of jewelry. They hear tension about the inclusion of the Packet in
the city. Notably missing is Gornan Slann. He has been gone since last weekend. They note
that when seen during the day he has a magical aura around him, and that most find him
generally creepy. There is anticipation and concern about the reconstruction effort.
It is an opportunity to make some good money. Not much is known about Metrarch and in fact
an impromptu game starts up in a corner.

Quilord speaks with the Elves. They are a bit stand-offish, even for Elves, as
there is some muttering about the Skorne. They are concerned that this whole thing was
a giant scheme to get a hold of the magical artifacts. Mentioned are the cauldron that is
used to brew the magical fuel for the beacon fire, a truth device used in the courts, and
of course Witchfire. Not clear who could have been behind such a scheme and be able to
manipulate two powerful wizards such as Alexia and Ugo/Oberon. They opine that it could
be something from the Underdark: Shadow Elves; Red Dwarves; or the worst of the lot, the
Skaven.

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Re: The Venga Campaign

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Session 30 is set up for the renewed campaign and fall out from the events of the last few sessions. Another party legend is born as Spike and Zeebers compete for Alexia. Spike wins by rolling a 20 to beat Zeebers 19. Spike then reveals some depth to his character and acts as Alexia's protector rather than taking advantage of her. The whole episode is used for amusement by an evil CK in the future.

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Re: The Venga Campaign

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Saturday

Front Page Saturday of the Venga Valiant
-----------------------------------------------------------
Our Nightmare Is Over
=====================
Not only have the terrible things that gripped our city come to an
end, but this newspaper has managed to resume publication. On a night two weeks ago
our offices were destroyed in a fire of unknown origin. Little investigation was
done, sighting the trying times, and we have no hope of ever finding out what really
happened. Due to the generous support of Mayor Fenkar, and indeed the whole of
the restored Venga administration, we have managed to reconstitute our operation.
We also want to thank the Packet Pulse for keeping the flame of independent journalism alive
during our absence. That news paper also provided a temporary refuge for some
of our staff. While we continue to be editorial advesaries, we are grateful that
the Packet Pulse was able to really see what matters in a time of crisis. We only
hope that in a similar time of crises we can respond as wisely as they did.

To put an exclamation point on the recovery of our city from these times
of troubles a ceremony that began solemnly and ended celebratory took place yesterday.
On the municipal square, the sight of the climactic fight in the Battle of Venga
between the White Necromancer and mad mage Oberon (aka Master Ugo), Mayor Fenkar
honored the heroes of the battle handing out medals to those who survived, including
the comely White Necromancer, and honored those that had fallen in defense of the city.
He announced that a cenotaph would be built on the square as a premanent reminder
of the sacrifice of the fallen. He also announced that that city needed to heal its
divisions and to that end he would begin working to incooperate the suburb known
as the Packet into the city proper. He noted the Packet's role in the restoration
of the proper regime and the vulnerability of the city while the Packet is not
protected by walls.

He then led a procession down to the market square where the bodies of usurpers
were piled on a bier. Prominant among the pile was the great war beast, and the shrunken
body of Master Ugo/Oberon. The mayor lit the bier and announced a weekend of celebration
before the business of rebuilding got underway. The town erupted in delirous party
that went on deep into the night.

Society Page Saturday of the Venga Valiant
=====================================================
While the town was celebrating the successful conclusion of the Battle of Venga
and the restoration of old regime, Mayor Fenkar hosted a glittering dinner and ball for
the heroes of the Battle of Venga. The Mayor and his wife were splendid, he in a severe
military style suit, and she in a gorgeous strapless evening gown in satin from the noted
designer Bertdian Rothios. Rothios embellished work at the bust and ruched effect at the
bodice accentuates the elegance of this dress further. Also twisted gathered effect at
below waist and stone embroidery attached to it make it a perfect entrance maker.
Her outfit maintained a perfect balance between class, elegance and brilliance.

The White Necromancer was also stunning in a simple gothic style dress that had
hearts racing. Unfortunately for the assembled worthies she spent most of the evening
in the company of a hero sporting a medal of recognition for service in battle. He was
earlier seen escorting Lady Fenkar, the Mayor's aunt and matriarch of the Fenkari clan,
and the current matron of Venga's high society. Gossip identified this man as Veritas
Spike. Sorry boys, she appears to have a beau, and careful girls, he appears to be taken.
Rumors that the White Necromancer is in rehab for Black Lotus addiction at the
Temple of Posiedon were vigorously denied by High Priest Dumas. He claimed that she was
simply resting after the exhausting events of the past two months.

An argument broke out between the head of the Frangela and the Calmoni. Apparently
they were at odds over the Mayor's plan to add the Packet to the city. While the discussion
was loud, the two men had indulged freely in wine earlier in the evening, there was no hint
that this war more than a political disagreement among the movers and shakers of the city.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Party = Murga[Dwarf Cleric 5th], Quilord [Elf Wizard 5th], Spike[Human Fight 5th], Zeebers[Human Rogue 5th]

Saturday Continued

Spike notes that he is attracting attention after his appearance in the newspapers.

Spike, Quilord, and Murga head out to visit the Druids. They find Duris in a sacred
grove south of the city. They tell him the story of Witchfire. He knows nothing, telling them
that some Druids do go extreme and seek to destroy the un-natural, and it is possible that
someone would use the power of Witchfire to depopulate the city. They decide he knows nothing
and return to the city.

Zeebers tries to find a fence for his gains, but is told to wait since there is chaos
in the underworld.

Murga is told by the Temple of Hephaestus that they are having trouble with the magic
item compass. Something is messing up the magical field here in the city. Murga suggets that
they go out of the city and try, which they think is a good idea.

They go to speak with High Priest Dumas about who might have taken Witchfire. He thinks
it was someone outside the city who was attracted by the magical power that was released when
Alexia used Witchfire heavily to awaken and control the Legion of Lost Souls. Thus it was likely
someone from outside the city, either someone from another plane or someone from the underdark.
A chaos cult like the Shattered Square is the ideal vehicle for such a thing to interact with
here and gain local allies.

They speak briefly with Alexia who is recovering well. She is not terribly worried that
someone or something will come after her. There are plenty of dead things near here that she could
use to protect herself. The party leaves realizing that Alexia is still dangerous.

Evening meeting of the Shattered Square near Tavern Street in Venga. They go to Tavern Street.
They decide that Spike and Zeebers should go to the meeting while Murga and Quilord will watch from
a Tavern. As they walk down the street displaying the Shattered Square symbol they lock eyes with
a person on the street. That person directs them to look up and they see a child on the top
of the buildings who runs them over to be above the front entrance of the Rat's Nest, a divey eatery.
Spike and Zeebers go in while Murga and Quilord go into bar across the street. Inside a waitress
shows them to a side door and indicates that they should head down the alley. There they see the
entrance to a backyard, they go in and notice crates stacked up to form steps leading to the second
floor. They go up and notice that guards are covering them from inside. They go in, see the guards,
and one indicates that they should put on hoods which conceal their identities. They go down the stairs
to the disused shop where a half dozen more men are seated around a table. As they join the gathering
three men come out of the back room. Two are burly guards and one is hooded and seems portly, but moves
nimbly. He is the leader and thanks the assembled for their efforts over the last few weeks. His
voice is breathy and hissy and unnatural sounding. He tells them that the "secret project" is complete
and tells them to come visit and see the progress for themselves. He turns things over to one of the
others who says that all is ready for their next ritual. He has secured an orphan and they plan to rape
and kill her. This seems to excite them and they look forward to it. The meeting breaks up, they
leave by the front door, and Zeebers and Spike follow the kidnapper. He alludes Spike, but Zeebers
catches him, and they wrestle him down. They meet up with Murga and Quilord and head to the Temple
of Posiedon. There High Priest Dumas recognizes the man as a merchant in the fish trade. They question
him harshly and tells them that the "secret project" is an apartment building near the docks and it is
a test as to what will be done to the whole city. He also tells them that the girl he kidnapped is
in his house. They rush there and find it on fire. Other on lookers have rescued the girl. Back
at the Temple High Priest Dumas tells the party to "take care" of the merchant who obviously
disgusts him.

They plan to talk to Iltruia Solar and visit the "secret project".

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Re: The Venga Campaign

Post by cinabro »

Session 31 is the start fo new campaign based on the Night of Dissolution and the Banewarrens from Monte Cook's Ptolus. Promising start.

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Re: The Venga Campaign

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Party = Murga[Dwarf Cleric 5th], Quilord [Elf Wizard 5th], Spike[Human Fight 5th], Zeebers[Human Rogue 5th]

Saturday Continued

Discussion among the party about High Priest Dumas. Murga casts Detect Evil
on him and gets no answer. They decide to confine the merchant at the Temple
of Posiedon while they go and check out his business. Murga stays behind to keep watch.
They find nothing at the fish wholesaler business and leave a sign saying that all is free.

Sunday

They go to visit Gatria Solar. They find that Iltumar has gone missing leaving
a very strange note:

Mother

I cannot be what you want me to be. Thank you for all that you have given me,
but I go to live a new life with a new body.

Iltumar

They realize that they have to investigate soonest, and do some shopping for magic
items.

They make their way towards the apartment building and encounter a burning
orc. They subdue him and bring him to the Temple of Apollo to have the mystery
investigated. Murga and Quilord stay at the Temple while Spike and Zeebers continue.
They find a man with lightning coming out of his eyes. They knock him out and
find a woman who is flying. They decide to head to the Temple. They inquire to the
god if this has anything to do with the Shattered Square are are told no. Finally
the Town Guard brings in a raving Elf. He has visions of terrible things being
unleashed from a vault under the Lake. He also sees a shrouded figure making its
way up from the vault, out an abandoned manor house, through the city causing the
strange incidents. Spike then recalls seeing such a figure at the first incident.
They can see that the incidents form a line leading from the manor house to a city
gate. They manor house is well known to the Town Guard and they plan to investigate
it.

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Re: The Venga Campaign

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Session 32 is set up for the Banewarrens weaved together with the Night of Dissolution. Crazy stuff is good to keep everyone guessing as to what is going on. The party was constantly suspicious of Dumas. I should have tortured them more by making him behave more enigmatically, but with no rock to hang on to things would have been completely unpredictable.

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Re: The Venga Campaign

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Sunday Continued

As night falls they head up to the manor house. They encounter Javica, a tall red-haired
woman who is looking annoyed. She has a red crystal left arm that is animate. She tells
them that she represents a group that has detected that the Banewarrens, a vault built
beneath the lake at the time of the Mad Wars that holds dangerous things and sealed up
a long time ago, seems to have been opened. She would like someone to investigate, as
she and her friends are not allowed to. She offers to pay them 800 GP for information.
She tells them to find her at the Ghostly Minstrel, a high end tavern and inn.

They enter the house announced by Mr. Spike. They defeat the orc guard, and note
the bone ring fused to its finger. They cut off its finger and it runs off telling them
it was there to guard the entrance of the house to make sure no one came in. They find
the entrance to the tunner in the pantry. Murga casts a Consecrate on the entrance.
They follow the tunnel which goes generally west, and they decide to explore a side tunnel.
Murga falls into a rock trap, they fight with an Ochre Jelly, Quilord and Zeebers fall
into another rock trap, while the Umber Hulk comes out to attack Mr. Spike. They all
manage to surround and defeat it. They decide to head back to the manor house and hole
up watching the entrance to the tunnel while they recover. Murga leaves to collect some
healing, and while he is away something else arrive. Quilord is on watch and he
ambushes them with a Lightning Bolt and a Fireball. He kills the Minotaur and three
goblins, while the Lamia and a goblin escape. The fireball starts a fire and the party
runs out escaping the fire. They do not manage to catch the fleeing and
cannot find their trail. They see that the Town Guard and the Fire Brigade has arrived,
but they avoid them.

When Murga arrives they decide to head to the Ghostly Minstrel and find Javica.
They tell her of the tunnel, evidently dug by the Umber Hulk, and she says that an Umber
Hulk could have been used to breech the Banewarrens. She gives them 300 GP and asks them
to investigate further to see if the Banewarrens have been opened. They ask her if there
are centaurs in the city. She says that they are rare, but not unheard of in Venga.

They return to the the Temple of Posiedon, where it is very late. They cannot
see High Priest Dumas, but the Priest on duty gives them some healing.

Monday

Zeebers gets a note from the Temple of Hephaestus that his magazines are ready. They cost 15GP
apiece. He goes to collect them.

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Re: The Venga Campaign

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Session 33 introduces Javica and the Banewarrens. This is the first building that Quilord burns down. It becomes party legend after he adds a few more.

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Monday Continued

The Priest of Apollo Thisk finds them at the Temple of Poseidon. He tells them
that one of their Paladin's, Kalerecent has gone missing. The god is telling them
that he is connected with the happenings in the city on Sunday, but they do not
know how. He offers them 2000GP if they return the Paladin, or 1000GP if they
find information about him. He tells them that he can be found at the mid-Town
Temple of Apollo rather than the main one at the University.

They talk briefly with High Priest Dumas. He has nothing to tell them about what
is going on and he mentions that Alexia is still here and doing fine.

It is about lunch time before they get back to the ruined manor. Murga uses the
Lyre of Building to push rubble around and they find the entrance. It takes
about two hours as he still does not know what he is doing. No one notices
what they are doing. They head down the long passage. They find a bag of
tools and a note:

Kikanuile,

Once you get inside the unsealed portion of the Banewarrens, you will have to find
a massive iron door. This is a warded door. It may be trapped, we do not know. It
is, however, sealed beyond your capacity to breach. Therefore, you will use a wish
from the ring to open it - and even that will keep it open only for a moment. On
what lies beyond that door, our spells are silent, except that you will find the
Grail within Tremoc Korin. The last wish will be your key to get out.

-Yuinthu

They note that the tools are for something above human sized, such as a minotaur.
After going through the straight tunnel, they enter the octagon room. They head north,
through the door with a broken seal, and fight with the red wraith. Murga turns it
and they kill it in the final room. They find the pedestal with the red glowing gem
to be too scary and return to head south. In the vat room they fight and dispatch
the vermin wrights. Murga insists on climbing up the vat and falls. They head up
the stairs and encounter the Thought Stalker which they avoid behind a Wall of Force
from Quilord. They flee into the pit room where they see the illusion of the giant
trying to get out. Murga dispels the illusion, they see the Lamia, and kicks the
Vial of Whirlwinds back into the pit. As the Lamia ties to climb up, Murga hits
her with a Hold Person. The Whirlwind goes off with the party safely held in place
by a Web from Quilord, while the Lamia gets battered to death by the Whirlwind. When
it ends Zeebers collects the Vial of Whirlwinds and some items from the Lamia.
They head out to the Iron Golem room which attacks and hurts Spike. They then
pass through and see the unfinished Ward Generator, Iron door, and dead goblin bodies.
They head into the room to see Kalerecent in a rage standing over the dead body of Rsanir.
He tells them that he was investigating digging sounds heard under the city, found
a gang of monsters (A green horror, 2 Lamia, a Minotaur, and a bunch of goblins), and
followed them invisibly into the tunnel with his friend Rsanir. When they got to the Iron
Door, they attacked, the green horror went through the door which then closed.
The battle went badly with Rsanir grievously hurt and they retreated here, while
the monsters retreated south.

They agree to leave together, they are mistrustful of Kalerecent, and head to the
mid-Town Temple of Apollo. There they find Thisk who tells them that Rsanir is beyond
help, which distressed Kalerecent who is clearly badly hurt. Thisk asks them
to come back tomorrow for their payment.

They go to the Ghostly Minstrel and find Javica. She is distressed by their story,
and tells them what they have seen agrees with the legends about the Banewarrens. The
machine they saw is called a Ward Generator and it seals the Banewarrens from within.
The one they saw was either unfinished or damaged. The sealed doors also agrees with
it being a prison for terrible things. The unusual creatures that they saw also agrees
in that most of the things in the Banewarrens were from the Chaos Lands and thus are
unique and unusual. What is most worrisome is that something has penetrated deeper
in, no clue what a green horror is, and could begin shutting down more Ward Generators.

She mentions that there are legends of keys that can be used to move through the
Banewarrens. She tells them that she needs to consult with her friends and that
she will see them tomorrow.

The party heads back to the Temple of Posiedon. They are very distressed. They realize
that Witchfire could power up to unimaginable levels if it were to be used to harvest
things in the Banewarrens.

Tuesday

Wand of Truth Telling is found in Venga and the party reads the news.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Headline Tuesday of the Venga Valiant

Wand of Truth Telling is Found
==============================
It is an open secret that some powerful artifacts of great value to
our city went missing during the troubles of the last month. In a bit a good news
Mayor Fenkar's office announced today that the Wand of Truth Telling, a ubiquitous
feature of the Vengan Municipal Court, has been recovered. No details of
where or how the Wand was recovered were released, but the Mayor's office
said that this was evidence that the city was returning to normal. Criminals
can once again be sure that there was no hiding of their crimes when they were
brought to face justice in Venga. The Mayor's office also said that the Town Guard
and the Vale Guard were combing the city and the Venga Vale for more such objects.
Hope was expressed that not only would lost artifacts be recovered, but also
that dangerous items would be found and removed as threats to our city.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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cinabro
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Re: The Venga Campaign

Post by cinabro »

Session 34 is the first foray into the outer vault of the Banewarrens. They begin to realize how bad things might get. I have simplified the plots of the Banewarrens and the Night of Dissolution, but it still gets a bit complex with too many NPC's, too many choices, and too much time to try to tie up all the loose ends.

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cinabro
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Re: The Venga Campaign

Post by cinabro »

Party = Murga[Dwarf Cleric 5th], Quilord [Elf Wizard 5th], Spike[Human Fight 5th], Zeebers[Human Rogue 5th]

Tuesday Continued

They meet Javica at the Ghostly Minstrel. They ask about Kalrecent and Thisk, but she
knows nothing of them. She tells them that she has nothing new for them. Clearly
something nasty has penetrated into the Banewarrens seeking something, but has not
immediately come back out. Someone needs to get in and heal the infection, but that
is not simple. She needs to consult with her friends to try to locate a key or
a control device to allow the party to get in further. This is difficult as the
Banewarren stuff while highly magical is designed to hide itself from detection
magic and this it is hard to find the stuff. She advises that the party should keep
watch on anyone else trying to get in. She will contact them at the Temple of Posiedon
and they can leave her messages here. She thinks it will take about a week.

They head to the mid-town Temple of Apollo and meet with Thisk. He gives them
2000 GP for returning Kalrecent, and notes that Kalrecent needs some down time. He has
not gotten anything coherent from Kalrecent, but is distressed by what he has learned.
He is willing to help the party and will arrange for some acolytes and faithful members
of the church to keep watch on the entrance. That can start first thing tomorrow. They
agree to take an Apollo sunburst symbol which is mildly magical and will be obviously
visible with a Detect Magic. He does not much about the Banewarrens and repeats a
more mild version of the story they have heard from Javica. He thinks it is legendary.

They head to the Temple of Posiedon and talk with Dumas. They end up talking to
the Shattered Square Cultist who they continue to hold prisoner. He does not know anything
but thinks that the Banewarrens were where some cult holy relics resided and the "Great
Project" was to open up the Banewarrens. This raises the priority to visit the tenement
in the dock area.

The rest of this day and night they keep watch on the ruined mansion and tunnel.
Murga breaks away during the evening to talk with Dumas. He knows little about the Banewarrens.
They have a perfectly located out building from which to watch the tunnel. During the night
watch Quilord notes that a clutch of goblins is also keeping watch on the tunnel. They
are well hidden and quiet. Quilord goes invisible and with a silence from Murga finds
the 11 goblins in two groups hiding in overgrown garden patches. They ambush the goblins,
catching 4 in a web, kill 6, and one escapes. They interogate the ones they have caught
and learn that they were hired to watch the tunnel and report to a man in a Packet bar
called the Swilling Snake. Zeebers flys there and catches the fleeing goblin. He is
unable to locate the man who employed them.

Wednesday

Back at the ruined mansion, they learn that
the goblins expect relief at 4:00, and indeed a group of 6 show up, and despite the party's
bset effort they can see that their friends have been attacked and some stay while the
others head back to Swilling Snake. Zeebers again follows and sees the goblins arguing
with a man, apparently the goblins expected no trouble on this gig, who pays them
more and then leaves. Zeebers follows the man to a Packet house. He gains entry and
listens to the man talking to a large creature. They decide that they had better leave,
and Zeebers sees a man and a "horse" who he identifies as the "centaur" that escaped
the ambush that ruined the mansion. After loosing them, he does ransack the house.

They drop the four captured goblins at the Temple of Posiedon.

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cinabro
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Re: The Venga Campaign

Post by cinabro »

Session 35 is mostly moving the plot forward. "The Swilling Snake" has to be the best on the fly bar name that I have ever come up with.

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