We have kind of restarted our old Hellfrost campaign! As Todd would say, and I certainly share the sentiment, “Hooray!”
I say kind of because there are currently five players in the group. Two were not playing back when we were doing the main Hellfrost campaign and one (Todd) has decided that he doesn’t want to play his prior character (Taranis). I, on the other hand, don’t really want to just drop all of what we had done in the prior campaign. I really enjoyed the direction it was heading. So, we’re going to have a little bit of closure with where we were in out last session (Session #19), have a rather harsh winter, and have the campaign start up again with the spring. Rachel is going to keep playing Wulfwynn and RJ is going to keep playing Skuli but Austin, Bridgett, and Todd are all going to start with new characters. This means that Andwik (previously played by Cliff), Cuðbert (previously played by Jamie), Karaphos (previously played by Thomas), Nissa (previously played by Katherine), and Taranis (previously played by Todd) had to go…somehow.
But, before we get to that, I have a confession to make. I suck at running stand-alone modules. As anyone who has looked at this site recently knows, we were playing Pirates of the Crystalflow as something of a practice adventure. Spoiler Alert: There are, obviously, some spoilers for the adventure below the break.
We had two prior session for which we’ve posted session logs and we had a third a couple of weeks ago. It did not go all that well. In our first session, we pretty much improvised a trip from Scathmoor to Bridgewater and didn’t really get right into the module. In the second session, the PCs arrived in Bridgewater and set about investigating the acts of piracy. However, they didn’t quite follow the directions that the module assumes but I went with it. In this third session, the PCs continued to “go off the rails” so to speak and I continued to let them. By the end of the night, there was a lot of frustration at the table.
This was NOT the players’ fault and it was not the fault of the module. It was really my fault. I let them go off the rails but I still kind of stuck the module. I probably should have put them back on track by dropping (rather heavily) a hint but I did not. I was in my normal mode of letting them do what they want and playing the NPCs true to who they are. This is perfectly fine for a campaign that develops out of play but not so much for a stand-alone module. So, at the end of the night, we just kind of dropped the practice adventure and decided to jump in with the main campaign…starting with our closure session.
The Closure Session
When we left the PCs way back in Session #19, the party had recently defeated a group of bandits and had set out to find a larger bandit encampment. Early in their travels, they discovered some sort of tomb and necromantic magics. Although it wasn’t really their intention, they found themselves investigating this tomb. The last session ended just after they had opened a sarcophagus covered with runes written in Blacktongue and an inscription atop its lid, “Disturb not the Tomb of the Forgotten One. His reach exceeds his grasp.” Dozens and dozens of blackened and dessicated hands scrambled out of the stone coffin, attacking the players or climbing the walls and entering small holes scattered therein. And that’s where we picked things up…
As always, my GM comments are in [italics]. Todd had to miss this session, so Rachel was playing Taranis while RJ played Cuðbert. Karaphos died of old age during the prior day’s journey or something like that.
As most of the party engaged this hands, pulling them off of themselves and attempting to stomp and squash them, a horrifying and soul-wrenching wail filled the sepulchre. All of the hands immediately scrambled for the holes and fled the room. A moment later, Nissa let out a terrified scream of pain as a creature of smoke and hate oozed through her torso. She dropped to the floor. Taranis reacted immediately and lightning arced at the creature, completely dissipating it. It was too late for Nissa, however, she was dead.
Rachel aced Taranis’ bolt and did a rather large amount of damage to the creature. It was just the start of her near constant acing during the night.
Vowing to give Nissa a proper funeral later, they looked for additional exits from this room. None were apparent but Taranis unleashed his small zephyrs to search and confirm detect. He magically discovered a secret door that led to a small chamber. The chamber and three old, brittle tables covered with various jars and pots. A short search later turned up two alchemical devices. One was a set of linens that would enhance the power of an undead wrapped in it (i.e., enhance undead) while the other was a flask containing a liquid in which one could dip a sacrificial knife to slay a sentient being and gain some additional magical power (i.e., sacrifice). A door also provide an exit from the room.
Opening the door, Cuðbert revealed a deep pit filled with dozens and dozens of blackened and dessicated bodies…all missing their hands. Some twenty feet across the pit was another door. Wulfwynn quickly called forth a blessing of Eostre and a bridge of vines shot across to the other door. Moving cautiously across, Cuðbert opened the far door and the rest of the party started across.
The small room had a small alter and two figures kneeling before it. They were mumbling something but it was in Blacktongue. Taranis used his magic to understand their prayers to Hela. The entire party filled the room behind the figures and Wulfwynn called forth vines that wrapped about one of the creatures. The other rose, saying in Blacktongue, The Forgotten One must remain in torment until the return of the Master,” and moved to attack. It reached out with an emaciated claw but both it and its companion were quickly dispatched by the party.
Another secret door was discovered in this room and it opened to a stairway leading down to another door. Beyond that door was a large chamber…so large that the light of the PCs’ torches could not reach the far side. As the party cautiously moved further into the vaulted chamber, a rough and gravely voice could be heard in the darkness. Speaking in Blacktongue and translated by Taranis, it said, “The Forgotten One has not yet completed his penance. Only one of the Masters may call him back. The living are not welcome here…new recruits to join my servants, however, are eagerly accepted.” A skeleton, clad in a bronze plate corselet and carrying a sword, sat upon a throne at the far end of the room. Six skeleton warriors stood nearby at the ready. As they all charged forward to attack the party, Drefan, the party member furthest back, heard stone grating upon stone and saw a stone wall close off the entrance the party and just used. Again, the party quickly dispatched their foes.
An opening could be seen behind the throne. A winding tunnel led a shot distance before opening up into a relatively large chamber. Most of the chamber was filled with a pool of blood. At the edge of the party’s torchlight, a stone platform could be seen and the sound of dripping liquid could be heard coming from within the chamber. Cautious of the pool of blood, Wulfwynn bridged the gap to the stone platform with vines. As Cuðbert began his way across the vine bridge, a large tendril of blood rose from the pool and splashed against him and Wulfwynn but did little else. Taranis stepped forward and unleashed another arc of lightning and downed yet another foe. [Rachel just kept acing and acing and acing all night.]
With the pool’s guardian apparently defeated, the whole party made their way to stone platform. Resting atop it was yet another sarcophagus. A small stream of blood fell from the high ceiling, striking the top of the sarcophagus before draining into the pool. The lid of the sarcophagus was carved to look like a human in repose but the face, like others that had been seen in this complex, had been defaced. With little delay, the lid was pushed off by the party.
Inside lay a dessicated body dressed in robes with a gold and jewel encrusted death mask upon its face. The mask was carved to look like a contorted face screaming in pain. A black sword lay atop the body, its hilt grasped by the body’s hands. The sarcophagus had blood welling in the bottom and the stream from the ceiling was now speeding that process. Cuðbert reached out to grab the sword and the creature spoke and rose.
Despite a valiant effort, the party fell to the creature. Its magics and prowess in battle was simply too much. With a clench of its free fist, a weapon was destroyed. Thrusting its hand upwards, tendrils of blood from the pool flew to his grasp and then lashed out, damaging all of the nearby characters, and it moved with a supernatural quickness. Even when it was wounded, the blood of the pool snaked up the creature’s body, caressing and healing its wounds. Speaking in Auld Saxa, it offered the party their lives in exchange for their servitude. They only had to bow before their new master, Garðr…a name no one recognized in the heat of the battle. Andwick, who spoke the ancient language, translated but none accepted. Taranis first fell under the necromantic magics. Wulfwynn, Cuðbert, Skuli, and Andwick all fell quickly after just after seeing Drefan bow down before the creature.
[This turned into a ridiculous fight. Garðr was supposed to quickly kick the party’s ass and let us have some time to talk about new characters but the dice decided to not cooperate. The players kept acing roll after roll after roll while I kept rolling crappy. I mean this encounter was “scripted” to kill off everyone but Skuli and Wulfwynn but things just weren’t going according to that script…yet another lesson, don’t even try to script things out!]
At some point, either Wulfwynn (who had a broken arm) or Skuli (who had a broken leg) regained consciousness. Finding and re-lighting a torch that had been dropped, they found that their companions had been finished off by the creature…each had been stabbed through the chest. Each, that is, except for Drefan. Their newest companion was nowhere to be seen but two sets of bloody tracks were spotted leading away from the chamber. Somehow the badly injured pair managed to exit the tomb and, despite the wintery conditions, survive the now difficult journey back to Ölfun’s Trading Post. From there, Ölfun and Sian took the pair back to Dalsetter where they could nurse their broken bones and their wounded spirits as well as grieve the loss of their companions as well as contemplate what horror they may have unleashed upon the world and the fate of Drefan.
[And so that is how we got closure on the prior set of PCs AND set in motion another potential story thread. 😉
The winter has been very harsh and difficult and has limited any travels around the Vale. Come spring, Skuli and Wulfwynn will have to decide what they can do to aid the peoples of the Vale and, perhaps, find new individuals to join the Heroes of Dalsetter.
And, of course, there are all those little things that might be nagging at the back of their minds. Things like (all culled from the last nineteen session logs)…
- The cleric of Vali had a plot to destroy much of the Vale’s grain and to destroy the area’s mill. He succeeded at both…although the Heroes were able to save a good amount of grain. Still, Dalsetter and the other nearby communities have no grain mill. The mill was a great economic boon for the area and, without one, the community will suffer as they’ll have to pay to ship grain elsewhere.
- The cleric of Vali, presumably, poisoned the well at Askvold’s Stead as well and inflicted its populace (and others) with Ratcatcher’s Fever. What other nefarious deeds may the villain have completed or had in the works before the Heroes killed him?
- The village of Dunross was overrun by rats and all of its inhabitants were killed in the onslaught…save one who died later. No one has returned to the site of the village since. Although the village was engulfed in flames when the Heroes left, what might be left behind? More importantly, what else might such a disaster attract?
- The foul verminlord had also defiled an abandoned temple of Ertha. The Brighthammer brothers, allies of the Heroes of Dalsetter, had declared their intention of re-sanctifying the temple. How much have they completed? (see below)
- Lord Sebbi of Clachmore Manor and Dalsetter has gone missing. He was last known to be traveling to the north, towards some dwarven ruins in the Ulfr Hills or Jagged Peaks, in search of Ironbloom Mushrooms…an ingredient in a potential cure for the Ratcatcher’s Fever plaguing Askvold’s Stead. Traveling with him were the Brighthammer brothers, Ljot and Olvir, and Hervara, Dalsetter’s new healer. None have been seen since they left.
- Since his disappearance, Lord Sebbi’s castellan, Anwir ap-Cyfall, has been acting as Lord in his stead. Strangely, Lord Sebbi traveled with none of his “huscarls” when he left for the dwarven ruins. Although Sebbi had only been lord for a few short weeks, the residents of Dalsetter liked him well enough as they did his predecessor and uncle, Berwyn. Anwir, on the other hand, has not enamored himself of the residents and has already increased their “taxes” at the start of the winter.
- The village of Dalsetter was attacked by a Velvetama, a servant of Thrym, and the village suffered severe losses before the Heroes, with their Finnar ally Tyko, slew the foul creature. Many citizens were slain, including the Eowyn (the village’s healer), Rudwulf (the village’s primary non grain merchant and proprietor of the village’s “general” store), and Gytha (the village’s priestess). Many portions of the village’s palisade were destroyed along with the village’s shrine to Eostre, Gytha’s home, Rudwulf’s store, and a few residences as well. All of these things are vital to a village like Dalsetter.
- When the Velvetama was finally slain, a small, cold, blue gem was all that remained of it. None of the current PCs have the gem and none of Dalsetter’s residents are exactly sure where it is. What might have happened to it?
- Who exactly were the Taiga Elves that briefly stayed in Dalsetter when the Velvetama first attacked? Their leader was named Snowblade and they left rather quickly when the Velvetama first appeared.
- What about Modig and his little group? They discovered some large treasure trove in some ruins south of Dalsetter but no other specifics were provided. This is also where Modig was “stung” and brought the Velvetama with him to Dalsetter. Is it possible that whatever “stung” him still resides in those ruins and, if so, does this mean that other Velvetama might soon menace the area?
- What about the treasures that Modig and his companions recovered? When Snowblade and the Taiga Elves left Dalsetter, Modig’s companions left with them and took the treasures with them. It was clear when they left that Snowblade did not consider them part of his group or that he would be assisting them.
- What was the secret that fueled the hate between Danr (the first victim of the Velvetama once it “hatched”) and Modig?
- Who (or what) is Hulda exactly? What implications might arise from the Heroes having visited her hut in the Myrkr Holt not just once but twice and having not just visited but also having slightly pillaged and nearly demolishing it? Why did everyone get the feeling that someone (or something) was watching them while they were in the hut’s clearing? Why did it look like the trees were bending away from the hut?
- Who were the two men with all the spider trappings that, along with the two giant spiders, attacked some of the Heroes in the Myrkr Holt as the Heroes sought out the Holt’s eldest tree? Doesn’t really sound like they were good guys, did it?
- Will there be any implication of the Heroes having slain the elderly Lindwyrm who resided in the Holt’s eldest tree?
- There are, of course, some potential plot hooks from the place that Sebbi et al traveled to in search of the Ironbloom mushrooms and the creatures that they met there. But, since none of the current characters know anything about this, I’m not going to say anymore about it. 😉
- I mentioned that the Hrafn Point side trek we played might be foreshadowing for some things to come in the main campaign. I’ll just leave this at saying there are rumors of increased undead activity in the western regions of the Vale. Remember, the Withered Lands do border the Vale.
- Why exactly was Taranis seeking Lord Sebbi when he arrived at Askvold’s Stead? Taranis never really shared why it was so important that he find Sebbi. I wonder what that was all about…
- Who is the hermit that Sian mentioned would often trade with Ölfun? Why would someone live as a hermit in these relatively dangerous lands? Might the party benefit from trading for his alchemical devices?
- Who is Jutta? Obviously, she is a fae but is she a glaistig as Cuðbert suspected or is she something else? Is the GM just messing with you? She’s obviously not a total goody-two shoes since she harshly punished Taranis for a slight deficiency in his manners but, then again, the fae do not seem to operate with human conceptions of morality and such.
- What did actually happen to Sister Katla…the Sister of Mercy that Wulfwynn had agreed to search for when she met and spoke with Sister Gróa, the leader of the Sisters of Mercy in Aslov’s Tent Town?
- What was the deal with the ancient temple of Ullr in the Myrkr Holt? What was the spirit that seemed to be guarded it? What about that bear that apparently turned into a human when slain?
- Perhaps more importantly, what exactly was in that chest that Jutta sent you to get in exchange for healing all but one of the residents of Askvold’s Stead? All that is known is that Jutta whispered to Karaphos that it contained “a plant that walked the world before man.” Why did she have Munolf and his men take the chest and what did they do with it?
- Why was there a large encampment of orcs in the Holt? Orcs that had attacked a caravan and taken slaves. Is this a sign that they are becoming more active and aggressive in the region?
- Who is the Stag Lord? How strong are his forces and how much of a threat does this “bandit lord” pose to the Vale? Where exactly is his main camp? Come to think of it, where might be the camp of one of his underlings, the reportedly psychotic Vény?
- Why did the snows hold off until the end of the month, as Jutta promised, and then come down like someone or something had been holding them back?
- What exactly was the “tomb” that the party discovered while looking for Vény’s encampment? Who was the “necromancer” that apparently uncovered the necromantic runes during the night? Why did his (or hers or its) tracks simply stop in the snow? Who was/is the “Forgotten One” and who is Garðr (remember that Andwick translated so the surviving PCs do know the name that was said)? What happened to Drefan? It was clear to Wulfwynn and Skuli that their companion had walked out of the tomb, presumably with this undead creature, Garðr?
- How might having to spend a winter recovering and simply surviving have impacted all of the above? 😉
