Ravenloft: Chapter One

[jdziedzic]

Hey, everyone. I plan to do a summary post of the first session later today. In the meantime, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for showing up and contributing to a good time. I also wanted to point everyone to this resource, which is all the public domain d20 rules in a non-printer friendly format:

www.d20srd.org/

And Weston, if you're still considering the Duelist class later on, here it is (I'd forgotten how mean the requirements are for it, so if you want to tweak your character to make the transition easier, let me know):

www.d20srd.org/srd/prestigeClasses/duelist.htm

[jdziedzic]

Apologies for the lateness of the summary post, everyone. Here it is. Also, ALSO, my friend Karl (whom most of you know) may be joining us for the next game session. His RP style is a lot like ours (he and I were in a lot of the same games back in the day), so I think he'll be a good addition to the group. Without further ado:

The Thorbrand Peninsula, the last holdout of humanity against the Demon Armies, has been torn apart by decades of warfare from within as well as without. Midlund, the largest and most powerful of Thorbrand's five kingdoms, has been steadily expanding its borders under the pretense of presenting a united front against the Demon hordes. Those who have been through Midlund's legal system (and lived), however, can attest that there is more to the benign theocracy than meets the eye...

The heroes of this story are four such unfortunates: Hawk Alligius of Midlund (Dusty), an orphaned stableboy with the arcane gift who refused to use his magic in the service of Midlund's military; Gemaryn Niloh from the elven lands of Eastham (Lindsey), a proud elven knight charged with murder and carrying the taint of demon blood; Bartleby Quisling of Midlund (Weston), a charismatic noble who was framed for consipiring against the state; and Rhea of the cursed lands of Southmoore (Natalie), a seer whose delvings into witchcraft have made her too dangerous (and mad, some say) to be left alive. The four of them were left in a cell with Nikolai Stovich (NPC), an aged doctor whose crime was providing medical services to wounded fugitives, to await their fates...

For several days, the five were taken out of their cells at random and interrogated by inquisitors in an attempt to make them confess, but none of them would give their captors the satisfaction of self-incrimination. One day, when being watched by a particularly arrogant prison guard, the prisoners tried to assault the guard and cover him with the contents of the cell's chamber pot, which only upset him and made the remainder of their stay that much more unpleasant. During their last opportunity to confess to Bishop-Justice Ezekiel Cromwell before the trial (during which none of them would relent), they were all branded on their foreheads with a strange symbol, that of an eye.

The night before the trial, the five shared the same dream. They all dreamed they were walking through a swamp, the whole area filled with a thick mist and treacherous footing. One by one, the five were pulled into the mire by the hands of those who drowned before them. They all struggled to escape, but it was in vain, and the last thing they all remembered before waking up was the cold, oily surface of the blackened swamp water closing over their heads...

The trial, of course, turned out to be a farce; two of the prisoners confessed their guilt, and the remaining three were "shown to be comitting perjury" after a divine ritual caused their brands to glow and burn them, proof of their "guilt" before God. All five prisoners were to be executed the following morning. Rather than awaiting the dawn, however, our heroes had other plans...

After realizing that the prison cell had no magical shielding of any kind, Rhea summoned a celestial monkey to harass the guard and attempt to steal his keys. As he was busy fending off the creature, Bartleby and Dr. Stovich attempted to pick the cell's lock with rat bones, but could not make the improvised tools work. Meanwhile, the "quiet stableboy" Hawk finally revealed his arcane powers and summoned a warhorse to trample the very surprised prison guard. After the monkey brought them the keys, the five looted the guard's equipment shortly before three more guards arrived, attracted by the commotion.

Thanks to excellent teamwork and a little bit of luck, the five managed to leave a trail of unconscious and dead guards in their wake as they attempted to exit the prison. The fallen guards' uniforms provided a handy disguise as they escaped the building. However, instead of being greeted by a contingent of city guards as they expected, the five found the streets relatively deserted, with the occasional unit of soldiers rushing off to the west part of the city. The sound of a horn could be heard in the distance, calling the Midlund army to battle: Midlund was being invaded from the West!

The five disguised heroes were able to steal a merchant's wagon, bluff their way past the East Gate guards, and escape the city. They decided to make their way to the southeast, the border of Southmoore, where even the Midlund army feared to tread. After a mostly uneventful trip, the landscape began to change from the familiar plains of Midlund to the strange mires of Southmoore. Without a safe place to go, were the heroes only delaying their recapture, or were they delivering themselves into the hands of darker, more dangerous powers?

In the middle of the night on the third day of their escape, the heroes' camp was approached by a strangely-dressed man wearing a stovepipe hat, a well-tailored cloak, and a pair of thin leather gloves. As he approached, the heroes readied themselves for danger, but the stranger declared that he only wished to speak with them. Still wary, the heroes allowed him to enter their camp, and the ever-hospitable Bartleby even offered to brew him some tea. The charismatic and surprisingly friendly man revealed that he had been watching them for some time, and although he planned to free them from prison, he was pleased that they did so themselves with, in his words, "less deus ex machina" than he would have mustered.

The words that followed were more cryptic; he referred to the heroes as "eyes" and asked them what they knew of Bishop-Justice Cromwell. Disappointed that they knew little, the man forgave them, saying they were "new" and implying that Cromwell was consorting with darker powers than his priestly garb suggested. He also expressed joy that they were on time for "the joining" and apologized for his need to leave the conversation at that, as his time was limited. Thanking them for the tea, the man walked off into the foggy night. Almost immediately, a fierce storm began to brew, the temperature dropped sharply, and the fog grew unnaturally thick. The five took cover in their wagon, marvelling at the storm's ferocity, and wondering what was to come...

If I left anything important out, let me know. Otherwise, see you all at the next game!