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ironknuckle9 · 7 years

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My Life as a DM: The Trails Traveled Part 1

Sorry I haven't been active much recently, but the holidays were followed by a rough new work schedule that has me exhausted. With our regular gaming schedule resuming in a few weeks, however, I thought it would be nice to take a look at the past campaigns I've run. Death Hidden in the Forest Levels: 4-10 Player Characters: Charles Houdine (Half-Elf Rogue/Sorcerer) Roland Harding (Human Fighter) Davina Pooraid (Gnome Favored Soul) Terily Quickgauge (Gnome Bard) Ga'el (Goliath Monk) Angathor Webshroud (Drow Wizard) Roland, Davina, Terily, and Ga'el all respond to calls of aid from the trade city of Bandal. They meet with Mayor Toby, who informs them that their caravans have been disappearing when traveling through the Elven lands to the south. The Elves have offered no explanation for this, and are becoming increasingly unwilling to allow travelers or communication. He asks them to enter the forests of the elves, and learn the truth as a last attempt to avoid war, as most agree that the Elves are the culprits. He assigns Charles to be their liason, and they all accept and depart. After running into a spot of trouble with some Green Dragon Wyrmlings, they reach the town of Elayanael. There, they are taken inside the walls, and put on trial for the attack of several Elven settlements. The city's leader, Elder Benal'eradil, changed this to a trial by combat when the town was attacked by Ogres. The party succeeded, though Ga'el fell in combat to the Ogres' Minotaur slave. The Elder was able to raise the fallen Goliath, and titled her Ga'el the Avalanche. She managed to discover that his aid was actually a doppelganger, who had been fueling mistrust. The Elder informed them that the attacks on their settlements were believed by most to be the work of the humans to the north, and he feared war was imminent. He had no information about what was happening to the caravans, and suggested you head south to the city of Lenariel, where their king resided. On the way, Terily was abducted by an unseen force, and the party tracked her down to the cave dwelling of a Cyclops. They eventually realized that the Cyclops, named Grook, was simple minded but kind, and had been tricked by the "skull man" into believing that she was a sheep. They got her back without bloodshed, and arranged for Grook to get his own, actual "sheepy". The party makes it to Lenariel, and manages an audience with King Narielan, who offers them little aid. His daughter, Princess Milianu, saw the merits of aiding them, and sent them to the Temple of the Moon, where they would find a key to the royal burial grounds. There, they found the dead to have been reanimated, and a dark shrine recently erected at the lowest level. Here, Ga'el unintentionally activated a holy symbol of the dark god Vexxus, which took her away, and left a Drow in her place. He revealed himself to be Angathor, the former apprentice of a power Orc Wizard know as The Crone. He had been imprisoned for attempting to supplant her, and in his escape, he had unintentionally traded places with the Goliath. He offered to join the party, so as to build up his power and magic enough to take revenge on his dark mistress. They accept, and resolve to search out the necromancer who they were now convinced was responsible for the tensions on each side. They came under attack that night by a Devil, who had already murdered every other soul in the inn, and appeared to be after them for knowing too much. They defeated the fiend, and we're more sure than ever that they were on the right track. They awoke the next morning to find the inn now under the ownership of a cheerful young Elf. At their suggestion, he took on the name Bartenderman, and his helpful nature caused them to make his inn their base of operations. They continued investigating around the area, doing royal favors and fighting off Hobgoblin mercenaries, until they made their way to the village of Therial. After enjoying the local festive, they learned that Charles' long-absent father, Thelinar Greenleaf, lived in a house to the south. They visited, initially finding it abandoned, but soon discovered a hidden basement. Down there they found a sacrificial table with several victims, including Charles' human mother. As they make their way back up, they run into Bartenderman, who revealed that he had previously worked for Greenleaf as a gardner. He claims that he had nicknamed the man as Witherleaf, due to his poor ability with plants. This matched with one of the names you had stirred up in your investigations; Witherleaf, Almuti, and Blighthand. He also mentioned that Greenleaf commonly associated with a human Paladin named Brighthand. With these leads, they were hopeful for a resolution, but found themselves harried by powerful forces. A hoard of zombies disguised as human soldiers marched on Therial, Devils attempted to get to them by attacking their allies, and the Green Dragon mother of the Wyrmlings they faced before showed up seeking vengeance. While they were aided by some mighty allies, such as Grook and Elder Benal'eradil, they were also hampered by the loss of Terily, who left with the Elder's daughter to track down Ga'el. Soon, however, they found the hide out of the three villains in a cave hidden deep in the forest. Their, they confronted the Blackguard Darthan Blighthand, the Cleric Thelinar Witherleaf, and the Wizard Almuti of the Deserts. They learned that while protecting the trade caravans, Blighthandxs wife had grown ill and died alone. Embittered by the careless nature of the gods, he renounced his faith, and embraced the dark god of the dead. He had been trying to provoke a war as an offering to Vexxus, as the death count would be massive. They fought, eventually defeating the dark trio. They burned the bodies of Blighthand and Witherleaf, though due to fears of his connection to fire, chose to instead submerge him in a nearby tank of water. With the culprits defeated, the Elves extended diplomatic efforts again, and you were able to rest easily knowing the threat had been defeated.

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