Session 7 Downtime: A New Level of Confidence and Power

Kleptikos convinces the former slaves and battered pikemen to help them move the loot carts to Valthrun where they can be converted to gold and shared with everyone (33% reaction roll modified to 63% - Uncertain but 55% prone to positive followed up by a 44% to seal the deal). They safely travel the 3 hexes from Gunnolfsfell to Valthrun.

Kleptikos handles fencing the goods and the party divides the remaining spoils. Brother Sully recommends that each PC give the surviving villagers 10gp each as settlement funds and send them off to Fort Rackham to help the settlement grow. Everyone agrees it makes sense to have a friendly bolthole and agree. Bro-gallo points out that it would also be a wise idea to pay extra to the remaining pikemen and the Bro-cenaries to maintain morale and ensure that the party doesn't develop a bad reputation amongst the mercenary groups operating in the area. Everyone agrees and each pay a 100gp bonus to every Bro-cenary as well as a 50gp bonus to the remaining pikemen.

I give a +20% bonus when Brother Sully announces this to both groups. Sharing the spoils has the intended effect, as the mercenaries (21 roll + 20% bonus + 25% CHA bonus adds up to 66% for an Uncertain but 55% prone to positive result followed by a 43%) and villagers (90 roll + 20% bonus + 25% CHA bonus adds up to 115% for an Enthusiastically friendly, immediate acceptance result) both positively react to the offers. Captain Lou wants to take the pikemen back to Tallow Watch and recruit some new members. He agrees to escort the villagers to Fort Rackham and convey a message to Lady Kophyn about the developments.

The party all gains sufficient XP to level up and will be out of action for for 3 weeks as they train, available again on June 8.

Individual Activities

In addition to their training, the Bros start other initiatives during downtime.

• Blastikus decides he wants to obtain a more secure location with privacy to begin more serious magic research in anticipation of eventually setting up a true sanctum. Through discrete inquiries with the appropriate agents, he has learned of a suitable stone house with a sturdy wall in the nearby hamlet of Eilifsdalsa (hex 299.301). The hamlet has a nefarious reputation of being a refuge for strange loners of dubious character and is avoided by most reputable people of Valthrun. He also finds a nearby farmhouse for use of any bodyguards and purchases both properties for 700gp, per AD&D DMG pg 107. He approaches the two half-orc fighters that they rescued from the monastery of Gunnolfsfell and makes them an offer to become his henchmen. Per DMG pg 35, Blastikus offers them 100gp and 300gp respectively, use of the cottage for lodgings, and armor weapons in exchange for their guard duties and occasional  errand running. This brings the base chance to 30% with Blastikus CHA bonus taking it to 40%. Blastikus rolls a 28% and the skeptical half-orcs accept the easy duty. He recycles the gear from Bro-jira and Brother O'malley and the orcs seem content with the arrangement.
  
  He sends them off to the new base and orders them to map areas west of Valthrun (i.e. reveal the remaining six mile hex centered on Valthrun) so that he knows what to expect.
  
  Blastikus begins creating his lab and spends 1000gp (per DMG pg 116) to do the initial build out, with an additional 100gp monthly upkeep fee. This is all specialized gear that must be fabricated form scratch so I decide it won't be available until 6/19 (one month). Things are going to start going off the rails very, very, soon...muhahahaha!
  
  
• Brogallo has received a taste of being a warlord commanding ravenous hordes and has found it much to his liking. While sampling higher-end drinking establishments available to his new found wealth, he's overheard some envious talk about his success on the battlefield and the resulting caravan of loot that made its way into the city. He spreads some coin around to notorious loudmouths and tells them some stories of his awesomeness, knowing the gossip will grow in the telling. Cheap propaganda is the best propaganda!
  
  Desiring the scrolls in the hoard from the Oni treasure map, Blastikus confers with Brogallo and informs him that he would like to journey to the ruined city in search of the loot. Brogallo readily agrees since he too is obsessed with the treasure maps recovered from the Oni.
  
  The magic item hoard in hex 301.499 is a 200 mile journey that will require a lot of preparation, so it will have to wait for now. The ruined city in hex 311.304, however, is a mere 10 miles and a source of ready loot. He wants more information about the surroundings to avoid a repeat of the recent bloodshed. 
  and decides to send the Bro-cenaries on another reconnaissance run.
  
  He reckons it's time to expand the force and wants to hire more mercenaries. He rolls a 78 followed by an 8 and 10 on the mercenary table (DMG pg 30) which means he hires 10 medium horsemen and a mandatory L2 lieutenant (Lt. Stoner) along with a serjeant (Sgt. Rock). They all demand new gear, which he provides to match the existing squad under the command of Sgt. Slaughter.
  
  Brogallo summons the officers and informs them of the command changes, placing Lt. Stoner in charge under Brogallo, of course. He informs them that he wants a detailed reconnaissance map of the area southeast of Gunnolfsell (i.e. the two six mile hexes centered on hex 306.300 and 312.306) so that they don't run into any nasty surprises and can hire additional mercs if needed. This is a "view and screw" mission, so the mercs are to avoid combat unless directly threatened. They make a copy of the existing map and move out to commence mapping.

• Kleptikos reckons it's more profitable to stay independent of any local cliques and begins building his own intelligence network. He quietly begins hunting down all street urchins and directing them to The Redneck Home for Wayward Munchkins with the understanding that they key their ears open and mouths shut. In return for information, he agrees to share some choice trinkets from time to time. Any waif that is too stupid or stubborn to play ball quietly disappears and ends up on the vermin buffet in the sewers. Liches Eat Snitches, after all. He also approaches every "professional evening entertainer" with similar offers and unsurprisingly finds an extremely receptive group that is all too happy to swap gossip for coin. These burgeoning networks will incur an ongoing monthly cost of 200gp, which Kleptikos considers cheap insurance against nasty surprises.
  
  
• Mighty Redneck keeps 1000gp as usual to cover his expenses and donates the rest to worthy causes. The continues funding The Redneck Home for Wayward Munchkins in Valthrun and, moved by the plight of Tallow Watch refugees, he opens up Redneck's Gumbo Kitchen to feed the teaming masses fleeing from the northern hordes. What a great guy! No way this will blow up in his face, right? Right??
  
  Redneck's training takes place in the mountains outside Valthrun under the tutelage of an experienced and grizzled Ranger Lord named Brog Bersk. It was during his latest sessions that he is first introduced to Marcinius, initiate of the druidic Order of the Starless Wastes. Apart from some terse pleasantries, little of substance is discussed, but Redneck can't shake the feeling that he has broken through to a new level of...something.
  
  
• Brother Fitzy and Brother Sully independently have an identical, profound psycho-spiritual experience. While deep in meditation and prayer to their patron deity, Mabelrode the Faceless King of Swords, they psychically transported to a realm far away from the Cold Wastes. They find themselves on a rocky island beneath a black starless sky, lit by an endless storm of incandescent purple lightning bolts. Buffeted by a howling gale that has stripped the island to the bare rock, they stare at the raw stuff of chaos that bubbles around the isle. They stand mesmerized as gargantuan behemoths of incomprehensible size rise from the tumultuous chaos stuff, only to instantly dissolve, fall back into the maelstrom and instantly reform into baroque structures of crystal and light. Entire civilizations and races of strange beings are born, prosper, decay and dissolve in the space on an eye blink. Feeling their sanity and sense of self begin to fray uncontrollably, they are shocked when they see a twelve foot tall being of crystal emerge from the chaos seas and stride toward them. Terrified, they stand helpless as the entity stops a mere arm's length from them and silently regards them. A pulsing yellow light radiates from within the creature and covers them with it's sickly golden hues.
  
  "Kneel, mortals", the being says.
  
  Understanding that this is a being of pure chaos, the brothers do the sensible thing and dive to the ground, prostrating themselves before this being.
  
  "We have noticed you. Your world has changed. The King of Swords has entrusted you to us.", it says.
  
  "Great angel, we...", Brother Sully begins.
  
  "Silence!", the entity booms, its voice slamming into the brothers as a warhammer on a melon. "Do not mistake this as a conversation! We will speak and you will listen."
  
  "You seek greater favor from the King of Swords, but are unworthy at your current level of psycho-spiritual development. He will never speak to your like and sends us to improve your limited mortal potential. We will grant you an increase in power in exchange for greater responsibility and adherence to The Faceless One's will."
  
  "We will speak to you again when required and reveal the King's wishes. Execute them, or be destroyed. Say nothing to others in The Order. Begone."
  
  With a thunderous explosion of mauve lightning, the brothers awake in their respective cells, in excruciating pain from the burns that cover their bodies. This was not a dream - it was a revelation.

Session 4 Downtime: Rocking Out at Fort Rackham

The party breaks camp in the morning and returns with Tazennarit to the Croaking Castle of the Miraculous Toad (hex 300.298). Lady Kophyn does an admirable job of covering her surprise, but Brother Sully is a student of humanity and sees that she didn't expect them to actually succeed in the mission. Negotiations are quickly concluded with Tazennarit and she is established as the commander of Fort Rackham (hex 300.297) with the title of Knight-Protector. Lady Kophyn provides her with sufficient materiel and tradesmen to repair the fort and begin settlement. The fort is in the mountains overlooking the northern roads with excellent views and has a small thorpe nearby with some hardy villagers. The surrounding land is suitable for shepherding, lumbering, quarries and sustenance farming. With some work, the former bandits should be able to fit in with the villagers and prosper in their new home.

Flush with the reward money, Brother Fitzy and Bro-thazarr are dispatched to Valthrun to settle as many of the party's outstanding debts as possible and restock their supplies. Lightfingers Louie and Slicer join them to see if they can pick up any leads on some loot, since their collective finances are still in shambles. Brother Sully, Brogallo and Mighty Redneck will spend time among the denizens of the Croaking Castle and Fort Rackham to see if they gain get more information about the nearby environs (and leads to some cash, or course). Brogallo's mercs are quietly drunk and passed out in some hidey hole...as usual.

Based on campaign events so far, the party was able to shake loose the following rumors/information:

1. Orcs have been sighted poking around the Shrine of Lethria (hex 301.300) for unknown reasons (and killed 3 former party members, but nobody outside our group knew that). There is a larger group somewhere south of Valthrun but they've been suspiciously quiet, if they exist at all.
2. The ruined shrine (hex 302.296) north of the Croaking Castle glows with an sickly green light during the new moon. The shrine is apparently dedicated to a now-forgotten serpent god. The Tazennarit's troops have all heard there's fabulous treasure to be found in the ruins, but were never in any condition to try to find it themselves.
3. The metropolis of Tallow Watch (hex 301.295) has fallen to a junta of former officers who were driven from the city of Old Brightwood (hex 302.295) by the nomad/hobgoblin wars. Both cities have sizable populations (50,000+) and Tallow Watch is home to many of the bandit refugees. All of them still have family in the cities and desperately want to discover their fate, but are fearful of the likely tragic news.
4. The new rulers of Old Brightwood have made a truce with the invading hordes by enslaving a sizable portion of the population and offering them as tribute. All orphans and children of criminals have been forced to become jannisaries in a wretched attempt to replenish the decimated military and maintain some sort of control over the city. The hordes are leaving the city unplundered...for now.
5. The hobgoblin hordes that broke the human defenders were driving towards the ruined shrine (hex 301.294) north of Tallow Watch. Nobody knows why they have an interest in it, but it can't be for anything good. On a side note: WTF?? I'm rolling these things everywhere based on DMG pg 173. I better switch to different clacky math rocks...
6. The city of Orchard Hollow (hex 302.294) are still somehow resisting the nomad/hobgoblin/ogre forces. Though smaller than the other nearby (14,000 inhabitants), it has been a famous bastion of Law since time immemorial and has a strong contingent of clerics with heroic paladins as their chamber-militant. This has doubtlessly contributed to their strength but nobody believes they will last long in face of the superior humanoid numbers.

OK we've got a lot of gameable content here. Note that I really haven't done any heavy lifting here. All of the above was generated via the fucking epic AD&D DMG Appendices and I just added some fluff to tie it all together by spending a few minutes thinking about the implied relationships of the random rolls. All names came from free online generators (take your pick - there's a lot of them). I'm harping on this (again) because it repeatedly makes the point that you don't need to endlessly purchase product from people that hate you. Seriously, this stuff is great and blows away the agenda-driven dreck that WoTC is trying to cram down your throat with current edition. 

Let's roll a d6 and see what our next session will explore. We get a 2 so Serpent Shrine it is! Let's hope the party has overcome their PTSD from the last dungeon delve and has better luck. I really would like to see my murder hobos make it past first level at some point...

Session 4: Not so Merry Men

Freshly rested and ready to deal with the bandit menace, Brother Sully tries to convince Lady Kophyn Mizzar to lend him a squad of her men-at-arms to support the party. He gets reaction roll of 11% with Charisma mod to 36% (unsure/with 55% chance of negative) and gets a 46% on the followup. Apparently, her Grace likes Sully, but isn't so besmitten that to give up her muscle. Guess they'll "just be friends"...

Considering the distance involved and the fact that party's mercs are footsloggers, Sully tries to convince her to cough up some horses and has better luck (modified reaction roll of 58% with a followup 19% to tip the balance in his favor). The PCs have light riding horses, so I rule Lady Kophyn offers similar horses so the party now has a mounted move rate of 24" which translates to 24 miles of travel per day.

The party decides to head out to the location where Kophra Era spotted the bandit camp to see if they can make contact. I randomly generated the terrain and checked for encounters. Luckily no nasty wandering monsters, but the party spots some ruins and hints of some large settlements further north. They mark their map and make notes for further exploration later. They see the forested hills mentioned by Kophra and leave the load to begin searching for the bandits. Leaving the men-at-arms to make camp, the party dismounts and commences the search to take advantage of the deepening shadows of early evening.

Lightfinger Louie scouts ahead via Move Silently/Hide in Shadows with Bro-thazarr, Slicer, and Mighty Redneck behind following at a distance. Bro-thazarr has his Sleep spell ready while the remaining party members have their missile weapons prepared.  Brother Sully has prepared Cure Light Wounds and Brother Fitzy has Sanctuary ready to go. They've all worked out a system of hand signals and bird whistles to communicate intent if the bandits are discovered.

After an hour or so, the scouts spot the camp. Let's see if Louie snuck up on the camp:

Lightfinger Louie: Move Silently (Needs 25% and succeeds with a 19% ) and Hide in Shadows (Needs 25% and fails with a 75%). This means one of the bandit guards spots him so we need to see if Louie lives to steal another day. I make an encounter check and Louie kills it with an 80% roll - Hermes has blessed Louie this night!

The bandit guard taps Louie on the shoulder, nearly causing him to fill his breeches, and says "Ere now, mate - yer tradecraft needs some work. Tell yer crew to come on up and have a drink. The venison will be ready shortly and we're all too famished to start using you lot as pin cushions." Soft chuckling echoes from the tops of the trees and the party clearly realizes they're surrounded and outgunned, so they stow their weapons and make their way to the camp.

The party enters the camp and sees numerous campfires burning as the smell of roasting meat fills the evening air. A quick glance shows there are at least 100 dishevelled highwaymen in the camp, performing a variety of upkeep tasks in a likely futile attempt to keep their tattered clothes and battered equipment from disintegrating due to obvious hard use. The organization of the outlaws is obvious, however. These are clearly former soldiers fallen on hard times and not a band of degenerate reavers.

They are brought to the Tazennarit, the female leader of the bandit group. I roll for encounter reaction and "Face" Sully again delivers the goods (modified roll of 96%). After some verbal sparring, Tazennarit tells the party that the group was once soldiers in the cities to the north, but were forced to flee south after a devastating suprise attack of savage mounted nomads from the Cold Wastes and a Hobgoblin Legion allied with a combined force of ogre magi and orcs/ogrillons. She has no idea why these groups have allied, what their goals are or what the fate befell their home city of Tallow Watch. As a matter of survival, they've been raiding what few caravans have been coming south, but to little avail. These caravans have been refugees themselves, more often than not, and Tazennarit has little interest in obliterating common folk. It's highly suspicious that they haven't encountered large numbers of refugees, and she is at a loss to explain what's happening.

Brother Sully, moved by the group's situation, makes Lady Kophyn's offer: amnesty for all deeds and the right to settle around The Croaking Castle of the Miraculous Toad for usual taxation and militia commitments. A modified reaction roll of 96% means that Tazennarit enthusiastically accepts Lady Kophryn's offer and agree to meet with her to discuss settlement at what she has dubbed Fort Rackham. The party summons the men-at-arms and they all spend an uneventful night at camp.

Tazennarit also updates the party's map so they have a better idea of what the north looks like.

Until next time...

Experience Points:

XP for defeating 112 bandits: 112x14 + 4hp/bandit (avg) = 2016xp

GP reward from Lady Kophyn for each PC (rolled a 3 on d6x100 = 300gp)

Total: 4116xp (divided by 7 = 588xp each; 647xp for those with attribute bonuses)

Session 3 Downtime:

Lady Kophyn Mizzar hosted the party for 3 days while Louie recovered from the savage wounds inflicted by the Manes demons on the Blighted Tor. Brother "Face" Sully won over the castle's mistress with his inimitable charm and managed to extract some history of Castle Toad, as well as the area surrounding Valthrun.

As expected, the toads that give the Castle its name are not ordinary amphibians. Although they do seem to protect the castle (and its owner), they are never seen hunting, nor are they ever seen anywhere other than the surrounding moat and, most mysteriously, end every day facing southwest towards the Blighted Tor, crooning a baleful dirge until the sun has fully set and darkness covers the land. Nobody has been able to explain why they exhibit such frightening behavior and, being a warrior, not a sage, Lady Mizzar is not terribly inclined to investigate more deeply.

She is far more troubled by a large group of bandits that have been spotted in the north and their increasing raids on the northeastern roads. Her bondsman, Kophra Era, has led his heavy cavalry unit in scouting missions to better understand the size and strength of the bandit forces. He's met with mixed results. He's confirmed that the group is quite large, perhaps double the total contingent of her keep, but apparently very ragged and in apparent desperate straights, given their battered and disheveled appearance. They do not seem to be excessively cruel since local villages have been left unmolested, and seem to be focusing on merchant caravans that are carrying foodstuffs and basic trade goods. She has sent envoys to Belgos Trith, master of the small walled keep to the east, but has been unsuccessful in convincing him to join forces to deal with the bandits. Perhaps he has other concerns, and though he is known to be a good and kind man, but his sanity is...somewhat questionable. Rumors abound abound some past battles against fearsome otherworldly beasts have scarred Lord Trith in ways that cannot be seen by mortal eyes.

The situation weighs heavily on her, and in a moment of candor, she confesses to Brother Sully that she would prefer to try to come to some sort of accommodation with the bandits and try to win them over to her banner with promises of land and safety in exchange for an end to their predations. She further admits that she only fully trusts her squad leader Velgara (a long), and is starting to suspect that the others may be plotting against her for reasons unknown. Lady Kophyn bitterly laments that though she treats them all fairly and pays them generously, she cannot help but notice the hard stares and minor acts of insubordination from the remaining three squad leaders. Although she could easily beat them in combat if it were to come to it, she fears that will break the morale of the troops and force them to desert, thus leaving the castle defenseless and the villages under her protection vulnerable to the numerous dangerous surrounding the Castle.

"Face" Sully knows an opportunity when he sees one. He can win an important ally in Lady Kophyn if he helps with either the bandit problem or smacking around the squad leaders to get them in line. He's pretty sure Velgara will side with him, but three against one are not good odds, especially when the squads outnumber the party significantly. Perhaps a little of the Sully charm can win over some ragged bandits, so he elects to try to win over the highwaymen before the situation spins out of control.

...and they might have leads on loot. The group is running low on funds and nobody wants to owe money to the rapacious dwarf moneylenders that haunt the darkened alleys of Valthrun.

Brother Sully calmly looks Lady Mizzar in the eye and tells her, "My Lady, the Gods speak to us and the path is clear. The bandits are nothing more than wretched men fallen into despair due to their destitution. They can be turned to your side with the right words. Let me ease your burden and speak to them."

Holding his gaze, Lady Mizzar asks "And in return?"

"A donation to my order. We are a wandering brotherhood with no lands or wealth of our own. I would not deign to sully your honor by being so crass as to name a price, as a common fishmonger in the market. Whatever you decide will be sufficient."

"Done. Your compatriot, Louie seems recovered from his wounds. Leave in the morning and win these men over to my banner. Their camp is to the north, near the northern shores of the lake. Return to me with their fealty and I will be most grateful."

Session 3: Miracles of the Toad

With a newly healthy Mighty Redneck and Brother Fitzy in tow, Brother Sully saddles up and leads his intrepid group into the wilds of the Cold Wastes. He elects to begin their travels on the north road towards the Nameless Stronghold, before cutting west towards the Croaking Citadel of the Miraculous Toad and the more interesting ruins that lie to the southwest. While on the road, the group encounters 90 herd animals in hex 300.299 (let's say they're reindeer since we're in the tundra). The group continues to hex 301.299, and is surprised by a group of 3 tigers on the hunt. Fortunately, the reaction comes up as a 48 (neutral), so I rule that the tigers are uninterested in man flesh and continue upon their way to get some tasty venison in the next hex. Again, how cool is this? Random rolls and we've already established a plausible ecosystem. Old skool rules!

The remaining journey passes uneventfully and the party reaches the ruins in hex 299.298 (rolled a shrine when populating the hex). The party dismounts and leaves the horses with the men-at-arms before beginning their exploration of the ruins. At a distance, the ruins appear to be some kind of megalithic structure atop a tor. Spotting a particularly strange looking configuration of stones in the center of the ruins, the PCs slowly make their way to investigate. They are immediately assaulted by a horrible stench, a multitude of corpses left to rot in a foetid swamp/ They also notice that the stones seem to emit a faint phosphorescent mauve glow. Perhaps these unsettling effects are caused by the sickly algae and lichen that coat the obsidian stones of the monoliths, or perhaps they are caused by the strange fungi that blanket the ground as if they were some sort of twisted carpet. None can say and it is beyond the experience of the party members. It comes as little surprise when two of the masses rise up before them as 3 foot tall misshapen fibrous...things (2 shriekers) and begin glowing with a bright multi-hued deep purple sickly light as they emitting ear piercing screams. The glowing vapors that ooze from their surface begin to coalesce and form twisted shapes.

Surprise Round:

We roll for surprise and the party comes out on top (4 to 1) with an encounter distance of 18". Brothazar, Lightfingers Louie and Mighty Redneck waste no time laying down covering fire with their missile weapons, while Brogallo, Brother Fitzy and Brother Sully rush to engage before the strange vapors turn into something nasty. They land a few hits on both shriekers in surprise segment 1, but the fungi's fibrous hide remains largely unscathed. They score no hits on surprise segment 2, but our frontline bros finally close to melee distance. Segment 3 sees the missile bros holding their fire while melee bros finally start swinging. Both Brothers connect solidly with their warhammers, ending the surprise combat.

Shrieker Combat Round 1:

Melee bros will continue hand-to-hand and missile bros will spend the round closing to melee range. The shriekers will...shriek. We role for initiative and the party comes up winners (6 to 3). Brothazar and the Brothers both score hits on shrieker and destroy it while shrieker 2 successfully summons a wandering monster (44%). I roll on the Appendix C Dungeon I table and get a 15 (Manes Demon) with 3 of them appearing at 10" distance. I rule there is no surprise since the party knew something would be attracted by all the ear-splitting noise so proceed to combat.

Shrieker and Manes Combat Round 2:

Brothazar, and Slicer decide to finish the shrieker while the Brothers, Brogallo, Mighty Redneck and Light Fingers Louie decide to smite the infernal evil that has blighted the land. The Manes will lumber towards the melee bros at their 3" movement rate (that's pretty slow!). We roll for initiative and the party loses 3 to 1. The manes slog across the tor with unearthly cries of hate fueled bloodlust towards the melee bros. The remaining shrieker rolls a 12, so it successfully summons a character party (38 - this is so cool; see below) that arrives in 2 rounds. The melee bros close to combat range with the Manes, ending the round.

Shrieker and Manes Combat Round 3:

Opponents are already selected so we know what actions will occur. We roll for initiative and the party's lucky streak continues as they win  4 to 1. Brothazar and Louie easily finish the last shrieker (ah! blessed silence!) as Brogallo and the Mighty Redneck quickly dispatch two of the accursed demons.

Shrieker and Manes Combat Round 4:

The remaining demon wins initiative (6 to 5) and selects poor Louie (with a whopping 3hp) as his victim (so much for the backstab attempt) and does 3hp of damage taking Louie to 0. Redneck and Brogallo deliver the goods and quickly dispatch the remaining demon before attending to Louie. The character party appears and I rule it is one of the squads from the nearby Croaking Castle of the Miraculous Toad. I roll a d4 and get a 3 so 16 heavy infantry appear, led by Velgara. A reaction check comes up at 84 (with all mods - cuz Brother Sully is pretty charming), so Velgara is quite impressed with the way the party acquitted themselves against the corrupt denizens of the nameless tor. She invites them back to the Castle to discuss these developments with Kophyn Mizzar to see what the next steps should be.

The journey to the castle is uneventful, though the party notes that the entire area between the castle and the demon-haunted tor seems to be rancid with the same filthy lichen and fungi that infested the tor. Accompanied by Velgara and her squad, they enter through the main gates under the watchful eyes of the crossbowmen and other men-at-arms manning the ramparts. With Brother "Face" Sully acting as their spokesman, Velgara introduces the party to the Kophyn Mizzar, Lady of the Castle. Sully is absolutely commanding in his presence and charm (98% reaction check with modifiers) and when coupled with the brave deeds of the party, he easily wins over Lady Mizzar. She extends the castle's hospitality to the heroes and bids them a good night so that Louie may have some time to recover from his honorable wounds.

Let's see what happens next time...

Experience Points:

2 Shriekers (13,19) = 42xp

3 Manes Demons (8,6,5) = 73xp

Total: 115xp (divided by 7 = 16xp each; 18xp for those with attribute bonuses)

Session 2 Downtime: The Fine Art of Carousing

Having reconnoitered the area, our crew decides to return to town to see if they can dig up some information on their newly discovered sites. They hit the local taverns and learn that the Croaking Castle of the Miraculous Toad (Hex 300.298) was a derelict stronghold that has existed for hundreds of years. It gained its moniker due to the herds of ice toads that inhabit the keep's moat and always seem to protect the castle master, regardless of who it might be. 

Recently, Kophyn Mizzar, a human female warrior of local renown, has taken possession of the castle and started taxing the nearby villages for "protection donations", ostensibly to rebuild the castle and secure the surrounding areas. She has attracted a group of followers and utterly destroyed four sizable warbands of orc marauders, and the peasantry has gone along with the taxation imposed by their new "lady"...for now.

The Croaking Castle and its eternal batrachian watchers seem to have likewise accepted the new mistress. Several local tradesmen have left Valthrun to join her stronghold staff directly and rumor has it that Kophyn has begun excavations in the nearby ruins (Hex 299.298). No one knows for certain what she's doing, and numerous wild tales are swapped in drunken confidences by the tavern hearths throughout the city.

Lord Jirex, overt master of Valthrun, has remained silent on the latest developments and most assume he is indifferent to Kophyn's machinations don't impact the flow of trade to the Obsidian Portal. If she wants to practice her swordplay on the orcs and squeeze the peasants a bit, who cares? As long as she knows her place and doesn't develop delusions above her station, all benefit.

Less is known about the small keep to the east of the Croaking Castle (Hex 302.298). The master of the keep is Belgos Trith, a very famous human male fighter who had great success against the savage barbarian horsemen far to the west and has seemingly retired to this keep to enjoy some well earned rest. He has patrolled the surrounding areas for years and rescued countless caravans from various monsters and bandits on the North Road. He collects reasonable road tax for his services and rumor has it that he secretly made a mutually beneficial agreement with certain hidden hands to ensure trade, and the fat merchants that accompany it, flow uninterrupted to Eternal Valthrun. Whether or not these rumors are true remains to be seen.

Of course, the true masters of Valtrun, Kirenos the Thief and the Night Hag Bilious Yarena, do not care at all what happens with these petty lordlings. So long as the trade flows and these delusional upstarts do not interfere in the affairs of their betters, they are of no interest...for now.

Session 2: Hexcrawling and the Glories of AD&D DMG Appendices

Since our new group is a little wary of the Shrine of Lethria given how badly it went for our previous crew, they decide to explore the wilderness around Valthrun. 

For map scale, I've gone with a 6 mile master (blue outline) subdivided into 1 mile sub hexes. I think this gives me enough to play with for quite some time and it's easy enough to expand if I get bored. 

Since everyone knows where the Shrine is located, I've added it to the map gratis. I roll a d6 and get a 4 so that means the group originally came to Valthrun from the southern road. This is a nice synchronicity since I've already decided the empires of Man are to the south. Some quick rolls on the tables Appendix B tables fill out the road's environs and encounter checks don't reveal any hungry critters. So far so, so good.

Our group decides to explore the immediate area around Valthrun and then begin working their way outwards based on what they find. They start in hex 300.299 and begin exploring clockwise. The terrain is generated as shown and yet again, no encounters. They return to the starting hex and then randomly strike out from each hex. I'm using a d6 to determine direction of travel with 1 indicating north and subsequent numbers continuing clockwise around the hex (e.g. 4 is south and 6 is northwest).

The dice take us in a northeastern direction and end up generating a shrine in hex 299.298, a castle in hex 300.298 and another one in 302.298. Nice! After some rolls on the Appendix C castle and inhabitant tables (with a detour to a random castle name generation site) we get the following:

Hex 299.298: A Ruined Shrine

I roll a 15 and a follow-up 82 which means we have another ruined shrine located between Valthrun and the Croaking Castle of the Miraculous Toad (see below). This is pretty awesome since this means the entire 6 mile hex seems to have been some sort of pilgrimage in the distant past. What caused the collapse of these religions? Why did they spring up around Valthrun and be surrounded by fortresses? This is awesome - I'm getting vibes about hidden cults, buried secrets guarded by some sort of Knights Templar order and the hidden hand of the Chaos Gods or the Great Old Ones. 

Hex 300.298: The Croaking Castle of the Miraculous Toad

This is a large fortress complex (97 on CASTLE TABLE I: SIZE CLASS AND TYPE) inhabited by an NPC and retainers (68 on CASTLE TABLE II: INHABITANTS). We roll on CASTLE SUB-TABLE II.B for the castle master/henchmen (a 50/50 rolls tells us this is a named castle and we use random alignment rolls of d6 for Lawful/Neutral/Chaotic and another d6 for Good/Neutral/Evil) to get the following:

Kophyn Mizzar, human female, Lawful Neutral L11 Fighter with 2 henchmen:

• Chalbale, human male, Neutral Good L6 Illusionist
• Tar Ahlys, human male, Neutral Good L6 Magic-user

The men-at-arms are determined to be:

• Squad 1: 9 Heavy horsemen (Men-at-Arms) (Heavy horse, splint mail & shield, lance, long sword, mace); Squad leader is Kophra Era (human male, Lawful Evil L3 fighter)
• Squad 2: 15 Light horsemen (Men-at-Arms) (Light horse, studded leather, light crossbow, long sword); Squad leader is Thirn Phyn (human male, Lawful Evil L4 fighter)
• Squad 3: 16 Heavy Infantry (Men-at-Arms) (Men-at-arms, scale mail, shield, spear, hand axe); Squad leader is Velgara (human female, Neutral Good L4 fighter)
• Squad 4: 10 Heavy Crossbowmen (Men-at-Arms) (Men-at-arms, scale mail, heavy crossbow, morning star); Squad leader is Alarra Durdana (human female, Lawful Evil L4 fighter)

Lots of interesting dynamics here, based on the alignments. Why is this place named the Croaking Castle of the Miraculous Toad? Why does a fighter have two magic using henchmen? Who knows? We haven't gone there yet! Let's see what the other castle is doing.

Hex 302.298: A Nameless Stronghold

This is a small walled castle with keep also inhabited by an NPC and retainers. Interesting...do we have competing warlords in the area? Let's find out who's running this place:

Belgos Trith, human male, Lawful Neutral L12 Fighter with 5 henchmen:

• Kyonithmyn, mountain dwarf male, Neutral L7 Thief
• Lymma Keldana, human male, Chaotic Good L7 Fighter
• Jael Kyorlicar, human female, Lawful Good L7 Paladin
• Myrra Tazennarin, human male, Chaotic Neutral L7 Illusionist
• Imra, human male, Lawful Neutral L7 Fighter

The men-at-arms are determined to be:

• Squad 1: 9 Heavy horsemen (Men-at-Arms) (Heavy horse, splint mail & shield, lance, long sword, mace); Squad leader is Ildia Houndraern (human male, Neutral L3 fighter)
• Squad 2: 12 Light horsemen (Men-at-Arms) (Light horse, studded leather, light crossbow, long sword); Squad leader is Xundara Kophyn (human male, Chaotic Evil L3 fighter)
• Squad 3: 18 Heavy Infantry (Men-at-Arms) (Men-at-arms, scale mail, shield, spear, hand axe); Squad leader is Lymeoynet (human female, Neutral L4 fighter)
• Squad 4: 7 Heavy Crossbowmen (Men-at-Arms) (Men-at-arms, scale mail, heavy crossbow, morning star); Squad leader is Tazena Urmeoynrae (human male, Chaotic Evil L3 fighter)

What is up with all the evil men-at-arms squad leaders (in both castles, no less)? Are they just waiting to turn rogue and become highwaymen? Do their good-aligned masters not know of their nefarious  natures? Is the paladin Jael Kyorlicar weak in her faith to tolerate this? What is the relation of this stronghold to the Croaking Castle of the Miraculous Toad? Who knows? We'll figure all that stuff out if and when the party explorers the area. What happens if they don't? Who cares? We'll roll up something else equally awesome. If this turns into an ongoing tabletop campaign, we'll give these areas to patron players and let them expand the areas in downtime/Braunstein sessions.

I think that does it for this session. The crew is going to return to town and plan their next moves.