Castles & Crusades Ravenloft: Fear No Darkness

[baran_i_kanu]

C&C Ravenloft: Fear No Darkness
OR..............Dammit! I'm Stuck in Ravenloft!

INTRO...
This is my little group’s first game of C&C. We began back in June of this year and play has slowed down due to a hospitalization and a temporary increase in work hours. We hope to pick up again in a couple of weeks.

And so...........
I’m using C&C with the Ravenloft Realm of Terror Boxed Set (’94) and bits from The Complete Book of Necromancers.

I’m offering a few options to help my little group survive:
1 various collected optional classes such as those in Colin Chapman’s Colin Sez and C&C boards and fan sites
2 allowing 2ed. Kits if desired
3 max HP at 1st level
4 my Fighting Styles based on Akrasia’s
5 multiclassing
6 blah blah, etc. etc. Whatever works and makes us happy. My only hardcore credo is whatever option’s PC’s have, important or "face" NPC’s can have as well. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA..........

The actual Adventure is loosely based on The Temple of the Damned found here..... http://www.rpgarchive.com/index.php?page=adv1&advid=198

THE PLAYERS...
My significant other Debbie and my dear friend Ben. Ben was introduced into gaming via 2ed., then went to 2ed Skills and Powers and finally 3ed.
Debbie started with Skills and Powers and went to 3ed.

The CK is Dave (hi) and I’m an old school Basic/RC and 2ed guy. And yeah, I get off on tinkering with house rules. I have found that I realllllly dig C&C. It has saved me from gaming-funk-Hell.

THE PLAYER CHARACTERS...
Ben is playing ... Durian of Thornhammer Hold, a male Dwarf Mercenary.
He wanted a flashy fighter, a whirling machine of destruction. He wanted a double whip fighter. He’s a tough dwarf so he made a steel-whip fighter. And this his how we did it.........instead of a straight up fighter I suggested he take the Swashbuckler Optional Class ( I think it’s one of Colin Chapman’s, but I could be wrong.)
Here it is on this thread.....
http://p075.ezboard.com/ftrolllordgames ... =336.topic
I had him replace rapier with whip. Voila! Whip-fighter it is. Really it isn’t anything broken, the steel-whips only do a 1d6, the only real bonus is the bit of extra attack range. I don’t mind the extra range since he sacrificed the better AC of a fighter with plate and shield for a character concept he is enjoying. He gets to be the lightly armored fast fighter he wants with a few goodies. And it worked out well later on. Oh, he also chose glove nails (basically a gauntlet with a spike on the back of the hand: 1d4+1 dmg) for up-close weapons.
He also took me up on the 2ed kit option choosing Axe for Hire from the Complete Book of Dwarves. It gives him a free specialization and has his employer pay for equipment but gives him a negative reaction form other dwarves and he is bound by any contract he signs. No backing out. These two penalties will become important as the campaign progresses.

Debbie is playing... Cassandra, a female human scholar and curiosity seeker. She is a multiclass Bard/Wizard of Alphatian descent. She is very curious about everything, rumors, stories, languages, magic, cultures, etc. etc. She really loves books and scrolls. Puzzles fascinate her ( player and PC!) Her favorite weapon is probably her crossbow.
This curiosity is definitely gonna get her in trouble in Ravenloft, which she fully admits.

Dave is playing the DMPC (CKPC?) Miraslav Emiliankano, a male Traldaran Cleric of Halav. He’s not the toughest but he is fairly smart, wise, loyal and willing to defend his friends to the death. He’s also the only one who speaks Traldar.



Next...the intro adventure that gets us into the Realm of Terror!

[baran_i_kanu]

PART ONE: A Sailing We Will Go!
We’re beginning with 3rd level characters in the Known World/Mystara. They two PC’s are in Specularum in Karameikos.

NPC’s
Captain Lazlo, mid 40’s.
A large robust Traldaran with a thick black beard. He is a savvy businessman and runs a clean ship.
Navigator Pavel Erminsk, mid 60’s.
He is a short, skinny, leathery, bald, greasy old Traldaran who hunches over and squints a lot. He is incredibly blunt and to the point.
Sgt. Toric, late 20’s.
A Glantrian mercenary. Lean, military bearing. Short hair and well groomed. He is in charge of the 10 marines aboard the ship. He appears to be intelligent and competent.
1st Mate Grisham, mid 30’s.
Large, loud, dirty looking. Wears a scarlet sash. Mean and surly with the men. A damned bully.
Secundo, late 60’s.
Skinny, wrinkled black cook. Bald. Always smiles and in a jolly mood.

NOTE: I really don’t know jack about ships. I’ve never seen an ocean or a sailing ship up close. I’ve never left the midwest. I am a total landlubber. So bear with me. I’ll describe the ship as best I can but I’ll be B.S.ing my way through some ship stuff.

The PC’s are to meet a ship at the harbor in Specularum. It’s a sunny summer mid-morning on the docks. Lots of birds, salty air, and sweating sailors and dockworkers loading ships. They are waiting for Pavel, navigator of the Karameikan tradeship the Sea Queen. They are heading to Ieriendi to find a Dwarven companion of theirs, Antigus Stonefist. He is of the same hold as Durian who bears a letter of sad news. Antigus’ mother has passed away and the PC’s are delivering the news and escorting him home to the funeral. They have bartered passage with the Captain as extra security. (Ben got much joy in writing up a lengthy contract with much flowery language the week before play outlining pay and benefits and exactly what they were there to do and not to do.) There has been an increase in piracy in the open waters due to the good weather of the past few months. They will receive passage and meals in exchange for their combat and magical skills if pirates are indeed encountered.
The voyage will take 6 days if the good weather holds.

The PC’s are soon met by the navigator Pavel Erminsk. The crusty old coot eyes the PC’s up and down then gruffly instructs them to follow him, mumbling about young people the entire time.

The PC’s look at each other with some amusement at the old guy and follow. A short walk later and they are at the planked walkway of the Sea Queen. She’s a worn double-masted tradeship with a crew of about 20.
Sailors are cursing and loading crates and supplies with ropes and pulleys. Others scurry across the deck and up the masts to secure ropes and make ready for sail. The voice of a large man in a red sash roars out orders to the crew. An old black sailor smiles down at the PC’s as he peels potatoes over the side. When they make it to the main deck they see the Captain, Lazlo, and a soldierly man in leather armor standing on the quarter deck, above and behind the PC’s. They are leaning on the ships wheel studying maps and scrolls. Lazlo sees the PC’s and waves them up the stairway.
Pleasantries are exchanged. Lazlo welcomes the PC’s with a heavy (eastern European) accent. The soldier is introduced as Sgt. Toric, a Glantrian mercenary and captain of the ship’s 10 man guard. He speaks common with a slight (French) accent. The loudmouth with the red sash swaggers up and he is introduced as the 1st Mate, Grisham, a Karameikan sailor of Thyatian descent.
The NPC’s continue to discuss the recent pirate activity and consult their maps for the final calculations. The PC’s are turned over to the cook, Secundo, to go below to their cabins and stow their gear. The old black cook smiles and waves them down the hatch and stairs to the lower deck. Their small cabins mid-hold, lining both sides of the hold. The wide hall between the cabins is stacked with crates and barrels of food ,water, ale, and rum all lashed to the deck. In the fore-hold, past the cabins, is the cargo: piles of lumber, nails, tools, canvass, ropes, and more supplies. The rear-hold is occupied by Secundo’s small kitchen, a small pantry behind that, and the sailors hammocks and personal effects crammed in the back. Water sloshes a bit on the floors and an occasional squeak of a rat is heard among the supply crates.

The PC’s settle into their cramped little cabins and stow their stuff. They make their way back up on deck in time for a quick lunch with the Captain and Sgt. Toric (Secundo is a good cook.) The ship sets sail past noon.
The rest of the day passes uneventfully. Ships coming and out of the harbor and the area around the bay hail and the sailors cheer and wave. Lots of hard work, ropes secured, etc. The PC’s mainly try to stay out of the way. Evening comes as watches rotate and lamps are lit.

Evening meal is served and the sailors lounge on deck, gambling with cards and drinking a bit of spiced ale. Toric’s marines are cleaning and inspecting weapons and armor.
A small scuffle breaks out among the gamblers. 1st Mate Grisham and old man Pavel are in each other’s faces. Grisham is livid over something. He starts to pull a knife from his sash but two sailors grab his big arms and walk him away cooling him down. Pavel spits, scoops up his coins and going into the captains cabin to rummage through charts and do navigatory-type things.
Secundo, laughs and tells the PC’s that Grisham and Pavel have a feud.....apparently Pavel owed Grisham money from a previous gambling debt but refuses to pay because he believes that Grisham was cheating. Secundo and the majority of the crew believe Pavel is right.
Bedtime comes and they are soon asleep to the sound of the waves.

Day Two
Normal life at sea. Maintaining ship, sails, ropes, and fishing for some fresh meat later.
In the afternoon Secunda is skinning fish over the rail as Toric and his marines have a sparring session.
Durain the Dwarf clears an area on the deck and begins working out with his two steel-whips. That gets some attention from the marines. A muscular oily Dwarf twirling two metal whips at full speed in nearly 10’ arcs cracking and slashing the air. They are impressed and a bit intimidated.
The cleric Miraslav spars with a marine and they manage to beat the crap out of each other in Subdual Damage. Minor Healing is nearly used.
The scholar Cassandra is about to challenge a couple of soldiers to a crossbow shoot-off when dolphins break the waves to the sides and front of the ship. This gets everyone’s attention as they all rush to the rail. The dolphins are joined by two mermen who wave to Cassandra and then disappear back into the deep.

Late in the afternoon a ship is sighted on the port horizon. The Captain breaks out the spyglass, she is flying a Darokinian merchant flag. Toric puts his marines on alert just in case. The ship stays on a parallel course, following a trade route with the ’Queen perhaps?
A thick fog has begun to move in, cooling the afternoon air.

At dusk the watch is rotated and the lamps lit. The PC’s are invited to dine in the Capt’s cabin with Lazlo, Toric, and Pavel. Cassandra eyeballs the musket hanging above the Captain’s seat. She reallllly wants to get a look at that thing.(Yep, I long ago added firearms to Mystara, so sue me! )
Secundo fixes a special meal of ham, potatoes, fruit, and wine. The dinner runs late into the evening as the PC’s share stories and talk of the pirate activity with the NPC’s.

Suddenly.........
A scream pierces the night but is cut off in a gurgle. It comes from the quarter-deck.

The PC’s and Toric peer out of the cabin doors towards the fore-deck. They make out figures moving at the front of the ship.
On the fore-deck they see Grisham and a sailor standing over two dead marines, swords dripping with blood. A second sailor is furiously waving a torch, signaling through the fog.

Realizing they must stop the sailor from presumably signaling the waiting ship the PC’s grab their gear, stashed by the door, and burst out of the Captain’s Quarters with Toric.
Captain Lazlo runs to his bunk for his sword and Pavel rummages in the navigator’s storage room.

Grisham roars and points to the PC’s with his cutlass. The sailor drops the torch and draws his sword. They are joined by two rough looking pirates who have climbed over the rail onto the deck.
The battle is on!

Durian pulls his steel-whips and runs towards the three traitors and the two pirates, followed more cautiously by Toric with his longsword and Miraslav with his longsword and shield.
Cassandra pulls her crossbow and tries to retreat up the steps to the quarter-deck for a height advantage, but quickly stops as she finds two pirates with bows already up on the deck. Behind them is a dead sailor at the wheel and a dead marine lying slumped at the aft rail. The pirate archers notice her and fire, each hitting and wounding her. She drops down behind the stairway for cover.

On the fore-deck a bloody and terrible melee begins. Blows are exchanged as the dwarf’s whips lash out at Grisham opening deep wounds in his torso, exposing ribs and spraying blood across the fore-deck. The bully Grisham has a look of pure terror on is face but continues to fight. The first sailor also lunges at the dwarf but misses his cut.
Toric kills the second sailor with a sword thrust through the chest and deflects a sword slash from one of the pirates.
Miraslav and the other pirate begin to trade missed sword swings.
Cassandra fires at the pirate archers above her but misses. They return arrows but miss her as well.
Capt. Lazlo exits his cabin with his sword and heads to the melee on the fore-deck, bellowing for his crew, but none answer.
Two more pirates climb over the rail and join the melee.

Durian slashes through Grisham’s throat with his steel-whip, the traitor clutching his blood-jetting throat and falling on is back. The dwarf’s second swing crushes the face of the first sailor killing him as well. The dwarf is drenched in blood.
Toric continues his duel with his pirate foe. He misses and is grazed by a sword slash through his leather armor across his ribs.
Miraslav slashes his pirate across the collar bone but is stabbed deeply in return.
Captain Lazlo gives a mighty roar and attacks the two pirates who have just climbed over the rail. He cuts down the first and begins dueling with the second.
Cassandra reloads and fires, hitting an archer in the shoulder but catches an arrow high in her chest. She is seriously wounded and barely on her feet.
Pavel emerges from the Captain’s cabin with an ancient blunderbuss, finally loaded and ready for chaos.
He turns and cuts loose at the two archers on the quarter-deck, firing up at nearly point blank range. With an explosive roar and cloud of smoke, they are cut to bloody ribbons by splintered wood from the quarter-deck and lead shot.
The Pirate Captain and another of his crew make it over the rail. The Pirate Captain is big and bearded, dressed in a faded military coat and wears a black bandana over his long black dreadlocks. He is bristling with knives and a cutlass at his side. He sneers showing gold-capped teeth and pulls his cutlass.

Durian lashes at the Pirate Captain but misses. The pirate who boarded with his Captain steps in to stab at the dwarf. The Pirate Captain lunges at Captain Lazlo, cutting Lazlo deeply in his side.
Toric lunges and puts two feet of steel through his pirate’s neck, killing him with a wet gurgling sound.
Miraslav is still hacking away at his pirate. Both are badly wounded and miss their attacks.
Cassandra fires an arrow into the pirate crewmember fighting with Captain Lazlo and kills him.
Pavel begins the arduous process of reloading his blunderbuss.
Two more pirate crew climb over the rail, looking dubiously at the bloody carnage on the deck. With a yell they draw swords and charge in towards Durian!

Durian lashes at his first new opponent but misses the pirate. The pirate lunges in and stabs the dwarf deeply in the side. The second pirate nicks the dwarf in the arm.
Toric turns and attacks one of the new pirates. They parry each other’s blows sizing one another up.
Miraslav cuts his foe across the chest again and is again stabbed. Both are seriously hurt and the pirate is nearly dead.
Capt. Lazlo and the Pirate Captain exchange vicious blows, Lazlo is cut deeply across the side and the Pirate is stabbed through his shoulder.
Cassandra reloads and fires a bolt into the Pirate Captain’s leg.
Pavel continues to reload.

When suddenly........
A crossbow bolt flies past Durian’s head. The dwarf and Cassandra are shocked by the near miss out of nowhere and glance in the direction it came form..
The kindly black cook, Secundo, is grinning wickedly and reloading a light crossbow, preparing to fire again. (Ben actually did a double-take and looked really surprised. "That better have been an accident, right?")

Durian, wounded and bleeding heavily, finishes the first pirate with a slash, cutting deep and crushing the chest. His second swing misses the other pirate who misses the dwarf in return.
Toric fends off his opponent’s attack and stabs him deeply in the abdomen.
Miraslav finally kills his foe with a sword thrust through the body. He is barely on his feet.
Cassandra fires a bolt at Secundo in anger. The bolt buries itself in the hatch next to the cook who is using it as cover. He reloads and returns fire missing Cassandra who is now using the other side of the stairs as cover.
Pavel is still reloading.
The Pirate Captain is cut again by Capt. Lazlo but manages to spear his cutlass through Lazlo’s chest, knocking him unconscious. He prepares to deliver the death blow.

Enraged by Secundo’s betrayal Durian viciously rips into his last pirate foe with his steel-whips, ripping the man open and spilling blood and offal across the deck.
Toric gains the upperhand on his pirate and splits the scoundrel’s head like a melon.
Miraslav, seeing Lazlo in peril, charges into the Pirate Captain, knocking him off balance for a moment.
Cassandra reloads, turns and fires another bolt into the Pirate Captain, catching him deep in the side.
Pavel finally fires the blunderbuss, shredding the wooden deck and hatch around Secundo. Seeing this is a losing fight the old man leaps up from the hatch and throws himself over the side, hoping to swim through the fog to the waiting pirate ship.

Seeing he is outgunned and nearly dead, the Pirate Captain lays down his cutlass and asks for quarter. He is reluctantly given it. ( Pavel wants to shoot him on the spot.) He says his name is Morette. Toric and Pavel recognize it, noting his reputation as a vicious killer and slaver.

The deck is a slick bloody mess of blood, bodies, and splintered wood.

The rowboat the pirate’s were using to board the ship is cut loose and they watch as it drifts away in the fog.

The pirates bodies are looted and dumped overboard. The dead marines and the helmsman’s bodies are wrapped in sailcloth to be given a proper burial at sea in the morning.

Miraslav heals everyone a bit. They are all far too wounded to gain a lot of HP’s from his meager 3rd level self. The Capt helps everyone by supplying a few Cure Light Wounds potions he keeps stocked for emergencies. He has few left but keeps those locked back up for later use.

The sailors and marines off duty below deck are all snoring away. It is discovered Secundo doped everyone with the common meal. They awaken after a few hours and a lot of water dousing and slapping. A watch is set and everyone who was in the combat rests.
(He didn’t have enough to dose two full meals, the impromptu Captain’s dinner threw the original plan of doping everyone off. He, Grisham, and Morette intended to surprise the dinner guests and take them prisoner without a struggle. Everyone was to be sold as slaves.)

The fog thickens as the blood drips from the deck into the waters.

[Maliki]

Great start, keep the updates coming.

[baran_i_kanu]

PART TWO: Into the Mists.
Important NPC’s
Captain Lazlo, mid 40’s.
A large robust Traldaran with a thick black beard. He is a savvy businessman and runs a clean ship.
Navigator Pavel Erminsk, mid 60’s.
He is a short, skinny, leathery, bald, greasy old Traldaran who hunches over and squints a lot. He is incredibly blunt and to the point.
Sgt. Toric, late 20’s.
A Glantrian mercenary. Lean, military bearing. Short hair and well groomed. He is in charge of the 6 surviving marines aboard the ship. He appears to be intelligent and competent.


The next day the fog is so thick visibility is but a few feet from the ship. The day is spent cleaning the deck and attending to the wounded. Miraslav prays in the morning and blows through his spells, getting everyone nearly to full HP.
The dead are given last rites and sent into the deep. Between the fog and exhaustion no-one seems to notice that the water surrounding the ship is still slightly blood-tinged and a few pirate bodies are floating at the rear of the ship, almost as if they are swept along in the wake.
Pavel runs the ship as the Captain, Toric, and the PC’s rest for the day. A sailor is reluctantly recruited to pull double-duty as cook.
The food sucks.
The rest of the day goes quietly and soon it’s lights out, extra watches set, and everyone asleep.

The next morning the PC’s awaken to find the ship in an uproar. The Captain, Toric, and Pavel wish to talk to them.
As they make their way onto the main deck and towards the Captain’s cabin they see that fog has thinned considerably and the ship is anchored just off shore of an sandy beach giving away to gently rolling hills and a thick forest beyond.
They shouldn’t be in Ieriendi for two more days and the route they took shouldn’t have any islands on it.
The sailors are talking and upset, believing they have gotten lost in the fog and traveled off of their course. There are known to be wild islands in the Sea of Dread filled with all sorts of beasts and cannibals.
They enter the cabin and are find Toric and Lazlo sitting looking over charts. Pavel is pacing and is visibly upset.
They landed just before morning and with the fog thinning he took a star-reading to see what was going on.

None of the stars were right. He couldn’t recognize a single constellation. Not one.

He is extremely freaked out. So far the sailors haven’t noticed and the Captain and Toric have decided that they aren’t going to be told for fear of a panicked mutiny.
They want the PC’s to scout out the island, see if there are any settlements, and find fresh water. Just in case.
The PC’s jump to the offer but Durain, ever the dwarf mercenary ,insists they renegotiate and clarify their working contract to insure the Party keeps any treasure if discovered and that burials are covered as well as spent ammunition.
The Captain has other things to worry about so he quickly agrees and hand waves them off.
They spend most of the morning getting prepared, studying spells, praying, and cleaning and selecting gear.
By noon they head out loaded with food and water. They notice a bit of blood in the water and a couple of bodies near the ship. Durain/Ben really questioned me on this but they decide to worry about that later. Deciding to head East they trudge down the beach trying to gauge the size of the island. They notice after a few hundred yards that the shoreline curves in towards the ocean. Apparently are in a bay or possibly a peninsula.

This continues for about a mile when they spot a large wooden wagon jammed full of stuff: lamps, rope, crates, tools, trinkets, etc. Flea-market type stuff. Sitting by the wagon with a fishing pole in the water is a plump middle aged man in travel-worn but good clothing. An old dog sits at his feet in the sand. The dog sees the PC’s and barks. The old man waves to them and puts his pole aside.
They are invited into the camp of Anton, travelling merchant. He speaks common and the PC’s sit down for a bit of wine and some info.
They are invited into the camp of Anton, travelling merchant. He speaks common and the PC’s sit down for a bit of wine and some info. It doesn’t escape their notice that he is cautious and constantly clutches a small cross, apparently a holy item.

(NOTE: on languages I decided not to turn the game into a giant session of one person is translator and the rest get to mime. I decided common trade tongue is the same in Mystara and Ravenloft. Hell maybe humans all came from one world and eventually spread out via spelljamming or most likely magic, who knows. So why shouldn’t a universal language to make my game run smoother exist. I also decided Traldaran is close enough to Balinok to allow conversation with very few problems.)

They discover that they are in a land called Darkon, near a large forest just north of a region called the Boglands. Anton even provides them a map showing where they are. Their "ocean" is a large salt-water lake.
He also refers to them as "Outsiders", explaining that sometimes the Mists take people form other lands and deposit them in this land and kingdoms surrounding them. When pressed he tells them to ask the Vistani, gypsies who are known to travel in the Mists.
He takes another sip of wine, pets his dog and tells them of the forest in the distance.
There is a trade route which runs off of the main road, the King’s Highway, and through the forest to a village called Graza. That’s the closest settlement for many wild, dangerous miles. He usually stays on the trade or near the trade road and often travels with other merchants for safety. He points out the village and the trade route on the map. It isn’t too far from where Anton is camped on the shore and snakes through the forest towards Graza. From the ship they can cut a couple of miles through the forest to reach the road. Then they can take it another mile to Graza.
Clutching his cross he then adds that it is a good idea to be indoors during the night. Many dangerous things roam these lands.

In the distance.......
They hear the faint crack of a musket and of Pavel’s blunderbuss from the direction of the ship. Something is wrong.
They say their quick good byes and thanks to Anton and head back to the ship. The mists are gathering thicker and the dwarf’s move of 20 vs. the two humans move of 30 slows them slightly. They take about 20 minutes to come upon the ship and see smoke rising into the sky before they sight the ship.
Several hundred yards from the ship they see it has been shattered and bits of it are on fire. It looks like it has been crushed in on itself from mid-ship. Bodies and wreckage float in the water and on the shore. They spot two small figures, one dragging the other away from the water. As they head for the two figures they notice boot prints in the and in front of them. They emerge from the water and head towards the hills and forest.

Hustling over they see Pavel, blunderbuss hanging from a strap on his shoulder, dragging Captain Lazlo through the sand. Lazlo is at death’s door, large wounds all over his body. He is still clutching his musket and powder horn. He dies quietly before Miraslav can attempt any healing.
Pavel sobs and can’t continue. He drops in the sand with Lazlo in his lap. He says the ship was attacked by a huge monster from the waters. He noticed the pirate corpses and blood in the water. He was investigating when the corpses were dragged under, then tentacles tore through the ship from inside and from out.
It then tore the struggling crew apart as they tried to defend themselves or swim to shore. Captain Lazlo and Pavel shot at the beast and began hacking at tentacles with swords but it crushed in the Captain’s cabin. Lazlo was mortally wounded and they fell into the water where Pavel dragged them to shore.
The PC’s pull weapons and begin to explore the shoreline. Cassandra takes Lazlo’s musket, powder, and shot.
They see Toric’s body floating along with pieces of other corpses. He has been horribly mauled. Then they spot the Captain’s chest where he kept the healing potions and other valuable floating in the debris-filled water.
It survived the attack!

Coming up with a plan they take Durian’s rope and grapnel hook he and Mirislav, after several tries, hook Toric’s body which they take with the Captain’s past the beach and into the hills a hundred yards beyond. They then return to shore and try several more times and manage to hook the treasure chest. They haul it in.
Tentacles burst from the water scattering debris and water everywhere. Dozens writhe into the air blocking out the sun for Durian and Miraslav. They both grab handles on the chest and haul ass up the beach! A tentacle as big around as a horse slams the beach spraying sand all over them and nearly stumbling them from the shock of impact.
The creature roars with a hundred voices. Cassandra and Pavel scream in terror!
It is all mucus, eyes, fanged maws dripping chewed flesh and blood, and tentacles.

The boys don’t’ look back. They hit the edge of the beach and throw themselves over the first hill to join Cassandra, Pavel, and the two corpses. Panting they peek over the edge and watch the beast thrash about and then withdraw into the water, dragging what’s left of the Sea Queen with it.

They force the chest open and discover a small fortune in gems, a few coins, maps, three minor healing potions, and an unidentified scroll. Cassandra casts a detect magic and, of course, the potions and the scroll are illuminated. But to their surprise Toric’s leather armor is also magical.
They split the loot, giving Pavel an even share. The PC’s each keep a potion for themselves and the magic leather is stowed away. Cassandra takes possession of the scroll.
They then decide to take the trade route to Graza...it is only about a three mile march to the town. They also decide to drag Lazlo and Toric’s bodies along for proper burial in a churchyard. They were good men and deserved a proper funeral.
They know it will take hours dragging the bodies through the hilly forest but they will not remain here with the beast in the waters.

Packing up, Pavel and Cassandra load their firearms as the Durain and Miraslav build a travois for the bodies. When they are ready they head out across the hills to the distant woods.

The Mists are faded to small wisps on the ground.
It is a few hours before dark.

[baran_i_kanu]

PART THREE: Wolves, Gypsies and a Bargain!
The characters trudge through the hilly forest. Miraslav and Durain dragging the travois. Pavel is in front of them and Cassandra is in the lead, ears and musket cocked for trouble.
They finally notice that it is much cooler here. Quite a difference from the summer heat on the Sea of Dread. A slight gentle rain begins to fall.
Pavel and Cassandra flip their cloaks over the firing mechanisms of their weapons to keep the powder dry.

The mists begin to thicken with the rain.

It’s slow going dragging the two corpses through the forest, up and down rain-slicked hills.
After an hour of struggling through the hills and trees they hear the howling of several wolves ahead in the distance. They cautiously move forward, weapons ready to be pulled or fired.
Minutes later they here the scream of a woman from over a hill 50 or so yards ahead of them in the timber. Wolves howl in the same direction. They are close.

Suddenly a beautiful young gypsy girl, barefoot and black haired, runs over the hill tripping over a fallen tree and rain-slick grass while looking wildly about. She spots the PC’s and dashes towards them, panicked, rapidly shouting in a language they don’t understand.
She reaches them and the men shove her behind them.

Behind her 6 large wolves crest the hill from out of the mists. They pause to survey the PC’s and the girl.
Licking their chops they begin to move cautiously into the bottom of the rise.
The girls sobs and hides behind the PC’s, pulling a knife from her belt.

Durain and Miraslav drop the travois and pull weapons. Pavel raises his blunderbuss and waits for them to get closer.
Cassandra aims and fires as the wolves bound down the hill. She catches one of the wolves mid-leap flipping it around with a yelp. It lays in the leaves, dead. (Debbie rolled a 12 on an exploding dice and got to roll again. Killed it with one shot. She was very pleased with her musket.)
Two wolves leap at Durain, two go for Mirislav. Durain is bitten and Mirislav manages to hide behind his shield.
Pavel fires at his and managed to miss. The wolf shies away for a moment but them rips into the terrified codger, hurting him badly. Cassandra pulls her sword and attacks the wolf on Pavel.

Durain kills the first wolf with both of his whips, shredding the beast’s body. The second one snaps empty air near the dwarf’s head. Mirislav is bitten and nearly dragged down by both wolves. He manages to stab one with his sword. Pavel is unconscious from his wounds. The wolf bites at Cassandra and she slices it’s side open with her sword.

Durain slashes open the second wolf, killing it. Mirislav hides behind his shield and stabs the wolf again killing it. The second wolf bites at his legs but misses. Cassandra misses her wolf but it also misses her again.
Durain attacks the healthy wolf on Mirislav wounding it across the face. Mirislav hacks at the wolf after Durain wounds it and kills it. Cassandra’s wolf, seeing the others go down turns tail and flees. She misses her attack at it’s flanks as it runs off.

The girl hugs each of the PC’s in turn, obviously grateful. She chatters excitedly in her language, pointing at herself and saying "Meera" over and over.
Miraslav heals Durain, himself, and Pavel who is rapidly getting sick of the whole thing. They save their healing potions for later. Cassandra reloads the musket, obviously enjoying the weapon.
Meera grabs the PC’s hands and waves for them to follow her. Since she is heading in the direction of the road and it’s getting dark the PC’s grab the travois of corpses and follow.

The PC’s follow her for a good distance as she carefully picks her way through the forest. She leads them up a woody hill and smiling, excitedly points below. The sound of music and faint voices fill the air.
Thirty yards or so down, the hill levels to a clearing nearly 50 yards in diameter. Ten covered wagons (vardos) are circled in the clearing. The PC’s can see down into the circle. A fire has been lit and food is cooking. A two dozen men sit around the fire with children and older women laughing, clapping, and playing violins and concertinas (small accordians) as young gypsy girls dance and whirl around the fire.
Two guards with longbows walk a top the vardos on opposite sides carefully watching out into the darkening forest. Suddenly they spot the PC’s and Meera and sound the alarm, drawing back their arrows and shouting at the PC’s.
Everything comes to a halt as the gypsies stare at the intruders. It is quiet except for the drops of rain on leaves and wagon-tops.
At least a dozen men slip from out of the circle, knives and clubs drawn. They talk excitedly to Meera in her language and wave her down.
She won’t budge until a large sinister looking man with a thick black beard and piercing eyes makes his way through the small crowd and waves her down. She runs down the hill to him and hugs him tightly.
She quickly talks to him gesturing to the PC’s, obviously relating her rescue. The big man nods slowly while carefully watching the PC’s.
He sends her away with an older woman and turns to look up at the PC’s. He speaks common and introduces himself as Meerava, uncle of Meera and Captain of this Vistani caravan.
He sends for wine, meat, bread, and cheese for the PC’s and allows them to camp at the base of the hill near the camp. No closer. The guards watch the PC’s suspiciously but leave them alone. The music and festivity starts up again and Meera joins the other girls in the dancing. The PC’s can see this from between the circled vardos.
Pavel unrolls a blanket and passes out clutching is reloads blunderbuss and a shortsword. The PC’s cover up the dead men, light a fire, rest, eat, and wait to see what happens.

Meereva comes to their camp near dark. He informs them that Madame Ellana, wishes to see them. Leaving Pavel snoring near the fire, he leads them to her richly decorated vardo and knocks on the door. It opens and the PC’s are told to enter.
The inside of the vardo is cramped. A small bed and a small table with two small chairs dominate the wagon. Chests and shelves with scrolls, bottles, and small trinkets line the walls. Candles burn on many shelves and two green tinted lanterns give the wagon an eerie glow. A worn deck of cards and a pot of hot tea with glasses rest on the table.

Inside sits an attractive woman in her late 40’s or early 50’s. She has the gypsy coloring and black hair, but white streaks show in her dark locks. She is wearing makeup, silks, and an amazing amount of gold jewelry.

She introduces herself as Ellana, aunt of the girl Meera.
Polite greetings and tea are exchanged. Madame Ellana thanks the PC’s for saving her favorite niece and offers a token of her gratitude, a small ruby that Cassandra values at 100gp.

She then gives the PC’s some free advice....
She warns Durian that while his folk are welcomed here in Darkon, they are not welcome in many of the surrounding lands, much like the Vistani. It would do well for the dwarf to conceal his nature in many towns.
She warns Mirislav that his faith will be put to the test in this place and such faith may actually draw evil to him. She tells him to be careful because his powers are diminished in this realm.
Watching Cassandra eye her scrolls and trinkets she warns that curiosity can be deadly and lead to an unfortunate end. Knowledge is dangerous, perhaps the most dangerous thing of all in these lands. It must be guarded and used wisely.

Then she asks a favor.
With much passion in her voice she begs the PC’s to help her, offering to reward them with anything that is in her power. More gems, information on anything she may know, perhaps read their fortunes. Whatever they ask of her as long as it is in her power to do so.
A travelling merchant brought her terrible news yesterday. Her grandson, Renzo, has been put in jail in the nearby town of Graza. On FALSE charges of stealing, of course. The villagers hate and distrust the gypsy’s, believing them to be all thieves and liars, thus the trouble Renzo is in. Ellana believes any Vistani sent to retrieve him and pay his fine will be detained as well and the money kept.
She will send the money (100gp) with the PC’s to bail Renzo out and when he is returned safely she will give them their further reward.
This is her bargain, and the PC’s agree to it.

(NOTE: Of course there is more to this than meets the eye. The forest is extremely unsafe near the town right now as the NEXT PART will show. Madame Ellana believes the PC’s are her best chance at freeing Renzo. She will not risk losing more Vistani or the entire caravan itself in the dangerous woods near the town to free him. You just know if the Vistani aren’t willing to go get one of their own SOMETHING BAD IS WAITING. )

With much thanking and hand-kissing from Ellana they retire from her vardo and head back to their little camp for a night’s rest under the eye of the Vistani guards.

They get a good nights rest and awaken at dawn.
It is lightly misty and wet.

They decide to leave Pavel at the camp until they return. He is tired and still hurting. He doesn’t object. He wants a warm fire, his blunderbuss, some warm food, and some cold wine. He decides the others can go get themselves killed just fine without him. He has no doubt they are all going to die soon and he would just as well be comfortable when he buys it.

Waving farewell they lift the travois with Toric and Lazlo’s covered corpses and head towards town. Within minutes they have found the trade road they were looking for the evening before and travel on it.

Things are looking up for the Party.
The mists begin to pick up with the rain.

[baran_i_kanu]

This one's a long one. It also shows where we left off and where we are headed in the game.

PART FOUR: The Road to Graza.

In the gentle rain they travel quietly North for quite a while before hearing a faint moaning and rustle of leaves. Off the edges of the road, on both sides, they see humanoid shapes moving slowly in the misty woods.
The Party begins to move cautiously down the road, but it is too late, they are spotted.

When the first zombies step on the road and the Party gets a good look at the dead men they immediately try to make a run for it. They zombies are coming in from all sides, they Party has blundered into a good dozen of them spread out in the mists.
When the corpses on the travois begin to moan and writhe Durian and Mirislav drop the travois and pull weapons. They will not leave former comrades to wander as undead.
Good men!
Cassandra is more "practical." She drops her pack and climbs up a tree beside the road to snipe at the undead and stay out of reach of their attacks.

Mirislav tries to turn some of the undead, stepping forward with his holy symbol held high and commanding them to retreat from him! He fails miserably and they lunge in towards him moaning and grinding teeth.
Durain attacks Toric and Lazlo as they crawl from under the blankets on the travois. He begins to shred them with the steel-whips.
Cassandra fires her crossbow, transfixing a zombie getting close to Mirislav.

Durain continues to whip away at his former comrades, moving in a circle around them to avoid the other approaching zombies.
Mirislav is clawed by a zombie as he draws his sword while getting his shield up and ready to defend.
Cassandra reloads and discovers to her horror that a couple of zombies are slowly climbing the tree to get at her! (Debbie totally freaked at this! "Zombies can’t climb!" "Yes dear, these can. Sorry." )

Durain finishes off what’s left of Toric and Lazlo. He is ready to grab pack and run!
Mirislav hacks deeply into dead flesh with his sword as he smashed in the mouth by zombie fist. A second one is approaching.
Cassandra leaps from the tree, slightly jolting herself on the ground. She rolls over to grab her pack and prepares to run.

All three disengage from the fight without getting clawed, bit, slammed, or mobbed and run down the muddy road with over a dozen groaning dead following them.
They are just around the bend when they see a lot more shapes in the misty woods.

Suddenly...........
A bloody figure stumbles from the misty trees and begins to call weakly for help. He is dressed in leather and furs with a handaxe and a large knife hanging from his leather belt. The Party heads for him, weapons ready for some trick.
When they get close they see he is bleeding from his side and shoulder. He reaches out to them with a shaky bloody hand and begs them to help him.
He says he is a woodsman living near here. His cabin was attacked minutes earlier and he could not reach his wife and son inside, though he tried. He was forced to flee towards the road. He offers them gold or anything he owns to help him but they must hurry.

Mirislav casts a cure light wounds and the woodsman is back on his feet although still wounded. They follow him through the forest avoiding zombies in the mist. The sounds of the undead are all around. There must be dozens of them. They also spot an occasional form moving at a rapid run, not the shambling of the zombies.

The cabin lies 250 yards off of the road. They reach it in a few minutes.
It is a single floored log cabin. The yard has been trampled in places and bits of wood torn open shutters lie around it. The front door lies bashed in and faint moans are heard from the inside.
The woodsman charges for the front followed by Durain and Mirislav. Cassandra pulls her sword and creeps around a messed up pile of firewood looking for the back door.

The front door opens to a 25’ hallway which turns a corner to the left, an open door to a living room on the left and two bedroom doors spaced 10 feet apart on the right, the nearest door has been broken open and there are moans within.

Mirislav enters the bedroom to find the son dead on the bed, a zombie chewing on the small body. He fails a horror check and attacks the zombie with a fury hacking away at it with his sword.
A male and a female zombie both lunge from the open living room and Durain attacks with his spiked gloves. The hallway is too narrow for his whips to be brought into play!

The woodsman sees his son is dead and goes a bit mad!
He runs down the hallway screaming and turns left down another twisting hallway where he and his wife’s bedroom lies. He doesn’t make it. A zombie turns the corner and they collide, going down in a heap, zombie clawing and him screaming and chopping with his handaxe.
Cassandra finds the back door bashed in and enters the house directly across from the master bedroom She hears the combat going around the hallway corner but also hears whimpering in the bedroom.
The door is ajar and she peeks in to see the wife frozen in helpless terror on the bed as a rotting dead man in black robes and wearing a rusted iron medallion towers over her, licking it’s sharp teeth with a long mucus-covered tongue. Cassandra charges in and attacks the ghoul, cutting a deep gash in it’s side, exposing rotting flesh and ribs through it’s slashed robe.

Mirislav is desperately trying to cut up the zombie. He keeps missing and the zombie keeps biting and grappling. They flail about neither hurting the other and knocking pictures off the walls and furniture all over the room.
Durian kills the first zombie but the female zombie claws him in the arm.
The woodsman is screaming for his wife and manages to bury his axe in the zombies chest but it continues to claw and shred his flesh! He desperately wants to get around this thing to get to his wife!
The black robed ghoul rakes Cassandra with his filthy claws. She fails her save and falls to the floor paralyzed. In horror she watches the ghoul turn back to the wife on the bed.

Mirislav and his zombie continue to knock each other all over the room, crushing toys and trinkets knocked beneath their boots. In his rage he doesn’t even think to try to turn the undead.
Durian attacks the female zombie but misses with both gauntlet spikes. She rakes him across the face with her dirty nail, moaning and foaming at the mouth.
Cassandra lays helplessly as the ghoul slowly leans down and sinks his teeth into the wife’s throat, her pretty brown eyes wide with madness and horror.

Mirislav gives a cry of "Halav!" and swings his sword in a mighty arc, splitting zombie’s rotting head open from crown to chin. Maggots and a stinking black fluid pour from the foul sight.He stumbles out into the hallway getting sick.
Durian gets pissed and charges into the female zombie, taking it off of it’s feet and into a far wall, breaking some of it’s bones as it flops onto the floor. He turns and runs into the hallway to head towards the woodsman and the zombie.
The woodsman chops again and misses, burying his axe into the wall. The zombie latches onto his shoulder with it’s yellow rotting teeth and takes a large bloody chunk of hide and flesh out.
Cassandra’s can suddenly move again. She gets on her feet and prepares to attack the feasting ghoul.

Mirislav sees Durian’s female zombie getting up in the living room. He leaps in and savagely cleaves her torso from collar bone to waist with one swing of his longsword. It collapses, truly dead at last.
Durian charges in and tears into the zombie on the woodsman with his gauntlet spikes.
The woodsman manages to bury his axe in the forehead of the zombie and it collapses into a rotting heap onto him.
Cassandra slices into the ghouls neck with her sword wounding it. It screeches and throws itself through the shutters onto the lawn.

Mirislav heads out the living room and down the hallway.
Durian turns the corner to the bedroom and through the open door sees the ghoul standing up outside of the broken window and shutters.
The woodsman gets up holding his badly bleeding shoulder and lurches towards the bedroom.
Cassandra checks on the woman, but she is dead.

Durian gets initiative this round.
With a massive War Cry he charges the window and hurls himself through the window.........gauntlet spikes first!
(Ben made a great Dex check and attack roll!)
He drives his spikes it the ghoul taking it down, steel shod hands sinking into it’s rotted chest, pinning it to the ground with the steel spikes.

The ghoul collapses into a bony, maggoty heap in the black robes. The iron medallion lays near it on the ground. It is a bas relief of a grinning death’s head over an hourglass.

Durian gets up cursing and wiping his gauntlets on the grass. He searches the corpse finding only the medallion and a few meager coins in a leather pouch. He leaves both.
Faint moaning comes from the mists and the surrounding trees. The noise of the fight has drawn more undead.

Regrouping inside the house, Mirislav casts another cure light wounds on himself and the woodsman who is still very hurt. But he can walk and he gives them his thanks and his name: Andreas Byrne.

The Party knows they have to move quickly and talk with Andreas. At first he is unwilling to leave but they convince him to go to Graza with them. There is no time to bury his family. He lights a torch, takes a few small things, spreads lamp oil, and lights the cabin on fire. It is burning well when they make their way towards the road, avoiding undead moaning and moving through the misty trees towards the fire.

They reach the road without incident. Realizing they are near town they head down the road but they are not alone!
They look back down the road and see dozens of zombies moving towards them and Graza.
They also spot a few ghouls running near the horde. They are dressed in rags of peasants.

The Party takes off in the direction of the town.
They cannot go full movement, they must hang back or leave Durian behind...the dwarf cannot keep up with the humans at full pace!
Smoke rises into view over the hill in the muddy road. Graza is only a few hundred yards away!
When the Party crests the hill they get their view of the town from the South West.

The description I gave of the town is this: it looks like the villages from Van Helsing and Sleepy Hollow smashed together with narrow muddy streets and an atmosphere of gloom.

The center of town is composed of two and three story buildings of timber and plaster over stone. The roofs are tall peaked tiles and crumbling chimneys. Windows are thickly shuttered.
The streets are bare 10’ wide, claustrophobic and shadowy from the tall buildings. Rusty lamps hang on street posts near wooden walkways.
The 20’ wide trade road runs through the town from the South, through the town square: a 100’ x 70’ rectangle of mud and hay with a 10’ wide stone lined well in the center.
The buildings on the outer edge of town are mostly singe story stone and timber homes with peak wooden roofs. There are dozens of them surrounding the center of town.
Many of the homes and some of the larger buildings are burnt out wrecks, still trailing smoke.
Bodies lie in the mud near some of the buildings.
The smoke and mists give the place an ethereal look.

The moaning of the approaching undead horde moves the Party. They hustle down the hill and enter the outer ring of houses off to the left of the trade road, under cover of the burnt homes and smoke.

Most in this area are burned out. Others appear to be ransacked, doors knocked in, possessions muddied and strewn about.
The bodies up close are many days dead. They are bloated and covered in maggots and flies. The stench is appalling.
They are also covered in sword wounds, arrows, and bites.

The PC’s make a run into the smoke of the town, crossing several muddy streets and avoiding or outmaneuvering several zombies already in town.

Suddenly......
Two soldiers in chainmail run round the corner, one with a crossbow, the other with his arms full of sacks bulging with potatoes and carrots. They are wearing black surcoats with the symbol of a red orb with a black crown in it. They gape at the Party in surprise, nearly dropping the food. The first guard points at the Party "We’ll get you later!" and they all take off down an alley just like that.
The PC’s are too stunned to act. It is all so absurd and over so quickly.

The half dozen zombies that round the corner of a building gets them moving again. Mirislav tried to turn them and failed miserably again barely getting away.
As they make their way into the narrow alleys and streets near the center of town they see that crude catwalks and rails have been constructed around the edges of the larger buildings roofs and over the streets from roof to roof.

And Then....
Several zombies begin to come out of alleyways onto the small street the Party occupies. Three ghouls also emerge and spot the Party. They begin to sprint after the PC’s.

Then they hear a man’s voice hollering from a rooftop.
"Run! Into the square! Run to the Inn!"

They weave around narrow streets trying to lose the ghouls and zombies, ending up in the square near one of the two stone arches running from building to building over both of the trade road entrances into the town square. Moans and the scraping of feet are all around them in the streets and alleys. Figures begin to come out of the smoke from all sides.

To the left of them, on the West side of the town square is the largest building in Graza. A massive three-story structure with tavern sign over the front door: The Morning Star Inn. A crude catwalk and rail runs the roof and catwalks on the North and South ends run down to the smaller two-story buildings next to it. A man is waving and shouting for them to run to the front!

The zombies begin to shuffle into the square from all sides as the Party sprints to the front of the Inn. From the third story two large barn-like doors set in the roof side open up and several men are there. Two knotted ropes are dropped to the Party.
Cassandra and Andreas are sent up first. Durian begins to swing his whips and Mirislav readies his shield and sword.
They zombies shuffle towards the them as the two on the ropes finally reach the roof freight-loading doorway.

The ghouls pack enters the square and spots the two on the ground and begin to sprint towards them.

That’s enough for Durian who turns towards the Inn and is about to attempt to lash his steel-whip around a second-story timber outcropping and take his chances climbing!
As the ghouls begin their charge the ropes land near Durian and Mirislav who grab them and are yanked into the air as the ghouls leap at their feet, barely missing and slamming into the inn’s sturdy walls.

As they are hauled up they look below.
Three stories down the undead have massed beneath the dwarf and cleric’s dangling feet, clawing at the walls. The town square is filled with them. There are dozens and dozens all moaning in frustration and hunger and reaching out with their dead hands and milky eyes. They also spot a couple of black robed ghouls in the mob Watching and seemingly studying the Party intently.

Graza is filled with the dead, and now the Party is trapped.

When they reach the roof opening a tall, slim man in his 40’s with brown eyes and hair and dressed in simple but worn clothes reaches out and grasps Durian’s arm, hand to elbow, pulling him up and in.

With a weary smile he says, "Welcome to the Morning Star."


And that’s where we left off.........


AFTERWARDS.......
As soon as I get a Sunday off from work we intend to pick it up a few hours from this scene. Hopefully it's be this Sunday.

I’ve set down with the players and described the NPC’s trapped in the Inn, it’s barricaded defenses, the catwalks, supplies, etc.
The NPC’s recapped what happened a week before in Graza when the zombies rose and even more began showing up.

They were also told about the Darkonian military garrison trapped on the other side of town who began hoarding supplies and competing with the survivors at the Morning Star for resources. They both began building catwalks to get from place to place for supplies and take potshots at each other.

Oh, they were also told about the deputy trapped with the gypsy prisoner. On the other side of town away from tall buildings and catwalks. Of course.

Also at least one PC is wondering about those bitten as he his player knows I love zombie flicks. I am a zombie film fanatic.

He also wonders how bad the bites from the zombies are. And about those bitten, like Andreas.
Such things bear watching.

[Rhuvein]

Wow, an astounding amount of detail. You must be using a laptop to record all this, no?
I write my campaign journal in a small notebook and really enjoy it, but lately I've been thinking about writing direct to the computer.

Great stuff, though. RL seems to really allow for atmosphere and detail in any amount that you wish.

[baran_i_kanu]

no laptop. i'm an old fashioned mechanical pencil and paper kinda guy.

although it would be a good idea to write things down on the computer right after you get done with the session.

here's my "method" i guess we'll call it...........
I review the adventure game notes I make before hand, that's where I get the descriptions for the locales and NPC's/creatures. part of my "writing down my adventure" process is making little descriptive notes on the side ahead of time to throw at the players.
an example would be " dozens and dozens all moaning in frustration and hunger and reaching out with their dead hands and milky eyes."
that's taken straight of a descriptive sidebar. it really adds flavor and to be quite honest, gives me a quick way to throw in a cool description on the fly while i am trying to concentrate on other things.
i'll write down several of these ahead of time, sometimes before i even write the whole adventure.
I think of then like a quick little clip from a movie, moving images in my head, and write down as many as possible.
a lot of times I will get a cool story inspiration from them which turns into something really memorable in the games.
one of the ones from this game "fighting on catwalk, two stories over a sea of dead faces, moaning, decaying arms waving, rotten teeth grinding waiting for the firest one to fall" I can't wait to use, prob in the next session when the PC's get into it with the Darkonian troops trapped in town. catwalk combat over zombie horde.
I love that image.

THE BIG TRICK to the combats is to take quick notes each round as it happens.
it's a whole lot easier to do with only two PC's and done DMPC.
an example would be jotting down "durian kills pirate, rip open, offal" with a pencil in my combat notes. just takes a second and it has a real game benefit other than recollecting in notes later........you can come back to check round-to-round IF, while in teh chaos of DMing, you forget some important detail, such as who cast what, while you are trying to run the game.

I also am very descriptive with combat in my games. PC's remember an amazing amount of detail when it comes to their character, especially combat when i describe hitting a 6 HP pirate for 8 points of damage as "ripping the man open and spilling blood and offal across the deck."
that REALLY sticks in their and they will recall it much clearer later. much more so than just saying "the pirate is dead."
I'm a huge R.E. Howard fan, I want to evoke the feel just how violent combat is "varnishing the deck with brains" and all.
that makes it much more vivid and important to the players in my opinion.

lastly I will talk with the players later to get little details straight, things I might have remembered incorrectly.
For example I couldn't remember what was on the scroll that Cassandra took from the Captain's chest. I couldn't find it anywhere in my notes. That drove me nuts! when i talked to Debbie we looked at her character sheet and she reminded me that she didn't have a Read Magic prepared and hasn't cast it on the scroll yet. I had forgotten all about that, I had decided to pick the spell later and hadn't gotten to it cause i forgot.
i realllly need to decide which one is on that before Sunday.

finally I showed them the journal before I posted each part to make sure I got things correctly.
they were a big help. plus it was fun to look at the combats and go "oh yeah! that rocked!"

other than that it was a pretty straight forward adventure. not a lot of complicated plot twists or a large amount of npc's to keep straight.

if we're going to have a long or really detailed session (ie. more talk than combat OR a session of Call of Cthulhu ) then a tape recorder works nicely.
plus it can be really damn funny to go back months or years later to listen to a few hours of your game on tape, especially if you're a big burly guy with a deep voice like yours truly. i swear i sound like Mickey Mouse on tape or the damn phone.

EDITED: for reallllllllly crappy 6am spelling and to clarify some ideas from sleep fogged brain.

[Maliki]

Great journal, It's got me hooked now.

Good advice on creating an interesting journal.

Keep the updates coming.

[baran_i_kanu]

The chaos of a 3-day labor day weekend and lots of company nixed our game this weekend.
Grrrrrr.
Hopefully next weekend. Intro to 7 new NPC's the players are stuck at the Inne with as well as the Darkonian garrison commander and his men. And a few more clues to what the heck started this whole zombie mess.

Until then...
Here's the contract that Durain the Dwarf Mercenary (Ben) wrote up with the late Captain Lazlo to work for their passage.
This all stems from his Axe for Hire Kit he took from the Complete Book of Dwarves. Poor Ben worked for several days on this contract until he was satisfied that he had the perfect format.
Then he and the Captain wrote out their terms on it and signed it with appropriate signatures.
I felt kinda bad cause he went to all this trouble to make this thing look official for his contractually-obsessive dwarf and I couldnt' tell him it was all for naught 'cause I planned to kill the crew quickly, they were just a plot device to get into Ravenloft!
But he had fun doing it and was not disapointed when the contract fell through because of death!
Besides, they fished all of the Captain's riches out of the salt lake and came ahead in treasure in the end.

Ben says that if anyone wants to use this contract as a basis for one in teh game and save themselves the work of making with the legal mumbo-jumbo feel free.

here it is.......


We/I ______________________________________ (hereafter referred to as the Contractor/s)

______________________________________
Signature/s of Contractor/s


hereby contract the services of __________________________________________

___________________________________________
Signature/s of Contracted


(hereafter referred to as the Contracted) for the purpose/s of

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________


And the Contractor/s, having supplied a suitable witness to the signing of this document, hereby agrees to the following terms and conditions:

1. Contractor/s will pay the Contracted the sum of _______________ to be paid in readily soluble funds (gold, silver, or gems). Half of which to be paid immediately, half of which to be paid upon completion of this contract.
2. Contractor/s will provide room and board, or provide a stipend to cover the expense of lodging (where available) and food, for the duration of this contract.
3. Contractor/s will provide the Contracted with appropriate transportation, if needed, for the duration of the contract. If mounts are deemed necessary, the Contractor/s will also provide appropriate tack, and cover the cost of upkeep and stabling (to include food, shoeing and trimming as needed, and healing if necessary).
4. The Contracted will provide the Contractor/s with an itemized list of necessary and unforeseeable expenses accrued during the duration of this contract (to include: any herbal or magical healing the Contracted deem necessary as well as burial costs, repair or replacement of weapons and/or armor damaged or destroyed, as well as replacement of ammunition or spell components expended in fulfilling the contract) which the Contractor/s hereby agree to refund upon receipt of said itemized list.
5. The Contracted will provide the Contractor/s with a copy of the mission journal upon request.
6. Failure of the Contracted to fulfil the terms of this contract will result in forfeiture of the second half of the payment, and refund of one half of the initial payment, as well as forfeiture of the accrued expenses refund.
7. Failure of the Contractor/s to fulfil the terms of this contract will result in all possible legal action allowable in the country in which this contract was signed.
8. The Contractor/s will be provided with a certified copy of this contract to be kept at the office of a local magistrate.

By signing below, the Contractor/s hereby agree/s to the terms and conditions of this contract, and acknowledges that this contract is a legally binding agreement.

_____________________________________

_____________________________________
Signature of Contractor/s

By signing below, the Contracted hereby agree/s to the terms and conditions of this contract, and acknowledges that this contract is a legally binding agreement.

____________________________________

____________________________________
Signature of Contracted

By signing below, the Witness certifies that they are not: indebted to, friends of, employed by, or in servitude to - either party involved in this contract, and also certifies that both parties signed this contract of their own free will.

___________________________________
Signature of Witness

Notes & Addendums: __________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

[baran_i_kanu]

Due to working overtime, the Clay County Iowa Fair, and preparing to move to an apartment there was no game this weekend. Probably won't be one for a couple of weeks and that sucks! We're really looking forward to getting back to this one.

Anyway I'm going to start posting NPC's for anyone who is interested or wishes to use them.
Feel free.

So let's start with the Gypsies. I do not have XP listed for each yet as this has not become an issue....yet.

BEN & DEBBIE: STAY OUT! DO NOT LOOK! GO AWAY!!!!

spoiler space....




Vistani NPC’s


Meera, 16 Gypsy Girl
Slender, dark hair and eyes, with dusky skin. Exotic and beautiful, even more so than her aunt and her dead mother. Dresses in white blouse, bright gypsy skirt and jewelry.
Meera is young, naïve, and curious. This has led her sneaking into the woods often to spy on travelers on the trade roads and long walks in the woods to look for strange animals and plants. She has not picked up her tribe’s contempt for the giorgio’s yet, but her protective uncle has kept her guarded from the outsiders and their advances . She is an excellent dancer.
Normal Human LN
HP- 4
AC- 12
BtH- +0 melee, +2 rang
Primes- chs +3
SA- dex +2, chs+3
Languages- Vistani, Darkonese
Equip: Dagger (1d4).



Meerava, 42 Vistani Caravan Captain
Massive, imposing, wild black hair and beard. Dark cruel eyes and dusky skin. Dresses in dark clothes, gypsy bandana, gold earrings and bracelets. Always carries his falchion and dagger.
Meerava is the uncle of the gypsy girl Meera and younger brother of Madame Ellana. Meera’s mother was their sister and died several years ago. He has raised Meera as his daughter and is very protective of her. He has nearly killed more than one giorgio or Vistani who has dared to let his eyes linger on her. He is granduncle to Renzo, whom he has trouble controlling.
Fighter- 5 LE
HP- 34
AC- 12
BtH- +8 falchion, +7 melee, +5 rang
Primes- str +2, int +1, chs +1
SA- Wpn Spec (falchion), Combat Dominance
Languages- Vistani, Darkonese , Common
Equip: Falchion (2d4+3), dagger (1d4+2), leather armor.
DAVE’S OPTION: Fighting Style-Duelist -with falchion, extra +1 hit/dmg (NOT added in) and +1 AC vs. one chosen opponent in melee combat.



Madame Ellana, 53 Vistani Caravan Raunie
Dark haired with white streaks, dark soulful eyes. She is extremely beautiful and has a seductive and confident aura about her. She dresses in traditional gypsy skirts, jewelry, and adds makeup to accent her eyes and lips.
She is the caravan raunie, the wise-woman and fortune teller. She is beautiful and cunning, using giorgio’s to get what she desires with little in return. She wishes for Meera to follow in her stead, but the girl has little talent with magic. She loves Renzo as her kin, but he has become a thorn in her side with his antics and trouble making. If it continues he will be ousted from the caravan.
Cleric-7 LE
HP- 32
AC- 12
BtH- +3 melee & rang
Primes- int +2, wis +3, chs +2
SA- Spells, undead turn/control.
Languages- Vistani, Darkonese, Common, Balinok
Spells: 0- Detect Law, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Endure Elements, Light Object
1- Command, Cure Light Wounds x2, Detect Undead, Sanctuary
2- Augury x2, Consecrate, Speak with Dead
3- Cure Serious Wounds, Dispel Magic, Locate Object
4- Divination
Equip: Ring of Prot +2, scroll of Remove Curse, scroll of Remove Disease, Medallion of Thoughts, Potion of Cure Light Wounds x3, Potion of Longevity, Crystal Ball, silver dagger (1d4). Books and scrolls on undead, lycanthropes, histories, philosophy, astronomy, etc. Maps and scrolls of many lands. Chest with 5,000 in coins and gems.



Renzo the Gypsy, 16 Gypsy Thief
NOTE: Currently stuck in the Graza Jail with Tully.
Young looking. Average build, long black hair, dark eyes. Leather vest, pants, bracer, and boots. Red sash and head scarf.
Grandson of Madame Ellana, he is a shifty liar and con man. He acts tough but will turn tail and run given the first opportunity. He hates and distrusts all giorgios and will rob or cheat them when he can. He loves to cause trouble and pushes his grandmother and granduncle to see what he can get away with.
Rogue- 1 LE
HP-4
AC- 12
BtH- +2rang
Primes- dex+2, int, chs +1
SA-Thief Abilities
Languages- Darkonese, Vistani
Equip: none.

Gypsy Guards
Fighter-1 LE
HP-5
AC-10
BtH- +2 short sword, +1 melee & rang
Primes- P
SA- Wpn spec (shortsword)
Languages- Vistani, Darkonese
Equpiment: Shortsword (1d6+1), dagger (1d4), shortbow (1d6).

[predavolk]

THE BIG TRICK to the combats is to take quick notes each round as it happens.

That's what I do too. It's essential for accurate retelling of some of the big combats my group has, plus it can help in combat remember who did what to whom, etc.

I also am very descriptive with combat in my games. I'm a huge R.E. Howard fan, I want to evoke the feel just how violent combat is "varnishing the deck with brains" and all.

While I try to balance detail with pacing, I agree. Saying you're an REH fan is just about enough to make me enjoy your journal, but I am honestly really enjoying it on its own merit! Cthulhu, Romero, D&D, and at least one chintzy action hero. Classic!

[baran_i_kanu]

Saying you're an REH fan is just about enough to make me enjoy your journal, but I am honestly really enjoying it on its own merit! Cthulhu, Romero, D&D, and at least one chintzy action hero. Classic!

thanks.

[Maliki]

Thanks for the NPCs, hope your game picks up again soon, I enjoy the journal.