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Why are witch hunters necessary?
A thousand years ago, the Free Provinces were ruled by a magical tyrant known as the Archmagister. An immensely powerful user of arcane magic, the Archmagister used his power to create a personal domain in the Far East – the Magelands – and rule over the Provinces.
The Free Provinces gained their freedom when a Dragon, a mythical creature of near-omnipotent power, entered the world and destroyed him. The Magelands became an unstable wasteland of magical energy. The Dragon is trapped there, and will remain trapped there.
Two organisations rose after the destruction of the Archmagister: the Great College, the seat of all learning across the Free Provinces, and the Dragon-Church, a religious movement which grew out of the swelling worship of the Dragon in the aftermath of the Dragon’s defeat of the Archmagister.
In the absence of a centralised power, the Great College and the Dragon-Church grew influential, gaining footholds across all of the Free Provinces. They brought order and helped the rulers of the provinces establish law, including a total ban on the unlicensed use of arcane magic.
But learning and worship would not be enough to keep the Free Provinces safe. The use of arcane magic without permission from the Great College was outlawed, but unlicensed mages continued to exist across the Free Provinces. New magical horrors were created by the magical instability of the Magelands and came stumbling out into the Free Provinces. Older evils, existing in wildlands and wastes since before the Archmagister’s era, remained stubbornly active.
In response, the Great College and the Dragon-Church together founded a third organisation, the Black Priory, as a dedicated force of witch hunters to find and destroy unlicensed mages, new horrors from the Magelands, monsters and cultists. Created jointly by the Great College and the Dragon-Church and answering to no single province, the Black Priory was intended to be the Free Provinces’ defence against the horrors of the past and nightmares of the future.
Religion
The Dragon-Church
It was the Dragon which ended the Archmagister’s reign, and so it is the Dragon which is worshipped. Believed to be a being of pure divinity, the Dragon is supposedly omniscient, benevolent and nearly all-powerful. It is, however, trapped in the Magelands by the unstable magical energy left behind by the Archmagister’s defeat. Worshippers believe that the Dragon knew it would be trapped and willingly sacrificed itself as a martyr to rid the world of the Archmagister.
The Dragon-Church teaches that it is the Dragon’s own power which is felt throughout the world as divine or “dragon” magic. In contrast to the base, reality-distorting corruption of arcane or “black” magic, dragon magic is a miracle and to be encouraged.
Priests of the Dragon-Church generally keep a copy of the Book of Flame, the holy book of the Dragon-Church, chained to their waist. Some priests pin passages of the Book of Flame to their clothing or tattoo verses into their flesh. The traditional morning greeting of the Dragon-Church is “Flame of the day to you.” The traditional evening greeting is “Ember of the eve to you.”
All priests can speak and read Draconic, which is the language of the Dragon-Church.
The Old Gods
Dwarves brought worship of the Old Gods to the provinces. The Old Gods generally embody values which might be more traditional in older, more barbaric societies, such as lust, strength, greed, cunning and even cruelty. The Old Gods were worshipped before the rise of the Archmagister.
Considered savage and rapacious, in the aftermath of the fall of the Archmagister the Dragon-Church issued an edict banning the worship of the Old Gods by non-dwarves. Dwarves are permitted to worship the Old Gods but only within their own homes.
Illegal worship of the Old Gods is still widespread in some of the wilder and more untamed provinces. Some cults seek to spread faith in the Old Gods, openly or secretly.
Acolyte Witch Hunters
Neither paid nor truly free, acolyte witch hunters are appointed to the Black Priory by the organisation that they belong to – whether as a favour, as a punishment or just by chance. Unlike journeymen, acolytes are generally specialists and highly trained in one area.
Of the acolytes, college researchers and licensed mages are assigned to the Black Priory by the College. Priests of the Priory are assigned to the Black Priory by the Dragon-Church. Apprentice Inquisitors and knights-penitent both belong to the Black Priory for life, either dying on the job or continuing to work inside the Priory into their old age.
Priest of the Priory
The Flame of the Day to you, sir! – traditional morning greeting of the Dragon-Church
Priests of the Dragon-Church range from zealous wandering flagellants to gentle parish preachers. Those that volunteer to work on the frontlines of the endless battle against evil as priests of the Black Priory are often on the more zealous side. As with college researchers, occasionally priests are assigned to the Black Priory as an unofficial punishment for angering the wrong prelate. No matter how they end up in an Inquisitor’s retinue, priests of the Priory are expected to assist in the rooting out of evil and in the maintaining of the souls of the inquisitor and the wider retinue.
Witch hunters of the Black Priory are not officially charged with hunting heresy – heresy meaning anything which contradicts the dogma of the Dragon-Church – which can occasionally create conflict between priests and witch hunters.
Priests of the Dragon-Church generally keep a copy of the Book of Flame, the holy book of the Dragon-Church, chained to their waist. Some priests pin passages of the Book of Flame to their clothing or tattoo verses into their flesh. The traditional morning greeting of the Dragon-Church is “Flame of the day to you.” The traditional evening greeting is “Ember of the eve to you.”
All priests can speak and read Draconic, which is the language of the Dragon-Church.
College Researcher
“The…the Black Priory? You cannot…are you serious?” – unnamed College researcher, moments after learning of their assignment to the Black Priory
To all but the bravest of College researcher, an assignment to the Black Priory is horrendous news. The College itself is a place of beauty, wealth, learning and – some would say – indolence. Assignment to the Black Priory involves the loss of all of the above, in exchange for practical experience of grim hardships. Assignments of College researchers to the Black Priory are therefore often unofficial punishments, or instances of nefarious political string-pulling to get promising academic rivals out of the way. Occasionally, though, somebody important does genuinely need another book on unlicensed mages, vampyr, cults or monsters, and the college researcher is the unlucky person chosen to write it.
Oft-mocked by journeymen for their practical uselessness – perhaps unfairly, because some college researchers have picked up practical skills from past life experiences, and often they are better able to hold a conversation with a noble or great merchant than any journeyman – college researchers are nonetheless prized by Inquisitors for the breadth and depth of their knowledge.
Knight-Penitent
“The witch hunters had a proper knight in fine armour wi’ ’em, so they did. Silent as the grave, he was, and to the grave he sent the vampyr when all th’others had fallen or fled. An’ to the grave he sent half the village, for harbourin’ the beast.”
– unnamed peasantArriving at the Black Priory already trained and armed, with a proven record in combat and with a motivation dark enough to drive a person away from their old life as a free knight, the knights-penitent of the Black Priory are prized by Inquisitors and feared by everyone else – for they bear a reputation as damaged warriors, reckless and death-seeking, and whatever nameless act drove the knight to the Black Priory, few other than the Grand Inquistor know – some knights-penitent go as far as taking an oath of silence.
Licensed Mage (also known as “slave mages”)
“The license is a chain, yes. I’d have them truly chained in dungeons if I could spare the expense, but they are valuable to the College” – a professor of the Great College
After the fall of the Archmagister, it was agreed across the Free Provinces that arcane magic was black magic and a foul, pestilential corruption across the world. Unlicensed users of arcane magic were sentenced to death, and the Black Priory was created to hunt them.
By receiving a license from the College, a licensed mage saves their life but forefeits their freedom. Enslaved by the Great College, a licensed mage could be rented out to the highest bidder, forced to engage in magical experiments for the rest of their natural life, banished to the depths of a library or assigned to the Black Priory.
The presence of a licensed mage in an Inquistior’s retinue creates an inherent conflict. A user of arcane magic is a powerful tool, but the first order of the Black Priory is the destruction of magery and the end of arcane magic. Licensed mages will therefore generally be carefully watched by a witch-hunters, given that the first order of the Black Priory. It is not unheard of for licensed mages to go rogue, using magic freely and wantonly and thereby losing their license.
The existence of licensed mages has become a point of conflict between the College and the Dragon-Church. Many within the Dragon-Church have accused the College of ‘renting’ licensed mages by assigning them to provinces or merchant-houses in exchange for increased tithes to the college.
Journeyman Witch Hunters
The journeymen witch hunters are the rank-and-file of the Black Priory. Journeymen are hired by the Black Priory for a (low-paid) salaried contract of ten years, with a lump sum of gold at the end (provided that they survive, otherwise it is half-paid to their next of kin).
Often ex-mercenaries or ex-soldiers, journeymen are hired by the Black Priory for their skills and then given further training. When not out in the field as part of an Inquisitor’s retinue, they reside in the barracks of the Black Priory.
Because they are contracted and paid, unlike acolytes, the motivation of journeymen can sometimes be financial rather than moral. This is not a hard-and-fast rule, however. The core of any Inquisitor’s retinue is generally journeymen.
[Since journeymen are generally well-rounded individuals, the suggested professions really are only suggestions]
Man-at-Arms
“I have yet to find a situation which cannot be improved by the presence of a man with a sword.” – unnamed Inquisitor, explaining why he brought a dozen men-at-arms to a chess tournament.
The most well-rounded of journeymen, the business of the man-at-arms is violence. Even the most cerebral Inquisitor will eventually need to project force, and there are few warriors more casually forceful than a man-at-arms of the Black Priory. Often former mercenaries, it is a curiosity why a man-at-arms would choose to join the Black Priory when they could potentially make more coin for less harrowing work with one of the great mercenary companies.
Bailiff
“Aye, they call ’em “bailiffs”, but I’ve met few men who know how to break a hand in eight places an’ keep the victim from passing out who weren’t called “torturer” …don’t call ’em that to their faces, mind, less you want to find out.”
The euphemistically-named ‘bailiffs’ are in charge of taking, holding and breaking prisoners as and when this is needed. Contrary to reputation, many Inquisitors will get their job done without shackling or torturing anyone, so bailiffs are typically some of the most well-rounded journeymen available – using their skills as cooks, locksmiths, engineers and fighters so that whatever the situation, they will be useful.
Doctor / Alchemist
“Drink this…wait…not that one! Ah. I should have an antidote somewhere.”
Hired for their extensive knowledge of potion-brewing, doctors and alchemists use ingredients from the Black Priory’s herb garden or the wilds to brew powerful potions and poisons to aid in the hunt. Trained to deal with all manner of medical problems, including keeping prisoners alive against all odds, they are equally comfortable examining alchemical evidence, brewing potions, diagnosing poisons or causing harm.
Master of Hounds
“Here, boy! Kill!”
It takes a man of wit, will and animal cunning to truly train a dog, and it takes double measures of all three to break and train a hound of the Black Priory. The hounds themselves are bred for tracking, hunting down escaped prisoners, sniffing out illicit potions and even bringing down foes in combat.
Woodsman
“S’like I’ve always said, there’s few things finer than returnin’ to yer camp wi’ everyone alive an’ well after a hunt. Bit o’ stew, bit o’ pipe-smoke, nip o’ drink an’ the finest rest ye’ve had in weeks.”
An Inquisitor’s hunt can range from the city to the wilds and back again, so the presence of a witch hunter capable of tracking, trapping, wayfinding and leading in wilderness survival is vital.
Inquisitor
There are as many variants of Inquisitor as there are methods of uncovering and destroying evil. One inquisitor might be a well-spoken, polite, soft-handed man of culture, at ease amongst noblemen or merchants and possessed of perceptive judgement that will easily uncover hidden evil through conversation. Another might be a hard-eyed butcher, happy to order a dozen deaths to prevent a threat.
The item that connects these two very different men is their possession of an Inquisitor’s Writ. This piece of paper, bearing the seal or signature of the Grand Inquisitor of the Black Priory, the Master of the College and the Archpriest of the Dragon-Church, grants an Inquisitor certain powers to be used in the execution of their duty. These powers include the right to order arrest and the right to order summary execution. Because the possession of an Inquisitor’s Writ confers such power, it takes years of practical training as an Apprentice Inquisitor before the Black Priory will officially entrust such a document upon an individual.
Each Inquisitor is assigned a retinue to accompany them when they venture out of the Black Priory. The true power of the Inquisitor is in the collection of skills and experience in his or her retinue.
An Inquisitor’s retinue is chosen from the ranks of the Journeymen Witch Hunters and the Acolyte Witch Hunters. Journeymen, while more likely to be low-born, uneducated and rough around the edges, are not subservient to Acolytes. As in reality, it is important to bring both specialists and generalists to any job.
Character Creation
This is just a list of questions to consider when creating your character concept.
What is the alignment of your character? [Good or Neutral allowed – there’s too much Evil in this setting without adding to it with the PCs!]
What race is your character?
See the races page.
Where in the Free Provinces is your character from?
Suggestions, please feel free to create your own Province:
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the feudal Grand Duchy of Lafain, or one of the other feudal provinces (think medieval France – chivalry, courtly poetry, overmighty nobility, appalling treatment of peasants)
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one of the merchant city states (think Renaissance Italy – powerful trading houses, endless scheming, patronage of the arts, overmighty mercenary companies)
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one of the great trading caravans (a constantly travelling caravan, funded by trading companies, containing merchants, goods to be traded, mercenaries to protect the goods and other hanger-ons)
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one of the Northern settlements originally established by the dwarves (think ex-Viking settlements where life is cold and difficult)
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Holsburg, or one of the other untamed, wild frontier provinces (think vast provinces covered in thick forests, swamps and marshes, overrun with wild beasts, monsters, wildmen, wanderers and a few safe havens)
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one of the under-cities of the gnomes, deep in a mountainWhat role does your character hold within the Black Priory?
Suggestions:
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[*] they have signed their life over to the Black Priory as an Apprentice Inquisitor, to be trained in the arts of witch hunting and to one day lead a full retinue as an Inquisitor.
[*] they were formerly a knight, and are now serving penance as a Knight-Penitent of the Black Priory
[*] they have been assigned to the Black Priory, perhaps unwillingly, as one of the specialist Acolyte Witch Hunters – a Licensed Mage, a College Researcher or a Dragon-Priest.
[*] they have signed on for money, as a Journeyman Witch Hunter with a contract of 10 years. The regular pay isn’t good and is often delayed, but there is a generous payout if you survive the full term, which is half-paid to the next of kin if you do not.Why did your character join the Black Priory?
Suggestions:
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[*] righteous belief in protecting the innocent from evil.
[*] they were tricked into signing the contract.
[*] they are very good at hunting monsters.
[*] they have sworn vengeance against magical and monstrous evil.
[*] they are a former unlicensed mage, now enslaved by the Great College and assigned to the Black Priory.
[*] they seek power and authority as an Inquisitor, so have signed on as an Apprentice Inquisitor.
[*] they have been assigned to the Black Priory, perhaps unwillingly, as one of the specialist Acolyte Witch Hunters – a Licensed Mage, a College Researcher or a Dragon-Priest.
[*] they seek penance for their past actions as a Knight-Penitent.
[*] they are an ex-mercenary, now signed on for money as a Journeyman Witch Hunter.
[*] for whatever reason, they could not cope with a normal life.Lore summary
1. What is the Black Priory?
An organisation of professional witch hunters, funded by the Great College and Dragon-Church.
2. What is a witch hunter?
Witch hunters of the Black Priory are organised into retinues and lead by an Inquisitor. An Inquisitor and their retinue is sent out by the Grand Inquisitor to hunt and destroy magical or monstrous evils.
3. What does ‘magical or monstrous evil’ entail?
Unlicensed mages, undead horrors, supernatural beasts, demon-worshipping cults, etc etc.
4. What are the different ranks of playable witch hunter?
Player characters could be Apprentice Inquisitors, Acolyte Witch Hunters or Journeymen Witch Hunters. All of these characters occupy the same rank of seniority within the Black Priory. (so there is no official lead player character, though an Apprentice Inquisitor may want to take this role)
5. What is an Apprentice Inquisitor?
An inquisitor who has received the first part of their training and is now gaining practical experience by working for a Inquisitor in the field.
6. What are Acolyte Witch Hunters?
Witch hunters with a specialist role who are assigned, often unwillingly to the Black Priory, such as Licensed Mages, Dragon-Priests and College Researchers.
7. What are Journeymen Witch Hunters?
The rank-and-file of the Black Priory. Mercenaries on a ten year contract, with a generous payout at the end of the 10 years or a half-payment to the next of kin will receive a generous payout if/when they die.
8. What is the Great College?
An organisation of academics dedicated to the study of knowledge (and the pursuit of wealth and power). A rival to the Dragon-Church.
9. What is the Dragon-Church?
The organised religion of the Free Provinces, dedicated to the fanatical worship of the mythical Dragon. A rival to the Great College.
10. What are the Free Provinces?
A great number of individual provinces which were once ruled by the Archmagister, a mage of terrifying power, and now rule themselves in a loose collective.
11. Who was the Archmagister?
A wizard of terrifying power who conquered the world and installed himself in a tower in the Far East. Several hundred years ago, he was destroyed when the Dragon, a mythical creature, burst into the world and consumed him. The lands in the Far East have been rendered into unstable magical wastelands, trapping the Dragon. The magical instability has corrupted the world, leading to the prevalence of magical and monstrous evil.
12. What is an unlicensed mage?
In the aftermath of the fall of the Archmagister, the Great College, Dragon-Church and each of the Free Provinces agreed that magic should be outlawed as far as possible. To practice arcane magic without a license from the Great College is to be an unlicensed mage, punishable by death. The Black Priory was established to hunt and destroy unlicensed mages (and other magical / monstrous evil.)
Checklist
1. Send your character concept to Face as a private message on this site, using the questions / lore cheat sheet to help. Answer any follow up questions from Face so that he has a better understanding of the character.
2. Download CEP 2.69
3. Download the CEP version of Pretty Good Character Creator and create your character, keeping in mind the rules above (Level 6, no obviously magical items, maximum of +1 for weapons and armour, maximum of +3 for skill buffs)
4. Send your playername, the .bic file of your character, along with any custom portrait, to Face so he can add to the server vault.
5. When it’s time for the session, disable keyholing in the graphics settings, mute the ingame music and follow instructions given over Discord to join the server!
Technical Stuff
The only hak we’ll be using is CEP 2.69, and you will need the CEP-enabled version of the Pretty Good Character Creator to create your character.
1) Download CEP 2.69 and install the files to your user data (“Neverwinter Nights”) folder. It is actually necessary is to place all of the .hak files in your NWN:EE user data “hak” subfolder and paste the “tlk” folder into the base “Neverwinter Nights” folder (which by default may not have a “tlk” subfolder). The other files included with the CEP download are builder tools and are not necessary for play.
2) Download the PGC3 character creation mod and place it in your user data “modules” subfolder. This is what you’ll use to generate your PC. Feel free to play around with the customization features as much as you like while following the rules on Character Creation above.
3) Send me the .bic file of the finished character with the player name that you’ll be using to join the server. I’ll create a folder using that name, and you’ll have access to the character in the .bic file.
I strongly recommend you turn off the idiotic Beamdog ‘keyholing’ effect in your NWN settings, and lower the ingame music volume to 0 as I have not paid any attention to that when building the module. Since this is a grim and gothic mini-campaign, I suggest you find some grim and gothic music to listen to while you play!
Send any custom portraits you want to be used so that they can be shared.
8. Character creation. This one is important so it’s getting its own post.
Gear
Download the CEP version of PGC3 (see “Technical stuff”, below) to create your Level 6 character. PGC3 will give you 13000gp to spend. Since this is a dark, low magic, low power world, none of the player characters should possess magical items. Mostly, this just means changing the flavouring – so a +1 sword is just a really good sword, +3 lockpicking gloves are just very well-balanced gloves – but this does mean that:
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[*]no potions or healing kits, these will be available ingame
[*]no starting weapons or armour should have higher than a +1 benefit for AC or enhancement
[*]no obviously magical items – these include items that change ability scores, grant feats, or have spell effects or add obviously magical effects to weapons (eg. flaming swords, acid swords) or items that would not logically help a skill (eg. rings with skill buffs)
[*]skill buffs are fine for items that would logically help with that skill. Your boots of +3 discipline are just really good, sturdy boots, your gloves of +3 lockpicking are well-balanced gloves
[*]no starting equipment should have higher than a +3 benefit for skill buffsSo just to be clear, showing up in full plate +1 with a +1 axe and gloves of +3 lockpicking is fine. Showing up with a +5 greatsword and a helmet that gives you Knockdown and an amulet of Freedom of Movement is not fine.
Powerbuilding
The build should match the character, and the character should take priority over the effectiveness of the build. Remember that this is a multiplayer campaign, not a Persistent World, and skill and ability checks are common. Do not build an 8 CHA character unless you’re willing to see them treated as though they have 8 CHA!
Any queries or requests for an exception, shoot me a message on Discord.
Part IV of the Campaign Chronicles (contemporary)
Tarsakh (4th month), 1373
2 – The party exits the crypt of the vampire lord and returns to Reddansyr; departure of Shanni; the piratical hin Rosten Foregallow arrives in Westgate and defends the morose elven wizard Lomilith from a vampire attack in the Black Boot.
3 – Rosten and the recently-arrived dwarven priest (volamtar) of Marthammor Duin, Njord Vindastig, are introduced to Aerikoth, Dermot and Darrow at the Gatereach; Njord bears a message for Darrow of unspecified trouble at Clan Ironhelm; delivery of Aronson’s bones to the Ascetic One; meeting with Lady Tylanna Sunrise at Morningstar Temple to discuss the Night Mask vampire threat; Njord goes to the temple of Ilmater to purchase assistance for the party; discovery of a girl named Lily at Thessar the Warrior’s house, who apparently had escaped being sacrificed to vampires by her brother.
4 – Encounter with the Westgate representative of the Lord of the Crypt, Sorenth Gorender, at the Purple Lady; Aerikoth and Rosten escort Lily to her parents’ house in South Gate; strategy meeting at noon of anti-vampire allies at Thessar the Warrior’s house, including the company, Lady Tylanna Sunrise, the Ascetic One, and the Vulture; Njord and Dermot meet with Gond and Tymora temple representatives to provide a secret warning; Lloria, a warrior priest of Torm, is sent by Lady Tylanna to assist the group with a planned raid against a secret Shar temple; encounter with Lomilith and two mercenaries at the Old Beard in East Gate.
5 – Shortly after midnight, the company raids the House Vhammos crypts, destroying the secret Shar temple and seizing the Cloak of Darkness immediately after its creation ritual; Aerikoth teleports out of the crypt; Dermot, Lloria and Rosten depart the city in the morning for Reddansyr, with Darrow and Njord having separately caught an early morning caravan headed for Teziir.
6 – The company, minus Njord, reassambles at the Giant’s Folly in Reddansyr, all having had similar dreams during the night of being visited by a servant of Shar; Darrow, Dermot, Rosten and Lloria encounter and kill a group of trolls by the Reddan River bridge; they visit Old Hamish the tracker in his wilderness cabin, returning his daughter Belle’s bow.
7 – From the Giant’s Folly, Aerikoth and Rosten teleport to Westgate to pass the Cloak of Darkness to the Vulture, while the others take the road to Teziir; company reunites at the Hammer and Anvil, discovering from the dwarven smith that Njord received a message from his temple and decided to depart the city on his own; Dermot and Lloria retrieve Killian Gryphonhawk from the flophouse in the Point district; the company gets a room at the Two Swords inn and leaves Killian there; dinner at Teziir Council Member Queron Ulanthar’s house.
8 – Aerikoth teleports with and then leaves Darrow at the gates to Clan Ironhelm, to see what has been happening in the dwarven kingdom. The company (minus Darrow) travels overland to the village of Mountaingate in the Giant’s Run mountains; Dermot finds a wolf companion along the way; Aerikoth teleports away, promising to meet up with the others in Ironhelm lands.
9 – Dermot, Rosten and Lloria depart Mountaingate and take the trail to the gates of Clan Ironhelm, defeating a pack of winter wolves along the way; Darrow meets them in the guest cave and informs them of the disaster that befell the last dwarven expedition to the dragon hoard in Hidden Peak; the four companions venture into the mountains.
10 – The four descend into the Hidden Peak caverns and find the burned and mutilated remains of the expedition; Rosten reveals his possession of a magical “Captain’s Map” that shows the hoard location; Aerikoth rejoins the others back at the Clan Ironhelm guest cave, then accompanies them to the Hidden Peak caverns.
11 – Darrow decides to stay and help the new Ironhelm expedition retrieve the bodies of his kin from the caverns; Aerikoth teleports the rest of the group to Reddansyr; they travel from there to the wilderness cabin of Old Hamish, who informs them he has located a troll nest.
12 – Aerikoth, Dermot, Rosten and Lloria destroy the trolls, who had made their lair in some old, underground ruins in a nearby swamp. Darrow rejoins the group and accompanies them to capture the giant-clawed bear Old Scratch, who after being subdued is polymorphed into a kitten by Aerikoth.
13 – The party returns to the forest territory of Old Scratch and releases him, running away after Aerikoth turns him back into a bear. Darrow, Dermot, Rosten and Lloria head to Teziir while Aerikoth teleports out, promising to meet them at the Two Swords inn the morning of the 15th.
15 – Aerikoth meets Darrow, Dermot, Rosten and Lloria at the Two Swords and teleports them to Clan Ironhelm. Clan Greeter Rumnaher meets them in the guest cave, then they are escorted to see High Priest Iskar, who proposes that they clear out the abandoned mines and seek out the spectre Unanin in the Deep Delve. In the afternoon, the party receives the (unexpectedly meager) reward of 1/5th of the gold recovered from the dragon hoard. After sundown, the party attends the coronation of King Dalgan, during which Darrow successfully fights as the king’s champion against a challenger to the succession.
16 – The party enters the abandoned section of the Ironhelm mines, clears it of monsters and vermin, and descends to the locked and warded Deep Delve. Breaching a rockfall into a new area for exploration, they encounter and defeat a variety of undead, and speak with the spectre Unanin, which calls itself the greatest creation of the ancient lich Ashnakzeroth. Unanin tells them that it senses a “spark” of its creator still alive and requests that they bring it to him, so he may absorb and negate it. The party returns to the dwarven citadel and reports their findings. Official celebration of Dalgan’s coronation takes place that evening and well into the night.
17 – The company departs Ironhelm for Teziir, escorting the clan treasurer, Fignar Ironson; camps at the Shining Plains trail crossroads for the night.
18 – Arrival in Teziir; introduction of Fignar to Council Member Queron Ulanthar; Queron expresses interest in obtaining evidence on Council Member Dean Shulayer’s prior dealings with the Astorians thieves guild, apparently involving smugglers using the “free port” on Buccaneer Isle in the Dragonmere.
19 – Aerikoth teleports the group to the Gatereach Inn in Westgate; new members are registered at the Mercenaries Guild, also changing their official guild name to the “Ironheart Company”; they take and complete a contract to retrieve a bejeweled sword from an old House Guldar crypt outside the city; an inconclusive night meeting occurs with the Vulture regarding their next planned Night Mask vampire target.
20 – The company is teleported by Aerikoth to Teziir; in the afternoon, they take a room at the Two Swords to collect and try on their newly re-tailored pirate disguises; that night, they are transported to Buccaneer’s Isle on board the Wavecrest, encountering the Cormyrian Freesail ship Drake’s Tooth on the way.
21 – Arrival at Buccaneer’s Isle after midnight; Aerikoth teleports away, the rest of the company explores the isle and stays at the East Isles Trading Company bunkhouse; encounter with Simon Wayland; registration of the company under their pirate names as the “Iron Swabs”; disgruntled smuggler Orison met at The Captain’s Daughter tavern; Aerikoth returns and the full company rushes into the Beacon tower after hearing screams, encountering and defeating demons at the top; a passed-out Rosten is rescued from a press gang after Darrow fights their ogreblood brawler.
22 – The company enters the isle’s ruined fort, encountering ghosts and undead and defeating Gorannon the Lich; Aerikoth teleports away and the remainder of the party fruitlessly searches the ruin for the fabled Rod of Weather Control.
23 – Before dawn, the company raids the old smuggler’s cave, using Orison’s inside information; all smugglers present are killed and their belongings looted; the party is teleported by Aerikoth to Teziir; they meet with Council Member Queron Ulanthar in the afternoon and are rewarded with 2,000 gp for the ledger seized from the ex-Astorians on Buccaneer’s Isle; Queron asks that they retrieve Orison, the only remaining smuggler who can serve as a witness to the Astorians’ activities involving other Teziir merchants; Aerikoth and Rosten teleport to Westgate; Darrow, Dermot and Lloria travel to Reddansyr.
24 – The three adventurers in Reddansyr visit the Temple of Oghma to commission research on various topics, then travel to Westgate.
25 – Darrow, Dermot and Lloria encounter Aerikoth at the Gatereach Inn; the group observes that Rosten, who was carrying all of the loot from the smuggler’s cave, has not been seen for the last two days; The Vulture appears at the guest house while Aerikoth, Darrow and Dermot are there; Orison is located at the Black Boot and brought back to the Gatereach for safekeeping.
26 – Orison is teleported by Aerikoth to Teziir and given into Council Member Queron Ulanthar’s care; the party decides to go to Starmantle to pursue a lead provided by The Vulture; Darrow, Dermot and Lloria find a sketchy charter ship willing to take them there and arrive at Starmantle harbor that evening.
27 – Darrow, Dermot and Lloria spend the day in Starmantle, investigating the Vulture’s lead on a member of the Order of Kainen who has been subverted by a Night Mask vampire agent; the three meet up with the Scarlet Company in Bagra’s Tavern, then later explore the sewers, finding and freeing a chained man named Thazis, who apparently was used as vampire fodder; they search the crypts and defeat the vampire agent known as the Cold One.
28 – Aerikoth rejoins the others over lunch at the Vulture’s Roost in Starmantle; the group confronts the crypt keepers about the vampire presence, causing old Batin to run off; at sundown, they discreetly meet with Errend, the Order of Kainen initiate, at the city library; after dark, the party returns to the crypt to find Sir Robin loitering by the Cold One’s crypt and captures him, Aerikoth polymorphing the knight into a kitten; Lloria searches for Batin and finds his corpse in an alley behind a tavern, having been stabbed to death, as the others return to the Vulture’s Roost inn.
29 – Shortly past midnight, the Vulture’s agent in Starmantle, Helena Tisdale, meets with the party inside their inn room; the kitten Sir Robin makes an attempt to flee, but is caught by Darrow before he can get under the door; Aerikoth teleports to Westgate with Lloria, leaving Darrow and Dermot at the Vulture’s Roost; the wizard returns for them in the morning, moving them all magically to the Gatereach guest house in Westgate; late morning, Darrow, Dermot and Lloria go to the Mercenaries Guild and discover that their pirate alter egos the “Iron Swabs” have a contract out on them; the party regroups at noon in the guest house, where the Vulture arrives and is briefed on the results of the Starmantle adventure; the Night Mask enforcer promises to return that evening to take Sir Robin away for further interrogation; Dermot finds Rosten passed out in a gutter and returns him to the guest house for a final (?) farewell; Sir Robin is crated and taken away for interrogation by the Vulture; bard Iola Moor is introduced to the party.
30 – Darrow encounters a pair of vampires with their prey outside the Gatereach walls and is killed by them before Dermot and Iola can drive them off; Lloria revives the dwarf after her morning prayers; Fight Night at the Quivering Thumb, where Lloria (as the “Fist of Torm”) defeats two worgs in the pit.
Greengrass – The party travels outside Westgate to search the Seven Lost Gods hills, hoping to encounter something to use against the Night Mask vampires; several ruined altars are found on different hills; they encounter a treant and the elven druid Zalaznar, from the Emerald Enclave in Gulthmere Forest; the underground throne chamber of the ancient lich Ashnakzeroth is re-explored; party travels via teleport to the village of Tallwell, where Darrow catches up with his brewery business and the abandoned Hallton manor is explored; Aerikoth casts the Magnificent Mansion spell for the first time.
Mirtul (5th month), 1373
1 – Party travels via teleport to the lost citadel of the ancient lich Ashnakzeroth; Iola finds the lich’s staff and the party is able to enter the lich’s tower; they encounter and kill various undead servitors of the departed lich, after exploring the citadel’s ground floor and laboratory.
2 – The group finally makes it past the lightning door barring entry to the lich’s throne room, where they encounter N’mfar the skeleton wizard trapped in a magic circle; N’mfar is freed, provides a tour of the citadel’s features, then is destroyed by the party before they exit; party travels by teleport to Clan Ironhelm, where Darrow delivers the bones of the dwarven undead encountered in Ashnakzeroth’s throne room; Aerikoth, Darrow, Dermot and Lloria clear out the abandoned mines of monsters, at High Priest Iskar’s request; King Dalgan hosts a clan feast, where Iola delivers the tale of the Wolf Queen to the assembled dwarves.
3 – The party travels via teleport to Teziir and meets with Council Member Queron Ulanthar; he and his agent Barakus provide a new opportunity to strike at the corrupt Council Member Dean Shulayer, who previously was engaged in smuggling with the Astorians guild; Queron also mentions the interest of the Temple of Helm in resolving the matter of the rogue priest Carlin and his ward Melissa, who may hold the last essence of the lich Ashnakzeroth; Darrow, Dermot and Iola visit Queron’s daughter Janatha at the Temple of Chauntea; Iola finds a tailor to commission some proper clothes for her companions; the party discovers a group of mercenaries called the Black Magic Hunters are after the Temple of Torm bounty on Carlin and Melissa.
4 – The party goes to the Temple of Helm to speak with Grand Cleric Thyxlys Jon about the rogue priest Carlin; Aerikoth teleports them to Reddansyr, where several previously commissioned research scrolls are collected at the Temple of Oghma; the party spends time talking at the Giant’s Folly inn with Ian and Killian Gryphonhawk; while Darrow researches brewing recipes at the temple, the others teleport to the town of Turnton in search of Carlin and obtain a lead on his forest hideaway from Helm priest Giverny; Aerikoth retrieves Darrow; after encountering another priest named Leland in the countryside, the party led by Dermot tracks the Black Magic Hunters to a forest cave with strange ruins and a magical barrier outside; a tense exchange between the groups is followed by a magical entry into the cave, where Carlin and an unconscious Melissa are encountered; the party brings them into Aerikoth’s magical mansion and has strange, vivid dreams while sleeping.
5 – In the morning, the party finds the cave barrier down and the Black Magic Hunters gone from the area; they teleport to the Two Swords in Teziir; Lloria casts a Commune spell at the Temple of Torm; Iola provides Darrow, Dermot and Lloria with their new threads; the party attends dinner with Council Member Queron Ulanthar.
Part III of the Campaign Chronicles
Ches (3rd month), 1373
6 – The company departs Teziir. Rahnee heads for Reddansyr, to look for their former companion Belle, while the others make their way to Westgate and the Gatereach Inn; Barzog the half-orc from Starmantle is encountered there as a new worker for Jandrico Swift.
7 – Rahnee rejoins the group and they visit the Mercenaries Guild, where Dermot and Shanni are officially added to the “Helm’s Shadows” roster, and the deceased Brok-Tul and Veran removed. Meeting with Losifan Urdo, who pays them a bounty for the slaver ship and hints at possible future work related to House Cormaeril and the Fire Knives assassins.
8 – The company departs for ‘Veranbrok’, the former Hallton baronial lands, stopping at the village of Glees after being attacked by worgs. Glees inkeeper Undt explains that manticores now occupied the forest on the way to Hallton’s lands and the village of Tallwell. Guard Captain Calen, leading a squad of soldiers from Baron Pahar, is introduced.
9 – A forest cave occupied by manticores is found and the party defeats them in their lair. The company and baronial soliders march into Tallwell, putting the soldiers in the old barracks. Meeting with Mayor Amphrael and villagers, who explain that bandits led by a man known as ‘The Beast’ had occupied Hallton manor. The company reconnoiters the exterior of the manor.
10 – Defeat of the Beast and his men in Hallton manor; Shanni leaves the company after a verbal fight with Aerikoth; company returns to Tallwell with the prisoner Horvath, brother of Larent the smith.
11 – Darrow, Dermot and Aerikoth depart Tallwell and find Shanni up a tree, surrounded by bears. They rescue her and continue on to Glees, where Rahnee joins them. A message from two dwarves in the form of an axe is given to Darrow; it is determined to mean that trouble is brewing in Clan Ironhelm.
12 – Rahnee goes back to Tallwell to oversee new defense preparations for the village; Aerikoth transports Darrow, Dermot and Shanni to Mountaingate, after which they travel to the Clan Ironhelm citadel and await entrance; Aerikoth retrieves Rahnee and the group enters the citadel; meeting with High Priest Iskar, who asks them to further explore the Deep Delve to help keep Darrow out of clan politics; Lorn Ironbeard the smith shows reveals a secret red dragon scale and asks them to find the ‘mad’ dwarf Helrud, who discovered it in the mountains; the party descends into the Deep Delve and encounters Unanin, a spectral creation of the lich Ashnakzeroth.
13 – The company explores the area around Giant’s Peak and eliminates a winter wolf pack blocking the way further into the mountains, at Helrud’s behest; they return to the Ironhelm citadel for a meeting of the clan’s council.
14 – While seeking to depart the citadel, the company is prevented from leaving and accused before the clan council by Toran Goldfinder of stealing from the clan treasury; a search of Dermot and Shanni turns up nothing and the party is allowed to depart; the group tracks Helrud into the mountains via a hidden passage; after much climbing and some combat, they find and clear a series of underground caverns containing an abandoned dragon hoard.
15 – The company returns to Ironhelm and chooses to keep the magical items from the hoard, receiving also a pledge of one-fifth of the total gold that will be recovered by the dwarven clan.
17 – On the road back to Westgate, the party encounters and defeats a pair of hill giants.
18 – Return to Westgate and arrival at the Gatereach Inn; Dermot receives a mysterious letter with symbols on it.
19 – Meeting at the Mercenaries Guild with Losifan Urdo; the company accepts a contract of 1,500 gold to remove the Scarlet Company from Westgate, they having been hired illegally as mercenaries by House Cormaeril; Spring Equinox festival occurs, with much drunken revelry; the party attempts to find Aerikoth at his house in West Gate at various times, but he is not home; a temporarily kidnapped Bleth lordling is found lying naked in the streets of the Harbor Loop, after a fruitless sewer expedition; Shanni is attacked by a skeleton warrior while investigating disappearances in the Shore district.
20 – Meeting with the Scarlet Company occurs at sundown at the Empty Fish tavern; the party is ambushed while leaving by Fire Knives assassins, who are defeated with the assistance of “insurance” arranged previously with Jandrico Swift at the Gatereach.
21 – Rahnee responds to a summons from the City Watch and is held at the Tower; the Scarlet Company departs Westgate.
22 – While Aerikoth, Darrow, Dermot and Shanni are waiting at the Tower for Rahnee’s release, she is liberated and teleported away on “family business” by her brother Madrigal, presumably to Waterdeep; preparations are made for an assault on Cormaeril Castle; the four adventurers enter the castle via its secret sewer entrance, defeating a number of Fire Knives assassins and causing chaos among the Cormaeril nobles; Tagreth, leader of the Fire Knives, escapes; Darrow, Dermot and Shanni go hole up at the Black Boot inn, while Aerikoth teleports away.
23 – Aerikoth and Darrow visit Losifan Urdo at the Mercenaries Guild, presenting him with a map seized in the castle raid as evidence of Cormaeril complicity in a recent assassination attempt against the Croamarkh; the party decides to accompany Darrow and his two hired ox drovers, Hal and Lally, to transport brewery supplies to Tallwell; after fending off a worg attack on the caravan, the party spends the night in the village of Glees.
24 – The caravan makes the trek along the rough forest track to Tallwell, the adventurers fighting off several owlbears along the way; farmer Garens Winnfall, father of their former companion Aratae, pastures the oxen and informs them of a murderous ghost at Hallton manor; the party speaks with Guard Captain Calen and Mayor Hamran Amphrael about the alleged ghost, who has driven off Baron Pahar’s guardsmen from the mansion; the four adventurers journey to the manor grounds at night, finding the left-behind corpses of two guardsmen outside; they encounter Fente Bross, the son of the village storekeeper and Aerikoth returns him home; signs of recent human occupation are found in the manor and Dermot finds recent tracks leading all the way back to Tallwell.
25 – Finding no sign of their quarry in the village, the party heads into the forest to check the old smuggler cave; Lord Tagreth Cormaeril, head of the Fire Knives assassins guild, is caught trying to sneak past them invisibly; after a debate, Tagreth is turned over to Guard Captain Calen in Tallwell; the company interrupts Calen’s summary execution of Tagreth, planned in retaliation for the murders of the two guardsmen, at the Winnfall farm.
26 – Aerikoth teleports Captain Calen and their prisoner Lord Tagreth Cormaeril to Turnton, giving custody of Tagreth to Baron Pahar; a site for Darrow’s brewery is identified outside Tallwell and its construction is begun by local woodsmen; Dermot leads Shanni and Darrow on an evening hunt in the countryside where they encounter and slay a boar and a band of giant rabbits, dragging the carcasses back to Kablin’s Inn for food.
27 – Encounter with ox drover Hal at Aratae’s gravesite next to the Winnfall farm, on the outskirts of Tallwell; the party travels overland to Westgate and is welcomed back at the Gatereach Inn; the Gatereach guest house, nearly reconstructed, is offered for the party’s use.
28 – Vendalus arrives from the Archendale monastery of Kelemvor looking for former party member Veran, concerned about the possible resurgence of an ancient vampire kingdom in Westgate; the party visits the temple of Lathander in West Gate and Thessar the Warrior in the Shore district, seeking more information; Aerikoth, Dermot and Shanni find a bloody body bag in the Shore’s sewer entrance and defeat a group of zombies in the sewer, evidently former Shore Patrol gang members; first meeting with Lady Tylanna, the high priestess of the Lathander temple, who advises them to seek out the Ascetic of the Broken Ones, an Ilmater monk.
29 – Dermot discovers the Hidden House vampire feeding nest in the Temple District; it is cleared out by the party, who also save four of the victims; meeting with the Ascetic One, who provides a map to an ancient ruined vampire city in the wilderness off Starmantle road; the party travels to Reddansyr, encountering a group of ogres off of Trader’s Road along the way.
30 – Darrow and Dermot journey to Old Hamish’s cabin in the marshy wooded region by the Reddan River, assisting the old ranger in fighting off some trolls.
Tarsakh (4th month), 1373
1 – Aerikoth, Darrow and Dermot discover and assault the hag’s lair in the forest north of the road from Reddansyr to Starmantle, finding and freeing Killian Gryphonhawk; Shanni joins them and after some effort they find the wilderness trail to the ruined tower of the Lord of the Crypt; the company defeats an undead guardian, a former paladin named Aronson, and enters the ancient vampire lord’s crypt.
2 – Following a harrowing exploration of the crypt and combat with various of its denizens, a pact is made by the company with the Lord of the Crypt to assist each other to defeat Orlak II, the secret vampire leader of the Night Masks.
End of Part III of the Campaign Chronicles
Part II of the Campaign Chronicles
Hammer (1st month), 1373
17 – Clan Ironhelm’s Prince Dalgan rewards the company for their victory over the ancient lich Ashnakzeroth; they depart the clan citadel and stop at Mountaingate before continuing on to Reddansyr.
20 – Battle with trolls near the Reddan River bridge.
21 – Rahnee is kidnapped by bandits, then rescued by the company, having been thrown down an old forest well outside of Reddansyr.
22 – Shared dream in Ashnakzeroth’s gem.
24 – High Cleric Carlin conducts the Ritual of the Hand in Turnton, destroying Ashnakzeroth’s gem; Melissa is rendered comatose from the ritual and is taken by Carlin to Teziir; Aratae’s head in a box arrives, along with a warning note to the company; company travels to Glees and kills a group of giant beetles in the village fields.
25 – Battle with manticores on the trail to Tallwell; company finds Aratae’s family, the Winnfalls, at Tallwell.
26 – Brok-Tul uses Speak with Dead on Aratae’s head; Veran presides over Aratae’s funeral ceremony; Aerikoth departs using a spell; remainder of company battles Hallton soldiers attempting to burn down the Winnfall home; Rahnee is killed and then raised by Brok-Tul’s use of a magic scroll; Brok-Tul, Veran and Rahnee decide to attack Hallton Manor; Brok-Tul and Veran are killed, Rahnee barely escapes.
27 – Jokull returns to Westgate; Darrow Ironhelm introduced to Rahnee and Belle in Turnton.
28 – Company reunites in Westgate; Aerikoth presents Rahnee with the deed to the Hidden House.
29 – Company travels to Glees and meets up with a squad of Pahar’s baronial guard.
30 – Company and baronial guard assault Hallton Manor, killing Hallton and his guards; mutilated heads of Brok-Tul and Veran are found on pikes; company returns to Westgate with a possibly magical trunk and is introduced to Dinendal Calefas.
Alturiak (2nd month), 1373
2 – Aerikoth teleports to Teziir with Rahnee, Darrow and Dinendal; meeting with Thyxlys Jon at the temple of Helm; Jokull meets with Jamal about the Red Wizard.
3 – Meeting with Queron Ulanthar in Teziir; the four teleport back to Westgate; Rahnee pays Khair to investigate who in Westgate is threatening the company.
4 – Company travels to Turnton, where the remains of Brok-Tul and Veran are interred; meeting with High Cleric Carlin.
5 – Dinendal is struck down by the Hand after touching it.
6 – Company agrees to accept rule over Hallton’s former lands, with assistance from Pahar’s soldiers; upon their arrival in Westgate, they discover the Gatereach guest house has burned down.
7 – Aerikoth magically locates Hallton’s trunk at Castle Cormaeril.
8 – Aerikoth’s familiar Zeluth delivers a note to the Red Wizard; Gondeth’s shop is discovered to be closed; company ambushes and kills the Red Wizard in the Seven Hills.
9 – Meeting with Jamal; Jokull’s planting of evidence on the Red Wizard’s body is revealed, along with an unexplained change purporting to show that Houses Cormaeril and Thalavar had supported the Thayan; visit to Hidden House; appearance of Madrigal Roaringhorn, Rahnee’s brother, from Waterdeep.
10 – Company decides to depart for Clan Ironhelm, to assist Darrow in exploring the Deeper Delves.
11 – First meeting with the Scarlet Company mercenaries in Reddansyr.
12 – Introduction of Khalen, who had been part of a group attacked by bandits and was now seeking revenge in Teziir; Jokull stays behind in Reddansyr while the company travels to Teziir; meeting with priest in temple of Azuth; bandits attack Aerikoth, Khalen, Darrow and Dinendal in the Point district.
13 – Company arrested by the Teziir City Watch; after a hearing, they are fined for not reporting the bandit attack to the authorities; Khalen meets with the diviner Isyio; Aerikoth discovers that Melissa has vanished from the temple of Helm; dinner with Council Member Queron Ulanthar.
14 – Khalen departs the company; the company heads for Clan Ironhelm, spending the night in a magical hut conjured by Aerikoth.
15 – Company arrives at Ironhelm, finding the gates shut to all outsiders; after waiting several hours, they are admitted to an audience with Prince Dalgan; meeting with High Priest Iskar regarding Dalgan’s mysterious sickness.
16 – Company descends to the Deeper Delves and discovers an ancient chamber of the lich Ashnakzeroth; the legendary axe “Haelgrim” is found by Darrow; triumphant return to the clan citadel.
17 – Audience with Dalgan followed by a meeting with Iskar; it is announced that Darrow will have the honor of bearing Haelgrim for three months; encounter with mercenaries at the Mountaingate Inn.
19 – Company arrives in Teziir, is informed by Queron Ulanthar that his daughter Janatha is missing.
20 – Meeting with the informant Reggius regarding Janatha’s kidnapping, allegedly by the Astorians Guild; Aerikoth turns Reggius into a toad.
21 – Reggius attempts to kill Aerikoth after being restored to human form and is slain; Queron banishes the company from Teziir.
22 – Aerikoth teleports to Westgate while the others search for the lodge where Janatha was kidnapped; Aerikoth meets with Khair.
23 – Company reunites in Reddansyr; introduction of Dermot Kenner, who had traveled from Teziir with news of Janatha; encounter with Guldar Company caravan on Trader’s Road.
24 – Company, minus Dinendal, meets with Khair in Westgate to obtain information on the ship where Janatha is reportedly being held; the four adventurers go to the Shore district and take the ‘Black Dragon’ by storm at the dock, although Rahnee and Dermot are severely wounded in the fight; Shanni Krowe is rescued from the ship’s hold, with Janatha nowhere to be found.
25 – Aerikoth is interviewed about the burning down of the Gatereach guest house by Watch Commander Meynn; raid on the Astorians’ house near the Rising Raven.
26 – Rahnee departs for Waterdeep with her wizard brother Madrigal; Dinendal sets out for Cormyr; the remainder of the party takes passage on the Sea Sprite for Starmantle; they discover Errend the stowaway on board and pay for his passage; arrival at Starmantle.
27 – Cryptic note left under Shanni’s door at the Vulture’s Roost in Starmantle; Interview with half-orc thug Barzog at the jailhouse; encounters with Helten at the Muddy Ogre and Helga at the Rusty Cutlass, leading to Darrow proposing a pit fight the following eve to resolve their situations.
28 – Darrow’s fight night at the Rusty Cutlass.
29 – Barzog is released into the care of the company; Rahnee rejoins the party at the Vulture’s Roost; Embarkation on the slaver ship ‘The Blind Man’.
30 – Arrival at Slaver Isle; Tuli the vampire is encountered in a cavern beneath the island’s underground stream; Kain Graves joins the party; they defeat the slavers, leaving only Pincer and Red Ortho alive.
Ches (3rd month), 1373
1 – ‘The Blind Man’ departs the slaver isle and arrives at Westgate; Rahnee slays Tuli en route; Red Ortho is killed by something in Westgate harbor while trying to escape; Kain Graves disappears from the ship after finding a scroll.
2 – Clandestine meeting with Losifan Urdo at the Gatereach Inn; encounter with hill giants on Traders Road.
3 – Exploration of the forest around the Astorians’ lair; Dermot tracks a white stag; assault on the lair and Janatha’s rescue.
4 – Janatha is returned to Queron Ulanthar in Teziir.
5 – Astorians headquarters is assaulted by the party, with only one member of the guild believed to have escaped. A ciphered ledger found in the headquarters is given by the party to Queron.
End of Part II of the Campaign Chronicles
Part I of the Campaign Chronicles
Eleint (9th month), 1372
10 – A group of adventurers, calling themselves the “Six Points Adventuring Company”, agree to take an assignment for Baron Pahar to guard Amee Pass. It consists of: Aerikoth Ankharat, Reijn d’Auric, Gumble, Flavius Arcus, Durendin Ironhelm and Drakar Hutark.
They discover Pahar’s forces destroyed and the Pass overrun. The company decides to press forward, defeating Sess goblin tribe forces in the pass.
The Company arrives at a darkened forest, where it defeats a group of undead servitors. They descend into an underground ruin, where they defeat the necromancer Zagath. Pahar’s baronial guard and the High Cleric Carlin arrive and guide them back to Westgate.
Marpenoth (10th month), 1372
17 – Reijn d’Auric leaves the company; Jamorin Gellantara joins the company; first encounter with Melissa and her bandits.
19 – Encounter with Sess goblin chief Harakkah in Amee Pass; truce offer made by chief to Baron Pahar.
21 – Company acquires lodging at the Gatereach Inn and meets Jandrico Swift; first meeting with Thessar the Warrior; introduction of Rahnee Roaringhorn; departure of Drakar and Flavius from the company.
23 – Company parleys with goblin chief Harakkah in Amee Pass.
25 – First meeting with Jamal; introduction of Brok-Tul; company agrees to assist Pahar against an invasion by the self-styled “Duke” Hallton; first encounter with Gondeth the wizard.
29 – Durendin leaves the company.
30 – Gumble leaves the company; meeting with Iono, Castle Thalavar steward; assignment of Thalavar guards to accompany the adventurers to Glees village in Pahar’s barony; introduction of Aratae.
Uktar (11th month), 1372
1 – Battle with Hallton forces in the Glees fields.
2 – Company ambushes Hallton camp and is repelled; death of Jamorin and Brok-Tul; Hallton forces defeated at Glees; Brok-Tul raised by High Cleric Carlin.
3 – Baron Pahar rewards company for their actions at Glees.
4 – Aratae departs the company for his home village of Tallwell.
5 – Meeting with Iono regarding the Fire Knives threat to House Thalavar and the murder of Captain Yar; introduction of Jokull of Arabel and Marik Tann; Gatereach guest house leased by the company.
6 – Janatha first encountered at the Gatereach Inn; Jamorin’s ancient tome passed to Gondeth for study.
7 – Meeting with Westgate merchant Shalush Myrkeer; Bedine mercenary Khair first encountered at the Black Eye tavern; meeting with Jamal at the Empty Fish tavern; Sewers explored for clues to Captain Yar’s death.
8 – Blue Banner Inn, the headquarters of House Bleth, scouted by Aerikoth, Marik and Jokull.
9 – Rahnee’s dinner at the Blue Banner with Westgate merchant Shalush Myrkeer.
10 – Scouting of Cormaeril Vale; first visit to the Quivering Thumb arena; Senthur Signe, Sembian representative to Westgate, is murdered.
11 – Rahnee’s meeting with Bleth Seneschal Hull at the Blue Banner.
13 – Aerikoth’s test with House Bleth; night encounter with Istvan Cormaeril.
14 – Meeting with Jamal at the Rising Raven Annex; introduction of her to Marik.
15 – First meeting with Garis, a House Thalavar agent, at the Old Beard inn.
16 – Interview with Commander Meynn of the City Watch regarding the death of Senthur Signe.
18 – Meeting at Gondeth’s regarding the contents of Jamorin’s tome, with Jamal present.
19 – First expedition to the Seven Hills area outside of Westgate.
20 – Jokull (as “Josurr”) has his first fight at the Quivering Thumb arena, against a snow cat.
21 – Company accepts evil magic items from House Thalavar for transport to Baron Pahar in Turnton.
23 – Company registers with Varen Malavahn at the Mercenaries Guild, using the name “Helm’s Shadows”
24 – Encounter with the fugitive Klendt at the abandoned watchtower; Marik is killed by Night Mask agents during battle.
25 – After purchase of a magical scroll, Marik is raised by Brok-Tul.
26 – Marik robs the company and flees Westgate; Veran Bron, monk of Kelemvor, introduced to the company by Garis at the Old Beard.
28 – Company travels to Amee Pass, has an encounter under truce with fleeing Sess goblins.
30 – Jokull (as “Josurr”) defeats the Sembian Blademaster in a duel at the Quivering Thumb; he then kills five thugs in an ambush at a River Gate sewer entrance and finds an IOU on one of them from a “Rancel”.
Nightal (l2th month), 1372
1 – Company confronts the gnome Rancel at the “Black Boot” in River Gate.
2 – Encounter with Hill Giant and wolf companion in hills south of Trader’s Road, fulfilling a Mercenaries Guild contract; first meeting with The Vulture at the Gatereach guest house.
3 – Rahnee, Brok-Tul and Jokull discover the burnt-out “Hidden House”, formerly a temple to Leira.
4 – Boarded “Mermaid’s Lance” bound for Urdo island, as part of a Mercenaries Guild contract; introduction of Velduin Leafwalker; encounter with Gonzo, a young adult red dragon/weregnome.
5 – Company departs Urdo island, ship attacked by Gonzo.
7 – Meeting at Gondeth’s about the Red Wizard in Westgate.
8 – Velduin leaves the company.
10 – Members of the company, joined for one day by questing paladin Fuke Strongheart, find a lost chamber of the lich Ashnakzeroth buried in the Seven Hills; Jokull (as “Josurr”) defeats barbarian warrior Ru’allah in the Quivering Thumb arena.
11 – Company revisits Ashnakzeroth’s chamber, this time with Aerikoth.
13 – Thessar rescues Brok-Tul from a brawl at Lilda’s Festhall.
14 – Company defeats a group of pirates holed up east of Westgate, for a Mercenaries Guild contract; discovers that the Hidden House has been purchased by Seriawan of Teziir.
15 – Rahnee proposes to Brok-Tul.
16 – Company returns to the eastern coastal area, discovering that the empty pirate ship previously there is now gone.
20 – Jokull (as “Josurr”) kills Gagh the half-orc champion in the Quivering Thumb arena.
21 – Thessar meets with Rahnee, Brok-Tul, Jokull and Veran to tell them how to find Clan Ironhelm in the Giant’s Run Mountains. Aerikoth remains behind in Westgate.
22 – The four companions arrive in Reddansyr, meet Ian Gryphonhawk.
23 – The four arrive in Mountaingate and meet the inn proprietor, Allie; they gain an audience with Clan Ironhelm.
26 – Results of Gondeth’s research on Ashnakzeroth shared; the company, with the exception of Jokull, journeys to Turnton.
27 – Company explores Amee Pass, encountering a Sess goblin scout.
28 – Company arrives in the Darkened Forest, finding the entrance to Zagath’s underground lair sealed; Jokull rejoins the group in Turnton.
29 – Encounter with Melissa and her summoned skeletal warriors; Melissa and Veran are slain in battle; Veran is raised by High Cleric Carlin in Turnton.
30 – Melissa is raised by Carlin; Company returns to the Gatereach in Westgate and renews their lease on the guest house.
Hammer (1st month), 1373
1 – Company departs for Teziir with Janatha; encounters Losifan Urdo’s group at Reddansyr crossroads.
2 – Company arrives in Teziir, is given tour of the city by Janatha. First meeting with Teziir Council Member Queron Ulanthar, Janatha’s father.
3 – Meeting with Thyxlys Jon, Grand Cleric of the Temple of Helm; candidates for Westgate Croamarkh are publicly announced: Audara Imryth, Lord Scirkas Urdo and Lord Kargerth Cormaeril.
4 – Company volunteers to assist a caravan attacked by bandits; the Lady Marise is rescued.
5 – Company visits the Sailor’s Fancy tavern, hoping to attract the attention of an agent of the Diviner.
6 – Meeting with the Diviner Isyio in the Temple of Azuth in Teziir.
7 – Encounter with Marise and Seriawan.
8 – First meeting with new cook and helper Goruna at the Gatereach.
9 – Aerikoth, remaining in Westgate, discovers the Red Wizard is working for House Cormaeril; the others interview Melissa in Turnton.
10 – Jokull defeats an owlbear in the Quivering Thumb arena; Dwyvar Ironhelm arrives with a message from his clan regarding Ashnakzeroth and presents the company with a gift.
11 – Jokull departs the company, pursuing Wielund Cormaeril to Marsember in Cormyr; Belle introduced to the company, arriving with a package for Veran from the temple of Oghma in Reddansyr.
13 – Meeting with Melissa in Turnton; she joins the company in order to guide them to one of Ashnakzeroth’s towers.
15 – Battle with manticores at Reddan River bridge; battle with guardians inside Ashnakzeroth’s tower; company finds cold magic gem.
16 – Aerikoth determines gem is an unusual version of a lich’s phylactery and the company seizes it; activation of portal in tower using blood magic; death of Rahnee and Veran in battle with Ashnakzeroth at his citadel; the company enters a portal to the citadel of Clan Ironhelm, where High Priest Iskar raises Rahnee and Veran.
End of Part I of the Campaign Chronicles
