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<blockquote data-quote="mikeawmids1" data-source="post: 8334337" data-attributes="member: 7030604"><p><u>Season One / Session Four</u></p><p></p><p>The Heroes have accepted a perilous quest to destroy the sentient skull of a savage warlord, to prevent a zealous necromancer from returning the Orking to life. To do so, they must deliver the accursed relic to the gold dragon Tyrsientom on Seasend Isle, beyond the wave-tossed waters of the Stormwrack Gulf. Betwixt Isteaning and the ocean lies the cursed kingdom of Keria.</p><p></p><p>Darvin is troubled. He would sooner walk into fire than cross the borders of that haunted land, but what other choice is there? The dwarves have dammed the river north of Knightsbridge and turn away travellers seeking to cross their mountain. To the south, the Brine Lords continue their ceaseless bickering over the pirate islands and sink any ship flying an unfamiliar flag. The fellowship must travel with haste, to outrun Ezeke’s misguided sister and whatever horrors she has dredged from the grave. No, the only way forward is to cross the cursed lands as quickly as possible and pray their trespass goes unnoticed.</p><p></p><p>Sir Basil Fondlewood and a small retinue of his best men will accompany the Heroes on their quest to destroy the skull. Strength in numbers and all that. Sir Henry grinds his teeth as his rival starts issuing orders. The two knights argue over who is in command of the expedition, as neither man is prepared to take instruction from the other.</p><p></p><p>The party leaves Knightsbridge and travels north-west toward Keria. Steeling their resolve, they cross into the blighted landscape beyond the border. Dark clouds roil across the bruised sky and a constant, stinging rain saturates the barren earth. Almost immediately, Darvin begins to hear ghostly voices on the wind. Endon extends his Divine Sense and determines that - in addition to the cursed skull rattling around inside his cookpot - there are definitely ghosts about. Darvin grows increasingly agitated as the voices torment him, crying out in response to accusations only he can hear. Sir Basil’s men exchange worried glances; the situation is bad enough already without their wizard going mental.</p><p></p><p>Darkness falls over Keria like a funerary shroud and the party make camp. Ezeke casts Protection from Evil to give Darvin some respite from the horrors that assail him. The wizard slips into a feverish slumber and dreams about the Siege of Kerr, when he and his squad slipped into the city to assassinate the foul hag with whom King Kazemar had forged a desperate, last-ditch alliance. The outcome of the King’s pact was the transformation of every last citizen of Kerr into gibbering mouthers! Of his entire squad, only Darvin made it out of the city alive and his survival has been as a festering splinter of guilt, slowly poisoning his mind ever since.</p><p></p><p>Darvin bolts upright, his garments sodden with cold sweat. The camp is surrounded by spectral figures, garbed in the uniform of the Isteanese military. Darvin recognises the faces of his old squad. The ghosts curse Darvin for abandoning them and demand that he releases their souls from the hag’s black heartstone in Kerr Castle.</p><p></p><p>Darvin releases a long sigh and accepts his fate, even if it means his own death. He will leave the fellowship and seek absolution in the cursed city. The ghostly figures salute their former comrade and fade away. To Darvin’s surprise, Sir Henry and the other Heroes all stand with him. They will not let him go alone. Sir Basil is outraged and demands Endon hand over the relic, so that he can complete the quest. Ezeke squares off against the foppish knight and Sir Basil stands down. He and his men will ride ahead to Whalewater Landing and secure a vessel to carry the party across the Stormwrack Gulf.</p><p></p><p>The Heroes approach the necropolis of Kerr. The main gate gapes open invitingly, but the drawbridge has collapsed into the stinking, sewage-clogged moat. Sir Henry attempts to leap the gap, but a barbed tentacle snatches him out of the air! A ravenous otyugh rises from the crusty muck beneath the drawbridge! The heroes defeat the monster and enter the cursed city.</p><p></p><p>The Heroes pass along empty streets. The only sign of life is the constant babble of incoherent voices. A manic laugh sounds from an adjacent street, answered by a baby’s gurgling cry. Darvin shudders. He knows these unsettling sounds are formed by no human mouth. The Heroes enter an open courtyard cluttered by the tattered remnants of abandoned market stalls. A bronze statue of the Kerian lion gazes down at them imperiously from atop its stony plinth. Suddenly, the sound of senseless jabbering grows louder and a dozen gibbering mouthers surround the party, emerging from drains and abandoned buildings around the square. There are already too many to fight and more arrive every moment! Resisting the maddening wails, the Heroes break through and seek refuge in Kerr Castle.</p><p></p><p>The throne room is dimly illuminated by braziers that flicker with sinister purple flames. King Kazemar sits upon his throne, attended by a beautiful elven maid. Darvin is not fooled for a moment and demands the hag abandon her false face. Neia Blackblood, the Hag Queen of Keria assumes her true form and attacks!</p><p></p><p>King Kazemar rises from his throne, leaving a sticky residue clinging to the armrests. Sir Henry notices a slimy tether connecting the King to a large, quivering blob lurking in the darkness behind the throne. Kazemar raises his hand against the Isteanese knight and his arm transforms into a slimy tentacle that Sir Henry bats away in disgust. Meanwhile, Endon and Poddlebrim close in on the hag queen. She defends herself with a cursed dagger that steals away the life of those whose blood it tastes. Darvin hurls a firebolt at the ooze behind the throne. The ooze spawns several baby slimes to defend it from further harm. Neia Blackblood brandishes her cursed blade and cuts open a tear in the space-time continuum! Poddlebrim is incapacitated by the frigid chill emanating from the starry rift! Endon slashes his blade across the hag’s shins and pushes her through the tear! With a howl of frustration, Neia Blackblood is swallowed by the rift! With the hag gone, her connection to the ooze-king is severed and the gelatinous monarch collapses in on itself “like a bag of naughty word".</p><p></p><p>In the centre of the slimy puddle left by the former King of Keria lies the hag’s heartstone. Darvin crushes the black crystal underfoot, releasing the souls trapped within. The ghosts of his squad reappear and thank him for setting them free. The spirits coalesce into a small, ephemeral pearl that floats down into Darvin’s palm. For the first time in two years, Darvin Buckwild feels at peace with himself.</p><p></p><p><em>(Note: Darvin receives a Pearl of Power, allowing him to regain the use of a 2nd level spell slot. The party could also have claimed the hag’s dagger, which was a Nine Lives Stealer, but they opted instead to toss the evil weapon through the rift after its previous owner.)</em></p><p></p><p><strong>TBC</strong></p><p></p><p><em>(Note: Everyone advances to level 4!)</em></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="mikeawmids1, post: 8334337, member: 7030604"] [U]Season One / Session Four[/U] The Heroes have accepted a perilous quest to destroy the sentient skull of a savage warlord, to prevent a zealous necromancer from returning the Orking to life. To do so, they must deliver the accursed relic to the gold dragon Tyrsientom on Seasend Isle, beyond the wave-tossed waters of the Stormwrack Gulf. Betwixt Isteaning and the ocean lies the cursed kingdom of Keria. Darvin is troubled. He would sooner walk into fire than cross the borders of that haunted land, but what other choice is there? The dwarves have dammed the river north of Knightsbridge and turn away travellers seeking to cross their mountain. To the south, the Brine Lords continue their ceaseless bickering over the pirate islands and sink any ship flying an unfamiliar flag. The fellowship must travel with haste, to outrun Ezeke’s misguided sister and whatever horrors she has dredged from the grave. No, the only way forward is to cross the cursed lands as quickly as possible and pray their trespass goes unnoticed. Sir Basil Fondlewood and a small retinue of his best men will accompany the Heroes on their quest to destroy the skull. Strength in numbers and all that. Sir Henry grinds his teeth as his rival starts issuing orders. The two knights argue over who is in command of the expedition, as neither man is prepared to take instruction from the other. The party leaves Knightsbridge and travels north-west toward Keria. Steeling their resolve, they cross into the blighted landscape beyond the border. Dark clouds roil across the bruised sky and a constant, stinging rain saturates the barren earth. Almost immediately, Darvin begins to hear ghostly voices on the wind. Endon extends his Divine Sense and determines that - in addition to the cursed skull rattling around inside his cookpot - there are definitely ghosts about. Darvin grows increasingly agitated as the voices torment him, crying out in response to accusations only he can hear. Sir Basil’s men exchange worried glances; the situation is bad enough already without their wizard going mental. Darkness falls over Keria like a funerary shroud and the party make camp. Ezeke casts Protection from Evil to give Darvin some respite from the horrors that assail him. The wizard slips into a feverish slumber and dreams about the Siege of Kerr, when he and his squad slipped into the city to assassinate the foul hag with whom King Kazemar had forged a desperate, last-ditch alliance. The outcome of the King’s pact was the transformation of every last citizen of Kerr into gibbering mouthers! Of his entire squad, only Darvin made it out of the city alive and his survival has been as a festering splinter of guilt, slowly poisoning his mind ever since. Darvin bolts upright, his garments sodden with cold sweat. The camp is surrounded by spectral figures, garbed in the uniform of the Isteanese military. Darvin recognises the faces of his old squad. The ghosts curse Darvin for abandoning them and demand that he releases their souls from the hag’s black heartstone in Kerr Castle. Darvin releases a long sigh and accepts his fate, even if it means his own death. He will leave the fellowship and seek absolution in the cursed city. The ghostly figures salute their former comrade and fade away. To Darvin’s surprise, Sir Henry and the other Heroes all stand with him. They will not let him go alone. Sir Basil is outraged and demands Endon hand over the relic, so that he can complete the quest. Ezeke squares off against the foppish knight and Sir Basil stands down. He and his men will ride ahead to Whalewater Landing and secure a vessel to carry the party across the Stormwrack Gulf. The Heroes approach the necropolis of Kerr. The main gate gapes open invitingly, but the drawbridge has collapsed into the stinking, sewage-clogged moat. Sir Henry attempts to leap the gap, but a barbed tentacle snatches him out of the air! A ravenous otyugh rises from the crusty muck beneath the drawbridge! The heroes defeat the monster and enter the cursed city. The Heroes pass along empty streets. The only sign of life is the constant babble of incoherent voices. A manic laugh sounds from an adjacent street, answered by a baby’s gurgling cry. Darvin shudders. He knows these unsettling sounds are formed by no human mouth. The Heroes enter an open courtyard cluttered by the tattered remnants of abandoned market stalls. A bronze statue of the Kerian lion gazes down at them imperiously from atop its stony plinth. Suddenly, the sound of senseless jabbering grows louder and a dozen gibbering mouthers surround the party, emerging from drains and abandoned buildings around the square. There are already too many to fight and more arrive every moment! Resisting the maddening wails, the Heroes break through and seek refuge in Kerr Castle. The throne room is dimly illuminated by braziers that flicker with sinister purple flames. King Kazemar sits upon his throne, attended by a beautiful elven maid. Darvin is not fooled for a moment and demands the hag abandon her false face. Neia Blackblood, the Hag Queen of Keria assumes her true form and attacks! King Kazemar rises from his throne, leaving a sticky residue clinging to the armrests. Sir Henry notices a slimy tether connecting the King to a large, quivering blob lurking in the darkness behind the throne. Kazemar raises his hand against the Isteanese knight and his arm transforms into a slimy tentacle that Sir Henry bats away in disgust. Meanwhile, Endon and Poddlebrim close in on the hag queen. She defends herself with a cursed dagger that steals away the life of those whose blood it tastes. Darvin hurls a firebolt at the ooze behind the throne. The ooze spawns several baby slimes to defend it from further harm. Neia Blackblood brandishes her cursed blade and cuts open a tear in the space-time continuum! Poddlebrim is incapacitated by the frigid chill emanating from the starry rift! Endon slashes his blade across the hag’s shins and pushes her through the tear! With a howl of frustration, Neia Blackblood is swallowed by the rift! With the hag gone, her connection to the ooze-king is severed and the gelatinous monarch collapses in on itself “like a bag of naughty word". In the centre of the slimy puddle left by the former King of Keria lies the hag’s heartstone. Darvin crushes the black crystal underfoot, releasing the souls trapped within. The ghosts of his squad reappear and thank him for setting them free. The spirits coalesce into a small, ephemeral pearl that floats down into Darvin’s palm. For the first time in two years, Darvin Buckwild feels at peace with himself. [I](Note: Darvin receives a Pearl of Power, allowing him to regain the use of a 2nd level spell slot. The party could also have claimed the hag’s dagger, which was a Nine Lives Stealer, but they opted instead to toss the evil weapon through the rift after its previous owner.)[/I] [B]TBC[/B] [I](Note: Everyone advances to level 4!)[/I] [/QUOTE]
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