Goodman Games

Hey, I started a campaign on Áereth some time ago and would like to tell you about the ongoing exploits of my gaming group.

SPOILER WARNING: in the course of this "blog" I will likely reveal some of the plots of the modules I am using. So, keep this in mind if you are a gamemaster and want to use these modules with your players.

It all started as a campaign on Oerth (World of Greyhawk) since the Áereth campaign setting wasn't available at that point. So I had the players create characters for a different setting--but were already planning to transfer them to Áereth in due time.

The Protagonists:

TUSK BERINGOR - a NG male human ranger from the lands of Verbobonc
NIENNA MENELDUR - a NG female elf sorcerer from Celene (an elven realm on Oerth)
JOLEE ROMANO - a CN male human rogue of Rhennee origin
SINK & SHAMIL - gnome siblings (male and female); he is a CG fighter and she is a N druid
BEARN - a CG male human cleric of Pelor from the lands of Veluna

Using DCC#2 (Lost Vault of Tsathzar Rho) and placing the town of Hadler's Gap near the Lortmil Mountains/Kron Hills, I had Tusk being on the payroll of the Vicomte of Verbobonc. As one of the Vicomte's rangers it was his mission to investigate the disappearance of some folk in the area, most notably a cleric. On the way to Hadler's Gap he met with Nienna who just came from the elven realm of Celene further south. In the vicinity of the town they met with Jolee and the gnome siblings which were looking for a place to spend the night.
Arriving in town Tusk set about to investigate the rumors he'd heard. Villagers told him about strange happenings in the area--sheep disappearing, attacks from kobolds on outlying farms, and the sighting of a hulking ogre.
Ever the duty-bound ranger that he is Tusk started looking for tracks early the other day. Having nothing better to do the other characters followed him. Coming across a deserted farm house they managed to track ogre and kobold prints back to a rocky cliff face and a cave entrance. Knowing that an ogre can be a serious match for a group of 1st level characters they scouted the area and tried to use the terrain and surprise to their advantage. In the end they botched some rolls and the ogre heard them. A desperate fight ensued in front of the cave entrance which the party survived by sheer luck and a little bit of fudging on my part (didn’t want to kill off half the party on their first encounter).
After searching the ogre they investigated the cave and found a large band of kobolds inhabiting the place. All of them carried a strange and crude golden amulet of sorts around their necks, showing a three-fingered claw. Not knowing what to make of it they suspected (rightly so) that a far more sinister force could be behind the kobolds. After exploring the caves and delving deeper into its depths (with Sink the gnome nearly drowning in the underground river when he refused to let go of his steel shield) they finally reached the large underground pool where they ran into a larger force of kobolds and their magic-wielding leader. Defeating them in a rather tricky fight the party stupidly set up camp on the shore of the pool... without exploring the surrounding caves. Okay, they were exhausted and had used up most of their spells and supplies—but it was rather foolish. While most of the party was asleep they were ambushed by a duergar and some more kobolds. I choose to have them captured instead of slain (which also made sense in the context of what was going on in the dungeon). When the party came to they realized that Sink and Shamil, the gnome siblings, were missing and a new guy was with them: Bearn the cleric, one of the missing folks.
After freeing themselves (credits to Jolee the Rogue) they managed to regain their equipment and take the fight back to the remaining kobolds and their duergar master (much to the resentment of the kobolds). With an incredible display of sheer blind dice-rolling luck they actually defeated a large band of armored kobolds (I did not fudge any more rolls on my behalf) and finally reached a strange unnatural dungeon within the cave complex. Here they found even stranger kobolds (half mutated) as well as a temple of sorts to some unknown deities (actually they were Gods of Áereth). But the sinister force which had changed the kobolds also had it’s effect on the characters who were hallucinating strange and often gruesome things. Exploring the dungeon further they realised that all the books and wall markings were in an unknown language. It got even stranger: in a deeper dungeon level they came across mutated half-kobolds which had breath weapons and found rooms which literally pulsated with otherworldly magics. In one of them they found some sort of "mutant breeding farm" - large tree-like trunks with soft pods on them. They cut down the pods and found "things" in them... among them their lost comrades Sink and Shamil, half-mutated. Disgusted and horrified they took pity in them and ended their unnatural half-life (nb: the players of Sink and Shamil left the gaming group at an earlier point so I decided to make them "appear" this one last time, heh heh). After overcoming a magical teleport trap they reached the „inner sanctum“ and confronted a weird demonic being in it’s own strange dimension – a reincarnated mage from ancient times. Since the being wasn’t at full strength they managed to severely wound it. When it fled they pursued it and tried to finish it off. With a last display of power the being activated a magic item and a dimensional vortex swept the characters off their feet—and into a new world: Áereth.

(to be continued)

awesome!!!!! looking forwardto reading more.

When the vortex literally pulled the floor out from under them, the party had the sensation of falling. Falling into darkness. Then the fall ended - the party splashed into a large underground lake. Panic gripping them they tried to break the surface again. Much to their relief they were near a rocky shore and clambered onto solid land.
After Nienna provided magical light they stared in disbelieve: this was not the pool they already knew. It was a much, much larger lake - stretching into the unknown darkness. After witnessing "something massive" breaking the surface and disappearing again underneath the cold, dark water they started exploring the shore and the rest of the huge cave.
Cold and wet they stumbled along and soon found that the cave stretched in many different directions. They opted for a smaller tunnel and came across some rather large fungi. At one point they had the impression that some of the fungus did move... so they sped up. Finally they reached an artificial tunnel that was breaking off from the natural formations. Continuing down this corridor they approached a metal gate that once barred further progress. But now it was rusted and useless. They battered it down and came into another dungeon - long since forgotten: there were cobwebs and dust everywhere. Exploring further they found a staircase that went a long way up. There were more ruins and finally - after reaching a "dead end" - they discovered an ancient secret door that they had to shove open to continue. The secret door connected with a tomb, from which they took a small chest they found in an alcove. All over the archways and doors they could make out more runes and letters in a language none of them could read - but it seemed that they shared some semblance with the written texts they had found in the Vault of Tsathzar Rho.
Another tunnel lead away from the tomb and they followed it for a long way. The tunnel became more and more earthen (packed earth) with the stones receding and ended at some sort of reinforced wooden hatch - totally overgrown with moss and roots sticking out of the walls and ceiling. After forcing it open (which took considerable effort) they finally came into the open - and smelled fresh, cool night air.

(It should be noted that there was not a single combat encounter but it was funny watching the players who expected "something" to pop up at any minute while exploring the strange cave and upper ruins, heh.)

They stood on a hill sloping downward in front of them. Behind them were large and old trees (the hatch was hidden within a hollow under one of the trees), before them was a meadow thick with fog. Whether it was close to morning or just after nightfall none could tell. After catching some breath and then trying to climb one of the trees to get a better look around they suddenly saw movement in the fog. A humanoid figure in a long, hooded cape appeared some 40 or 50 feet away. They couldn't make out any features. The figure stopped and reached down to put something on the ground, then turned and disappeared in the fog again. The party was way to confused and thought it best not to follow the figure. Their attempts at communicating with it (two characters called out to the figure) were fruitless.
Carefully they approached the spot where the figure had put something down and found a small, simple wooden box. Checking it for traps (there were none) they opened it at last. It contained three like amulets: a simple flat wooden disk (the size of a coin) on a leather band. On the wooden disk was a single rune-like sign. Not knowing what to make of all of this they took the amulets and continued through the fog, going further downhill.
When the sun slowly rose they realised it was early morning.

(to be continued)

Argamae wrote:The tunnel became more and more earthen (packed earth) with the stones receding and ended at some sort of reinforced wooden hatch - totally overgrown with moss and roots sticking out of the walls and ceiling. After forcing it open (which took considerable effort) they finally came into the open - and smelled fresh, cool night air.

This sounds like an awesome adventure. I envy your players and look forward to reading more.

Also, it was fun trying to translate the Deutsch on your forums. It's cool that you can get DCCs in Germany. But how the devil have you been a fanboy since 1983??!!

Save Vs. Death Ray wrote:This sounds like an awesome adventure. I envy your players and look forward to reading more.

Also, it was fun trying to translate the Deutsch on your forums. It's cool that you can get DCCs in Germany. But how the devil have you been a fanboy since 1983??!!

Why, thank you! I will continue the "story" shortly. As for the "fanboy since 1983"... well... *grin*... it's actually a sort of hidden homage to Classic D&D (the red boxed set). It was the year I bought my copy and --BAZANG!-- my life was forever changed! And since Goodman Games lets me "re-enact" that wonderful and mystery-filled time I made up this signature! Or let's put it this way: Goodman Games = fun & excitement I last had with Classic D&D in 1983!

Speaking of 1983... one of the DCC artists signs his art with 1980's dates, just for kicks. So far nobody has ever pointed it out to me, so I don't think anybody but he and I have noticed!

Actually, I did notice on one or two occasions, but thought nothing of it... in the back of my mind there must have been this little voice saying "well, that's cool, they actually use 20 year old art!" ...

I did notice that you have more than one "old school" D&D artist or writer popping up (in name only) as an NPC or similar name in some DCCs.

Let's continue the exploits of my "outsider" group.

After they descended the slope, leaving the hills behind them, they came across a small brook. Tusk, the ranger, noticed that a lot of sheep or something similar must have come to the brook to drink - he found their tracks. Some way further up the brook the party crossed the water and found a marker stone with a runic inscription none of them where familiar with. They found some more tracks - human tracks this time. While the light of dawn slowly illuminated the countryside around them and drove off some of the mist they made out a pillar of smoke in the distance.
Still unsure concering their whereabouts they approached the smoke.

Shortly the arrived at a well-travelled trail and noticed a sign post, pointing the way toward Fair Weather (the reason they could read the language was due to the amulets they had put on). But at the same time they noticed that the smoke was from burning buildings - Fair Weather seemed to be in peril!
Entering the small hamlet the party came across defiled fields, destroyed farming equipment and torched cottages. Investigating further they found some corpses, but not many. Nowhere near as many as they had expected. Among them where not just villagers but also 2 black-clad soldier types... maybe mercenaries.
While they were searching the town barn 2 villagers approached them warily. Again the party noticed that they were able to understand them - at least those party members did which had put on the strange amulets. The villagers explained that the were a peaceful farming commune led by a druid named Thistle. The druid had sensed danger approaching and sent most of the villagers away to get help from surrounding settlements. A small few brave ones had stayed behind and were interrogated by the mercenaries. The black-clad soldiers seemed to be looking for something in particular... but when they were unable to locate the item they moved on, leaving behind two guards. Suddenly something--a large rat of sorts--attacked the mercenary guards and took Thistle with it to a tunnel system beneath the hamlet. Requesting the party's aid in locating and possibly rescuing Thistle, the villagers provided them with some healing aid and equipment and the party set off into the dark, damp tunnels the entrance to which lay open within the barn.

(to be continued)

Entering the tunnels--which proved to be a little bit more complicated than the party thought--they found a third corpse: one more raider. Unfortunately the party didn't search the body so they missed out the "vial of silver sheen". Pressing on they found themselves in a tunnel system made by claws... rat claws. It didn't take long before they ran into their first fight against dire rats. The critters nearly proved to be the party's undoing because they used the confined spaces to their advantage. Severely wounded, the party continued on. Eventually they found a wounded badger which snarled at them but was unable to move or fight. It seemed that the animal killed off some dire rats so the party advanced carefully. With a little "animal understanding" from Tusk the ranger they calmed the hurt animal, tended its wounds and took it with them.
They took the badger to the surface before returning to the tunnels to explore the last passage. And then they found the source of the menace - Blood Whisker, the were-rat!
The ensueing fight was hard and gritty. The party took a severe beating, having no silver weapons or sufficient magic to wound the fell beast: they somehow managed to overlook every single means to acquire "vials of silver sheen" (of which there were three to be found) or a magic weapon. So when it looked as if the party would lose they discovered the kidnapped druid Thistle within a hollow filled with (normal) rats. After freeing him, Blood Whisker fled the tunnel system before he could be brought down... it seemed that he somehow feared the druid and his powers. How could the druid survive in a hole filled to the top with rats you ask? Well, it was no human druid. But a thornblood druid. This race of humanoid plant-creatures possesses amazing regenerative qualities... and having no flesh the rats could devour helped, too!
Even stranger was the fact that the rats of this cave depression kept on coming and coming. It was due to a strange bag the party found at the bottom - a magical item similar to a bag of holding. Only this bag opened onto the plane of vermin and spewed forth rats as soon as someone opens it. A curioso item the party took with them (and so far didn't put to any use, mind you! Man, I could think of so many cool ideas to exploit its powers...).
Returning to Fair Weather, the druid explained to them that Blood Whisker was once a member of the farming commune. He dabbled in dark secrets and finally was expelled from the town. It seemed as if the dark mercenaries provided just the necessary weakening of the town for Blood Whisker to strike and plan his revenge on Thistle.
When Thistle discovered that the party also rescued his animal companion "Snarl" the badger he showed his respect to the party by letting them in to a long kept secret...

This secret was a magical sphere known as The Eye Of Darkness. Thistle had been safekeeping it for many, many years - always knowing that he was just a sort of caretaker for the item, and never its owner. The reason the mercenaries did not find it was that he kept it hidden WITHIN himself. Opening his leafy "ribcage" he produced a fist-sized opaque stone. He bestowed the item on the characters saying that it was the time for him to let go of it. Bearn, the cleric, took it for on the party's behalf.
Thistle explained to them that the Eye Of Darkness can produce three magical effects - shedding magical light, releasing a bright beam and flashing enemies to temporarily blinding them. Further powers may lurk within it since he is sure that some deeper, more sinister function is connected to it, or else those mercenaries would not be on the lookout for it.
(Up to this point I used the "DCC#14 Dungeon Interludes" adventure #1)

Recovering from the fight with Blood Whisker and helping to rebuild the commune of Fair Weather most of the villagers returned. One brought with him a knight which happened to pass through the neighboring town Taggert's End. His name was Sir Rowan Loncour, and he was a Knight of the Lance.
The party approached the knight and he became very interested in their story about "different dimensions" and "other worlds", although he couldn't make much sense of it. He offered them to accompany him on a small mission to the southern coastal village of Lower Innis, a few days' travel from Fair Weather. He had to collect a personal item for a member of the Order of the Lance. On the way he promised the party to explain to them a little bit about the world of Áereth.

And so the party set off. They learned something about the lands they had "fallen into", namely the Theocracy of the Lance. And Sir Rowan described to them at length the gods and religion dear to him. Also, the party found out that he was a rather young knight who obviously hadn't been sent on many very important missions. The current undertaking of "collecting a personal item", as Sir Rowan explained, was a personal favour to his elder master which had recently passed away and in his final years always sought reunion with his brother who lived on the coast.
The journey was a pleasant one, although Jolee the rogue didn't particularly liked Sir Rowan...

(to be continued)