PRYMPTOWN
COURIER
(Vol. 3,
No. 1 -- June 2000)
EDITORIAL
Three
months from now, the Living Greyhawk campaign debuts
at GEN CON 2000. It's a big event, much
anticipated by many
of us. I had initially planned to get
involved on the ground
floor, developing our local region, the Viscounty of Verbobonc. The trouble is that Verbobonc was already
done -- first
in the supermodule Fate of Istus (badly), and then better
online by Jeff McKillop. Now the
Verbobonc triad are
re-making it, but behind closed doors by themselves. There's
nothing there left to do.
But then
there's the South Province (or the Principality of Ahlissa,
as it's known later). Poorly detailed,
with little more than
paragraphs to go on, I've had a whole corner of a world to
build. Lately, I came to think that
maybe I could have both. Eventually, the RPGA would take an interest
in
Ahlissa,
and I'd be there with my own write-up for Ahlissa tailor-made
for them.
Then,
recently, I mentioned my plan to someone else from the Greytalk
listserv. He responded that he didn't
think Ahlissa would
ever get adopted to Living Greyhawk.
Kingdoms with evil
rulers just aren't getting touched by them.
I was a bit crestfallen. So far, I had done some good work on an
ancient history
for Ahlissa.
Luckily,
I've got my South Province campaign.
I'll keep up my work on
the setting, and it'll make my campaign that much richer. Neat how it works out that way...
NINETEENTH
SESSION
Continuing
Chapter Two: "Curse and
Siege."
Cast:
Enlock,
Neutral Good male Oerdian apprentice (1st level magic-user).
Barada,
Neutral male Flannish human mercenary (1st level fighter).
Alexander
Petrok, Lawful Neutral male Oerdian human templar
of Zilchus (1st level paladin variant).
Perpegilliam
Brown, (Chaotic) Neutral male Hairfoot Hobniz cutpurse
(3rd level thief).
Andel
Mooriv, Lawful Neutral male Oerdian acolyte (1st level
cleric of Pholtus).
Gabriel
Lanovastorm, Mentherim-Dwur ("Common Hill") veteran
(1st level fighter).
Vladamir
Kostitov, Lawful Good male Oerdian human minor trickster
and agent of Prymp's Laird (2nd level illusionist).
Hristo,
Neutral Good male Wesevud ("Central") Noniz ex-town
watchman and rogue (1st level fighter/1st level thief).
Setting: Prymp and Skull Keep, Ahlissan Coast, South Province.
Coldeven
15-16, 581 CY.
Vladamir
was training every night in his sleep, thanks to the
magic of
the Olven Countess, Shadella, though she
confessed
that it was through the power of a benefactor who
wished
to remain anonymous that Vlad and Alexander had
been
able to enter the Dream Garden. She said
that only
Noniz
had the ability to enter the Dream Garden otherwise.
Vlad
practiced casting his spells under different conditions,
such as
with different components and off of different
scrolls. Shadella critiqued his illusions, and asked
him to
pass
tests such as standing on top of a phantasmal shield.
It was
while looking for loose stones to pile under the shield
that he
met Pilf.
Pilf,
the green-hued Noniz whom Hristo had befriended in the
Garden
many years ago. Pilf told him that the
Dream Garden
was part
of a larger realm called the Dreamlands, and invited
Vlad to
explore it with him. In the Garden was a
little round
door in
the side of a hill. Following Pilf
inside, Vlad found
himself
inside a huge mansion. In one room, Pilf
pulled a
lever
which caused the whole room to slowly turn upside
down. Vlad beat a hasty retreat back into the
Garden.
During
the day, Vlad sleepily followed his companions as
they
descended once more into Skull Keep.
Confident that
the
first level had been cleared of monsters, they descended
right
away to level two to face off against the ghouls they
had left
down there last time. They found them
right where
they
left them, but this time they were ready for him. Alex
held
them at bay with his Aura of Protection, Andel caused
them to
turn and flee by invoking his god, Pholtus.
Then it
was just
a matter of picking them off one by one.
More
ghouls roamed this section of the dungeon, which were
catacombs,
but these two were slowly picked off.
Enlock and
Andel's
baptism against the undead left them not at all
concerned. And then there was the treasure! In some
sarcophagi,
they uncovered a glowing magical short sword!
It was
the first magical weapon they had found since Vlad's
magic
wand. It was suggested that Peri should
get it, but he
was
concerned that he wouldn't be able to hide in shadows
with a
glowing sword in hand, so he gave it to Hristo who
was glad
to have it.
In
another sarcophagus, they came across a dagger that rose
into the
air as it was touched. After a few
minutes of fighting
it,
everyone figured out that no one was holding the dagger.
Everyone
fled except for Andel, who was determined to
show the
others his mettle. After a lengthy
battle, Andel
knocked
the dagger out of the air with his mace and sent it
skidding
to the floor. Andel picked up the
dagger, which did
not
attack a second time, and claimed it as his trophy. No
one
disputed it.
It was
decided that the second level had also been cleared off,
and the
party headed towards the spiral staircase to reach the
third
dungeon level. The third level appeared
to be a system
of
caves, and two caves into their exploration they
encountered
some strange new monsters. They appeared
on
first
inspection to be Blu-Jebli, but during the battle they
changed
into hawk-like men. There were four of
them in all.
Enlock
and Vlad hurled Grease and Color Spray spells at them
which
only slowed the monsters down. It came
down to the
fighters
having to whittle away their opponents until three
were
dead and one fled.
With
several party members wounded and most of their spells
spent,
the band decided to rest. The party
adjourned to the
first
level to camp out in an empty room.
Unfortunately for
them,
the first level was now home to the gnolls they had
encountered
once before, and one of them rang a gong to
alert
his brethren as the party entered. The
first dungeon
level
was no longer safe, so they descened back to the
second
one.
In the
wizard's workshop, they found the ape they had left
in the
cage was dead. Andel bent a poker with
his bare
hands to
show off his prodigious strength again.
With
everyone
rested and healed, it was decided that they could
return
to the third level.
Back in
Prymp, Peri was training to advance in the
thiefly
arts. Picking his trainer's pocket
proved easy, and
Peri
smugly waved it in his face.
Unfortunately, the goal of
that
exercise had been to steal the key so that Tilwich didn't
know
when it was taken, and Peri had to wait half the day for
another
opportunity. On his second day of
training, he had
trouble
moving silently through a room full of obstacles. But
Peri
shone when it came to hiding in shadows and
backstabbing
a dummy. They hammered out techniques
for
six
days, dipping deeply into Peri's personal fortunes.
Luckily,
he had tricked Vlad earlier into giving him a loan
from the
party treasure in the pretext of being poor.
When it
was all
over, Peri earned the thieves' cant title of cutpurse.
Once
they were rested and healed, the party returned to the
third
level. They found the remaining hawk-man
hiding in his
cave. It silently (as they did not speak) offered
them its
treasure
chest for its life. It was a much
different, more
mature
party which had once plunged captive Jebli to their
deaths,
but this time let their captive go free.
Inside
the locked chest, they found a large quantity of
treasure. Moving on to the next cave, they could hear a
sound
like someone mumbling inside. When they
investigated,
a stalactite fell from the ceiling at them.
The
muttering,
jabbering "voice" came from the stalactite, and
as they
examined it, an eye on a stalk sprouted out of it.
Spooked,
the adventurers decided to retreat. They
had
retreated
to the first cave to plan what to do next, but they
did not
get the opportunity.
In
between sessions with his trainer, Peri had been seeking
information
about Prymp's old thieves' guild. What
few
thieves
remained in Prymp complained that the Band of the
Grinning
Gargoyle had been responsible for wiping out the
thieves'
guild and killing its leader. Peri
wasn't sure when
they had
done this, but they had killed so many people by
then
that it was hard to keep track. Peri
also ran into a human
who was
looking for him at Harensh's Inn. The
man
introduced
himself as Estophon, an old associate of Barada's.
Estophon
had been asked by the shepherd Demetaliph to
find
Peri and inform him that his friend, Taver Royskov, had
been
found dead out by Vecheld Gesto. Peri
was not
overly
concerned, but tipped Estophon for his time.
Under
Skull Keep, giant rats poured into the cave.
They
were as
large as Hristo, and the party was outnumbered.
Still,
they expected an easy win until the battle was actually
joined. The rats overwhelmed Enlock, Barada, Alex,
and Vlad,
leaving
them all unconscious. They overwhelmed
Hristo and
mauled
him nearly to death. The battle only
turned on a
stroke
of luck when the rats fled. It was time
to return to
Prymp.
NEXT
SESSION
The 23rd
session has come and gone since I started writing
this, so
our next session is the the big one! At
the end of Year
2 of the
campaign, the Provincial Army is closing in, Prymp is
in
burning, and the followers of Hextor say the Master is
coming. Can things get better, or much, much worse?
The game
will be June 10th, Saturday, at 2 pm.
The location
will be
at Rob's house if he confirms this.
GABRIEL'S
STORY: PART THREE
Gabriel
was running as fast as his little legs could carry him.
He dared
not run straight back the way he came, as the road
would be
open and he would be vulnerable to missile fire.
That
meant running into unknown territory, and possibly
traps,
but it couldn't be helped. Making
matters worse, there
was
little cover even off the road. The
nearest tree was still
twenty
yards away, but the ground was uneven, so that left
ditches
and valleys to conceal himself in.
Gabriel
was about ten yards from the tree when he paused in
a
ditch. He listened for his followers, but
only heard his own
heavy
breathing. A twang of shame crept over
him. Thank
Clanggedin
he had traveled alone so no one could see him
running
from six goblins!
Just as
he emerged from the ditch, a sling stone hit the
ground
next to him with a thud and sprayed dirt in the air. It
came
from his left. They had him
flanked. He sprinted out of
the
south end of the ditch and didn't stop.
If only
he could turn and face them! He could
make short
work of
them with his axe if only he could reach them.
Cowardly
goblins! They would cut him down with
sling
stones
before he reached the first one. That
first tree was too
close to
the goblins now, but there was another tree he had
passed
not long ago. He could retreat to that,
but to what
good? Cover would only save him for a brief time
before he
was
surrounded. What could he do? What?
Before
he could think of something, something happened.
Running
through the dark, Gabriel had completely failed to
notice a
steep slope down on his left side. His
foot went
over the
edge and didn't find anything beneath it.
Gabriel
couldn't
regain his balance and went over the side.
He lost
his grip
on his axe on the first bounce. He was
tumbling out
of
control, and rocks were bruising him through his armor.
Finally,
the ground leveled out and he crashed into it.
His
mind
whirled as it tried to restore balance, but it was vaguely
aware
that his axe was missing. Then Gabriel's
eyes widened
as he
saw a glint of metal in the air over him.
He rolled to one
side as
his axe blade bit the dirt where he had been.
"And
then what happened?"
"Then
it started raining."
"No,
about the goblins!"
"Oh."
Gabriel
was sitting across from a human farmer in the kitchen
of his
house. Lopokin was a village too small
to even have a
tavern. The farmer, his wife, and son, were
fascinated by
their
houseguest. The son had never even seen
a dwarf
before.
"I
knew I would never be able to defeat all ...twelve of those
goblins
on my own," Gabriel continued.
"At first, I made my
way east
to Lodvobo planning to hire any man with a
weapon,
lead them against this goblin chief, Jurid, and march
all the
way north to Galdol. Maybe even swing
over to
Icespire
and find out what that was about. When I
went to
Ovonrut
Oklam, I was hoping to get at least a few people to
help me
against the goblins."
"And
you hope to find men to aid you here in Lopokin? I
don't
know if we could..."
"That
is what I hear from every man's lips."
Gabriel paused
to drink
the man's beer. "It is not the
goblins they fear.
They are
afraid that the goblins work for the Herzog.
There
is too
much fear in you humans." He eyed
the farmer and
his
family, who looked about to complain, but were
embarassed
by the truth of it. "I hear there
are towns along
the
north coast of this province which have men brave
enough
to stand up against this Herzog. I will
go there, and
find
companions who will fight beside me."
And so
he did. The day would come when he would
reach
Prymp,
and his adventures resumed.
KENTOL
AKHPOV'S STORY
It was
the year 556 CY, and Prymp had been independent for
five
years. The heraldic device of the free
town had at first
only
flown above Prymp Keep, but now it could be seen
everywhere
-- decorative banners, newly-painted on
storefront
signs, and even on the tabards of the town watch.
Kentol
Akhpov passed the device four times on one street,
not that
he really paid it much attention.
Kentol
Akhpov was given a wide berth wherever he walked.
It was
not because he was an acolyte of Pholtus, because a
lowly
acolyte was unworthy to bear religious trappings except
on an
important mission -- and this was nothing more than a
routine
errand. No, he was given a wide berth because
at 6
feet and
200 pounds he was a mountain of a man.
The staff he
carried
was neither a symbol of office nor an aid in walking; it
was used
for prodding people out of his way.
At this
pace, it did not take him long to reach the home of
Dunold the
White. Dunold was mildly important
because he
was both
a watchman and a follower of the One True Path,
and
Priest Galvos thought this was something to be
encouraged
to stave off worship of the false god, Kelanen.
Naturally,
the family was grateful to see any member of the
clergy
there to attend Dunold's deathbed. His
parents
practically
tripped over each other trying to appear humble
and
reverent before him. It was all Kentol
could do to keep
from
rolling his eyes.
Finally,
Kentol was left alone in a room with Dunold the
White. Indeed, the man was pale, undoubtedly moreso
now
than
when he first earned his namesake. The
man looked
haggard
even in his sleep, and appeared to even be sweating.
Sure
enough, Kentol felt a hot fever burning in the man's
forehead. Surely some serious malady had imbalanced his
humors. Poor Dunold.
He couldn't be older than 35.
Dunold
opened his eyes. "Praise
Pholtus," he said with a
weak
voice, "he has sent me a cleric..."
Kentol
sat and nodded. "You are a man said
to follow the
One True
Path. I had to come." Someone had to come, he
thought.
"...Am
I to be healed? Or is my time to serve
Pholtus in the
next
world come already?"
"Your
time approaches. You know how the
miracle of healing
works. Pholtus heals those whose service to his plan
is too
important
to be interrupted by death. What
importance could
you have
in the eyes of almighty Pholtus?"
Dunold,
trembling, tried to sit up. He
surrendered to the
futility
of it after a few seconds and settled for leaning back
on his
elbows. His head started to roll to one
side, but he
forced
it to hold steady so he could look Kentol in the eye.
"You
would not think it, looking at me now, but five years
ago, I
was a promising soldier. I had worked
hard to
overcome
the low position I was born to in life.
There was
even
talk of my becoming an officer."
Kentol
started to say something, but Dunold wasn't finished
yet. He was staring at something far away and five
years
past...
TO BE
CONTINUED
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