Lands of Cantona - Session 4

Last session our heroes (Ragnar the elven fighter, Larry the human fighter, Tak the human cleric of Trithereon and Cesar the human druid) were in the village of Baz planning to go to the walled port town of Cantona to sell their newfound stash of old coins. They rested at "The Dice & Raven Inn" before starting a 3-day walk from the fringes of the Welkwood Forest to the coast of the Wooly Bay. 

Unbeknownst to them, "Snarl" Davos, the owner of the villages' trading post sent a pigeon with a message to his accomplices at a bandit camp near the fork to Beachcourt on the road to Cantona. 

On the second day of travel, when the party, along with two men-at-arms and two torchbearers (these last two carrying the chest with the coins), reached that point, the alerted group of bandits sprung the ambush. Two archers and a crossbowman peppered them from higher gourd on the sides, while four footmen with sword and shield charged supported by a mounted bandit with spear and shield. All this happened commanded by a mounted bandit leader from the rear. 

While Ragnar charged past the footmen to attack the leader, Cesar cast Entangle on the archers disabling them for the rest of the fight, and Larry, Tak and the men-at-arms faced the footmen. One of the men-at-arms fell, but so did a couple of bandits. Cesar the cast Faerie Fire on the remaining attackers. Meanwhile Ragnar had to sacrifice his shield pierced by a spear strike that  otherwise would have ended him, and continued fighting holding his elven sword two-handed. 

Mortally wounded the leader tried to escape but was killed by Ragnar. At the same time two more bandit fell and the remaining mounted bandit turned his horse and fled, and so did the crossbowmen. Since most of the party members were wounded they decided not to pursue the survivors. They bind their wounds the best they could, with Tak casting Cure Light Wounds on the elf who was hurt worse. The entangled archers were captured and tied down, and they buried the fallen men-at-arms. Also Cesar went after the spooked bandit leader mount and cast Animal Friendship on it. They gathered all the armors (6 leather, 1 chainmail, 5 shields) and weapons (5 longswords, 2 short bows, 18 arrows, 1 spear), and also a signet ring and a note from the bandit leader. 

"The Druid and the Elf have the Arn gold. They drag it in a metal box. Intercept at the fork. — D."

Cesar cast Detect Magic on the lot and determined the bandit leader longsword, the only one with a gem adorning the hilt, had a aura. With that, they looked for a suitable place to camp and spend the night. The prisoners were interrogated separately and, after being threatened with duress, one declared he was new and knew nothing and the other "spilled the beans". The latter told them the leader received a pigeon on their camp in the woods and informed them to prepare to set up an ambush. He also gave up the name of the horsed bandit that escaped (Rollo). They discussed about the fate of the prisoners and finally decided to turn them to the authorities of Cantona. That night, the party's camp was attacked by a giant spider and I randomly rolled who it will attack: it snatched away the tied up prisoners! 

The next day they arrived at Cantona. At the gates the watchmen asked their business in town, a scribe

wrote down their names and collected the entry toll for people and mounts. They asked directions for a moneychanger and went there to sell the chest of coins. After selling the coins Tak and Cesar, along with the men-at-arms and torchbearers went to secure lodgings at "The Giant Clam", while Ragnar and Larry went to the town's market, one to sell the loot (the bandits' weapons and armors) and the other to sell his magical potion. 

To my amazement, Larry's approach was to shout to the four winds "I have a magical potion to sell!". Almost immediately three "customers" showed up interested. They warned him he couldn't be selling things without a permit from the guild and, if he accompanied them, they would gladly sort it out for him for just a 10 gp fee. He made a counter offer of giving 3 gp each to forget everything and let him be, but they pushed it. They told him to surrender the potion to them and they will split the earnings with him. When he refused one of the thieves proceeded to successfully pick pocket the potion (I rolled 05%!). The robbers then ran each in a different direction and Larry chased after one, managed to grab it by the collar, only to end up with a cloak in his hands. Frustrated, he just waited for the Watch to show up and went to their HQ to give a description of the robbers. While he was waiting, a satisfied Ragnar returned after managing to secure a brand new armor, a plate mail. 

After Larry left with the Watch, Ragnar made some inquires around the market to see if anyone had seen anything. A beggar pleading "A coin for a veteran of the wars!" caught his eye and he asked him about the robbery. "Ah yes, they belong to the Syndicate..." said the beggar after securing some coins from the elf, who pressed for more information on where to find it. More coins changed hands and the beggar delivered "Look for any place with an inverted V over a line (the same symbol the signet ring had!) discretely engraved on the door jamb...". After asking for a precise place and some more coins, he came with the name of "The Red Rapier", a tavern on South of town. With that information he went back to the "The Giant Clam" to relay what happened to Tak and Cesar, and wait for Larry.

On his way back from the Watch HQ, Larry lost his way and got distracted by a lady of the night, just enough for a thief to get behind him and try to knock him out with a sap. Too bad for the thief that failed his move silently check and Larry swiftly managed to attack him (my nephew rolled a natural 20!). I ruled that he chopped the poor's guy hand clean off. The screams of the wounded thief and the street walker alerted the hood. Soon enough Larry was running for his life chased by an angry mob. Luckily he managed to get back to his friends unharmed. Over a dinner the group decided to check "The Red Rapier" the following day.

The tavern was a seedy and shady place with few patrons, a couple chatting over their drinks, one drunkard slumped over a table full of empty mugs, a lonely man smoking a pipe and the bartender. Ragnar, wearing the signet ring went sat at the bar while Larry, Tak and Cesar took a table. The bartender served Ragnar and noticed the ring, the went to serve the table. While pouring the drinks for them he asked Ragnar "Is the tower still standing?". The elf was caught off guard by the question and just replied "Unfortunately not anymore." and the bartender knew he was not a Syndicate member. He casually adjusted a torch sconce and went about his business. The elf found that odd and started asking questions about it, but the bartender just dodged them. Things got heated as Ragnar started demanding answers and got none. The bartender headed for the kitchen followed by the elf. One of the patrons darted for the door while the other two stood up. Cesar went for the fleeing one hitting him on the back of his head. The guy stumbled out of the tavern. The guy that was smoking threw darts on Cesar, Tak and Larry. They all got hit, but only Larry slumped on the floor asleep. The remaining patron, short sword in hand, closed on Ragnar from behind while he knocked the bartender out. The cook moved to attack the elf with a meat cleaver. Cesar caught the stumbling guy outside and helped him back into the tavern as if he was too drunk. Once inside he closed the door. Meanwhile, Tak got stabbed by his attacker and Ragnar exchanged blows with his' killing the cook. Cesar and Tak, despite being both wounded, managed to take down the remaining attacker. They then woke up Larry and rounded up the bartender and the fleeing one, from which they got some answers before the Watch arrived.

• The question the bartender asked was a safe phrase between the Syndicate members.
• "Over the waves" was the expected answer.
• The torch sconce position was a signal if the place was secure or not.
• A guy named Rollo (the one that escaped at the ambush site) came a few days ago "to gather some muscle for a job"

Lands of Cantona - Session 3

Happy New Year! This is the recap of Session 3 of my new campaign "Lands of Cantona" that I am running for my two nephews, my son and my wife. The party is composed by Ragnar the elven fighter, Larry the human fighter, Tak the human cleric of St. Cuthbert and Cesar the human druid.

~ o ~

In the end they decided to go up and out and follow the treasure map that showed 3000 coins buried about 10 miles East from the castle. On their way out of the castle they find a patrol of 8 dwarves from the Bloodaxe clan led by Gatnur Bonechin.

After that they follow the path South and, before reaching the bridge, they turn East following the stream under a thin fog. Under Cesar’s guidance they manage to keep from getting lost. After a couple of hours they reach a fault scarp that runs North-South and drops about 30 feet to a hilly terrain. Everyone manages to navigate the way down except Larry that tumbles down the last 10 feet suffering minor injuries. By Cesar’s estimations they must be near the place shown on the map but they see nothing that marks it.

They were atop a hill looking around when a 9 feet tall brutish humanoid wielding a crude wooden club charges at them! A fierce combat ensued with hits and misses by both sides, with the fighters scarifying their shields to avoid deadly blows, and spells cast by the cleric and druid. The creature was defeated and the party was binding their wound when another, similar but smaller creature, attacked them. Some lucky blows brought the creature down before it could be a threat.

They searched the ogres, as they called them, and found that the bigger one had a bag with gold pieces (500). When they find they are all of the same mint (a tower over waves on one side and a man's profile with the letters ARN SON BARONIS on the other), one they didn't recognize. They decided to search for the lair of the creatures and their findings led them to a nearby cave filled with bones, hide and half eaten carcasses. Among this filth they found a metal chest filled with 5 large sacks all containing silver pieces (2500) with the same mint as the gold ones.

They prepared camp away from the cave and the next day under a great storm they started their way back to the village of Baz dragging the treasure chest. The travel was uneventful until they reached a stream by nightfall where they came across a herd of wild cattle. After a miserable but uneventful night, the next day still under a heavy rain they enter the woods. By late afternoon they found a group of Sylvan elves with whom they share camp. They manage to get from the elves a longbow, arrows and a dagger. 

By midday of the next day they arrived to the village of Baz and went to see Arin the moneychanger. They didn't agree on the exchange rate for the coins and said they were going to the city of Cantona. With that idea in mind they went to the trading post, run by the nefarious "Snarl" Davos and his partner Gregam, but they found their prices of goods and horses too high.

~ o ~  

The session ended with the party in town, with some treasure and divided about what to do. 

Lands of Cantona - Session 2

This is the recap of Session 2 of my new campaign "Lands of Cantona" that I am running for my two nephews, my son and my wife. The party is composed by Ragnar the elven fighter, Larry the human fighter, Tak the human cleric of St. Cuthbert and Cesar the human druid.

~ o ~

After getting directions to the elves they leave the dwarves. On the way they cross paths with a giant scorpion which they manage to avoid, only to find it behind them! Cesar casts Faerie Fire while Ragnar and Larry rushes to melee and Tak throws a bottle of wine at it. A fight breaks out with Ragnar and Larry throwing blows but having to sunder their shields to survive the creature’s claws. Tak and Cesar keep throwing bottles of wine and a torch to light it up. The creature finally collapses and Ragnar cuts out its claws as a trophy. Shortly after, a blinding trap leaves everyone blind except Ragnar and Tak’s men-at-arms. They wait until an elven patrol finds them and guides them to their quarters . There they wait until everyone gets their sight back and they trade 4 bottles of rare wine for 2 shields for the fighters, 2 spears for the hirelings, 1 longsword for Ragnar and 1 chain mail for Larry, whose splint mail goes to Tak. The elves let them rest there.

The next day, they leave for the dwarves but get lost in the dungeons. They manage to avoid a Giant Toad but shortly after a spear trap claims the life of Ragnar's torchbearer and wounds Larry. Behind a stuck door they find a lit room with vases & roses. After fooling around they find what looks like a treasure map inside one of the vases. Cesar finds that if the roses are taken from the vases they quickly wither, but regain life if put back in. That gives Larry the idea to put his wounded arm into a vase. He is healed but all the roses wither. Tak gets the idea to use them to revive the dead torchbearer, but to no avail.

More exploration ended in finding a rhino that charged at them, wounding several, but it ended up being all an illusion. They found a secret door in the room where the “rhino” came from and proceeded to follow the corridor behind it. After several twists and turns, and a spear trap that claimed the life of another hireling, they reached a corner where they found another secret door that led into a dusty, clearly unused corridor. They followed it and reached a dead end… with another secret door. This one led into a room with a spiral stairs leading up and several exits.

They followed one of the exits and after a T intersection on a long corridor they found yet another secret door. Larry opened it and found 3 skeletons. Two rush forward to attack, but the other, a slightly bigger one with lightning eyes, stays back. As Ragnar and Larry moved to meet them, Tak tried Turn Undead on them and Cesar cast Faerie Fire on the bigger one. As the turn failed, the big skeleton pulled its head off and threw it at the cleric. The head exploded and rolled back to the skeleton. Ragnar moved to attack the big one as Tak successfully turned it. Cesar cast Shillelagh on his staff before moving to attack. After many hits, misses and shields being splintered they destroy the skeletons and find some treasure in a chest, 400 gp, a potion (of Polymorph, but yet unknown) and a clerical scroll with 2 spells (Resist Cold and Remove Fear). 

After the fight they decide to rest in the secret room, and after some hours (luckily without any random encounters) they go back to the elves’ to get some food and possibly shields. They get the former, for them and the hirelings, but not the latter so they decide to try with the dwarves. They do get a couple of dented metal shields for the fighters (no wooden shield for the druid) in exchange for the last bottle of rare wine.

Healed and equipped they take the circular stairs…

~ o ~

The session ended with the party unsure about going down deeper into the dungeon or up and out to look into that treasure map.

Lands of Cantona - New Campaign!

 Last Sunday I started a new campaign for my two nephews, my son and my wife. I introduced the kids to the game some time ago (you can read about it here) and played sporadically at best, but now I wanted them to play regularly. They were thrilled when I dropped the idea on them and, to be honest, it's always refreshing as a DM to run the game for new people.

The campaign is set on the Lands of Cantona, a relatively undeveloped region of the Wild Coast, in the World of Greyhawk 576 CY. I developed the village of Baz on the fringes of the Welkwood forest, in the style of the famous village of Hommlet, surrounded by several nearby locations for them to explore: an abandoned mine on the hills, an ancient cemetery among dead trees, a supposedly haunted tower deep in the forest, and some ruins sunk in the marshes. The first three are short low-level Labyrinth Lord scenarios (Den of the Morlock Shaman¹, The Tomb of Sigyfel and The Gibbering Tower), while the ruins were initially going to be the Ruins of Ramat adventure, which I have ran before, but then discarded it and I have not yet decided what to do about that location. I also expanded the tunnels under the mine with another dungeon (Lair of the Morlock Chief) and put, a bit further away, the Castle of the Mad Archmage. 

I had the players randomly roll on Rogues Gallery to see what characters the would be playing. The party ended up being Ragnar the elven fighter, Larry the human fighter, Tak the human cleric and Cesar the human druid. 

So, after hiring some men-at-arms (3) and torchbearers (3) they left early in the morning heading South looking for the Gibbering Tower. After a couple of hours they reach an ominous 40’ tall tower, built out of black stone, lying hidden in a small valley among the dark woods. 

Upon entering, they found a room with rotting chairs, couches, and rugs. A fireplace at the west wall, spiral staircase at the north wall leading up, and a staircase at the south wall leading down. On the fireplace mantle is a terrarium filled with a silvery fungus. They took the stairs down. 

Exploring the tower dungeons they find an ossuary, three cells (two empty, one with a shackled skeleton), a torture chamber and a cauldron chamber, both with two undead (ghouls), bodies of adventurers and two more undead (zombies), a trapped hall and some giant rats, a winery that they proceed to plunder, and finally a room with a 10” diameter glass sphere, on a metal stand. Someone touched the crystal ball and all were teleported somewhere else…

They found themselves in a circular room with a secret door that exits into a circular staircase with steps leading up and down, and an opening into a large square room with exits on the three other walls. They went straight ahead, opposite to where they entered and took the corridor until they reached a Y intersection with the corridor continuing ahead.

They took the right passage until an X intersection where they came across a group of dwarven warriors. They were led by Hilding Ironhelm of the Bloodaxe clan. He told them they were in the first level of the dungeons of the Castle of the Mad Archmage, known as the Storage Rooms. The dwarves held the northern section, the elves the southern and the kobolds the east. They controlled the access to the lower levels and charge adventuring parties with a percentage of the treasure found.

There ended the first session.

[1] Included in the Labyrinth Lord rulebook.