Campaign update

Just realized I haven't posted since November! 

After helping Captain Eclan and his crew to capture the drow galleys from teh Temple of Lolth in Erelhei-Cinlu (Y2-Z2/54-57), the rebel flotilla sailed down the Pitchy Flow to a svirfneblin trading post and shanty town (B2/24). There, they unloaded several exiles from the drow city and did business with the deep gnomes (sold some goods and bought lizard mounts). Later, Cpt. Eclan arranged for the party to be sailed to the caverns of a svifneblin stronghold (J2-K2/26-28), where they secured an agreement with the gnomes. In exchange of clearing some nearby caves (L2/31 - Sanctum of the Absent Mage) they provided guides through the Underdark to the dwarven stronghold of Bhun-Farhun, set on the western slopes of the Crystalmist Mts. overseeing the Duchy of Berghof. Away from the interferences of the Underdark, the party contacted Melf via Sending and organized to be brought back to Celene through Countess Tillahi's Mirror of Mental Prowess. 

The party arrives at Celene through a magic mirror

They then spend some days on Tillahi's estate, resting and recovering, repairing their gear, eating decent food, enjoying the sun, and talking about everything that has happened in the nearly two months since they used the same magic mirror to go to the Hill Giants' Steading. Stengar (Cav10) and Teodric (Pal7), the paladin of St. Cuthbert rescued from the Kuo-toas and now in service of Meriven (Clr9), retrieve their mounts left to them by Stengar's henchmen, and take advantage of the opportunity to ride. The unicorn, rescued from the Eilserv's estate, also enjoys prancing around the elven fields, always to return to Meriven. Rivers (TA11) and Qinren (T9) spend their time fraternizing with the local elves. Countess Tillahi takes an interest in Delavda, the half-drow exile also in service of Meriven, and her life in Erelhei-Cinlu, while Kothar (MU10) meets with Melf to talk about arcane matters and seek advice.

The group returns to their fiefdoms, the Moathouse in Hommlet, Twilight Falls and Sobanwych, and make plans for the future. Rivers set off to Dyvers to buy a merchant ship and hire a crew, the beginning of his shipping company like he said. In the ship's figurehead he discovers a secret compartment holding a waterproof scrollcase with a map inside. Kothar handles Áladram, his half-elven apprentice, the task to oversee the building of a library and shrine to Delleb, god of reason, intellect and study, in Twilight Falls. A young curate from Verbobonc, Adso of Mol, travels to Twilight Falls to be in charge of them when they're finished. Meriven seeks the approval of the church of St. Cuthbert in Verbobonc to build an abbey in Sobanwych. Since the liberation of Sobanwych from the Witch Queen (Markessa The Green) and the defeat of the Temple of Elemental Evil, the town and surrounding areas were claimed by Verbobonc and given by the viscount to Stengar as a gift for his role in bringing down both dangers. The Free City of  Dyvers protested but, not wanting to engage militarily with the Viscounty, negotiated a solution and the whole situation was to be decided by a joust. We used the jousting rules from The Axe Lands. 

Stengar defeats the Black Knight of Dyvers

Weeks pass, and Stengar and Meriven make plans to return, as they promised, to Lost Fenrill in the Pomarj to liberate the abandoned town of its strange curse. Also Meriven sets up a place in the Moathouse dungeons as a recall destination. It is made casting a ritual using an artifact taken from the Dark Druids of the Suss forest. The drawback is that there is a slim chance (daily 5%) of summoning a vrock. Kothar helps to secure the place with some spells. At one point Stengar and Kothar receive a letter from his father, Sir Elric, a veteran of the Battle of Emridy Meadows, asking for help to find a fellow dwarf. After retiring from adventuring the dwarf got into the mining business. Recently he got the deed of a silver mine in the Suss forest near the town of Badwall. The dwarf´s family is worried since they haven't received any news for some weeks.

They decide to travel to Dyvers and take Rivers' new ship, Rivers' Bargain, up the Nyr Dyv, down the Selintan River, into the Wooly Bay and the Wild Coast. At the port city of Safeton they secure a route between there and the city of Fax, for the ship to make as they travel to Badwall in search for the missing dwarf. After some days of inquiry they get to the silver mine and the dwarves. Clues lead them deep into the Suss forest to a ruined castle...

The caverns of Nol-Daer

Campaign update

After the characters managed to disrupt a ritual in the (Hidden) Shrine of the Elder Elemental God from D4 City of Spiders, the power balance in Erelhei-Cinlu was severely altered. As House Eilservs and its allies were exposed as followers of the EEG, the other houses along with the Fane of Lolth, swiftly moved to punish the heretics.  

The characters were in part also responsible of the failure of the Eilservs' plans with the giants in the surface. After dealing with the problems in the Vault, Eclavdra would certainly seek vengeance, directly or through proxies, for all these setbacks.

Taking advantage of this schism, the dissidents of the Vault decided to push forward their plans. Through their leader, Nilonim, they came in contact with the party, helping them leaving the Vault. They managed to do this disguised as slaves in a drow merchant caravan. 

In return, the rebel leader asked them for their support in one of two important missions to the cause: 1) rescue Teregim, Nilonim's second in command and recently captured, from the dungeons of the Fane of Lolth before the priestesses have the chance to torture and question him, or 2) help Captain Eclan and his crew (Area B2/24 Encyclopaedia Subterranica) hijack the two galleys from the Fane's wharf cavern (Area 20 D3 Vault of the Drow). 

"Captain Eclan has been in contact with Nilonim and together they plan an uprising in Erelhei-Cinlu. In the chaos of the uprising, they hope to lead a mass escape of slaves and other disaffected inhabitants of the Vault by way of boats and barges on the Pitchy Flow."

Encyclopaedi Subterranica p.99

Greyhawk campaign update

After running Robert J. Kuntz's "Dark Druids", module "I1 - Dwellers of the Forbidden City" and Carlos A. Lising's "A5 - Kill Marquessa!", the first two set in the Suss forest and the last one on the northern coast of the Pomarj, in which the party discovered clues, but not explored, of a lost Temple of the Eye, recovered the Urn, killed one of Markesa's clones and raided one of her strongholds (where they killed Sturm Bucholtz but Markesa managed to escape), they returned through Celene to their lands in Verbobonc. Oh, by the way, I made Markesa a drow, as if all her wickedness and evil were not enough. 

During their stay in Celene they became acquainted, through Countess Tillahi, whom they've rescued from the Temple of Elemental Evil in the past, with Melf Brightflame. They left with them the Urn and a map they've captured from Markesa's stronghold for further study. Not long before they received a letter to travel back to Celene. Melf had devised the possible location of two other Temples of the Eye, one in the Jotens Mts. near SW Sterich and the other in the Hellfurnaces Mts. to the SW of the Yeomanry. The party agreed to investigate them and they traveled to the neighborhood of the first site through a magical mirror at Countess Tillahi's estate.

The idea behind the different Temples of the Eye (under the Temple of Elemental Evil, in the caverns of the Dark Druids, in the dungeons of the Steading of the Hill Giant Chief and bellow the Halls of the Fire Giant King) come, except the one in Dark Druids, from Greyhawk Grognard's series of posts about the Elder Elemental God.

Now I'm running a kind of "Return to..." of module "G1 - Steading of the Hill Giant Chief", in which the place above has been raided by a previous party and killed most of the giants (some escaped), and below the ogres and orcs revolted against the remaining giants and bugbears. The orcs chopped the heads of the hill giants and put them on pikes around the steading. This has been loosely inspired by a short fiction story called "Return to the Steading" by Bart Carroll that appeared on Dragon+ issue 11. 

So far the party has killed the ogres, charmed one of the three orc leaders and bribed the other two with part of the ogre's treasure (mostly copper coins, copper ingots, cheap jewelry and false gems). That way the orcs, that are able miners, agreed to clear the path to the sealed temple. Meanwhile a frost giant envoy mounted on a mammoth and escorted with two winter wolves showed up with a message to Chief Nosra. 

An epic battle ensued with the party victorious, although some gravely wounded, with one of the cavalier' retainer unconscious and his warhorse dead. The thief managed to decipher the message: a conclave of giant chieftains will take place next full moon in the Halls of King Snurre, and Chief Nosra should attend "using the gift and following the instructions". The party will now have to find out what that gift is and how to use it.

Greyhawk campaign update

Campaign continues with the addition of a new player character, Meriven Davers. She is a Patriarch of St. Cuthbert and also a veteran from the Temple of Elemental Evil in another campaign. Meriven is from Verbobonc and was assessing the situation on the Wild Coast when the party arrived to Narwell, travelling from Safeton on their way to their possessions in Hommlet, Nulb, Twilight Falls and Sobanwych.

I am running "Lord of the Scarlet Tide" from Dungeon Magazine #85 by James Jacobs. Even though it's an adventure for 3e, I'm using it anyway with a few alterations for 1e. I wanted to introduce the Underdark and its inhabitants (kuo-toa, drow, mind flayers and deep gnomes to name a few) to the players as a foreshadow of what's coming next. 

The party have managed to reach an abandoned kuo-toa city and must now retrieve a powerful item from a temple dedicated to Bilbdoolpoolp to put an end to the deadly red tide that's affecting the town of Narwell. 

Update

Updated the content of the pages and will be posting about the many characters I've played since last post, back in 2018. Also about my ongoing Greyhawk campaign in which, after 3 years of playing, the party have achieved important goals.