The Marches Campaign

Scott · Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 12:42 am Post subject: 17th Phalodru -- Tegel Village

You rest a bit after your latest sojourn, allowing Sinlocah to undergo his investiture ceremony. During this time, you naturally inquire after the state of affairs in Tegel territory, learning of several ominous developments which portend dark times ahead for the quiet simple village.

The mystery of Kinfird's whereabouts has been solved, for it seems that the Temple on the hill is gathering to itself sundry ne'er-do-wells, cutthroats, and Chaotics, including Kinfird's lot, as well as the brigand band of the Roughneck Rump. These desperados continue to harass traffic on all roads, save the delegations of village mercantiler Halaf Fec, who sanguinely trades with all who have coin. Father Valcerdies has forbidden members of his congregation to visit the Temple and its harlots, and hooded acolytes of Nivatopredi skulk about the hinterlands in greater numbers.

Last night, Fnerg Droos, a farmer's son, stumbled screaming back into the village. He had snuck away for a midnight assignation with Coriana Maltseed, a crofter's daughter of somewhat homely mien, but who possesses other charms to be reckoned with. As they romanced in the chaste and wholesome innocence of youth, a dark fetid thing fell from the sky, snatching up Coriana and flapping off into the dark. From Fnerg's description, Mayor Ternelmor surmises that Old Nightfang is abroad once more.

This state of affairs has perturbed Valcerdies beyond bearing, for during your most recent sortie into the Underworld, that worthy led a small delegation to the very threshold of Tegel Manor itself, nailing to its door a list of 99 Problems which have manifested and festered during the long and gradual degeneracy of the House of Rump. It remains to be seen what response, if any, is forthcoming from Sir Runic.

Furthermore, Valcerdies has prayed on the matter of the subterranean men against whom you strove in the ruins and below, and has determined that these are to be either converted or ushered off this mortal coil. To that sole end, you have been appointed Crusaders, with Sinlocah placed in command of a quartet of stalwart but penurious fighting-monks on loan from the Monastery of the Holy Brotherhood to the south. These unflinching holy warriors will serve faithfully so long as you pursue the conversion or extermination of the Underworld men -- Serpent Men and gnolls are one matter, but Valcerdies will not tolerate a coterie of humans, savage though they may be, squirming beneath the earth like worms.

Despite the ill luck which hangs over Tegel like a cloud, more settlers and transients have begun to trickle in from nearby Krake Borough, an even more wretched backwater than your own, to replace the village's losses. Some evince a desire to stay in Tegel, giving at least lip service to the Great Church, but others stop only briefly on their way to the Temple on the hill ...
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The penalty for success is to be bored by the people who used to snub you.

Scott · Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 12:43 am Post subject:

[We will wrap up matters in private forums and the other IC thread while we're getting this one started up.]
_________________
The penalty for success is to be bored by the people who used to snub you.

Scott · Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2008 1:58 am Post subject:

A map of the areas of the Underworld you've explored so far:

They're roughly in the position you think they occupy relative to each other. "Up" = north.]
_________________
The penalty for success is to be bored by the people who used to snub you.

John Thompson · (Ymmas Ragah) Joined: 25 Mar 2008 Posts: 116

a list of 99 Problems

[But a bitch ain't one?]

WyzardWhately · (Lars) Joined: 24 Mar 2008 Posts: 260

Lars eagerly attempts to find some literate and trustworthy party (probably Sinlocah) to translate the 99 problems for him. You know, from funny writing into speech which he can comprehend. He's eager to solve any of them he can to help out Valcerdies, of course.

[I figure just a couple representative of the type that would be most comprehensible and soluble to a person such as Lars. Nobody needs to come up with the entire list.]

Bhartec Redhands · Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 5:24 am Post subject:

Crusader Bhartec, the Pristine, will attempt to find an easy mark, someone clearly headed towards the Temple of the Hill. Bhartec will Charm them, send them on their way and have them report back to him when an opportunity arises. Mainly in a meager attempt to gather information.

Otherwise, he will rest, replenish his supplies with his share of the gold and await the rest of the group.

Nick · (Sinlocah) Joined: 24 Mar 2008 Posts: 121

When the others see Sinlocah again there is a calmness about him that was not evident before. It is plain he has experienced something that has made him a different man.

And there are these 4 guys following him around that glower at everything that looks like sin. They stare menacingly at Bhartec a lot...

Scott · Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 12:14 am Post subject:

Bhartec successfully waylays a transient ruffian on his way to the hillside Temple, though it takes a couple of prior abortive attempts, including one unfortunate fellow running into the night, screaming about man-witches.

The quartet of militants from the monastery is made up of Brothers Frickus, Frackus, Fiddlus, and Faddlus. Wearing hooded frocks over mail and carrying two-handed maces, they show little enthusiasm for small talk. However, their choral chanting is mannered and polished, and their voices raise into a sterling rendition of "A Mighty Death Ray Is Our God" whenever the opportunity arises, which is surprisingly often.

[The fighting-monks are 1st level Fighting Men. They will follow your direction and are generally as fearless as can be expected.]
_________________
The penalty for success is to be bored by the people who used to snub you.

Scott · Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 12:30 am Post subject:

The 99 Problems posted by Valcerdies include, inter alia:

- The untrammeled flourishing of "sundry beastes" including vicious wolves, Old Nightfang, the Dearth Monster, and the assorted squamous degenerates of the Ruins.
- Failure to honor the Lawful and godly obligations of feudal vassal to liege, Church, and peasantry.
- Refusal to bring to justice a certain personage of infamy known abroad as the Roughneck Rump, a universally denounced brigand.
- Disturbing accounts brought back from the City Afar concerning various appalling predilections of one Ruang Rump.
- Dire rumors of incestuous conjunctions between Rumps of an unforgivably proximate degree of consanguinity.
- Inveterate poltroonery and dullardism by the nominal patriarch of the House of Rump, Sir Runic.
- A cryptic reference to "Buggerie on the Hygh Seas."
- Maintenance of an ancestral manse failing in innumerable particulars to meet the dictates of Ye Ordained Manorial Code, the foremost of which is a fairly explicit prohibition on being bugshit haunted.
- - The indulgence of open perversions and abominations by alien and apostate faiths.

The screed demands that the Rumps address and correct these problems, else the Church, and whatsoever mismatched freebooters and torch-bearing yokels deemed necessary, inexorably escalate matters.
_________________
The penalty for success is to be bored by the people who used to snub you.

TheMyth · Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 1:14 am Post subject:

WyzardWhately · (Lars) Joined: 24 Mar 2008 Posts: 260

"Valcerdies isn't dumb. He knows you're good. Not like all the stupid villagers. They'd just roll over and let chaos eat them. Lazy. Don't want to fight. But they'll pick on people who do. So long as it's," Lars counts on his fingers, "around three or four to one. Well, there's gonna be a RECKONING. Valcerdies told me." Lars gurgles happily and hefts his axes. The rest of the party will probably note his much-improved hygiene, as he no longer emits a constant repellent stench.

Scott · Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 12:06 pm Post subject:

[Also, check the "Tegel Village" thread in the "Your Guide to the Marches" forum and let me know if you want to approach anyone for information, aid, rumors, etc. Otherwise, I will assume that the immediate plan is to go back to the Ruins and into the "secret entrance" at the black building, to make use of the 4 borrowed monks.

By this weekend, I hope to have up a few illustrations of prominent NPCs, cribbed from various sources.

I believe my incipient writer's block is breaking up a little bit, so I should be somewhat less torpid. I wrote up a buttload of notes for my little "gonzo science fantasy" project, and am turning my attention to notes on the old Judges Guild "Verbosh" mini-campaign. The most fun I think I ever had as a DM was 20 years ago with that book. If I don't end up developing it using The Fantasy Trip, maybe the current PCs can take a trip there eventually.

In any event, I believe I'm firing on all cylinders again in terms of "morning and evening" posting rate for this campaign. Let's do some shit.]
_________________
The penalty for success is to be bored by the people who used to snub you.

John Thompson · (Ymmas Ragah) Joined: 25 Mar 2008 Posts: 116

[Safe to assume. It's a paying job to clear out these subterranean tunnels, and once we're done, we'll have a no-kidding Batcave from which to get our derring-do on.)

Bhartec Redhands · Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 4:19 am Post subject:

Once in the quarters of his fellow crusaders, Bhartec will speak among them about their next plan of action.

"At this time it sounds as if the idolatrous temple on the hill is proving to be a growing problem and may need our immediate attention. Not to mention that the temple and the under-earth nearby are likely likely linked as well."

He pauses, "This mercantiler Halaf Fec could possibly be useful to us if we wish to enter directly, in the guise of his henchmen. I have no particular qualm with entering the under earth directly but perhaps a visit to the temple proper would prove enlightening. More so if we can slay this fel-priestess, perhaps throwing the entire area into a more manageable chaos. Perhaps more of case may produce itself if my spy returns, though I am not counting on this."

"Or we can just run in with our new quartet of holy sword-swinging death and call it a day", Bhartec blinks at Sinlocah.

[sorry for the curt posts - having difficulty getting back into the swing of things. I'll give it a better effort this week]

WyzardWhately · (Lars) Joined: 24 Mar 2008 Posts: 260

Lars squints. "I thought we were killing gnolls. Or the underground people. We should finish them off, first."