After nearly a year-long hiatus, we are able to bring you the newest and latest Dungeons and Dragons adventure!
The role-playing apple cart has been upset here and there, what with a long-time player moving out of state, graduate degrees being pursued and wrapped up, a full-time job in the spring, and a house purchase - life has been too busy for this group of D&Ders.
Until this weekend.
Brent volunteered to DM the adventure, but the question remained about what to do with missing players/adventurers, etc? The solution evolved into: new characters, new campaign.
Thus, Beneath Two Suns. Here is your new company of adventurers:
Tordek (Capt HD) - a dwarf fighter
Vanya (Yours truly) - a human monk
Eva (Kerri) - a human sorceress
Gary (Spencer) - a human ranger
Arnie (non-player character) - human cleric
Yes, the twelve-year-old is playing. It's a rite of passage, so to speak.
Anyway. The story opens on the planet Cregan, a planet circumnavigated by two suns, in a port city named Zenicce. The city operates in a unique manner, as minor canals and waterways criss-cross cut the city into small island-like (city-islands) communities that are governed by several families. The Codifex is the ruling figure of the entire city, acting as a mayor.
Gang warfare and political strife run rampant in Zenicce, with gangs and families jockeying for various positions of power.
It is in the midst of all this that the party has found themselves enslaved as marble quarry workers. Eva, Arnie, and Tordek were inhabitants of the same city and victims of a slave raid in which they were taken prisoner. Vanya and Gary, of other places of residence, met the same fate. Now, all five members happen to be in the same slave group. Convenient...
It is just another day in the city of Zenicce, and the barge containing rappa (a weird birdman-like creature) overlords and slaves (rappa and human) sails on towards an city-island with its marble cargo. It is not long before our enslaved company is faced with an important decision - the slaves aboard the other barge have taken a noblewoman waiting upon the shore hostage, creating a serious commotion. Do they: a.) take advantage of the distraction and escape OR b.) play it safe and wait the diversion out OR c.) something else.
Naturally, the answer should be obvious. Kind of. The party decides to attempt escape/something else. However, the situation is dicey for a couple of reasons: the party members are bound (hands and feet) by slave chains. They have no weapons nor armor. Tricky, indeed.
The next round goes down like this:
* Eva turns her hands outward and Scorching Rays her hand (and feet? Scribe notes do not clarify) shackles apart.
* Tordek takes a swing at a rappa guard with his chain-bound fists.
* Vanya (as a monk, totally okay with no weapons) also takes a swing at one guard.
* Gary bull-rushes another guard, attempting to knock him into the water.
* No current records exist of Arnie's actions at this time.
In a matter of two or three rounds, all guards are dead. With the exception of Eva, the party is still chained...a small complication Eva is able to rectify; however, it requires the players to lie on the ground, arms and legs spread in the air (in what Capt refers to as "dead cockroach position"). She then Scorching Rays all the party's chains apart.
Vanya the monk suggests the party don the dead guard clothing as a sort of disguise. Concern still abounds as the slave wrist manacles are plainly visible. Eva offers to cast Fireball on people's hands to melt off the shackles, but most of the party politely declines her offer (for obvious reasons). Instead, the party suddenly decides to Search the pockets of the fatigues (not thinking to do so when putting on the clothing earlier). Two keys are uncovered, as is a small amount of gold pieces.
Discussion now ensues on what action follows: should the party leave island, storm the castle, skulk off into the sunset? Ultimately, the party decides to double back and rescue the noblewoman that had been taken hostage by the other barge of slaves. Perhaps, they reason, she'll show pity on them and will help them.
Several seconds of running bring the other party of slaves into view. At the back (nearest to our party), is the female hostage and two rappa slaves. Things get interesting, because:
* Eva Magic Missiles one of the two restraining slaves. Noblelady Hostage falls to the ground.
* Vanya rushes forward and Stunning Fists the other slave.
* Gary and Tordek (now armed with stolen swords) rush into the fray, because as Gary declares, "I just want to charge in and kill some people...I am morally obliged to kill them."
* Eva is between a bit of a rock and a hard place. Her original idea was to Fireball a large group of charging slaves. However, now that Tordek and Gary have rushed into action, she must change her course of action. In a cool little hyperbole effect, she sends a fireball to the back of the group and wipes out a few enemies there.
Again, it is not long before dead slaves litter the ground. The irony of the moment is not lost on the monk who comments that the party has just rescued someone who enslaves them and killed those who suffered the same fate as them. The noblewoman, who turns out to be a princess, informs the party that they may now "incline" to her (essentially, she has given them permission to kneel in reverence to her - an ancient city custom). Eva and Tordek particularly feel the injustice of this request and refuse initially...until several armed guards have taken notice and are now coming forth in haste...and even then, it is in a reluctant, recalcitrant manner that they show respect towards the princess (Nadima). The princess spares the lives of the party (for saving hers). She demands that the guards purchase them and treat them well.
The party is then taken to a guardhouse of sorts. They are brought food, wine, comfort. Glowag the Brander enters with a hot iron to mark the party with the Estercari brand of the family (to show ownership). As the company has already been branded once with the general mark of slaveship, there is a general sense of WTF, especially with Chaotic Neutral Eva. Again, options seem limited as there are many, many heavily armed guards present, and indeed, resistance seems futile.
However, Glowag has a cryptic message for each member as he brands them. "Do not despair. The day will come," he whispers into their ears.
Like that makes it hurt any less...but it does give the party something to think about as they call it a night.
Other key highlights:
With her Chaotic Neutral alignment, Eva is designated as the Party's Killer.
The World's Most Uncoordinated Monk Award goes to Vanya, as she critically fumbled twice, thus tripping on her face, twice.
After Eva's fireball on the group of bird-like rappa slaves, Tordek (or maybe his alter ego, Capt) comments on the smell of cooked chicken hanging in the air.
Best quote of the game goes to Gary the Ranger (see above).
Other identifications: Sidones (the first name of the Codifex) and Estercari (name of the island and ruling family the slaves now belong to...incidentally, the Codifex is of the House of Estercari! Fortuitous!)
