My First Campaign Journal-The UNCHAINED TROUPE

[Khynshu]

I have been running Dnd games for a little over 20 years now and have had several storylines play out over the course of years and after reading many wonderful campaign journals, I finally decided to try my hand at it and start one myself. This first post is just to introduce setting and the party. The first actual game update will likely be later this week, as we play on Wednesdays. So, Here goes the initial post/setup:


Setting

We are playing in the Inner Sea region of Pathfinder with slight changes based on my own interpretation of the setting material, and currently the characters are in the country/territory of Isger. Isger is considered a LN thrall to the greater LE, Asmodeus worshipping Empire of Cheliax. As such I decided that a lot of the laws in Isger favor order, structure, and more tyrannical (or selfish) pursuits, while discouraging anything that breeds chaos and disorder. An example of this is that slavery is completely legal and one can pursue slavery as a means to collect sufficient debt or assault. Also, once a person is branded a slave inside Isger or Cheliax, than they are forever stripped of their freedom within those borders. If someone manages to escape and their slave brand is noticed within the borders then they are recaptured and sold off at the market with the state collecting the gold. Another example is that the state doesn't allow the building of temples or organized meetings of followers of chaotic powers, including demons. To be caught doing so is to be branded a conspirator against the state and subsequently punished with fines, slavery, or even death. In Cheliax these are enforced with more fervor, and in Isger it is simply seen as the law.
The party is starting in the city of Logas as a group of slaves that were branded but yet to make it to the market. A NPC CG nobleman from Varisia, and former adventurer with a strong anti-slavery drive has set plans in motion for a massive midnight slave liberation. This plan has been months in the making and will effect several slave dens around the city, and he has ships set at the docks to carry slaves down river to freedom. The game will start off with the cell doors of the party being knocked open by a large explosion from the floor above them.


The Party
Everyone in the party is second level, giving them enough xp to explain a little adventuring on their own, but nothing world shattering yet. In our games we assume the average adventurer is between 3-6th level. If you are on the top of the adventurering curve then you are a pretty well known hero/villain. Anything above that level is rare and seen as almost unstoppable by the common folk. A reasonable background of adventurering was worked out with the players and this is theirs stories at the start of the game. Because they are starting as slaves, have no real gear, although several guards died in the explosion and will have enough to get them started.

Markus Crispin, a Cheliaxian (Human) NG male Cleric of Sarenrae- Good and Sun Domain, with a kind way about him but with whom evil only gets one chance. No second chances, he is that kind of cleric. He broke the law to help a good man and was sentenced to slavery.
Durnagunn "the Mighty," a NG male Dwarven Barbarian. He is not a barbarian in the classic sense, but more like a dwarven fighter with anger issues. He grew up in a Dwarven city in the Five Kings Mountains but left because he felt their rigid laws were to controlling and stifling to his own views and to explore the world and prove himself to his clan. Alone in the wilderness, he was easy prey for a band of passing slavers.
Boral Shortstep, a CG male Halfling Bard. Hailing from a Halfling community in northern Andoran, this halfling spent much of his early life collecting books upon books filled with adventures and lore. Finally he felt it was time to hit the open road for an adventure of his own. So he set off one night and several towns down the road he meet up with some humans who took him out for a good night of feasting and drinking . . . lots of drinking. When he woke the next day he found he had been robbed and was chained to a wagon cell. To this, he simply looked at his captors and stated, "You all suck."
Il'lanna Beri'Taure, a Half-Elf of Cheliaxian descent (Dhampir) NG female Sorcerer with the Undead bloodline. Born in the Hungry Mountains of Ustalav over a century ago, after her pregnant human mother was killed by a vampire lord. The child survived and was hidden away by her true elven father. When at last word reached the Vampire Lord of the child, he went to claim her as his. Her elven father had studied all he could and was ready for the vampire and his minions. He bought her time to flee with his own life. She headed south and soon found she could use her dark talents to help others and as a group of slavers attempted a raid on a small community she sought to protect she was captured herself. She has managed to hide her Dhampir nature for the time being from both the slavers and her fellow slaves. *She has the appearance of a half-elf of Cheliaxian descent, but all stats and mechanics fall under the dhampir write-up.*
Arjack Hammerfist, a Ulfen (Human) CG male Fighter. His clan got wind that a vessel attacked and enslaved a ship of their warriors. An immediate rescue/revenge group was assembled and sent after the slavers. Due to poor weather, environmental hazards, and random encounters, Arjack is the last of the rescue group. While tracking the slavers who took his clansmen he inadvertently got caught and is the newest addition to the slave pens.

The next post from me will be a journal entry of the adventures of the UNCHAINED TROUPE!

[Khynshu]

EPISODE 1: DEATH TO THE SLAVERS (and NPC slaves)!!

So, feeling very pumped about the new campaign the group decided to start the game a bit early this week and all but one of the players were able to join the slave liberation fun. The starting party was:
• Markus, the human Cleric
• Durnagunn, the dwarven Barbarian
• Boral, the halfling Bard
• Il’lanna, the Dhampir Sorcerous

We rolled randomly for cell position and the bard and sorcerer were in a cell with npc commoner, the cleric was by himself, the barbarian was across the room in his own cell. There were also 2 other cells with 5 npc commoners inside. I placed the npc slaves in there because it made it seem more realistic to have commoner slaves, as well as a XP bonus based on how many of them the party could protect and guide to freedom.

The slavers and guards having been tipped off to the slave liberation plan have started removing slaves and transporting them to a more secure location. As the first explosion goes off and rocks the building slightly, the cleric looks to the lone guard watching over their cell block with a smile and asks him if he would like to repent now. The guard dismisses the cleric and gives a concerned look up the stairs. Before I can tell them about the next explosion the cleric raises his hands to the sky and shouts, “The Righteous Dawn is Coming!!” As if on cue, I tell the group that the second explosion shifted the stones in the floor above them and has pulled some of the cell doors open, also debris from upstairs collapses on the lone guard, burying him.

So we roll to see which cells get opened and sure enough the first one is the cleric, who simply smiles and gives thanks to his goddess as he walks into the hall like a conquering king. The bard and sorcerous are also freed. The group sets out trying to free their fellow slaves as the cleric checks on the blocked stairway to find there is no way out but they may be able to pull the body from the rumble to search for gear. The Halfling bard with an 11 Strength then roll a couple of natural 20’s and pops the rusted cells doors open like a tiny herculean chimp. The dwarf struggles for some time before getting assistance out of his bindings. The sorcerous starts checking the cells for rats to make use of her Vampiric Empathy and gain info on the structure of the place, but no rats are found. The Cleric tries to free the guard’s body but is unable to make the Strength check to do so. Then the Halfling walks up and in another feat of his chimp strength, pulls the guard free and proceeds to divide his goods amongst the meager group.

Another rumble from upstairs sends more dust and mortar falling on the group and the Dwarf uses his engineering skill to determine that the roof is likely to collapse in another couple minutes, or with the next explosion . . . whichever comes first. This panics the npc slaves and sends the party on a made dash to look for an alternative exit. The cleric calms the npcs down as the group locates a sewer grate fit into the floor. It is decided the well-built (17 strength) dwarf and the chimp strength halfing will attempt to pry the grate up using the dead guard’s sword as a pry bar. After a couple attempts the dynamic duo move the grate and toss it aside. The sorcerous grabs a torch off the wall as does a slave npc as the cleric dashes past them all and leaps into the sewer without bothering to look. He barely saves himself from sliding down a muck encrusted drainage tube into a sewer cistern that appears to be near full at the moment.
The group then carefully descends into the cistern, helping the npcs get down safely. As the group begins to shift through the filth and muck to a ledge and iron door ahead of them they are set upon by two dire rats. The rats win initiative and because the npc slaves are the closest targets, the rats fall upon two of them and quickly bite their throats out. The cleric screams a classic, “NOOOOO!!!!!” as the rats begin devouring the npcs. This left three npc slaves left. The Sorcerous uses her Vampiric Empathy to try and convince the rats that they would ALL like to leave their tunnels and she understands they are simply just hungry. She succeeds and the rats drag the fallen slaves back down into their burrow in the corner of the wall.

The dwarf and bard make it across the room and reach the door and notice that there are three levers in the wall, all in the up position. The dwarf, who has engineering, simply shrugs and decides to just pull all three at once. The rest of the party is still in the cistern along with the npcs as he does this. The bottom drops out of the cistern as the muck falls into an underground river, 2 of the npcs fall to a watery death as well. The third npc leaps to the edge, along with the cleric, and they hold on for dear life. The sorcerous manages to make a made dive for the stairs up to the ledge where the dwarf and Halfling are standing. The they hear the sound of old pipes being turned on and are immediately covered in a massive spray of water, followed by quick jets of flame that purge any remaining filth from the cistern . . . which is now completely clean and empty. The floor folds back up and the door opens. The dwarf looks at the group and with a grin states, “Well, door’s open . . . you coming?”
The group grumbles and follows the dwarf into the following tunnel. As he rounds the corner he spots two guardsmen who have been checking the sewers for escaped slaves or conspirators. The party rolled initiative and the dwarf went first, charging the guardsman with his Improved Unarmed Feat and missing horribly. The sorcerous went next and moved to the front of the hallway then fired Acid Splash at the guard in front of the dwarf and hit for max damage. The guards went next and engaged the party. Shouting orders one guard yelled, “Take the witch, I will deal with this dog!!” The sorcerous replied with, “I PREFER ENCHANTRESS!!!” then easily side stepped the clumsy swing of the guard. The dwarf mimicked the dodge and both guards missed. The rest of the group was bottlenecked behind the sorcerous, which was penned in the hallway by one of the guards. So the bard started to Inspire Courage, and the cleric decided to hold his action for the time being. The dwarf again swung his mighty fists, only to connect with the guards shield. The sorcerous went next and decided this looked like a good time to use her fangs and make a bite attack on the guard in front of her, to which she hit. Upon seeing this, the cleric believed a vampire in his midst and started casting protection from evil on himself and backing down the hallway asking his goddess to protect him. The bard was able to put together what she really was with a successful Knowledge (Religion) check based on her fangs, the fact he shared a cell with her and knows she eats, and sleeps like a normal person, and the fact she talked to rats earlier. He shrugs and calmly asks the cleric, “Haven’t you ever heard of a Dhampir before? You need to study more. She’s safe, mostly.” The fight continued for a couple more rounds with the dwarf missing a lot and the sorcerous feasting on the guard and the halfing trying to calm the cleric down. Finally the dwarf connected and knocked out the guard as the sorcerous finished feeding on the one she had faced off against. After the battle the dwarf walked up to the sorcerous and asked, “I don’t have to worry about you trying to eat me, do I?” After thinking it over for a second she gave the dwarf a blood filled smile and said, “Nope, not really.” Nodding his approval he took that moment to start a formal introduction of himself to the “Enchantress of the grave.”

After looking and passing out the guards belongings to the group and the cleric coming to a wary acceptance of the Dhampir in his midst, the party entered the next chamber. There they saw 25ft ladder leading up to a grate where light and sounds of battle were filtering down. They agreed to send the Halfling up to investigate and up the latter he went. At the top of the ladder he saw a massive battle between slavers and guardsmen who were being attacked by buccaneers led by a finely dressed man who was freeing slaves. The Halfling decided to help out and from the drain targeted a couple slavers with Sleep and giggled as the buccaneers set upon the unconscious foes. He then descended the ladder to inform the party of the situation.
The dwarf decided to take the lead and managed to lift the grate and join the fighting on the side of buccaneers. The rest of the party followed and it was basically a one sided fight at that point. In three rounds the party had destroyed the slavers. They then had a quick introduction with the buccaneers and their leader, Lord Verik. The party then joined the buccaneers in protecting the allotment of free slaves and when they reached the street they saw the city docks in turmoil. Escaped slaves from all across the city were led to the docks by bands of buccaneers hired by Lord Verik. They fought slavers and guards as they made their way to a series of ships that would take them to freedom. The group fought several bands of guards/slavers, while under a hail of arrows and made their way to the flag ship. There they fought a larger troupe of guards led by a Hell knight. The battle went quickly in the party’s favor as the sorcerous started using Sleep and the other party members cleaned up the mess. The group boarded the ship and sent the mass of freed slaves below deck for safety as they helped get the ship out into the river.

The next morning Lord Verik approached the group and commended them for their battle prowess and desire to protect the less combat ready slaves. He then informed them that he would like to offer them compensation for their heroism and outfit them appropriately, if they agreed to look into some disturbing rumors he had heard before entering the city. The group agreed and Verik informed them that some of the more recent slaves brought into the city were victims of goblin raids on their small settlements. They had barely escaped with their lives when slavers came across them and snatched them up for a quick profit. He offered to let the party take some weapons and armor from the ship’s armory and gave them 25 gp each. They were also promised 300gp more if they could locate the source of these rumors and take care of it. They all agreed and stocked up in the armory before being taken to the river bank. We ended the session with the party about to set out to make their way inland and discover the nature of these rumors, and hopefully keep their slave brands a secret from the local guards and populace.

Any suggestions or constructive feedback is welcome, I hope you enjoy the Journal of the Unchained Troupe.