PDA

View Full Version : Journal The Ale-kegger Saga (A Pathfinder Campaign Log)



Beowulf DW
2014-04-12, 02:24 PM
This is the campaign log of Ale-Kegger (it'll make sense in a bit...I hope). This was set up as a relatively open-world style campaign set in the official Pathfinder setting of Golarion. Our group is getting slightly more serious about the details in this campaign than we have in years past, thanks to the fact that we don't have to make up a setting this time around. As such, we'll be keeping track of the time of year, the seasons, the weather, the politics of the regions, and so on.

First up, I suppose I should introduce the characters. Actually, scratch that, I need to explain some things first. We rolled for our stats. The rules were that we would get three sets of rolls, and each roll would correspond with an ability, whether we wanted it to or not. For example, the first roll in a set would go to Str, and so on down the character sheet. We would pick the set of rolls we liked the best, or could at least work with, and then we moved on to rolling for characters using the rules in Ultimate Campaign. Again, as an example, my character ended up being a twin, kidnapped when I was young, and my mother's dead. It was up to us to fluff out the results beyond the framework provided. Once that was done, our GM told us to prepare two character sheets, as we would be using the rules for young characters. This entails the use of an NPC class until we "come of age," either through the passing of time or through some significant event that would impart maturity on us. At this point, we would switch to the PC class of our choice.

Okay, now onto the characters:
Rorrim Gamah: He's basically Varric from Dragon Age minus the crossbow. A highly charismatic dwarf that loves stories. Began play as an Expert, became a Rogue.

Dongrun Gamah: Rorrim's brother, and the dwarfiest of the pair. Helped their dad at the forge, started play as a warrior, became a Forgemaster Cleric. Which in a game like this could come in quite handy.

Tribin Benthey: Half-elf son of an elven merchant. Pretty much the richest family in town. Started as an expert, I think he's a bard now.

Leoneiros: Adopted brother of Tribin. Hides a dark and dangerous secret. Started out as an Aristocrat, became a Tactician. Creeeeeeed!

Greil Tarmikos: The sickly son of a farmer. The group's token human. Started as a commoner, became a Synthesist Summoner. My character! :smallbiggrin:

Beowulf DW
2014-04-12, 02:25 PM
Session One


Alekegger: the Legend Begins

[The village of Burgwe, in the nation of Isger]

In the dead of night, a dwarf child stirred. Unable to sleep, he bore the cold air, keeping a lonely vigil as he spun ever greater stories in his young mind. Rorrim Gamah loved stories, especially when he got to tell them. Especially when he was a part of them. Little did Rorrim realize that the first great adventure of his life was about to come riding through town.

Two riders, backed by a pack of hunting dogs, rode silently but quickly through the town. Rorrim watched them intently. Burgwe was a small farming village, and unknown riders of any kind were a rarity. Besides, what would there be t-wait! There! On the second rider’s head! Were those horns? Rorrim could feel that this had all the makings of a good story. He quickly moved back inside, and woke up his brother, Dongrun. Though initially annoyed, Rorrim convinced his burlier brother that this would be an adventure worth remembering. Putting their cloaks on, they moved out into the night to gather the rest of their friends.

Moving through the cluster of buildings at the center of the village, the brothers came to their first stop: the house of the elf Adard, a relatively wealthy merchant. The dwarves threw rocks at a particular window until they attracted the attention of their two friends, Leoneiros and Tribin. Leoneiros was a half-elf, adopted into Adard’s family some years ago. Tribin was Adard’s trueborn son, also a half-elf. After telling his friends what had happened, Rorrim convinced them to come along much the same way he had convinced his brother. Now the group moved towards its final member, conveniently living on a farm slightly apart from the village on the road the riders had used.

Greil Tarmikos was much younger than his companions, owing mostly to the fact that he was a human. Greil was always quite sickly, and being kidnapped after witnessing the murder of his mother during the Goblinblood wars a few years ago hadn’t helped. This tended to make him the most hesitant of the group to venture forth, though it also made him an eager audience for Rorrim’s tales. Incidentally, the young human is already awake, having suffered from recurring dreams in which something keeps calling to him. Greil took the most convincing, noting that a pack of dogs that can move that silently together is likely well trained, and also that the one with the horns may be a Tiefling (when half your day is taken by sitting and reading, you tend to pick up a few things).

The ragtag group moved down the road, which was rapidly becoming more of a path. Unable to see so well, Greil was kept to the center of the group, since everyone else could see better in the dark than he does (puny human). Eventually, the path came to an end, and the groups looked down into a darkened vale nestled high in the mountains. They could see a light, likely a torch, at the other end of the vale, but it became clear that dawn would soon be upon them, and they elected to return to their homes. The friends agreed to meet in the village square before noon, and slunk back to their beds.
The next day, the friends “awoke” and went about their chores, all the while trying to convince their parents to let them go on a hike to the vale. Greil saw to the creatures on his family’s farm while his father, twin sister and younger brother carried out the heavier tasks. Greil might not have been physically capable for much physical labor, but he had always had a way with animals. Eventually, approached his father with the request to go hiking with his friends. Concerned for his son’s health, but happy to see him striking out with his friends, Greil’s father agreed.

The half-elf brothers Leo and Tribin tended to their chores and then asked leave to go on a walk through the wilderness to honor Erastil. Considering that it was a day of worship, it seemed to make sense, and they were permitted to run off.

Rorrim and Dongrun requested leave from their father, the dwarfiest dwarf in the village. The stout brothers asked to go into the forest to hunt a bear in honor of “Ale-kegger” which they claimed is an important tradition of dwarves and Torag, entailing the drinking of gallons of ale and the performing of brave deeds. Their father considers this for all of fifteen seconds before saying “Okay,” (even though there is no such holiday and he should know this). He even lets them have the family greataxe, as long as they promise to try for an especially large bear. This likely says a lot about dwarven parenting.

The five friends met in the village square, having collected certain tools that might come in handy, including a bottle of alchemist’s fire, a sickle, the aforementioned greataxe, and some interesting items from Leo’s real father. Stored in an attic, Leo and Tribin found a fancy old chest, which contained a well-made spyglass, and two ornate short swords. You see, Leo’s real father was a member of the elf nation Kyonin’s royal family, killed during the same riot that sent Leo fleeing for his life.

The youths were about to set off, when several armored riders thundered into town. The tunics these soldiers wore over their armor marked them as guards of Isger. Their leader went to the board in the village square, and hammered a wanted poster to it. The riders left immediately, and Rorrim promptly ran up to inspect the poster, reading it out to his friends,

“WANTED ALIVE!
1000 Gold Bounty
Two Tiefling Bandits Going By Alias
HELL'S BITCHES

*Known to be armed and dangerous*
-HRS Hedvend VI”

(So, yeah. The riders are bandits. Betcha didn’t see that coming!)
And so prepared, the companions set off. Following the path they found was much easier in the light of day, and they made excellent speed out of the village and into the vale they had found the night before.

They approached the cave cautiously. Seeing that the horses were not tethered outside, and that no torches could be seen inside, the children assumed that the riders were elsewhere. They ventured into the first chamber, and started coming around a bend, when they noticed something: there was a light coming from around the bend. Promptly deciding that they’ve gotten in too deep, the youngsters elect to sneak back home. Unfortunately, the tiefling’s dogs have already become alerted to the presence of intruders, and begin barking. The bandits and their dogs round the bend and close in on the friends at the cave mouth. Freedom seems so close, but all of the children know that to run now is to submit to being ripped apart by the dogs.

Coming together in an amateur’s approximation of a phalanx, the young friends faced off against the pack of dogs while their masters sauntered up, sizing up their prey.

“Well, well. What have we here?” asked one.
“A batch of half-baked thieves, I think,” answered the other.
“Shall we put them back in the fire ‘til they’re ready, then?” said the first.
“Oy, oy, oy! Ye can nay kill a dwarf on Alekegger, lass!” said Dongrun.

The bandits glanced at each other, confused. “What’s Alekegger?” they asked in unison. Dongrun smiled and waxed eloquent on the ancient dwarven tradition he’d made up that morning. However, the bandits refused to see the righteousness of Alekegger, and continue to advance with their dogs.

In a bid for time, Greil stepped forward and asked the tieflings, “So you really are called Hell’s Bitches?” One of the tieflings smiled and said to the other “See? I told you we’d be famous.” Turning back to the human child, she explained that yes, they were called Hell’s Bitches, because they were tieflings that used a pack of dogs. “But wait,” cautioned Greil, “All these dogs are male. If you call yourselves bitches, doesn’t that imply…”

The two tieflings displayed rapidly souring expressions as they considered such an interpretation of their name; it clearly hadn’t occurred to them before. As their tempers finally got the better of them, the bandits ordered their hounds to the attack. As the young friends prepared for their first taste of combat, Greil drew upon his affinity for animals and issued a strong command that cut across the small vale: “Sit! Stay!” Astoundingly, the pack of dogs obeyed, sitting stock still and actually looking pleased with themselves to have followed the command so quickly. Completely taken aback, the tiefling bandits began to berate their canine compatriots, completely ignoring the boys slinking away into the trees.

Realizing that they stood no chance of outrunning the bandits on the path, the boys hid in the trees, hoping to make their way home by a different route. The bandits and their hounds charged past the concealed friends, completely missing them. After waiting for a few minutes to make sure the the bandits had left the vale, the friends emerged from hiding and doubled back to the cave, their minds set on some mischief. First, they stole everything in the big chest the bandits kept, then Rorrim and Leo rigged some Alchemist’s Fire to explode the next time the chest was opened. Satisfied with their work, the boys hurried back into the woods, and used a series of deer paths to make it back to the village.

The young friends ran into the village yelling for everyone to go to the square. The whole village was soon gathered around the group, as they related what had happened, and showed everyone the trinkets taken from the bandits. The villagers promptly utilized the defensive technique tried and tested by other villages the world over: they grabbed their torches and formed an angry mob. The mob arrived at the cave just in time to hear an explosion, and the telltale flash of alchemist's fire, at which Dongrun shouted "HAPPY ALE-KEGGER!" Faced with such formidable rustic tactics, the bandits surrendered, and were bound and gagged in the square.

Boys were hailed as heroes (and promptly given a stern talking-to by their respective parents, except for Rorrim and Dongrun; again, dwarf parenting), and permitted to keep the gold and trinkets they had taken from the bandits. In turn, the 1000 gold bounty for the bandits would be the village’s. It was a major windfall, to say the least. Most of the residents could likely have gone their entire lives without seeing so much gold. However, this bounty was nothing compared to how the five friends had grown. After relying on each other, and facing death, they had all reached a turning point in their lives, and new powers would soon awaken in each of them over the next week.

The first to feel the winds of change was Dongrun, as the voice of the dwarven god Torag called him to service. Impressed with Dongrun’s courage, skill at the forge, and his creation of a holiday celebrating all things dorfy, Torag made the young dwarf into a Forgemaster Cleric.

Things finally “clicked” for Rorrim, what with setting traps and sneaking around. His skills as a Rogue have finally been refined.

The events at the cave awoke Leo’s latent psionic powers, which combined with his tactical genius, made him a budding young Tactician, eager to retake the destiny that was stole from him.

Tribin became an Archivist Bard. I can’t remember exactly why. Sue me.

The strange dreams that Greil has been having finally gave form to a “vision” of sorts. It seems that his latent magic abilities and desires to overcome his natural weaknesses have called forth an eidolon. Fusing with the strange being, Greil is granted everything that fate tried to take from him. He has become a Synthesist Summoner.

With their new abilities having manifested, most of the village agrees that the youngsters stand the best chance of safely turning the bandits in and retrieving the bounty. They decided to take the bandits to a nearby fort, then deposit the bounty at a bank used by Tribin and Leo’s merchant father. Before setting off, Dongrun and his father worked on armor and weapons to equip the group. Meanwhile, Greil and Leo used their talent with animals to train most of the bandit’s dogs to defend the village, while taking two with them on their journey. They also commandeered the horses the bandits rode. This left just one problem: how to transport the bandits. A cart would be ideal, but none of the villagers seemed to have a cart to spare. It was then that a mysterious man entered the village. He seemed to be from Osirion or Qadira by the look of him.

“Hello, little friends! You are needing speedy way to move bandits, yes? I am being Crazy Hassan, and I have camels and camel cart to take bandits for bounty!” Sure enough, this Crazy Hassan had a large herd of camels and a few carts, though how he had managed to get them here without anyone noticing sooner was a mystery.

“Thank you the offer,” said Tribin, “but we can’t afford both a camel and a cart. We already have horses and need a horse cart.”

The man who called himself Crazy Hassan thought for a few moments. “You are being very young adventurers, yes? Camel cart work for horse very nice. Crazy Hassan give you at discount! Then when you are being mighty older adventurers, you come and buy camels! Crazy Hassan will have special adventuring camels for you!”

The five friends accepted the stranger’s offer gladly, promising to purchase some camels when next they meet him.

With this, the last of their preparations are complete, and the five friends take their first steps into a greater world.

Beowulf DW
2014-05-07, 09:59 PM
Heavens above, it takes me a while to get any traction. The chronicle of our first session is complete. I'll get to work on the second session soon. What do you think so far?

Smorgonoffz
2014-05-08, 12:15 PM
I like it, coming of age stories are my favorites.

Beowulf DW
2014-05-08, 06:55 PM
Glad you're liking it so far. Though I admit that it is a bit of a challenge to remember that we're a bunch of kids, and not the adults we usually play as.

Beowulf DW
2014-06-13, 10:54 AM
Session 2

From the Journal of Rorrim Gamah

We set out to Wolfpoint fortress to turn in the bounty immediately after getting the cart from the strange camel merchant, Crazy Hassan. We chatted with the bandits for a time, and they revealed that they hadn’t been at the banditry business for very long at all. They were in fact runaway slaves from Cheliax, which might actually explain why they were wanted alive, and why the bounty was so high, despite the fact that they hadn’t really done much as criminals. We ended up gagging them again after a while, though. They got annoying.

It wasn’t long after that, while continuing our trek down the mountain road, that we ran into a goblin ambush. We had the dogs guard their former masters while we dealt with the greenskins. Greil and his new...friend...performed admirably using the spear that my dad had made for him. The hardened plates on this eidolon, “Venator” as Greil calls it, seem to deflect blows quite well, and the strikes that did land didn’t seem to hurt him much. I fought alongside Greil, slipping my blade into the goblins’ backs whenever I could. Some call that fighting dirty; I call it winning. My brother, Dongrun, tried to get in on the action, but...Well, he tried to climb up one of our horses and then jump into the fight while screaming “Alekegger!” He ended up landing on one of the poor dogs. Ah, well. We still love him. Tribin helped us by telling us of goblin weaknesses, allowing us to finish them off quickly (he still needs to work on his delivery, though. I feel like I’m in a lecture). Leo used his new powers to manipulate the plants around us to trip the goblins up, and also let them have it with his bastard sword. The goblins were soon slain, and we began going through what few possessions they had. Most of it was worthless except as scrap except for some weapons and armor that their leader carried. Also of note were two signet rings. Leo told us that one was from a minor noble house, but the other bore the crest of the House of Thrune, the ruling family of Cheliax, quite possibly the most powerful family on the continent. None of us could really believe it, but after examining it closely, Leo and Dongrun assured us that it was genuine. We’re still not sure what to do with it. A reward for its return could be nice, but we’re talking about a family that worships the powers of Hell, here!

We packed away our loot, and we continued on our way until nightfall. We set up camp, and we figured that we ought to set watches, because that’s what adventurers do in the books we’ve read. As we sat around the fire, eating and joking and getting a bit sleepy, we heard something approaching. We got ready in the event that it was something unpleasant, but we soon saw that it was just an old human. Well, that’s what we thought at the time, but it turned out that he was quite a bit more than that.

We invited him to our fire and got to talking. We explained that we were turning in the bounty on the bandits on behalf of our village. He was quite interested by the fact that such young beings had taken to adventuring. He seemed quite pleased with our enthusiasm, though he seemed to have doubts about getting such a young start. He introduced himself as Grey, and he informed us that he was part of something called the Pathfinder Society. He explained that Cheliax, and thusly our home of Isger, were somewhat hostile to Pathfinders. When I asked why, he said that the Pathfinder’s mission was to seek out artifacts and preserve their stories and the stories of the world. “You see, young master, Isger is under the thumb of Cheliax, and the Chelish prefer a certain version of history. The Pathfinders are interested in the truth, and so we are not particularly welcome here,” said Grey. By this time, my brother and our friends had gone to sleep. Grey and I were the only ones talking. I told him about our adventures so far. He seemed very interested in my love of stories, and gave me a massive tome, Volume XI of the Pathfinder Chronicles. Grey told me to seek out the Pathfinders when I’m older, as they could always use talented and clever storytellers.

Grey left the next morning, bid us all farewell, and told us that he would be heading up the road and into the mountains. More than that he wouldn’t say. I wonder what could be so interesting up there for a man that’s seen so much. At any rate, we got under way once again. We were soon off the incline and onto the portion of the road that follows the banks of the Conerica river. We continued on our way to Wolfpoint, helping a half-orc get his cart out of the mud before coming around a bend and seeing the line to pass through the fort’s checkpoint. It seemed that everyone was required to pay a fee to pass. The fee was assessed in accordance with the cargo being carried. When it was eventually our turn, we explained that we wished to enter the fort to collect a bounty. The officer at the gate said that, as a matter of procedure, we would be charged fees for a cargo of exotic slaves which would then be repaid on top of the bounty. Tribin asked the officer for a written voucher just to be on the safe side. We paid the fee, passed through the checkpoint, and then crossed the drawbridge to the fortress. We got quite a few stares, and if we weren’t posing as Greil’s squires at the time (with Venator on he looks like a fully grown human in black armor) somebody might have accosted us.

Eventually we were brought to the commanding officer (though all the regular soldiers we asked for directions didn’t seem to thrilled about mentioning him at all) and we explained our purpose. Things went downhill quickly. He admitted that the tieflings resembled the description, but he acted sceptical, asking us why else we thought that these women were the Hell’s Bitches. Eventually, he had two of his officers take them into custody, and told us to spend the night at the fort’s tavern while he confirmed “the veracity of our claim.”

We are all now entirely sure that this guy and his officers are intent on robbing us of the bounty and trying to claim it for themselves. Several of the rank and file soldiers confirm this at the tavern later on; in fact, they tell us that we would hardly be the first bounty hunters it’s happened to (they were a bit drunk at the time). In the meantime, we decided that we ought to get a room in the event that the greedy commander tried more violent ways of keeping us from getting the bounty. Unfortunately, all the rooms had been bought up by a caravan from Druma. Tribin and Greil informed us that the Drumish practice a belief system in which the accumulation of wealth is the highest virtue. They also dress all in white, and wear gloves to avoid direct contact with “non-believers.” They sound like fun, don’t they? After hearing this, my brother Dongrun gets an idea. The rooms aren’t very expensive for us, what with our loot from the goblins and Hell’s Bitches, so Dongrun offered them 3 times the price of the room. The lead Drumish did not speak to us at all, merely nodded and instructed his subordinates to take the coin and clear out the room.

With a room secured, we walked back down to the common room to get a meal. As we ate, Dongrun suddenly seemed to get an idea. He ordered a massive round of ale for the soldiers in the common room, and got them talking. Turns out that many of them aren’t getting paid enough, or on time. The commander and the officers on the other hand seem to get richer by the day. Around this time, Dongrun started telling the men about Alekegger, explaining the consumption of ale and the doing of deeds for great justice. After hearing all the wonderful things about Alekegger, the soldiers (now incredibly inebriated) decided that they weren’t going to put up with this treatment anymore. They gathered outside Wolfpoint, and then laid siege to their own fortress. We decided to follow along, because we sort of felt responsible for the whole thing. The soldier’s numbers and knowledge of Wolfpoint’s layout allowed them to quickly overwhelm the officers and capture the commander. We arrived in the commander’s quarters just as he was being bound.

“You’re all mad! They’ll hang you all for treason!” he cried.
“Only if they hear your version of the story,” answered Greil. Tribin mentioned something about “Infamy points,” but I didn’t quite catch it.

With the commander in chains, I decided to unlock his chest and go through some files he apparently didn’t want anyone to see. Not only was he cheating his men, he was withholding revenue from the tolls from the capital. More than enough evidence to get him hanged, while simultaneously turning the mutiny into an act of patriotism. The soldiers thanked us, and we retired to our room for the remainder of the night.

The next morning, we awoke to find the fortress running pretty much normally. The soldier’s de facto leader (what with all their officers in jail) presented us with the bounty, and wished us well. Incidentally, I think it was the same soldier that posted the wanted poster back home. We set out with two less passengers to the next town down the road. Tribin and Leo’s dad had instructed us to deposit the bounty at a bank which he had dealings with. The gold would be much safer there, and of much more use. Rather than keeping and carrying the gold every time the village needed something, they could keep it in the bank, without having to worry about bandits stealing it all on the road.

Completed at last.

Beowulf DW
2014-06-20, 11:50 PM
Session 2 is now complete. It's told from the view point of Rorrim, and includes our first mentor figure, goblin battles, mysterious rings belonging to evil overlords, and Marxist rebellions.