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Tzi
2014-10-19, 12:23 AM
So, this is my first truly fleshed out campaign that is going excellent and well. If anyone is interested I will post this as much as possible and add extra info as I am able to.

First to summarize the world:

Astaria! Named for the ancient Elven Titan of the same name whom was in their great Pantheon, called the Tide Empress, or Queen of the Typhoon and sometimes the Coral Queen. This stormy Titan suites the world that bares her name as it is a world of tranquil summers, but intense rainy winters. Five hundred and thirty years ago the collective members of the Ashangon, or Great Ark fled our doomed world of Madara for another. Of the 10 million souls, who arrived on this alien world, many perished in the first years. However the collective races number 75 million today spread across the bottom south west of the main continent dubbed Madara for our original home.

The world is divided into many Dominions, Ethnic Colony States, Colony Provinces, and myriad of political orders as people settled and migrated across the many parts of our new world.

Orbiting above is a pale Silver and Blue moon, Caledon, named for the Elven Titan of Time and lover of Astaria. Astaria itself is 80% covered in water, is the second planet from its parent star and save for the typhoons and intense rain seasons, is a warm, hospitable world. To date, we have encountered no intelligent life, though ruins and megalithic structures indicate it may have once walked across its this world.


So with that intro out of the way, lets introduce the cast of characters:
Annu Human Cleric of the Sun. Born in the Colony State of Khemit, or New Khemit she is a proud inheritor of her people. A fervent devote of knowledge and healing, she studied in monastic schools and has considerable knowledge of Alien ruins and oddities. She is wise, cautious and careful, but lacks social experience and is haunted by peculiar visions and dreams.
Doggit Stonefoot Dwarf Barbarian, of the famed Stonefoot line whom have often been among the first brave rough and tumble pioneers in an area. He carries this legacy with pride though he is the last male in the line and the last with the last name. Though many dwarves now claim the lineage. His sisters vow his death if he should get himself killed, how they intend to carry through with it? Anyone's guess. Though he is a heavy drinker, part of it is his own existential crisis of if he can live up to, and carry on the family name.
"Nikoli" Mikatzu Dark Elf (Drow by 5e stats) Paladin with a Lawful Evil bent. He will exercise judgement in the name of the Spider! The Spider being the Dark Elven Arch-Fey spirit of community or "She whose web binds us all!" He is intense, capable, and knows how to drive an automobile. He is a passionate defender of the community and will pursue that goal ruthlessly, but he has his secrets. His masked homosexuality could be his end in these times of deeply natalistic cults.
Trisha Van Tassel Half Elf Wizard in training, tagging along as the party recruited the plucky young adult who was looking to prove herself to her superiors in the Survey Corp Arcana division. She is intelligent and capable but naive and inexperienced.

And now, the parties introductory quest information, the "Journey into Hell!"

ATTENTION! Communication lines via the Voxograph line has been knocked out with the Keldra Peninsula region. With Winter setting in it is the opinion of the High Command of the Vespis Dominion that troubles in the Keldra province merit investigation. One Ironclad steam vessel will be deployed from the Port of Khepsetu to travel and dock at Brimsholme and investigate the downed communication line. The province has been in turmoil since Winter set in after a reported accident at the Eastvale mine and an alleged spat of Labor violence. Contact with authorities has been gone for three weeks and the railroad is out due to flooding. A brief window exists between the current Typhoon and the next with which to investigate and secure peace if needed.

Date: 10/01/516


With that the team was recruited into a 50 man strong group to sail to the province and ensure its just another quiet rainy winter with no unpleasant events over the now month since last communication with the province.

Tzi
2014-10-19, 12:54 AM
Session 1
10/09/0516 1300 Hour
Arrival and First Grasp of Disaster

The four adventurers arrive with the other 46 Survey Corp members at the port of Brimsholme. A small town listed at 800 full time residents according to the last completed census. The Township is dark, electric lights have gone out, the docks are damaged by heavy waves and winds and the ship is forced to sail slightly into the Yuirvald river and climb the dikes to get to the empty town. Their High Elven captain Alsyreth assures them this is typical as the coastal ports will empty if its expected to be a bad typhoon year. The people are assured that the people likely migrated north to "The Fangs," which is a large central mountain range.

The party is formed and given instruction to investigate the towns local Pub and Hotel while other contingents are told to go to the post office, town hall and lumber mill respectively to scout the entire township. The party discovers signs of a struggle in the "Fat Pig," and several pamphlets for the "Peoples Front," and calls for armed insurrection. Likewise they find overturned mattresses upstairs and in the back of the inn they find two charred corpses whom had been doused with petrol and burned. They go to the town hall to find their commander, finding that at some point the town had hung a half orc in tattered robes (Described as Steve Buscemi esque in appearance :thog: ) who carried a strange medallion on him that the Cleric Annu recognized as a symbol she had seen in her careful studies of alien ruins.

With growing alarm at the signs of a struggle, and the hasty flight the citizens seemed to have made from the town, and the existence of revolutionary literature, the Commander (Alsyreth) divided up troops into small party bands and handed out assignments. The smallest party, our noble hero party, was allowed to take one of the unused vehicles to drive west towards the capital and report to them and relay an important message and come back to Brimsholme which will act as central command. The uprising was determined to be in the east and was described as the work of "Hilda and her trade union army."

The first signs of trouble had been sown and the party, with deep unease and the driving rain above got into the vehicle and speed off along the road west. As they crested some hills and crossed a small creek bridge things began to seem more dire in the West than in the East. Whatever angry trade union uprising had begun, the west seemed totally empty. Two farms showed no sign of harvesting, the wheat and maze went uncollected and was now being damaged by the rains. Eventually the sun began to set and the winding country roads became difficult to navigate and their given map was outdated. They eventually creeping to a stop near a farmhouse, mechanic shop and petrol station. They are all very concerned about the silence of the region and the lack of people. It seems empty, farmhouse after farmhouse seems devoid of anyone or anything. No flickering lights, and no signs of harvest which should have happened weeks ago.

The party discovers within the farmhouse signs of distress. First a bloodied hand print on the door lead to a 5 minute argument between Trisha and Annu about proper procedure and Trisha fearing her first actual combat with an enemy.



Trisha The Survey Corp handbook says we need to report back. Something is not right here. No grain has been harvested, bloody hand prints? Something has happened in these counties. The commander has no idea.... we have to report....
Annu SHHHH Trisha! They could be in danger! We don't even know what we are seeing!
Trisha Our superiors need to know first, this is ALL suspicious.
Doggit I... You two... quiet, we might be able to capture who or whats behind the absence of people.


Nikoli bravely pushes the door open to see a bundled bunch of blankets on the floor and a Dire Wolf gnawing on something bloody and meaty within. The party attacks the dog, pouncing on the lone wolf and bringing it down relatively quickly. The lucky critting bastards then investigate what the dog was eating to discover to their grizzly horror it was a still living human woman. Her flesh covered in popped boils, bits of skin missing and signs that some infection had destroyed parts of her face and body, the dog was eating her as she still feebly clung to life. The horrified party severed her head from her spine as they were too low level to actually heal her.

With that the panicked party begins to formulate what was the matter, a sickness must have come through. Every farmhouse they past may simply have infected or deceased residents. In a panic they flee the home and prefer to stay in the empty petrol station across the road instead. There they locate a young boys journal, detailing his mothers infection, his sister joining a religious revival when the disease began three weeks ago and her announcement that she was pregnant by a father she refused to name. He also details his father going to nearby Kelsholme to get medicine for their mother and not returning and his older sister taking him to the village of Ervin which she said was safe from the sickness.

The party slept in the petrol station only to awaken later to find the dead body missing, their main evidence gone. Though this could be for the best. Would they want it in their car?

With that the first day and first session ended. A horrified party in the midst of an epidemic.