A One Man Journey (IC)

[ok.name]

The game starts in the village of Hilbrook.

Are you one of the locals, born and raised in this farming community?

Or are you a stranger, passing through on your journey, hailing from lands beyond the river?

Hillbrook is a small village, inhabited by humans. The total population falls a little short of one thousand people and the main labor activities are farming or fishing in the Salink river. Soldiering is also a profession favored by locals. Many young man and women leave the village to fight for gold in wars far from home. Those who return buy small plots of land to settle down to start a family.

The local lord is Conoth Tallfar. He oversees matters from his keep in the town of Wilford. As an aide, he has named Marista Swip mayor of Hillbrook, awarding her the Hillbrook Manor. She is a veteran fighter, and is deemed by all as a fair ruler.

The jewel and pride of Hillbrook is the village’s mill and social status is measured by how close one lives to the mill. The village’s square was build facing the mill and across the square lays the Hillbrook Manor, home of the mayor.
The rest of the village stretches through the north bank of the river Salink, amounting to a total close to 200 cottages and their respective fields.

To this day, no one has dared to cross the river and build or farm in the south bank. This is usually attributed to the fact that there is no bridge. But the real reason people prefer not to discuss is that the woods across the river are dangerous and full of monsters. Heck, the river itself hosts some nasty creatures in the bottom and fishers/sailors are ever so vigilant not to fall in the water.

North of the village, there is an old abandoned mine. The gold in it was mined ages before first human settlers came. Probably by gnomes or dwarves. All that is left is a hole in the hills where monsters can be found.

Today is a Sunday and also the first day of autumn. A big celebration Is being prepared in the village’s center square with a feast awarded by the mayor to all residents. Entertainment and music has been commissioned and many locals are collaborating with decorations or preparing food.

You have heard rumors that strange men have been sighted near the abandoned mine.

Kobolds have also been bothering the farmers committing small thefts in the dark of night.

The village’s blacksmith, Brenn looks very angry this morning. Snapping at people and cursing at every other minute. It seems he had some tools stolen from his workshop.

The captain of the fisher’s guild, a woman named Jill, is offering a guard job in one the boats taking goods to be sold in the market of Farport.

How do you fare in this village?

Tell me a little about your character?

[Squadfather42]

I'm Balian Rohmner, I was born and bred in Hilbrook. I grew up a typical kid, got into my fair share of trouble. My parents were Briant and Katarina. My mom was a seamstress and my father was a baker, but was also a member of the village milita. My father was killed during a night raid..years ago.

I've followed in my dad's footsteps and joined the village militia...even though I'm one if the newer members. I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do now that I'm of the age to be considered an adult.

I've heard the rumors about the kobolds and the strange men. I also heard about the guard job from the Guild Captain of the fishermen's guild.

I'm looking forward to the festival, even if the cursing from the blacksmith is drowning out the laughter of the kids.


I'll go down and talk to the blacksmith, see what he can say about the theft.

[ok.name]

The militia is formed by a band of volunteers, meaning you get no wages for your nights of patrol.
Heck, the village's makeshift barracks holds but a single cell. Which is empty most of the time, except when the village drunk, old man Ricksen is at it again.

That being said, what is it that you do for a living?

How good are you at it? Is it something you do with passion? Or do you often daydream about going on adventures and fighting for gold and glory?

Come to think of it, have you ever even seen a piece of gold? Most of the village trade is done in silver or copper. Gold is the currency of rich merchants and ship owners.

At the forge of the old blacksmith Breen, you find him livid with rage.

"That darnt bastard!! I should have killed him when he was an infant, I'll tell you!! A man's son should honor his father.. oh, rotten little boy, going off to soldier around the world? What good will come! He will be in a shallow grave before winter!!"

You know his only son, Kevin, has joined an organization called "The Black Army". They come every now and then making big promises of riches and glory, taking young men and women into their ranks.

The blacksmith goes on:

"My bastard son went on to some war and stole every last piece of iron that I had!!! How am I to forge anything now?? I'm in ruins! He stole all my ingots, all my tools... even the rings from my barrels. Only to make a cheap profit in some godforsaken corner of the world."

Now this is strange. You have known Kevin for years. He is a good kid. You don't think he would do this to his old man. But then again, we never know anyone for their true self.

[Squadfather42]

Ever since my father died, I stepped up and helped my mother as bedt as I could. Even though she was a seamstress, she knew the basics of being a baker. So we were able to keep that job going. We augmented that income with my mom's sewing and what odd jobs I could pick up. I've helped just about everyone with something at some point. I'd like to be picked as an apprentice of some sorts, yet would it be fair to start an apprenticeship and then leave to go fight with my friends or go adventuring like the stories my father told me.

With the silver and copper we both bring in, my mom and I manage a decent lifestyle. We manage to keep food on the table and the roof doesn't leak. I wish I could earn some gold, a few pieces of that and we'd be set for a while.

A lot of the villagers think highly of me, the mayor included, often saying how highly thought of I am, and how much I'm like my father. I'm proud of that part, I try to handle situations the way I think my father would.

The Mayor often jokes and says that I'd make a good mayor one day. Atleast I think he's joking.
-------------------

As I walk into the blacksmith's forge, I reflexively want to step back as, I hear Breen yelling. I walk into the stone building and wait for him to pause between yells, before I speak.

"Calm down Breen, you yelling like this doesn'thelp anyone. Now, you say thst someone stole all your iron ingots and your tools to work it. Now, you say that Kevin left and took them....that doesn't make any sense. I've known Kevin for years and he's never done anything like that. While he may have left the shop and gone to fight in the war, that doesn't mean he took the items."

I let the speech I gave him sink in for a couple minutes, before I speak to Breen again.

"Now then, since we've calmed down a bit, let's check the area over and see if we can find any clues that point to the culprit."

[ok.name]

I would like to see an investigation roll to see what clues might be around. :smallbiggrin:

[Squadfather42]

As Breen shows me the areas where the stolen items were, I look to see what clues I could find.


[roll0]

[ok.name]

The working area of the forge is located at the back of Brenn’s cottage.

While he makes sure to lock his doors at night, the forge area is completely outdoors

“Fire needs to breath, son. And smoke needs to vent. I prefer to work outside, be it sunny or hailing.”

So any burglar would have but to jump over a low fence.

You see his shelves, chests and barrels have all been rummaged through and if not for the items stolen, you’d guess a raccoon had been the culprit.

The pattern of rummaging is undoubtedly of animal making. It could only have been Warssos, the crazy old druid who lives down the river. He trained wild animals to attack the village.

[Squadfather42]

Balian crouched fown and examined the shelves and other areas affected by the burglar.

The marks do look like some kind of animals did the dirty work. Yet, that makes no sense. I wonder if that crazy druid finally snapped and turned his animals loose on the village? Eithet way, he'd be the expert to talk to.

I stand up and look at Breen. "Well, the marks here look almost animal like. I'd say a creature or animal of some kind ran off with your items. I'm going to talk to sone people and get their advice on this matter. This does prove that Kevin didn't do it. The only thing he's guilty of is running off to war."

Having said my piece. I slap Breen on the shoulder and wish him well. I then leave the smithy and head out of town, gking in the direction of where the druid lives.


When I'm talking to someone I'll post in bold. If I'm thinking or talking to myself I'll post in italics. Great game so far. I like the fact that I'm building his reputation literally from the ground up.

[ok.name]

“Aye, maybe it’s time I listened to my wife and built a better fence around the cottage.. Darn animals taking my ingots.. You know, you’re a good kid, Rohmner. Your father was a good man too. Wise, trustworthy.. You got that from him, I’d wager.”

The old man says goodbye and goes on to cleaning his workshop.

A little while after you step outside the blacksmith’s you hear a hail coming from the river. It’s your friend Sarah. She is a fisher like her father, and a fellow member of the militia. She is on her small boat hauling the catch of the morning. She says:

“Hey Balian! Mayor Swip is looking for you, it seems important. You should pass by her manor, if you get the chance. Oh, and we’re heading to Farport tomorrow morning! Captain Jill needs a new guard onboard, if you’d be interested in a little extra silver! It will be nice to have the company too.” She smiles and carries on in her small boat.

Locations:
Hilbrook - Your home village
Burnhope - a village nothwest of here
Farport - a marketplace-town down the river
Wilford - The regional capital town

NPCs:
Lord Conoth Talfar - lord of this region
Marista Swip - veteran fighter, mayor of Hilbrook
Brenn - village Blacksmith
Kevin - son of brenn, recruited by the Black Army
Jill - Captain of the fisher's guild
Warssos - old druid, possibly crazy, maybe culprit of ingot theft
Sarah - childhood friend, fisher

Rumors:
Strange men have been sighted around the old mine.
Kobolds have been bothering the farmers.

[Squadfather42]

I wave back at Sarah, as I walk down the street. "You got it, I'll go see her now. I'll check into the guard job as well...don't have to much fun falling in." I laugh as I say the last part. Everyone in the village knows Sarah is one of the strongest swimmers.

The Mayor's manor is along the route I was taking out of the village, so it wasn't that much of a detour. I walk up the steps and check myself over before knocking on the door.

[ok.name]

She is two years older than you. Your parents were best friends. She is tall, has pale skin, brown eyes and brown hair, which she cuts at shoulder lenght. She usually dresses like a tomboy and is a dedicated worker. She is a fellow member of the militia and has never lost in a fight. (Though she has never fought you).

Sarah broke her nose when she was 13 years old and the way it healed gave her a very unique look. Between that and her freckled face, some people disdain or dismiss her as ugly, but she has a soft and very unique beauty.

[ok.name]

Just outside Hillbrook manor, the house of Marista Swip, you see Connor and the Woodbrow twins.

They are sawing a big log and you see carpentry tools lying around. It seems they are building chairs and tables for the feast. From afar, Danielle Lacey and a few other girls are chopping veggies and preparing pies.

“Oy, Rohnmer!”

Connor approaches you. He is a decent person and a good friend. He and the Woodbrow twins are members of the militia.

“Come here for a minute, will ya?”

Connor is Sarah's younger brother and a year younger than you. Your parents were best friends. You grew up playing together and he has always tried to impress or overcome you, never really succeeding.

The Woodbrows are an old family of carpenters. They are strong men, but not very bright. They follow Connor around and do whatever he tells them to.

One time, Jasper Woodbrow ate an entire bee-hive out of a dare, unstopped by the stings.

And Carlo Woodbrow was bit by a werewolf when he was 11 years old. The cleric hired from the big city assured the curse didn’t take, but just for good measure, he gets locked in a basement every full moon.

Connor is looking at Danielle when he talks to you:

“what are you up to, my friend? Would you give us a hand with the preparations?”

Danielle Lacey is the most beautiful woman in the village. And she has the heart to match it too. Her mother says she’ll marry a prince and everyone in the village believes it, even though she is just a peasant girl.

Connor jokingly grabs a stick from the floor, pretending it’s a sword.

“Or would you rather fight me in a duel?”

He mockingly assumes a fighting stance, taunting you with moves of the stick.

Danielle is looking and smiling at both of you. Connor always gets like this in front of her.

“Now come on, don’t be shy, I promise I won’t hurt you.”

Locations:
Hilbrook - Your home village
Burnhope - a village nothwest of here
Farport - a marketplace-town down the river
Wilford - The regional capital town

NPCs:
Lord Conoth Talfar - lord of this region
Marista Swip - veteran fighter, mayor of Hilbrook
Brenn - village Blacksmith
Kevin - son of brenn, recruited by the Black Army
Jill - Captain of the fisher's guild
Warssos - old druid, possibly crazy, maybe culprit of ingot theft
Sarah - childhood friend, fisher
Connor – Sarah’s younger brother, childhood friend
Jasper Woodbrow – strong carpenter, a little dumb, eats bees
Carlo Woodbrow – strong carpenter, a little dumb, possibly a werewolf
Danielle Lacey – the village beauty

Rumors:
Strange men have been sighted around the old mine.
Kobolds have been bothering the farmers.

[ok.name]

1d20 - this is just a test.

I was just testing what happens if I try to fudge my rolls :b

[Squadfather42]

Balian smiles as he sees his friends. His smile gets a even bigger when he sees Danielle.

"I'm supposed to meet the mayor, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind you guys taking a break. Toss me one of those swords and we can begin."

As soon as Connor tosses the swords, Balian swings it a couple of times to get a feel for the weight and balance.

Looking over at the girls, Balian respectively bows. Looking over at Danielle, Balian smiles and winks quickly.

Looking back at Connor, and waiting until he is ready, Balian makes the first attack.

[roll0]


I wasn't sure if you wanted to roll for damage or if I should. Would it be considered a sword or a club? You can roll for this round if you want.

[ok.name]

Connor is a terrible fighter, you can tell. His stance is too hunched over, his wielding is poor, and his leg work is all over the place with no idea of what he is doing.

Looking at the girls (instead of his opponent), Connor rushes at you like a mad man, full force, straight ahead, with no tactical consideration.

You easily dodge his ill-adviced rush and knock him down to the mud with one swift and strong blow.

"Urrh..!"

Connor falls flat on his back, the wind knocked out of him. All covered in mud, he barely manages to get up.

The girls cheer loudly and Danielle blows you a kiss.

Connor doesn't say anything. He just gets back to work, resentful and humiliated. The Woodrbrows try to cheer him up, but he pays no mind to them.

The doors of Hilbrook Manor open loudly and Marista Swips steps out:

"What is this racket?!? I have been waiting for you. Quit playing silly games with your friends and get inside.. immediatly!"

This is not unusual of her, she has always been strict like this. Does not mean she is mad.

This was not a real combat, just a friendly sparring, so no need for rolling damage.
You got and excelent roll, you won fast.
Had it been a medium roll, it would be a closer race and if you had a bad roll... well, the mud from your fall would splatter in the face of the mayor. :smallbiggrin:

[Squadfather42]

I playfully catch Danielle's kiss and smile at her. Looking over at Connor, I feel bad for beating him even if it was just a sparring match.

"Hey Connor, if you want, later today I can show you how to place your feet. It'll help stabilize you and make your swings more powerful."

Turning my attention to the Mayor, I follow her inside the manor. I wait for her to get situated before I enter the room. When she's ready, I enter and stop in front of her desk.

"You wanted to see me, mam?"

[ok.name]

You enter the famed Hibrook Manor. It’s the first time you’re invite in. This two store house was constructed over a hundred years ago by Wollham Hilbrook himself, founder of the village.

Mayor Swip leads you through the halls into her study. In which you see huge shelves, built out of good oak, filled with a variety of books you’ve never seen before. A roaring fire fills the room with a confortable warmth and Lucien, the house butler, is quick to bring two mugs of ale.

Two children are playing by the fire, Melinda and Aaron. They are the daughter and son of Marista Swip. Her husband, Holmor Swip was killed seven years ago. Struck by lightning in a rainy night. Aaron was just a baby then, and Melinda was only four years old.

Marista Swip dismisses the children with a hand gesture.

“Thank you for the ale, Lucien. You’ve met Balian before, right? I need to discuss some matters with him, if you’d give us the room.”

The butler retreats as she goes on:

“You’ve been doing good work with the village militia, Balian. You’re a natural leader and a skilled combatant.”

Marista is 40 years old. She is a veteran fighter and has a big scar across her face to prove it too. Her skin is pale and she wears her blond hair long and tied at the back. She rarely smiles and she glares as if through you with her light blue eyes. She wears simple clothes and one would guess she is no more than a farmer.

“I have been summoned by our Lord to come to Wilford Keep. I cannot even fathom what is it that Lord Talfar might require of me, but nevertheless, I must go.”

She looks stressed as she adds.

“While I’m gone, I would like you to be acting mayor on my behalf. Does it seem like something you can do?”

[Squadfather42]

There have only been a couple of times in Balian's life that he didn't know what to say. This moment left them all behind. It was a good minute or two, before Balian was able to speak.

"Mayor, you honor me by even considering that I'm worthy of such a position. Id be honored to act on your behalf. As such, I feel the need to inform you of the current events. I'm sure you've heard the rumors of the strange men near the old mine. As well as the one concerning the kobolds stealing from the farmers."

Still a bit overwhelmed by the announcement, Balian pauses to catch his breath.

"There is the recent issue of the theft at the blacksmith's. All of his iron ingots and some of his tools were stolen. Breen thought his son Kevin was behind the thefts, seeing as he left to go fight in the war. I checked the area over and discovered animal scratches on and around some of the containers the items were in. There has always been that rumor about the mad druid in the the forest training his animals to attack the village. I doubt that is the case here, but I cant pass on the similarities."

Now with a look on his face that's a mix of concern and worry, Balian continues to speak.

"The Captain of the fishermen's guild is looking for an extra guard for a delivery run up river. I was going to volunteer for the spot....Uhm, mam...as acting mayor would I still be able to investigate and help out? Id like to finish the investigation into the theft at the blacksmith's and look into the rumors. You also know that since my father died I've been taking the odd job here and there to help my mom out. Can I still volunteer for the guard job?"

[ok.name]

“I’m not one to give my trust easily. And I trust you. At least I trust you have your heart on good intent, but you lack experience. I would like to see how you fare at this challenge.”

She gets up from her chair and pokes the fire reflective.

“Yes, I heard of the strangers around the old mine. But as long as they stay up there and don’t come bothering us, I see no need for action. What if we send a group over there and they all get killed? I wouldn’t risk it. If you find reasons to go there, I trust your judgement.”

She moves over to the shelves and starts running her fingers lightly through the books.

“Kobolds have always lived in these lands. They lived here before us. Nasty little creatures.. cowardly too. They only fight if they outnumber us. So far, I would wager their misdemeanours to be tolerable. They steal a chicken here and there, no big harm. If you go wondering into a kobold’s den, you can easily find yourself in an ambush. The feast will calm the farmers and when winter sets in, the kobolds will hide in their dens.”

She picks up a book and swiftly shuffles through the pages.

“Have you ever considered studying wizardry?”

She quickly shakes her head and puts the book back.

“Oh, Warssos, the druid.. He used to be my friend, you know? We adventured together back in the day.. I don’t think he is mad, not at all.. Pay a visit to him, see for yourself.”

“Now regarding your duty as acting mayor, I trust you to attend the village audiences and rule over people’s quarrels. My butler, Lucien will keep you informed of the schedule. Whatever else you do with your time, is completely up to you. The next audience will be two days from now. Just make sure you’re in the village at the time.”

“Do you have any more questions? If not, I need to see if my horse is fit for the road. I will be leaving tonight.”

Todays is saturday, 1st day of fall.
The feast will be held tomorrow night.
Your next audience will be Monday, 3rd day of fall, by the evening.
The Mayor Marista Swip is expected to return on monday, 17th of fall

Locations:
Hilbrook - Your home village
Burnhope - a village nothwest of here
Farport - a marketplace-town down the river
Wilford - The regional capital town

NPCs:
Lucien - Butler of Hilbrook Manor
Lord Conoth Talfar - lord of this region
Marista Swip - veteran fighter, mayor of Hilbrook
Brenn - village Blacksmith
Kevin - son of brenn, recruited by the Black Army
Jill - Captain of the fisher's guild
Warssos - old druid, possibly crazy, maybe culprit of ingot theft
Sarah - childhood friend, fisher
Connor – Sarah’s younger brother, childhood friend
Jasper Woodbrow – strong carpenter, a little dumb, eats bees
Carlo Woodbrow – strong carpenter, a little dumb, possibly a werewolf
Danielle Lacey – the village beauty

Rumors:
Strange men have been sighted around the old mine.
Kobolds have been bothering the farmers.
Maybe Warssoss isn't really mad..?

[Squadfather42]

"No mam, I have no questions about being acting Mayor. I didn't realize you were an adventurer. Where all have you been and what have you seen?"

Balian stands there looking around with an almost child-like look on his face.

"Do you seriously think I could be a spellcaster? I mean, I've loved history and legends ever since I spent part of a summer with that elven wizard. You remember, when that adventuring party came through looking for a place to heal up. I know you have to be smart as well. Were you a spellcaster?"

[ok.name]

"One person can be whatever they choose. Maybe that's the tragedy of it.."

She politely asks you to leave and the butler Lucien escorts you out.

You realize the mayor dodged your questions. Maybe she doesn't like to talk about her past? Maybe she knows nothing about magic? Or.. Maybe her trust really doesn't come easily. You think if you do a good job as acting mayor she will be willing to open up and answer your questions truthfully.

You find yourself outside Hilbrook Manor. The better part of the afternoon is gone. What will you do next?

Todays is saturday, 1st day of fall.
The feast will be held tomorrow night.
Your next audience will be Monday, 3rd day of fall, by the evening.
The Mayor Marista Swip is expected to return on monday, 17th of fall


Locations:
Hilbrook - Your home village
Burnhope - a village nothwest of here
Farport - a marketplace-town down the river
Wilford - The regional capital town

NPCs:
Lucien - Butler of Hilbrook Manor
Lord Conoth Talfar - lord of this region
Marista Swip - veteran fighter, mayor of Hilbrook
Brenn - village Blacksmith
Kevin - son of brenn, recruited by the Black Army
Jill - Captain of the fisher's guild
Warssos - old druid, possibly crazy, maybe culprit of ingot theft
Sarah - childhood friend, fisher
Connor – Sarah’s younger brother, childhood friend
Jasper Woodbrow – strong carpenter, a little dumb, eats bees
Carlo Woodbrow – strong carpenter, a little dumb, possibly a werewolf
Danielle Lacey – the village beauty

Rumors:
Strange men have been sighted around the old mine.
Kobolds have been bothering the farmers.
Maybe Warssoss isn't really mad..?

[Squadfather42]

Looking around, Balian walks back to his house and puts on his armor. Grabbing his weapons and shield, Balian heads back out and starts heading towards the woods that the druid lives in.

[ok.name]

The way to Warssos’s Cottage:

Warssos lives isolated in the woods and going in the woods is always dangerous.

To get to his cottage, you need to take the road north, heading to the village of Burnhope. That part is safe and pretty straight-forward.

But following the road, after you pass the grass hills, you need to make a left and go off-road through the woods.

There’s supposed to be a trail, but you don’t know in what conditions this trail might be in. Besides, you could get lost in there.

As I mentioned in the PM, you can go to the druid’s cottage and be back by nightfall if you leave early in the morning. Right now is late afternoon, so you have to make a few choices:

1. If you borrow/steal a horse, you can expedite your errand.

2. You can decide to camp in the woods or even ask to sleep in the cottage.

Also, will you go alone? You can ask your fellow members of the militia to come with you and lend a hand. Your friends Hameed and Lockbur are supposed to be on duty tonight.


Members of the militia

Commander Joed Flimmer, short-tempered strong man, has one horse
Hameed Calig – Loyal, but not a strong figher
Lockbur Missep – Very bright, but gets scared easily
Dunlap Posner – Quiet, excellent marksman, has a bow
Sarah Devigne – intelligent, good fighter, has a horse
Connor Devigne – good heart, but a poor fighter
Jasper Woodbrow – dumb as they come, very strong
Carlo Woodbrow – very dumb, very strong

Todays is saturday, 1st day of fall.
The feast will be held tomorrow night.
Your next audience will be Monday, 3rd day of fall, by the evening.
The Mayor Marista Swip is expected to return on monday, 17th of fall

Locations:
Hilbrook - Your home village
Burnhope - a village nothwest of here
Farport - a marketplace-town down the river
Wilford - The regional capital town

NPCs:
Lucien - Butler of Hilbrook Manor
Lord Conoth Talfar - lord of this region
Marista Swip - veteran fighter, mayor of Hilbrook
Brenn - village Blacksmith
Kevin - son of brenn, recruited by the Black Army
Jill - Captain of the fisher's guild
Warssos - old druid, possibly crazy, maybe culprit of ingot theft
Sarah - childhood friend, fisher
Connor – Sarah’s younger brother, childhood friend
Jasper Woodbrow – strong carpenter, a little dumb, eats bees
Carlo Woodbrow – strong carpenter, a little dumb, possibly a werewolf
Danielle Lacey – the village beauty

[Squadfather42]

I stand there, outside the manor, thinking of my options. It would help to have a horse, but I'd have to borrow one. I'd never steal one. Most of the way will be easy, but when we go into the woods, it'll have a possibility of getting rough.

Walking down the steps, I pause and think of a possible solution. I look over at Connor, and the brothers, when a smile creeps onto my face.

"Hey Connor, if I can work it out how would you three like to stop what your doing and go with me to see the druid? It'll take the rest of the day and a small part of tomorrow. It'll get you guys away from here for a bit."

As I wait for their reply, I realize that I need at least one other seasoned member of the Militia. I wonder where Sarah and Dunlap are. I'll definitely have to talk to Commander Flimmer.

So, once I get Connor's response I head out to find Sarah, Dunlap, and Commander Flimmer.

[ok.name]

“Uh.. We was gonna ferment some beehive wine” Jasper says wiping the sweat from his forehead. “But.. Uh.. you bet! Anything you ask.”

Carlo adds “Yeah, a good hike through the woods! Maybe, uh.. Maybe we can catch a kobold? Make some uh.. kobold tail soup!”

(this is not a recipe that exists and it probably tastes awful)

They laugh loudly, the Woodbrow twins and prepare to follow you.

Your friend Connor looks straight at you and says disdainfully:

“You guys go on ahead. I have better things to do.”

You imagine he might be resentful of you for beating him in front of Danielle, the village beauty.

About your other friends, If you go to Dunlap’s farm, you will find him tending to the fields. He will reply: “Anything you ask, my friend! Let me get my bow and say goodbye to Jorelle and the kids!”

About Sarah, she will probably refuse because she is going to Farport in the morning, but there’s no harm in asking. Maybe she can be persuaded…

And from what you know of commander Flimmer, you imagine he will disapprove of your quest, as he usually disapproves of everything. A grumpy old man, he is always very vocal about patrols wandering too far out in the open. “Are you protecting the village or protecting the wilderness?” You can almost hear him screaming “Bandits will burn our village to the grounds while you’re out in the woods chasing morsels and collecting daisies!”

[Squadfather42]

I advise Carlo, Jasper, and Dunlap to grab their Militia gear (armor, weapon...etc) and to plan for a possible overnight stay. As they leave to get ready I tell them to meet me in the center of the village.

I next go try and find Sarah, to try and see if I can convince her to go with us and to let her know that I may not be able to make the run up the river.

Even though I'm thinking about the walk/patrolto the druid's house, I find myself thinking of Danielle and the kiss she blew. I wonder if she was playing or was serious? The thought of trying to find out does make me smile.

I also realize that I'm going to have to deal with the Commander. If he finds out we left and didn't tell him...well it's not going to be pretty. I'll deal with him after I've talked to Sarah.

[ok.name]

You find Sarah playing a game with some of the village kids near her house.

She gives a big smile when she sees you, but it quickly turns into a frown when she understands what you're proposing.

"Bailan, as much as I'd want to help you, I can't miss the run to Farport.. It's half my monthly income. Maybe if I asked father, he would go in my stead.. But he is old now, it won't be an easy trip for him."

I would like to see a persuasion check. :smallbiggrin:

[Squadfather42]

I reach over and pat Sarah on the shoulder. "You have nothing to be sorry for. Don't apologize for taking care of your family. We've been friends ever since we were kids playing "hunt the monster" in the village square."

I pause in thought as I try and think of a way to help Sarah.

"Tell you what, you go talk to your dad. Tell him the situation, that we are going to talk with the druid about the blacksmith theft. We are combining that with a little Militia training along the way. If between the two of you, that he can make the trip with no problems then great. Show up at the village square. Bring your armor, weapons, and prepare for a possible overnight stay. If you two decide you can't go, then no worries, you got a spot next time. You are someone that I trust, have no doubt of that."



[roll0]

[ok.name]

Sarah agrees and goes talk to her father.

You head back to the village square where you are soon met by your brothers in arms, who are ready for adventure.

The Woodbrows own no armour, they rely only in their thick skin and hard skulls. They are armed with clubs and slings and Jasper brings a small flag of beehive wine, which he offers to you.

Dunlap has leather armour, like yourself. He brings his bow and has a dagger as a back-up weapon.

And last, but not the least, you see Sarah. She arrives riding her horse, and wearing leather armour as well. She has a short sword and a net.

The five of you are simple people, from a small village. You may not have much, but at least you have each other. You feel quite confident with this group as you all get ready to hit the road.

You have 3 miles of road until the Grass Hills, and then another estimated 4,5 miles of trails through the woods. Roads are easy and fast to travel. But trails are difficult terrain and take double the time.

You have to choose your travel pace:

At a fast pace, you have a -5 to perception checks, but you cover 4 miles of road/2 miles of trails per hour.

At normal pace, you can cover 3 miles of road/1,5 miles of trails per hour.

At slow pace, you get to move stealthly, but you only cover 2 miles of road/1 mile of trail per hour.

You can change pace whenever you want. For instance, you can choose fast pace in the road but then reduce to slow pace at the woods. You can also stop for rest when you feel necessary.

This rule will be used for all “overland” travel.

The time now is 3pm. Dusk starts at 5pm (low-light) and by 6pm it is dark and you have to light torches. Fire usually repels animals or simple-minded monsters but can attract bandits or other intelligent creatures looking for prey.

[Squadfather42]

I look at everyone and smile as we get ready to move out. "Dunlap, my friend you lead us out and take us to the Commander's house. We don't let him know we are going out, and we will never hear the end of it. We will stay long enough to talk and then head out to the Druid's house. We may make it, but if not then we will spend the night and continue on in the morning."

As Dunlap starts out I motion for one brother to follow. Then myself, Sarah, and finally the other brother follow suit. As we head out I lean over to Saran and say..."Are you guys sure, your dad will be okay?"

[ok.name]

“The old man still got some strength in him. I worry, of course, but the way you talked to me.. This just seemed more important” Sarah smiles. She seems to be happy to be going on an adventure with you. “Do you want to ride with me? There’s room for two up here.. Unless you’d rather walk down there all by your lonesome self.” She laughs playfully.

Your group soon reaches the commander’s house. Joed Flimmer is a farmer by day and when you arrive, his wife calls him from the field.

Joed is a short and strong man, much older than you, he is 55 years old. His skin is dark as mahogany, he is bald and bears a thick black beard, which he always keeps well groomed. “A dwarven friend taught me the importance of a groomed beard.” He usually says.

The militia commander looks at the group you brought together and says:

“Well, what is it? We’re not under attack, I hope.”

After you explain the situation he thinks for a minute and says:

“I hear you’re acting mayor now. That means you rank above me. I cannot agree with your plans, but I cannot stop you from going either.”

He reaches into a chest and withdraws something.

“I can only wish you the best of luck and hope for your safe return.”

He hands you one healing potion.

“It’s the only one I have. Let’s pray you don’t need to use it.”

[Squadfather42]

I sit there and look at Sarah. Is she playing or flirting...hmmm.

I laugh and say "[b]I wish I could, but we'd only have a short ride before we'd have to stop. Then we'd have to stop for the night.[color=teal][b]"

As they begin to move out, I glance over at Sarah and watch her for a few moments. [color=teal]She definitely has a beauty about her. Why, haven't I ever noticed it before.

Thus, our little group sets out on our journey to the druid's hut.

[ok.name]

You have 3 miles of road until the Grass Hills, and then another estimated 4,5 miles of trails through the woods. Roads are easy and fast to travel. But trails are difficult terrain and take double the time.

You have to choose your travel pace:

At a fast pace, you have a -5 to perception checks, but you cover 4 miles of road/2 miles of trails per hour.

At normal pace, you can cover 3 miles of road/1,5 miles of trails per hour.

At slow pace, you get to move stealthly, but you only cover 2 miles of road/1 mile of trail per hour.

You can change pace whenever you want. For instance, you can choose fast pace in the road but then reduce to slow pace at the woods. You can also stop for rest when you feel necessary.

This rule will be used for all “overland” travel.

The current time is 3:45pm. Dusk starts at 5pm (low-light) and by 6pm it is dark and you have to light torches. Fire usually repels animals or simple-minded monsters but can attract bandits or other intelligent creatures looking for prey.

[Squadfather42]

As we leave the village, I instruct Dunlap to keep the pace at a normal speed. I figure worse case, we'll camp by the road before we hit the woods.

As we move down the road, I glance over at Sarah sitting on her horse. "What are you most looking forward to about the festival?"

[ok.name]

From atop her horse, Sarah smiles.

“The feast is always amazing! I don’t know what to hope for. Maybe the pies? Danielle and the girls where making some incredible pies.. Or maybe the music! It’s always nice to have music. Oh, and dancing..!”

While she’s talking, Carlo Woodbrow approaches you:

“Say, Rohmner, now that you are our mighty mayor, I need to ask you a favour.”

The man is strong as an ox and taller than anyone you ever met, yet still he blushes before mumbling:

“See, well, tomorrow will be a full moon… And mum and pops says I have to be locked in the basement, you know. Because of the werewolf bite.”

His face red as a bell pepper, he goes on:

“And well, uh… I don’t want to miss the feast!! Mum says I could only go with the mayor’s word. So this is what I’m asking. Would you.. uh.. maybe.. please.. give me permission to uh.. Commemorate the feast with everyone?”

“Commemorate? Where did you learn such a fancy word?” Sarah teases him.

“Let it go, Sarah! I rehearsed it, ok?” He turns to you, pleading “Uh.. Rohmner, Balian.. old friend, what do you say? Cut me a little slack?” His eyes watering up, ever so hopeful.

[Squadfather42]

I look at Carlo and see the sincerity in his eyes. "Tell you what, you can partake in the feast. When it starts to get dark, you come and stay near me. That way if anything weird happens, we can get you out of there quickly and safely."

Looking over at Sarah, I smile and say "I can't wait for the food and dancing either. Do any of you know what all the mayor has to do at the feast?"

Thus we continue down the road, talking about the upcoming feast.

[ok.name]

Your party follows the road to Burnhope, heading to the grass hills. After about one hour of marching, when you're almost at the trail entry, you think you smell something odd.

Please make a perception check :smalltongue:

[Squadfather42]

We are making good time as we near the turn off into the woods. It was at that point that I hold up my hand, and stop everyone. Looking around I quickly speak to the group.

"Ugh, something smells bad. Fan out and look for the source, but be careful. Sarah your with me, Carlo you team up with your brother. Dunlap, you cover us from the road. Sarah and I will search the right side of the road. Carlo, you and your brother search the left. Yell out when you find something."

With that, Sarah and I move off to search for the source of the smell.


[roll0]

[ok.name]

Your party is quick to follow your command. They seem very confident in you.

Walking a few yards off the road, you find something odd.

Lying at the roots of a large bulky tree, you see a dead sheep. The bites and claw marks are very clear. But this couldn’t be the source of the smell.. It looks like a fresh kill. Sarah comes near you and speaks softly:

“Poor little thing.. Must be a stray from old Wendell’s flock. You think wolves did it?”

And suddenly, before you can answer, a buzzing swarm of flies envelop you both. It feels like a sea of flying insects all around you with the deafening sound of countless miniscule wings.

It all happens very fast, and you barely see it out of the corner of your eye, but as the swarm of bugs hinder your sight, three strange men creep out from behind the tree. They make a peculiar clanking sound as they jump out to attack.

These three strangers are short in stature, but appear very robust. They wear black hooded tunics which are completely worn out and dirty. It would be hard to say if they’re actual clothes or just rags stitched together.

They bear no arms, but their hands have large black claws. They make a horrible gurgling sound and they smell of death.

They get a surprise round on account of a poor perception check:

Their initiative is [roll0]

One foe lunges at you with his claw attack [roll1] damage [roll2]
Two of them claw at Sarah: [roll3] damage [roll4]
[roll5] damage [roll6]
Please roll initiative and your attack!

[ok.name]

Even disturbed by the swarm of insects, you're able to deflect your assailant's attack.

Sarah, on the other hand, isn't quick as you. She gets slashed twice and suffers too much damage. Your childhood friend drops unconscious to the floor and appears to be bleeding.

[Squadfather42]

Balian walks behind Sarah as they examine the dead sheep. Just as he was about to reply, the swarm of insects engulfed them both. Lucian began swatting and moving, trying to get out of the insect swarm.

It was at that moment, that the strange trio of men stepped out and attacked. Instinct took over and Balian dodged the attack of the closet one, but only to see Sarah, his oldest and dearest friend, get brought down hard by the other two attackers.

With his eyes filled with rage, Balian shouts "over here!!" Not waiting for Carlo and his brother to arrive, Balian moves forward and attacks with his short sword.


[roll0]


[roll1]

[ok.name]

please roll initiative (1d20+ your dex modifier)
The monsters got a surprise round, so there's still a chance for them to act before you on turn 1

[Squadfather42]

Sorry about that..

[roll0]

[ok.name]

The three monsters attack again before you can react.

Monster1: [roll0] damage: [roll1]
Monster2: [roll2] damage: [roll3]
Monster3: [roll4] damage: [roll5]

[ok.name]

Two of the evil creatures strike you with their claws, you feel great pain from their blows, as you suffer 9 points of damage.

You hear Dunlap screaming and the characteristic sound of his bow unleashing an arrow.

Dunlap's attack: [roll0] damage: [roll1]

[roll2]

[ok.name]

You can see an arrow flying trough the sky and piercing one of the creature's skull. The monster is gravely wounded, but still standing.

Trying your best to fend off the buzzing swarm of flies, you manage to finally attack landing a devasting blow against one the monsters. Your attack deals so much damage that the monster is decapitated.

turn one ends here

With one of the monsters dead on the ground, the other two cowardly turn to flee.

Dunlap fires a second arrow:

Attack: [roll0] damage: [roll1]

[ok.name]

You get to make one (and only one) attack of opportunity, but you have two foes. The first monster is unscathed. The second has an arrow in it's skull and is gravely wounded.

[Squadfather42]

You get to make one (and only one) attack of opportunity, but you have two foes. The first monster is unscathed. The second has an arrow in it's skull and is gravely wounded.

I'll attack the one with the arrow in his head.

[Squadfather42]

As the cowards turn and run, Balian launches an attavk at the one with Dunlap's arrow in his head.


[roll0]


[roll1]

[ok.name]

Balian kills the monster with another skillful strike, the creature's body drops to the floor with a clanking sound.

The cloud of flies buzzing around him finally disperse and he can see clearly.

The third and last monster, trying to get away, is shot in the back with one of Dunlap's arrows. It keeps running, wounded, surely, but unphased. The evil creature makes a run for the woods.

The Woodbrows catch up to you (it was all so fast!)

"It's getting away!"

"Let's chase it down!!"

The brothers yell and mean to run, but they wait for your command.

On the ground, Sarah's is bleeding and unconscious.

[roll0]

[Squadfather42]

"No! Stay where you are, we have wounded to tend to." Balian says as he hears the brothers shout.

Without hesitation Balian moves to Sara's side and checks her over. Seeing her unconscious and bleeding causes his heart to skip a beat. Carefully removing the healing potion, Balian prys off the top and gently lifting her head, pours the potion into her mouth. Little by little, he doesn't stop until the potion is gone.

Gently laying her head down onto the dirt road, Balian pulls out a clean shirt, from his pack, and rips it into strips. With Dunlap's help, they bandage up the worst of his wounds.

"Now we wait for the magic to do its work. While we wait, keep a sharp look out for enemy reinforcements."

[Squadfather42]

I'm going to have Balian use his special ability Second Wind to heal some of the damage.


[roll0]


That should bring him back up to 6 of his 12 hit points. I modified the hp on my sheet to reflect the damage. Do you have a copy of my character?

[ok.name]

Sarah opens her eyes with a deafened gasp. Still drowsy from the attacks, she says:

“Balian.. You saved me..”

She gets up, apparently a little embarrassed for being defeated. She had never lost a fight before. Her wounds magically healed and she is back to full health!

Two dead monsters lie on the ground. In close inspection, they look as if they were humans one day, but were transformed by something evil. Their bodies are short in stature and very bulky. They have long disproportionate arms with sharp black claws instead of fingers. Their skin looks putrid and full of blisters. They have white eyes with no pupils.

Each of the monsters was carrying a bag. If you look inside their bags, you will find assorted iron objects. A horseshoe, poking irons, key rings, door handles... and also some (not all) of the blacksmith’s tools. There’s also twelve pieces of silver and one shiny piece of gold.

In the aftermath of this skirmish, dusk begins to set in.

Dunlap approaches you. He looks very scared:

“It’s not too late to go back home. It’s like the commander always says, right? If we die way out in the woods, who’s going to protect the village? Let’s go back and sleep in our warm beds.. We make sure the feast goes well tomorrow and we deal with this nonsense later..”

As the archer crouches down to salvage his arrow, you hear him speaking under his breath.

“I don’t want my kids growing up orphans.”

The twins are blaming each other for not reaching the fray in time to protect Sarah while she assures them she is fine.

“I had Balian with me, he killed two of them all by himself! Our true hero!”

I don't have a copy of your character, but I have the link to mythweavers!:smallsmile:

[Squadfather42]

Balian looks at everything they found on the 2 bodies. Taking the silver pieces, he gives 3 pieces to each of his comrades. "This is for hazard pay, we seem to have stumbled onto something that's a bigger issue than we realized. It seems that in solving who stole from the blacksmith, weve discovered an even bigger mystery...Who created these creatures. I'm not sure if the druids created them, but I truly hope not."

Helping the others pick up all of the items from the bodies, Balian secures the bags and one of the bodies to Sarah's horse. Looking at the others Balian thinks for a moment.

"Let's head back to town. We need to hold a quick private meeting about what we've discovered. We will go back, slerp in our own warm beds tonight. In the morning, meet me at the Commander's house. We'll do our meeting there. Then we will prepare for the festival and have some fun. The day after that, we will return and solve the mystery of these creatures."

[ok.name]

You consider the dead bodies for a moment laying there out in the open.

You can imagine a traveller or another passerby finding these things rotting. A grisly sight, even for the strong of stomach.

At the other hand, you worry about being attacked again while either digging a hole to bury them or collecting kindles to light them on fire.

And then, before you decide on any course of action, the weird evil creatures start to dissolve before your eyes. Their flesh, bones and skin melt into a stinky pool of yellow goo that seeps into the ground, turning the grass black. There remains only the dead sheep, but vultures or other animals will take care of that soon.

After that horrible sight your party take the road to the village, satisfied to be heading for safety.

Halfway through the journey, Carlo had already lost all his silver waging stupid bets against his brother. And a few minutes later, Jasper himself lost all the silver to Dunlap in yet another set of even more stupid bets. Dunlap holds now 9 silver pieces, while the Woodbrow twins have none left.

You all arrive back at the village in the early hours of the night.

You each head to your homes to rest and meet again the next day.

(Would you like to skip to the meeting or do anything else in the village?)

[Squadfather42]

Balian sends everyone on their way, with instructions to meet at the Commander's house, then he walks Sarah to her house. Even though he feels the sting of his own wounds, Balian works through the pain.

"I hope your feeling better, I was worried when I saw you go down. Your my closest friend here. I'm not sure what would happen if...you had..you know.[/ olor]"

Once, Sarah was home and inside safe, Balian headed over to Breen's house. With a short knock on the door, Balian waits for Breen to answer. Once he does, Balian explains the situation.

"[color=teal]Our intent was to talk to the Druid about the animal marks around the theft sites. We never made it there. We were ambushed on the way there by these three creatures. I've never seen anything like them. We managed to kill 2 of them, but the last one got away. We checked out the bodies and while they resembled a human being, they were different. They had been changed some how. Before we could doing anything more, they literally melted into a puddle of goop. I did manage to find a few of your tools though. So it looks like we found atleast 2 of the thieves."

Balian then hands the bag over to Breen.

"If you could manage to melt these other items down...could they be forged into anything? Weapons, armor...for example."

Once done talking to Breen, Balian heads over to his house where he gets out of his armor. Quickly washing, and putting fresh bandages on his wounds, he cleans his weapon and armor. After that he falls asleep knowing that by the time he wakes up rumors will have spread about the ambush and fight.

Once he wakes up, he'll get dressed and meet the others at the Commander's house.


[roll0]
This will bring him back up to full hit points.


Sorry for the late reply. I was dealing with a house full of sick people.

I was wondering...would you care if I found pictures for all of the major npc's? It'll give me some5to do...lol

Question though...these creatures we fought...did they resemble in any way the strange men at the mine?

[ok.name]

if you want too, sure! go ahead and choose portraits for the npcs. It will be fun to see how you imagine them. If it matches how I imagined them or how different they'll look.

I would love to do it myself, but I barely have the time to write the posts alone, so it's totally something I will never get around to.

ps: your PM box is full! delete the oldies, if possible

[ok.name]

Before you get home, Danielle Lacey, the village beauty, finds you. She is smiling and has her hands behind her back.

"Balian, I have a present I would like to give you..”

She hands you the most beautifully crafted sword you’ve ever seen. The pommel is silvered and sculpted with the strange face of a demon. The blade is elegant and has just the right weight to it.

“This was my grandfather’s sword, it was passed down to me. But I’m no good with a sword in hands, neither are any of my brothers. My father is a helpless pacifist and never taught us how to fight.”

As she speaks, you notice the blade has a very unusual hue to it.

“This is cold iron, or so grandpa told me. Have you ever seen it before? Grandpa used to be a demon hunter. A good one too! I hope you’ll make good use of it.”

This is a short-sword, as written in the book. You can decide if Bailan knows the details of cold iron or roll a history check for it. It does have other properties, but those will be discovered as (or if) you use the weapon!

[Squadfather42]

Balian stands there, utterly speechless as he holds the sword. Never in his life has he ever seen, let alone held, a sword this magnificent.

"Danielle, are you sure it's okay to give me this? The last thing I want to do is upset your family."

Standing there looking like a child that's just received his first toy, Balian finally snaps back to reality.

"Thank you Dani, no one has ever given me a gift like this before. I remember hearing stories about your grandfather. This is a truly magnificent gift. I will most definitely use it, you can bet on that. Now, it's late so let's get you home safely."

With that, Balian starts to walk Danielle home. Not knowing what forces are controlling him, Balian finds his hand acting on his own. Before he knows it he has wrapped his fingers around Danielle's and is now holding her hand. Funny how the sudden realization sent both warm and cold shocks up his arm.

Funny, I never realized you could be both warm and cold at the same time...

Not wanting the moment to end, Balian slows his pace and starts to talk.

"So...does your parents still want you to marry a knight? I'm sure you've heard that I'm acting Mayor until she returns. I've never been more nervous about anything. I'm trying to figure what I should do about the festival. I never paid any attention to what she actually does at it. What are you looking forward to most about tomorrow?"


Right now Balian is doing that nervous 50 mph talking without taking any breathes.. He definitely likes her, but he never realized it until now. Have fun...lol


I'll use this roll for the cold iron plus to recall any details about her grandfather.
1d20=4


http://www.syfy.com/sites/syfy/files/character/1415369854-cast_sibyl_141442490963.jpg

[ok.name]

A Knight, you say? – she laughs and opens a big smile – No, silly.. I will marry a *Prince* – She says this jokingly but there’s a hint of hope in her voice that maybe it would be possible for a peasant girl to become queen one day.

The two of you share a pleasant talk about the feast and about you being mayor (who could have guessed?)

Shortly, you arrive at her home and part ways. You consider the day you just had and it weighs heavily on you. In the course of the last 12 hours, you became mayor (if only just temporarily), fought monstrous creatures, solved a theft, your oldest friend, Sarah, almost died and you got a brand new sword. And now Danielle is closer to you than ever.

You suddenly wonder if you’re out of your depth in all of this and what the next day has in store for you.

But your thoughts are interrupted as you make the final curve in the dirt road leading to your cottage, you see your friend Connor approaching. He is riding Sarah’s horse and you see he has his backpack all ready for travel. The sleeping roll and mess kit are visible from the outside.

“Hey there, old friend. Good to see you!”

You notice the flask in Connor’s hand: he’s been drinking.

“I’m going away, Balian. I’m getting out of your way! I’m going to join the black army so you can have Danielle all for yourself.”

He’s slurping his words and has an aggressive tone of voice. If push comes to shove you could easily overpower him. However, Connor is mounting a horse and if you’re not careful you might get trampled.

“Now get out of my way so I can leave this village forever!”

(Your history check didn’t work. I think you typed 1d20=4 instead of 1d20+4)

(my work internet doesn’t allow me to open the portrait here, but I’ll check it later at home)

[Squadfather42]

Balian looks up at Connor and takes a deep breath. "Connor...brother, don't leave like this. Especially since I'm pretty sure you didn't tell anyone you were going, plus I know you didn't tell your sister about taking her horse."

Letting Connor sit there and stew for a bit, Balian thinks about his options. I can definitely understand how he feels. At some point everyone feels the need to step out and make their way in life. If I had known he liked Dani so much, that fight would've ended differently.

"Why didn't you say anything about you liking Danielle? If you did, that fight could've ended differently. I'm sorry, it didn't turn out the way you wanted. The heart knows what it wants."

Reaching into his pocket, Balian pulls out the gold piece and holds it out to Connor.

"I'm not going to stop you, but make sure you're leaving for the right reasons. When you wake up in the morning and you've sobered up, you'll see the world from a different view point. Take this gold piece, it's the only gift I can give you. I hope it helps you get where you're going."

Balian puts the gold piece in Connor's hand and steps out of the way.


To persuade Connor to stay.
[roll0]


For cold iron and details about Danielle's grandfather.[roll1]

[ok.name]

Connor takes your coin, his head down weighing in your words. Then with a sudden move he throws the coin as far as he can into the darkness of night, making it fall in a field somewhere far beyond your sights.

“I don’t need no charity from you.” He speaks almost gnarling.

He takes to the road galloping on Sarah’s horse and disappears into the night. You watch the faint light of his torch fade in the horizon.

Danielle’s grandfather was named Alder Jennik. He was her grandfather from the mother’s side, so she didn’t inherit his surname. You never heard much of him, except that he had been an adventurer of some sort and died before any of you were born. Some people refer to him as fiend’s bane, but no one can explain the origin of this nickname.

Regarding the sword, you never heard of this material before. Now that you have access to Hilbrook Manor, maybe you could find this information in the manor’s library. If you have the time.

You sleep a restful night and recover your health and strength.

It is early in the morning. You imagine everyone is headed to the commander’s house as you instructed.

Will you go there directly or do something else first?

Today is Sunday, second day of autumn, early morning.
The feast will be held tonight.
Your next audience will be held on Monday, 3rd of fall, by the evening.
The mayor, Marista Swip is expected to return on Monday, 17th of fall.

Joed Flimmer – commander of the village’s militia
Hameed Calig – farmer, member of the militia
Lockbur Missep – fisher, member of the militia
Dunlap Posner – farmer, member of the militia
Sarah Devigne – childhood friend, fisher
Connor Devigne – Sarah’s younger brother, rookie in the Black Army
Jasper Woodbrow – strong carpenter, eats bees
Carlo Woodbrow – strong carpenter, maybe a werewolf
Danielle Lacey – village beauty
Conoth Talfar – region lord
Marista Swip – mayor of Hilbrook, veteran fighter
Lucien – butler of Hilbrook manor
Melinda and Aaron – daughter and son of Marista Swip
Brenn – village blacksmith
Kevin – son of Brenn, rookie in the Black Army
Jill – Captain of the fisher’s guild
Old Ricksen – village drunk
Warssos – old, reclusive druid


That was a beautiful speech! But Connor was adamant in leaving. There was very little you could say to change his mind. And then the RNG showed you no love at all.

[Squadfather42]

Balian heards over to Commander

[Squadfather42]

I head over to Commander Flimmer's house for the prearranged meeting between the patrol members and the Commander.

I'm still torn up over how Connor left, but it's his life and only he knows how to live it. I'll talk to Sarah after the meeting.

On the other hand, I'm excited to see how things progress with Dani. The thought of seeing her again, tonight at the festival, is giving me a reason to smile all day.

Once, I'm at the Commander's house, I'll wait until everybody's present at the house. Until then I make the usual small talk with the Commander and his family.

"How are the crops this year? What are you looking forward to at the festival tonight? Do you have any advice on being the interim Mayor?"

[ok.name]

You feel more capable this morning. You feel the experience from the battle on the day before has shaped you into a better fighter.

Joed is brewing coffee for everyone when you arrive. His daughters baked fresh bread-rolls for everyone and his wife is playing the lute to try to lighten the mood.

Everyone is talking about how Connor left. You hear Dunlap and Hameed talking

“That’s the best thing the lad could have done! I should have gone when I was young.. Get out there, see the world. Not waste my youth farming the land.”

Sarah looks decidedly upset.

When you enter the house, Joed sees you and shouts “Everyone rise for our lord mayor!” and the group shouts back “Hurrah!”

Joed takes you out the back for talking one-on-one before the meeting starts.

With his old wooden swords, you spar friendly and chat of both trivial and concerning matters.

“The crops are fine. Specially now with the girls helping in the field. Hannah is almost as tall as you, did you see her? -ouch!” – he grunts from taking one of your blows to the shoulder – “Don’t you go getting funny with my Hannah, now, you hear??” he strikes back powerfully, but with deflect with ease.

“ah, the feast.. I just hope no one gets hurt, that’s all I care about. Stupid feast drunkarts pulling even more stupid stunts.”

“And you’re the mayor on top of it all!! Don’t you go getting yourself killed for some fool’s errand, that’s all my advice. There’s no glory in being safe, aye, but no fun in being dead.”

After taking too many blows from you, he drops his sword and says. “Let’s go, everyone is waiting for us. Let’s hear what you have planned for the day.”

Roll your hit dice and hope for a good number. There’s no re-rolls and no taking average! Aside from that, you get one action surge, if I’m not wrong. Welcome to level 2.

[Squadfather42]

Roll for hit points-

[roll0]

[Squadfather42]

I follow Joed back inside and wait until everybody is sitting again befor I speak.

"Let's go ahead and get it out and in the open now. Connor left last night to join up with the Black Army. I tried to talk him out of it, but he was dead set on leaving. So I wished him well and watched him leave. I'm hoping he'll realize his mistake and turn around, but if not then all we can do is support his choice."

I wait as everyone refills their cups and gets settled in before continuing to speak.

"Now onto the official business. Yes, I've promoted to acting Mayor until the actual one returns. So I'll be running things until then. Granted, that's going to be a lot to take on with very limited experience in that field. So my first act as Mayor is to temporarily promote Commander Joed to the position of Deputy Mayor. I know for a fact I'll need your help and advice in the days to come."

Once the applause and shouts have died down, I continue to speak.

"We all know that the festival is tonight. I want everyone to have fun, but I want them to be safe. So I want everyone here decked out in their Militia uniform. You won't be on duty unless you were already assigned duty tonight. This way if we are needed we are already there. I'll even be there and in uniform."

I look around at everyone sitting at the table. "I'm sure you've all been filled in on what happened to the patrol to the Druid's hut. We hot ambushed by creatures I've never seen or heard of. We managed in fighting them off and actually learned a couple of things. First, these creatures were the culprits in the theft at the blacksmith's. Second I believe that these creatures are the same as the strange men seen around the old mine. So once the festival is over we have two missions to prepare for. The first is to head back out to the Druid's hut. Find out if he's in on it or yo just find out if he's okay. After all he is a member of this village. The second mission will be to go over to the old mine and see what the deal is. Be prepared to root out whatever the problem is with these strange creatures. If they are up to no good then we need to stomp them out."

Having said what there was to say, I break up the meeting and send everybody on their way to prepare for the festival. I ask Joed to meet me at the Mayor's manor after lunch to go over the schedule for the festivities tonight.

As I leave Joed's house, I see Sarah moping along down the street. I run to catch up to her and ask if she'll walk with me. Since we both live practically beside each other, we were already heading in the right direction.

I glance over at her and ask the obvioys question. "Are you okay?"

[ok.name]

Sarah has tears in her eyes.

“I just hope he’ll be safe out there. And he stole my horse! Can you believe that? My stupid brother.. At least we’ll have the feast to get him off my mind.”

You still have a good hour or two before midday. Do you have any plans or want to skip to meeting your new deputy mayor?

[Squadfather42]

I'm not sure if I asked this before, but are the other races in this game? (Elves, dwarves...etc)

What are the imports and exports for the village? How does the village earn it's money from the outside world? I'm thinking of having Balian try and figure out a way for the village to earn more money.

[Squadfather42]

I try to console Sarah the best that I can. By the time we both get home and part ways, I think I've cheered her up somewhat. I enter the house and quickly make my way to my room.

Since my mother is at the bakery, I won't see her until tonight at the festival. So I clesn up the best that I can. I put clean clothes on, my armor over that and then the militia tabard on to complete the outfit. Grabbing my weapons belt, I slide everything off and place the gift from Dani on first. I still can't believe she gave me this. I must mean more to her than I realize. I quickly add my other short sword and belt pouches to complete the outfit. Once my boots are on, I walk outside and head towards the Mayor's manor, ready to take on the world.

[ok.name]

There are all races. Just not in your village.

The village has two activities: farming and fishing. The fisher’s guild has one boat that Captain Jill uses to carry produce to the city of Farport for selling. There’s a few ways to try to improve the village’s income, but they would all be very hard:

1. Start lumbering across the river and sell the wood in Farport.
2. Start an artisan’s guild.
3. (Evil) organize raid parties to sack other villages beyond Wilford.

Or you can invent your own solutions, if they’re reasonable. :smallsmile:

[Squadfather42]

I make my way to the Mayor's manor. As I'm walking I look around and try to think of ways to improve the way of life for everyone here.
[i]There has to be someway. Maybe we can start cutting trees down across the river and sell them. Maybe an artisan guild. No worries, that's just one more thing to talk to Joed about.

As I reach the manor, I see Aaron and Melinda sitting on the front steps. "[color=blue]We're bored. We have nothing to do." Aaron says as I approach the first step.

"Come on, I'll play with you guys for a little bit." So we discuss the terms and start a game of Hunt the Monster. I of course was the monster.

After about a half hour of playing and laughing , we stop and go inside to take a break. As the kids run off to play inside somewhere, I see Lucien approaching.

"Good morning Lucien, I'm here for the meeting with Joed. Where do you suggest we have the meeting? While we have the meeting, would you do some research for me? I want to learn everything there is about Danielle's grandfather, and his adventuring career. Also see if there is anything about cold iron and/or his magic short sword."

[Squadfather42]

Would you want to start a OOC thread? Then we can just add the important information there. I can also start the pictures as well and keep them together.

***Have you had a chance to see the picture for Dani yet?

[ok.name]

Out of Character Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?536928-A-One-Man-Journey-(OOC))

You're right, it will be good to have one of these. :)

[ok.name]

The kids are happy to have played with your game of monster. You can still hear them laughing and cheering from afar.

You soon find Lucien, the butler:

“Good morning, sir. Yes, certainly, I will do my best to provide the information you require. I remember Alder, the demon hunter. We grew up together on this very village, before he went on to travel around the world.”

“About your meeting, sir.. The audience hall surely seems too formal for the occasion, with the hair chair for you and no sitting place for your guest.. Perhaps the study? Or maybe the dining room? Though it be early, if you’d like to share a meal I can have something prepared.”

[Squadfather42]

"Thank you Lucien, a lite meal would be a great idea. Let's start the meeting in the study. Then when the meal is ready let's move it into the dining room. If you'll excuse me I'll head over to the study and do some preparation work. When Joed arrives, would you please, just bring him into the study."

Balian again thanks Lucien and makes his way towards the study. Once there he looks around at all of the books and materials the Mayor has acquired over her time in office.

After a few minutes, he begins to work on a list to show Joed when he arrives.


The list will basically have the nearby villages and such. List their imports and exports, any areas that they have better than the village...etc. The list will also include any known demi-human villages, plus any known near by areas of interest...ruins and such.

This is a rough start on my idea to improve the village. I realize listing the villages like that makes it look like a hit list, but I swear it's not..lol.

The in

[ok.name]

I've made the occ thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?536928-A-One-Man-Journey-(OOC)) like you asked :smallsmile:
please remember to subscribe

[Squadfather42]

I've made the occ thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?536928-A-One-Man-Journey-(OOC)) like you asked :smallsmile:
please remember to subscribe
Suscribed..

[ok.name]

How dedicated of a worker is Balian Rohmner?

In the study of Hilbrook Manor, Balian finds regional maps, records of trade, crops growth, draughts and rain seasons. But he also finds a lot of interesting books telling the stories of great battles and the warriors and champions of the past.

Would Balian stay focused on his work?

What are the odds he would get distracted by more exciting books?

In any case, this is what you could have found:

The Salink river is the most important feature of this region. People fish on it, get water from it, and it fuels the farms. All along the river, farming and fishing are the prominent activities.

Mills are very important too. If a village has a Mill, it is considered a good village. (Hilbrook has a Mill).

Hilbrook is at the east bank of the river. If you were to cross river, going west, you’d be at the woods. The woods are dark and dangerous. There are no records of human villages or cities to the west.

However, there is an abandoned castle to the west, beyond the woods. It is supposed to be filled with riches and ancient relics. But everyone knows relics gathering dust in ruined fortifications are certainly guarded by horrible monsters.

Following the road north, you would pass the grass hills and a stretch of woods growing on this side of the river. Somewhere in here lives the old druid.

Beyond the grass hills, there’s the old abandoned mine and if you keep heading northwest for a couple more days, you’ll reach Burnhope, the last village before the mountain range of the north.

Burnhope is also a village of farmers and they don’t even have a Mill. It’s considered a poor village and rumor says they have a bad mayor.

If you venture south, you would enter land ruled by a different lord. The first neighbouring village is Angleroot. A famed armorer is supposed to live there.

To the east, there’s Farport, a market-place town that facilitates trade between Hilbrook, Burnhope and Wilford. In Farport there are a couple of artisan guilds and they farm their own fields as well.

Travelling East for a few more days, you would reach Wilford keep. Wilford is a fortified town. Ready to take on an assault and defend itself, it’s where you’re supposed to run to if there’s an invasion. They also have a couple of guilds, and builders, but no farms.

Travelling further east, there’s a dangerous stretch known as the Cursed Lands. It is rumoured to be a swamp where evil monsters live.

Beyond the Cursed lands, if you’d keep travelling for a few more days, you would find the capital city of Prisma, where Queen Adis Hairink rules from. Prisma is said to be a beautiful and prosperous city under protection of a fair ruler.

Travelling beyond Prisma leads you to other lands under the rule of regional lords or even other realms, guided by different queens and kings.

[Squadfather42]

While Balian could have easily read all of the books on the hero's and champions of the past, he knew he had a job to do. Sorting the books he found into two easily identifiable stacks Balian put books that he thought would help his search in some way.

One stack held books on the surrounding villages and their imports and exports. It also held what information he could find on their history, their leaders and what the villages in question could offer Hillbrook. The other stack held books and scrolls on the possible areas of interest around Hillburn. Information on the old mine, the woods across the river, and the old abandoned castle dominated the stack, but if it looked interesting it went in there.

Balian even made a list of notes to go over with Joed when he arrives.


Burnhope- why is the village poor? why is the mayor "bad"? possibly set up better trade agreements with them. ground flour, bread...for what?

Angelroot- if we could set up a trade with them for better armor we could better equip the militia. But what to offer them, in return?

Farport- already have trade with them, but could see about possibly setting up an artisan's guild here. Could also seek information there about possibly starting to raise horses...more horses means, mounted militia, more product and produce to market and trade.

Wilford- they have fortifications, guilds and builders, but no farms. We could offer trade agreements for some of what we have for assistance with possible fortifications, constructing better or new buildings, maybe even setting up a guild of some kind.

Balian next makes a quick list of the ventures they could do right now and hope to gain something from it.


The old Druid- even if he is mad, he is a member of the village. Have to make sure he is safe or arrest him if he IS involved in the strange men/creatures.

The old mine- since we know the strange men are up to no good, we will have to clear the out of the mine. If we are lucky we will find an ore vein or something in there.

The woods across the river- there's profit in selling lumber, but we'd have to see if there is anything or anyone that will harm us over there before we can even think about that business venture.

The abandoned castle- as the story goes there's treasure in there...easy money if we can get it back here. It will obviously be guarded by something.

Sitting back satisfied with the lists he made, Balian smiles to himself. He then reaches over and grabs the first book on the hero's and champions of old and reads it until Jeod arrives for the meeting.

[ok.name]

Joed sits down on the chair across from you with a heavy sight

“Arrh, gods have mercy on me.. I remember when you were just a wee boy running around with Connor and Sarah.. and now look at you, mayor of the village!” he laughs heartly. “Now let’s see how I can help out.”

He listens carefully to watch you say and replies:

“Hmm.. Burnhope... The mayor of that wretched place is a man named Kravos. He is not bad, he is just evil. And a lunatic, wasting all his village’s resources building that strange temple of his. I wouldn’t touch Burnhope, even with a ten feet pole. Those poor people there.. There’s nothing we can do for them, not without risking our lives.”

“Angleroot has a great armorer, sure, but I wouldn’t know how to pay for armor. Besides, it lies beyond the reach of lord Talfar to intercede. Maybe if we run into more resources, who knows?”

“Ah, a horsebreeder! That would be something great to have around here.. if we convince someone to more here.”

“Be careful dealing with Wilfordians... They are our regional capital, after all. We pay tribute to them, not the other way around. But yes, maybe they can lend us a master builder or two to teach our boys some masonry.”

“Poor old Warssos... I pity him. Living out there all alone. No one even knows if he is even alive. Please be careful out there. There are monsters in the woods.”

“There’s no ore in that mine, don’t fool yourself. There’s only death and decay. We should board up the entrances rather than sending people in, that’s my advice.”

“Now this with the lumbering again..! Every ten years or so, a John or a Jack comes round the corner wanting to set up a lumber mill. They go across the river and never return. Count me out.”

“The same for the castle! They call it the castle of graves. It’s a great place to visit if you’re hoping for a short life.”

[Squadfather42]

"All good points, Joed. Granted, there's not much we can do to help the people of Burnhope, but didn't you teach all of us to help those that need it? We may not be equipped to stop the mayor, but we could bring them food and such, see what we can find out. Then give thst information to someone that can help."

"We definitely need to check on Warssos. Perhaps in locating him, he could point us in a direction towards the goal of raising horses."

"We've traded with Wilford before, so hopefully they won't look down on us. A few of us could take a simple trip up there to see if any artisans are looking to relocate or would help us out."

"As far as the mine goes...you heard about the ambush. We were attacked by these creatures that melted after they died. Putting together the information we have...it points to our attackers and the strange men at the mine being one and the same. I say a few of us, go up there ckear out the menace, figure out how they were created and prepare a report to our lord. This would be the kind of thing he'd want to know about."

"As far as the castle goes, I'm not making a move anywhere near it until I know more about it. I'm just researching it for now."

As the two friends talk about the various ideas, Lucien walks in and lets them know the meal is ready. As they sit down and get comfortable, Balian looks at Joed with a serious expression on his face.

"What do you know about the Lacey family? What do you think of them? Give me your honest answer and opinion. What ever is said will stay here with us."

[ok.name]

“The Laceys? Good family, hard workers, honest people.”

He appears surprised by your question.

“Eh, Alder Jennik taught me how to fight. He was a true hero if I ever saw one. He rescued the queen once, you know? Back when she was a little princess. Should have been anointed knight, I hear, but another bloke got the credit for the rescue.”

The old man chuckles remembering his mentor.

"Alder didn’t even mind.. All he cared about was fighting evil. Oh, Alder Jennik, the demon hunter.. He would go to the depths of hell with that magic sword of his just to pick a good fight.”

[Squadfather42]

Balian sits there and listens to Joed talk about his mentor.

"I'm glad you think so highly of him. I've got something to show you."

Balian stands up and draws the magic sword from the scabbard. Laying it on the table in front of Joed, Balian sits back down and waits.

"Danielle gave that to me yesterday. She didn't do it to get rid of it, she said it was collecting dust in her house and that she wanted me to have it."

As Joed looks at the sword, Balian pauses before he proceeds.

"I'm pretty sure she made her intentions known about what she thinks of me."

"I don't know what to give her in return. I mean, I like her alot, but I don't have anything like this to give her. I want to gind her something special."

[ok.name]

“Aye, it’s a beautiful gift.”

He ponders for a minute and says:

“There’s nothing you can give her. But you can keep her safe. Her and the village. That’s your gift for all of us, Mayor Rohmner.”

Saying that, old Joed thanks you for the meal and asks if he is dismissed.

"I've plenty of chores to finish before the feast.."

At it’s turn, Lucien’s research proves of little value, adding nothing you didn’t already know. He is after all a butler, not a scholar.

He finds you a book on the great adventures of heroes of the past. But it barely mentions Danielle’s grandfather. Wasn’t he worth of note? Or perhaps he didn’t care for the glory and fame. One bit of relevant information comes up, though. This cold iron is a rare metal fallen to earth from the stars. It takes a master smith to work it and it is rumoured to be extremely efficient in fights against creatures from the Abyss and the evil realms below.

Would you like to do something in the afternoon or could we skip to the night of the feast?

[Squadfather42]

Balian thanks Joed for his assistance, and lets him go back to his house. Sitting back and looking at the stacks of his books, Balian picks one up and begins to read.

Stopping shortly before the start of the festival, Balian fixes his uniform and adjusts his sword belt. Once he is done, Balian heads out to the festival.



Balian will research the various ideas he has thought of Especially the poor village and evil mayor. The abandoned castle is at the top of his list. He will research and see which guilds the villages have, and which ones have failed.

[ok.name]

It will take a few days of reading and planning to solve the village situation, but for now Balian is satisfied to have gotten some reading started. Happily, he heads to the feast.

The night of the feast is finally upon the village of Hilbrook!

For the entirety of the year, people look forward to this night. Several stands and tables have been built around the central square, adorned with colourful flags, and a beautiful stage has been mounted in front of the village’s mill. A company of actors and musicians from Wilford have been sent to provide entertainment and there is plenty of ale and food going around.

It’s unseasonably warm and under a beautiful full moon, the villagers are all celebrating the fruitful year and hoping for a quiet winter. Music and joy reverberates through the air, while fireworks explode colorfully in the sky and everyone enjoys the night.

This is the night people dance and enjoy themselves, lovers profess their vows for one another in front of the cleric brought from Wilford, who also tends to the sick between a mug of ale or two.

So many different villagers have insisted on toasting to your health that you are already getting a little dizzy from the ale. Across one of the pie stands you notice Danielle Lacey, more beautiful than you could imagine, she is hard at work serving food for everybody. Suddenly something nudges you from the side.

“Enjoying the night, lord Mayor?”

It’s your friend Sarah. She is wearing her summer dress, even though you instructed every militia member to come in armor. Her hair is tied in a high bun and if not for her freckles and slightly crooked nose, you’d never recognize her in this charming dress, so unlike her.

“Could I ask you for a dance?”

She smiles and makes a pompous gesture.

Looking at the full moon, you are worried you can’t see Carlo. He promised he would stay near you.

You’re also a little upset that every one of the militia members, even commander Joed, gets more and more relaxed as the evening goes by.

Heck, even you, yourself, isn’t in your most alert state.

[Squadfather42]

"Sure Sarah...I'd love to."

As the two of them dance, Balian looks around the festival grounds. Taking in the overly relaxed state of the guard. Granted, I expected a little relaxation but this may be too much.

Looking at Sarah, Balian smiles glad to see his friend smiling and alive. Turning serious for a moment, Balian looks around the festival.

"Where is Carlo? I told him to stay close by? Who's on duty at the gates and on patrol?"

[ok.name]

Before Sarah can reply, a terrified scream interrupts the dancing. Suddenly, a large beast is standing in the middle of the square. Growling a vicious animal snarl, sharp teeth and claws, dark fur and blood-red eyes, the creature resembles a strong wolf walking in two feet.

Someone is lying at the ground. Someone was hurt by this wolf-like beast, you can’t see who. There’s people running and people screaming.

[Squadfather42]

With out hesitating, Balian leaps into action. "Guards!....see to the civilians! Get them to safety, You..you..and you! Help me corral and fight this beast! We need to buy time to allow the villagers to escape."

Like the heros of old...Balian draws the magic short sword and walks towards the beast.

Balian will be fighting with his 2 shortsword like on his character sheet.

[ok.name]

You reach the center of the commotion followed by a couple of militia members. Amid all the confusion, you’re not even sure who is it that is by your side. You loose sight of Sarah. Maybe she’s running for her equipment? You can’t see Danielle either.

And then there’s this monster, a real beast if you ever saw one. A muscular wolf-like humanoid creature, all claws and fangs, livid with rage. The monster has already claimed a victim. You recognize a young woman on the ground, her stomach perforated by the creature’s claws.

She is dead. This was Claire Jensor, daughter of Yolmick and Linara Jensor. She was 22 years old, you’ve known her your entire life and now she is dead, killed on the night of the feast. Killed by your friend Carlo.

[Squadfather42]

Balian's heart is torn in two at the site of the body. Picking the pace up, he hopes and prays that everyone is safe...especially Danielle.

Reaching the area the monster is in, Balian shouts to get it's attention.

"Oy, dogboy, pick on someone that can fight back."

Not waiting for the others, Balian moves in fir the attack.

Attack-
[roll0]

Damage-
[roll1]

[ok.name]

please roll initiative and you also get to make a second attack if you're fighting with two weapons :smallbiggrin:

[Squadfather42]

Sorry..sorry, I keep getting ahead of myself.

[roll0]

[ok.name]

The beast motions to attack you, but you move faster! You draw your new sword and it strikes true, causing the red-eyed beast to growl in pain. You see the blood from the werewolf seeping into the blade and it briefly glows with a strange, magical hue.

(Henceforth, all your attacks with this weapon have +1 to hit and +1 to damage. The more attuned you get to the sword, more powers it can develop.)

(You also get to roll another attack with your secondary weapon!)

[Squadfather42]

I can feel the power of the hit, all through my body. Knowing that my normal shortsword will be useless on the werewolf, I use it in a more defensive nature.

Carefully moving around, I look for another opening and launch my attack.

Hit-
[roll0]

Damage-
[roll1]

[ok.name]

Your second blow misses. In response, the beast is quick. It lauches itself violently against you attacking with claws and bites.

Bite attack: damage [roll1]
Claws: [roll2] damage [roll2d4+2

[ok.name]

You avoid the bite, but you suffer [roll0] slashing damage from the claws.

[Squadfather42]

Balian smiles as he feels the sting from the claw attack. Realizing that he's probably the only one in the village that can hurt the creature, Balian tries to keep the creatures attanting centered on him.


Attack-
[roll0]

Damage-
[roll1]

[ok.name]

You strike the monster and again it growls in a mixture of rage and pain. The creature retaliates in great violence.

Bite: [roll0] damage [roll1]
Claws: [roll2] damage [roll3]

In the desperate rush of villagers seeking shelter, someone knocked over the torches and a small fire is now spreading through the square’s stage and food stands.

Two militia members are fighting by your side, trying to surround the creature, but their attacks appear to cause no damage at all. Others are helping the villagers to safety and someone is miserably trying to put out the fire with their cloak.

[Squadfather42]

Balian grunts as he feels the monsters attacks break skin. Feeling the blood run down his limbs, Balian launches into a flurry of blows, hoping to end the fight.

"Keep the animal busy, we've got this."


Attack #1- (magic)
[roll0]

Attack #2- (normal)
[roll1]

Attack #3- (magic)
[roll2]

Attack #4- (normal)
[roll3]

Damage-
1
[roll4]
2
[roll5]
3
[roll6]
4
[roll7]

[ok.name]

Your first swing is too wide and you miss it, but it is followed by a flurry of blows right on target. You notice, as you suspected, that the wounds caused by your non-magical sword heal instantly and the monster doesn’t even notice them.

The two allies fighting by your side come to the same conclusion and they try to feint or distract the monster instead of attacking it directly.

The werewolf turns it attention away from you and attacks one of your allies.

Meanwhile, the fire spreads quickly through the food and beverage stands.

They are taking the help action, so you get advantage on your attacks.

Bite: [roll0] damage: [roll1]
Claws: [roll2] damage: [roll3]

[ok.name]

The werewolf bites and claws at your militia ally furiously. Your old friend Hameed Calig is killed instantly. The other militia member fighting by your side is old Joed. He is still distracting the monster giving advantage to your next attack.

[Squadfather42]

Balian feels the bite and claws of the Werewolf sink deep into his body. Doing his best to stay on his feet, Balian feels a sudden numbness flow over bis body.

Doing his best to attack all Balian does is manage to fall to his knees. Feeling his weapons fall from his hands Balian sinks to the ground.

The latest attacks brought Balian down to -7 for health. If I read the posts right. I'm not sure what else to do, but if you know if any move he can take, I'm game. If this is part of the game...then roll with it. I'm definitely enjoying this.

**** DISREGARD ****

[ok.name]

The target was Hameed Calig, one the militia members. He was killed, but Balian is still up. Just fix your post, this isn't the end of you yet :b

[Squadfather42]

Balian curses to himself as he sees his long time friend go down. Not even having time to check on the fires, Balian hopes that between Joed and himself, they can contain the beast.


Magic sword-
[roll0]

Normal sword-
[roll1]


Magic sword-
[roll2]

Normal sword-
[roll3]

[ok.name]

Once more, Balian strikes true. In spite of his wounds, he keeps fighting bravely and the monster is severely blooded by now. Joed by his side, supporting him in the fight the best he can.

Amidst the flames, Balian sees a stranger climbing to the stage. A woman, nonetheless. She has a lean body and is carrying a bow. It’s hard to make up her features from this distance, but you can briefly see beneath her hooded cloak that she has long red hair.

She quickly takes position at the stage and fires a silvered arrow against the werewolf. She also whispers something from afar, a magical word that only you can hear. This enchanted word heals some of your wounds.

Whoever this woman is, she is helping.

Arrow: 120+5 damage: [roll0]
You heal [roll1] HP

[ok.name]

messed up the row - [roll0]

[ok.name]

The arrow hits the werewolf in the eye and the monster screams in agony. It still stands and turns to Joed to attack the militia commander. It seems the monster wants to get rid of this distracting foe before fighting the stronger enemy.

Bite attack: damage [roll1]

Claws: [roll2] damage [roll2d4+2

[ok.name]

Joed is hurt by the bite, but is still standing.

The werewolf is severely hurt.

It is now your turn. Remember you get advantage at your attack. But you don't have to roll the secondary attack because you now realize it is not effective

[Squadfather42]

Noticeably surprised by the sudden appearance of the mystery woman, Balian presses his attack. "Joed, keep it up! We got it on its last legs."


[roll0]


[roll1]

[ok.name]

With a final blow, you slay the monster.

The beast falls dead to the ground and slowly reverts back to the human form of Carlo Woodbrow. All around, there is still a rush of people trying to put out the fire. The militia commander, Joed, falls to his knees, gravely wounded. You feel the start of a burning fever.

[Squadfather42]

With a final blow, you slay the monster.

The beast falls dead to the ground and slowly reverts back to the human form of Carlo Woodbrow. All around, there is still a rush of people trying to put out the fire. The militia commander, Joed, falls to his knees, gravely wounded. You feel the start of a burning fever.

Without a care to his injuries, Balian rushes to Jeod's side. Rolling him gently over on to his back, Balian looks over his wounds.

"I need help over here! Easy Jeod, you're to stubborn to die now. I'll get us some help and everything will be okay."

Balian looks to see who all is around him.

[ok.name]

every able body in the village is fighting the fire. The mysterious red haired woman got lost in the crowd.

[Squadfather42]

Balian will parch up Jeod's wounds as best he can. Then he'll try and figure out a way of getting Jeod hrlp. There's got to be at least one place set up for treating the wounded.

[ok.name]

It’s easy to find the cleric brought from Wilford to bless the feast. You gather a few people and carry Joed into a cottage. The old commander is placed in a bed and the cleric tends to him.

Outside, the last remaining flames of the fire are put out by the villagers and soon all the commotion is replaced by a general gloom.

The cleric uses his remaining magic to you heal [roll0] you and he takes notice of your arm where the werewolf bit you. With a troubled frown he says “You have been bitten, my son.. This is not good.”

Joed falls into a deep slumber, but he is out of danger. “Let him rest, let him rest.”

An improvised funeral ceremony is held for the two victims of the werewolf as well as for Carlo himself. Most people are very shocked and no one has yet raised an angry voice to point blame. Jasper sobs uncontrollably during the ceremony and a general sadness takes hold of everyone.

You need to make a Constitution saving throw against the curse of Lycanthropy, DC 12.
You grow to level 3!

[Squadfather42]

[roll0]
Fingers crossed

[Squadfather42]

Here is his roll for 3rd level hit points.


[roll0]

[Squadfather42]

Balian stands there numb as the funerals end. Nobody ever told him that things like this would happen. Ultimately what happened was his fault. Not wanting to really face anyone, he walks around the town until he is utterly exhausted.

The next morning, while still tired from the previous days events, He meets with Lucian and sends out requests for the guard to have an impromptu meeting. Once The scrolls have been sent out and there is nothing to do, but to wait...

Balian looks around the library for any information that could help him.


Between the Champion, Battle master, and Eldritch Knight, how would he learn the "basics" of said speciality?

[ok.name]

Lucien reminds you that there’s an audience scheduled for this evening. A rural leader of some kind is coming to plea for favors of some sort. He reminds you that no matter how unimportant these meetings seem to be, you as the mayor, must attend!

After a short while, all the militia members appear, except for the Commander Joed, who is still very ill from the werewolf bite. Someone mumbles grimly, “I heard from the cleric that he is going to turn as well…” and within the group you hear one or other responses.

“No way! He is stronger than this”

“Well, maybe on his prime he were… but the old man..”

“We have to banish him to keep the village safe.”

“What? You do that and I’ll banish you!”

Along with the diminished number of militia members, you see a couple of new faces. There are young volunteers who after last night’s events, have shown up to join the militia.

The members with you are:

Lockbur Missep – Very bright, but gets scared easily

Dunlap Posner – Quiet, excellent marksman, has a bow

Sarah Devigne – intelligent, good fighter, has a horse

Jasper Woodbrow – dumb as they come, very strong

Huell – New recruit

Candice – New recruit

Nathan – New recruit

Alana – New recruit


Incapacitated members:
Commander Joed Flimmer, short-tempered strong man, has one horse

Killed in action:
Carlo Woodbrow – werewolf
Hameed Calig – mangled by the werewolf

Left town:
Connor Devigne – joined the Black Army


Whichever archetype you choose, we just assume that beyond a natural knack of it, you’ve also been practising and training by yourself for a while. Having to put that training to the test with actual combat has sparked something inside of you that makes you a better fighter.

Todays is monday, 3rd day of fall, 8:00am
Your next audience will be on this evening.
The Mayor Marista Swip is expected to return on monday, 17th of fall

[Squadfather42]

"Enough!

Balian shouts as he looks around the room.

"There will be no further talk of banishing anyone. I guess that you've all forgotten that I was bitten as well. So does that mean I need to be banished as well. Let me know now so I can go home and start packing."

Balian pauses to make sure he has everyone's attention.

"What happened last night was a tragedy that will stay with this village until it's final days. Yet, the impact of it could have been reduced if not outright prevented. How, you ask yourselves....How many of you were at your assigned posts and how many were wandering around the fair having fun? How many of you wore your gear to the fair and how many showed up in normal clothes. How is it that Callo was ordered to stay so close to me that he was going to be my new shadow. Yet he was no where to be seen? Now everyone think about those questions, because we are not leaving this table until I get some answers."

Balian sits back in his chair as he gives those around him a few minutes to think on the questions.


I think I'll go with the Eldritch Knight. The spell casting part fits with how things are going so far.

[ok.name]

You hear an assorted mix of mumbled excuses.

“I was only going to drink this one mug of ale, but then my friend handed me another..”

“..and when I looked over, they were serving pie.”

“..because I thought my gear would slow me down in the dancing, so I...”

“I had my eye on Carlo, but I got distracted with the music and I think he went off dancing with that girl”

“...so I had to run back home and get a new flask of honey-wine.”

At your heart, you know you couldn’t expect much more from them. These are not professional soldiers. They are farmers, fishers, common folk who volunteer to try to keep the village safe and for most part, they do just that.

[Squadfather42]

Balian let's his expression soften as the people around him admit their mistakes.

"Now my friends, let us look at what happened in a different angle. What can we do from this point on to help ensure that something like this doesn't happen again?"

Balian sits back again and lets the group come up with suggestions on how to fix the problems from the festival.

"Now I have a question for whoever can answer it. During the fight a hooded stranger helped out. All I know is that it was a female and that she had red hair. Did anyone else see anything?"

[ok.name]

The militia members talk among themselves and make a commitment to train harder and be more vigilant from now on. It is likely, however, that this enthusiasm will fade in time, given the relative safety of the village. Calm waters make poor sailors, or so you’ve heard more than once.

“I saw the red haired woman. She’s an elf, I’ve seen her before lurking at the edge of the village.”

This is Luckbur Missep speaking. He is just a few years older than you and a very intelligent member of the militia.

However, for all his wits, Luckbur lacks guts. He gets scared easily and you never thought of him as a reliable brother in arms.

“She is a disciple of the druid Warssos. I’m sure she came here to try to kill us, but then realizing we were already in trouble, she laid back and watched the show.”

The militia of Hilbrook Village
Lockbur Missep – Very bright, but gets scared easily
Dunlap Posner – Quiet, excellent marksman, has a bow
Sarah Devigne – intelligent, good fighter, has a horse
Jasper Woodbrow – dumb as they come, very strong
Huell – New recruit
Candice – New recruit
Nathan – New recruit
Alana – New recruit

Incapacitated members:
Commander Joed Flimmer, short-tempered strong man, has one horse

Killed in action:
Carlo Woodbrow – werewolf
Hameed Calig – mangled by the werewolf

Left town:
Connor Devigne – joined the Black Army


NPCs:
Danielle Lacey – village beauty
Conoth Talfar – region lord
Marista Swip – mayor of Hilbrook, veteran fighter
Lucien – butler of Hilbrook manor
Melinda and Aaron – daughter and son of Marista Swip
Brenn – village blacksmith
Kevin – son of Brenn, rookie in the Black Army
Jill – Captain of the fisher’s guild
Old Ricksen – village drunk
Warssos – old, reclusive druid

Rumors:
There’s record of an abandoned castle to the west, beyond the woods. It is supposed to be filled with riches and ancient relics. But everyone knows relics gathering dust in ruined fortifications are certainly guarded by horrible monsters.

Todays is monday, 3rd day of fall, 8:00am
Your next audience will be on this evening.
The Mayor Marista Swip is expected to return on monday, 17th of fall

[Squadfather42]

Balian sits back and listens to the description of the unknown female.

"It's possible that she's a disciple of the druid, but I'm not sure about the whole, here to kill us. During the fight, she not only attacked Callo, but she healed me."

Sitting there in the chair, Balian and the others pause in thought.

"It really doesn't matter, whatever her intent was at the start, she helped defend the village. When ever she's spotted again, simply let her know that I simply want to meet with her. To thank her for helping us."

Glancing over at the fresh recruits, Balian makes his first decision concerning the future of the militia.

"All right every one, that's it for today. Thank you for coming, your free to go. Sarah...Dunlap could you two stay behind for a couple minutes. "

Waiting until the others have left, Balian calls his two closest friends over to the table. Unrolling a map of the village and it's surrounding areas, Balian goes over his ideas.

"Everyone here in village wouldn't mind if life was improved somewhat. Yet, there is no obvious way to solve that problem. We have rumors of the old castle ruins...here. Yet we have nowhere the manpower or resources to explore that theory. We definitely need to check on the druid, and clear out the mine. That's definitely at the top of the list."

Balian points to all of the areas as he talks about them.

"What do you guys think of trying to either build some improvements or to bring in some outside help, like an artisan or such? We could build something like an actual barracks for the militia, a more secure wall for the village. We could go so far as to trade with other villages for better weapons and armor. As for the outside help it's a simple matter of finding them and convincing them to relocate to the village."

Balian sits there and waits for his friends to digest the information. Giving them time to form their own opinions and answers, Bslian waits for them to reply.

[ok.name]

“I suppose I could make some bows and we could try to sell them?” Dunlap proposes not too sure of himself. “My father taught me years ago and I made my own bow… If they’re not good enough to sell, we could at least equip the new recruits? I could teach ‘em.” He looks concerned for a moment and adds: “But that means devoting less time to my farm.. My family well being..” He doesn’t seem confident in his own plan.

Sarah interrupts “Everyone in the village already has their hands full as it is.. We really should petition lord Talfar for more resources and builders. But maybe that’s what Mayor Swip is doing right now?” She stops and thinks for a moment “Why was she summoned to court anyways?”

[Squadfather42]

"Good points all around, lets hold off on anything like that for now. Lets concentrate on what we can do something about. What do you guys make of the new volunteers?"

Balian stands there waiting for their input.

[ok.name]

“Greenhorns. A good bunch of kids, but greenhorns nonetheless.” Dunlap evaluates unenthusiastic.

Sarah retorts “Yeah? How are they any different from you or me when we first volunteered? We’re stretched thin as it is. Any help will be good.” She smiles warmly.

[Squadfather42]

"Fair enough, Sarah take them and put them through the basic maneuvers today. Dunlap, tomorrow take them out and see who picks up on archery. Nothing fancy, just the basics. We'll meet quickly afterwards and see where we will place them."

Balian waits for his friends to leave, before he goes over the books again. Not being able to really concentrate he gets up and leaves the manor, heading into the village.

[ok.name]

Your friends follow your instructions, but you catch a funny glance from them, especially from Sarah. Maybe they are not used to you being mayor yet.

It’s a quiet day in the village. Most people are still very sad from the events of the feast and the usual casual chatter has been replaced by the distant sounds of howling winds.

Before you leave, Lucien urges you not to forget the audience at the evening.

The militia of Hilbrook Village
Lockbur Missep – Very bright, but gets scared easily
Dunlap Posner – Quiet, excellent marksman, has a bow
Sarah Devigne – intelligent, good fighter, has a horse
Jasper Woodbrow – dumb as they come, very strong
Huell – New recruit
Candice – New recruit
Nathan – New recruit
Alana – New recruit

Incapacitated members:
Commander Joed Flimmer, short-tempered strong man, has one horse

Killed in action:
Carlo Woodbrow – werewolf
Hameed Calig – mangled by the werewolf

Left town:
Connor Devigne – joined the Black Army

NPCs:
Danielle Lacey – village beauty
Conoth Talfar – region lord
Marista Swip – mayor of Hilbrook, veteran fighter
Lucien – butler of Hilbrook manor
Melinda and Aaron – daughter and son of Marista Swip
Brenn – village blacksmith
Kevin – son of Brenn, rookie in the Black Army
Jill – Captain of the fisher’s guild
Old Ricksen – village drunk
Warssos – old, reclusive druid

Rumors:
There’s record of an abandoned castle to the west, beyond the woods. It is supposed to be filled with riches and ancient relics. But everyone knows relics gathering dust in ruined fortifications are certainly guarded by horrible monsters.

Todays is monday, 3rd day of fall, 8:00am
Your next audience will be on this evening.
The Mayor Marista Swip is expected to return on monday, 17th of fall

[Squadfather42]

Making a mental note to get with Sarah and see if everything is okay later, Balian walks around the village.

Laughing to himself, Balian thinks back yo how worried Lucien was about the meeting later today. Despite the promise of not being late, Lucien was still worried.

Walking around with no apparent destination in mind Balian uses the time to think about all of the ideas that he has been researching. The mines, ruined castle, and liberating the village of Burnhope from it's bad leadership are at the top of his list.

Having grown bored with just walking around Balian starts to look for Danielle and see if they could talk for a few minutes.

[ok.name]

The Laceys are a big family and live in a farm close to your cottage.

You find Danielle busy at work weaving new clothes for her family and she blushes at your arrival. Her little sisters mock her, but she doesn’t care.

“I’m so glad to see you! I thought you would be busy at work. It was all so terrifying last night..”

She invites you to take a stroll through her family field. There’s a small pond and a bench her father made where he sometimes sits to watch the ducks.

On the down side, it is a cold day. The autumn winds blow with the promise of a cold winter while a dark grey sky glooms over the village.

The militia of Hilbrook Village
Lockbur Missep – Very bright, but gets scared easily
Dunlap Posner – Quiet, excellent marksman, has a bow
Sarah Devigne – intelligent, good fighter, has a horse
Jasper Woodbrow – dumb as they come, very strong
Huell – New recruit
Candice – New recruit
Nathan – New recruit
Alana – New recruit

Incapacitated members:
Commander Joed Flimmer, short-tempered strong man, has one horse

Killed in action:
Carlo Woodbrow – werewolf
Hameed Calig – mangled by the werewolf

Left town:
Connor Devigne – joined the Black Army

NPCs:
Danielle Lacey – village beauty
Conoth Talfar – region lord
Marista Swip – mayor of Hilbrook, veteran fighter
Lucien – butler of Hilbrook manor
Melinda and Aaron – daughter and son of Marista Swip
Brenn – village blacksmith
Kevin – son of Brenn, rookie in the Black Army
Jill – Captain of the fisher’s guild
Old Ricksen – village drunk

[Squadfather42]

Balian gently wraps his cloak around Danielle as they sit down on the bench. Sitting for a few seconds, and just watching the ducks , Balian holds her hand in his.

"I was so worried about you, last night, during the attack. Afterwards I couldn't see you anywhere. Then I got caught up in the funerals and this is the first time I could look for you."

Balian looks out at the ducks as they swim around acting like they don't have a care in the world.

"I thought that when I became the acting Mayor, that I would be able to do a good job. Yet, after Connor left and then the attack last night, I'm wondering if I can do the job. I've definitely made my share of mistakes."

[ok.name]

Danielle comforts Balian as best as she can.

The young hero then proceeds to the library where he spends the day learning magical secrets. By the end of the afternoon, Balian learns his first cantrip.

Lucien knocks on your door “The audience hall is ready. You should get ready yourself. This evening’s audience was requested by a strange foreigner named Aweg.”

But before anything else can be said or done, you hear a voice yelling “Heeelp! We’re under attack again!!!”

At the edge of the village, a strange group of people is gathered. From the distance they look like a small band of soldiers, but on closer inspection you can tell they are refugees of some sort.

Many people in the village are rushing to run, hide or get arms to fight, but the visitors, with very few exceptions, have no weapons. The group includes children, elderly and wounded.

They are not human, nor any race you’ve met before. They are generally well built and much taller than humans, at between 7 and 8 feet tall. Their skin color varies from grey to greyish tones of blue or green and some of them have fur in their arms, legs and chest.

The leader steps forward from the group: “I am called Aweg, I have requested an audience with your lord mayor.” He is 8 feet tall, very muscular, and carries a great axe that seems to be made of bone.

[Squadfather42]

"Everyone calm down and stay where you are! I'll take care of this!"

Balian walks up and stands in front of the mysterious group.

"I am the acting Lord Mayor Balian Rohmner. How may I help you?"

[ok.name]

The leader steps forward from the group: “I am called Aweg, I have requested an audience with your lord mayor.” He is 8 feet tall, very muscular, and carries a great axe that seems to be made of bone.

[Squadfather42]

"Well met and welcome to Hillbrook. How can I be of service?"

Balian keeps his attention on the leader of the band of refugees. Hoping everyone behind him is too stunned to do anything stupid, he continues on with the meeting.

[ok.name]

The living behemoth stands in front of you while the rest of his group awaits behind.

He is closely watched by the mistrusting eyes of your fellow villagers. From afar, someone throws a rotten piece of fruit that explodes on the side of the visitor’s head. He grunts “Hmm. Strange greetings.”

Rotten fruit still dribbing from his face, he says:

“Honoured Lord Mayor of Hillbrook,

My people are the Firbolgs and we come to ask for aid.

We have lived peacefully in the woods across from your river for many ages. Sadly, the swamp lizards come for us. They trap our best warriors, they poison our foods, kill our animals, kill us, destroy our home.

We are the last survivors. We come to ask to live in this village and call it our new home.

If you allow us, lord Mayor, my axe will forever be yours.”

[Squadfather42]

"Welcome, to Hillbrook. I extend the gift of hospitality to you and your clan. I apologize for the less than warm welcome. Unfortunately, we are still working on getting over an attack of own. The feelings are still running a bit high."

Balian then turns and looks st the villagers. In a patient and caring voice, he speaks to his family and friends.

"My family...my friends, I speak to you not as your Acting Lord Mayor, but as one of your own. I ask you to give these refugees a chance at a new life. I'm sure we could benefit from the skills and knowledge of each other. Think if the roles were reversed. Would we not make the same request if we needed it."

Turning back to the group of refugees and extends his hand.

"I accept your axe and make the same oath with my sword. If you and your clan will follow me, I'll take you to where you can set up temporarily."


I'll take the group and let them set up a temporary camp on the back part of the property that Balian's family lives on.


If you think a roll is necessary for the crowd.
[roll0]

[ok.name]

Considering you're somewhat of a figure of authority, you should have advantage for this roll. Please make a second roll and we consider the highest result. This will have a significant impact on how people act with the refugees.

[Squadfather42]

Second persuasion roll-

[roll0]

[ok.name]

Over the next few days a number of different events will develop.

First of all, Lucien reminds you of another audience that you have on the evening of Friday, the 7th day of fall.

The Firbolgs will start to build cottages, not only in your family lands, but also in lands of other people who become friendly to them.

Among their people, they have a competent tanner who brings good hides as a gift. He offers to make better armor for all the militia members. The firbolgs also have decent wood workers and they plan, if you allow, to set up a lumber mill, which would bring additional resources to the village. The armor can be ready in a few days, but the lumber mill will take a bit longer to complete.

The native people of Hillbrook become divided about the newcomers. About half of the villagers are openly hostile towards them.

There remains the matter of the reclusive druid and a few people still report seeing the strange men around the old mines.

The Firbold leader, Aweg, is a lv.3 barbarian who will follow you in your quests. And you imagine the druid apprentice would be a good ally as well, considering the help she provided before.

Now the pace of the following days is yours to dictate. You can study new spells and wait for the next schedulled events or go on exploring.

The arrival of the refugees happens in the evening of Monday, 3rd day of fall. Your next audience is on Friday, 7th of fall and mayor Marista is expected to return on Monday, 17th of fall.

[Squadfather42]

"Thank you Aweg, for the assistance that your clan is giving us. We gladly accept the gifts of new armor and the lumber mill. They are greatly appreciated."

Balian says as he's speaking to the Firbolg leader. Aweg and Balian despite only knowing each other for a short time have developed a fast friendship and a deep respect for each other.

"I have a small favor to ask. We've been getting reports of these strange men that have stealing from the village. They are mainly located in the old mine near here. There is also a reclusive druid that lives near by in the woods. While I don't think he is responsible for any of the occurrences with the strange men, I'm willing to bet that he has information that we can use. Would you be willing to help in both matters?"


Who in the village is openly hostile to the newcomers? Balian would keep a list of people he'd need to keep an eye on.

[ok.name]

Aweg speaks: “Your hospitality has saved my people from certain doom. I am forever in your debt and my strength is yours to command. Yes, I will aid you in all these matters, to the best of my capability.

And I have met the druid you speak of, Warssos. He is a good man. We traded before. Now these strange beings you speak of at the mine, those I have never encountered.”

Every villager treats you with respect and obeys your word. No one has dared yet to complain in your presence, so you don’t know for sure who is against the refugees. But you estimate about half of the villagers disapproves of your decision.

How will you choose to spend the next days?

[Squadfather42]

Who has openly aided the villagers? By letting them live on their land and in other ways?

I'm at work right now, but I'll post when I get home.

[ok.name]

Besides you, five other families have offered land for the newcomers. The Caligs, the Lennarts, the Woodbrows, the Devignes and the Posners.

[Squadfather42]

Balian calls a quick meeting of the milita to discuss the situation with the druid and the strange men.

Once everyone is settled, Balian brings in Aweg and introduces him to everyone in the room.

"This is Aweg, leader of the refugees. He has volunteered his service in helping us find the druid and in the matter of the strange men. Some of the refugees have even offered to make us better armor and to even help us build a lumber mill, which in turn will help us bring in more income to the village."

Balian then sits back for a second and gauges the reactions of everyone in the milita.

"Soon, probably within the next couple days, we will head back out and try to locate the druid. With Aweg's help I'm sure we'll have a better time at it. For now, that's all I have for you. I just wanted all of you to be aware of what is going on. Sarah, would you and Dunlap hang back for a moment? I need to speak with you for a moment."


My intent is yo see who in the milita is receptive to Aweg's help. Those will probably be the ones I choose from to go out.

Also I wanted to speak with Sarah and Dunlap about the new milita members. To see what they think about them.

Also what is Danielle's reaction to the newest members of the village. Better yet, what are her family's reactions?

[ok.name]

This day was already very eventful for everyone and it’s late in the evening.

Yes, you can call an urgent meeting at any time, sure. But that compromises your rest. So there’s a few options to choose from:

1. Have the meeting at night, wake up at your normal hour and suffer 1 level of exhaustion for the next day (disadvantage in every skill check).

2. Have the meeting at night, but sleep in in the next morning. No exhaustion for you, but probably exhaustion for the militia members who need to work the next day.

3. Have the meeting at the next morning.

[Squadfather42]

This day was already very eventful for everyone and it’s late in the evening.

Yes, you can call an urgent meeting at any time, sure. But that compromises your rest. So there’s a few options to choose from:

1. Have the meeting at night, wake up at your normal hour and suffer 1 level of exhaustion for the next day (disadvantage in every skill check).

2. Have the meeting at night, but sleep in in the next morning. No exhaustion for you, but probably exhaustion for the militia members who need to work the next day.

3. Have the meeting at the next morning.


I didn't realizeit was that late. Let's send the word out about the meeting tonight. Then have the meeting the next morning. I'll use the same post for that.

Same questions in the OOC.

[ok.name]

You have a restful and deserved night of sleep. The following morning, you proceed to the meeting:

Today is Tuesday, 4th day of fall, your next audience is on Friday, 7th of fall, Mayor Marista is expected to return on Monday, the 17th of fall.

First of all, you notice Dunlap seems unpleased. He received some of the refugees on his family land. Maybe they abused the hospitality somehow?

Aweg is alredy in the audience chamber of Hillbrook Manor. He has to hunch a bit and doesn’t fit on any of the chairs.

After your introduction, Aweg says:

“In the name of my people I thank you all for the kindness you show us.”

Everyone in the crowd claps and cheers except for Luckbur Missep and a new recruit, Candice Doornuk, who sneer and hush unpleasing remarks.

Lockbur is a long-time member of the militia and certainly the most intelligent one. However, for all his wits, he is a man with no courage at all.

On the night before, Danielle seemed to be neutral, if not suspicious of the newcomers. Her father, Arland, on the other hand looked very angry at the refugees. You think it might have been him who threw the rotten fruit, but you can’t tell for sure.

After the meeting, Dunlap approaches you before and speaks in a low voice: “All these meetings… I’m falling behind on the obligations I have to my family. When I volunteered, I expected to go on patrol a few nights a week, I can’t be a soldier full time.. even now with my project to manufacture bows… I’m loyal to you to my death, but I want to quit the militia, if you’ll accept it.”

Both Dunlap and Sarah think the new recruits are good kids and have great potential.

[Squadfather42]

Balian looks at his long-time friend, with sincere and caring look.

"Brother, we have grown up together, and shared many of life's adventures together. In my honest opinion, family will always come first. I will truly be saddened by your absence, but I understand completely. You go take care of your family and work on your Bowyer business. If you ever need anything or want to rejoin the militia...you come find me."

Balian walks with his long time friend as they leave the manor. As they walk down the steps, Balian claps his friend on the shoulder.

"My friend, I have one last item of militia business to discuss with you. I'm looking to have a couple archers in the militia. Who in your honest opinion will fit that bill? Also how is everything going with the refugees on your land? Is there anything I need to talk to Aweg about?"

Once done I'll take the scenic route to Danielle's house. There's something important Balian wants to discuss with her father.


I'll probably take Sarah, atleast one of the people who Dunlap recommends and possibly one other person on the mission to the druid's house. I'll send word to everyone in a different post and we will leave tomorrow.

As far as Danielle goes..I can understand being suspicious, it's a natural reaction. Nowher father on the other hand. Looks like some interesting roleplaying situations coming up. I'm going to have Balian talk with her father and actually ask permission to court Danielle.

You know I'm looking to leave the village at some point. Do you have any situations set up for me to make that choice?

[ok.name]

Dunlap:
“Any of the new recruits would be a fine archer. It is really a matter of training, more than talent. And the refugees are very scared, that’s all. Whatever made them leave their lands must have been pretty bad. They are all so big, right? You’d think these half-giants would fight back… Don’t you worry this could be a trick? I don’t know.”

Do you go to the Laceys farm right now?

(remember you need to dedicate a few days at the library to learn new spells)
(I was planning that when the original mayor returns, if you’ve done a good job here, she would recommend you to an important mission elsewhere, but whatever you prefer!)

[Squadfather42]

Balian pauses in thought as he considers Dunlap's question.

"I remember the look on Aweg's face as he asked for sanctuary for his people. You can't really fake that type of care and devotion. I think they were genuinely ran off their lands and are legitimately scared."

Balian thanks Dunlap for his opinion and watches his friend leave the manor. Turning back and heading into the library, Balian tackles the next item on his list. Opening up the book on magic and picking up where he left off, Balian memorizes his next cantrip.

I'll post the next next cantrip in the ooc thread. Balian will study until about mid-day then go visit Dani and have that talk with her father.

[ok.name]

At the Lacey’s farm, you are welcomed and invited inside their cottage to eat. The Laceys are a very big family and a lot of them look alike. Between the uncles, aunts, nephews and cousins you’re not entirely sure who’s who.
What you’re sure of is that, except for Danielle, they look at you with a very disgruntled expression, although they remain polite for the whole time, always referring to you as “Lord”.

[Squadfather42]

Balian enters the house and respectfully greets everyone inside.as Danielle's fsther walks up, Balian can feel his disgruntled gaze sweep over him.

"You have known me pretty much all of my life. Our families have been friends and allies since I can remember."

Balian looks around and can feel the looks of everyone on him. Looking around and locking eyes with Danielle, Balian finds the strengrh to go on.

"I've grown up in this village and have learned that your daughter...Danielle, is without the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. I would like your permission to court her."


[roll0]
Just in case it's needed

[ok.name]

Arland Lacey stares at you and utters resentful

“We are a family of farmers. Hard workers, peaceful people. Always have been.

You… With your shields and swords… You bring war to us, that’s what you do.

Now half-giant monsters are living in our village and soon worse monsters will come.”

His voice is weak as you realize how frail this old man is.

“I am her father, aye.

You ask me permission to court my daughter. But such permission was never mine to give.

Danielle is to love who ever she chooses.”

Hearing those words, Danielle blushes and runs out of the house in embarrassment.

If you chase her, you find her out in the field, you exchange romantic gestures and she pledges her love to you.

[Squadfather42]

Balian nods respectfully as Arland speaks.

"You're right sir, and I respect your opinion. In good faith though...I could not turn away their request for sanctuary. What if the roles were reversed and it was us that needed a helping hand? As repayment for our help, the firebolg's have given us the gifts and use of their knowledge with leather working and have offered to build the village a lumber mill. I truly believe that both gifts will greatly aid the village."

As Arland gives his consent to court Danielle, Balian watches as she runs out the house. Respectfully saying goodbye to Arland and the rest of the family, Balian follows her outside.

Catching up to her, Balian grabs her hand and looks deeply into her eyes.

"Dani, we've known each other our entire lives. I've watched as you've grown up and turned into the beautiful woman that you are. I may not be able to turn you into a princess, but I will make it my life's mission to make the happiest person here."

Balian then pulls her close and leans into kiss her. As they kiss for the first time, Balian finds his thoughts racing..

How can I be both hot and cold at the same time?

[ok.name]

So, would Bailan spend the rest of the day with Danielle or go back to the Manor and finish learning his new cantrip?

[Squadfather42]

I'd say he definitely would spend time with Danielle, possibly even the less resentful members of her family.

He'd also go back to the manor and finish studying his second cantrip. He'd have Lucien set up a guest room for him if it ran that late.

First thing he'd do in the morning would be to go check and see how Joed is doing.

[ok.name]

After his day of romancing, the young hero returns to Hillbrook Manor and studies wizardry before falling asleep. He has a nightmare about the strange monsters he fought before, but doesn't think much of it.

On the morning, you feel the cold winds of winter arriving as you go out to visit the militia commander.

At the commander's farm, you're greeted by his wife. Joed is still healing from his wounds. He has a persistent fever that makes him drift in and out of conciousnes. His wife believes it will be a while before he is back to his old self.

You notice he has tuffs of thick black hair growing around the wound on his arm.

Today is Wednesday, 5th day of fall, your next audience is on Friday, 7th of fall, Mayor Marista is expected to return on Monday, the 17th of fall.

[Squadfather42]

Balian looks at his long time friends wounds with concern. As he leaves, Balian promises to keep Joed aprised of current events.

As he makes his way back to the manor, Balian realizes that his friend may very well have caught the disease from Connor.

As he arrives at the manor, he sends for Sarah, Jasper, and Aweg.

We need to prep for the druid. Perhaps he knows of a cure.

[ok.name]

Jasper and Aweg are quick to appear. But Sarah doesn’t show up. She sends a note through one of the village’s kids.

Why don’t you ask Danielle to go with you.

Aweg, the half-giant barbarian, places a conforting hand on your shoulder.

“Forget about the lass, lord Rhomer. I will protect you.”

[Squadfather42]

Letting his anger at Sarah's note subside, Balian quickly goes over his plan to retry the attempt at making contact with the druid.

"I want us to be able to move quickly. Yet, I want us to be protected as well. What do you think we need and who if anybody else should we ask to go?"

[ok.name]

Jasper Woodbrow is a good-hearted person, a competent carpenter and a strong, bulky fellow. But for all his good qualities, intelligence was never on the list. You remember once he ate an entire bee-hive out of a dare.

He says: “Oy, I reckon we should construct a siege engine. One of the big ones, yeah? Like a trebuchet, one of those.”

He gets excited, gesturing in the air.

“Then we get everyone in the village to ride on top of it and we all launch in a death from above attack. That will teach them! Carlo could have helped me build one..”

Aweg looks concerned. In his mind, a train of thought is running to the conclusion that this is a dangerous place for his people.

[Squadfather42]

"I like your enthusiasm Jasper, but let's keep it simple. I want to keep our group as small as possible. I want to make sure we are protected, yet not pull to many people from their farms. Is there anyone else that you can think of that would be a good addition to our group?"

Balian sits back and looks at his two friends as they discuss their plans.

[ok.name]

"Well.. I saw Huell, one the new recruits, helping his pops fix a wagon wheel. If I give him a hand, we'll be done in no time and he can come with us!"

[Squadfather42]

"That's a great idea Jasper. That settles it then, go help him and when you're done, both of you come back here ready to be gone for about a day or two."

[ok.name]

Before one hour passes, Jasper returns followed by a very timid Huell.

"This won't be too dangerous, right?"

The four of you are all ready to hit the road towards adventure!

You have 3 miles of road until the Grass Hills, and then another estimated 4,5 miles of trails through the woods. Roads are easy and fast to travel. But trails are difficult terrain and take double the time.
You have to choose your travel pace:

At fast pace, you have a -5 to perception checks, but you cover 4 miles of road/2 miles of trails per hour.

At normal pace, you can cover 3 miles of road/1.5 miles of trails per hour.

At slow pace, you get to move stealthily, but you only cover 2 miles of road/1 mile of trails per hour.

You can change pace whenever you want. For instance, you can choose fast pace in the road but then reduce to slow pace at the woods. You can also stop for rest when you feel necessary.

The current time is 10am, dusk starts at 5pm (low-light) and by 6pm its too dark to continue safely without torches.

Today is Wednesday, 5th day of fall, your next audience is on Friday, 7th of fall, Mayor Marista is expected to return on Monday, the 17th of fall.

[Squadfather42]

Waving the small group forward, thry head out of town. Taking the road, Balian directs the group to spread out and lets Aweg walk a little bit ahead of them as a scout.


We will walk a normal pace and reach the turn off into the woods in 2 hours.

[ok.name]

It’s a calm and uneventful march up to the woods entrance.

But as soon as you go into the woods, you hear a strange cackling sound surrounding your group. Without saying a word, Aweg gestures to thick webs between some of the trees. He then says in a low voice “here be monsters, my lord.”

[Squadfather42]

Balian orders the group in close as they enter the woods. After issuing simple orders, he moves the group out towards the druid's hut.

"Everyone be alert and careful, Aweg stay at the front and take us on the shortest route to the druid's hut."

[ok.name]

Roll a perception check!

[Squadfather42]

Balian carefully checks the area around the group as they move deeper into the woods.
[roll0]

[Squadfather42]

Not sure what happened, but the roll didn't work out. So here it is again.

Perception-
[roll0]

[ok.name]

Your party is suddenly jumped by two horrible monsters (https://i.pinimg.com/736x/0d/17/2d/0d172d3a19e821e6bc2486004f73c9fd--baddies.jpg)!!

The first one opens his mouth and shoots a bundle of webs towards Aweg.

[web attack [roll0]

The second monster does the same web attack against Wolfram!

Web attack: [roll1]

[ok.name]

The first monster accidentally hits his companion and the creature gets stuck against the side of a large tree. After such a poor display, the monster retreats to the top of a tree, climbing the trunk with amazing agility. While the other one remains stuck.

Roll initiative!

[Squadfather42]

If the situation wasn't so serious, Balian might have laughed at the antics of the two creatures.

As it was, he dropped in a combat stance and readied his swords.


[roll0]

[ok.name]

Initiative order:

Balian - 19
Aweg - 14
Monsters - 8
Jasper - 3
Huell - 2

Wolfram goes first! :)

[Squadfather42]

Balian walks forward and prepares to put the trapped creature out of its misery. Carefully looking out for an ambush from the second creature, he attacks.


[roll0]



Attack 1
[roll1]
Attack 2
[roll2]

Damage 1
[roll0]
Damage 2
[roll1]


Attack 1
[roll2]
Attack 2
[roll3]

Damage 1
[roll4]
Damage 2
[roll5]

[ok.name]

Sorry, I'm not sure why you made four attack rolls. Can you explain? thanks!

[Squadfather42]

Doesn't the surge like ability double his attacks? This is why I shouldn't post with hardly any sleep...lol.

[ok.name]

No problem! But in the future, please state that you are using the power.

Also, for you to make an attack with your off-hand weapon, you need to spend your bonus action and there's only one of those every turn.

The action surge gives you one extra action, but no extra bonus action.

That way, you get to make 3 attacks total. I'll just take the three first d20 rolls and consider those as: magic sword attack, off-hand sword attack and a final magic sword action surged attack.

[ok.name]

Wielding his magical sword, Balian launches an attack against the monster stuck to the tree!

The young fighter fails to coup-de-grace the restrained creature.

First attack (Balian rolled 11, but the retrained Ettercap grants advantage on the attack rolls, so, I’m rolling
here the second d20. [roll0]

[ok.name]

The first swing of his sword is a critical hit, causing added damage of [roll0]

[ok.name]

The attack with the off-hand weapon would also have advantage, here’s the roll [roll0]

[ok.name]

His off-hand attack also connects, causing a great deal of damage!

And the Action Surge attack, with the magic sword was a clean hit!

The monster screams in agony!

Rushing to your aid, the barbarian Aweg enters into a rage and attacks the restrained monster as well.

[roll0], advantage: [roll1], damage: [roll2]

[ok.name]

The Ettercap will attempt to free himself from his companion’s webbing.

Strenght Check: [roll0], recharge web: [roll1]

While his partner takes a beating, the second Ettercap climbs down from the tree and attacks Jasper:

Bite: [roll2], damage: [roll3] piercing and [roll4] poison damage.
Claws: [roll5] damage: [roll6], recharge web: [roll7]

[ok.name]

The first Ettercap remains stuck.

The second monster bites violently at Jasper’s arm “Aaahhhh!!!” he screams as the poison enters his body.

Jasper’s Constitution saving throw against the poison: [roll0]

Still holding Jasper firmly with its fangs, the Ettercap claws at the militia member dropping him unconscious to the ground!

After slaying your brother in arms, the monster climbs back into the tree benefitig from 3/4 cover.

Jasper’s death saving throw: [roll1]

In his turn, the young recruit Huell drops his weapon and runs away, dashing off deep into the woods!

It is now Balian's turn!