Jantarus

Posted By catskyfire on January 17, 2010

The party intended to head to Hillsfar to take care of the Hammer priest and then on to the Inverse Tower.  They acquired tent and horses and wagon.

The weather was bitterly cold, ice and snowy.  It was December and January.    Then, at night, they started getting attacked.  From above came hail, pyrotechnics, and other things.  In different towns, they were not attacked.  Asking various sources, the question was always ‘who did you piss off that much’?

Finally, one attack was a fireball, nearly killing two members of the party.  Before the attack, Tavin was on his back, watching the sky with the Detect Magic ball.   He saw, high above, a person, who cast the spell and then disappeared.

Once in Hillsfar, the group turned the priest over to the Temple of the Hammer where Cyric had trained.  At the temple, Cyric talks about Killaj Aslan, dragons, and giants.  The Headmaster says that there had been reports of giants near Starmantle and showed great distress at the idea of the return of dragons and giants, as both tend to devastate the land and people.

Using some of the gemmed weapons, the party learned the general direction of the True Heir - to the southwest of Hillsfar, in the direction of the Capital City (Suzail).

Then the party headed to Ravens Bluff to find out more about the Inverse Tower.  They chose to take a boat to get there. They chose to keep watching at night.  One night, they heard swearing from above before the wizard vanished.  The party realized that their attacker was not going to hurt others, just them.  They started searching through their possessions to see if they found something that the wizard was focusing on.  They found Slimey, the sentient slime from the wizard Alisandy’s tower.  She was the mage who had caused the zombie plague.  They now know how she’s finding them, now they just have to figure out how to stop her.

Reaching Raven’s Bluff, they find that this area is a major training area for the military, especially the elite Ravens groups.  They talk with the sage Tarak.  Everyone seeking the great testing area of Emperor Lozer talks to him.  He indicates where it is believed to be, but indicated that nobody ever came back to tell them they’d found it.  In his youth, he’d looked, but being that the tower was in the ground, never found it either.  He did share with them a paper with the lineage of the Mark.

Lineage of the Mark

The Mark - Birth name Markus Valeros.

After purging the land of much evil with his companions, he finalized his position of power by marrying Rissa Taliestra of the Elves. He combined their names to be his family name, Valestra, and named the land Talis. The calendar then began with year one of his reign.

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Posted By catskyfire on January 3, 2010

The party was nearly complete, with Lindros and Hemmish returning, but Tavin and Setricia not feeling well.

After filling in the party on the goings on (and Lindros very disturbed by the destruction of the temple of the Helm), most of the party went back to the mines.  Lindros wanted to rebuild the temple, and later, learning his brethren went to the City of Shades, headed there.
In the mines, the party were welcomed into the deeper parts to meet the Master.  His name was Killaj Aslan, and he said he was part dragon, and that he was working to return dragon kind from the fringes of the land.   Steele worked out a deal for the miners return so the human slaves could go free.

Back up top, most of the party, led by Lindros, headed to the temple of the Hammer.  A short fight later, there was a new, non-evil, headmistress of the temple.  The previous headmaster was under arrest with the party.

After placing a few more gems in weapons, the party determined they would head to the Reverse Tower to find more gems.

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Posted By catskyfire on January 2, 2010

Between the last two entries would be this entry:

On the docks, the party managed to get out of trouble.  They met up with Aaron, a half-drow bard who was in position with a 4 gem blowgun.  The party decided to continue on to Dagger Falls rather quickly.
Heading there, they met up with a few soldiers who had an overturned cart.  The soldiers asked for help.  The party asked for a ride to Dagger Falls.  The soldiers indicated that they only had room for a few at a time, but othewise, they’d be glad to help.

The party made it to the town and went into a miner’s bar.  There, they discovered that strange creatures had come into the mines, and the miners were staying out.  They described the creatures as six or seven feet tall, green, scaly, and one individual insisted that they breathed fire.  One man took bets as to whether the party would return.

The party went into the mines and discovered lizard men.  As the lizard men did not attack, the party did not hurt them.  The lizard men said that they were guarding Masters.  The party did encounter, and slay, several ogres, whom the lizard men called Enforcers.

Also during this time, Amara discovered a note in the book the wizard had given her:

The lineage of the Aftermarks.

In 729, Joffa, chief General and trusted advisor of Rodolfo Valestra, drew his closest guard to him and did slay the Emperor. He had the body displayed as a sign of his feat and installed himself as Emperor.

It is not known what happened to the late Emperor Rodolfo’s wife. At the time of his death, he had no heir.

Thus ended the reign of Rodolfo and the lineage of the Mark. The reign of Joffa, first of the Aftermarks, began.

Joffa was slain by his son, Julliar, after discovering his son having a relationship with one of his sisters, against the law of Syrinx. Julliar, as Emperor, married his sister and had several children.

Julliar was, in turn, slain by his son, Jeshra. Jeshra also slew his siblings once he’d sired a son on his own aunt. As Emperor, he married her and had several more children.

Though Jeshra kept a wary eye on his children and their dalliances, his son, Jittith, managed to sire a child on his sister. When Jeshra made it clear that the child would be slain, Jittith slew his father.

Jittith, fearful of his own life, slew any child that seemed too strong. He allowed only his son, Janus, to grow to full age. His efforts at a long reign were unsuccessful, when his son killed him because Jittith refused to let Janus slay a defenseless man for his own amusement. Janus slew his father and then killed a dozen defenseless men for his own amusement.

Janus, now Emperor, has not yet had any children.

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Posted By catskyfire on December 20, 2009

The party came out of the mines, to find Cyric, Tavin, and Setricia.  The party today was now Steel, Jolene, Aaron, Cyric, Spoon, Taelk, Eryka, Amara, Tavin, and Setricia.

The party went looking for better arms and armor.  The blacksmith didn’t have any, and the general store had only hunting and small self-defense weapons.  Thinking the party were soldiers, the general store owner directed them to the military camp.  With the help of a charm person and a lot of luck, the party ended up with better armor.

Back in town, it was discovered that the temple of the Helm had been imploded and that no Helms had been seen for some time.  Most people didn’t miss them, feeling that they had failed to do their job of protecting the miners.

Returning to the mines, the party discovered and aided some slaves.  They also met up with lizardfolk who could talk, and who indicated that they were gathering adamantium for their masters.  The miners refused to mine it, as it gave no profit, as the military would promptly take it.  It was also noted that the slaves had been provided by the military.  Members of the Hammer were also present, working with the lizardmen and keeping the slaves in check.

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Posted By catskyfire on November 23, 2009

The party was surprised when Eryka, Felix, Spoon, and Taelk showed up.  After a brief encounter with a member of the military, Melamin left for a time.

The party went to Zhentil Keep, great city of Mages.  On the docks, Hemmish approached a viking style ship that was in the process of being ripped apart for the wood, everything else having already been stripped from it.  After a brief conversation with the Captain, Hemmish cast Hold Person on him and boarded the vessel.  Much of the rest of the party, save for Felix, Taelk, Tavin, Setricia and the not with them at the moment Lindros, boarded the vessel.  Attempts to ‘bump’ crewmen overboard went awry and several men were slain by the party.

After a crewman told Cyric that they couldn’t stop destroying the ship without orders from the Harbormaster, the man was told to fetch him.  He did so.  Spoon and Cyric demanded the paperwork showing that the ship belonged to the government.  The Harbormaster asked them to come to his office and he would produce it.   They told him to fetch it, and he again asked them to come to his office.  After further exchange of words, the Harbormaster and a crewman had Hold Person cast on them.  They were taken to the dock.

The Captain came out of his Hold and demanded to know what was going on.  Cyric told him he was being judged.  The Captain noted that Hemmish was hitting him with his mace, and asked why Cyric was doing nothing about that.  Further pressed, the Captain requested a higher judge.  When his request was denied, he spat on Cyric.  Cyric then sentenced him to death for spitting on a Judge.  Hemmish forced the man to his knees and Cyric beheaded him.

At this point, the boat was partly adrift, held by only one rope.  The party made its way down the rope to the dock.

Meanwhile, Lindros had gone to the temple of the Helm, donated to orphans and talked with the Master about the prophecy.  After showing his blade to the Master, the man asked what Lindros was doing with the sword of the Mark himself, reminding Lindros that the Mark was also the founder of the order.  The Master mentioned that a recently dead person was being studied by Tarsus, a mage in the White tower.

On the way there, Lindros met Tavin and Setricia and went to the White tower with them.  Once there, he discovered that the recently dead person was Amara, now back alive.  She forgave him for killing her, and he promised to protect her.  He asked for and was granted, a ring for each to wear so that he could find her if lost.

They then went to the docks to find the rest of the party…

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Posted By catskyfire on November 12, 2009

Since the last event:

The party set out on a few small adventures, based on rumors they heard.  Eventually, they set out to find a reputed war spoon for Spoon.  Making their way to a temple long abandoned, and meeting kobolds for the first time, they made their way to a tomb.  There, they found weapons and soul gems.  Going further into some tunnels, they met some nasty creatures that nearly killed them, and later slew just about every kobold they could find.

Unfortunately, Amara got in the way of Lindross having a super ‘must kill evil moment’ in the nursery, and was slain.  After this, there was a brief greeting of a new character, after which neither that character, nor Spoon, Taelk, or Felix, were seen.

Returning to town, the party sought out information on soul gems, and eventually discovered that the gems, added to their weapons, would increase their powers, at a cost of one level of experience.

They also learned that there is a prophecy that when the weapons, once wielded by the Mark, founder of the land, and the greatest heroes of the era, come back into play, that soon the false Emperor will fall.  Of course, this requires finding the true heir as well.

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Posted By catskyfire on May 27, 2009

The party was still stuck in the ‘place where the Emperor watches you for his enjoyment, whether or not you live.”  And they continued to be Not Happy.

In one room, they found an altar, and three discovered an affinity for certain aspects of Syrinx.  In another room, they found an orb and three bottles.  Two were healing and one was poison.  The orb was discovered to show both magic and, in some circumstances, how the magic is to be used.

Further on, they faced rooms and challenges based on the four elements.  After this, they walked out onto the land of their captors.  A squad of soldiers applauded them and a Captain said they’d done well.  He offered them the opportunity to join the Jantaran Army and serve the Emperor as part of a special squad.

The party declined.  Vehemently.

The Captain called them ungrateful and sent them away with no further aid.  The party met a group of Gypsies, led by Gabrielle Valestra.  The Gypsies offered to help and train them, for it seems they had a common enemy.  The party agreed.

What awaits them now?  Only Cat knows.

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Posted By catskyfire on May 10, 2009

The game begins.  Perfectly normal people are captured by soldiers and awaken on an island.  Told that they are there to entertain the Emperor Janus, they are left alone to survive.  Spheres follow their every move.  They are Not Happy.

The party introduced themselves, more or less.  They opened four crates and discovered bottles of water, knapsacks, rocks, and clothes.  Some explored.  Lindross ended up in a hole.  Felix saw something shiny from a tree.  Eventually, the party found a clearing with a doorknob.  Tavin opened it as a door, and found blackness.  The party eventually went in.  Someone mentioned the word ‘light’, and the area lit up.

Amara was in the lead when she hit a tripwire.  The floor shifted down, and Amara ended up amongst giant rats.  With effort, and complete loss of dignity, the party slew the rats.

Thus ended that evening.

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Posted By catskyfire on April 30, 2009

The links for Core Rules must be handled as a “save link as”.  Save to your hard drive, then import into Core Rules to use.

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Posted By catskyfire on April 30, 2009

This is the place where information on the Jantarus Campaign will go. More to come.

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