AAR: [6H] The Long Road to Ruin 2021-3-20 @ 1900 gmt

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ChrisDDickey
Posts:1011
Joined:Sun Nov 27, 2016 10:02 pm
AAR: [6H] The Long Road to Ruin 2021-3-20 @ 1900 gmt

Post by ChrisDDickey » Fri Mar 12, 2021 11:46 pm

LFG: Long Road to Ruin
GM: Chris D
Organized by: Dale Corson
Difficulty: 6H 4 or 5 players.
Time: 2021-3-20 @ 1900 gmt Saturday
Rumor: viewtopic.php?f=58&t=2351
Dale was talking with Caleb, a Journeyman Merchant, who has a problem with one of his caravan routes to Lake Ban. The caravan was suppose to make it to the lake and be back almost a week ago. In exchange for finding out what happened to the people and the goods they were moving Caleb has agreed to initiate any humans as Journeymen who find out what happened to his caravan.

Note: One of the themes of this adventure is Versatility. A party with a wide range of skills might have an easier time of it than a more focuses one.

Reward: Initiation into Journeyman Path, merchant skill training(?), half price common magic items(?)
Notable NPCs: Caleb, a high ranking Journeyman
Last edited by ChrisDDickey on Sat Mar 20, 2021 11:54 pm, edited 2 times in total.

nathaniel
Posts:347
Joined:Wed Dec 13, 2017 1:48 am
Location:Dallas Texas

Re: LFG: [6H] The Long Road to Ruin 2021-3-20 @ 1900 gmt

Post by nathaniel » Sun Mar 14, 2021 12:04 am

Name: Dale
Last played: 2/27
ECR: 6
Discipline: Illusionist/Nethermancer
Notable Abilities: Illusions, Elementalism, Wizardry, Folding Paper, etc.
Downtime: n/a
Last edited by nathaniel on Wed Mar 17, 2021 2:50 am, edited 1 time in total.

predajey
Posts:344
Joined:Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:27 am

Re: LFG: [6H] The Long Road to Ruin 2021-3-20 @ 1900 gmt

Post by predajey » Wed Mar 17, 2021 2:49 am

Name: Calina Ravanqnerosicor

Image
Date of Last Game Played: Mar 16
ECR: 6
Discipline: Wizard (Circle 5)
Unique: Doesn't really talk much... or at all. Understands Obsidispeak, Or'zet, Throalic, Troll, T'Skrang, Sperethiel, Windling, and Throalic Sign Language. Reads and writes in the same verbal languages.
Downtime:
  • Research: ESR 24, Rank 6 (Rank 6 + Step 8 PER + Step 4 Karma + Step 4 Speed Reading + 1 extra threads [ESR + 2])
    • Library Access increases ESR to 27 for 20 SP (why you need a Research ESR of 27, I'll never know...)
  • Item History: ESR 18, Rank 6 (Rank 6 + Step 8 PER + Step 4 Karma)
Last edited by predajey on Sat Mar 20, 2021 4:15 am, edited 2 times in total.

verse86
Posts:269
Joined:Tue Jun 16, 2020 11:16 pm

Re: LFG: [6H] The Long Road to Ruin 2021-3-20 @ 1900 gmt

Post by verse86 » Fri Mar 19, 2021 12:47 pm

Name: Vallone
Date of Last Game Played:
ECR: 5
Discipline: Shadow 5
Unique: A dodgy little windling who throws shadow spears. Hates crows.
Downtime: N/A

bronzemountain
Posts:606
Joined:Fri Feb 21, 2020 10:02 pm

Re: LFG: [6H] The Long Road to Ruin 2021-3-20 @ 1900 gmt

Post by bronzemountain » Fri Mar 19, 2021 3:47 pm

Name: Taras Vanko
ECL: 5
Discipline: Scout+
Quote/Unique: The only Human Scout who isn't a Horror.
Notable Abilities: Not getting lost.
Downtime: Mourning a lost homeland while drinking vodka.
Last Game Played: 2021-03-10

redwraith
Posts:147
Joined:Fri Jul 17, 2020 8:12 pm

Re: LFG: [6H] The Long Road to Ruin 2021-3-20 @ 1900 gmt

Post by redwraith » Fri Mar 19, 2021 4:29 pm

Name: R'edtarian
Date of Last Game Played: 2021-03-18
Circle: 4 ECR5
Discipline: Warrior / Weapon Smith
Unique: We risk everything
Downtime: Research Rank 3 Step 9 (step 12 with library access)
Downtime: Item History Rank 1 Step 11
Downtime: Forge Weapon Rank 1 Step 11

nathaniel
Posts:347
Joined:Wed Dec 13, 2017 1:48 am
Location:Dallas Texas

Re: LFG: [6H] The Long Road to Ruin 2021-3-20 @ 1900 gmt

Post by nathaniel » Sat Mar 20, 2021 4:15 pm

R'edtarian, Taras Vanko, Vallone, and Calina lets walk down that long road to ruin :)

ChrisDDickey
Posts:1011
Joined:Sun Nov 27, 2016 10:02 pm

Re: LFG: [6H] The Long Road to Ruin 2021-3-20 @ 1900 gmt

Post by ChrisDDickey » Sat Mar 20, 2021 11:54 pm

AAR:

Player Rewards: 
Taras: 11,000 LP, 975 SP, 5 TIPs, Journeyman ordeal
Dale: 11,000 LP, 975sp, 5 TIPs, Journeyman ordeal
Calina: 11000 LP, 975 SP, 5 TIPs Journal: 550 LP, 243.8 SP
Vallone: 11000 lp, 975 sp, 5 TIPs Journal: 550 lp, 243.8 sp
R'edtarian: 11,000 LP, 975sp, 5 TIPs
GM Rewards (Truck) 4000 lp, 475 sp, 3 TIPs.

Downtime:
R'edtarian: Research Rank 3 Step 9 (step 12 with library access), Item History Rank 1 Step 11, Forge Weapon Rank 1 Step 11
Calina Ravanqnerosicor: Research: ESR 24, Rank 6 (Rank 6 + Step 8 PER + Step 4 Karma + Step 4 Speed Reading + 1 extra threads [ESR + 2])
Library Access increases ESR to 27 for 20 SP (why you need a Research ESR of 27, I'll never know...). Item History: ESR 18, Rank 6 (Rank 6 + Step 8 PER + Step 4 Karma)

Alternate rewards:
Half price common magic items.

Further Information:
About 75 miles NW of Lake Ban, King Rodrigo VII of the Kingdom of Cordoba has laid claim to vast swaths of territory. They had charged a passing caravan with trespassing and fined them all their goods and sentenced the caravan members to a period of indentured servitude until hero's rescued them. The rescued caravan master when describing King Rodrigo said "He and his family have ruled all the known world for hundreds of years. His kingdom has not really grappled with the implications of the known world no longer being a twenty minute walk from end to end."

King Rodrigo the VII's first minister is named Carlos Morales, two of his army officers are Sir Sebastian de Lupe and Sir Diego De León

predajey
Posts:344
Joined:Mon Jun 15, 2020 9:27 am

Re: AAR: [6H] The Long Road to Ruin 2021-3-20 @ 1900 gmt

Post by predajey » Thu Mar 25, 2021 6:35 am

An extravagant white leather bound journal contains several chapters detailing Calina Ravanqnerosicor’s journeys. It is written in a rich blue ink and the pages have a gold trim. It is written in Sperethiel.

Chapter 127: The Health of the Far Travelers

I had always thought that my near death experience was the most harrowing of tales a person could experience. For weeks I watched the flashbacks to when I thought I would have died. It was scary how every little detail was engrained in my memory. I even developed a mild fear of sand being tossed through the air. Those who have been witnessed to fight until they had lost consciousness were always so brave, fearlessly throwing themselves in the way of danger for a friend, a comrade, a possible love interest. It reminds me of Jarock. I cannot stand thinking about him in any positive light, but his services were always that of a loyal guardian, at least at the surface. This trip, I saw firsthand how devastating it can be when an ally stops breathing, stops bleeding, stops completely.

It was a job to track down and locate a caravan belonging to one of Dale's acquaintances. The caravan ran rather random and unpredictable trips to Lake Ban and back. On its latest journey, it did not return. We decided to begin at the end of the caravan's path, near Lake Ban. We backtracked until we could find evidence of its arrival and in doing so, found a recently opened kaer. The majority of the population included Orks and Humans. I have been swayed on my prejudices against humans, but Jarock left a scar that will never heal any time soon. Orks have always seemed... impulsive, to say the least. I thought Jarock was different, but was proven wrong. I had hoped that, with the confidence of my companions, things would once again prove my predisposition erroneous. The royalty of this Kaer invited us in, allowed us beds, each of us with a room to ourselves, and fed us well. They did not even seem bothered by my silence. I tried to divine the auras of all the nobility, but none of them seemed to stand out in any way that was suspicious. As I eased into my evening wear, Vallone snuck into my room. I was taken aback, as I would have thought to be the last person anyone would bunk with, but the company made sleeping in these now unfamiliar luxuries easier. As I drifted off to sleep, I found myself gasping for air. It was a spell, and not the kind to help you go to sleep. This one forced us unconscious.

I awoke in a prison cell with the rest of the Adepts. They quickly assembled a plan to escape. It was quite remarkable how quickly an Illusionist such as Dale could alter reality to allow such an attempt. In an instant, Taras and Vallone were unnoticeable. To draw the attention of the guards, Dale began a kind of creepy laugh of insanity. The guards came down, but were not phased by his ruse. I elected to join in. Silently, I faked a laugh and covered it up with my hand. I suppose if one person did so, it would be written off as insanity, but with two, it was worth investigating? They forced us away from the door and one guard entered to search for the missing pair. Dale confused the guard outside with the key, and I rushed to grab it. Hot on my trail, Dale went to work his magic on the other guard's memory. We exited, and I stood watch at the entrance. Taras was able to find our equipment, thankfully. I only have eleven outfits left. Vallone attempted to interrogate the guards, who were now locked in their own cell. Dale made himself look like a guard, and he gave us all a veil of unnoticeability. We simply walked out. We found the caravan members in a barn teaching animal topics to some other folks. Dealing with them was easy, and getting the caravan members into a cart to depart the location was not too terribly difficult.

In the end, things could have ended much worse. I shall have to listen to my gut feeling when it comes to Orks from here on out. It is really conflicting, considering my own daughter is an Ork. Maybe I just raised her to be a normal civilized Namegiver. I hear the first six years of an Ork's life are the formative ones. Or maybe the combination of an Ork and an Elf parent changed her inherent impulsiveness? She still seems impulsive compared to other Namegivers; she just seems to impulse towards more noble motives. On the other hand, it would seem my predisposition towards humans was correct. They are not the noble race that R'edtarian, Dale, and Qwillem would lead anyone to believe. Here we have an entire Kaer of humans, and each acted as despicably as Taras does regularly: securing safety for himself and leaving his companions to the danger. Taras does seem much more paranoid than any of these humans, though. Maybe a trip to Vorst will not provide any insight. I should continue looking for a way there, anyway.

However, if we were to go back to the beginning of this entry, I did not really write out the worst part of this entire trip. Before finding the location of the Caravan, we were engaged with these things that resembled Namegivers. They had the most beautiful white skin with only a hint of blue, but the purple eyes and massive hands were a little off-putting. As I moved to strengthen R'edtarian, they split into three. Before we knew it, we were outnumbered three to one. R'edtarian fell in battle. I could not do anything to stop it. As I tried to help the others, Dale and Taras were able to drive them off. Vallone flew out of reach, which worried me a little because that left nothing between me and these cloning creatures. I watched as R'edtarian bled. Then he stopped bleeding. He stopped breathing. It was not fair for an honorable warrior to be slain during an investigation without even reaching the goal. If it were not for our last chance salves and Dale's Last Chance Spell, he would have been lost forever. I do not know how I can prevent this from happening in the future, but I must figure out a way to give our Adepts an edge during these hazardous situations. Someone who has shown himself a loyal guardian does not deserve to be put at such risk.

redwraith
Posts:147
Joined:Fri Jul 17, 2020 8:12 pm

Re: AAR: [6H] The Long Road to Ruin 2021-3-20 @ 1900 gmt

Post by redwraith » Sat Apr 03, 2021 3:35 pm

Dale was contacted by a merchant friend of his as one of his caravan's has gone missing, he was hoping that Dale could find the missing caravan. Dale reached out to myself, Calina, Vallone and Taras to assist him in tracking down the caravan. I was excited to see how Calina and Taras would interact on this adventure. I'm sure Calina has developed new looks of disdain just for Taras, I think Taras at this point is doing his best to annoy her.

I started this adventure thinking that we would find the caravan had been attacked by some beast of Barsaive and hopefully find everyone alive just stranded. I was not expecting this would involve one of the most impactful days of my life.

We traveled to Lake Ban as that was the caravan's destination and we found evidence of it's passage to Lake Ban. Once at Lake Ban we found out that the caravan had made it there safely and had conducted some profitable trades and was heading back to Throal. So we were once again on the road heading back towards Throal. I really should look to learn more about animals since I'm spending so much time outside and walking all over Barsaive, maybe I will start to ask other adepts if they know any beast masters or cavalry men who might be willing to give me some pointers. I would like to know how to ride a horse before actually trying to.

On our return trip to Throal we frequently stopped to allow Taras to check for tracks of our missing caravan and at one of the forks in the road where we stopped one of the most important moments of my life occurred. While we were stopped and Taras was looking for which way the caravan went a female namegiver? with bluish white skin appeared and attacked. I wasn't expecting to be randomly attacked on the road so wasn't really ready to deal with this sudden attack. I still rushed to assist Taras as more of these women appeared. I attacked the first of them that had appeared as the party split up and tried to keep at range from the sudden attack as Calina kept close to me to provide some magical support.

Soon after the first creature? Horror? appeared she split into three and I could no longer tell which one was real or if any of them were. It was very confusing and I was now facing three creatures in front along with one to the side who I now feared would split as well. I took several blows from these creatures and I was able to down one of them before it was able to split. The the rest of the creatures split and we were now greatly outnumbered. I was unable to keep up with everything going on around me as I was being attacked by multiple of these creatures and was very injured when I felt a sudden heat and then coldness at my side. I turned to Calina and tried to yell "Run" but everything turned black.

I have no idea if I was dead, near dead or just asleep as I was unaware of anything. There was no light or god like figure leading me to the after life, just nothing. I guess I was just close to death as I awoke some time later to Taras leaning over me, which was almost enough to make me wish for the blackness again. Once I was knocked down the rest of the party did run around with Calina's quicken step magic to stay away from these creatures and attack them with spells along with ranged attacks until they were able to drive them off.

I always knew intellectually that being an adept was dangerous but not until today did I realize how dangerous and how dangerous it was for me. We spent some time letting me heal and recover from the battle. During this time and I must admit even today I can't stop thinking about what nearly had happened. What would my family and friends feel if I didn't make it back? This has been another life impacting moment and I'm not sure how it will affect me going forward. I'm just glad my friends were able to save me and I will strive to make sure they are never find themselves in that position.

After my near death experience we continued to track the caravan as they took the fork in the road away from Throal. We came accross a rather ragged looking group of soldiers...and their leader/lord...Who have just recently come out of a kaer nearby and had just started to explore the surface. We asked after our missing caravan but they said the caravan had visited them but had moved on. They invited us to join them to enjoy a warm meal and a night under roof.

Once we arrived at the village which was being built we asked around about the caravan and looked for some signs of it. Taras was able to find tracks all over the village of the caravan which indicated that the caravan didn't just pass through but we weren't able to find the missing people and it was getting late. We were invited to spend the night as guests in the kaer's royal rooms.

Taras and Vallone took this opportunity to do some scouting inside the kaer at night to see if our missing caravan was inside. We were each offered individual rooms with Vallone and Calina in the lady's wing and the rest of us in the lords wing. I was still recovering from my wounds so I took to bed early. While I was asleep apparently our hosts decided that my need for sleep was great so they cast some spells to ensure my rest was deep. I woke up in a prison cell with my friends nearby.

Dale was able to cast some illusions which made Taras and Vallone invisible while the rest of us made enough noise to draw the guards attention. Once the guards were near us Dale once again weaved some spell to cause them to become confused and were easy pickings at that point as Calina was able to grab the cell keys. We quickly changed places with our jailors and started to question them about the missing caravan and they let slip that the caravan members were unharmed and being kept at the town barn along with some horses and wagons. Dale once again used illusions to make us disappear and Taras searched around to discover our gear in the guards room beside us.

With Dale's magic we just calmly walked out and over to the barn were we quickly convinced the guards to run and we were able to gather the caravan together and make our way back to Throal. Once back in Throal Dale, Taras and myself spent some time with some Journeymen from the caravan who taught us about how they liked to learn talents from everyone they came across as these new abilities were very helpful. I was an apt student and I'm now looking forward to learning more talents in the future. Maybe some magic or maybe a loyal companion? Hopefully what ever I learn will help me overcome this coldness I still haven't been able to shake.

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