Kleston Manor
One of the better sessions I have been a part of---it was a really good week for RPGs, had 3 excellent sessions in 3 different games. The party here is:
Hundar: L2 Human Fighter
Nym: L2 Sun Elf Wizard
Snorri: L2 Gold Dwarf Paadin
Berek: L1 Shield Dwarf Cleric
Bridie: L2 Rock Gnome Ranger
They had travelled to an old watch tower about 3 days northwest of Sundabar following a rumor of Sharran cultists. When they arrived, they found that a Sundabaran force had driven off the cultists and reclaimed the tower. The commander, Lukas Praketon, agreed to enlist the party in tracking down the remnants of the cultists. He offered to pay the party 300 gold for the return, dead or alive, of the lead cultist, Frendais Hert. He also wanted firm confirmation of the fate of the bounty hunters he had sent after the cultists: 50 gp for information, 100 gp each for their return or the return of their remains. The party could also keep any loot they recovered as compensation for their time and effort. The group agreed to those terms and prepared to set out in the morning after renewing their supplies.
The suspected lair of the defeated cultists is an old manor, lying a little over a day's travel from the watch tower. The ground in the area is swampy and boggy, making for rough travel. Whether through skill or blind chance, the party sighted the outlying ruins of the manor wall on the morning of the 2nd day. Bridie snuck forward to scout, and found two outlying gate houses where the old road entered the manor. She decided to bypass these, and climbed over the ruins of a small stone wall. Moving stealthily forward, she approached a small grove of trees and saw legs of a corpse protruding from a bush. Thinking this might be the remains of one of the unfortunate bounty hunters, she craftily approached. Her keen eyes spotted the outlines of a waiting ambush....Giant Spiders! She withdrew steadily and reported back to the party.
After some debate, the party moved near to the wall and Bridie continued the recon of the grounds. The one outbuilding proved to be a stable, empty save for the tracks of some humanoids in the dust. The manor proved to have four doors, numerous windows (many boarded up, the rest smoked and stained glass), and a wrecked wall in the northwest. She brought the news to the group and they discussed their options.
Leaving considerations of subtlety aside, the group, led by Bridie, approached the front door. A thorough checking revealed no sounds coming from inside and the party opened the door into the antechamber. Five doors (one on the west, three on the north, one on the east) and a blanket on the east showed where the likely exits were. A low chanting came from behind the blankets. Preparing a spell, Nym pushed aside the curtain and let loose a Color Spray! The chanter, apparently an Orc Shaman, keeled over unconscious from the overload to his optic nerves. He was quickly bound and then removed to a closet the party found (the door in the east wall). The shaman's room contained one exit to the east, boarded and nailed shut. The party could hear a thrumming and vibration from the door, not unlike the sound of a large bee's nest. Deciding discretion could play a part in exploration, they left the door intact and returned to the antechamber.
The group next turned their attention to the northern set of doors. The sound of goblins talking and arguing could be heard. With a mighty rush, Hundar threw the large set of doors open and rushed in, cleaving two! The rest of the party followed quickly, with Nym and Snorri out front, magic flinging from the finger tips of the former, the latter wielding his warhammer with wild abandon against the ancient foes of his people. Bridie followed close behind Nym, sniping at the little greenskins. Berek, seeing the vast profusion of enemies, called upon Moradin to Bless his companions with stout hearts and arms.
The surprise was sorely needed, as it dawned on the party they had charged into a room full of nearly a dozen enemies, goblins and orcs. The goblins charged, hitting the left of the party's line heavily. Nym was staggered and heavily wounded as he withdrew beyond reach, with Bridie taking her share of attention as she switched to her battlepick. Snorri and Hundar rapidly thinned the greenskins and, after what seemed much longer than 15 seconds, only a few were left facing Snorri and Bridie on the left as a door on the eastern wall opened.....
....and a half-orc and orc, both in chainmail, charged into the fray. The half-orc was literally frothing with rage at the sight of his fallen minions. He attacked the first member he could reach, Hundar, and began to lay about him with his large Orcish double-axe. Snorri and Bridie struggled to finish the goblins and join the fight on the east, but Bridie was wounded further, nearly going down from the fiercely wielded goblin shortswords before Nym could bandage her back to usefulness. Hundar faced off against the half-orc leader as Berek rushed to assist him. Hundar and the half-orc traded fierce blows, each wielding their weapon of choice two-handed. The half-orc proved more resilient, and Hundar went down grievously wounded, spilling his life-blood onto the marble floor. Berek was soon to follow as Snorri, having finished off the minions, rushed to engage the still-frothing barbarian. Bridie provided ranged support and Nym medical aid to the fallen as first the half-orc and then the remaining orc fell under the sure swing of the paladin's warhammer. The party revived Berek with 3 healing potions; sadly, Berek was short of spells to rouse the fallen Hundar. Carefully moving Hundar to the closet containing the shaman prisoner, they questioned the shaman. This only proved the innate cruelty of the elven race, as Nym took charge of the interrogation. The shaman stoutly resisted all of the painful entreaties to make him talk, and the party rebound him after searching him thoroughly, finding some coin and an obviously magical wand. With his knowledge of magical apparatus, Nym was able to divine the words to unlock the magical power of the wand....but no clear idea of what it would do.
The members quickly searched the remainder of the first floor, finding the only other inhabitants some rats....and leaving the buzzing room for another time. Stairs were also found, along with a stragely undisturbed shrine to The Red Knight, Goddess of War, Battle, and Strategy. Moving their companions and prisoner to the shrine, they rested to regain strength, heal wounds, and recover their magic.
Continued in Part 2
Re: Kleston Manor
Excellent stuff Mike!
I should also note that Mike H. edited all of these adventures for me and added many excellent suggestions many moons ago and he is not properly credited in the PDFs - something I plan on updating and changing.
Thanks for the gaming logs - I really enjoyed reading them!
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)GM Notes
This adventure was taken mostly intact from "Kleston Manor" by Keith Pogue. I adapted parts of it to fit in with the Forgotten Realms setting; this was mostly easily accomplished. My notes on what was changed are below. For those interested in seeing what was overcome, you can find Pogre's excellent site at:
pogre.com
The files there are in PDF format and print out readily enough.
Changes
The pantheons represent the most obvious change. The goddesses Virtua, Marrkidia, and Theta were replaced with Oghma, The Red Knight, and Shar. Other substitutions, particularly for Marrkidia and Theta, were possible but these made the most sense for my campaign. Shar, in particular, was an excellent choice for an adventure featuring an evil wizard.
The maps in Pogre's meta-campaign also don't match; my campaign is set in The Silver Marches in and around the city of Sundabar. I found it very easy to adapt the low-level story arc to this area; the White Stallion Inn, rather than being a coaching inn (which don't really exist in the FR), is now the main stopover in Sundabar for the party. The innkeep is becoming a respected contact, and as will be seen, Turin Alemaker, one of their first employers, has been singing the group's praises to his acquaintances, which leads to further opportunities for employment.
I used the NPCs mainly without change: two exceptions are listed below.
Frendais Hert is written up as a respectable foe, but I used some Forgotten Realms specific background to make him more interesting for my players. First, I specialized him as an enchanter. Second, instead of enlarge spell, I gave him access to the Shadow Weave---which Shar is the patroness of. This denied him access to evocation and transmutation....but enhanced his use of enchantment, illusion, and necromancy. His survival allows me to develop him a bit further in case the party ever makes it to Barakus
Bertrande Rebon is an NPC from Pogre's "The Charivari" that I ran as adventure-let for my group. Rebon is a peasant gone mad with lust and vengeance and sells his soul to Shar in return for helping him remove a rival and gain the woman he lusts for. He has been granted the use of a quasit to help further his plans. The PCs managed to foil Rebon and find a letter that Hert had wrote him, but he escaped. I had him appear as a "special guest villain" having taken up study as Hert's new apprentice. I knew this would infuriate the PCs, since no group likes evil survivors! :x
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)Kleston Manor, Finale
The cast of Characters:
Hundar: L2 Human Fighter (unconscious at the beginning, finally comes to!)
Nym: L2 Sun Elf Wizard
Snorri: L2 Gold Dwarf Paladin
Berek: L1 Shield Dwarf Cleric
Bridie: L2 Rock Gnome Ranger
It was decided not to immediately pursue Hert, as Berek was in a coma, Nym was twitching, like a drunk that needed more ale, from the quasit's poison, Snorri was still besotted with Hert, and Bridie, victorious, was heavily wounded. They gathered together the weapons, armor, and other loot and withdrew to the comparative safety of the shrine of The Red Knight. Bridie and Nym saw to the medical care of the group, and everyone sat in to wait.
Three days later, the whole group was healthy for the first time since their arrival at the manor. They discussed whether to head for home....or to pursue Hert. The weather had been good since, and the ground in the swamp soft, so there was some hope that Bridie might find the trail. They decided to look around and see if she could find his tracks. If not, they would head back toward the tower.
With some skill, Bridie found the tracks of the wizard and the party set off in pursuit. As they reached the edge of the swamp two days later, they had gained some ground, but the sky had darkened and the first drops of rain began to fall. Bridie gamely kept tracking, but after a day of almost non-stop rain, the tracks had disappeared; the party was forced to turn back to the southeast and head for Praketon's tower. A long two days walk put the party at the tower where they were shown in to see Commander Praketon. The Commander listened sympathetically to the party's account of their ordeal at the manor and their subsequent pursuit of Hert. He praised the group for their ending of a gathering threat in the swamp. He would have liked Hert captured, but destroying his growing base of power and forcing him to leave without the treasure he had accumulated was a positive result. Praketon paid them the agreed upon amount for the return of the bounty hunters' remains, and 300 gp for the dispersal of the growing evil. The party asked for transport back to Sundabar for their loot, and Praketon arranged passage on an empty supply wagon two days hence. He invited the group back for brunch on the morrow and bade them good night.
After a simple but ample brunch, Praketon had the table cleared off and an aide brought a map in. Praketon oriented the group, showing them the locations of the watch tower and Kleston manor. As he recounted events, his finger traced the path the party was following while tracking Hert. His finger continued westward and then he thumped it down, as if making a point. "Barakus," he said. "I would wager that is where he has gone to ground. An old, abandoned dwarf-delve, likely inhabited by unsavory denizens, orcs, ogres and the like. I won't ask this of you, but if you want to end him for good, I would bet on his being here."
The party promised they would consider this. On the following morning, they headed back to Sundabar with the wagons, arriving 3 days later.
Finis--to be continued in "Durgeddin the Black and the Delve at Khundrakar"
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)Kleston Manor, Part Three
The cast of Characters:
Hundar: L2 Human Fighter (unconscious for this part, still at -3 )
Nym: L2 Sun Elf Wizard
Snorri: L2 Gold Dwarf Paladin
Berek: L1 Shield Dwarf Cleric
Bridie: L2 Rock Gnome Ranger
Following the slaughter in the hallway, the party swiftly gathered the bodies into a room the thugs were using and separated out the weapons, armor, and other personal effects. Carrying the chainmail and weapons down to the shrine of The Red Knight, it was decided that further exploration was out of the question for the time being. The group rested for a day and a half recovering their strength; their rest was disturbed by a knocking on the door!
A whispered debate hastily followed, abruptly halting when Snorri opened the door. Standing outside was someone he did not expect....Bertrande Rebond, a wicked farmer whose plans of murder and rape the group had thwarted several weeks prior. "My master would like to have a word with you," he sneered.
Several minutes of bargaining followed before the party tentatively agreed to meet in an hour outside by the stables....tentatively because the discussions were abruptly ended when Nym began to cast a spell at Bertrande, who rapidly retreated back upstairs. The party discussed whether they should take up the offer for a meeting and it was finally decided they would meet with the elusive Frendais Hert.
At the appointed time, the party went outside toward the stables, looking them over carefully for any possible traps the Sharrans might have laid for them. None were found and as they gathered together, a small party could be seen leaving the manor: 5 thugs in studded leather with shortswords, a larger man in chainmail with a battleaxe, Bertrande, and another non-descript man in travel clothes with a short sword at his side. The chainmail-clad cultist carried a large sack, and the man in travel clothes pushed an obviously wounded prisoner before him. They stoped about 40 feet away from the party.
"So we meet at last," the man shouted. "I would negotiate for my safe passage from this manor. As a token of my good faith, I offer you these." He shoved the prisoner forward and the prisoner stumbled toward the party....they recognized him from the description Commader Praketon had given them....Jamison Jurbten, one of the bounty hunters. "And this," the man said, gesturing toward the man with the sack, who flung it toward the party. "I regret his unfortunate state, but my servant here has a none too subtle way with him, exacerbated by the stubbornness of unbelievers. I do believe, however, that Praketon will reward for the return of his remains." Jurbten, seeing the sack and hearing the man's words, grabbed the sack and began to sob. The party retrieved them and put the wounded and tormented man behind them.
"Well, if you surrender to us, I am sure we can get you and your men a fair trial. Your followers would likely be hung; you, I'm afraid, would likely be burnt alive," Snorri shouted back.
Hert replied, "Now, now, it serves neither of us to waste our energies so.....come let us have a bargain and we can each go our separate ways."
"No bargain except your surrender!!" Snorri hurled back.
Hert sighed, " Very well.....men kill them all now!"
And the fight was on.
The thugs charged across the open ground, engaging the party in general melee. As Hert began to incant a spell, Nym tried to counter but did not recognize the spell. As Hert finished, Nym sent a Magic Missile at the enchanter, only to be deflected by the Shield he had just erected. Bertrande maneuvered to the party's flank and, much to their astonishment, let loose magic of his own. The party recovered their surprise quickly, Snorri letting loose with a vicious swing of his warhammer at Bertrande, whose head exploded like a watermelon at crossbow practice. Berek rushed to fill the line next to his fellow dwarf, and Bridie and Jamison, with a weapon given him by Nym, held the right flank. The battle became heated, with Jamkison going down early from a shortsword thrust--he would bleed out before the battle concluded. Snorri and Berek took the brunt of the melee at this stage, holding off 3 of the thugs, Hert's champion, a large fiendish spider that Hert Summoned to aid in the fight and, most unexpectedly, demonic aid in the form of a quasit who materialized behind Snorri! Bridie faced two of the thugs with her battlepick--they did not seem intimidated!
The fight was desperate but, on the left, Snorri gained the upper hand despatching two of the thugs; on the right, Bridie deftly wielded her battlepick and slowly finished one of her two assailants. Snorri was able to gain some maneuver room as Berek held the center of the line and he chose his new target....Frendais Hert himself! Before he could line up the charge, Hert gestured and two Mirror Images of himself sprang into being. With a prayer to Moradin that he select the correct one, Snorri charged, swung, connected....and a replica winked out of existence. Hert sneered, stepped back and let loose a bolt of darkest shadow at the paladin. The bolt engulfed Snorri and he could feel his strength ebb and his heart quail at the prospect of more dark magic to come.
In the center, Berek struggled on against multiple opponents, the spider finally winking out as its time expired. The quasit and the thug facing him proved more stalwart than he could have anticipated, and the champion wielded a vicious battleaxe two-handed. Most attacks deflected from his sturdy platemail, but the catalog of wounds mounted. As Snorri maneuvered for his charge, Hert's attention turned briefly toward the brave cleric....but was not less malign for the brevity. Hert gestured and spoke some words, and a wriggling form of shadow, a Spirit Worm, darted toward Berek. The dwarf was stout enough to resist, but the secondary pain the spell sent shooting through his nerves was distracting and the quasit darted forward, its foul teeth finding dwarf meat at long last. Berek slumped to the ground, the spell still wracking his body with convulsions as he began to bleed out.
Bridie despatched her second thug a little before Berek fell and had begun to use her bow against Berek's opponents. As Berek fell, the Gnome braved the opportunistic attacks of the cleric's enemies, trying to bandage him before he would bleed out and be lost to them. It took two tries, but finally Berek's flood of lifeblood was staunched. Bridie's quick aid was helped along by the champion who, seeing the threat to his master, turned and charged after Snorri just as the Shadow Bolt hit the dwarf. The paladin's plate could not turn back the enchanted axe of the champion and Snorri suffered a wound.
Hert motioned and gestured again, and a wave of fear passed over Snorri. The paladin, not yet immune to the effects, turned and ran like a craven elf, suffering another severe wound as he let his guard down in his haste to run as far as possible. The situation looked grim indeed as the champion charged Nym and Bridie struggled with the last thug and the quasit dematerialized again. Nym took a wound from the champion's axe. Stepping back, he Summoned a celestial badger to tie up the champion. The badger struggled against the champion as Nym exhausted his repertoire of cantrips ineffectually. The champion finished the badger and Nym decided retreat would be easier if moved to the right flank.
By this time, Snorri had shaken off the effects of the Fear and charged as fast as he could back to this wizard who could make him feel so craven. As the champion crashed into Bridie, now wielding her battlepick against a thug as well, and Nym struggled to overcome his own basest instincts to flee, Snorri launched a furious attack against Hert....who only smiled and said, "I am your friend. Defend me from all physical harm." As the Charm took hold, Hert's suggestion sounded eminently reasonable and he checked his swing and turned to watch the rest of the battle.
Bridie stood alone against the remaining thug and champion. As Hert called upon them one last time to surrender, she stoutly continued to fight, preferring death in honorable battle to the sure torture that awaited any who let themselves under Hert's power. Nym prevaricated while keeping the thug under a steady if somewhat inaccurate fire. Tiring of this, Hert ordered his minions to kill them.
While Nym led the quasit on a merry chase, Bridie slugged it out with the thug and champion. Trading blows, she was grievously wounded, but managed to drop first the thug and, then with a last blow, the champion fell impaled. Gore and blood staining every part of her exhausted and wounded frame, she tossed her dark hair out of her eyes and glared balefully at the enchanter. Hert looked for a moment....and was daunted. He fled as fast as he could run into the swamp.
To Be Continued in Part 4
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)Re: Kleston Manor
HAHA Never trust an elf!
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)Re: Kleston Manor
elves have no morals.
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)Kleston Manor, Part 2
The cast of Characters:
Hundar: L2 Human Fighter (unconscious for this part, still at -8 )
Nym: L2 Sun Elf Wizard
Snorri: L2 Gold Dwarf Paladin
Berek: L1 Shield Dwarf Cleric
Bridie: L2 Rock Gnome Ranger
After a day's rest in the shrine to The Red Knight, the group was in substantially better shape, with magics recharged and some wounds healed. Berek used his magic to heal some of the party's wounds, although Hundar was too seriously wounded to be roused; Bridie and Nym gave him as best attention as their skills would allow and he seemed to rest more easily.
After heated discussion, it was decided to cautiously explore the 2nd floor; the shrine appeared to be relatively safe to retreat to should something too large appear.
Setting out, Bridie snuck up the stairs....and a voice called, "Oy, keep your hands where we can see them. The Master would like to have a word with you and your group." Bridie froze and began to reach for her weapon slowly. The voice rasped, "None of that! We'll fill you up like a pincushion. Get your friends up here and we'll go and talk." Bridie called down to the party that it appeared they were expected....
After whispered consultation, Nym went up the stairs with Bridie. Stepping into the light, they saw 4 humans outfitted in studded leather and carrying short swords, prominently displayed. Nym, surprised at their lack of ranged weapons and disdainful of their apparent capabilities, called down to the dwarves at the foot of the stairs, "There are only four with shortswords!" The thugs, unamused by this elven ploy, ran Bridie and Nym through....the fight was on!
Nym quickly stepped back and let loose a Color Spray, nearly ending the fight before it started. Bridie ducked her eyes in time, as did one of the thugs.....the other three fell to the ground with a rough thud. As the dwarves charged up the stairs, the remaining thug dashed down the hall, disappearing to the right at a T-junction. Bridie and Nym sprinted after him, hoping to disable him before he could raise the alarm....a forlorn hope as his shouts rang out loudly in the hallway!
Bridie and Nym followed him about 40 feet to the door at the end of the corridor, their shots going wide. The thug ducked through the doorway and disappeared as the pair closed in. As they reached the end, a door opened on their right and Bridie found herself assailed by three thugs. Nearly simultaneously, a pair of humans in chainmail, one wielding a rapier and dagger, the other a longsword and shield, assaulted Nym. In desperation, Nym drew the wand he had found, pointed it at the two large men....and spoke the word of command he had divined. The effect was not spectacular in the pyrotechnic sense, but the pair at the door appeared shaken by the effect and their attacks lessened for a brief time, while two of the pair's henchmen, coming up from behind, ran in panic.
Meanwhile Snorri and Berek had reached the top of the stairs. Beric began to tie up the unconscious thugs, while Snorri lumbered around the corner in time to see Nym nearly run through by a thrust from the rapier-wielding fighter, and Bridie struggling with the three thugs. As Snorri turned to their aid, first Nym and then Bridie fell back, severely wounded. Snorri plugged the gap and fought in the corridor, giving ground grudgingly, as Nym--with a feeling of Deja Vu--bandaged Bridie. Looking up from his medical work, he shouted to Berek, "We're getting hammered, finish those guys off and get your ass up here."
This presented Berek with somewhat of a moral dilemma....the men were obviously thugs, but unconscious and helpless. Cursing the innate cruelty of the elven race and with a prayer to Moradin that he was making the right decision, he finished off the prisoners.
What he saw, after finishing his gruesome work and rushing to the aid of his companions, was a desperate fight, with Snorri bearing the brunt of melee, only saved by the stoutness of his plate armor and the doughty wielding of his warhammer. Bridie added missile fire to the melee and Nym used what spells remained, but it looked obvious that Snorri would be overcome before long.
Berek charged in, fighting side-by-side with his fellow dwarf and follower of Moradin. The missile fire slackened as the dwarves blocked most of the targets, but not before finishing off the henchmen. As the fight raged, the heavy armor of the dwarves preserved them from irreparable harm. They dropped the rapier-wielding thug first, closely followed by his longsword-wielding companion. The group gave a collective sigh and staggered wearily, looking over the charnel house the corridor had become.
To be Continued in Part 3
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)Re: Kleston Manor
Excellent stuff Mike! I look forward to reading the next episode!
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)Re: Kleston Manor
elves are evil! :twisted:
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)