In Search of: Urd
4/10/1999
Prelude
Elsewhere in Ansalea
She did what?
She killed them Lord, half my forces, with but a single spell.
So, she has grown in power, eh? No matter, I shall flay her slowly.
Of course, Lord
You dare question me!
No Lord, no, of course not. How may I help you?
Call forth the ...
Summary of the Adventure
The company headed north towards the mountains with the clear goal of finding and killing the Urd. Their journey was uneventful during the first day, but on the second day they entered the territory of the Hill People. Everyone in the company had the feeling of being watched, though no watcher was ever seen.
The second night, as most of the company slept, a group of orcs stumbled onto their camp. The company, having heard them first, hid themselves in the woods as the orcs approached. Taernac used an illusion to make it appear that Calidon stood guard outside the tent. When the orcs attacked, the group used a combination of sorcery and missile attacks to defeat them.
Most of the sleeping orcs were slain, and the sole surviving orc was interrogated. He did not reveal much that was not known to the group before. Taernac became angry when Androth insisted that he be released, but allowed it. Most of what they learned from the Orc came from a note he bore. The note ordered him and his fellows to attack the Hill People and blame the humans whenever possible. They were to drive the Hill People south, back into the empire.
Another clue came in the form of their swords which were not of Orc manufacture. They bore a resemblance to the sword of the Outlander, a hero who had served with Baltheas II. He had never given his true name and would say only that he came from beyond the mountain. His sword and his fighting style were like nothing ever seen before in the empire. Finally, he bore a crest which revealed him to be of the Burning Tree.
Andivari was familiar with the Burning Tree although they had not been seen much in this area. They are one of the most ruthless orc tribes. Smarter and more disciplined than most tribes, they have a high concentration of half-orcs and are known for their fondness for scorched earth warfare.
The next day the company came upon five Hill People hunting wild boar. They approached them peacefully and the Hill People, though wary allowed them to pass further into their lands. The Hill men did insist on seeing Brother Urbane's face. When asked they spoke of a one-eyed man who dressed similarly and commanded many orcs. Further questioning revealed that he travelled with an elf who had some skill at magic.
At nightfall that night they came upon a much larger group of Hill People. Their entire village had been routed by orcs of the Burning Tree and they believed they were still being pursued. Harkonen helped them tend to their wounded, then the company spent the night with them.
In the dark of night there came the sound of the horns and drums of the burning tree and the villagers fled. The company stood it ground and investigated. They found the tracks of a single horse and rider and followed them for a time. They lost the trail when the rider entered a streambed and did not emerge for a half-mile in either direction.
On their return to camp, they were attacked by Urd. Four of the five were slain and the fifth was questioned. He revealed that the Urd were trying to drive out the Hill People to make space for the orcs. The orcs would, in turn, help the Urd to rid themselves of the Dwarves. Before he could say more, three magic missiles struck from the darkness and he was killed. His attacker disappeared and Taernac believed he used a powerful spell to do so (Dimension Door).
The next day, they found the remains of the village, which had been burned to the ground. The orcs had headed west and the company opted to do the same. About noon of that day, they encountered another group of hunting Hill People although this group was in deep trouble. They were being attacked by a pair of hill giants and one of the four was already down, buried beneath a huge rock.
The company rode up and protected the Hill People while they extricated their friend. While Taernac and Androth harrassed them with arrows, Calidon and Urbane charged. Daran moved forward and cast an eldritch charm on one of the giants. Urbane's charge was interrupted when one of the giants spooked his horse with a thrown boulder, but Calidon ignored the boulder that hit him and continued to charge on foot. He slew one giant with two blows of his massive sword. The second giant, crippled by Daran's spell, fell to the arrows and spears of the company and the Hill People.
Urbane healed the fallen man, who turned out to be the chief's son, and they rode to the village to warn them. Andivari and Taernac spoke with the villagers and determined the two places the orcs were most likely to have holed up. Taernac investigated one of them, hoping to determine the likely path of their assault. He guessed which one correctly and only his magical skill saved him from certain death at the hands of a half-dozen orcs.
He returned and the villagers prepared for the assault. The orc leader offered to leave the villagers if they surrendered the party, but the chief would hear nothing of it. The orcs launched a hail of arrows and then an ice storm, but neither was very effective. The shaman tried to attack by calling lightning onto the orcs, but it didn't work. Finally, he used a pyrotechnics spell to blind most of the orcs. The villagers attacked and when the fight ended, nearly three dozen orcs lay dead. The rest of the orcs, and their leader Gerbald escaped under cover of a wall of fire.
The chief and his people packed their belongings and prepared to head south. They told the company where there was a local stronghold of Kobolds and suggested they try going their to find the Urd.
In Character Moment of the Night
Androth: I'll shoot the bagpipes.
Brother Urbane: Screw that. Shoot the musician
Player Moment of the Night
DM: You find Andi, he's deep in thought
Joe: We wait 'til he's doing going to the bathroom
DM: He's talking with some Hill People
Joe: Must be a big latrineLou: Cedric the Short? He's not very tall? I didn't think it referred to his height...
Treasure Summary
Magic Ring Daran Gloves of Spider Climbing Taernac
Experience Summary
Player Adventure Bonuses, penalties and what not Total Androth 3,100 Bonus: Treated the orc as a warrior, good roleplaying 12,050 Brother Urbane 3,200 Bonus: Hiding the bodies, good taunt of Gerbald 12,200 Calidon 3,000 9,900 Daran 3,500 Bonus: interrogate the orc captain, search for clues on magic missile mage, good spell use and selection 10,350 Taernac Ftr: 1550
M-U: 1850Good interrogation techniques, good spell use Ftr: 6,350
M-U: 7,300Summary: Basically came out to around 1,400 for monsters, 1,100 for goals and 500 bonus for working together pretty well all night.
Gamemaster Comments
Maybe the folks who said too many players was the issue were right. Either way, this was the most fun for me in a while. Of course, I could always claim it was because my XP penalties from last time worked. Either way, keep it up!
