Path of Shadows: an AIMhack mini-campaign

[BJ Back From the Beyond]

Introduction

 

It's been six months since the most recent conflict between the cities of Actan and Sactorria began. Ever since Sactorrian forces liberated the allied city of Revossa from Actani occupation in a surprise attack, fighting has broken out all along the border between the two territories. Because of this, Theris has become a very dangerous place to be, and yet it is during this time that you find yourself, for your own reasons, in the city of Actan and in need of work.

While visiting one of the local watering holes, you spotted a flier requesting the assistance of skilled adventurers. The flier didn't say much beyond giving a meeting time and place and promising a high reward. Intrigued, you attended the meeting. The one who posted the job was a wealthy merchant. He explained that the fighting in the Fort Tels area has made it too dangerous to travel through there in recent months. Merchants traveling between Actan and Eidrisk to the north always take the long way around the mountains, right past Fort Tels. However, it wasn't always that way. There used to be a more direct route through the mountains: a pass known as the Losknia Trail. It was relatively safe until a few years ago when shadowy creatures started appearing in the pass and attacking any travelers they happened across. It wasn't long before the road was abandoned and the trail earned a new name among the populace: Shadow Pass.

In the hopes of making the Losknia Trail safe to travel once more, your employer has hired you and five others to enter the pass and deal with the source of these shades. You were each given 25 gold coins as an advance, with the promise of twice that amount once the job has been finished. After taking some time to prepare yourself for the road ahead, you set out from Actan with the others toward Shadow Pass.

 

For those of you familiar with The Eternal Flame, you may recall that in the first session the party traveled through Shadow Pass to get to Eidrisk. It was originally my intention for them to return at one point, but that campaign ended sooner than I thought it would. Rather than let a really neat adventure go to waste, I decided to expand it into its own mini-campaign.

So, I'm looking for six stalwart adventurers to embark upon this quest. I estimate the campaign will run about 5 or 6 sessions (depending on how fast the players go), and I'd like to do one session a week if at all possible. Now, there are several things that you're going to need to know as a player, so hold on tight.

 

The Rules

 

We'll be using Nioca's QuadHack for our rules. If you're not familiar with it, that's okay. I think this rules set has only ever been used for a single one-shot, and that was a long time ago. Even if you are familiar with it, you'll probably want to look again since Nioca updated it recently. I'm sure there's going to be a lot of questions, so feel free to post them here.

 

QuadHack Rules

 

MapTool

 

Some of you may remember that Lilith used MapTool in the City of Hope campaign. Well, now it's back. We'll be using MapTool 1.3b89 for this campaign. If you don't have MapTool, you can download it from the link below. If you've never heard of MapTool and are wondering what I'm going on about, click the second link and check out the videos. You'll get the idea real quick (note that we won't be using all the features listed in the videos).

 

MapTool Downloads

MapTool Video Tutorials

 

Player Selection

 

If none of the above scared you off and you want to play then all you need to do is fill out the calendar below. That's it. Players will primarily be chosen on how available they are. You don't need to worry about character creation yet. If you want to send me information on your character, that's fine, but I won't need it at this point. We'll finalize those later. The latest that I'll announce the players is July 7th, and I'll do so here.

 

Calendar

 

Character Creation

 

Once the players have been announced, I'll send a joint PM to each of them and request that they share their characters with each other (this is assuming I can message 6 people at the same time; if anyone can confirm this for me that would be great). The players can then discuss them and make changes as needed. I'm hoping to get a better balanced party from doing this, rather than trying to put one together from characters the players hand me. Once all of the players have finalized their characters, I'll post them here for all to see.

Should you be selected, you'll need to come up with a level 5 character. In the QuadHack rules, that gives you 60 Attribute Points, 22 Skill Points, and 4 Feats. Also, we'll be using the old Motian magic set: Evocation, Abjuration, Conjuration, Enchantment, Transmutation, Divination, and Vitamancy.

 

WARNING: Despite my best efforts, there's not likely to be any use for the Streetwise skill. Take it at your own risk.

 

 

That's it for now. I eagerly await your replies.

[Sarachim]

Filled out the calendar. Thanks for bringing this back to life, BJ.

[Triumph]

Ooh...wow...nostalgia.

 

 

Sadly, I'm going to be traveling off and on so much in July that I don't think I can reliably show up. If you still have an opening August, though...

[Sudanna]

Would love to, but my current job has me waking up at about midnight.

[Ouroboros]

Calendered

[BJ Back From the Beyond]

Okay, so there's a bit of an issue. So far there's I've only gotten four replies on the calendar: Sarachim, Lilith, Nioca, and BM. That's enough for a bare-bones party, but I was hoping for something a little more robust. This leaves us with a couple of options:

1. Go ahead with the campaign with the number of players we have now, keeping in mind that once the campaign starts it's going to be very hard to add any new PCs.

2. Wait for someone else to become available before starting. From what Triumph said above, I doubt we'd have to wait any longer than until the beginning of August.

 

I'm fine with the second option if it means having a larger party (plus it gives me more time to prepare), but I'd really like to know what the players think.

[nikki.]

You know what, I'm probably okay to play too. The only days that don't work so hot are Fridays (due to the time difference), but my schedule is spotty so I'd rather know when everybody else is free and then schedule around that instead of saying when I can be free.

[Sarachim]

I'd love to have Triumph and/or Nikki, of course, but if they don't work out I think four players is plenty. It gives us enough to cover all the skills a party needs, and it might actually be more fun since smaller parties = more DM attention to each player.

 

I only see two possible downsides, really: one, we players might have to be a bit more flexible than usual with character design in order to cover everything, but I'm willing to take the lead on that if I have to. Two, if one or more players misses a session it's a bigger deal, but Lilith, Nioca, and myself all have track records of being extremely reliable for AIMHack, and my impression is that BM's not a flake.

[Rowen]

I am gone all July and into August so that is why I didn't fill out the calendar. I hope it works out and you all have fun.

[Lilith]

It'd be great to have as many players as possible while still being able to schedule a session every week, but if it turns out nobody else can manage, I think four players is okay.

 

(Also, it sounds like if I want to run my own campaign, mid-to-late August is a good time to start it. Hmmmm...)

[Ouroboros]

I don't mind waiting for more players but like Sarachim said I think four players might be more fun.

[nikki.]

I actually skipped the part where you said Lilith AND Sarachim were playing. I'm going to do my darnedest to play now.

[BJ Back From the Beyond]

Sweet. That makes five players. I'll send a PM to everyone who's playing shortly. If anyone else wants to take the sixth slot, you've got until the day before the first session to contact me and submit your character. After that, I won't be accepting any new players. When the characters are ready, I'll post them here and announce when and where the first session will be.

[Lilith]

hey nikki and nioca, check your PMs. the PM notification thingy seems wonky but the point is the rest of us have mostly made characters now and session 1 is hopefully starting in a week. hit me up on aim if you need help getting your head around the character creation system (ok probably not you nioca)

[nikki.]

Ah, yeah I've got a million notifications all at once, but I've actually been out of town for a week, which is why I haven't made my character yet.

[BJ Back From the Beyond]

Okay, so the party is done enough for me to share it with everyone. There are still a few little things to hammer out, but I think we'll be ready for the first session. That said, the first session is Saturday 20th, at 6:00 PM EST (or more likely, whenever we're all ready to proceed). The server name will be SW_Path_of_Shadows, and the password will be "leaveyoursanity". If there are any problems, I'll (try to) be on AIM before the session starts so you can contact me there.

 

For anyone not familiar with connecting to a MapTool server: To get there, you'll need to fire up MapTool, go under File, and click "Connect to Server...". Then type in a username, basically whatever you want to be called on the server, and the password I gave above. Then scroll down until you find the server with the right name, click it, and hit "OK". If this doesn't work, contact me ASAP and I'll get you the address and the port number for the server.

 

Now, allow me to introduce what is likely to be a very interesting party.

 

Basidiratus, played by Lilith:

Name: Basidiratus

Race: Dwarf

Occupation: Exorcist

 

Backstory:

Cutting an imposing figure by dwarven standards at a full five feet tall and still powerfully built in middle age, Basidiratus has spent most of the last three decades living at a monastery outside of Actan, performing hard manual labour, tending to the occasional hungry or sick traveller, and studying the holy books of Phol-Phoram. However, he is also his monastery's foremost expert on hauntings, possessions and other works of dark magic. Once every few years, when evil magic is at work on Theris, he is granted dispensation to leave the monastery, so that he may investigate and root out the source of the evil.

 

LVL: 5

 

STR: 8

DEX: 2

PER: 6

 

HP: 26

STM: 15

DEF: 12

REF: 8

WIL: 14

 

Arcana: 9

Culture: 7

Interrogation: 3

Medicine: 2

Engineering: 1

 

Traits:

Will to Succeed

 

Feats:

Exemplary Strength

Melee Proficiency

Magic Adept (Vitamancy)

Magic Expertise (Vitamancy)

 

Jal-Phol-Phorami, played by Sarachim:

Name: Jal-Phol-Phorami (Phol-Phoram's Favorite)

Race: Dragonborn

Occupation: Preacher

 

Backstory:

It's about midday in a crowded market square in Actan. A small dragonborn woman with unusual blue scales climbs on top of a vacant fruitseller's stall.

 

"Hear the words of Phol-Phoram!" she cries in a surprisingly strong voice. A few people glance at her and return to their business. She sighs, then takes a deep breath. She tilts her head back and roars, and a bolt of lightning erupts from her mouth, fifty feet straight up into the air.

 

"Hear the words of Phol-Phoram!" she begins again. Some people stop at the base of her stall. Others give her sidelong glances as they go about their errands. "She is displeased with you because your imaginations are so small. Some of you don't think about anything but wealth, or anything but power. Some of you only think about what feels good. Some of you just try to stay alive without thinking about anything else. Phol-Phoram says to forget about those things! She knows you're capable of more!"

 

In her booming voice, Jal-Phol-Phorami lays out the rest of her doctrine: that Mote is in decline because the gods abandoned it, which they did because its people disappointed them. That if enough people try hard enough to please them, they will come back and Mote will become a paradise. That Phol-Phoram loves the people of Mote and still speaks to them, but that she's very far away now and her voice is hard to hear. That meditation, fasting, and sleep deprivation can make her voice clearer, and tell you what you need to do to please her. That if you do, you'll be stronger and happier than you are now.

 

During her speech, people stop and listen, while others get bored and wander off. The market square starts to thin out.

 

"Now, listen!" she says to the handful of people still gathered around her. "Some adventurers are trying to make Shadow Pass safe for people again. When I was meditating last night, Phol-Phoram told me that she wants us to help. This is a crusade! A chance to do the gods' work! A chance to do something really meaningful! All of you should come with me. If you do, you'll see that with Phol-Phoram's grace we can do anything!"

 

The next day, Jal-Phol-Phorami arrives alone at the rendezvous for the expedition.

 

LVL: 5

 

STR: 2

DEX: 8

PER: 6

 

HP: 14

STM: 15

DEF: 18 + 2

REF: 14

WIL: 8

 

Engineering: 8

Sleight: 7

Stealth: 7

 

Traits:

Dragonbreath (Lightning)

 

Feats:

Exemplary Dexterity

Inner Strength x 2

Brawler

 

Luanda, played by BM:

Name: Luanda

Race: Dragonborn

Occupation: Wanderer

 

Backstory:

Luanda was a wild child, while other children in her village plays with each other she would always go to the swamp nearby a wanders around watching the birds, or seeing the strange plants and so on. Her father was a ranger so he encouraged her hobby and taught her how to survive in the wilds and her mother taught her the usefulness of the medicine. Having decided to pursue the path of adventurer she left her village with her uncle a traveling mercenary, after few years adventuring with her uncle she decided to go on without her uncle and find herself in the city of Actan where she read that fliers.

 

LVL: 5

 

STR: 5

DEX: 8

PER: 3

 

HP: 20

STM: 15

DEF: 18

REF: 11

WIL: 8

 

Medicine: 8

Fauna: 2

Stealth: 4

Wilderness: 8

 

Traits:

Dragonbreath (Ice)

 

Feats:

Melee Proficiency

Finesse

Dual Wielder

Professionalism

 

Henrietta Mariot, played by Nioca:

Name: Henrietta Mariot

Race: Human

Occupation: Vigilante and Mercenary (More Accurately: Self-Justified Sociopathic Thief/Murderer periodically for-hire)

 

LVL: 5

 

STR: 6

DEX: 4

PER: 7

 

HP: 22

STM: 15

DEF: 14

REF: 11

WIL: 13

 

Culture: 3

Interrogation: 7

Stealth: 7

Streetwise: 2

Medicine: 2

Engineering: 1

 

Traits:

Paranoia

 

Feats:

Missile Proficiency

Armor Proficiency

Weapon Specialization (Crossbows)

Last Stand

 

Quinn Keromont, played by Nikki:

Name: Quinn Keromont

Race: Human

Occupation: Ex-soldier

 

LVL: 5

 

STR: 7

DEX: 4

PER: 6

 

HP: 24

STM: 15

DEF: 14

REF: 10

WIL: 13

 

Stealth: 6

Interrogation: 5

Deception: 4

Wilderness: 5

Arcana: 2

 

Traits:

Paranoia

 

Feats:

Melee Proficiency

Magic Adept (Enchentment)

Magic Expertise (Enchantment)

Last Stand

 

[nikki.]

Edit: this is not a PM.

 

*facepalm*

[BJ Back From the Beyond]

Calendar for the next session is up: http://whenisgood.net/g2i8xjt

[nikki.]

Filled it in. I can be flexible with what I've entered, to some extent; apart from on the 26/27th.

[Lilith]

done~

 

are we getting a log? i should probably have warned you that maptool doesn't automatically keep logs so you need to copy-paste the contents of the chat window before closing it

[nikki.]

(so i kept a copy of the log just in case. it doesn't have pictures for the characters, though. let me know if you want it, BJ)

[Ouroboros]

Calendered

[BJ Back From the Beyond]

Okay, wow. Still waiting for Nioca's reply, but from what I can see so far, the only day that's going to work is Sunday the 28th. I'm going to go ahead and schedule us for that day. It'll be 4:00 pm MDT (an hour earlier than we started last time, because I for one find daylight savings time unfathomable). If Nioca can't make that time, I'll have to put up another calendar.

 

Nikki, if you could send me a copy of that log, I'd appreciate it. I'll try to remember to make my own copies in the future.

[Nioca]

28th works for me.

[Ouroboros]

*facepalms

It appears I forgot to modify my location when posting the dates, I'm sorry but it wouldn't work for me since its gonna be in monday.

[Lilith]

i might be able to make it on the 4th or 5th (america's 4th or 5th, my 5th or 6th) if that helps. i'd have to leave within 4-5 hours of the starting time, though

[Sarachim]

If it helps, I can try to narrow down my availability on the 31st through the 2nd

[BJ Back From the Beyond]

The 31st through the 2nd wouldn't work anyway. Lilith, if you can do the 4th or the 5th, then we have some options. The earliest times we can start are 5:00 pm MDT on the 4th and 6:00 pm MDT on the 5th. I think I can keep this next session relatively short. Let me know which times work best for you.

[Lilith]

The 4th would be best; a 5 PM MDT start time should be fine.

[BJ Back From the Beyond]

Okay. So, unless any other problems come up, session 2 will be Sunday, August 4th, at 5:00 pm MDT.

[Sarachim]

Update: I am fully available (at all listed times) on August 3. Feel free to reschedule to then if that helps.

[BJ Back From the Beyond]

Unfortunately, I will be unavailable for the 3rd. Thanks for trying though.

[BJ Back From the Beyond]

~24 hours 'till the next session guys. It promises to be very interesting. As always, spectators are welcome.

[BJ Back From the Beyond]

Calendar is up for the next session, guys.

[Triumph]

I guess there aren't any logs for this campaign?

[BJ Back From the Beyond]

I am saving the chat logs. I just haven't started working on them yet.

[nikki.]

I've responded to the calendar.

[BJ Back From the Beyond]

Okay, looks like we're all available for Sunday, August 11th, at 6:00 pm MDT.

 

Also, BM, you forgot to change your timezone again.

[Ouroboros]

Actually I count the time differences this time

[Nioca]

I'm afraid I won't be able to make the session tonight. I've been battling with a particularly nasty migraine most of today, and unfortunately, the migraine's winning. Don't reschedule on my behalf; my character hasn't been particularly active (mostly for MapTool reasons), so just put her on auto-pilot for the time being.

[BJ Back From the Beyond]

Well, it turns out we'd be down two players instead of one, so we're rescheduling anyway. Next session is Tuesday the 13th at 5pm MDT. Hopefully we can all be there this time.

[Lilith]

sorry about that, I was kind of sick last night and this morning too and I didn't even wake up until some time after the scheduled start

[BJ Back From the Beyond]

Calendar for session 4 is up.

[BJ Back From the Beyond]

Aaaand the calendar is completely blacked out. Apparently we won't be able to meet again until after the 30th, so I've had to set up another calendar.

[BJ Back From the Beyond]

Still waiting for a reply from Nioca, but the only day open on the calendar is the 7th at 5pm MDT. Hopefully he can make that time. If not, well I can always put up another calendar.

[Nioca]

What? I replied to both calendars.

 

Anyway, yeah, 7th works for me.

[nikki.]

is there any days where i'm not marking as available that everybody else is free? because if it's such a pain to schedule this, i can see if i can jig things about

[BJ Back From the Beyond]

There are a couple of such days Nikki, but that won't be necessary this time. We are officially on for Saturday the 7th at 5pm MDT.

[BJ Back From the Beyond]

~47 hour warning, everyone. We're still on for the 7th at 5pm MDT.

[BJ Back From the Beyond]

23 hour warning.