DivineDetritusASeasLifeForMe

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This is a chapter in Book 2

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Summary

NPCs

Calaminus 2.0

This metal golem was rebuilt, upgraded and waited within Norrison's Sanctuary. With the help of the Zeels, Reziel and "Father", he tried to kill you all.

Captain Hab

Captain of the `Mermaid's Kiss`. Sailed you from Harvest Wharf to the Port of the Plains.

Darius Kolphan

Darius was briefly possessed by a ghost as you passed through the desert. He saw the ghost's last moments: Ambushed by vampiric spawn while fighting monsters.

He also mentions how his family often struggles with death.

Erlson

An old guide in the town of Deonsy. He offers to help you across the desert towards Norrison, the village "Nourished by the Sun."

Cursed by a devil long ago, Erlson is forbidden from actually fighting. He remains unable to move, only able to speak and refer to the potions and vials he carries.

He leaves as you approach Norrison's borders.

"Father"

This voice emanated from Calaminous, intrigued at how you managed to defeat his son.

Harpy Egg

After defeating the Harpies of the Desert, Fi finds a single unhatched egg in their nest. The lone egg reminded Fi of Flier, so he/she took the egg.

Helga Fiera

A half-orc helping protect Norrison. She's much more charismatic than her sister and relies on impassioned please. Vegeta's training impresses her.

Jeice

One of Frieza's lieutenants, leading groups of bandits to rob merchants in the Plains.

Mayor Torrin

The Mayor of Norrison challenges the party to a verbal duel to gain entrance to Norrison. He later told you how his grandfather founded the town when a guardian helped nourish the land.

Misha Fiera

A half-orc helping protect Norrison. She's smarter than her sister and relies on logic for her arguments. She finds Hawk to be very charming.

Reziel: The Guardian

A phoenix merged with metal, Reziel is an unwilling ally of Calaminus and "Father". He met Mayor Torrin's grandfather and created an oasis, which the grandfather used to found Norrison.

Zaibon

One of Frieza's goons, slain by a beautiful demon.

July 13, 1236 AD

The party boards the ship and wishes the Kolphans goodbye. Except for Darius, who is coming along.

July 20, 1236 AD

The party arrives at Harvest Wharf and reports to Melvin Mel. He's excited to see them alive and well, and is also impressed by their progress. He's a little confused about their efforts in the Great Plains, since they don't mention Merki's death or Melanie's interference at the trial. Still, he gives them a hefty cash reward and some tokens to communicate with him.

Vegeta notes how worried Marjorie and Melodie were when the party mentioned Sendrine.

July 21, 1236 AD

The party meets Captain Hab, who tells them the trip to the Port of the Plains is about two weeks away.

July 26, 1236 AD

5 days out to sea. Same as the last 5. Until giant crabs and lobsters board the ship! After a brief scuffle the party, Darius and Captain Hab enjoy lots of crab for the next few days.

August 4, 1236 AD

The ship arrives in the Port of the Plains. The party knows they need to reach Deonsy, about a week's travel away. Hawk recalls some general facts about the plains.

• Unlike Alenno or the Draugh Kingdom, the Great Plains is mostly broken up into small independent city-states. Some are more friendly than others.
• Maps are inaccurate because power struggles and nomads tend to create new towns or destroy others.
• The Great Plains has, unsurprisingly, fields of low grass and very few trees. The lack of humidity is a problem and some areas are very arid.
• The Port of the Plains is probably the most industrialized and friendly town on the continent.

Hawk listens for some rumors:

• Sales leads: You can find a few of the bigger merchants, they live in the port. Rumor has it of a paradise full of gold that exists in the middle of the Plains, but no one's sure where.
• Other rumors: A month or so people saw the great wizard Shavanni around here, hunting a Green Dragon. They say the battle was phenomenal.
• They warn you to be careful traveling outside the city. There are more and more bandit attacks during the day and during the night.
• Some bandits have allied with a new warlord named Jeice. He took over after the previous lord Zaibon was decapitated by rather beautiful demon.
• Hawk hears both Jeice and Zaibon were working for an even greater warlord, who demanded tribute from towns and cities, but no one has bothered looking into it.

Well, business is business, and the party has to choose one of three guilds to bargain with.

• The Dragonsears claim to descend from dragons and worship all of the scaly beasts. In fact they don't seem to care about much else.
• The Dragon Breakers, on the other hand, want to protect themselves from draconic assault. A portion of their guild dues are used to search for means to protect themselves. They don't have many plans past that.
• Sometimes these guilds fight openly, or one merchant corners a market and jacks up the price. An underground group Trinity has been credited with breaking monopolies by any means necessary, including kidnappings and "enforcement". In fact they have a protection racket.

The party decides the Dragon Breakers are the least annoying group to deal with and begin a partnership with them. They promise to tell EVERYONE of the East Ferren Trading Company's decision.

August 6, 1236 AD (afternoon)

The next few days are pretty quiet, with Fi scavenging for food and Hawk and Darius entertain the party. They come upon the path and witness what seem to be two groups arguing.

It seems more like a tense standoff, as both groups assume the party is here to kill them. One group tries to escape while the other fights the party, planning to inform their boss afterward. As the battle begins, Vegeta hears footsteps from large creatures approaching.

A tyrannosaurus and two ankylosaurs stampede into the area and attack the brigands. Darius raises a golem army (actually an illusion) and the enemies are lost in the chaos.

Once the dust settles, Darius has charmed one of the brigands as two others escaped. Two of the other travelers are with the party. According to the brigand, he works for Lord Jeice, one of Lord Freiza's Chieftans. His friends came here to buy dragon scales from the travelers. Lord Jeice seemed very interested in anything related to dragons, as they may have the power to summon dragons and do their bidding. He tells them where Lord Jeice is, but not before the charm breaks. He curses them, telling them Lord Jeice will win!

The travelers admit they were selling 100% authentic dragon scales but the brigands tried to haggle them.

August 10, 1236 AD (afternoon)

The party approaches the town gates of Deonsy during a cloudy day.

The Inspector walks up to them and immediately is on high alert when he sees Vegeta's armor. Frieza's minions wear armor very similar (Vegeta guesses they stole the designs when they destroyed his homeland) and the Prince is able to calm them down (!!!) with help from Claire and Hawk. They also get a quick bounty with the brigand's armor: 100 gp per suit.

Hawk spends the afternoon observing the locals, their habits and what makes them tick. He manages to hear some rumors that he all but confirms. There is a desert oasis about two days away with a small village nearby. They've seen some kind of bat-like figure fly overhead at times, which is very odd for a desert habitat. However, no one dares to venture into the desert, citing its many dangers and worries about people lost in the wind. There is one person, at the edge of Deonsy, who has traveled across the desert. He should have retired to his hut by now.

The party meets Erlson and asks for his aid to travel to Norrison. He warns the party it's a tough trip, and he will be forbidden from entering the town. They should anticipate dangers in the desert.

August 11, 1236 AD (afternoon)

The party spends the morning traveling through the desert. With Erlson's directions and Fi's guidance, they are able to travel without trouble. Deonsy is the only landmark visible on the desert, which does make it easy to return. After a long day, Erlson suggests they stop by a pond to find something to drink.

An underground stream surfaces at a few points in the desert. The major point eventually became Norrison, as settlers claimed the area was "nourished by the sun." Their crops have incredible yields and have kept them self-sufficient for several decades. As a sign of goodwill, they shared their secrets to other settlers, hoping to spread growth throughout the Great Plains. Erlson suspects there is an additional secret the town hasn't revealed. The hunt for this secret attracted invaders, spies and raiders, causing Norrison to turn xenophobic.

Also at the pool are the remains of a Behir, and some humanoid bones. The party guesses they died less than 3 weeks ago. The Behir didn't suffer physical stress, and the humanoids have less injury than expected. The party begins to leave as three ghosts and an astral behir form. The Behir seems the most coherent, and it wants the party out of its home. The ghosts seem to ramble on about mysterious attackers.

Erlson is paralyzed as soon as the conflict begins, only able to produce holy water for the party to use. One of the ghosts seems to merge into Darius, but Nidri exorcises it and the party combines their power to defeat them. Darius experienced the last few moments of the ghost's life: fighting a Behir when they were ambushed by bat/wolf/humanoid hybrids in the middle of the night.

Following Erlson's guide, the party reaches a cavern by sunset. Underground provides plenty of shelter against the cold, windy night. Darius shares a story about his family, and their struggle with tragedy. Fi and Erlson keep up watch.

August 12, 1236 AD (morning)

The party continues their journey to Norrison. The day starts off cloudy, and a harsh wind picks up. Sandstorms scour the desert, but Fi and Erlson's guidance keep the party one step ahead. Erlson sees the statue of the forgotten king and leads the party there. The sand subsides, and the wind is less chaotic. It is melodic, and enchanting. Everyone but Fleir, Vegeta, Erlson and Darius feel compelled to climb to the top of the statue. Three harpies wait for their prey to approach.

Darius conjures a wall of flame to force the captivated to reconsider their climb up the statue. Vegeta swats summon animals out of the sky, and Fi manages to shoot down the archer. All three harpies lay dead, while Nidri and Vegeta check out their filthy nest. Beside their treasure hoard, they find a warm, intact, egg in the hatchery. Fi decides to keep the egg; it reminds them how he found Fleir.

August 12, 1236 AD (lunchtime)

Erlson bids the party goodbye as they finish eating lunch. Even one hour away from Norrison, he can feel the tension rising. The curse a devil gave him long ago paralyzes him in times of conflict, and the town is still on guard over what he did.

The party approaches a lush oasis. The barren desert sand gives way to vegetation, streams of water, and small animals. There is a 10 foot high wall of stones surrounding the tallest vegetation and apparently a village. The town guard gets everyone to attention, and soon the entire village of Norrison is out, keeping their eye on the party. The mayor steps out, his skin is red as the sunset. He is accompanied by two female Half-orcs. He apologizes and tells the party they cannot enter town, but they are free to stay outside until the next day.

Hawk implores Mayor Torrin for entry, and soon a crowd of villagers form near the entrance. Realizing conversation is paramount, Mayor Torrin tells Misha and Helga Fiera to prepare for a verbal duel! Hawk asks for Vegeta's wisdom and Fi's intelligence to help him convince the village for entry. After lots and lots of conversation, mostly from Hawk, the village relents and offers the party entry.

The back of Mayor Torrin's house leads to an underground cave that the mayor says will lead the party to the Guardian. The Mayor's grandfather founded Norrison thanks to the Guardian's help. Mayor Torrin leaves the party to meet the Guardian. The underground cave is full of sunlight and vibrant crops.

The party finds a nasty surprise when they reach the cave. The Guardian seems to be hybrid of flesh and metal and has awaited the party's arrival. So is Calaminus and four Zeels. Two voices ring from Calaminus- the childlike voice the party remembers from the Draugh Kingdom, and an annoyed intellectual everyone refers to as "Father". Battle training pays off, as the party separates to avoid getting roasted with fireballs.

The party manages to destroy the Zeels and Calaminus without harming Reziel. He's quite thankful, and tells the party what he knows. He thought he would die but was glad he is still alive. "Father" ordered him to go home, which he will, eventually. "Mother" and "Father" formed a family, and he is one of them. Calaminus, and Reeta Headeeta are children as well. The Zeels seem to be based on one the children. There are 8 in total. Oh, and Baat Daculon is one of them, too.

While he is forbidden to reveal the location of Baat's lair or his "parents", he can mention a guest he took care of in the back. Be wary, party, Father is Watching you now. He takes his leave, and Hawk worries they have doomed Norrison. They take a look at the back of his cave and see a half-orc sleeping within a cage. Is that Merki?

GM Comments

Personal Quests

And so begins my latest idea: Personal Quests.

• It gives you a chance to invest in your character's backstory and motivations.
• It lets me flesh out the world some more.
• It's something you can do solo.

One nice thing about roll20 is with all of this asynchronous stuff, it's pretty easy to make a 1-on-1 flashback sequence. Uh, assuming you don't die in the sequence. TIME PARADOX

Custom Monsters

So I bought Pathfinder Unchained. They have a good guide on how to create monsters that can challenge a party at a given level. I've been using them to create more encounters. I'll have to keep tweaking them though- my archers were designed to deal 18 damage per hit, which is hard to justify in-game.

On the other hand, a ship full of giant crabs and lobsters missed and were fireball'd throughout the fight.

The harpies turned out really well, due to their tactics and the map. I had background stories for them as well, but you'll never hear those, haha.

Reziel is not a true Pheonix, that's a CR 15 monster. I watered him down to CR 8 using the custom monster rules.

Darius as an NPC

I didn't expect Darius to come along, but he's been useful so far. Charm Monster, Confusion and Minor Image lets him distract and control the battlefield and make easy interrogations. I hope he isn't stealing too much of the spotlight.

Calamius 2.0

I had to revive him. I hope this doesn't mess up my villain order, but it was too good to pass up. It's another custom monster, but there are several abilities (lightning bolt) and buffs (protection from arrows) you didn't know about. Now you learn about the Father.

Handouts

• Chat Logs (Text Only)

Harpies of the Plains

As you reach the top of the statue, the stench of gore fills the air. Find the remains of humanoids, other harpies, and too much perfume. The lair seems divided into three sections.

The goriest section is also the most plain. You find the remains of other harpies there, their throats slashed out. They seem different than the other ones you fought, suggesting there were part of a rival flock. You find crude statutes there, that flutter in the wind. Perhaps they were part of a shrine? You also see the drawings of some birds on the walls.

The cleanest corner of the lair reeks of perfume. Scented oils, worn silk curtains, and several dirty pillows line up the corner. You see several torn dresses of different styles and fashions around the world. Some from the Draugh kingdom, some from Mardens City, even one similar to Vegeta's style. You find a journal signed "Syril" that describes her many owners and how she killed, seduced, or tricked them before the next owner bought her. She is overjoyed with her freedom and surprised Skynail and Vartal have accepted her back so readily.

Vartal's corner has a family tree- about five generations deep. She even has a family crest, which you recognize as her mercenary company symbol. There are red Xs through some of them, and you infer which ones you killed while sailing across the ocean. She has some horse remains, and some incomplete longbow strings and leather armor. She must have been a bowyer.

The three lairs join up to the hatchery. Several dozen cracked and smashed eggs lie in the room, along with a pile of raw fresh, offensive to the noses.

One unhatched egg lies in the hatchery, still warm.