Episode Six: Breakfast with the Overlord

Present:
  Alma (Jane)
  Crinsea (Hannah)
  Euwin (Paul)
  Flux-Hand (Liam)
  Laeknir (Mr. Rheam)
  Ponty (Garrett)

His Excellency Higelak IX does not play games of subtlety.  His assassins made sure that the party was in the Overlord's palace hours before their scheduled meeting time, disarmed and cast into a pit with no ready escape. His archers and several members of the Black Lotus squad of assassins circle the perimeter of the pit, discouraging any thought of resistance. The Overlord then makes an appearance, sneering into the pit and making the power relationship abundantly clear to the party.  Paramswarm trails in his wake. For a wizard who faced down a dragon, he seems more than a little nervous.

 He then lays out the situation from his perspective: his wizards had promised him monstrous superweapons that he could use to fight the dragonlords. Instead, he wound up with a bunch of neophytes who still have not grown into their full monstrous powers.  Nonetheless, he proposes a partnership: in exchange for acting as his agents against the Dragonlords and other enemies of the City-state, he will make sure that they can live in comfort within the city walls, with a generous stipend and promises of further rewards. He even offers use of what he describes as a "spacious townhouse."  Given the alternatives that he does not even ttry to cloak in subtlety, the party agrees to his terms, at least for now.

After being escorted from the citadel, Paramswarm accompanies the group to the Balor's Eye. He provides some details about what is known about the dragonlords. He also adds that the soul gens are charged by life experience and energy, so the best way to hasten the transformation would be to explore, take risks, and to challenge enemies.  He then delivers some bad news: the "townhouse" the Overlord spoke of is the now-deserted tower of the Wizard Llewellyn. Barred by magical wards to all save the rightful owners, he presents them with a key and warns them of Llewellyn's earlier sadistic experiments to make monstrous soldiers for the Overlord.  On the bright side, Llewellyn knew far more than Paramswarm did about the Soul Crystals, and his notes may reveal some secrets as to the monstrous transformations.

The tower is built into the side of the city wall. Access is by a drawbridge and a magical portal which is operated by strongly presenting the tower key.  Inside, two animated suits of armor served as sentinels.  They took rather poorly to being shot by arrows.

Thanks, Ponty. 

Episode Four/Five

Present:
  Alma (Jane)
  Crinsea (Hannah)
  Euwin (Paul)
  Flux-Hand (Liam)
  Laeknir (Mr. Rheam)
  Ponty (Garrett)

The adventurers awake in the River Snake. Apparently, three days have passed while they recover from their unusual procedure. All have been changed in some way, and while none are displaying any overtly monstrous characteristics just yet, neither are they fully human (or elven, or halfling).  The weary warrior Pallando awaits them in the common room, informing them that Paramswarm and Allatar have gone ahead to the City-State to brief the Overlord. 

The group decides to travel upriver on one of the barges that managed to avoid draconic acid.  The crew eyes their passengers warily, but for the most part they are professional, and by the end of the day, they are underway.

Late the next day, drums can be heard from the Dearthwood. Alma recognizes the rhythms as an Amazon war beat, giving credence that an Amazon adventurer has united the Orc clans and become their queen.  Shortly thereafter, four orcish war canoes make for the barge.  Spells and flaming flotsam keep the orc pirates from closing, and the barge escapes into the night.

The barge continues upriver for two more days. The winds die down, and the going becomes much slower.  The adventurers slowly come to accept the new normal, even as they wonder what changes lay further in store for them.  Then, a bump on the bottom of the vessel indicates that the group is not safe yet. The captain tries to run, but a tentacled horror is far astern.  The party offers to jump ashore as the ship nears the right bank of the Roglaroon. With some splashing and tumbles, they make it. In the distance, they can see tentacles tear apart the barge, and they can only hope the crew made it to safety.

The road to the City-State runs through the Mermist Marsh, a desolate bog traversed by the causeway of the Great South Road.  The party reaches the edge of the marsh at nightfall and decides to march ahead, taking advantage of their nightvision.  However, predators come out at night, and two giant frogs needed to be dispatched before the party could proceed to their destination.

They reach the City-State by mid-morning, filthy and exhausted.  Some guards at the gate eye them warily, but after the group pays a modest toll and consents to a cursory search, they are allowed to pass. Just inside the gate, a hooded servant named Gurgi claims to be working for Paramswarm and he offers to take the adventurers to the Balor's Eye, the finest inn in the City. The party bathes and receives the gift of some clean formal clothes for their audience with the Overlord.  A few explore the city, checking in to help wrap up the business of their former patrons and to buy some new supplies. Food and drink flow freely that night, and some of the party crash before they should. The others find members of the Overlord's Squad of elite assassins waiting for them in their rooms. They make it clear that they are to accompany them, unarmed and blindfolded...

Episode Three: The rain ends, but the storm begins

Present:
  Crinsea (Hannah)
  Euwin (Paul)
  Flux-Hand (Liam)
  Laeknir (Mr. Rheam)
  Ponty (Garrett)

Kobolds are dangerous in numbers but they are cowards at heart. When the lizardman shaman is felled by arcane bolts and sacred flames, the surviving kobolds bolt for safety. One flees to the kitchen, where it huddles with some of its fellows, terrified for its life.  Crimsea and Alma guard it while the other party members confront the other, who has gone to beg for protection in a room that has been converted into a makeshift shrine to a dragon god. The words "We serve that we may one day join you" are scrawled in Draconic on the wall. Sadly, the kobold's memory is jogged a little too hard by Ponty's frying pan and he falls unconscious. However, interrogation of the kobold in the kitchen reveals that the lizardman shaman took the soul crystals to his room beyond the shrine.  After Flux-Hand successfully cleared a small coffer of poison needles, the group found the stash of crystals...

They sky is growing light and the rain is letting up as the party returns to the River Snake Inn. Etta is preparing fresh bread for breakfast, and Mr. Druin, the halfling proprietor, is cleaning the damage from the previous night's fight.  The wizard Allatar, former valet to the Archmage Llewellyn, anxiously greets that party, telling them that Paramswarm has gone ahead to the ritual site to prepare the rites by which the  soul crystals will be bonded to their new hosts.  After a quick rest, the party sets out to meet their destiny.

They find that they are not the only ones interested in the ritual. Vile undead creatures have

crawled from the river. After disabling the bodyguard Pallando, they pinned the crippled Paramswarm to the very altar he was pallning to use in the ritual. Apparently, the party has arrived just in time.  The monstrosities look fierce, but they are felled swiftly by arrow, blade, and spell. 

After he is restored to health, Paramswarm then quickly prepares the ritual. One by one, he straps the heroes to the altar then plunges a jeweled dagger into their chests.  The wounds do not bleed. Rather, they leave gaping holes, into which he quickly inserts a colored crystal. The wounds then magically close. From the perspective of those receiving the crystals,they feel intense pain, followed by a sense of falling into oblivion.  Then...nothing.

Episode 2: Storm Over Modron

  

Paramswarm's offer hangs in the air for several seconds while the downpour outside escalates into a raging storm.  The grizzled wizard urges the party to set out at once for the kobold lair to recover the crystals, claiming that if the Dragon Lords recover the crystals, there will be nothing to stop them from remaking the world in their image.  Allatar and Pallando, the henchmen of the former archmage Llewellyn, urge restraint, claiming that the weather outside was too severe.

Ultimately the party decides to set out immediately. Paramswarm offers a spell to help cut back the inky darkness and to protect the heroes from the worst of the weather.  He also mentions that the Dragon Lords first appeared in the west, in the lands of the Emperor of Viridistan before they made their lairs in the wilderness.

And so, gathering their equipment and binding their wounds as best they can, the party sets out into the raging tempest.  Even with Paramswarm's enchantments, the going is slow and treacherous. The winds uproot trees, and the howing winds drive the rain directly into the heroes' faces.  But Ponty manages to find the trail that leads to the ruined pyramid used by the kobolds as their lair. 

The pyramid is covered in vines, but a path has been cleared to a tunnel entrance halfway up the side. The halls within are in a state of decay, the patchwork masonry of the kobolds concealing a pit trap which nearly claimed the life of Flux-Hand who was investigating it.  While the party was negotiating the trap, six drowsy kobold  guards heard the noise and raised the alarm before rushing the group, hoping to catch them before the whole group could cross the pit. 

Flux-Hand and Euwin leaped the obstacle and engaged the enemies, taking several wounds in the process. In the pit, Laeknir heaved Ponty up the side, allowing the archer to join the fray.  Alma and Crimsea provided fire support from the rear with their spells, scorching several kobolds and Flux-Hand's backpack.  As the kobolds received reinforcements, Crimsea jumped the chasm and torched several with flames that flew from her fingertips.  The remaining kobolds retreated, but the party is certain the the fight is far from over...

The Wilderlands

The Wilderlands Setting

Themes

                1) Things were better in the past.  The Wilderlands is dotted with ruins of ancient civilizations.  Without exception, these civilizations were larger, more powerful, and more technologically advanced than anything that exists in the present day.

                2) Our civilization sucks and is getting worse.  Most of the known lands are wilderness. Vast spaces on the maps have become blanks.  The few pockets of sentient civilization are under siege by monsters and nefarious villains.

                3) Might makes right. In such a hostile environment, anyone who can bring order will gain respect and a following. With few exceptions, the rulers who govern the city-states are cruel killers who tolerate torture and slavery as they build their petty empires.  Many tolerate such brutality, for the alternative is savage chaos.

                4) You are what you make yourself.  The world may sound bleak, but it has unlimited potential for those with the will to make a difference. Heroes really can really change the course of kingdoms, of they can carve one out for themselves.

                5) (Almost) anything goes.  The Wilderlands exist at a nexus of realities, so the lands have pretty much seen everything. Gods from many universes (even our own) make their presence felt here, and sometimes objects and travelers pass into this world from outside.  Watch out, you might just see Bruce Campbell riding a Tyrannosaurus and wielding Excalibur while belting out Scarpia’s aria from Tosca.

History

Your characters will start knowing precious little of the ancient history of the Wilderlands, for much lore has been lost.  They have heard legends of the kingdom of Kelnore and the Orichalans.  The Makrabs and the Demon Kings are just little more than names associated with loose piles of stones.  The God-Emperor of Viridistan claims to rule an empire five thousand years old, but clearly his realm is but a shade of what it once was.  The first real event for which any evidence exists is the founding of the City-State, just over 1400 years ago.  A series of warlords took control of an important crossroads on the Roglaroon Estuary. Soon they grew wealthy enough to challenge Viridistan and the city-state of Tarantis across the sea.  While the Overlords of the City State ruled with iron fists, the prosperity and security they delivered to their citizens helped them to grow. Soon they could claim the Elves of the Deathwood and the Dwarves of Thunderhold as client states. The Halflings of Lightelf happily maintain the eastern roads for the overlord, and the Skandik Sea Raiders and the Amazons occasionally stop feuding long enough to bend the knee to the City State. Many tribes of the savage Altanian barbarians and the Tharbrian horse-lords also pay tribute. It is a loosely governed empire, and it remains vulnerable to Viridistan to the west.

Lands your character might come from

The City-Sate (Population: 60% Human, 15% Other Human, 10% Dwarf, 10% Elf, 5% Other) The only real city in the region, and the seat of the Overlord’s power.

Warwick (Population: 80% Human, 10% Skandik, 10% Tharbrian) The only town in the region that does not swear fealty to the Overlord. Proudly independent, but also fairly hostile to non-human races.

Thunderhold (Population: Dwarf) Largest known population center for Dwarves. Half of the city is aboveground, the other half lies in the Sunstone Caverns below.

Lightelf (Population: Halfling) An isolated population of halflings, who have earned the reputation as bandits.

Barbarian Altanis (Population: Altanian Human)  Community of primitive clans living among the ruins of a lost civilization. Reputation as fierce warriors and mystics. (Think Conan-style barbarians)

The Dearthwood (Population: 70% Elf, 30% Human) Though just across the river from the city-state, it long rejected rule by the Overlord. Recent rise of an orc kingdom pushed the elves and woodsmen closer to the City-State for protection.

The Tharbrian Coast (Population: Tharbrian Human) The wild horsemen who live along the northern coast are fairly recent arrivals in the region. They are allies of the Overlord because they share a common enemy in Viridistan, far to the west.  (Think Mongols)

Sea Rune (Population: Amazon Human): The Amazons recently lost a war with the Skandik and have retreated to their fortress at Sea Rune. They shun contact with outsiders while they rebuild their strength.

Ossary, Armagh, and Croy (Population: Skandik Human) The Skandik tribes rarely unite, but they value warfare and raiding. (Think Vikings)

click to enlarge

NPC's, Volume I

Paramswarm the Black. The only surviving Archmage of the attack on Modron. Crippled by  the dragon's acid, he has trouble moving around.  Unlike the secretive Llewellyn, Paramswarm maintained a rather public lifestyle, keeping a bodyguard of Amazons and using flashy magicks in public ceremonies to celebrate the Overlord's power.  He seem to know quite a bit about the Soul Crystals and the threats posed by the five Dragon Lords.

Allatar. A clerk of the deceased archmage Llewellyn.  He is a mage, though by his own admission not a very powerful one.  It is not known how much he knows about his former master's work.

Pallando.  Llewellyn's valet.  He claims that he was once an heroic adventurer, but he is clearly past his prie, and he did not seem terribly brave when the River Snake was attacked by kobolds.

You meet in an inn...

Present:
  Alma (Jane)
  Crinsea (Hannah)
  Euwin (Paul)
  Flux-Hand (Liam)
  Laeknir (Mr. Rheam)
  Ponty (Garrett)

The party arrives at the River Snake Tavern on a rainy night in late summer.  They have come in the entourages of some of the Overlord's most powerful subjects, summoned to a secret meeting in a ruined city that is being reclaimed by the swamp.  Mr. Druin, the halfling bartender, is gruff and Etta, his sole employee, acts as if it is a great bother to do her job. Only two other patrons, servants of one of the City-state's two archmages, are in the inn.  The River Snake is a dive in a piss-pot of a town, but at least it is warm and relatively dry. For servants, squires, clerks, and valets, that is some comfort as their masters and mistresses must suffer at their secret council out in the rain.

The calm is disrupted when a horde of reptilian humanoids attack. At least a dozen small lizard-dogs known as kobolds swarm into the inn, led by two imposing lizard-men.  They seem intent on slaying all within, and their first savage attacks nearly bring them to their goal. The heroes rally, though, and slamming the door on the kobolds who sought to come in through the back door, they are able to wear down their attackers.  Before the flight can progress too far, however, a great shadow darkens the front of the inn. A great black dragon, as big as a house, flies low over the town, bearing east to where the secret meeting is being held.

At last the party secures the inn. They bar the doors and patch their wounds.  Fifteen minutes later, the sole survivor of the council meeting begs to be let in. It is Paramswarm, one of the Overlord's archmages, and he is in terrible shape.  He describes how the dragon tore through the council members, spewing acid onto anyone that dared to move.  Then, he solemnly turns to the party and delivers the following monologue:

“You have saved many lives here today, and for that you should be proud. But the realm has suffered a grievous loss.  Your liege lords and the wizard Llewellyn have all been slain by that accursed dragon. He knew what they were planning, and he knew that if he foiled the Overlord’s plans, there would be no power on earth that could stop him and his fellow Dragon Lords from bringing a reign of misery onto the world.”

Paramswarm

                “For Llewellyn thought to bless your liege lords with the power of the Soul Crystals, the very magicks that created the Dragon Lords in the first place. You see, Siddig the Black was once a human like me, but she discovered an ancient artifact that transformed her into a semi-divine being.  She did not just become a black dragon. She became THE Black Dragon, capable of creating others like herself and bending the land itself to her will.”

                “But the five crystals which created the Dragon Lords were not the only ones in existence. There were others, keyed to other monstrous paragons.  The Invincible Overlord has been able to locate many of them. It was these crystals that he sought to embed in your patrons.  They would arise as paragon heroes, infused with the blood of monsters, able to fight and defeat the Dragon Lords.”

                “Alas, our main hope perished with them. Only powerful heroes could channel the magic of the Soul Crystals to become fully formed monstrous paragons.  But not all hope is lost. The crystals are still nearby. Another band of kobolds has taken them from the field and is holding them in their lair until Siddig can send her agents to reclaim them.  We must snatch them back before it is too late.  Then, I must ask a great sacrifice of you. I need new hosts for the crystals.  You must become the monstrous heroes that we need to save the realm. True, you would not emerge at the height of your powers, but as you grew and learned, your powers would become mightier. If you could survive, you could overthrow the Dragon Lords.  I can promise you immense wealth, fame, and glory if you embrace this opportunity. The Overlord himself will be in your debt.”