Dragonslayers

This is a High Fantasy campaign set on our existing continent in the realm known as Durkin (Map #5).

Character Creation

All but one of the PCs will generate their characters based on the following guidelines:

Background

You are all humans in your late teens / early 20s in Durkin. You may know each other or be complete strangers hundreds of miles apart. You may be the daughter of a wealthy merchant or politician or sorcerer, or a rapscallion or trollop, or a humble peasant or laborer or fisherman (just choose Status and Wealth levels appropriately). The GM needs at least a few sentences about your home town and your station in life in order to prepare the kickoff of the campaign. Feel free to invent villages not on the map (add to wiki and say what they're near). Here's a list of potential village names.

Each of you has always had a nagging sensation that you were destined for greater things, but you go through the motions of your regular daily life without significant complaint. The more ambitious among you may have begun voluntary training in anticipation of living out your grand destiny, such as combat, magic, survival skills, etc, though this is not required. If your only skills are Fishing and Gardening, that is fine. These characters' lives and skills will all change drastically very soon.

Points

As potential heroes, you each have 100 points to spend:

• Up to 60 on primary attributes
• Up to 40 on disadvantages
• Up to 15 on skills

One character will have different guidelines for character creation and backstory.

Party

• Gunther Oakhearth is a farmboy played by Jess
• Jeni is a rough & tumble barmaid played by Niki
• Wu Sau
• Lily & Tango
• Jonny Humboldt
• Jinx joined along the way.

What Happened

Congregation

Wu Sau, weary from his distant travels, arrives in Camlin. There, he found the estate of Charles Cavendish where his first goal resided. After being spurned by the lady of the house, he convinced Lily and Tango to come with him. They left in the night.

A week later, after some riding lessons, meals of rice and fish, and convivial conversation, they arrived in Saffron Stop, where Jeni proved more difficult to approach and persuade. In the tavern, Brutus caused twin thugs to try and throw the pair out (for mere entertainment), but Wu Sau quickly made his expertise known, and defused the situation after the thugs suffered some broken ribs.

Wu Sau later infiltrated young Jeni's home, and knocked her senseless while she bathed, all warm and wet and slippery. He rolled her lissome form into Lily's cloak, and made off with the girl.

The next morning, at the gates of Argyle, the party opted not to enter, because the blue-robed, shaven-headed inspectors demanded too much access. The party took a rural route south of Argyle, to connect with the coast road and head south for their next goal.

After trading a handful of flower blossoms for some ill-fitting lady's clothes at a rural trading post, they carried on, through Lowenport and on to Serenton a week later.

There, serendipitously, they stayed at the very inn at which Gunther Oakhearth worked. While Jeni entertained the boisterous crowd with giggling and wriggling downstairs, Wu Sau prevailed upon the boy to accompany them on the quest.

All three had the mark that Wu Sau sought, though their mettle was yet to be tested.

Two days later, the group arrived at the Oakhearth farm, where young Gunther told his surly father and fawning mother of the quest. Mother quickly identified the girls as potential wives, and father turned over Gunther's grandfather's adventuring gear, before heading out to the front porch to solemnly smoke his pipe.

In the morning, the party forged east, to find the next Companion.

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Awakening

Days later, at one of the roadhouses along the Serenflow, the party encounters a log jam of merchant wagons. One oversized cart is piled high with nondescript crates, casks and barrels, fancy boxes, and many small cages containing fur-bearing critters. As they pass, the mules attached to the vehicle flinch, a collision occurs, and boxes and cages tumble down upon the party.

Jeni (the Weirdness Magnet) in particular is surprised when a luxurious long blonde wig lands perfectly upon her head, and an escaped young female stoat delves into her generous cleavage for cover.

The owner of the toppled cart, nine-foot-tall Murdock staggers out of the tavern with a pitcher of ale in his hand, and finds the disaster hilarious. He and Gunther have the mess cleaned up in no time, and the two sit down for a meal inside.

As the sun sets, Wu Sau, Lily, Tango and Lilu sit outside and eat rice and fish while young Jeni cavorts with merchants and Gunther continues nibbling his steak while listening to Murdock's winding tale of giant stag-hunting in the mountains.

Gunther also learns of the reason for the logjam: a bridge two miles east is receiving needed repairs by a crew of dwarven workers, who were likely to complete the task the next day. Hearing of ongoing engineering and carpentry work, Gunther consults Wu Sau, detaches the wagon-horse, and rides to the job site to check it out.

There he finds dwarven foreman Yurzik Werbek and his crew, some of whom are wrestling nude alongside a huge bonfire. On approach though, two bored armored guards of Cormire accost the lad, and after a few short words from Yurzik, young Gunther is advised to go away, but that if wants to check out the construction gear, it's right over there.

Gunther sits down to inspect the tangled mass of industrial-strength pulleys, wedges, files, drill-presses, and sledges, and notes a sudden brightening of the moonlight. It's Jinx, sitting atop a 14' timber right above him, clutching her newly-replenished jar of moonflies. Once she hears that Gunter is on a quest to save the world, she of course tags along back to the barn next to the roadhouse.

Jeni opts to preserve her honor this night, and joins the party in the barn in the wee hours of the night. In the morning, Wu Sau ceremonially makes rice while the rest of the crew raid the tavern's kitchen for oatmeal, sugar, and cocktails.

Pressing eastward, days pass through brilliant wildflower meadow, and the finally the great Lake Cormire is spotted. Gunther, who for days has been trudging alongside the wagon in his grandpa's armor is near collapse when Lily announces that Tango wants a drink of water from the farmhouse to the south, over the hill.

Ever-enthusiastic Jinx scurries up the flower-covered faint wagon tracks with Lily close behind, while the rest of the party takes a breather. Jinx crests the hill, and sees a verdant bowl, with a pond, grove of oak trees, a barn, and modest farmhouse. Lily waves to the party to follow.

In the barn is young Jonny Humboldt, a family friend of the elderly Jorgensons who live here. Introductions are made, and Wu Sau spots the birthmark, and knows he's located the final Companion. Destiny is explained, and Jonny sees the wisdom of the words. Meanwhile, Jinx splashes in the pond.

The group moves on together towards Cormire, and two days later, on a blustery gray day, is moving through the unwashed masses who live in makeshift shelters outside the 40' walls of the great city. At one point, an 80-lb, 80-year-old dark-skinned woman with her eye sockets sewn shut and 3" fingernails claws at Jeni, wailing "You have come..."

Wu Sau covers the 1-silver entry tax, and the party emerges in the bustling city. After stopping in at the nearby Blowing Bean tavern for drinks and an exotic meal of tortillas, cheese, tomatoes and beans, the party splits up and explores the thriving city after an admonition from Wu Sau to be back to the tavern before dark.

A fickle lass, Lily alone fails to return, and wanders after dark looking for sweet treats. Wu Sau organizes a search party, and as they hit the streets, they note the inhabitants have changed from mostly merchants and laborers to mostly drunks, mercenaries, bandits, and ladies of ill repute.

Lovely Jeni accosts one lusty barbarian and prevails upon him to help. He leads the group to a nearby bakery, where sure enough, Lily is sampling one of every dessert. An aggravated Wu Sau knocks her senseless, stuffs the remaining treats in Lily's pillowcase of treasures, and carries her back to the rented rooms above the Blowing Bean.

Kaldor succeeds in charming Miss Jeni with his bawdy banter, and the two spend acrobatic quality time together until near dawn.

The next morning, the party packs up and heads north for Aylesford, reaching the turnoff late in the afternoon. At a creek crossing beset by tangled underbrush, they encounter a group of backwoods bandits. Jonny is shot in the chest with a crossbow bolt, but soon Wu Sau's arrows have them either dead or on the run. During the melee, Jeni executes a wrestling takedown, and Lily runs her father's rapier through a bandit's thigh. Items of value are plucked from the slain criminals' packs before their bodies are pushed into the underbrush to be devoured by ants and birds.

Upon reaching town, the boys sell the old wagon (the bandits canvas-covered wagon being preferable) while the girls investigate the community bakery and Wu Sau marches to the residence of Mayor Constance Gutherford for answers about the Well of Wishes. The Mayor's father and son team of guards don't question Wu Sau's urgency and step aside to allow him to speak with the Mayor as she gardens.

Constance explains the story of the Well and provides directions. Satisfied, Wu Sau rounds up the party and the ride higher into the foothills.

Eventually, the terrain is too rough, and the party proceeds on foot. They arrive at the ruins of an old outpost tower, surrounded by a mostly-crumbled mossy stone wall. The "Well" is an improved spring, from which cold clear water spills gently.

They approach, but a ghost emerges from the tower, hissing breathily, "Alfred, is that you? Speak to me, please! Give me a sign, my love. I am so cold and lonely Alfred, where are you?"

The otherwordly nature of the apparition causes mass fainting, retching, and consternation.

Inspired, young Jonny races back to Aylesford and inquires about this "Alfred" character. He learns that Alfred died many years ago, and is buried in the community cemetery nearby. With the help of some townsfolk, Jonny makes a stencil of the gravestone, and races back to the tower.

There, he presents the stencil to the ghost. A second ghost emerges from the stencil, the two embrace, and disappear.

The haunting laid to rest, Wu Sau gathers the party in a circle surrounding the Well and conducts a chanting ritual.

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