Badwater

Setting

In a fertile valley a long day's ride east of Luxor(map, the village of Gredding is home to just under a thousand pastoral farmers, hunters, miners, foresters, brewers, craftspeople and their families. To the south, Ravenwood, and the Hills of Nimlith roll ever higher to the north and east.

Recently, water quality complaints have dominated the weekly town meeting, and many worry that Sally's Brook, the stream that supplies most of the village's water, has become fouled, and perhaps the village's two community wells are next. Word was sent to Luxor a week ago, with no response to date.

Yesterday, a breathless woodsman reported being chased out of his camp by "the walking dead" near the headwaters of Sally's Brook, and as his story has spread, panic threatens to overtake the town.

Having no standing security force, Mayor Griswald has therefore assembled a hardy group of capable travelers to investigate the issue upstream, with hopes that Luxor will send additional help soon.

Character Creation Guidelines

These are 100-point characters who can expect relatively rapid advancement in this campaign.

This is a frontier community and you are therefore hardy and capable of long-distance travel.

You've been selected for a reason, and your character story should articulate that reason. Examples for inspiration and mix-and-match:

• The half-elf hunter/ranger who knows the uplands intimately
• The strongman who always wins the wrestling competition
• The clever city engineer who can always figure out the best & cheapest logistics
• The landlord of noble birth who received military leadership training
• The naturopath who speaks to plants and has a cache of healing herbs
• The one mage in town, known for helpful magic
• The mayor's cousin, who has no special skills but the mayor owes him one -- or is trying to be rid of him.

A Sense of Duty and actual Duty to your friends and families in the village of Gredding is required, but implied -- no need to document it.

An Area Knowledge of the immediate surroundings of your village is implied. Knowledge of the depths of Ravenwood or the heights of the Hills of Nimlith or streets of Luxor must be purchased with character points.

Magery is allowed with an additional 10 point Unusual Background.

Otherwise, spend a max of:

• 100 points on primary attributes (might be wise to spend much of this to set a good basis for skills)
• 50 points on advantages
• 50 points on disadvantages (spending it all would be wise)
• 50 points on skills (might be wise to have many one-point skills ready for advancement)

Characters

• Elena, Daughter of the Soil
• Garrick Holt, woodsman/generalist
• Demitry, young princelet, recently spurned

What Happened

Launch

Mayor Griswald, having gotten reports (and first hand experience) of the waters of Sally's Brook becoming fouled with a sour-bitter taste that burns the mouth, recently sent for help to the engineers of Luxor. However, no help has arrived and so he has convened to the townsfolk to answer their demands that he do something.

After twisting the tips of his mighty white mustache, he assuages the assembled citizens and calls for volunteers to investigate the resolve the issue. It takes just a glance at Garrick Holt to acquire the first volunteer. Elena quickly follows, given her deep concerns about the fouling the land she cherishes. After a pause and rather direct glare at his young cousin Demitry, the young leather-clad flirt nods his assent.

The mayor promises to outfit the team with whatever is needed and the team forthwith walks over to the tavern to discuss. While planning, a local woodsman known for his slightly deranged superstitions, bursts into the tavern with a story of skinless monsters with green glowing eyes wandering the high forests. After being further pleadingly harassed by anxious citizens over several drinks, the team resolves, despite the late hour, to head out immediately. They camp at a familiar site along the brook a few hours later.

Before dawn, they are awakened by a trio of two-meter-long snakes. Made of interlocking segments of tin or steel. And glowing green eyes.

With difficulty (and minor injuries), they smash the three mysterious automatons.

Approach, Rescue

The snakes prove to be hollow collapsible tubes, the interior of which is coated with the foul impurity polluting the brook. The group rests, heals, collects herbs, and continues on through a long day of hiking higher into the Hills of Nimlith, cleaned and collapsed snake-tubes in a saddle bag. Elena recalls a splendid campsite with a meadow, herb garden, and big trees, and the party sets that as their goal.

Near sunset, the site is spotted, though a tattered canvas tent and prone figure occupy it. Carefully, the party approaches (with mule and dog in tow). A brief investigation concludes the figure is a mapping surveyor of Luxor, who died by a crushing wound to his throat. Barefoot humanoid tracks. The surveyor's journal contains a few tantalizing passages:

• "Day 3. Water foul all the way up. Not mineral. Not rot. Glows faint when stirred."
• "Day 5. Fresh fissure above the old wall-line. Cut stone inside: steps. Someone built down there."
• "Day 6. Singing at night from the crack. One voice, then many. Sounds like a roll call."
• "Day 7. Stopped by the Hollis Ranch today to warn them, strange things are afoot."
• The last entry is shaky: "Green eyes in the trees. They walked past me. Didn't look twice."

An rough-but-usable map shows the location of Gredding, the Hollis Ranch, and the "old wall-line" and the "fissure".

The party buries the deceased, Elena collects herbs and speaks with the trees, and camps for the night, getting a fresh start early towards the Hollis Ranch.

Alas, the ranch has been attacked, chickens running loose, the family dead in front of their house, throats crushed. A nearby elm tree volunteers to Elena, "The cold ones, led by OH-FEER they took the girl."

The party considers what to do with the deceased. There's a tension -- follow the tracks to save the girl, or protect the victims from scavengers. A funeral pyre is hastily constructed and magically ignited by Demitry.

The Farmer's Daughter

The party follows tracks of several barefoot humanoids away from the ranch and higher into the hills throughout the afternoon. Resting in the shade late in the day, they hear a woman shriek far off in the woods. They approach cautiously at first, but a second shriek throws Elena into a range and she sprints towards the sound.

Azbeks

Three assailants are spotted, hideous skinless, withered, green-eyed figures, one holding a young blonde woman roughly by her wrist, the other two turning to face approaching Elena, drawing weapons.

The evident leader, golden rings hanging from a necklace, broadsword drawn, steps forward, appraises Elena, and grunts flatly, "Another wife for Ophir..."

Elena doesn't even slow down, conducting an effective Slam Attack on Ophir, knocking him to the ground and landing atop him, where she begins thrusting her staff into his face as he reaches for her trachea, clobbering her in the process.

Close behind, Garrick runs up and hurls his hand axe at a henchman, narrowly missing. The henchman, emotionless, returns the favor, dealing a devastating wound to Garrick's "lower abdomen". Staggering, Garrick lunges forward and dispatches his foe.

As Demitry prepares a helpful spell, his Weirdness Magnet/Faeries kicks in, and a 6' wide square hole suddenly opens beneath him. He falls and falls and falls, his voice getting ever quieter as the combat continues. Eventually he uses his staff to slow and stop is fall, dramatically inconvenienced but not harmed in the process.

Elena discards her staff for a knife and runs it into Ophir's neck, who in turn fastdraws his own blade and pushes it deep into Elena's lower back. She succumbs to the injury before Garrick can finish off the attackers.

Using a combination of magic, herbs, and battlefield medic skills, the party regroups and recovers.

The young woman, Liesl ran off as soon as she could, returning only after seeing Elena revived.

Chanting voices from further into the forest chill them as they rest.