Shadow of the Colossus

Setting

This campaign takes place in the the lands of Nouchi and the Empire of the Clouds. Jesster will be GM.

Current status is that the Empire still rules and protects it citizens beneath the gray sky, while a rebellion stirs at the fringes and in secrecy beneath the clouds. The lumbering silver-backed mountain known as the colossus, still ambles about the countryside leaving wreckage in it's wake.

Intro

This campaign will start in Eigyou, a trade city dealing mostly with agricultural goods traveling to the imperial capital of Shuto across a narrow channel called Dogleg Straight. Eigyou is near the heart of the Empire of the Clouds and therefor, weapons and armor are strictly controlled by the Empire.

Character Guidelines

Characters will be random adventurers in Eigyou whom Teernan has recruited.

If you are an outlander, you will likely have to register with Imperial guard who you are, what your business is in the empire and what armaments you carry. Depending on how you entered the country and what your business is, I'm willing to entertain the possibility of avoiding such a bureaucratic legitimization of your visit, if your backstory warrants it.

Possible character threads:

• Any of a plethora of basic adventurers not tied to the setting. These could be fortune seekers, pirates, information brokers, con artists, traveling entertainers, ancient sages seeking lore from the imperial libraries, aimless youths soul-searching, ex-convicts seeking refuge and redemption with the southern monks, rich nobles in seek of real estate ventures or countless others.
• Someone from Kara-Tur sent by the Emerald Emir on an urgent quest.
• An Imperial Gray Coat on business for the Empire.
• A player could be one of the Dark Templars carrying out Imperial orders.

A player could be sided with the rebels or the Empire or neither. If you have ideas for the Rebellion, let me know. It is far from developed. It has been shown in one small instance that the rebels were dealing at some level with the western barbarians for combat training, weapons and armor of their great western steel.

Points

Characters will start with 200 points with the following specifications. No more than -100 in Disadvantages, dropped attributes, dependents, wealth and so on. No more than a score of 14 on an Attribute without supporting back-story, as a 15 is immediately apparent and draws constant comment as per description on pg 14. Tech level = 4.

I would also like to recommend that characters think of a handful of skills that help define your character and how they act in a given situation. These should be your primary skills and should have a skill level of at least 14. Then you should have another handful of secondary skills that it wouldn't make sense for your character not to have and have at least a level of 11. You can then add other background skills to flesh out your character.

An example would be if I were a pirate, I would probably have at least, the following primary skills: fencing (rapier), crewman, swimming. Then I may have the following secondary skills: boating, knife, gambling, intimidation, detect lies. And maybe some background skills that help define my character, like fishing and cooking because I used to be a fisherman and maybe slight of hand (for gambling) and brawling because sometimes the gambling doesn't go so well.

Characters

Vasker Raiden played by User:Johnm

Brigett played by Traci

Esme Harrington played by Melissa

Maxwell Maddox played by Dan

Yang Chao played by Antony

What Happened

An Outlandish bunch

This story begins in the Falling Sun in in Eigyou. Brigett sits at a table against the back wall of the Falling Sun Inn with a well dressed man who would normally be rather attractive were it not for the dark rings about his eyes which could only mean he hadn't slept for days. Teernan mentions to you (Brigett), "you're big enough, that's for sure and if what you say about your sword arm is true, then I have a need for you right enough, but how do we get your gear out of the city? If only we had someone to forge us a doctrine of right to carry, or even better, right to brandish." Brigett not knowing the city and not at all the socialite simply shrugged. Teernan then left the Inn so see if he could rustle up some documentation for her.

Having overheard the conversation, a dark-haired fair-skinned man crept from the shadows over to Brigett and offered his services as a forgery artist. Brigett was too shy to discuss much and told Maxwell Maddox to wait for Teernan. He drifted back to his table in the corner. While they waited, Teernan returned and spoke with Max, then again left to procure some needed parchment and ink. While he was gone, an outlander woman arrived in the Falling Sun and began asking the bartender about a man named Teernan. She introduced herself as Esme Harrington. Shortly after, a noble looking half-blood entered the establishment and after a confident scan of the occupants decided the man he sought was not present. Vasker Raiden decided to take a seat.

Moments later before Vasker sat, Teernan entered and the two met. Vasker told Teernan he had government business to discuss and Teernan sat with him and the two parlayed obscurely but eloquently. Max left from a back door and came in the front to sit near the two men and listen in on their conversation. Shortly after, Max and Brigett were gathered to Vasker's table and joined by Esme who learned from the bar tender who Teernan was by giving him a self-portait drawing.

Max and Brigett went to obtain her armor and weapons with forged documents. After Brigett dropped her armor in the cobble-stoned street and drew the attention of a city guard, the excursion ended with her unregistered implements of war locked in a guard station. Once the party reconvened, Vasker obtained Brigett's gear and the group left the city heading west.

Late that afternoon, an hour out on the main road to the west just before the dusk, the group heard a loud pop and saw a bright flash over the horizon followed by some screams. As they hurriedly crested the rise in the road they looked down into a valley where just as the road wove into some thick bushery, an old man with a donkey seemed to be fending off three bandits.

A brief combat ensued where two of the bandits were subdued by the old man,Yang Chao's, staff and the rest of the party. Max chased one of the three and a hidden archer deeper into the bush, but did not find them as Yang penetrated the bush behind him shouting overconfident challenges to the fleeing bandits. Vasker dismissed the remaining two bandits after demanding an apology to the old merchant. Yang introduced himself as a alchemist with extraordinary potions and began giving his snake-oil pitch to the party as they continued on to where Teernan claimed there was an abandoned barn with a nearby melon patch to supplement their dinner.

At the barn, Teernan picked melons and the hidden Eye of the Mountain from the poisonous melon vines and had a brief discussion with Esme about his curse and the stone, which she seemed determined to take back to the king of Cormire. Late that night while Vasker was on watch, Teernan spoke to him from the darkness. The minstrel asked if they could speak privately and the two shared some secrets, including Teernan's intent to go south and dispose of the Eye in hopes that it would rid him of his curse. Vasker urged Teernan to stick with them to the west until his business was finished at which point he would join Teernan on his quest south where Vasker had some friends he would like Teernan to meet.

The party journeyed through two of the three small villages in route to Ramiin to the west. They stayed at inns and lightened spirits through Teernan's masterful lute playing along with Vasker's recital of the Dragon's Jaw. Yang also worked some science to produce alchemical powder from the melon vines he gathered outside the barn.

On the fourth night of the groups journey west after some debate about a campfire, Esme confronted Teernan about his curse. After some outbreak within the party and Yang brewing a tincture to help Teernan sleep, Teernan told of his past with the templars and his acquisition of the Eye of the Mountain. He told of his run-ins with wizards and his shipwreck and how the cursed stone stayed with him. He then refused to give the stone to Esme so she could take it far away because he believes the only way to cure his curse is to take the stone back beneath the Gods Teeth far to the south and give it back to the mountain.

That night, while even Teernan slept soundly, Brigett kept watch from an eroded ledge above the road with the scant moonight.  Suddenly Teernan awoke with a start.  He seemed to hear the black garbed wizard's laughter and was mumbling for it to stop. Brigett heard nothing and told him there was no laughing.  Moments later, a small purple-skinned ram-horned demon sailed bleating out the blackness into the camp.
The shriek/bleat woke those sleeping.  No one was overly frightened and all leapt into action as the Demon danced around Teernan bleatingly laughing and pissing on him. The urine was scaldingly hot and reaked nauseatingly like an outhouse. When attacked by Max's poisoned dart, Vasker slamming it to the ground and Yang smashing it's face with his oaken staff, the demon farted loudly creating a visible cloud of noxious gas surrounding the demon. When Brigett's mighty blade cleft the demon it stuck the skull rod into the ground and vanished in another visble fart cloud and the skull began laughing maniacly to be heard by all until it was destroyed by Vasker's quick blade. 

Westward Ho!

After the demonic encounter the party moved further west before sleeping through the night while Vasker kept watch. During the next day's journey to the 3rd village, Teernan told of his previous encounter with the demon and how wounds from its blade were unenjoyable. In the third village Teernan acquired clothing and returned Max's borrowed cloak, Esme inquired about curses and Vasker queried seeking knowledge off Imperial or rebel actions while Teernan played to delighted townsfolk.

The following day passed similarly in the fourth and final village before Ramiin. Additionally, Vasker gathered that the colossus approached from the south crushing the outhouse and farm of a townsman's relative.

The following morning, the party ventured into Ramiin where Teernan sought out more foppish clothing at the market, quizzing Brigett on her fashion opinions, while Esme found the library and searched for lore on curses, the colossus and the Eye of the Mountain. Meanwhile, Vasker found the Imperial post and acquired knowledge, an additional pony and travel supplies while Max and Yang tried to peddle potions before Yang found an apothecary and purchased some reagents for the Essence of Grace.

After convening, the party gets rooms in Fudo's. Vasker and Brigett went for a walk, Max tried to meditate before going down to the tavern where Teernan and Yang were piecing together the song they'd heard children chanting earlier.

 Tree people tree people where have you gone?
Out in the trees you hide in the the bright sun.

 Skin of white, yellow, green and blue.
Like spiders less two from the trees they watch me and you.

 Tree people tree people where have you gone?
Out in the trees you hide in the the bright sun.
 
If lost in the trees child, you ever do tarry.
Then off into the forest you'll surely be carried 

Tree people tree people where have you gone? 

Out in the trees you hide in the the bright sun.
 Tree people tree people where did you go?
If we're good little children we never will know.
Only bad lasses and lads go out in the sun
To live with the monsters and never have fun. 

Vasker and Brigett followed Brigett's impulses to a small stone inn called The Sentry which stood out in Ramiin being primarily constructed of stone bricks rather than elaborate wood. At the inn, Brigett saw Durl's Axe which she was compelled to have. After offering the one-eyed barmaid 100 gold for the blade, they learned that the Inn was owned by a Mr. Fudo who runs multiple inns in Ramiin, including Fudo's where the party was staying.

Durl's Axe

After returning to Fudo's, Vasker found Mr. Fudo in the staff only area on the 2nd floor and quizzed him about the sale of the axe. Fudo needed the night to ponder Vasker's proposition.

The party then discussed plans to journey to the colossus the following day when they were approached by a blind prophet. Fortune for a gold? Do you care to know your future?

Vasker paid and the old man gave the curious Esme her fortune:

Blind Prophet

You seek many things.  Some lost, others found.  Many paths to the future, there are.  
That you have chosen recently is wise as your prior path would have left your journey short. 
Ooooorrrrraaa you would be wise to fear the men in dark.

Teernan then tossed a coin up for his fortune.

The curse that burdens you was no fault of the stone.  
Rrrrmmmmmmm yet it was the stone that brought the curse upon you.  
You are right to give the stone back.  It is the thing you should do. 
he seemed to finish, but quickly turned back,  
But you must give it to its rightful owner or the land will forever quake.

The old man ended his display by shaking the table while shouting about the land forever quaking before he nodded once curtly and ambled off.

The following morning the party waited for Mr. Fudo who indeed sold the axe to Brigett.

They then made haste to head southeast and find the beast. As they approached, Max sensed a tremble in the earth. Vasker rode ahead to gaze upon the Colossus. He was approached by a dark rider and tried to stop the party, but Esme and Max continued on toward the lumbering beast. Vasker and Templar Peeyong exchanged words.

Peeyong the Dark Templar

Peeyong told of one of his archers, San Won who tried to scale the beast during his night watch and fell, breaking his back upon landing. His screams awoke the men, but there was little to be done for the man. He was bent about, his heels were beneath him, touching his shoulders. So ends the tale of San Won.

Peeyong anticipated Imperial investigation and punishment and did not fear it.

My story will end here. I am at a loss as to what can stop this marching monument. It seems driven by a witless will I cannot ponder. We've seen it stop occasionally. It seems to sway back and forth almost as if looking out across the lands with it's cavernous dark eyes. Surely, the emperor would send a Gray Coat or more Templars to learn why I've not reported back my success. But you are neither. He shook his head defeatedly. No victory can be had against it and its plodding. He had resigned himself and his men to protecting the citizens from the colossus, having failed to stop or control it. Vasker insinuated that Peeyong had betrayed the empire to which Peeyong said if that was Vasker's stance, then their words were done and the two rode apart.

The party hastily constructed a plan to parley with the beast offering the Eye and if that were to fail, they would attempt to climb the monstrosity and replace its lost eye. There was some grab-snatch played between Esme and Teernan concerning the giant gem, before Vasker spurred everyone into action. Yang, Teernan, Brigett and Yang's disinterested ass watched as Vasker and Esme on one pony, followed by Max on the 2nd pony raced towards the marching mountain.

As we closed, they noticed Peeyong motioning his men towards the party and Brigett's grip tightened on her new axe as Teernan began humming a new tune.

Returning Sight and Discoveries

As the two ponies raced towards the Colossus, a third raced in carrying Peeyong who urged Vasker back away from the beast. Vasker and Esme reached the beast as Peeyong approached followed by eleven soldiers. The templar demanded to know what lunacy Vasker and his outlanders were up to as Vasker tried to get Esme to hand over the gem in order to offer it to the ambling mountain before them. Esme again withheld, and Vasker tried to parlay with the beast while Peeyong's soldiers formed a firing line and Peeyong rode over to the group as Max dismounted his unhappy steed.

Peeyong and Vasker exchanged some small talk and Peeyong kept a wary eye on the approaching axe-wielding Brigett while watching Esme begin a laborious scaling of the Colossus' leg while Max scampered up the beast like a gecko along a tera-cota wall. Teernan, Yang and the soldiers also watched as Esme hang over the beast's mammoth brow and placed the Eye of the Mountain into it's gaping socket. The beast stopped mid-stride and seemed to look about before its gaze settled on Teernan, the old man, Yang, and his ass.

Teernan feared the cursed gem now brought the attention of the beast upon him, but after some deduction on the part of the party, it was revealed that the old man was the center of the Colossus' attention and that the walking stone and earth giant followed the old man. Upon this discovery, Peeyong requested an audience with Vasker.

After a brief discussion, Peeyong and Vasker agreed to interrogate the mysterious old man. After Vasker took Yang into Peeyong's tent, Vasker returned to the party who was camping some 20 yards from the Imperial camp. He reported that Yang had been taken into Imperial custody until his relation with the Colossus could be reported and investigated further. Upon that proclamation Max began questioning the rights and authority of the Empire and the party discussed options of rescue or abandonment of the strange old potion peddler. It was decided they would join the soldiers for dinner and gather more information about the encampment before proceeding.