Wardens of Heroes Gate

Scene Notes – C01.S03.06

What happens in this scene?

Dawndra, for the first time ever, meets someone who has met someone like her. In fact, she is mistaken for this other someone  (and what no one knows  for some time is that this other someone is actually her mother)

Arrival in Bryn Shander

I need to play this up more than last time I tried it. Of course last time I was trying to tell about Aurils curse on Icewind Dale and this time – decidedly not. Still winter is near… Merpennoth is basically October and it is already snowing in Icewind Dale. But it is not like the forever-night of Aurils curse and the merchant squares should be lively – the city… busy.

How does Dawndra encounter the merchant tent of Nim and Norli Bragos? Happenstance? Or is she asking other merchants about creatures like herself. That is why she in so early to Tentowns… to investigate the possibility that she has kin here. Maybe it is as simple as “I was told I might have kin in these parts… ever seen anyone who looks like me?” A merchants says “Yeah, she visits the Calishite from time to time. The tent with the Bugbear out front.”

In a book, perhaps this would be too blatant. But in a video game, this is a straight pointer… which most pointers are in video game dialog. Does this matter? Does anyone read video game dialog outside of video games? Well… they might if the genre was made accessible enough. And maybe that does not matter… maybe opportunity will arise to write actual video game dialog and this is all just practice to that possible end. … Well that was a side road. 30 min later…

So Dawndra meets Nim and Norli – the same merchants which Yisi and Valea met as they left the monastery. Actually this scene in Bryn Shander existed in my plans before the one with Yisi and Valea… I decided to introduce Nim and Norli and Tronk way back at the beginning so that this scene has a certain… connection. Not that anyone is reading any of this – but for the same of exercise… I think the reoccurring NPC is good overall – especially if the characters are fun or interesting. In ESO there is the cat Raz m dahl (?) who is basically a quest giver and a mentor NPC for many story lines. I enjoy working with Raz – I enjoy it when he reappears. Nim and Norli should be like that. They may need to hire the Wardens Guild from time to time. Nim probably has a strong presence in Athkatla. And when Deynn and Roonoo and the twins are sent to Calimshan on a mission, they will meet with Nim Bragos who has a side-quest for them.

I imagine Nim lounging around the tent naked – or neary so. He is a calishite and the cold of Icewind Dale is… unpleasant. The tent material has an enchantment so that inside it is always a toasty 85 degrees. Now I should ask myself if I’m overdoing the naked thing… Roonoo fights naked (although his body hair is an effective cover… mostly…) and Dawndra likes to practice her forms naked. How much of this nakedness is reasonable? Again… not that anyone is actually reading any of this… but I don’t want any assumptions about obesessions. I’m not using nakedness as an erotic thing in any of these cases, well… not overly so anyway… maybe at some point I will want to try my hand at writing erotic scenes but in general it is a line I don’t intend to cross. Back to video games… surely some cross that line but my models – Skyrim, ESO keep things fairly PG13.

Nim has some kind of enchanted tea on the table. Perhaps both Nim and Norli are Artificers… Norli has a way with weaving while Nim sticks to tea and coffee (but can make potions… he find the process boring) He collects all kinds of things, but his main private fascination is with spices and other such ingredients for the perfect sipping drink. He is technically a artificer:alchemist whereas Norli is an artificer:weaver.  Are they twins? Perhaps I have overdone the twins thing? Leely and Ileel are an obvious – they need to be twins. The Emberjaws… they do not need to be twins. In fact the sister probably needs to be older. What other syblings do I have? I say… Nim and Norli are in fact twins, and they suspect it is so, but no way to know for certain. It is a question mark.

In previous writing, the party interacted with Tygorn – a dwarf scrimshander. Perhaps bring him back?

Now that I have done some further thinking… perhaps I will push the Nim and Norli encounter out a scene. Spend more time introducing Bryn Shander and some of its locations and residents? Perhaps an encounter on the streets or in a bar? Who doesn’t love a good bar fight? The Cutlass had tussle but it was not officailly a barfight. That should happen here I think. Maybe the Northlook?

At any rate… open the scene with Shent giving advice to Dawndra about how to investigate her heritage… who to ask, and who not to ask. Does Shent stick around for this? If not, where does he go? There are two Tendays until the games. That should be at least 3 scenes? Maybe 4? Explore Bryn Shander – Meet the Bragos Twins – Find Shavisala (Sea of Moving Ice… somewhere…)… Cold Hearted Killer… The Games Begin (3-4 scenes)

Scene 06

Bryn Shander sits upon a wind-swept hill in distance – behind it, the peak of Kelvin Cairn rises into the horizon. As party approaches, they see a snow covered sled and white wolves picking and tearing at the corpse of an Axebeak and another… a Dwarf. It is Hliln Trollbane, a friend of Shents father Thaarnik.

Thaarnik Battlehammer – as he was once known – has been in Icewind Dale since the Dwarves arrived. He lost both of his elder sons in the battle against the tribes (and still hates the barbarians even though relations have changed between them and Tentowns) Shenthrik was born after Clan Battlehammer returned to Mithral Hall. Thaarnik decided to remain in Icewind Dale with a handful of others. They took a new clan name, Clan Spinedelver, because they intended to make their home under the mountain. A dragon changed their plans and destroyed most of the clan. Now, besides his father, Shenthrik is the only one who carries the name Spinedelver.

Thaarnik lives inside the walls of Bryn Shander but spends most of his time fishing on one of the three lakes. His scrimshaw art is the highest of quality – retelling elden battles with giants and dragons…. but mostly dragons…    so many dragons that one might think the artist haunted by memories… It has been said that any fool can see the difference between the wyrmart of one who has only heard about dragons and one who has smelled the breath of a dragon.

So many side roads… yet that is what these notes are for.

Party finds Hliln dead with a dagger made of ice – magically. They bring her body inside the walls of Bryn Shander and go looking for Thaarnik – who is neither at home nor at his corner in the merchant hall. Shent gives Dawndra some advice for her investigation while he conducts his own. The Northlook is rowdy when Dawndra enters – and it gets worse. A barfight breaks out, pulling Dawndra in. Who else is in this barfight? Perhaps a vNPC who will also be in the fray games…

A Blackguard (antipaladin)?

No… a halfling

Darrok Darkfroze

A Warlock in a Pact with an Archfey of Frost

His thing is that he can summon a  Frost Atronach – but not just summon… he can become encased within it – like a mechwarrior suit