[A Note on Notes]
In this session… I finally get to some of the things I’ve been looking forward to. You may have noticed that I’m using the Monk class quite a bit. Don’t worry… there are more monks on the way. I mentioned this in Session Zero, but there are several reasons why so many of these characters are monks. First reason… I just like playing a monk. More on that later. Another reason is that I have played the monk class more than any other and with this writing project I figured it would just be easier if I didn’t have to manage a lot of different kinds of characters – I know the basics of a monk really well. On top of all that, it gives me the opportunity to really develop some things while not having to develop others. You might notice that most of my characters backstorys are connected to their homebrewed subclass and/or their weapon. I know part of the fun of D&D is finding or obtaining new weapons… but I’ve choosen to make several of these weapons specific to a character and their backstory.
For example, Dawndra. Her weapon is a pike. But it not just any pike, and it is not just any magic pike. This 8 foot long ice pike spends most of its time as a small hairpin holding her immensely long and thick hair into a neat bundle. More than that… when she was found as an infant, that very same hairpin was tying the wrapping closed that kept her warm. She has never been far from it. And… she would know if she was. The greater-level attunment between Dawndra and her weapon creates a gravity of sorts. If someone were to make off with it (not that any would try) Dawndra would feel a pull. She could home in on where the item was by sensing it. I also gave Yisi the same sort of greater attunement. Valea probably will as well since her weapon is very important to her story. With all three of them, their backstory is tied up with their weapon and their subclass abilities spring from the weapon. Mo Ka Bu is similar. His “weapon” is a magic shield made from the wing and tusk and hide of his long time Arcanax companion. In fact the shield is sentient with the spirit of the Arcanax. But that is enough digression…
What I really wanted to note down was the contents of this scene. When I was younger, I loved Kwai Chang Caine and the Kung Fu TV series. Perhaps the larger part of why I choose so many monks for Heros Gate was because I wanted to spend time a Forgotten Realms version of a Shaolin Temple. I want to try to recreate the martial training scenes, the philosophy training scenes, and the general vibe of Caines early life in the monastery. I’m hoping to avoid some of the obvious Shaolin tropes – but not all of them. These monasteries (Song Moon Temple, Treyvigg Monastery, and The Abbey Ironwall) each have a distinctive flavor and feel that should only slightly resemble the monastery of Master Po and Master Kan. The Abbey was founded by a master from Kara-tur, but other than that, there is no reason why monasterys in Faerun should have a strong eastern feel to them. (Interesting side note, there was a Kane from Yellow Rose)
But the basic concepts of disciplined training, meditation, philosophical balance – these I hope to portray in all three monasteries. Starting with Treyvigg…. I began with a scene in Song Moon Temple and I’ve give thought to going back and re-writing the beginning to include the elements of temple training. Instead I set up the adventure hook and sent the heroes on their way. Perhaps I will rewrite it once I feel better able to… or more likely, just send Yisi and Valea back home and include some training scenes then.
We are now in Treyvigg. They have not yet met Guide Dawndra but Valea is about to. I set things up for this scene when Valea was energized by the long grueling climb up the carved stair in the cliff face. She will do as she said and go to offer the Wwaldyrs a farewell in the morning, but as she exits the gate she will see Dawndra in the front yard performing stance training which turns into forms training. Valea will be hypnotized by the form, its grace, its… art. She will silently mimic the movements. This will become the creative balance Teacher Solomvar asked her to seek. It is in line with both desires – to be martially adept and to balance the martial with the aesthetic.
I feel like I need to determine the colors worn by the various roles at Treyvigg
| Field Workers |
Red and Brown |
| Aides |
Red and White |
| Martial Students |
Red and Green |
| Guides (teachers) |
Red and Blue |
| Elders |
Red and Black |
[A Note on Notes]
Purpose of this scene
Mostly a tour of the Treyvigg Monastery. Meet Aide Camarie who will show the party around – the guest quarters, the Aide quarters, and from a distance, the Elder quarters. Also the training grounds and the temple.
The Temple is for the worship of Dunea.
Dunea is an elemental deity of the earth and ground.
Dunea always keeps an upbeat attitude even if a little drinking helps her do this, and because of this she is seen as the beacon of hope during darker times.
Dunea is a Strong willed goddess who gives it her all in fights not in offence but defense. In a fight when she does attack she does so boldly using a giant hammer to knock away those she faces. Although usually kind people who act rashly annoy her to no end. She has a close connection to her priests and warriors and will often come to help them if they are in trouble.
Dunea is seen as a dark skinned woman with curly brown hair and almost always smiles.
Her symbol is two giant hammers crossed in defense.
The Treyvigg Monastic traditions are known for prioritizing defense postures and tactics. The great cliff wall and the inner wall are symbolic of this defensive positioning
Feats taught at Treyvigg
Also… read up on Wine in the realms. Treyvigg Monastery is a winery and maintains great pride in that fact.
Notable Vintners
Arlho’s Fine Flasks: Brewer and vintner located in Ashabenford.[33]
House Foxmantle: A family of Sembian nobles.[34]
Monastery of the Yellow Rose: Known for their blueberry wine.[35]
Ondal: A wizard who lived in the Heartlands prior to the spellplague.[15]
Oraundas Haeltower: Tethyrian winemaker noted for his table wines sold throughout the Sword Coast.[7]
Find opportunity to take jabs at Oraundas.
A “budget” vintner from Tethyr.
He who was best known for producing drinkable but rather unexceptional table wines sold throughout the Sword Coast. His wines kept well and were a favorite among innkeepers and shopkeepers. His vast vineyards lay northeast of Vineshade in the Purple Hills region of Tethyr. Although Haeltower’s wines were transported in wooden casks, many buyers bottled the wine in glass bottles for resale.
For some fun and flavor, bring in Thaola – Now Elder Thaola.
From Elves of Evermeet: Thaola’s Wineshop. This soft-spoken elven woman sells fine elven vintages here. She has a single bottle of wine from ancient Myth Drannor, generally considered to be beyond price. Thaola has been saving it for a special occasion, but nothing in her life has struck her as special enough yet.
A hundred and thirty years later, the bottle remains sealed. She is a grand master in the monastery and also a grand master vinter now. Summertide Red is actually her creation. She is LG and remains soft-spoken and meek, yet is a tier 4 monk. She is also the posesser of an Elfrune – given to her by Queen Amlaruil before she disappeared. Whether the ring is still capable of contacting Amlaruil, Thaola has not said. Can it transport her back to Evermeet? Now that Evermeet is in the Feywild? Maybe…
Maybe Arrodon is also from Evermeet?
Both Arrodon and Thaola are Moon Elves. Why not…
Maybe… perhaps… Elder Arrodon is actually Prince Lamruil Moonflower? Son of Queen Amlaruil? Bold addon… but sounds like fun to play with… rich history – tons to work with.
Perhaps his quest to find his human bride, Princess Maura, ended in frustration after many years and he returned to Evermeet, in shame, under a different name – Arrodon. Perhaps he turned to the bottle for comfort and that is how he meet Thaola – in her wineshop. The two decided on a new life. Treyvigg Monastery was soon founded. I like it 🙂
[A Note on Notes]
Almost there… to the destination of the first adventure. Only took me 5 scenes to do it… but I had to introduce the characters, bring Joloobo into the party, give the PCs some magic stuff, set up some things… etc
In this scene, Joloobo catches up with Yisi and Valea and rewards them with superior healing potions made from the blood of the trolls they had fought the day prior. Joloobo makes some excuse about wanted the blood of the green dragon he had told them about previously, but then admits that his Sprite girlfriend Rayni (well, at least he likes to think she will one day be his girlfriend) told him to go make friends. I would have preferred to wait out her return in his forest of solitude, but the wishes of Rayni are the only law his heart knows.
Introduce a roadside shrine. There are probably many of these in the area, but as a minor encounter and possible boon, drop one here, a few hours west of Treyvigg Monastery. The shrine is teeming with gold and gems. Gifts made over the years just sit here – evidence that the shrine is legit perhaps. Otherwise the wealth would surely be stolen.
I wonder… if Cyrics Cudgel kidnapped someone to steal the wealth… obviously the victim would suffer the negative boon… but would the hand that forced the theft also pay a price? Dice say no.
Well, our party may want a blessing. For now, let that be the extent of the shrine. Later, perhaps, they find a body, or rather maybe, a suffering someone, who was kidnapped by Cyrics Cudgel to rob the shrine and suffer the curse.
Then on to Treyvigg’s.
One question I have is about combat encounters… Do I really need combat in each and every scene? Won’t it begin to feel stale and forced if I always have some combat in every scene? I think as long as I have 2 out of the 3 pillars, it qualifies. So far, we have Joloobo joining as a social encounter and the shrine as a discovery/exploration encounter (are these two really the same?)
Fast forward from the shrine a few hours to where they start to see fields of grape vines lining the foothills of the Umar Hills. There is a small sign with an arrow pointing North and marking the Treyvigg Monastery Trail. The monastery is still an hour away – further up into the mountain, though they will see several storehouses and press buildings along the way. The operation is fairly grand with nearly a hundred acres of grapes spread out across many hundreds more acres of land. There are large swaths of red grass, much like Ghallar Knoll to the west but small, and not quite so spectacular a red.
Ghallar Knoll:
An interesting spot in the western Small Teeth, Ghallar Knoll is a low, perfectly round hillock covered by grass of a brilliant scarlet hue. Legends say that eating two blades of the grass makes one 10 years younger and removes all poisons in one’s body. Legends also hint that the hill is the home of its protector, the Ghallar, about which no one knows anything at all since no one has returned to describe it in many years
What is not commonly known is that the red grass is a sign that somewhere underneath is a pocket of Red Tear gemstones. If this were known… the area would be crawling overnight with miners trying to strike it rich. The Red Tear is a precious gem, typical specimens have a base value of 1,000 gp. Even the dust has values however.
These gem stones served as a substitute for all material components used in any healing spell that didn’t require specific construction. Powdered red tear was an ingredient for making the magic ink for creating scrolls of spells that mended broken objects.
Anyway…
As party is traveling the winding trail through the lands of Treyvigg Monastery, they see workers in the vineyards, tending the vines, carting things around, tilling soil etc. They see somewhere around a 100 workers, and might safely assume there are a hundred more. Before entering the actual monastery, they see a small village made 6 longhouses. The longhouses are stone with thatched roofs. Each are large enough to sleep ~40 workers. [This needs a name?]
But before they see the village… perhaps they need another opportunity to be heroes? Why not enter the monastery right on the heels of a brave encounter? So what will the danger be? Something flying makes sense… not yet the green dragon though.
The Peryton.. Seems a perfect monster to be giving the vineyards trouble. There is actually a pair of them nearby in the mountains. The female is nearing reproductive cycle and the male is hunting for fresh humanoid hearts to feed her.
As the party passes by one of the sections of grape vines, there are several workers packing crates of grapes onto a wagon. A peryton strikes from above, lands on top of one of the workers, pins him down and starts tearing at his chest with his antlers.
NPCs for the Treyvigg intro
Elder Arrodonn – the friend of Teacher Solomvar – who Yisi and Valea were sent to see. We don’t know much of Arrodonn yet. Only that Solomvar called him a “young friend”. That would seem to say Arrodonn is long lived, an elf perhaps.
Aide Camarie – a female human and assistant to Elder Arrodonn
Dawndra Norlandr – not an NPC exactly, well, not eventually.. But for this cycle, she is essentially an NPC. Valea will be inspired by her forms practice and just may “find her art” here. But maybe Dawndra need not enter until next scene… perhaps just mentioned here.
Song Moon Temple has Teachers and Stewards and students, Treyvigg has students and Elders and Aides. A Steward and an Aide are very similar, but anyone of any age can can apply for residence at Treyvigg. If they do not become a martial student, they become an Aide. Aides work in the winery and sometimes in the vineyard. Most of the vineyard workers are hired labor however. Aides and Elders recv a portion of the winerys profits but generally speaking they do not keep much of the profit for themselves.
Typically, a D&D campaign starts with the characters meeting in some place. The tavern is iconic within RPG adventures for this reason. They could also meet nearly anywhere else but it helps if they are somewhere they can hear a call to adventure. Sometimes there are multiple calls and they will decide as a party which to respond to.
Do the players already know each other when they meet? Sometimes they surely do. I feel, however, if the player has just invented this character that even they are meeting them for the first time. It makes sense, therefore, to start with introductions.
The opening scene(s) should, I think, create connections between the players in the party and also create connections to the campaign. They probably won’t be strong connections, for such things take time. A thread or two thick should be enough to get things going in a good direction I expect.
For the Shield of the Everwelde I wanted to try something a little different, something that might not work well at in Table Play. I wanted characters to share some things in common beyond the fact that they just met in a bar and each hunger after adventure. The opening scenes might, I thought, create connections between the PCs and the primary NPCs which will be calling them to adventure and then go about creating connection points between the PCs. When they actually meet, they may recognize they already share the primary objectives of the quest.
Connection Points
For Deynn K’Vyll, I thought he reminded me of Sildar Hallwinter in some ways. Both are big on honor and integrity. Both serve a larger cause (Sildar the Lords Alliance and Deynn – The Abbey Ironwall) and both likely take into account the objectives of the larger causes before their own personal objectives. I kind of thought Deynn and Sildar might become fast friends over a pint in a tavern. This would allow me to tie Deynn to Sildars quest in Lost Mine of Phandelver – not because of the promise of an extra 10 gold (which Deynn would not care much about anyway) and not because of some grand threat to the realms (which always exist but in context of LMoP, the NPCs are unaware of and so cannot add this level of motivation to the call to adventure.) Instead, Deynn will answer the call because of friendship.
For Roonoo, I choose a similar strategy. Roonoo and Gundren may not become fast friends in the way that Deynn and Sildar do – but they are both Dwarves – and that often is enough for Dwarves. Additionally, Gundren buys a horse from Roonoo – because Gundren sees the same qualities in the horse that Roonoo does – both have developed an instant affection for Queen A’Mine, and Roonoo just might allow that shared affection to create a bond between him and Gundren. [I probably should revisit the current draft and make more of this point than I did]. Roonoo knows nothing of Phandelver or Wave Echo Cave, or even Gundrens trade of mining… but he knows Gundren sees this beautiful creature of a horse the same way he does.
For Leely and Ileel, I thought to connect them to the campaign via the objectives of the Harpers. The sisters are overpowered, this I know… they have spent 30 years training in their monastery. Really they should be a much higher level than tier 1 player characters. But… they are completely new to the world outside of their forest. In this way, they are children, naïve and in danger of putting themselves in danger constantly. I imagined their teacher / guide in the monastery would want to expose them to the greater world of danger with a certain element of safety and protection – maybe someone with strong ties to the Harpers – like a High Priestess. Introducing the NPC Abbiree…. High Preistess of Selune. Indirectly, I am using the NPC Sister Garealle as a connection point between Leely and Ileel and the overall campaign. Their primary objective remains what it has been for 30 years – to become members and leaders within the Vandor Aegis. It is merely the next step of that goal to assist the Harpers. They may not have reason to care about the goal the Harpers goals (although I gave them one… their strong hatred of necromancy) but their own goal of completing their training and following the guidance of their teacher is plenty to drive them through the entire campaign. Maybe… Once they have the encounter with the Banshee, it is possible they will have no further connection to Phandelver and Wave Echo Cave. For this reason, I may have to change the results of that encounter with Agatha. In the published adventure, it is a mere side-quest and does not really even result in combat or anything which has impact on the larger story. Sister Garaele basically just offers a fetch quest. So either I tie Agatha to Wave Echo Case, or the Spider in some way, or I will have to give the Roven’ris sisters, or Abbiree, reason to continue with Daynn and Roonoo. Perhaps the encounter at Calling Horns may do just that?
Dawndra Norlandr, a side NPC character I made up some time ago, is becoming one of my favorites. She is unusual looking even in Faerun… 7 and half foot tall, built like giant (likey because she has some giant blood) and white. Her hair is long and white and covering her entire face body, a fine white coat of fur. If you had to guess, you might suspect she was part giant and part polar bear, and you would be right. Except that if you asked her to confirm your suspicion she would be unable.
Dawndra is an “Arktikos” – a word I made up to give the feeling of arctic zone origins. She spent most of her life in the Moonshae Islands living among the Firbolg there. She was not exactly like them, but she felt more at home among the Firbolg than the Ffolk.
In this opening scene, Dawndra is making her way North – far North… beyond the Spine. Her martial skill is in need of challenging if she is to gain mastery and the Frozenfar Fray Games promises to do just that. I had lots of choices on where to begin this adventure… should I start in Treyvigg Monastery? Elder Riandyl needs to encourage her to join the games and I need to draw a line of connection between Riandyl and Tey Emberjaw, sister of Marlowe Emberjaw, head dwarf at the Wardens Guild of Heroes Gate. But that can be done in a recap. I thought about opening mid-way through the games but then the recap would becoming unwieldy and I would miss opportunity for some character development.
So I would start somewhere along the way between Tey Emberjaw and Icewind Dale. I want the Emberjaw’s to remain mostly in shadow until Cycle Three so there is that pleasure of connection when it happens. Without Tey Emberjaw, the journey from Small Teeth to the Spine would take months so magic is an answer. This leads me to consider how portals actually work in world I am “mastering”.
Portals in Toril
Portals are a high level arcane spell so they require a high level wizard. I believe the official version of the spell just requires some visualization. This is weak – imo. So for portal spells to be cast, the caster needs to have been to the portal destination and have marked it magically in order to use it. There is some sort of magical longitude and latitude that gets recorded.
There are also semi-permanent portals, similar to worm holes, that remain in place but closed. These require an even higher level magic user to create initially, but then can be operated by anyone with the knowledge of how to open the portal. This kind of portal is like a door with a key. Someone has to create the door and the locking mechanism but then can give the key to whomever they like.
So then the basic rule.. Teleportation only works to location the caster can see or has previously seen and intentionally marked as a destination.
Tey Emberjaw specializes in portal magic (though she has several specialities) and she knows a lot of people around Faerun. She is rarely at home in Athkatla it would seem – always off to some party or gathering. She has a dear friend in Ravens Bluff with whom she has tea with several times a tenday. For her, traveling between Amn and Luskan is like walking through a door. Though the particular example is poor… Tey Emberjaw has not been to Luskan for some time now.
In any given scene, I expect I should be developing either the plot or the characters (or both because really they are connected). A way of developing characters without directly developing plot is to challenge them with random encounters. I suppose the random encounter can be overdone, and that some might say don’t do it at all… but I think there is value in them if done well. A random encounter should provide some sort of challenge to the character – and I don’t mean they need to be slugfests where only 2 hp remain afterwards. By challenge, I mean finding some aspect of the characters personality, bonds or flaws, and challenging it.
Dawndra does not see herself as a hero – far from it… While she is Nuetral Good, she has also spent her life isolated from common folk. What exactly does “Good” mean? What are some ways to challenge it? The “Good” Samaritan story provides a help… some poor guy gets the ugly end of the ugly stick. Two people who would call themselves “good” walk around the poor guy and then walk away. Another walks by and helps him, dresses the wounds and gives him a place to rest and restore. The moral is simple – only one of the three walkers was truly good, although they all had a G on their character sheet. The poor guy in the ditch is the challenge. What will a character with a G actually do when that goodness is called upon?
Challenging Dawndra’s “G” does not need to advance the plot. The poor guy in a ditch does not need to be a recurring character (although if she helps him, that is always in the pocket for later). And this is why I decided to start with a scene in Luskan rather than Fireshear or along the Ten Trail.
Maybe this is a good time to give Dawndra not only a challenge, but a temptation… hmm….
[A Note on Notes]
Our party hits the road north from Mosstone with three new guards added to their caravan. Along with Nim and Norli (and Tronk) and their two guards, our party is quite large at the moment – a full tenperson – if that were a thing. One of the fun things about DMing, and writing, is that I can just say… a “tenperson” is a thing. It means a group with a nice even number of ten people. I recall Roman military units had similar names. A “Centurian” was called so because they commanded a certain number of soldiers – a “Centuria” or a nice even 100 soldiers.
But all that matters not.
I want to use this scene for several purposes… some social interaction to start. The new guards have traveled the Trade Way North from Mosstone many times (or at least … several) and they have some stories to tell about it. The youngest, Tolvathir, has heard the stories but this is his first time out.
My first draft of this social interaction feels a bit empty. Draft 02 should beef it up, expand it a bit. Display more of the characters of the Wwaldyr Syblings. Maybe Tolvithir is a little too ambitious or gets carried away. Maybe Ariola thinks he is still too young to take on the task but Argathen, the elder brother, is pushing to get him experienced and strong. Perhaps Ariola made a promise to their parents (who still reside somewhere in Tethyr? Probably in the capital Darromar? I imagine they are wealthy with some influence. Perhaps they have a nice estate on the River Ith? )
Perhaps (and I know I say maybe and perhaps a lot in my DM notes… it is my way of brainstorming without commitment… all this stuff is fluid. ) they are nobles of their culture and as such place high expectations on their children. But then why would their children become hired guards? Not sure any of this really matters… they are fodder NPCs most likely. But maybe it does matter, even if I never bring these details to the surface in game.
Maybe… the father was a military commander in the Tethyr Army. He poured a great deal of expectations into the eldest, Argathen. Something happened which brought shame to the commander and he lost is rank and standing. Maybe they still have wealth and a nice little place on the river but their social standing is toast. Argathen had a future in his fathers footsteps, but all that was lost when his father fell (or was pushed… who knows). At any rate, Argathen is compelled to leadership and strength and valiant behavior. Joining the Titans Fist Protection Company might have been seen as small first steps, but many months later they are still here.
Ariola was never interested in a military lifestyle, but she was always scrappy and loved to mimic her brothers fighting techniques while he practiced. She is loyal to their mother and shares a mothers concern over their youngest brother.
So there be the social pillar. The stories told will add to the discovery/exporation pillar because they are about the Wealdth.
And then we have trolls… Forest Trolls…
These things stink to deep-planes. They are stealthy hunters. But their stink and their stealth will conflict… so they learned the art of distraction. As prey gets close enough to the hidden trolls to smell them, they are often alerted to their presence. The trolls came up with a surprisingly smart tactic… diversion. As a party approaches, two trolls lie in wait to ambush while a third mimics the sound of an Owlbear somewhere nearby. This puts the prey on alert, but not for the forest to come to life on either side and eat them. Unless there is high passive perception, the trolls get the first round.
Before the trolls are dead (and because they have regen, it is unlikely they will die) we will bring in Joloobo the Gnome Soulknife. He has been hunting these three particular trolls for a tenday. He knows their tactics. He even had an early combat encounter with them but was overpowered and ran. He lost them for a while but is just catching up as the party is fighting the trolls on the dark roadway.
Their blood is mine
Joloobo is hunting trolls to harvest their blood.
He hates their presence in “his” forest… but aside from that… he makes a good amount of gold selling their blood to a sprite he knows (and secretly loves). She is an alchemist and makes potions with the troll blood (among other things) and some pretty dangerous poisons as well.
Who is this Sprite?
Rayni Honeywing.
Assuming the combat goes in their favor, Joloobo harvests the trolls. From a small satchel drapped over his small frame, he pulls out a large device of some kind – a little taller than he is even. He plunges it into the corpse of the trolls and the party will see the blood fill up bottle after bottle. Each of which he places carefully back into the satchel of holding.
Joloobo has spent a lot of time alone in the forest. His only social contact is with Rayni, and even it is often awkward. Joloobo is fearless in combat and survival, but timid and shrinking socially.
He asks the party where they are going. If they answer with anything about the Small Teeth or the Tehir Road, he warns them about a young green dragon which has been trying to make a name for itself along the southern side of the Small Teeth. This is important to the next scene… Joloobo finishes off his extraction with some comment about how much gold it will bring. Then he wishes the party well and vanishes into the forest
Next Scene… Joloobo returns when party is somewhere early along the Tethir Way. It occurred to him that the blood of a Green Dragon – especially a young one – would be worth thousands to him. He would like to tag along.. If they get attacked by the green dragon, they all stand better chances fighting together. Maybe some weird comment about their fighting skills be impressive – something awkward though.
[A Note on Notes]
I intend to write a RECAP with each scene, if only because I want to improve my skill with the recap… When reading things it may be unneccessary… I’ve never seen a writer add a recap to the beginning of each chapter… but then this is not a book. TV Shows have a recap at the beginning of each episode. Sometimes it is simply that… a summary of what has happened… but I’ve noticed that shows will often use the recap to hint that some shadow of a plotline is becoming relevant. The review of that brief dialog 4 episodes ago is a strong clue to the fact that it is coming back around in this current episode somehow. While I’m still at the beginning… I figure making a habit of the RECAP is a good thing to continue. I just have to keep it short and pointed… not tiresome.
In this scene, our party reaches Mosstone – a fairly large town on the south side of the Wealdth Forest. A caravan-stop, so it makes sense to add in a field on one side of the town where caravans can park overnight. I invented “Drovers Field” and imagine a large grassy area on the North side of Mosstone that used to be used for sheep and other livestock.
I feel like I really like Mosstone. Maybe is has something to do with the presence of the Druids, or maybe because it overlooks Firedrake Bay. Actually it is hard to tell on the map if you can actually see the bay from anywhere in town… The Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide gives me the impression that the thick forest of the Wealdath is on one side of Mosstone, and a gentle grassy slope descends from the town for a mile or so down to the bay. Much of the trade centers around caravans of merchants and travels heading either North or South along the Trade Way.
It would make sense that you could easily hired a few extra sellswords in town. I’m sure there would be an organized effort to provide trustworthy mercenaries… as least, as much as one might. If you think about it… the typical D&D scenario is… merc walks into a bar, meets with a few other mercs or maybe know each other, but probably not… and then someone comes in saying “I need to hire help, someone good with a blade.” Now let me ask the question… how many such customers end up with the mercs blade in their own gut? Hmm? Yeah – you cannot trust a bastard sellsword in a divey bar now can you… That is why organizations like Titans Fist Protection Company have had success. They certify their mercs to reasonably trustworthy… and customers pay for the assurance. I would…
The Wardens Guild of Heroes Gate (and we are still a distance from Athkatla yet) is founded on this same premise, except in the City of Coin, appearance is gold. You are just not important if you do not have an impressive armed guard on your either side. Trust is paramount because the clientele are, for the most part, insanely wealthy. Marlow Emberjaw has built a solid reputation for being able to provide capable and trustworthy protection services.
There are some in the city, including at least one of the Council of Six, which balk at the idea of a “guild” of mercenary types. Guilds are for artisans, craftsman and the like… the idea of a guild of sellswords is ridiculous in the minds of some. However… Emberjaw has created great success because he treats his protector shields like elite artists. He vets them thoroughly before giving them any important contracts. He also trains them in the art of protection. He himself was a bodyguard of a king for years… the king and himself still live so it stands to reason he knows a thing or two about the business of protecting very important people. (Nevermind that the kind in question would probably have Marlow killed if he thought it was still alive… but that is another set of notes.)
Anyway… in this scene… the party has opportunity to do a little business and have a little rest in divey bar before Cyrics Cudgel returns to gather up the vengeance they promised themselves.
[A Note on Notes]
Here we see Yisi and Valea venturing out into the world beyond the monastery. Sure they have taken a few trips into Mosstone in the past for supplies, but they were always accompanied by Adepts on those trips. Today they are on their own to begin a long journey (well… long for them anyway…).
In this scene, we meet Nim and Norli Bragos (oh.. And Tronk). Norli takes an unsual liking to the couple and outfits them with some enchanted clothing. The Bragos Twins will return at some point… Nim is a merchant with a reputation for being able to locate (and trade) special items.
We also meet a small band of Half-Orcs claiming to be “Cyrics Cudgel”… a cult dedicated to bringing back the Church of Cyric. They are also a bit isolationist, allowing only Orc kin membership. Why is unclear, perhaps we will find out later. Really they are just bandits and bullies wanting to pillage other folk. At any rate… they will be biting off more than than can chew. Perhaps they will learn their lesson and ensure they have better numbers next time…
I’m not sure if Cyrics Cudgel will ever become a serious threat… or just occasional opportunity for comic relief… Maybe perhaps one of our PC characters will have reason to despise Cyric and his church – and maybe Cyrics Cudgel will kidnap and ransom some key NPC which a Warden Shield will need to rescue.
[A Note on Notes]
We start with Yisi and Valea in Song Moon Temple. They have been called by one of the senior Teachers of the monastery. He has a mission for them… replenish his wine. It is a journey to the Small Teeth mountains to get the specific wine, but their teacher has something else in mind – progressing their training.
At this monastery, the first ten years of training will progress a student from Novice to Potential Adept. In 5E character terms… Levels 1-3. At Potential Adept, students begin to take on assignments and expeditions outside of the temple, as directed by their Teachers. The Potential must face the real world and its significant challenges in order to reach Adept (5E Level 5).
Each Potential must also begin exploring their creative calling. The martial skill must be balanced in the Potential else they fail to progress, or worse, fall into a brutal character. The savage Potential will not progress to Adept until they can balance out their aggression with art.
Yisi has known for some time that wordplay would be his art. At some point he developed a love of beauty and became fascinated with Sune. He has not, and would not turn his back on Tel’Aestar as the source of life and love, but the Lady Firehair has his attention as the source of beauty. Yisi’s intent is to become a poet, exemplifiying beauty through the written word. There is a trap for him however… he will be tempted to fall into a vain character, which may be worse than a brutal one.
Valea on the other hand, does not know what art she would pursue. She tells her teacher that her “martial prowess will be her art”. Yet she must find balance there. Valea will develop her own forms (like Whispering Fang) that appear as dance and yet have martial application. So she is not being stubborn… “martial prowess” is indeed the creative calling to offset the savage within.
I feel Teacher Solomvar needs more attention. I want him to be a very endearing character. Authoritative and exceedingly wise, but also humorous and light-hearted. Perhaps he is the teacher of Flowing Force – it fits with the idea I have for him.
The basic idea of the Way of Flowing Force is to take the common Monk feats (Flurry of Blows, Deflect Missles, etc) and enhance them. Graceful relaxed movement leads to increased power. Very Tai Chi in essence. I want Teacher Solomvar to exemplify this power from flow.