Hello everyone. I , DM Wretch have returned from the dead as an undead super power and I have become far more powerful than anyone has ever imagined. Whilst I was dead and seemingly set to eternally slumber deep within my dark tomb I had many a chance to slowly think and reconsider my previous life as a DM. I thought... "What could I change? What could I make better? What could I do to make Baldurs' Gate "The Sword Coast Chronicles" community a much more better and wonderful, yet more true to roleplay kind of place? Well, thanks to the DM crew I have been brought back to life by the most unholy of powers. I have once again taken my step into this void known as the internet to bring you entertainment, assistance, and more of a reason to keep coming to our wonderful little community. All of this being said and out of the way, I'd like to re-phrase my previous goals and statements as a Dungeon Master and edit this Biblical Tome somewhat to make it a much more easier to keep track of.
ID LIKE TO POINT OUT: I AM GOING TO BE A LITTLE MORE STRICT THAT BEFORE.. PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING TO GET THE GIST OF WHAT I MEAN!
Whilst living I wrote:
A) Thou shalt use environment and the area around ye. Should ye be in a forest, and desire to climb a tree, then thou shalt climb it with proper rolls and use of roleplay. If thou wishes to step into a deep river whilst wearing heavily clad armor, then thou may drown a horrible and horrendous death. If it rains, the rain shall affect ye, and slow you down. If the sun boils your skin, then thou should feel as such. Of course, such rules and limitations apply to characters fortitude, will, and reflex abilities, but that in itself, is something to be dealt with whilst actually in such events. Thou shall be free to attempt to take advantage of whatever area or objects thou does in fact see, be it natural, or in a building!
D) Thou shalt use skills and stat rolls when deemed to do so. Wretch, the DM, shall ask ye to make a roll depending on the scenario, and thus roleplay along with the result. AS the first commandment, using skills and stats to role , for example, whilst searching, is highly recommended and welcomed.
And these rules shall remain true. If you're a Drow on the surface, and I find you without daylight adaptation, then you're going to be and should be roleplaying like the sun is harming you. If you're in the underdark and not used to the horrors below, I'll find a way to make you feel horrible. If you're doing something that may require some back breaking work or some mind boggling corruption, then we shall roleplay it accordingly based upon your base stats and your modifiers to each stat. This will also be true for charisma. If you're charisma gives you a score of -1 and you are a leader, then there shall be rolls to decide if you should in fact be leading. If you're not very dexterious but dodging flying objects with effortless ease (this does not include arrows. I mean, maybe boulders or people.. or rocks and stones..) then you'd better be doing so with the right stats and have appropriate AC and the like!
In summary: Your stats and character sheets matter!
Also, use your skills! If you're listening is high, prove it! If you are a mad searcher, show it! But if you have low skills, well.. I'm sorry... the results may not be so swell for you!
It was previously written:
B) Thou shall not break or rest at random. Resting shall be a big no no, when it is not time to rest. If thou is low on health and desires to rest, then thou shall wait for the appropriate time granted by the DM known as Wretch. If you are to rest prematurely, then thou shall suffer dire consequences (( no rewards, warnings)). As of such, thou shalt nay rest unless told so. Resting during the story or plot or what have you to rest makes no sense to the DM known as Wretch, for it is breaking early in plot lines and story methods.
Indeed. If you rest without permission or at random, I will be more harsh than before. I will even dare say you incur the risk of suffering a 50% to 99% loss of possible quest or event rewards, including gold, and the possible chance to lose items.
Twas written:
C) Thou shall die and stay dead'th if maimed or destroyed, unless otherwise stated. Should ye perish in an event, then you shall stay dead until revived by either DM, or player. Players wishing to bring back their fallen companions shant at random revive their fallen ally, but in stead, shall roleplay out things such as "dragging so-called friend to the side" or using the first commandment to their advantage to find safe points.
Death in my events will be called death depending on the circumstances. Most of the time, players will most likely be "knocked-out' but cannot come back into play until the time is deemed safe, or the moment is right. If you are raised suddenly and without warning and without roleplay, then you may forfeit all quest rewards. The one who brings you back, should he do so without mentioning it in a /tell may also be suffering a loss in event loot or rewards.
One thing I also said before was:
E) Thou shall use party whilst in the event. Otherwise, important dialogue may be missed by Wretch, and it shall put an awkward halt upon role playing.
And this remains true! PERSONALY I don't like using party chat for events, as passerby may get the chance to join. . . but at times the party chat is absolutely required. We'll deal with this when we can.
F) Thou shall enjoy everything whilst following the commandments. Failure to do so shall result in tongue lashings, discrimination against birds, and a sad Associate DM.
STILL TRUE!
One more thing...
I read my DM write ups now and find them very long, descriptive, and I tend to write down every single little bit of information possible. I really do like to do this, actually. But I find for the sake of time and simplicity that I will probably try to summarize and shorten the event write-ups. My events may not be so epic or important when it comes to dealing with the world-changing main plot , and so perhap they do not need so many words to describe them.
I love events. I love to do many if possible, but I think this go round I will try to do many events but with less detail written upon them on the forums here. This will save my time, but also give me more time to give you more interactions and quests. I of course, will not write up every interaction. A snake bursting out of the forest grass and biting your leg is not going to be recorded here... but if an army of snakes come out of the river and swarm Beregost.. well.. I hope you get my meaning!
I also want to add more pictures! The other DM use so many creative images and it just adds a certain flare to their write-ups!
ALRIGHT. All of this has been said and done.
A final note: Some players had sent me ideas and plots early on that had not dealt directly with the main campaign of our community. If those players still wish to continue them, or if you have any new ideas, please contact me. I am more than happy to work with you, the players, who have allowed us DM to be here to better your time and enjoyment on the server. I will also be continuing some of my own ideas, and all are free to join, should you be about!
Syclya Fren
Dagon
Art Shield
O'grog Redfist
Terrar Malkuth
Arthur AquliaArius III
One day in Beregost a young colt up and died in the middle of town. The guards were puzzled by the occurrence, and dismissed any thoughts of foul play or magic, claiming it to be of natural death. The body of the animal was eventually cleaned up, and Beregost thought nothing more of the strange event.
But one of the halflings residing in Gullykin known as Oralat Salmonhead believed that there was necromancy amongst them, though nobody believed him as many viewed and deemed him incredibly cowardly and weak. The guards disregarded him and his own kin even spoke-ill of his cowardly deeds and lack of bravery, which was considerably low, when considering halfling peasant standards. In any case, it turned out that the suspicions of this weakling halfling were actually true.
A group of adventurers, seemingly led by a druid, examined the area around Gullykin and questioned many of the local inhabitants. Animals, guards, and other townsfolk were all put to question, and eventually the group discovered that many pet rabbits and a few other creatures were dying similarly to the horse that passed away in Beregost.
It seemed that someone had been digging bones out on the south western part of town towards the desert. The bones belonged to the angered soul of an Undead Druid, nameless and now evil. Removing the bones from the earth had caused it to rise up and summon hosts of other evil creatures. The angry druid, demanding its "pet" be returned to it, began sucking the souls and lives of other living animals. The group of adventurers had to travel around town questioning various inhabitants if they had noticed or seen any of the bones that the undead druid had lost.
In the end, the group found one of the missing bones laying out carelessly in a bush, while the other bone was being held by a crazy, corn-growing halfling known as Nelsorn Tinklyweather. After re-obtaining the items, the group drove themselves down the valley into the desert to find a small pit that had been dug. Here, zombies and other fiendish undead rose up to assault them, all being connected to the undead druid, but once the items were replaced the visage of the druid seemed to dissipate and the undead vanished.
The dark presence surrounding the undead being seemed to have been purged, but small traces were still noticeable to those being able to detect magic... nonetheless, the town had been saved, though none of the lesser, common halflings or guards believed Oralat or the adventurers stories, nor desired to especially since the war against Amn had left their tiny village a mess some time before.
Rewards: 1300 EXP. Syclya Fren has not yet been rewarded.
//// If there is any metagamming following this quest, it shall be ignored and dealt with properly. ///
One day, an earth Genasi wearing heavy armor and a fancy chapeau was wandering the streets of Nashkel when a rather tall individual clad in full plate armor and possessing a rather dark and intimidating helmet entered the town. The guards suggested his demeanor was rather too threatening for the townsfolk, but the helmed figure cared not, and threatened the guards, intimidating them and forcing them to actually run off.
Intrigued, the earth Genasi followed along to some clearing near the south of Nashkel. When the armor clad figured viewed the Genasi, he demanded his purpose for following him. The Earth Genasi merely claimed that he was curious how such a figure could intimidate the guards and force them off with merely telling them to mind their own business. The helmed figure told the earth genasi that if he wished to find out more, he would have to go and show himself worth first.
Guards showed up and confronted the earth Genasi and helmed figure, but the Earth Genasi fought and actually killed the Nashkel guards. Impressed, the helmed figure revealed that he was a Blood Reaver, a war mongering cleric that worshiped the god of war , Garagos. The priest promised him a blessing from the god of war. This was perfect for the earth Genasi, as he too also worshiped and respected the same god.
The quest didn't seem so hard. Venture to Baldur's gate, and get a sacred axe out of the Temple of Tempus. The Earth Genasi headed out, and traveled for many hours upon the roads before reaching Baldur's gate.
He seemed lost at first, but after finding his way, this earth Genasi eventually reached the Temple of Tempus. Upon entering, the earth Genasi discovered that a rare procession was occurring. The local priest asked the Genasi his name before joining the meeting of warriors. This genasi said his name was 'tyros', but the priest seemed to question if that was his real name as the Genasi appeared to be at first hesitant to give out his real name.
One of the flaming fist recruits was boasting in front of various worshipers of Tempus about his battle prowess and epic adventure against a band of bandits in the harbor of Baldurs gate. He also flashed off a magically enchanted axe. Surely this was the axe the Blood Reaver had mentioned. The warriors of Tempus cheered and clapped. All of them, except Tyros. Tyros merely stood around, watching and eying the fist recruit. The warriors of Tempus began to question Tyros, demanding why he lacked the same feelings of joy and wonder they had for the fist officer.
Tyros responded rather quietly, saying that he would rather duel than talk all day about such epic battle prowess. The fighters and warriors of Tempus gave a loud shout, and all agreed a friendly one on one duel would suffice to celebrate the success of the recruited officer. Tyros and the group made their way north, out of Baldur's gate to the arena.
Upon arriving, each warrior decided that it would be best to let Tyros, the one who decided dueling was best, to choose who he wished to fight first. Tyros chose a member of the Lord's Alliance. The two battled, and no one was hurt. The duel was friendly and the result came to show that Tyros was a much better fighter. This only caused more excitement with the warriors of Tempus. Tyros chose to fight one of the dwarven fighters next.
But something horrible happened. This dwarven fighter lacked the skill and prowess Tyros contained. During the duel, Tyros hit the dwarf a little too hard and actually drew blood and slew the dwarf outright. A shocked and surprised gathering of warriors looked in awe. The fist recruit finally shouted out "Y-Your under arrest for murder!"
Tyros tried to explain it was all but a mere accident, but that didn't seem to matter. The inexperienced fist recruit was fuming that one of his friends was slain in what was supposed to be a friendly, under control duel. The fist and the rest of the warriors of Tempus attacked, but Tyros fought back. Tyros was actually beyond anything that all the warriors could imagine. In the end, Tyros forced the majority of them to flee or lay wounded, but in the whole ordeal Tyros slew another two dwarves and even the flaming fist recruit.
This whole incident was witnessed by other officers, who immediately rushed to the scene and demanded that Tyros come with them quickly for not only murder, but disrupting the peace around the farmlands. Tyros refused, and fought his way through the fists, and actually escaped. During the fighting, however, Tyros also encountered a half-orc warrior named Kaharla Wrou Skus, but she too was too weak to stop Tyros. Tyros, now bloodied and somewhat injured, staggered away from the bloody scene, carrying the axe that the flaming fist recruit had been showing off. Others soon arrived on the Scene to see what the commotion was, but Tyros was long gone by then.
Tyros found a place to rest for a short while. He had escaped Northwards, ran through the fields of the dead and eventually made his way back down to the eastern farmlands by going through THundar's ride. Here he changed clothing, stuffing his armor in a large pack and jogged with a slight limp across the bridge exiting the farmlands and began his long trip back to Nashkel. When he arrived, he immediately began to seek the Blood Reaver.
Tyros found the Blood Reaver in the same area. .. the nashkel soldiers had still been there, but now covered in flies and decay. Tyros presented the axe to the Blood Reaver, and in return, the cleric of war engraved a magical symbol of their chaotic lord of war and strife on Tyro's heavy shield, so that all whom cross Tyros will shake and quiver in the wrath that he inflicts upon them.
Rewards: 1200 EXP to Lotrik
200 EXP to Kaharla Wrou Skus
Lotrik's Heavy shield +3, now contains a multi-armed symbol of Garagos, granting +3 to intimidate and +5 to HP.
Players involved:
Arthur AquilaArius III
Eric Thedan
Kal
Kaharla Wrou Skus
Ignatius A Moonstone
Ceifador
Orias Homuron
A great commotion was noticed North of Baldur's gate near the arena. Various citizens and adventurers alike came out north to the arena to see what the all the fuss was about. These are the events that occurred whilst the now wanted earth Genasi "Tyros" escaped away from Baldur's Gate.
The ground about the public, and supposedly safe arena was littered with blood and a few dead bodies. A group of adventurers learned from one of the flaming fist guards stationed at the arena that foul play was afoot, and that an armored man carrying a long sword was seen running off from the scene of the crime. Not being able to send his own men into the fields of the dead, the officer gave a task to the group of adventurers: They were to enter the fields of the dead and search for any clues to the whole murder scene and possibly bring back the murderer themselves if they found him.
The party gathered together and prepared for their journey. They entered the fields, vanquishing a few of the undead who lurk there. They had not gone far, when they heard a crazed laugh. There, they saw a man in a red and black hood, cackling at them, taunting them. Believing that this may be the criminal they were after, the group stormed after him. The hooded individual ran into one of the crypts, and the party chased him down into the depths of the earth.
The crypt was a maze in itself, but they kept following the path the lunatic had taken. They battled there way through mummies, zombies, and other undead creatures until they came to a room. There, the laughing hooded figure opened what appeared to be a portal and leapt through it. Deciding to follow, the group hopped in after him.
The portal took the group into the depths of the earth. They heard the distant laughing of the crazed man, and braved themselves forward. It was dark down there, in the earth . . . and the path was unclear. It was an even bigger maze than what the group had dealt with in the crypt. With ever twist and turn there was danger. Various undead creatures and slime seemed to crawl out of the walls and assaulted them. The group seemed to travel around in circles, and was getting nowhere, but somehow they were able to survive and pass through the caverns seemingly never-ending passageways.
One of the dank passageways took the group to a small chamber. Within it, there stood a drooling, undead zombie. They wanted to kill it at first, but the creature kept mumbling "sword... sword. . .. " In fact, it was an undead Paladin. How such a holy being could become undead was uncertain, but when a Katana was presented to the creature, the undead Paladin began to march forward, weapon in hand, towards one of the many large holes in the walls, leading deeper into the earth. It seemed as though this undead Paladin knew the way to perverted, hooded man. Perhaps in his past life, this undead Paladin also hunted him?
In any case, the undead Paladin appeared to be sending the group in the right path, but suddenly, the group was assaulted. In the fighting, the undead Paladin was actually obliterated by undead much more powerful than itself, but the group had gone far enough to get some bearing on their location. They further headed down into the earth, into the exact cave the undead Paladin had been leading them too.
The undead creatures seemed somewhat harder and more vile here. They were still assaulted, and many undead creatures were slain (AGAIN) and vanquished. Eventually, the group found themselves staring into a large, open space full of moss and water. . a very swampy location. It was here they found the crazed lunatic amongst alters, petting and stroking various trinkets in the corner of the room.
The lunatic and a host of undead creatures began attacking the adventurers. The fight was rather epic. . the crazy man actually turning out to be well versed in the dark arts of necromancy. After a long, and exhausting battle, the adventurers prevailed and destroyed the bringer of the undead. A strange portal opened up as the necromancer was destroyed, and the adventurers had now a safe way out. Of course, they first looted the stash of armor and other trinkets the Necromancer had been petting and playing with in the corner.
The portal lead them to a place that was actually rather far off from Baldur's Gate. The group decided to show off what items they had, and see if any of them would like to trade before they reported back to the fists who had given them their task. After discussing, they set out and returned to the arena.
There, at the Arena, the fist officer who gave them the task asked the group how they had fared. Apparently, whilst the group had been away, the fist had discovered that the criminal behind the murders had actually been reported as using pure melee in his crimes and had not actually casted a single spell. The wounds on the victims in fact were not even magical, and were caused by blade slashes. The group had chased a necromancer that had absolutely nothing to do with the crime scene.
Shrugging, the fist told them he couldn't give them any reward or anything at all. The adventurers seemed upset, and some even angry that they went on a wild goosechase. Deciding that the group had put in their best efforts, and did actually slay a potentially dangerous future criminal, the officer gave each member of the party a very small amount of coin.
And so, the murderer in the arena was still at large, but at least a potential undead problem was thwarted.
Rewards: 1000 exp to each player.
Each player a random piece of equipment. No equipment gave any epic stats nor exceeded level 15 usage.
A small amount of gold split amongst the adventurers.
Players involved:
Lotrik
Buurk Gerz
Vanya Arfaeniel
Bedlam Malkuth
Aozeph Kenan
Sirka Ironfaar
Arthur AquilaArius III
Caelmai
Orin Ironfell
Boppie Fleetfoat
There was some sort of commotion in Beregost. A group of adventurers followed rumors that the Amnish guard was in need of some assistance. A party gathered north of Beregost and one of the guards greeted the adventurers.
The guard explained that crates and objects were being stolen by shady, goblinoid characters, and that lately the guard had noticed an increase in goblin activity towards the north. Beregost was the farthest town north inthe Amnish jurisdiction, thus it was difficult to send up any additional forces to inspect this goblin problems. The guard then decided to recruit the adventurers.
The guard mentioned that there were reports of some larger looking goblins, but that there would not be any problems, as most travelers know that goblins tend to be small and weaker. In any case, the adventurers followed a trail of debris that lead towards a small cavern cut inside the mountain. These goblins had always lurked and lived inside these abandoned mines, but something this time was different.
These adventurers were immediately greeted by a horde of goblin folks, but were also driven on by much larger hobgoblins. Upon entering, they were also attacked by Ogres that seemed to be working and moving crates about for the goblins. Two brave halflings, whom always lose their key, explained to the party that some large goblin leader with a dreadful host of giants, trolls, and other brutes had taken up resident, and were attempting to build something there. There was also talk of water elemental infesting certain areas of the mines, and that the leader of this massive goblin horde was a devote follower of Umberlee.
The adventurers continued forth. The guards had not lied about the increase of goblins. There seemed to be endless amounts of lesser goblinoid creatures that seemed to poor themselves out on the adventurers. From time to time, other large begins joined the fray against these adventurous intruders: Ogres, Trolls, Giants, Hobgoblins. The amounts of enemies that had been working together seemed somewhat strange and odd.
The group battled through the hordes of enemies, never giving up. Some of them were wounded rather harshly, but they continued moving on. At some point, they reached the deepest, darkest part of the mines, where they slew the Hobgoblin leader, the charismatic individual holding together the hordes. After the leader had fallen, the group stood in awe in a room that seemed to be . . flooding itself over and over again. Strange runes lay on the ground, and water splashed through the air over a large alter. It was as if there was a constant upside-down rain forever flowing in the room.
The adventurers looted the area. There were many weapon and armor racks about, but nothing important seemed to stand out. They wondered what to do about this alter and amazing display of water. As they delayed, however, other goblins and trolls lurked behind them, harassing them, waiting for them to exit the room. Not sure on what to do, or make of the situation, one of the dwarves, a cleric of somesort, summoned up a Holy angelic alley to ask if the being could shed some insight on the place.
The angel merely told them that this place was "No gate, or doorway, or opening." Rather, it was "a shrine dedicated to a dark and evil goddess" of fury. The angel did not last long on the plane. The adventurers had already been told about Umberlee, so they assumed that the Hobgoblin leader had been building a new temple or shrine to the dark goddess. A few of the adventurers decided to destroy the altar amongst the waves. One smashed his axe into it, the other attempted to burn it apart with fire. The altar collapsed and the water started to flow wildly. Elemental creatures oozed from the walls, angrily assaulting the group, while goblins and other sinister creatures crept up from behind. They had angered Umberlee, and her wrath would be known. The entire place began to shake and some spots even flood.
The adventurers were out numbered and over whelmed. A few of them were nearly killed, and fell almost dead, barley breathing. The survivors hoisted them up on their backs and dragged them out whilst fighting off the angered creatures of water and goblins. The altar and the shrine to Umberlee seemed to have caved in and collapsed upon their exit.
The group managed to escape the mines all together, their bodies somehow still in tact. A final push of goblins was waiting outside for them, but they also somehow managed to beat through them as well. They returned to the Amnish guard, tired and beaten badly. They had destroyed the shrine, killed a Hobgoblin leader, sustained many wounds and carried those who were nearly dead, but somehow they managed to trek on.
The guard that had commissioned them on their adventure immediately began to laugh at the sight of the adventurers. " Bunch of Goblins made you tired and weak, eh? " The adventurers tried to explain that there was much more than just goblins, but the guards did not believe any of it. The guards argued that it would have been much serious were it dealing with Umberlee or some goddess directly. Still, the adventurers were lead into beregost and lined up.
There, the Sheriff of Beregost himself met with the group and congratulated their efforts. He commended them on their acts of bravery and thanked them for stopping the "minor goblin nuisance". Each adventurer was rewarded with a mere 100 gold coins. Some of them seemed discontent, but the guard refused to believe that it was anything more than just a handful of naughty goblins stealing goods from the town, and not trying to raise an army, build a shrine to a goddess of Fury, or anything of that sort.
"Why would Umberlee let an ugly Goblin worship her anyways?" "OH! We would have paid you more if you were, say, fighting Umberlee and a host of Trolls and Giants!" - The Sheriff and the guards laughed and mocked away at the poor adventurers. Regardless of how they were treated, the adventurers, tired and bruised, accepted their rewards and thereafter split up and went on their own ways.
So the destruction of what seemed to be a lesser shrine of Umberlee came to be. . . . An angry queen of the waves would not seem to forget this sort of thing, but the adventurers were fine, for now. The guards in Amn and Beregost just wrote the whole event off as a "Goblin Nuisance Solved by strangers and adventurers." And so, the entire event throughout the realm was regarded as just another typical goblin extermination quest.
Rewards: 1100 exp to each player.
100 gold to each player. Courtesy of Amn for the "minor" task.
Various low leveled weapons and armor looted from the weapon racks and armor piles.
///Please send me a PM if you see your name spelt with mistakes!
Members Involved:
A large handful of adventurers from various backgrounds, each possessing different skills.
Malar's dark and vile hand had been defeated, and the source of a long and treacherous curse plaguing the farmlands within the Swordcoast had been destroyed. However, even though the force behind such a curse had been removed, the curse itself remained. It would take the calling of a powerful deity to remove the darkness that still placed the farmlands around Baldurs Gate in drought and famine.
Knowing of the farmers plight but too busy to intervene directly, the Duke summoned the assistance of one of the nobles in his court. An emissary from Waterdeep approached the Duke and suggested requesting the help of one of a priest from a temple known as the Harvest House. Clergy from the Harvest House were indeed Priests of Chauntea. The Duke agreed, and word was sent northwards to Daggerford, a town between some ways north between Waterdeep and Baldurs Gate. Receiving the message and learning of the current situation including the drought and the defeat of the Malarites, the Harvhest House clergy sent forth one of their members to aid the poor farmers in their time of dire need.
The date upon which the priest arrived was no coincidence. Knowing that the Grain Mother's power was indeed rather powerful during harvest time, the priest arrived a week before activities and instructed the farmers to begin setting up for a small festival that was to take place on the last day of Eleint and the first day of Marpenoth. This was the High Harvest Tide, a time of celebration, drink, and dance, honoring the harvest and praising deities that bless and bring forth life to the fields and plants existing within the farmlands. The priests had determined that should the farmers and citizens of Baldur's Gate truly deserve the blessings of Chauntea, they would have to also earn it. This was the point of the festival: to thank and honor deities such as Chauntea, and receive their blessings for the years to come.
Thus construction began. The items and goods that the farmers had to work with was horrendously small due to the drought and previous war with Amn. Nevertheless, they slaved away, carving tables, seats, producing what little hay they could, gathering what fruit and ale was available. Luckily, various groups and organizations such as the Church of Illmater and The Order of the Silver Rose had donated larges amounts of money to a farmers relief effort, and much of that gold was placed into the supplies and goods for this High Harvest Festival. Within a week, the priest of Chauntea from Daggerford deemed the fair grounds suitable. Luckily, Baldurs Gate also contained good landscape for the various events that were to occur.
The Arena in the northern farmlands was reserved for the entire duration of the festivities. As well, various business honors, the Duke, and land owners within Baldurs Gate agreed to allow various properties publicly accessible for some of the festivities. Many farmers and citizens hauled out old chests, and placed them about the farmlands and the city. Many people did not realize or know what they were going to be used for, but most of the denizens of the Gate did not bother with them when they realized that the farmers had only been placing old, withered out acorns inside of them.
The final preparations were made, and rumors spread quickly around the Sword Coast. Finally, on the last day of Eleint, the festival began. Trumpets were sounded, and the fist brought in to monitor the festival grounds. City-folk, farmers, druids, and other adventurers gathered around the festival grounds. Here they were greeted wholeheartedly by the priest of Chauntea. When a large group began had formed, the priest approached a makeshift alter and began to speak to gathered group of persons. He told them what the festive events to come were, and that even though the farmlands here had produced such horrid amounts of crops and food, that there was still the need to celebrate, and enjoy what little they had, for even a little food grown was a blessing from Chauntea. After a quick, and welcoming speech, the Priest began by urging the people to take part in dance, drink, and story telling.
And that is what happened. The large group began to frolic and play, dance and sing, and drink and be merry. For some time, they laughed, and talked, and enjoyed what was presented towards them. Ale, cheeses, bread, wines, fruits and other foods, though in small amount, were presented to the gathering. Well known adventurers such as Mealir danced and sang away with friends, whilst smaller beings like Deacon gave out free food stuff. Nobody complained and everyone loved and enjoyed what was present there at the time.
After some time had passed the priest, after dancing some time himself, approached his Altar once more, and made another announcement: The festival was NOT only just about having a large party, and rejoicing. . but that there were actually multiple events that the gathered group of people were encouraged to join and take part of. The priest requested that everyone within the area was to form into four teams, and make each time contain no less and no more than four members. Soon, four teams were formed. ((Team Mealir, Team Lillith, Team Palandar, Team Herran, and all other members of their respected teams.))
The priest had the teams gather on the roadway, south of the festival grounds while those not participating, as well as the gathered flaming fist members, stayed behind and continued the festival. Those that came along, while cheered and urged on by others with them, were told of four great events that they were to take part in, and the winner with the most points at the end of the events, would win the High Harvest Crown! The crown itself was blessed and brought forth to such events throughout the Swordcoast. . . rumors also had it that other forms of the High Harvest Crown, included the High Harvest Cup, or gauntlet, but today at the festival, the winners of the four events would gain access to the crown.
The priest explained four events. There would be a point counting system. Each event would yield a point or few to the winners. Two points would be rewarded for teams in the first event. Two points for teams in the second. One point for teams in the third, and a tie in the final event would produce points for any team with the highest amounts of items gathered.
The first event: The Harvest Brawl. The priest told the group that farmers and workers of the land were constantly battling the elements. . that they were always fighting against some known or unknown foe. It is necessary to fight in order to bring life, grow, and survive in the world.
The second: Archery Competition: In order to be one of the lands, one must use their wits and speed. Many farmers before becoming farmers, were hunters, and even after placing down the bow, they still had to maintain and remember what they learned as trackers and archers in order to help foster up crops and wheat.
The third: Talent Show. This included magic use. Many farmers prayed for blessings from goddesses such as Chauntea, and magic was not shunned in any way or form, as long as it brings goodness and blessings upon the land.
The final: The Knave's Challenge. Fools and knaves are what many farmers and druids are called, for they leave the safety of their walls and leave protection from dukes and kings to live out in open lands. There, they are clearly ripe for the picking from evil forces that may do them harm. Farming was indeed, foolish and risky at times.
The priest explained how the events would come and in what order. The first event that took place, was the Harvest Brawl. The priest of Chauntea lead the four teams down to the Arena. Here, there would be two exhausting battles. There would be two fights between two teams. The teams that won either fight, would each gain one point. No magic would be involved, and each member of the team would use either fists or clubs. No other weapon was allowed. The priest mentioned nothing of feats and abilities, nor the use of healing potions, or if those who participated could use armor. As a result, two four vs four battles involving nothing but clubs and fists went down. Wizards that would never do such a thing, got bonked on the head, while warriors wearing full plate laughed loudly as fist and club did little to nothing to their armor. It seemed rather chaotic, but as the priest had mentioned, maintaining the land and bringing a harvest required struggle.. and that was what the brawl was all about. Two teams received points, and the festival carried on.
The second event began. Each team choose a dedicated archer, or at least someone with the proficiency in using either a crossbow or short bow. After each selecting a representative, the archers gathered in front of the priest. Each rolling a 1d6 dice, the priest allowed the winning rollers to choose either a short bow or crossbow (both of regular type and no enchantment). The priest then lend the representative archers to a cavern, known to be infested with bandits, somewhere in the farmlands. He explained that two evil creatures left behind by Malar were still stalking the caverns. Using only their chosen short bow or crossbow of choice, they would use their feats and magic to bring down the foes. The representative archers could collect both trophies from the Malarite creatures, if they had the mettle. The archers were given a signal, and they dove down into the caverns. The two creatures were actually a rather giant and nasty looking scorpion, whilst the other was a rabid tiger. Two of the four representatives slew the creatures and brought back trophies as proof of their kills, and earned their team points. The priest explained that a hunt was required, to test the speed and the wits of individuals to see if they were truly worthy.
The third event was to begin, however due to some unforeseen reasons, one groups magic user had put herself deep within some sort of meditation. The priest of Chauntea did not wish to waste time, and thus decided to begin the fourth event: the Knave's challenge.
The Knave's challenge involved no particular skill except speed. The chests with acorns in them that farmers and citizens alike had placed a few days earlier around the farmlands and city were each teams target. The teams lined up on a roadway near the festival grounds. The priest explained that the groups should line up, as if in a relay race. Once the priest of Chauntea gave the signal, they were to dash into the city, and find ONE, and ONLY ONE Acorn. Once they found ONE acorn, they were to return it back and place it near their group's feet. Then, the next in line would take their place and then make a mad rush into the city, looking for a second acorn. Then this would repeat. There would be a time limit of thirty minutes. Magic was useable, but using magic within the cities walls was still punishable by law, and none could wear cloaks or hide their faces. No laws were thus broken in the Knave's challenge. The groups began, and were given their thirty minutes. It seemed rather one sided at first, as one team was relatively lucky, but somewhere towards the ten minute mark, the Priest laughed loudly and told them it was time for ALL the members of each group to make haste and comb the city for the chests containing acorns. This is what they did. Thus in the end many adventurers madly seeking for chests and acorns and making fools of themselves, fulfilled the Knave's challenge requisite. Two teams collected a total of five acorns and were both granted points.
The magic caster had snapped out of her meditation, and the Talent SHow began. A "draconian" individual named Hoihe was selected by the Priest of Chauntea to be a "magical guinea pig." The priest also selected four individuals that were not partaking in the games to act as judges for the magic contest. The judges were a hin, two elves, and a half-orc. The task was simple: One magic user acting as one of each teams magical representative would focus a single magic spell on Hoihe. It could be destructive, enchanting, or whatever they desired, as long as the spell was not Necromantic or outlawed. Thus, each spell caster, be it divine or arcane, took turns casting magic upon (the unfortunate?) Hoihe. One magic user casted a "Greater Ruin" spell. Another summoned up a storm. A sorcerer blasted Hoihe away with a popular magic missile spell of the fifth or sixth ranking, whilst a being smaller than your average hin or gnome, caused magical rainbow energy to strike Hoihe's entire body. Luckily, Hoihe had protected himself with his own magical energy and was not harmed severely in anyway. The judges amongst them gave ranks between 1 and 10, and the group representative casting the Greater Ruin spell won the day.
All four events were over with. . . the groups and spectators and judges all returned to the festive grounds . . only to discover that three out of four of the groups were tied! One group had only won a point from the archery competition and were thus removed from the High Harvest challenge. The Priest of Chauntea declared that there had to be a winner. . so, using the losing team as the judges, the Priest declared a dance off! Once again, each team, now lowered down to three teams, chose an individual to represent them. A hin known as Nihm, an elf known as Celduil, and a human known as Herran would each be competing in a dance off.
The hin known of Nihm seemed to dance with the shadows. Before the newly selected judges she twirled around, throwing her daggers in the air, tumbling about and slashing them majestically as she danced. Herran seemed somewhat less magical, as he merely grabbed the Priest of Chauntea by the arms and began swinging around in a mad-like fashion. Herran was able to tumble about and spin, but poor dexterity threw the Priest off his balance and nearly made him crash into a nearby tree. The last dancer, Celduil, drew out his sword and began to dance using epic sword stances. Lightning flashed from his blade as he threw it into the air, catching it and spinning elegantly.
The judges had watched and marveled at the performances. The decision would be difficult to make, but in the end, the judges finally decided on one group to win the Harvest Crown!
The judges had chosen Celduil as the winner! The priest of Chauntea headed towards a large enchanted chest, hidden amongst sacks and goods produced by the festival. Opening it, he pulled out a silver crown. He approached the winning team, congratulating them all. But in the end, the Priest revealed that of course, there was only one crown. The group very quickly and unanimously selected Celduil as the High Harvest King for his stunning and amazing performance towards the end of the festival.
The priest placed the Crown on Celduils head, and the festival had a winner! People cheered and drank, and sang merry songs for this great achievement. The Priest however, spoke loudly, asking that all members of the festival hush and gather around, for a moment of Prayer.
The priest lowered his head, and cuffed his hands. The majority of citizens, farmers and beings around him did like wise. The Priest praised Chauntea. The priest thanked Chauntea for blessing the farmers with what little they had, and thanked the gods and goddesses of those who drove out the evil Malarites. The Priest prayed for protection as winter was soon to come, protection against beings such as Talos with mighty storms and thunder, protection against Talona with horrible poisons, and protection against Auril, who was most likely to bring flurries of cold from the north or south mountain peaks. Finally, the Priest rose his hands in the air, and shouted something along the lines of:
"Oh great Grain Mother! We humbly ask that you remove the curse of the horrible Malarites, and that you may bless and protect the farmers and individuals here who have done you honor through the High Harvest Festival! Let your magic and marvels work the lands and bring life to us once again! We beg you to end this drought, and forever bring prosperity to the land!"
And with that, the High harvest events pleasing Chauntea, as well as the presence of one of her clergy beseeching her assistance, Chauntea removed the evil and dark curse. Rain began to poor in buckets and there was much rejoicing amongst the adventurers and farmers gathered there together. The group continued to drink and play merry, even though the rain soaked them through. But the coming of the rain and removal of the curse, finally brought some sort of peace to the lands of the farms around Baldurs Gates, and it was expected that sometime after winter and into the next year, that the crops and farms would indeed be prosperous for the next High Harvest Festival.
REWARDS:
250 Exp - 3000 EXP to various members who attended. This was doled out based upon activity, time of arrival, roleplay skill, and patience as well as honesty. Level 30 characters present were given appropriate amounts of gold for their roleplay.
Celduil earned, in addition, the High Harvest Crown. (+2 AC, +2 CHR +2 Survival, Cast Deep Slumber / 1 per day.
Thank you all for playing this major and fun event!
Members Involved:
Thorek
Arkaine HalfOrken
Lotrik
Others with very minor roles.
Lotrik, after killing a Tempus worshiper or two and wounding several other people in a daring escape from the law was finally caught and apprehended. A party of adventuring Tempus warriors including the Priest of Tempus from Badlur's Gate himself were searching the land for an Earth Genasi, of whom declared to owe allegiance to Garagos.
The priest of Tempus and a few Tempus Knights met with a Paladin Of Helm, and by his honor the Paladin declared that he would assist the tempus warriors in their search for justice and dishonor done against them. The search began with the Paladin asking multiple strangers and others around the Friendly Arms Inn, whilst the warriors of Tempus wandered in other locations and areas, looking for any Earth Genasi of whom fit the description.
Arkaine questioned a suspicious looking individual wearing a rather disturbing looking helmet. . however, whilst talking to this person, Arkaine also noticed an even more suspicious looking fellow whom was armored and ran by the famous campfire location. Just at that moment, the Priest of Tempus and a few of Tempus' worshipers returned and the party decided to follow the armored character into the woods.
They confronted the armored person and immediately noticed symbols of Garagos. This in itself was a dead give away, and the character was indeed armored, but none could see his face past his steel helmet. Instead of forcing the helmet off, the Priest talked Lotrik into a duel with Arkaine HalfOrken. At first, Arkaine was unsure of why he should fight, perhaps doubting it was for a just cause, but the Priest of Tempus assured Arkaine that it was just and right in the eyes of Tempus. Thus, the two dueled. Prayers from Helm were dominate over that of a raw fighter, and Lotrik went down in a beaten mess.
Lotrik tried to stand, but it was to no avail. The Priest removed Lotriks helmet and confirmed that it was indeed the murderer of the Tempus followers some time ago. A dwarf who accompanied the group, along with Arkaine and the other followers of Tempus, slowly dragged Lotrik's beaten body back to the temple where those whom had helped the Church were thanked and then rewarded. Arkaine refused the gold reward, as he followed strict Paladin codes, but the dwarf Thorek, whom had helped, took a small reward. Lotrik was stripped of his armor and weapons ((rp wise, no real gear was removed)), and then carted off to prison. There, he now awaits trial to see what fate is in store for him.
Rewards:
Arkaine: 1500 exp (roleplayed the Longest)
Lotrik: 1200 exp (The victim / jailed person)
Thorek: 600 Exp, 500 gold.
Others received 50-75 exp for noticing the event and roleplaying with it, but not actually joining.
I have only left up the somewhat important quests that some people I was working with before created, as well as the High-Harvest Festival event. These above quests may or may not be continued depending if those involved still exist and want to continue them.
Rats seemed to pop out from under the walls of the FAI in swarms. Whatever the FAI had in there, it sure must have been tasty.
Actually, there were two sister witches of Talona, which had been residing with in the FAI in secret for a time, and they unleashed swarms of rats in order to try to spread pestilence and disease upon all that crossed them. Luckily, the adventurers in the area ended their plans quickly.
Rewards: A little exp to a medium sized group of players.
A farmer attempted to cultivate some unused land that was rather close to the Fields of the Dead, but stumbled across an ancient power that unfortunately resulted in his death. A group of adventurers arrived on the scene, and with the help of a few Fist officers, vanquished a small army of Undead that had been awakened by the farmer's poorly plotted land. They had put the source of the undead to rest.
. . . or perhaps they didn't? The fields of the dead have many evil and dark sources...
A traveler decided to stay in Nashkel's Northern Lights Inn for a few nights. However, quite unexpectedly, this wanderer and stranger began to randomly enter shops, homes, and even the temple of Helm, claiming that she was the "land lady" of all Nashkel. In addition to this, she started to frantically clean everything; the floors in the outfitters, the Inn's and houses, the mayor's front door, you name it! In any case, most of the people in Nashkel didn't mind her, but some did. Goodfellow, the owner of Nashkel outfitters often complained and it caught the attention of some of the guards.
Two adventurers caught a glimpse of the mad cleaning lady whilst she was cleaning Goodfellow's store and later saw her actually cleaning the snow off of tombstones out in the cold. As they watched this mad cleaning lady, a nearby guard approached the outer parameter of the Temple of Helm and after looking both ways, shot an arrow in the back of the crazed woman, killing her outright. The guard then requested the two witnesses to keep quiet about the whole ordeal, telling them that the cleaning lady was already crazy and she wouldn't be missed.
Then a few others came on the scene and noticed the body. Deciding that there were far too many witnesses, the guard up and attacked the closest witness, which happened to be a another out-of-towner, and killed him as well. Out of self defense, three adventurers killed the guard.
Leaving the bodies behind, two of the three adventurers continued on, disregarding the whole ordeal and opted to just enjoy drinks at the Belching Dragon, but the third, who happened to be a devote of Helm reported the incident. The guards took over with the clearing of these bodies, and it was discovered that the guard who had up and assaulted these people himself had been reported as slightly 'mad' and 'abnormal' as of late.
Nobody made the wanted list, and the situation was quickly put under control.
EXP Rewards to:
Siomyril Amakiir
Roland Brinson
Omen Lanier
A small and loveable wizard took on a quest to find two missing merchants who were friends of a trader in Guilkyn. Scouring the tradeway, the little wizard met friends and foes and battled his way through wyverns and xvart enemies to discover the sad fate of the traders. This mini-event involved many out of the ordinary things... such as poison, giant wyverns, unexpected allies, druids gone dragon, flesh-eating xvart's, giant guardian bears, the protagonists burning down half the Xvart village, and in the end, a poor necromancer who was randomly walking around with his vampire friend, whom was merely experimenting on Xvarts.
In the end, it was quite the mini-adventure indeed.
Exp rewards to:
Deacon (The highest for longest and most RP)
Tharn (Gold reward for being level 30)
Artemis Estrangeous
Caliban
A Necromancer (Really a PC) who remains secret. (Smallest EXP rewarded for being in the event the least)
A dwarf was jogging through the Woods of Sharp teeth when the very land beneath him caved in and he fell for some distance, landing in a large chasm with a pile of bones breaking his fall. Seemingly stuck there for good, the dwarf wandered around in these caverns, fighting fearsome foes and discovering strange ruins, though they were beyond anything he had ever seen before.
In the end, he was able to get out in one piece, thanks to caverns and pathways Drow were rumored to have used to enter the caverns beneath the giberling caverns, though those passageways themselves are too mysterious to understand and re-access .
A loyal follower of Helm ventured out to Doron Amar to speak with the Elven leader. A group elves and the Helmmite gathered inside of the Elven cities' Inn and discussed some history about an ancient artifact.
After hearing the tales and earning trust and friendship, a certain Helmmite left a very special gift behind in the hands of the Elves.
Small Exp / Gold rewards
Durek
Rhys Feivra
Elvaene De'lindessa
Alsarias Lythar
Nashkel was without any warning suddenly assaulted by packs of seemingly rabid mountain wolves. The guard responded by gathering their forces and many adventurers came to their assistance. However, whilst the fighting went down, the farm animals and domesticated creatures suddenly went crazy and many began attacking the citizens of Nashkel!
Chickens, rats, horses, pigs, birds, cats dogs. Many of them attacked their owners and many were forced to be slain.
After the adventurers had taken care of the wolf threat, they ventured into the Cloudpeak mountains where they found the source of the wolves: A druid who shouted and cursed them, and then began crawling on the ground, as if some sickening madness had possessed him.
From the druid's cavern came three devils. It was as though the madness had forced the poor druid to make pacts with the creatures. Regardless of whatever was agreed upon, the druids and devils were defeated, and Nashkel began a long clean up process of removing animal carcasses from the streets.
