DM Gogo's Tales

[DM Gogo]

Yet Another Plague Spitter

Characters:
Velarya Steele, Opal Blake, Erza, Nova Skordemaskin, Calista Toumai, Aidan Thatcher, Co-host DM Bloodlust

Plot: Word comes out from Corm Orp that adventurers are being hired to take care of a pack of gnolls that are amassing in the normally peaceful Reaching Woods. Lord Hultel hired several adventurers, sending them with a handful of Corm Orp militia soldiers to investigate the situation and scatter the gnolls back into their dens.

When the adventurers arrived in the forest, they met up with the militia captain and had to fight off several groups of gnolls from deeper within the forest. They eventually chopped down several trees to use to create a chokepoint and set up an ambush.

After putting multiple waves of the gnolls down, one of their leaders came forward, begging to be allowed to surrender. Just as he explained that they were being driven from their homes deeper in the woods, a large Plague Spitter spider burrowed its way to the surface, snapping the gnoll up in its mandibles and pulling it down into the earth. It attacked the adventurers. Though the Captain urged they try to escape, the retreat was not called in time and the spider ended up making him into a meal as well.

The adventurers seemed unable to defeat the spider without it burrowing underground to heal itself until Opal Blake finally used one of the large tree trunks to club the creature in the head, knocking it out of its senses long enough for the group to overtake it.

Afterwards, they returned to Corm Orp to report the situation to Lord Hultel, who was in disbelief over the loss of his men. He offered the adventurers their pay (several of them turning it down, preferring it be given instead to the fallen soldiers' families) and made his way into his cabin to write a report on the incident. Corm Orp was safe, for now.


Rewards:
2000 xp for Velarya Steele, Opal Blake, Erza, Nova Skordemaskin, Calista Toumai, Aidan Thatcher
2500 gp for Velarya Steele, Nova Skordemaskin
1 point shift towards Good for Erza, Opal Blake, Calista Toumai

[DM Gogo]

More Unrest in the Reaching Wood

Characters:
Sani, Rilae'ar'an, "Gwendolen"

Plot: More tremors came from the the ground under the woods as the three had gathered at the waterfall a good ways to the south of the Shrine of Eldath. Another plague spitter appeared, but it was dispatched by the three without too much trouble. Afterward, one of the adventurers used a wall of fire to dispose of the creature's body, which spread to a nearby tree, burning it to a cinder. Thanks to the relatively cold and damp weather, the fire's spread was halted there.

Some time later a small handful of militiamen could be seen at the edge of the wood, sent from either Hill's Edge or Corm Orp to investigate the tremors. The sight of armed soldiers so close to the Shrine of Eldath might seem unsettling to some.

Rewards:
1000 xp for Gwendolen and Sani
2000 gold to Rilae'ar'an (level 30)
One charred, dead tree

[DM Gogo]

A Trip to a Gullykin Crypt

Characters:
Undisclosed

Plot: Deep within the bowels of the crypts below Gullykin, the Necrolord has presumably gotten tired of adventurers stealing his precious valuables, and decided to beef up security with banshees! A lone woman made her way through the crypts, putting the undead to rest with sword and shield. Eventually she came upon the Necrolord, who summoned two Nightwalkers just as the woman entered the chamber. In the end, the Necrolord fought valiantly, but was no match for the woman's "chickening."

Rewards:
1000 xp for the survivor
Her own sword, apparently

[DM Gogo]

Orcs, Orcs, and More Orcs

Characters:
Quite a lot. Hosted by DM Bloodlust and myself.

Plot: A call for adventurers was placed in Nashkel, hiring help to escort a Wolf Clan caravan. Along with the barbarians, the adventurers crossed the Cloudpeaks, only to be assailed by the Bonegnasher Orcs. Many of the adventurers were injured, during the fighting, and one Wolf Clan child was almost killed. As they were moving through the hills, one ranger among the adventurers noticed that the orcs were encircling them, dozens on dozens, getting ready to attack from every direction. The barbarians and the adventurers set up the wagons in a circle and built barricades to ready for their stand.

Wave after wave came from every direction, but somehow the adventurers held firm. Eventually the orcs seemed to thin out, and a rather large troll stomped down out of the hills, shaking the earth below it with its steps. It took quite an effort, but the troll was killed, and the caravan was saved.

The Wolf Clan would be seen patching a few holes in the canvas of their wagons. Some of the ones doing the mending would grumble and complain, but they were alive. The Clan would thrive once more.

Rewards:
1000 gold each
1500 xp each
The satisfaction of a job well done

[DM Gogo]

Alarming Ant Activity

Characters:
Undisclosed

Plot: On the Trade Way between Soubar and Triel, there has been an increase in activity coming from the giant ant burrow. A lone adventurer traveling the region notices several worker ants moving to and from the burrows, collecting meat from dead goblin and worg alike. After a quick search of the burrow to try to determine what he could about them, the adventurer decided that it was too much to deal with on his own. Perhaps he will make report of it to others, perhaps not. Only time will tell.

Rewards:
200 xp for the adventurer

[DM Gogo]

Gone Fishing

Plot: A few adventurers were fishing on the shores of Ulgoth's Beard when a few sahaugin showed up on the beach. They informed the local militia, who told them that something had been causing increased egress of the fish-folk from the island not far from shore. When the adventurers arrived, they found the sahaugin in shambles, fish-folk bodies strewn all about the island. A few had cornered some kind of creature in a cave on the northern part of the island. As the adventurers took their sweet time trying to observe the situation, a fairly vicious dinosaur, an exotic creature from Chult, emerged from the cave and started attacking sahaugin and adventurer alike. In the end, the adventurers wounded the raptor bad enough that it crawled back into the cave to die. Afterwards they found that it had a collar with a tag on it, marked "Property of Ringmaster Zed." One adventurer chose to take one of the raptor's claws as a trophy of their hunt.

Rewards:
Experience and raptor claws

[DM Gogo]

There's a Fungus Among Us..

Characters:
Kro Kroneshanonobon, Palandar Wyrmblade, Naomi Griffonaire, Umbral Mourn, Marcus Imperius, Philius Wolfinson, Ghrimold, Eleazar Melorin, Saman Argoth

Plot:
After some time spent researching in Candlekeep's vaults, the Suneite church discovered discovered passages and a map detailing the location of Krandor Manor, a ruined estate in the Lizard Marsh, far to the north. According to the tome they found, the owner of the manor was an avid collector of historical pieces of art dating all the way back to the Illefarn Empire. Erza Ardlen and the Suneites put together a small adventuring company Outside of Baldur's Gate, in the East farmlands. Offering 3000 gold each to the adventurers upon completed search of the ruins. Erza asked for the return of any paintings and books they found within. The Suneites sent Naomi, one of their own, along with the adventurers to make sure that any paintings found were kept properly preserved during the trip back.

The party boarded the "Grizzlebee" in the harbor district and began the journey north. During the ride the boat was attacked and boarded by pirates. The adventurers fought off several waves, and thanks to the quick work of Captain McDoogle, the "Grizzlebee" managed to outmaneuver the pirates and escape the situation without loss of life or serious injury. The rest of the trip was uneventful, and eventually they arrived in Daggerford. Taking off on foot towards the Lizard Marsh, the party eventually arrived at the spot indicated by the map, where they did indeed find a ruined estate.

Inside, everything seemed calm and quiet. The walls were covered in a disgusting sort of mold, thick and corrosive, that had eaten away almost everything inside the mansion. Empty frames hung on the wall, their paintings long ago stolen or eaten by the moss. The party began to go through the manor, searching it systematically, room by room. Soon enough, one of them noticed the moss on the wall shifting, and several large blobs of it slid down from the walls onto the floor, attacking the adventurers and trying to devour them. They were able to fight the living fungus off easily enough, but the creatures seemed to be covering almost every inch of the entire estate. To make things worse, well over half of the chests and trunks they tried to search turned out to be Mimics, laying in wait.

After searching the manor for a long time, the adventuring company reached a room near the back, and inside lay a rather insane Beholder. What had driven the creature mad was anyone's guess, but it kept shouting at the adventurers about a girl named Eliza. After killing the creature, one of them cut its eye out, and the party found one painting, in pristine condition, hanging on the wall nearby: A portrait of an elven woman of advancing years. A quick search of the library nearby revealed most of the tomes to be damaged and unusable. One of the adventurers did manage to pick a book out, that turned out to be about art history, detailing significant artists and their contribution to the medium ranging all the way from the Illefarn Empire to about 1200 DR.

After that, they returned to Daggerford, and ultimately to Baldur's Gate, prize in hand. They made way to deliver the results of their expedition to Erza, who awaited them with her usual charming smile.

Rewards:
3000 gold to to the level 30s
2000 experience to the not-level-30s
A single painting from the Illefarn empire
A particularly boring book of art history

[DM Gogo]

A Family Affair

Characters:
Some Hoarites and their affiliates, Ivan, Julindra

Plot:
A minor noble hired some Hoarites to bring in his brother Lem, who had supposedly butchered their father, after a letter is written to him by young Charles, his former page.

The party finds Lem encamped in the woods, having apparently resorted to banditry. Lem has one of his rogues kill his little brother. After a fight with the adventurers, Lem too was killed, and the party discovered the corpse of Lord Orlandu, the boys' father, breastplate smeared with Hoar's symbol in blood. Young Charles was found nearby and through his explanation it came out that Lem had killed his father and brother in a twisted sense of vigilante justice. Tegeus tried to resurrect Lem, but the man's spirit sought eternity.

Rewards:
2000 experience or gold

[DM Gogo]

Strange Fey Things

Characters:
Some strange people in the woods

Plot:
Adventurers made camp in the woods, east down the Chionthar. A large number of colorful butterflies seemed drawn to the area, but this went beyond their notice. As night finally fell they saw bright, colored lights in the distance, and were approached by two sylphs that kept trying to draw them off into the unknown, displaying all manner of colorful lights and fey-like magic. Eventually a drinking game was struck, and when it was clear that the adventurer they played against couldn't be effected by alcohol, the sylphs gave up their ruse, deciding that neither of them seemed to have the passion they'd need to find "it." They fluttered off into the night, leaving the campers alone. The magical effects and wildlife that seemed drawn to their presence lingered for the rest of the day.

Rewards:
750 experience or gold
A lot of pretty psychedelic lights and colors

[DM Gogo]

Gibbering Goblin Gods

Plot:
Several days later, some of the adventurers who had encountered Lem and his bandits returned to the site of the battle to retrieve the bodies and offer the man and his loyalists an honorable burial. When they arrived, they found the bodies missing, and enough of a trail of corpse ichor to determine that they had been carried into a nearby cave, a cave that led them quite a ways below, into the Upperdark itself. There they found a tribe of escaped goblin slaves that admitted to stealing the bodies to offer as food to their "God." Upon further investigation (and after fights with creatures ranging from carrion crawlers, oozes, myconids, and even a rather large and aggressive bull Umber Hulk) they discovered a creature as strange as any they had ever seen: A gibbering mouther. The creature spoke the common tongue, but it seemed to be combining words at complete random no sense could be made of its phrases. It was indeed feeding on a cache of bodies, presumably a steady supply delivered by the goblins. The adventurers managed to slay the beast, convincing the goblins afterward that they were Gods, themselves. The goblins, too stupid to believe otherwise, seemed quite happy to convert to their new faith.

Rewards:
2000 experience or gold
Some random valuables
A veritable lesson in aberrations and things from deep below

[DM Gogo]

Righteous Dirt

Plot:
A murder in the East district of Baldur's Gate sent Flaming Fist soldiers flying into action to cover the scene up before the scene could be discovered by locals. Several adventurers stumbled on the scene, and one even chose to investigate the man's personal residence. Inside he was met by an assassin preaching the words of the Virtuous Soil. Though he tried to let her live even in defeat, she chose suicide. The adventurer disposed of the body, presumably so the entire mess wouldn't come back to haunt him. In the end this was just one more example of the criminal activity and violence that have become all too commonplace for Baldurians.

Rewards:
750 experience
Flavor, intrigue, drama

[DM Gogo]

Lemon the Dead

Plot:
The final chapter in the saga of Lemon the Red. After recovering the bodies from possible digestion, the Hoarites and other adventurers took the time to find a reasonable spot to bury them honorably. One among them, a priest of Hoar, gave the appropriate death rites, and used a particular spell to speak with Lem from beyond the grave. The priest asked the dead man if he would be willing to bless the blade he had left behind so that it might be used for executions in the name of justice or vengeance. Lem's responses were as enigmatic as any dead man's might be, and in the end reminded the priest that it was Hoar that would decide whether or not his efforts deserved blessing. All said and done, the adventurers filled in the graves (with a little bit of elemental help) and went their separate ways to reflect on all that they had seen and learned from this entire ordeal.

Rewards:
1000 experience or gold
Hopefully a nice bit of RP

[DM Gogo]

Sewing with Wolves

Plot:
Darkness falls on the Woods of Sharp Teeth, and vile things lurk in the realms. Adventurers leaving the village of Doron Amar to head north are beset by strange, undead creatures. Werewolves, or some twisted mockery of them. Upon further inspection it was discovered that the creatures actually consisted of various parts of other werewolves sewn together like some kind of rag doll. One of the adventurers communed with nature to try to discover the source of the malady, and learned that there was an undead creature of incredible malice and power lurking nearby in the woods, somehow creating the awful creatures and infusing them with undeath.

When they came upon this incredible power, they were quite surprised to discover that it had taken the form of a rather young woman who appeared almost a child at play sitting among her cache of wolf-parts. Despite her attempts to lighten the mood and get them to leave her be so she could finish her latest creations, the adventurers seemed insistent that what she was doing was wrong, and a fight was inevitable. In the end the four humans (barely) survived the encounter, and even destroyed the "woman" that had been causing all the trouble in the first place. Like most stories of adventure and excitement, many questions were never asked, and therefore went unanswered.

Rewards:
2000 experience or gold
Horrible nightmares about Frankenwolves

[DM Gogo]

The State Magefair

Credits:
Organized, planned, and hosted by DM Bloodlust. I just ran backup.

Plot:
A mage fair was held in the Upperdark and received quite the turnout. There were merchants from the Underdark and surface alike selling exotic wares of magical nature. There were games, shows, and even some mage duels. The highlight of the whole affair though seemed to be the rather posh golem that stood at the entrance to the fair to verify that visitors were capable of producing an arcane spell of first level or greater before allowing them entrance to the festivities. His interactions with the fair-goers would be remembered by all, and the diligence and efficiency of this particular construct would most likely be spoken of in reverence for years to come.

Rewards:
Awesome automaton RP
A ton of magical nonsense

[DM Gogo]

The Ilmateri Minute-Clinic

Credits:
Co-hosted with DM Ghost.

Plot:
A healing tent was set up in the eastern harbor of Baldur's Gate, not far from the Flaming Fist compound. Many of the district's residents came to have various ailments (mostly minor) healed, free of charge: Black eyes, broken toes, cut hands, wasp stings, aching or broken bones, tooth pain, and many other maladies. Some of the cures offered were magical, others mundane, but the majority of them left happy customers, and word would spread gradually across the docks of the charitable nature of the clinic's purveyors.

Rewards:
1000 experience points or 2000 gold
Some alignment shifts towards good
A bunch of happy poor people