Triften's Game: Map of Talwar

I broke out our "new" scanner (purchased at least a year ago) and scanned in the map I had been sketching. Here it is all prettied up:



Yay. I'll update it and flesh it out as the need arises.

Also, I guess I thought 800x600 would be enough, but it's looking a little small. Gripe and I'll upload a larger version.

UPDATE:
Here's a map of the adventures so far:

Triften's Game: Session n+5 - 4/4/2007

After dispatching the baby dragon, the party gets to work surveying the mess. Flacco and Kurako carry the carcass to the carts (dragon parts can fetch quite a bounty) while Terrence and Jared examine the interior of the Shrine without being harassed by large reptiles.

Outside, Kurako notices a reptilian figure attempting to hide behind some rocks and notifies her sister. The twins give chase as the figure makes its way down the west road and encounter a group of lizardmen. Kurako spots a familiar face among them and Stetta steps forth to greet the twins. After brief introductions and Stetta showing off the hood made from the t'k'zha'khu, they all head up to Shrine.

Meanwhile, Terrence observes the stopped up spring and decides to build a fire, heading out to the cart for supplies. Jared discovers the wyrm's nesting area featuring what appears to be a body frozen into the ice. Holostarchander is still barely conscious.

As he emerges from the carts, Terrence sees a band of lizardmen marching up the western road with Flacco, Kurako, and Stetta. Not knowing what to expect, he yells to warn Jared and Holostarchander.

The lizardmen arrive quickly and are mildly aghast to see the Shrine in its current state. The tribe's assistant (hereafter referred to as the shaman) asks Terrence not to build a fire (for some reason, the request from the 6 foot tall lizard carries more weight than the one from the nearly dead sorcerer) and binds Holostarchander's wounds. He sends his men to begin chipping away at the ice plug on the spring and then most of the party goes to the cart to get mallets and spikes. With a powerful blow, Kurako splits the plug, allowing the spring to be cleared. The spring flows in a torrent and, while the water from it is rather cold, it begins to melt the ice surrounding it.

The lizardfolk shaman thanks the party for their help and him and his men clear out to join their kin in the valley below. Stetta rejoins the party to pursue the destiny from her vision.

Terrence notices that the ice covering the ceiling of the shrine has glints of metal in it. This is brought to his attention when a piece of silver drops out of the melting ice. Stetta looks up in time to dodge a large chunk of ice breaking away. The other party members notice this and some stay clear while others pursue the treasure more aggressively. Flacco quickly rigs up a rope climbing rig and despite being battered by falling ice (dislocated shoulder, blows to the head) makes her way to the ceiling to begin pulling coins from the ice. Kurako, while dodging ice, watches in horror as her sister is nearly killed. Eventually, the celing is clear and the Shrine is scoured of coinage. The loot tally comes to about 280 (gold?) and one very nice shield. The body is placed on a funeral pyre and, after much debate a tithe is made to Tyvia.

Holostarchander discovers that the spring has healed his wounds and refreshed him, prompting the rest of the party to drink from the spring and refill their water skins.

The party begins preparations to continue their travels along the mountain road heading west so they can make their ways to the Hills of Hanyard in search of the old king's wizard.

UPDATED: The first large chunk of ice nearly hit Stetta, not Terrence.

Triften's game: Session n+4B -3/21/2007

Stetta runs off into the woods after being snubbed, yet again, by Terrence. She heads roughly north, avoiding the town, and, eventually, crossing over the road and entering the swamp. After almost a full day of slogging through the swamp, Stetta rests in a shaded area finding calm in the dappled sunlight and buzzing insects.

During this moment, an enormous venomous snake calmly rises out of the water in front of her before calmly flaring its multicolored hood and not-so-calmly hissing. Stetta fights the snake, expertly dodging its lightning-quick strikes while slicing it up with her sickles. The snake manages to get a clean strike with its vicious fangs before Stetta kills it, sending venom coursing through her body.

Stetta is swiftly weakened by the poison and, before blacking out, she sees lizardfolk stepping out from behind nearby trees. While unconscious, she experiences a number of hallucinations and visions similar to Jared's

Stetta awakens inside some sort of lean-to structure with a lizardperson watching over her. When it sees that she is awake, it hands her some food (some sort of mush and a couple roasted beetles) and some clean-looking water (a rarity in the middle of a swamp) and calls over a couple of other lizardfolk.

The pair approaching appears to be the leader and his assistant. The assistant is able to make himself understood in Common and he translates for the leader, explaining that Stetta has bested t'k'zha'khu or, more accurately pronounced, !*zha#u (! = alveolar click, *= velar implosive, # = uvular fricative, IPA pronunciation: !ɠʒaʁu), an avatar of the Snake god. Additionally, she has survived her travels through the dream world (induced by the poison) and is recognized as a member of their tribe.

Stetta spends the next few days talking to the chief's assistant, who analyzes her vision for her. Stetta also learns that these lizardfolk had been hiding in the mountains for sometime but, when the area started to dry up, they were forced to head back down into the swamps. After being sighted, the Black Talon moved in and has been preparing to attack them. While normally at an advantage in the swamps, their numbers are greatly reduced and would likely be wiped out if they stayed and fought.

Lizardfolk scouts have spotted a Shrine to the Goddess of the Spring which was evidently the source of water for their hiding place in the mountains. The lizardfolk have decided to flee the swamps, sending a small contingent up to the Shrine to figure out what went wrong, while the rest will head back to their old hiding place in hopes that the other group is successful. Additionally, a small group will stay behind to provide token resistance to the Black Talon.

Stetta marches withthe lizardfolk out of the swamps, to the NW, and joins the small contingent heading up to the shrine.

Triften's game: Session n+4A - 3/14/2007

Now down two people, the party finally arrives at Innsmouth, a fishing town located on the south edge of the Judham Swamp. At midmorning, Terrence and Jared head into town to gather information. Despite terrifying a few townsfolk into thinking that some horrible plague of monsters may or may not be currently attacking, they find out several useful pieces of information:

• The road through the swamp is in disrepair but their oxen might be able to ford the marsh in that area.
• There are lizardfolk in the swamp.
• The Black Talon is preparing to push into the swamp to drive out the lizardfolk who came down out of the mountains to live there.

The party decides they'd rather march through a Black Talon encampment than get their carts stuck in a marsh filled with lizardmen and who-knows-what-else. While on the road, heading ENE, towards the encampment, it is decided that they will pretend to be pilgrims heading towards a shrine in the mountains. Using incredible bardic knowledge and the study of the arcane, they remember that there is indeed a Shrine of Tyvia, Goddess of the Spring, in the nearby mountains. During the few days of journey, the carts are repainted, costumes are donned, and a lone lizardman is spotted watching them from the swamps.

Upon arrival at the camp, the party is questioned about their plans and their ruse works perfectly. A little too perfectly. After passing through a massive Black Talon encampment and surviving to tell the tale, the carts are now headed up a steep, winding, and bumpy mountain road. Despite having no one available skilled in animal handling, the party makes do with sheer Charisma.

As night falls on the mountain road, the party is attacked by a pair of wolf skeletons. They are dispatched in relatively short-order (from what I remember) allowing the party to continue towards the Shrine.

The road follows over hills and valleys before heading up the side of a mountain to the Shrine. With a backdrop of a beautiful mist-filled valley, the roughly two-story, round building is surrounded by a chill fog. The mountain road continues past the Shrine, curving around the mountain to head west. The party splits up at this point, with some going to scout ahead on the road and a lone Holostarchander investigating the Shrine.

The road appears to head west out of the mountains.

Holostarchander discovers that the interior of the shrine is coated in ice. Ascending the stairs, he sees that the spring itself is almost completely frozen over, with only a trickle of water coming out to run down the series of intricate channels (those not filled with ice) and out of the building. Holostarchander's reward for giving the ice a few taps with his staff is an assault by a baby white wyrm. The wyrm blind-sides him with a flurry of claws, teeth, and angry bulk, knocking Holostarchander out immediately and cutting short his yell of "Aaa-!"

Jared, having stayed with the carts, hears this and races into the shrine to see the wyrm dragging Holostarchander's limp body towards its nest. Jared, feeling either insane or selfless, attempts to tackle the dragon, yelling the whole time. Somehow, Jared manages to not get torn to shreds before the rest of the party arrives. The party surrounds the furious lizard and its members experience varying degrees of success. Flacco gets in several good sneak attacks, Kurako does consistent damage with her longsword, Jared remains ineffectual until right before the end of combat by landing the killing blow, and Terrence sings (I think.) The party emerges victorious but still frostbitten, regular bitten, and clawed.

Triften's game: Session n+3 - 3/7/2007

Continuing up the coastal road by moonlight, Kurako (I believe) spots some movement in the water below. Holostarchander uses his magical abilities to send a flare of sorts down to light things up, but what ever Kurako thought she saw had managed to flee. After some further investigation, the party continues onward.

The party, now on high alert is able to spot the kua-toa (frog men things, NOT merlocks or any other WoW enemy) waiting to ambush them farther up the road. Their large eyes practically shine in the moonlight. Despite the characters and players being bogged down in combat, things are made slightly more exciting due to the kua-toa's sticky shields. From what I recall, Flacco does some slinging, Holostarchander lets loose some flames, Stetta nearly looses her club, someone else does lose their weapon, and the last kuatoa goes sliding, face-first down the cliffside to the water.

The part is victorious, Flacco finds a ring (IIRC), and Stetta gives Terrence a gift. The gift consists of a kua-toa hand on a string as a nice trophy of the battle. Terrence rejects Stetta's gift and, this being the last straw, Stetta runs off into the night, broken-hearted.

(Is this all we got done?! Sheesh, I really need to figure out how to streamline combat or something.)

Triften's Game: The First n Sessions (n ≈ 3)

(This will be edited to flesh out events.)

The story begins in the capital, unimaginatively named "Talwar". The party has been performing together for a few months.

(Jared's vision happens here, correct?)

(Something happens causing them to head down the road after a couple shows. I believe it may have involved pissing off a Black Talon officer.)

The party heads down the road towards the coast. Portsmouth-on-Lides is known to be a little more cosmopolitan and more appreciative of the arts. Along the way, the party spots an ambush up ahead. A small group of PCs circles around and surprises one of the bandits. The rest of the bandits had heard the PCs' approach and stepped aside, leaving "Deaf Gilroy" to be found. After 3 bandits are taken down, their leader, Rigg, flees, leaving a 4th bandit to be captured. The party gives the bandit quite a scare and, in return, receives information on where to find Rigg.

---

The party stays in a small village along the road for a few days to hold a couple of shows. Earnings are mediocre compared to the city but passable considering the locale. (NOTE: This may have occured before the bandit encounter.)

Farther up the road to Portsmouth, the party encounters a regiment of Black Talon marching down the road. Taking up the whole road. Demanding the party clear off the road. The oxen, being oxen, move slower than the Black Talon would like and so one set of carts is unceremoniously shoved off the road. Thanks to the sloping terrain, the cart ends up listed a little over 45 degrees. The oxen are used to pull the cart upright once again and, after a bit of swearing, the party continues toward the coast.

---

It is night when the party arrives in Portsmouth, so they convene on a tavern and get in some heavy drinking (getting sloshed on the slush fund). Flacco has an encounter with some dishonest folk who attempt to drug her. Luckily, Kurako has her back and keeps anything bad from happening. Terrance gets especially drunk and is carried back to camp by Stetta. Stetta and Terrance kiss. (This statement in no way implies that a particular party initiated the contact, just that it happened.) Upon return to camp, everyone heads to their carts, except for Terrance, who is carried into Stetta's.

---

Additionally, somewhere in all this, it was established that five consecutive days of the week are: Odinswag, Throggsday, Freersday, Gundersog, and Gundersoth.

Triften's Game: Intro/Character creation - 8/9/2006

Intro:

The Kingdom of Talwar spent a few centuries as a mish-mash set of warring provinces, always worrying about the next orc incursion, the next lizardfolk raid, or the next kua-toa encounter. 50-some years ago, through brilliant tactics and diplomacy, Ordna of Lides united the human provinces and he was crowned King of Talwar. King Ordna formed an alliance with the eastern and western elf kingdoms so that when an aggresive campaign by the now-united human armies drove the orcs into the forests, their respite would be short-lived. The few survivors retreated to their old strongholds deep in the western swamps.

Throughout this time, Talwar saw increased trade with the dwarves of the northern mountains. Ordna's diplomats were able to enlist the assistance of the dwarves in the form of the great mountain wyrms. The dwarves revered the great wyrm, Falbjynsthfar, and with his blessing, were able to ride others of his kind. With the help of the dwarves and the wyrms, the Talwar army, led by their elite Black Talon soldiers, swept through the western swamps, bringing death to the old Orc kingdoms. The week of genocide would be known as "The Purge" and, for a time, would be celebrated for bringing a new peace and safety for humans, dwarves, and elves.

As the campaign concluded, General Haldren, Captain of the Black Talons, saw his opportunity and, thanks to the massive military machine Ordna had constructed, seized control of the kingdom. Ordna was executed and martial law was declared, enforced by dozens of newly promoted Black Talon regiments. His lieutenant, Kalrid, was promoted to General of the Black Talon, and served his new king well in the coming reign of tyrrany.

However, King Ordna was no fool and had instructed his most trusted assistants and advisors on what to do if these events should pass. Though Haldren got the crown and the kingdom, there were many secrets that slipped through his fingers. It is hoped that one day, these secrets can be his undoing.

The world:

Generic D&D (magic works "normally"), demi-humans rather rare, with dwarves and elves staying hidden away from the insanity of the human kingdom. Dragons/Wyrms are smaller than regular D&D and the most intelligent specimens are a few notches below elephants.

The players:

I wanted as many people to be at the character creation session so everyone could work together and make sure the characters had a good reason to travel and stay together. Attendance was less than spectacular but Noah and Sean came up with the concept of being a band of traveling performers.

• Terrence and Jared, bards played by Noah and Sean, tear up the stage as the prima-donnas, Prima and Donna.
• Stetta, a fighter carrying the burden of an abused childhood played by Emmy, performs feats of strength to wow the crowds.
• The Great Holostarchander, a sorcerer played by Jake, amazes with spectacular pyrotechnics.
• Serpenta, the snake-charming druid played by Katie, charms more than just animals with her incredible show.
• Flacco and Kurako, a rogue-fighter duo played by Tanya and John, astonish with acrobatics, dancing, and acrobatic dancing.

The characters have pooled their money to start their careers with 4 wonderful carts and two pair of the strongest oxen their money could buy.