TOPIC: Rotation 1 - The Crystals of Ero' Annelin D&D

Just play whatever you want to play mate

After the death of two travelling companions, His own almost death several times and his unwitting involvement in releasing evil upon the world Rishekk was having a bit of a crisis. What had started as a bad case of wanderlust and desire to not fall into the family business of gardener/handyman had rapidly spiralled out of control.

Feeling the need to centre himself and that he needed more preparation for the burdens to come Rishekk bade the group farewell with promises to meet in a few months at the keep they had "acquired" and returned to the monastery. To home.

Once there He confessed all to Master ( To be filled in when I can recheck mine or the DM's notes!), as well as proudly showing him the arrow he had FINALLY managed to catch. Under his tutelage he trained. Hard. Every waking moment was spent either learning from the master and practising forms or in the monasteries library learning all he could about the lands they were due to travel in the very near future.

Feeling his Ki calm under the familiar routines he felt the urge to return to his companions, Energies renewed for the battle ahead. The day before his departure the master took him aside. "This I teach you for your father" he says, "Do not teach it to others for this is one of the great secrets of our order". With that he spent a day teaching Rishekk the right pressure points and the right sequence of hits needed to enforce his Ki on another being, sending them into a temporary stupor.

With this new found knowledge and the masters blessing he set off once more the next day. Renewed. Ready for the road ahead. But first he should go see this keep they seem to have inherited...

Crystals 8

The heroes retire to their new keep on the eastern coast of the Ashbourne Empire. They discover it is already occupied by a smarmy halfling cleric, who has adapted the abandoned castle to serve as a mental asylum for the hopelessly insane and/or demonically possessed. The heroes make a deal; they won’t kick him out on his arse if he provides free healing and counselling sessions. The halfling agrees!

Doctor Clip Munter, PHD joins the party!

A ship drops anchor in the bay below the fortress and a flamboyantly attired dark elf swashbuckler rows to shore. He has been sent by the Pirate Lords to ensure Ero’Annelin does not lay hands on the other three crystals, after some bunch of dickheads handed over the first on a silver platter.

Captain Gambit joins the party!

The King ordered the heroes to gather allies to oppose the mad wizard; they must choose between visiting the Tychan Empire (full of racist, homophobic dwarven slavers) or the Foreverwild (full of tree-hugging, spell-slinging elves). The party board Captain Gambit's vessel; Sabre’s Charge. Clip insists on bringing his most dangerous patient, a shrivelled old woman he claims is the mortal vessel of a dread balor demon. She cannot be left unattended in his absence, lest she somehow escape! That would be really bad! Gambit is not enthused about the extra passenger, but reluctantly yields.

The Sabre’s Charge sets sail for the Foreverwild! Along the way, they encounter a strange, uncharted island. The party disembark to explore the dense inland jungle. They are attacked by ferocious, man-eating tigers! The beasts are dispatched and the party continue their expedition. The island is devoid of anything relevant to the plot! It is just here to waste everyone’s time! Stupid, fucking island (grumble)…. To add insult, the useless rock then begins to sink. The heroes rush back to the boat and continue on their way.

The Sabre’s Charge docks in the seaport of Flaphorn. Gambit reaches out to his contact, a buxom she-elf called Leefa. She will arrange for the party to meet the Queen of the Elves. The party are left to their own devices in this green, unfamiliar land. Aeneas and Gambit have a drinking contest and end up spooning behind the stable. Clips grinds the tiger penis he claimed on the sinking island into powder to make a powerful love potion. He accidentally poisons himself and is driven mad with lust for Glim. Glim barricades the horny halfling in his room until the effects of the potion fade.

Suddenly, goblins attack the town! Rishekk rushes into the fray! Aeneas gets stuck in a window and obstructs Glim’s view of the street. The rogue curses and heads for the roof. Clip summons a spiritual weapon and smites the wicked goblins. Rishekk goes down, grievously injured by the hobgoblin leading the assault. Clip gets him back on his feet. The heroes defeat the goblins and (hopefully!!) advance to level 6.

TBC

Crystals 9

Clip casts Speak with Dead to interrogate the dead hobgoblin, but learns nothing of note. They were sent by someone, to do something. Without anything else to go on, the heroes abandon that line of enquiry.

Suddenly, a portal opens and Sabbath Black is ejected from the extra-dimensional prison in which he became trapped at the end of the last rotation. He is now a Warlock and Brigentia is his patron.

Leefa has arranged an audience with Queen Tatiana, at her palace in Eagleborough. The heroes head out. They have to spend a night in the wilderness before reaching the town formerly known as Darkmeadow. Aeneas is reluctant to take his turn on watch, so Glim throws a rock at his head. The adventure grinds to a standstill as Detective -4 Investigation fails to solve the mystery.

In the town formerly known as Darkmeadow, Gambit goes shopping.

In the capital city of Eagleborough, Gambit goes shopping again.

Clip sees a sandwich vendor selling delicious sandwiches and remembers the sandwiches Granny Munter used to make (before she was possessed). Clip tries to steal a sandwich and gets arrested. Sabbath bails him out of gaol.

The party eventually present themselves to the Queen. She would love to help the Ashbourne Empire, but has her own problems. Goblins have captured an elven fortress and she wants it uncaptured ASAP.

The party head to the camp of the elven army. Gambit is disappointed by the absence of shopping facilities on the front line. Captain Darius, GMPC joins the party! The party sneak into the fortress using a side door and fight a squad of hobgoblins on an infeasibly narrow staircase.

TBC

Crystals 10

The elven army approaches. The heroes cross the battlements and open the gate. Big Al says goblins can't look up. Aeneas jumps down to join the battle. We're not splitting the party, we're just going two different ways, quips Sabbath. Captain Darius spreads his wings, turns out he is some flavour of fallen angel! Rishekk and Gambit rescue a little girl, but decide protecting her in the long term is too great a burden. They awkwardly fob her off onto the elven vanguard.

The main entrance to the fallen keep is heavily guarded and offers little cover. The heroes march forward gormlessly while the goblins whittle away their HP. Aeneas breaks down the gate. Approximately thirty hobgoblins are milling around on the other side. The heroes wade in and two hours later, the goblins are slain.

The party take a short rest, then head upstairs to fight more hobgoblins. Their commander has a deep well of HP and an unlikely armour class. This is a hobgodlin! Glim marvels, after a 24 fails to hit. The heroes surround the warlord and chip away at his life bar until he eventually dies. The hobgodlin warlord mutters something as he expires, but nobody quite hears and the consensus is that it can't have been all that important. I'll just cast Speak with Dead at the start of the next session, Clip offers.

Huzzah! The heroes have reclaimed the elven citadel! Maybe now Queen Tatiana will get off her supple buttocks and help the Ashbourne Empire with its wizard problem.

TBC

And offer more Shopping trips!