Heryngard - Session 4

I’ve finished the Uldra Cthon; now it’s time to head out into the world.

Goals for this session:

• Finish recovery for Hraegosh (injured in the Uldra Cthon)
• Check in with Captain Misai
• Check with with Gwaine, the Reeve

March 20th: Recovery and Resupply

The party spends the day resting in Caer Morag. Hraegosh recovers d6=3 HP, back to full.

I did a quick inventory check on their supplies:

• Rations:
  • Eptan has 9 trail rations
  • Elgar has 14 dried rations
• Torches: Elgar still has 3
  • Eptan has a hooded lantern
  • Group has a total of 17 pints of oil
• Missiles:
  • Eleri has 16 crossbow bolts
  • Eptan has 18 arrows
  • Hraegosh has 3 darts
  • Aerona has 1 javelin
  • Elgar has 7 darts

As a result, Aerona purchases 2 more javelins. Eleri purchases another hooded lantern. Also, Aerona upgrades from ring armor to chain mail, and Elgar upgrades from leather armor to ring armor. No new rations until they plan where they will travel next.

March 21st: Future Planning

Hraegosh examines the spellbook he acquired from Dreezindole’s quarters. While the wizard had significant knowledge, this tome only represents his travelling spellbook, leaving his much more valuable library behind in his tower in Heryngard. This book contains the following spells:

• all first-level spells
• continual light (level 2)
• levitate (level 2)
• magic mouth (level 2)
• web (level 2)
• dispel magic (level 3)
• fly (level 3)
• hold person (level 3)
• lightning bolt (level 3)
• water breathing (level 3)
• plant growth (level 4)

These could be used as scrolls to cast the spells individually, but they are more valuable if copied into Hraegosh’s own spellbook. He is not yet ready to memorize spells at level 2 or higher, but this does fill in some gaps in his knowledge of first-level spells (namely, charm person, hold portal, and light.) That will cost him 3 sp for the ink required to copy these spells into his own book.

Meanwhile, Aerona and Elgar check in with the village’s leaders. Captain Misai is grateful, but the recent raid has left her forces weakened. She asks the party to travel to the nearby town of Tem Kantra, which is situated on the shores of Lake Ilberis to the north, and deliver her request for reinforcements. She is willing to pay them 200 silver for this task. (As a small quest, it will qualify as a minor feat of exploration.)

Gwaine is concerned about the internal state of the village, having heard stories that there is some corruption. He is uncertain of its nature at the moment, however, and simply asks the adventurers to keep an eye out for anything suspicious.

Eleri and Eptan spend time among the villagers to learn the current state of affairs among the regular folks. They hear of a destroyed temple to the northeast, an area where more monsters have been seen recently. They also mention that Tem Kantra occasionally has political issues with Heryngard, but that’s not something they know much about. The focus here is on survival.

With the 200 silver from Captain Misai, the party can acquire riding horses, which cost 40 silver each, matching exactly. That will allow them to travel to Tem Kantra more quickly and with less fatigue.

Caer Morag and its environs, based on the map from Domain of Heryngard and recreated in Hex Kit

March 22nd: Setting out for Tem Kantra

Before they leave, Hraegosh rises early and prepares sleep in case they run into any hostile bandits or similar during their travels. They have 9 trail rations, which should be enough to get them to Tem Kantra if they don’t have any delays or detours. With that in mind, Eptan purchases another 6 trail rations, which should be enough to last them a full three days. (Aerona keeps Claymore with her, but he does not need to eat.)

Horses in S&W are listed at Move 18, which is enough to travel 18 miles on clear terrain per day. There’s a small river that flows from a spring a few miles north of Caer Morag and leads directly to Lake Ilberis, which should make navigation relatively easy. Unlike the Yarzu Hills, this area is considered a “civilized region” so it should be safer, relatively speaking.

I’ll include some of the mechanical notes this time as I refamiliarize myself with this part of the system.

• Weather:
  • Subtropical plains: approx 75 F, precipitation class I
  • Temperature variation: d5 = 4, -5 F, so temp is approx 70 F
  • Precipitation: d30 = 2, clear skies
• Navigation check:
  • Chance of getting lost in clear terrain is 10%
  • With river as a guide, this is reduced to 5%
• Daytime encounters: 6, 1, 1 (two encounters, one in hex 0810 and one in 0809)
• Hex 0911:
  • No random encounter
  • Town possibility: 1 in 6 while traveling, d6=1
  • Tree Hollow, “a tiny hamlet with no inn or tavern, and outsiders are viewed with great suspicion”
  • Group continues on without stopping
• Hex 0810:
  • River Encounter: 86 Monster Encounter (land)
    • Owlbear (1)
    • Surprise checks: neither are surprised
    • Distance: 500 feet
    • Reaction: 8 (uncertain)
    • Group gives a wide berth
  • This increases the chance of getting lost back up to 10%
  • Additional encounter: 1, Druid’s Island (connected to the riverbank by a causeway)
    • Group bypasses this for now as they are traveling, not exploring
• Navigation check: 2, no problem
• Hex 0809:
  • River Encounter: 45 River Barge
  • The barge is docking at Broken Cask, a tiny village

It’s late when they arrive in Broken Cask. A barge is tied up at the small river dock.

I don’t know what the cost should be, but between lodgings, food, and drink, they’ll spend 5 silver total (remembering that I am using the silver standard in this campaign). They spend the evening in drinking games with the local dockworkers, and a woman named Maya drinks them all under the table. She is an aspiring actor with a “treacherous” temperament that could lead to trouble in the future.

March 23rd: Arrival in Tem Kantra

• Weather:
  • Subtropical plains: approx 75 F, precipitation class I
  • Temperature variation: d5 = 4, +5 F, so temp is approx 80 F
  • Precipitation: d30 = 2, no precipitation event
• Navigation check: there’s a trail leading directly to Tem Kantra, so no check needed
• Encounter check: 5, no daytime encounter on the road

It’s a warm day, about 80 F, when they travel the last few miles to Tem Kantra. The town is situated on the shores of Lake Ilberis, from which the Heryn River flows to Heryngard. The town isn’t particularly welcoming, unlike Broken Cask to the south, and so the party gets unfortunate looks as they ride to the militia headquarters.

Captain Amhar Bryn, a man with long, wild hair, greets them politely. He receives the message from Captain Misai and agrees to send a small contingent of soldiers to help reinforce Caer Morag. He asks them about the raid and makes careful notes about the situation.

They ask about any additional work he might have for them, as they come with a recommendation by Captain Misai.

• Mission generation based on Tome of Adventure Design (ToAD):
  • Table 1-3 Type of Mission: Location
  • Table 1-6 Location-Based Missions: 49 Infiltrate and spy upon, 38 Flying Vehicle
  • Table 1-10 Hooks and Motivations: 99 To-hit or damage bonus in certain situations
  • Table 4-6 Types of Flying Vehicles: 39 Rock chunk with internal tunnels 90 Sails (locomotion)

This puts me in the mind of a Skyrealm / flying island, so I want to use a related map from Dyson Logos and stock it more or less randomly. That will likely be in the next session.

There’s a flying island some distance away that has been seen in the vicinity of unexpected thunderstorms. Captain Bryn would like them to reconnoiter the island and figure out what it is or what’s on it. They don’t need to take any actions against whoever or whatever is there, but they should report back with their findings. He can get them onto it in a couple of days. He offers them money as well as access to some specialized equipment for the task.

• Random City Encounter (Daytime):
  • 41: A man with a big sponge on a stick is advertising hot baths for 1 silver piece. He has 3 tubs of hot water in an alleyway, which he rents more cheaply than the public baths.

However, the group just bathed well the night before in Broken Cask, so they just shake their heads and keep moving.

These city encounters come from the City Encounters for Swords & Wizardry supplement.

• Random City Encounter (Nighttime):
  • N71 City Guard Patrol: A city guard patrol is sitting at the edge of the street, taking a break from duty. This is a standard city guard patrol.
  • The sergeant at arms of the patrol, Garzat Galame, is a talkative person. Since his patrol is resting, and the characters look like interesting people, he strolls over to engage them in conversation. He is an avid gardener, and is having problems with the drains in his house.

The adventurers are out drinking and seeing the sights. Some of them have been here before and are showing the others their favorite spots. The sergeant at arms recognizes them from their stop by the militia headquarters earlier. It’s just small talk; maybe he’ll see them around.

March 24th: Preparing for the Skyrealm

• Weather: Precipitation d30 = 14, no precipitation event

It’s a clear day as they meet with Captain Bryn to prepare for their journey to the flying island. The island has been seen out to the northeast in the direction of the Cendri Hills. Sometimes it’s accompanied by a thunderstorm, and occasionally people have reported seeing figures moving around the edge. He starts to tell them about a new type of flying vehicle that can get them close to it, and after a moment Hraegosh interrupts and points out that it’s basically a balloon that he’s describing.

That said, the balloon will have crossbows on it that can fire bolts with cables attached. Once they fire them into the underside of the island, the crew will reel them in and pull closer, then guard the balloon while the party explores the island for a few hours. They’ll leave tomorrow, weather permitting. That gives them a day to check into what other equipment they may want to take.

Everyone should take rope and a grappling hook, depending on what they find on top of the island, as well as a signal whistle.

• Random City Encounter (Daytime):
  • 99 Illuminator of Manuscripts. A tall, thin person is purchasing parchment and quills. This is Wonomir Wardaj, a highly-skilled manuscript illuminator. He is currently working for a powerful high priest in the city. Wonomir is concerned that a book he recently copied might have a very, very bad magical quality to it, such as opening a planar gate to possible invaders from another world.

Why does Wonomir talk to this party? Perhaps he knows one of the members; Hraegosh is a magic-user, and he’s good at games, so they can know each other from some previous encounter such as a social club or work at a library. Hraegosh takes him seriously and goes off to discuss his concerns while the others prepare for the mission.

The group needs to acquire rope and grappling hooks for Aerona, Hraegosh, and Elgar, which will cost them 2 silver each. For the signal whistles, they’ll need to spend 1 silver each (I thought they already had some, but that must have been for the prior campaign.)

Meta: Quest Inventory

So at the moment, the party has the following quests:

1. Deliver Captain Misai’s request for reinforcements to Tem Kantra (complete, though this may lead to later story threads).
2. Investigate the corruption in Caer Morag for Gwaine.
3. Reconnoiter the flying island to the northeast of Tem Kantra for Captain Bryn.
4. Look into the book that Wonomir Wardaj is concerned about.

There are some additional background threats that could potentially tie into some of the above:

1. Gnolls raiding the area around Caer Morag.
2. Wolves in the Yarzu Hills.
3. Kobolds near Tem Kantra.
4. A destroyed temple to the northeast of Caer Morag. (This is actually a specific adventure module I plan to incorporate at some point.)

I haven’t decided exactly how to do this, but quests or threats that go unaddressed by the party may advance in the meanwhile. Even better, connecting some of those threats and quests will pull the world together and give it more verisimilitude. At the minimum, combining ideas from different tables gives me less to track and more specificity in what essentially are story prompts.

March 25th: Aerial Adventures

• Weather: Precipitation d30 = 23, no precipitation event

Fortunately, there are no storms on the horizon today. But scouts have reported the position of the flying island, and it’s close enough to attempt the mission. The party boards the balloon, which is large enough to accommodate all of them and a crew of three (one navigator and two guards). The crew is not going to leave the balloon, but the guards can provide some support if needed when the party is getting back on board.

Experience and rewards

This of course was not an XP-heavy session, so the party only received 200 sp / XP.

That said - I think I might pause this campaign while I figure out how I want to build the “dungeon”. What’s more, I don’t think the science fantasy stuff is working the way I wanted it to. Simple reskinning doesn’t do what I want it to do, so either I’m going to just keep adding little bits of it here and there, or maybe play a different game with a different setting. Regardless, I think the flying island is next.

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