Session 2 Recap & Experience Points Awards

Having resolved to escort the wounded elven prostitute to Horl, the company set off along the forest path.  Within yards of the burning Camp Dorliff they encountered the dwarven swordsman Yolo Sate, who lay in a drunken stupor amidst a jumble of slain trogs—each of them wickedly slashed or run through by Sate’s blade.  The cleric Gambol nudged Sate from his daze, but the dwarf showed no interest in the adventuring group and indifference to his trog victims—dismissing the cleric with a haughty remark and scampering along toward Horl.  The party then searched through the fallen trogs, finding a fair quantity of silver among the bodies.

As the group gathered up the modest trove, suddenly an angry war dog—presumably of the vanquished trog band—leapt from the woods and attacked.  Though the animal caught many of the party members by surprise, a fortuitously-placed tree vine frustrated its assault—breaking the dog’s momentum and leaving it surrounded by the party members.  In a brief melee, multiple axe blows from the warrior Jowdain weakened the beast, before a final blunt shot from Greyndalf’s staff ended the threat.

Having dispatched the war dog, the party resumed its march to Horl, and soon came upon a tense conversation between the grizzled camp foreman, Mulder Vroso, and the gnome Ossik who’d appeared along the trail.  Vroso, contemptuous as always, briefly interrogated the figure—then evidently decided the gnome couldn’t pose much of a concern to him and continued along his way.  The Issa brothers passed him by as well, as did the dwarves Carmore and Yolo Sate (who, in his inebriation, probably didn’t even notice the gnome anyway).  But the company of Gambol, Jowdain, and Greyndalf cautiously took him in, wary they were of the gnome’s uncertain motives and difficult disposition.

After three hours’ hike, the group crossed over the South Bridge into the town of Horl.  After quickly washing in the fast-flowing River Horl, they group proceeded to the House of Opposition.  There, the revered sun priest Mata Vuvu inspected the elf’s wounds, and pronounced her malady as “trog rot”—a foul disease that slowly but completely corrupts the skin.  The only known cure for trog rot, Vuvu explained, is a magic spell that requires one red cone of the subterranean plant “nightweed.”  Should you choose to pursue this cure, Mata Vuvu discloses that nightweed once grew in the Mud Cave—a deep cavern that opens to the surface on tiny Mud Island in the River Horl.  Problematically, the local warlord Soo-Kiru Kiru sealed the cave off many years ago; it is unknown whether or how the cave might still be accessed, or what (if anything) lies within.  Another question is what response Soo-Kiru Kiru might make, were he to learn the cave was breached. 

Leaving the elf with Mata Vuvu and his adolescent acolyte, Litaan Rigo, the company made their way to Corson Esaibra’s equipment shop and the local traveller lodge, Iriard’s Road House.  In their first interaction with the proprietor, the dwarven veteran tried to sell the party one of his genuine cape rubies—supposedly from the horde of a young green dragon Iriard and his adventuring company defeated many years ago in the hills southeast of Mt. Amalio.  The party refused the offer, but did rent a room for the evening.

En route to that room, Ossik plied his lock-picking skills on an unmarked door—which turned out to belong to Iriard’s private chambers.  With the mage Greyndalf standing guard, Ossik defeated locks on Iriard’s wardrobe and on a small lockbox inside that, which contained a golden goblet.  On snatching the goblet, however, Ossik found the goblet was itself made of some inferior metal and simply covered in a gold-colored dust.  Ossik yet kept the curious goblet, which other members of the company suggested could merit further inspection.

In another encounter at the Road House, the party met the gaze of a shadowy human figure who identified himself as Ipplie Amie and inquired about “the only woman there” at Camp Dorliff.  The company quickly disclosed they had rescued a wounded woman from the burning camp and left her in the care of Mata Vuvu, then inquired about Amie’s reasons for the inquiry.  But Amie only offered that he had “a history” with the wounded elf.

After concluding their conversation with Amie, the group watched as Iriard’s pretty young barmaid swapped out her dish tray and apron for a barstool and lute.  She quickly proved her talent, delighting the player characters and other the Road House patrons with a long set of melodies from the instrument.  “Sylvan” was the name she gave in speaking with the adventurers after her show—and after hearing the company’s tale promised to meet them afterward in a private room to discuss their mission further. 

Sylvan arrived as promised, knocking late at night on the door of the group’s modest room.  But Sylvan was not alone; with her was a muscular, business-like friend she called Tay-Wen.  This friend was suspicious at first.  But the company’s confirmation of having aided the wounded elf from Camp Dorliff, whom Tay-Wen identified as “Tawnica,” seemed to instantly gain her trust.  ‘Twas then that Tay-Wen made her true identity known: she was Tay-Wen Kiru, daughter of the warlord Soo-Kiru Kiru—but no supporter of his autocratic designs on the region.  Indeed she sought to escape Horl altogether and leave her father behind.  Urging discretion on the adventuring party, Tay-Wen offered to help the company find its way into the Mud Cave, but on one condition—the party must take her and Sylvan with them on their journeys. 

As for Sylvan, her full name was Sylvan Rao—she was the only daughter of Pin-Rao, a local mage of some report, who had disappeared several years ago after reportedly leaving in search of some magical relic or another.  She’d only been a child then, and Pin-Rao had left her in the care of Iriard—under whom she’d since come of age.  As the weeks turned to months, and the months to years, the lingering hope that Pin-Rao would someday return has deeply eroded.  It perhaps still lingers—but Sylvan is an adult now, and like her father she seeks the secrets of the ancients and life of high adventure.  Iriard will not allow it, but she is prepared to defy him.

The company accepted Sylvan and Tay-Wen’s terms after a brief discussion, and resolved to meet them on the riverbanks at dusk tomorrow.  The Mud Cave awaits.

Adventure Notes:

·      Trog War Dog.  Having defeated a trog war dog in battle, this adversary is now known to you.  Trog war dogs are remarkably quick, often taking their prey by surprise and gaining initiative in personal combat.  They are not particularly strong (relevant to other breeds of dogs and similarly-sized animals), but their speed and agility makes them difficult to strike and they are sometimes clothed in rag-tag, trog-designed armors.  Altogether you estimate trog war dogs to have about 10 hit points average and an armor class around 13.  Unlike their easily-startled masters, trog war dogs are fearless and will not retreat from battle, even if badly wounded.

·      Disc of Q’in. The Disc of Q’in features two concentric circles with a series of arrows originating from the circumference of the inner circle and extending to the outer circle.  There are numerous versions of the symbol, which use different numbers of arrows, different sized circles, etc.  The Disc of Q’in is common in the realms as the overarching symbol of the Q’in Di-Theisms, though other symbols are used to represent the opposed forces within the Di-Theisms (e.g., the Luminaire of Sol, the Blakke of Morto, etc.).    

·      Trog Rot.  Mata Vuvu explained that trog rot has a few known causes, one of which is a poison that trogs often apply to their weapons before battle.  He didn’t mention the others.

·      Ipplie Amie.  The mage Greyndalf is haunted this night by the parting words of the rogue, Ipplie Amie.  “Hope you find something interesting,” he’d said, his words thrown down the hallway in Iriard’s road house as if a shake to a tree top-heavy with fruits.  Had he known of the burglary in Iriard’s chambers?  It didn’t seem possible that he could.  But what else could he have meant?  And perhaps he meant nothing at all.  Whatever Amie’s intentions, the words didn’t seem to bother the gnome, who sleeps soundly in his corner—the mysterious goblet safe in his pack.

Experience Points & Inspiration 

Preliminary note: In this campaign, experience points are awarded for overcoming obstacles, solving problems, and achieving goals.  Although experience points are typically awarded for defeating adversaries, note that (in this campaign) it is not necessary to actually kill an adversary to earn those experience points if the adversary can be defeated in another way.   Experience points are earned collectively and then divided among the player-characters.  In addition to experience points, individual players can earn inspiration for creativity, superior tactics, and especially strong role-playing.

The party earned 100 experience points for defeating a trog war dog in battle.  As Ossik had not yet joined the party at the time of this encounter, this award is divided evenly among Greyndalf, Gambol, and Jowdain.  To simplify the math, let’s make it 102 experience points for the trog war dog, meaning 34 XP per character.

In addition, the party also earned experience for the following accomplishments:

·      Delivering the elf Tawnica to Mata Vuvu (250 XP);

·      Gaining the trust of Sylvan Rao (50 XP);

·      Gaining the trust of Tay-Wen Kiru (50 XP).

These experience points (total of 350 XP) are divided among the player-characters only, for a total of 87.5 XP apiece.  Let’s go ahead and round that up to 88 XP each.

As for inspiration, the gnome Ossik was particularly aggressive—if a tad foolhardy.  But while Ossik may have rubbed a NPCs (non-player characters) the wrong way, his colleagues were able to effectively make amends and Ossik’s audacity (and some favorable dice rolls) paid off with the improbable theft of Iriard’s goblet. 

Final Session 2 totals:

·      Jowdain acquitted himself well in battle and earned 122 experience points. 

·      Gambol pleased his deity and gained 122 experience points.

·      Greyndalf remained cunning and resourceful as ever; he acquired 122 experience points.

·      Ossik never saw a risk he didn’t want to take.  But his luck held true, and so he gained 88 XP and one point of inspiration.