Following on from last week as we had a run with in a few NPCs, some new most of the old, we now look at the contestants of the prize. What prize you ask? Well Andrasa’s Tower of course and all the knowledge and goodies that reside within its walls. So we race to our chosen methods of transportation let’s grab a coffee, sit down and let’s meet some familiar faces.
Now while not an elite team of treasure hunters Each member of Lucile’s team is an expert in their field. They race to secure knowledge and complete Lucile’s dream but not necessarily for profit. This makes them perhaps more deserving of the parties assistance but the party can make that choice when they get to it.
However none of them are fighters. Lucile may be tough and canny but they will need muscle and skill in order to best their rivals which also seek Andrasa’s Tower and her treasure.
Whilst Mary, James and Colin may have appeared to be on the side of Lucile and the party they have always had ulterior motives. Each one of them is driven to success and the promise of gold and riches.
Whilst Mary is not quite Lucile’s equal in knowledge of influence she is persuasive enough to get the right information and to put it to good use. Colin and James however, are in it for the money after spending the vast majority of their wealth frivolously; they aim to return wealthy as kings and with the mercenaries accompanying them they may very well be successful.
Whilst no one was new all of them have had their cards revealed. People from the start posing as tourists, a helpful librarian turns out to be a mastermind. What else lies in store for the party to have to deal with. Come back each day to find out and don’t forget to keep an eye out for additional adventures coming out this week. And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
The final week of the adventures around Rastabar ends with Andrasa’s lost tower. This week is about exploration of a grand tower, a mages lair and the uncovering of a secret, or two. So sit back grab a coffee and let’s roll into this weeks adventure!
Andrasa’s lost Tower
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The map that Lucile drew was astonishing. If she wasn’t the head of a merchant company then she would be able to make a good living in logistics or in making maps. After looking over her notes that she had taken from the information the party had found she quickly pulled out more maps of the lands surrounding Rastabar. After a moment she sighed and put down the quill.
“It doesn’t make sense. It describes Rastabar in great detail even down to our mountains, the ancient rocks and towering peaks. But it also describes great rivers, trees and vast plains of green. It mentions animals that we see in neighbouring countries across the divide and chasm where there is more water.” She said, obviously frustrated. Taking a sip of wine she looked back down at the map.
“We know Andrasa was alive many years ago and that we need to factor that in. But so much has changed. It describes Andrasa’s tower being near Mount Fuko and next to the Great River but it doesn’t mention the great chasm that divides them. If the books are right then the tower should be right next to the chasm but we have explored the mountains before but never seen something on either side of the chasm.”
After a moment something one of the adventurers said something that made her choke on her wine. “That’s right. Andrasa was alive not just years ago but centuries ago. The text describes the tower during a time where the chasm wasn’t there. So that means that we may still find the tower if we look down into the chasm!” Jumping up and grabbing at her quill again she quickly jotted down some notes before marking a place on the map. “Somewhere here. This is where we will find Andrasa’s lost tower.”
Thanks for joining me for the start of another week of adventure where we wrap up the Rastabar adventure trilogy. So don’t forget to come back as we close up this adventure gradually each day this week and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
After a pretty shocking weekend where rest eluded most of the household I took a glance back to Trenchold. There is something special about those early level adventures that just brings me back. I think its how even the smallest and simplest of plots and hooks start the journey. Or its the fact that for the Party even the lowliest of creatures pose a threat. Regardless of what it is I plan to go back and wrap up the missed adventures and Trenchold was the plan for this weekend.
However after not sleeping since Friday night focusing is difficult so I will add what I have worked on for now to help with tomorrow nights Trenchold and new adventure post.
Trenchold has been at the mercy of the larger cities for as long as anyone can remember. The issue is that its too far away for anyone to send real help to their town if something goes wrong and that they don’t offer the larger cities anything other than what any other farming township could. It’s because of this that the disappearance and robbery of their wagons has gone unchecked for so long and the town is slowly running out of supplies.
It just so happens that the only wagon to make it into Trenchold had a group of adventurers who had come seeking work. Well work had just found them and the party were quickly made aware of the situation and what their arrival meant.
Rumours flooded over them of a band of thugs patrolling the roads. At first they just stole from the merchants and farmers now no one lives to tell the tale. A second rumour is that in the hills near Trenchold a demon stalks the rocks and forests. The beast is drawn to desperation and those who were preyed on by bandits for soo long reek of it.
The last rumour is that the local businessmen have orchestrated it in an attempt to drive up prices on their inferior quality tools and items. The people that believe this appear to be quick to riot and their anger and fear is evident from the short interaction with them.
What ever the cause the adventurers are here and the town of Trenchold is in need of heroes.
Thanks for joining me tonight and for looking at the opening blurb for Trouble at Trenchold. I plan to have a few reveals and fulfilled adventures this week so make sure you come back daily! And, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Good evening all and welcome to the fourth day of adventuring that the party experienced today. Whilst not giving away the campaign, adventure or plot moving forward I will attempt to write up each adventure this year continuing with my 2023 campaign adventure 4.
2023 Campaign Adventure 4
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Plot:
Warrendeep – Part 2
Warrendeep
“So not even a day on the job and you have committed murder”.
Those words spoken by Steffani caused a ripple of doubt to spread across Mordekai (Kai) and Tater. The body lay at their feet and the unconscious form of the halfling was currently being bound and taken inside. “You boys are running out of options now. It looks like the commotion has summoned the guard and they are on their way now.” Steffani said, nearly smiling. “Unfortunately as you aren’t sworn in members you aren’t protected. The Grey-cloaks offer some protection against misunderstandings like this. The crown has offered to be lenient when we are protecting the people of the city against the encroaching corruption.”
Kai and Tater were taken aback as they saw the guards walking towards them. “I happen to have the membership forms here, you just need to sign them.” Gwen said, appearing as Steffani called out for her.
After a few moments hesitation the forms were signed, Kai signing Taters name instead of his own, and the guards were left looking confused. Returning into the Tavern to firstly apologise to Marie and secondly some food and drink in them they then returned to interrogate the halfling.
Not wanting to be “persuaded” with pliers and harsher words the halfling agreed to comply with them. He revealed that he was trying to make friends and find a group to belong to and he found a pamphlet that described a secret meeting of individuals. Potential members had to go to Tilly’s Supplies, a general store, buy a single candle and state “A single candle to bring me back to the light” would be their secret phrase to gain access to the meeting. Once in there he was exposed to the groups, a bunch of people hooded and robed so no one could see their face, and their belief.
Following The Cult
They believed that the creatures appearing, these weird beings were the messengers of the ancient one, a god. They also believed that in by seeking out the messengers that they would be able to get closer to their gold and gain knowledge and power. However the halfling was there to just fit in.
Heading back to the halflings house, with Kai on the shoulders of Tater under a large robe, they then made their way to the general store. The girl manning the shop advised them that the meeting was held last week and that it hadn’t been held again. She then offered to show them the storage room where they met and grabbed a lantern as it was dark down there.
Moving down the stairs they came to a door that was lockable from the outside. Opening the door revealed a pile of crates in the middle of the room and two isles either side of it. Moving to the back of the room the store worker mentioned that she had seen a giant rat down here a short while ago and that this room always freaked her out. While Tater tried to lure it out with some left over curried goat that was trapped in his beard the halfling spotted the rate. While the party went to investigate the door to the cellar closed – the halfling apparently was just as terrified of rats as the girl. Now in pitch darkness the rat ran to a hole in the wall as Kai lifted a drift globe into the air just above his head casting the room into light once more.
Investigating the hole they recovered a pouch with a dagger, 6gp, a piece of parchment and a broken compass.
Closure
The compass was spinning around randomly before stopping abruptly. After a few seconds it would repeat and stop at another location. This process repeated indefinitely. The parchment turned out to be a crudely drawn map. The map had a few points of interest marked out but the writing around these places were in abyssal.
Taking the map and the compass back to Steffani and Gwen they were able to decipher a single common phrase “Meeting place” at each of points of interest. At the same time they noticed that the compass had stopped spinning or moving and had locked onto something in the alleyway. Investigating they revealed that the compass was pointing towards the hobgoblin Tuskur who was laying in a wagon and about to be taken to be disposed of by two guards. Accompanying the body they revealed along the way that the compass barely reacted to the purple goo and that once burnt the compass began to spin and suddenly stop randomly again. Perhaps the compass was indicating where the messengers of the ancient one were…
Taking the wagon that the carried Tuskur they made their way back the the guards barracks. There they met Capitan Stevenson, who obviously had no love for the grey-cloaks (the Inquisition into the strange creatures appearance and the chaos they brought). After this brief meeting they made their way back to the Five Fat Ravens Tavern and got some rest for the night – tomorrow was likely going to be a busy day.
Main NPCs:
Steffani
Gwen
Thanks for joining me tonight and for continuing on this campaign with me. I had planned a bit more this week but unfortunately we cut it short. But this just means more of a reveal next time. regardless I hope you enjoyed catching up on an overdue episode of my 2023 adventure!
Don’t forget to come back tomorrow as we wrap up last weeks adventure. And, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
This week finds the party with lost knowledge and potential hints to the biggest treasure in Rastabar, but there are other Seekers of Lost Knowledge. The party have to out play, out muscle and outrun these confronters and return The information to their patron before its wrestled, or beaten, from them. So sit back as tonight we investigate creatures!
Seekers of Lost Knowledge
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A whole rabble of people line the streets of Rastabar. From commoners to guards and mercenaries to mages and knights there is nearly an endless list of who could be after the party at any one time, or who could be trying to keep the peace.
A short one tonight but it builds to a bigger adventure this weekend so don’t forget to come back for that. This weekend I also have D&D back on the menu after a break for warhammer so keep an eye out for updates on that. And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage The Brazen Wolfe
This week sees out party running through the streets of the Rastabar Mercantile District as they try and make it back to their employer with long forgotten information. Whilst trying to make it look busy I also wanted to make sure that it felt spacious. A lot of people on the streets and amongst the houses gives a bit more of a ideal of scale and that may be enough for the party to use. But enough talking lets look at the partial city map!
Rastabar Mercantile District
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The mercantile district is caught between the general populace’s homes and the poorer district. In the middle lies the library and a few attractions around some shops and other merchant buildings however its also shadowed by a large fortified building that contains some of the guards to the city.
This makes the district very defensible and generally wrong doers or those who disturb the peace are dealt with quickly, if they don’t make it into the slums first or disappear amongst the winding streets between houses.
Rastabar Mercantile District- created in Inkarnate.
Thanks for joining me tonight for a quick city map. City maps are by far my least favourite to create as they never seem to fit right. But I guess this is something that will come with practice so I will continue to experiment with them. Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for more content and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Tonight information is gold as the party locate the name of the wizard who crafted the amulet and guardian and any additional information they can get. But they quickly find out that this information comes at a price and everyone wants a piece of the potential gold. So to find out we best sit back, grab a coffee and let’s roll into tonight’s adventure.
Information is Gold
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The Rastabar great library was massive. A few large windows let in bountiful light from the second window which made the rows of books, scrolls and parchment seem to glow. Several people were walking around in here looking at parchment or arguing loudly whilst looking at a different books. A few librarians wandered around and helped deal with requests for information or the location of certain tomes or scrolls.
“Hi there, can I help you today?” A woman asked from beside them, her presence barely noticeable before she spoke. “I am Mary, Mary Cepwell and I ‘kinda work as one of the helpers here. If there is something I can help with please let me know.”
After finally looking through the library for hours, and some help from Mary Cepwell, the party opened a book “The creator of Rastabar”. Delving through its pages they came across a sketch and a description of the tower, well what it would have looked like centuries ago. Apparently the tower was one of many created and maintained by the great sorceress called Andrasa, the arch Magus. Each of these towers held one of her treasured artefacts, one was the house of her Guardian Brightsteel, another was a where she conducted ceremonies and rituals to foresee the future and another, her primary keep, was where she created her artefacts and stored her wealth.
There was also some landmasses and descriptions of events that happened at the time which, without context, were impossible to locate or understand what they were. Taking note of the information they quickly left to report back to Lucile. However they were unaware of the many sets of eyes that watched they head towards the door, or the flash of a mirror from a window to the outside.
Thoughts
So as with the series of adventures around the heist this part of the adventure plays out very much like that. a place, a piece of information they need to ‘heist’ and some people which they have to work with or work out. It doesn’t matter if they record the information, memorise it or just steal the book as long as they locate it and report to Lucile who can piece it together for them.
The second part of this is the potential interception which can be either a combat scene and then running from the guards OR it can be a chase scene where the party have to dodge the assailants as they try and make an escape.
The Library of Rastabar is a large and imposing place, much like the buildings around it. But the crowds outside and the knowledge that potentially everyone and anyone could be after them is maybe more imposing. This week is about a heist of information and a flight from the scene when confronted (by either guards or the individuals). So don’t forget to come back to see where we take this weeks adventure and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
This week we expand upon last weeks adventure calling out a soon to be familiar face, some familiar ones and some new ones. These few make up those in the know, or the people who know about the amulet, the golem and the dragon. So as this week continues to kick off let’s grab a coffee, sit down and let’s meet some NPCs.
Coming from wealth Lucile didn’t have to work hard to get where she did, she could have inherited her parents estate. She didn’t have to take over her fathers merchant business or her mothers thirst for knowledge but she did. However she didn’t just inherit it she grew it. A powerful, smart and driven young lady Lucile grew into a canny business woman with an eye for value and a keen sense for the arcane or rare.
Lucile was always fascinated with the legends of Rastabar, the old stories her gran used to tell her. Tales of heroes and villains and princesses. However her favourite stories were about the lost arch-magus Andrasa and the power that she wielded over the lands. It was the stories of her floating wizards tower, the guardians and the secret she locked away in arcane vaults that drove Lucile. Her dream to pursue the floating islands and to chase her dream and ambition further lead to her encounter with a party of adventurers who were maybe just the right group to get the job done. Now all she needed was the knowledge to the next place.
Familiar Faces
While the captain, Alex, moved make repairs on his ship and organise some supplies and business before the next adventure Jessica, James and Colin hung around Rastabar, most of the time drinking at one of Lucile’s bars as he way of bribing them to stay put and not spread word about what they saw on the floating island.
Mary works as a librarian primarily but she also does odd jobs when the subject and the price is right. Not much is known about her as she came to Rastabar when she was an adult and despite her lack of experience or knowledge in the city or its history she quickly fit in.
Another NPC Tuesday is here and we have some more NPCs to meet and some old ones. Don’t forget to come back each day this week as we expand this adventure. And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
This week, as with most higher level adventures in my experience is a second part adventure that looks at the Origin of the Amulet. During the lower levels of adventure parties are able to go on more one-shot adventures. However as the adventures go on they need to become more challenging and complex. So let’s sit down, grab a coffee and roll into this weeks adventure!
The amulet sat on the desk between Lucile Bendercuff and the party. After a solution that her in-house alchemist had dropped onto the amulet he swirls and bursts of energy the amulet gave off were visible to everyone.
“This Amulet is remarkable. It’s centuries old but its magic is one of the strongest we have seen in quite some time. While we get the Guardian creation repaired from the little conflict we have something else to ask of you” Lucile asked tentatively. “We believe that the Library of Rastabar would surely have information on the amulet or at least its creator. Unfortunately due to a misunderstanding I am not allowed back in there and they know who my normal employees are. However they don’t know you. I need you to go find out what you can about this amulet or its creator and come back to me.”
Looking nervously around she nodded at one of her guards who stepped out of the room and closed the door behind herself. “There is another issue though. We believe that the arrival of a massive metal golem may spread news to those who want the same thing as me. We also can’t attest to the loyalty of those who were on the ship with you and despite them giving their word, and taking my gold, I believe that other parties may be also seeking the same information. It’s not every day that a dragon killing golem, a dead dragon and a magical artefact appear in this city and there is a bit of a buzz already. If you are to take this job I will reward you handsomely for the retrieval of information. Double it if you can guarantee that no other merchants or competitors for this information find out what you do.”
Extending her well manicured but lithe and strong hand across the table she looked sternly at the party. “Do we have a deal?”
Thoughts
Oh boy. This weeks going to Zing. A race to information, potential multiple conflicts, potential bribery, murder, assassination and maybe even a chase scene. This weeks going to have it all!
Thanks for joining me for the start of another week of adventure. Coming hot from the weekends adventure “The Ruins of Rastabar” adventure this week delves deeper into the history of the sand-locked city. So don’t forget to come back daily this week as I expand this adventure and add in all the actors in this packed adventure. And as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Tonight and I have created a zine for this weeks adventure. The Ruins of Rastabar. This adventure can be used system agnostic as we explore other RPGs out there other than D&D. So please adjust to what ever creatures you are using in your adventure! However as always Kobold fight club can be used to quickly balance an encounter for Dungeons and Dragons and Tetra-cube currently provides the stat-blocks for creatures in this adventure.
So I hope you enjoy this weeks adventure, The Ruins of Rastabar. If you like this format please let me know and I hope you enjoy.
The Ruins of Rastabar
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The city of Rastabar was a sprawling nest of sandstone buildings protected from the harsh desert conditions and by a giant stone wall. Created centuries ago the city has stood the test of time but they have a problem. The city has grown so much that the sources of water and plant life are not able to sustain them any longer.
This has made the rush to find another source of these precious resources even more urgent and the business people behind it ever more powerful and wealthy.
However, not even the greatest schemers and merchants could’ve predicted a giant cloud appearing in the skies above the desert or the rumours that the clouds contained something more than the promise of rain.
Thanks for joining me tonight for another Zine. Next time you get a party together consider running this adventure and I hope that you enjoy it.
I hope you don’t miss a thing so come back daily in the coming week. This is so you can experience the creation of the next adventure as it evolves and shapes out. And as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage, The Brazen Wolfe
Brazen Wolfe Tabletop 