The Bleak

Bandits and Beating Wings

thebrazenwolfeLeave a comment

The party make good progress to return with the the goods from their supply run but they are stopped by would-be bandits and beating wings. A big week for a near-end of year adventure this week!

So let’s sit down, grab a coffee and try to avoid more than just the head and desert insects!

Bandits and Beating Wings

442WeBaBeWi

Bandits and Beating Wings – Created in Nightcafe.

The heat was tinged with the promise of a different type of storm as thunderheads could be seen above the rocky spine that lined the Fester Chasm. They had been warned to keep an eye out for bandits from the Ochre Company, the three warriors they had met in the tavern and they had been given good advice. The evidence was everywhere in the sand.

Hoof and foot prints, led around the rocky walls of the chasm that they were walking through and even people could be seen attempting to hide. When the convoy stopped and the armed guard of the convoy rocked up and formed a wall between the potential bandits and the convoy.

“Well, I guess the game is up. I don’t suppose your lining up to surrender peacefully now, Ay are ya?” a large tanned man declared, nervously, as he eyed the party and the guard. “I’ll warn you – we have a wyvern. Yeah, you heard me. A wyvern. We caught it and it follows our orders now. If you don’t back off we’ll summon it!”

A few seconds later and the other men on the side of the road emerged and started to taunt the party and their crew. “Yeah, you heard him. Drop ya weapons and on ya knees dogs.” “Better do as he says or we’ll feed ya to ol’ bitey!” another called.

“They are bluffing… obviously…” one of the mercenaries said, hesitantly though.

“What’s your choice!” roared the would-be warlord.

A voice in the Fester Plains roared back. The reverberating bellow bouncing off the stone cliffs to make it sound even more menacing. A pause shuddered through all those assembled.

“Good one boss. That’s right our Wyverns coming to get ya! Surrender now!” screamed out a younger gap-toothed woman who brandished a large curved sword.

“Shut it!” the leader hissed, terror crossing his face as another roar burst forward, closer now.

The beats of wings echoed through the rocky walls now and the unease grew in the animals first, then the would-be bandits. The bandits broke first trying to run away from the sound of beating wings. “There are no wyverns in these parts.” another mercenary said. “But that sounds bigger. Meaner.” she added.

Blue scaled wings were the first things that the party saw soaring through the wind currents created by the Fester Chasm. A adult blue dragon, young or otherwise it was hard to tell from this distance, had come to investigate who would declare themselves rulers of these lands and, it was here to challenge that rule.

The Horses were the first to start the process of fleeing as they tore forward, the party and their guard able to barely get onboard the wagons as they raced passed. The sound of screaming, terrified men and women could be heard as they thundered past the men and women that just tried to rob them at wyvern point. Now they fled from something much worse.

Thanks for joining me for a big step in challenge this week. I don’t tend to do high challenge rating adventures on here due to the complexity and the nuance between each DM and their table. But tonight with this adventure I felt it fitting to up the ante on a traditional fetch quest to be more life-and-death. Don’t forget that we will continue to expand the adventure each remaining night this week so don’t forget to come back each day. And lastly, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Mercenaries and Merchants

thebrazenwolfeLeave a comment

This weeks supply run adventure will inadvertently run into both mercenaries and merchants like trying to scrape out a living amongst the baron landscape of the Fester Plains. Tonight we meet a few of them, some key interactions and perhaps, something that we haven’t considered before as part of these campaign series – hirelings for part of the adventure.

So let’s sit down, grab a coffee and take a load off your feet – the sandstorm is going to make us wait!

Mercenaries and Merchants

442TuMeMe

The first sign of the sandstorm came in the sudden rush of a series of two legged, large bird like creatures who dashed past the party and their horses. The City of Orchreweld could be seen with its tall imposing rock-hewn walls and towers with brown and red flags clearly now and it looked like quite a great number of people were fleeing inwards.

“A Sandstorms on the way. You best move those cloven-feet if you want to make it to Orchreweld!” a strange man, more insect than human called out as he reached where the party were. “Follow me if you want to make it through the gates and hurry!” he called as he urged a large locust like mount to jump and flitter a hundred feet. Needing nothing more than that the sound of the storm behind them, coming from the Fester chasm, motivated them and their steeds to get through the gates quickly.

An assortment of men watched them from the gate and stopped them out front. “Halt. Reason for visiting Orchreweld.” one of the guards, a tabaxi, said with a cheeky flick of his tail.

“Cut that out Tomiaus, there’s a sandstorm coming what more do they need. You can hold them once they are out of the storm.” The insectoid man snapped at him as he thundered past the frustrated looking guards.

“He’s right you know captain… that is the protocol for sand storm.” said the second guard, a younger looking human.

“Yes. Thank you Yason.” said the tabaxi as he gestured inside. “Enter the stables on the left and see the guards there for checking in.” The insectoid man flashed a terrifying smile as he bounced off deeper into the city.

Var’Snikk the Trader – Created in Nightcafe.

The process of sorting out who they were and why they were in Orchreweld was much simpler than the man at the gates had indicated. Within a few moments they were sent on their way with directions of where they may to go as well as names of a few taverns and Inns that should be able to put them up for the time they were staying here. They also were warned about a particular part of the city to avoid where strangers and newcomers rarely left unharmed in some manner.

As they moved through the streets they marvelled at the sand storm that funnelled itself over the city as it hit the walls. Something about how the walls were constructed at the right angle and a little bit of wild magic to keep the winds and sand out of the city. The lack of sky was no problem as several giant drift globes floated above the city streets providing illumination which made up for the darkened skies above the city.

As they moved onwards they saw a familiar giant locust-like creature and a man in a ratty shawl taking saddlebags off the back of it – there were quite a lot of them. As they approached the man turned around and smiled in that terrifying way. “Ah friends. I see that Var’Snikk got you through thee gate just in time. If its no trouble could you be of assistance in taking these bags off of Revoon for me?” the large locust thrummed its wings in recognition of its name. Var’Snill turned out to be a trader, a merchant that specialised in the dangerous desert crossing.

Zaroh Short-Tusk – Created in Nightcafe.
Pralu Short-Tusk – Created in Nightcafe.
Yazmin Defthand – Created in Nightcafe.

The Jade Scorpion

The Tavern they had ended up at, the Jade Scorpion, was a rough yet comfortable establishment with enough space for their animals, as promised, and it was quiet. A group of three women sat at a table in the corner and poked their fingers at a map looking at plotting a course but it didn’t appear to going well before one of them stood up and stomped towards the bar. All of them were clad in some amount of armour and looked like they knew how to handle themselves.

“Three more Rounds Barthos.” the orc said. Her sandy-grey hair matched with her sun bleached olive skin that gave her a worn and hardy look. The Barkeeper handed over the tankards and took the coins in the same motion.

“How goes the planning Pralu?” the barkeep called out to her as she walked off.

“Not good. Zaroh and Yazmin have some doubts about this contract. Something smells fishy and we it looks like it may be the raiders who are a plague in the Fester.” Pralu, shrugged as she moved back to the table.

The other orc at the table called out to the keep after taking a quick drink from the tankard. “Do you think the rumours are true about this wyvern?” he asked, obviously doubting it was a wyvern. “We’re much to dry for one to be out here by itself. This job to help bring it down in its lair doesn’t add up. There’s no cave near where they want to meet, they are asking for people to come at the wrong time of day – when they are most active and it’s suspicious. It’s a lot of money for just one wyvern.” Zaroh added thoughtfully.

“Well if we don’t get a job soon we’ll be in trouble. We’re the best mercenary crew in Orchreweld and we can’t go down like this ladies.” the human added looking at her companions.

“Yazmin’s right. Even if it is the slavers we got to take a chance.” Pralu added with a sigh.

“What about you lot. Do you need mercenaries? I can vouch for these three as being worth their weight in coin.” Barthos, the barkeeper asked the party. “If there is a wyvern out there, you could do much worse than to have these three by your side.”

“Geeze, don’t sell us too hard Barthos. Wow, I’m blushing. Could do much worse ay?” the three women chorused back at the man behind the bar.

Thanks for visiting tonight as we meet four NPCs, technically five, that the party can hope to meet on this adventure. As this continues on from yesterdays Supply run adventure this also mirrors in with “The Bleak” if longer base-orientated campaigns are you’re thing. Don’t forget that each remaining day this week I will expand and grow this adventure further. So don’t forget to come back daily and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

Supply Run

thebrazenwolfeLeave a comment

It should come to no ones surprise that sometimes in life a supply run is required to get through to the next week. Whether you’re running to get rations for the next few weeks, ammunition for the defence of a keep or fresh water to supply the rest of your caravan the supply run hook is something that happens often.

So let’s saddle up, grab a coffee and go in search of a lengthy supply list!

The supplies are running low, dangerously slow and in a last ditch attempt a small band head out to find food, arrows and other key supplies to keep their operation continuing. However, as with any quest where both a small fortune of gold and an actual fortune of supplies is on the line it tends to catch the eye of those looking for a meal ticket.

Although not all is lost as the party stride onwards through the dusty plains of the Fester Plateau; a vast stretch of flat terrain amongst the rocky mountains. With the experience these adventurers brought there is surely nothing that would pose a problem for them, surely…

Supply Run

442MoSuRu

Chasm of Fester – Created in Nightcafe.

Try as they might the party could not prevent the hooves of their horses from kicking up a dust storm that rolled through the winding chasm before them. The Chasm of Fester is what the locals called this place, a sight of an unholy battle between good and evil that corrupted and destroyed the natural beauty of these plains.

Now only the strongest or smartest survived in these parts and the lands reflected this fact. Rocks jutted from the dirt dominated plain at the bottom of the large chasm. Sporadic coarse grass clung between the rocks as they found the only source of moisture in this land. Locals moved their herds through the chasm and all of them had hawks or other birds that would shriek when something approached.

As the party moved through the locals cautiously allowed them to approach but their hands never strayed too far from their bows or blades. After a few minutes of talking their posture relaxed and they provided direction to the party, highlighting where the city that they were heading towards was. But they also warned them of the roving bands of savage humanoids as well as rumours of a large wyvern flying over the chasm.

Parting with the herders they moved onwards keeping an eye to the ground for dust clouds and another to the sky, looking for shadows in the harsh sun. The only respite from the sun came from the walls of the chasm as the sun moved onwards it created a great shadow the plunged half of the plains in cooling shade. But they could not rest for long as they had a quest, a mission, they needed to reach the City of Orchreweld to get supplies of food and water as well as sundries, such as ammunition.

If there was a large wyvern in the area then having additional arrows may be needed sooner than anticipated.

Thanks for visiting tonight for the first in what I hope to be a series which can integrate with the campaign hook, The Bleak. But this can be used with any adventure as its not uncommon for supplies to be damaged, expended or lost on an adventure and in these cases requesting members of the convoy, party or keep may be what is needed. Don’t forget that tomorrow night I will expand this with, hopefully, some colourful NPCs for the party to meet with. Oh, and as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe

The Bleak

thebrazenwolfe5 Comments

Tonight it’s the build up for something I hope to run one day with my own party and The Bleak is where we start, continue and end this short adventure hook. Inspired by an image generated weeks ago in Nightcafe and since, its broiled in the back of my mind and with the DMG coming out in the imminent future – a player run keep could be cool no?

In an interesting turn of events the party are made the custodians of a lone citadel at the edge of the known civilised world known as The Bleak. Taking a job to deliver a message turned into something much larger, much more imposing than what they could have anticipated. But not all is lost and not all seems as wild outside the fortified walls of The Bleak.

But it’s never that simple, there is always something more, just a little bit that gives adventure its name.

The Bleak

441SaTheBleak

The Bleak – created in nightcafe.

The job was a simple one, beyond simple. Deliver a letter to the warden of some old keep called ‘The Bleak’. When the party had asked about the keep from their employer, messenger’s from the king and queen, they were only too happy to tell them about the local area, the environment, natural resources and rumours around the local area. The pay, goods worth thousands of gold pieces – enough that you could retire on if you wanted and live a comfortable life for a number of years.

The one condition, don’t open the letter. The messenger demonstrated with a duplicate what would happen if they opened it – a pile of ash.

The trek was even easier. The horses were fine steeds gifted to them by the court, well fed and ready for the trek with enough feed to get them by for the week of travel. The roads were, relatively quiet with the first people to try and stop them disappearing quickly one they saw the horses. Game was plentiful, a run in with a pack of wolves was quickly dealt with and a large wyvern flew above them heading in the direction they were.

They should have consulted the seers. This wasn’t the first omen they had seen and anyone in the business knows that there is no amount of easy money that is, in fact, easy. As they climbed the mountain where the keep was positioned they could see through gaps in the rocky surface that beyond the mountains was a rough rocky and barren land. A few shafts of smoke were the only tell-tale sign that there was life out there and they remarked that the land behind them was a fertile paradise compared to what lay beyond.

But they had known this, the kings messenger had described the lands of the keep in great detail. The first few miles into the desert, the mountain range and then up to and including a village they had stayed at last night. It was a large land and there was no sign that this was at the detriment to the keeps success.

The Clause

The party reached the keep at sun down as it cast half the fortress in a glow that made it look like it was made from gold. The gates were closed and they could see a few people standing watch in towers, who, quickly scurried inside when they saw the party.

“Hold!” a voice called from the keep. “A few questions to make sure you’re the ones we’re expecting. It’s not often, if ever, we get visitors so well equipped so please excuse our apprehension.” the man who spoke was old, well mannered and had an air of nobility about him. Satisfied by the response the party heard an loud, audible crack of a ballista that must have been concealed as it undid the tension in its bow.

The man, Cornelius, was a wonderful host and once he had the letter in his possession a whisk of blue rose from the wax seal. He ushered them into the keep and organised for their steeds to go to the stables where they would be housed and well fed. He showed them to the hall where they happily waited for a a little amount of time to get just enough food to fill their bellies. When it was time to retire he showed them to the bed chambers, a large one designed for guards with many bunk beds or rooms that would fit in with inns of good renown.

In the morning they found Cornelius waiting for them with a broad grin. “I hope you’ve found that the keep is to your liking? That’s good as its yours to run now. The letter was proof that you had been chosen to inherit the governance of The Bleak and its lands. I will leave tomorrow morning to give me enough time to fill you in on what you may want to know and the servants and all but two guards will stay here with you. With owning this prestigious piece of land it grands you the titles of Lords and Ladies, so, what would you wish for breakfast my lords and ladies?” he asked with no hostility or malice was to be found in the old mans face.


Thanks for dropping by tonight for a quick length campaign hook. Something tells me that this wont be the last we see of The Bleak. Don’t forget that tomorrow is ZINE night so make sure you come back for that and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe