As alluded to earlier, I have been running an in person Knave campaign for nearly a year now. It's been on and off with a noticeable break to play the chocolatey delicious Gradient Descent with the new 1e wip rules, but overall we have had a couple dozen sessions with a rotating cast of players hexcrawling around the town of Yonwell, on the Dellen Plains and I'd like to write a bit about it.
This session is going to be referred to as session 1, but really I've failed to keep track of just how many sessions this has been- so we will start with this most recent game as our beginning and I'll post some player notes if our chronicler finds time to finish transcribing them. First: the map!
This is the current state of the player's map. Every session I've brought this little battle map to the game and one of the players has been mapping the progress of the party, writing down notes about hexes, and sometimes just writing random speculation about where rumors are combined with notes about locations heard from NPCs. It's chaotic, frequently water damaged, and dubiously accurate. I love it.
It says "Dragons?" in five separate places (at least three of which are correct).
Important events so far:
The players have created a loose guild of cutthroats and treasure hunters known as the "Whoa Whoa Bell-Ringers Club" after multiple incidents during hazardous encounters where at least one character will ring a bell loudly and miraculously avoid harm while shouting "Whoa whoa whoa!". They have purchased a two story flat in Yonwell where retired PCs hang out and they keep equipment. None claim guild leadership at this time and the frequency with which hired lantern boys and men-at-arms fail to return alive from the guild's services have recently spawned the creation of an Adventurer's Union in town.
Earlier in the year, the dread castle Honorwatch set upon the hills at the north of the Dellen Plains north of Yonwell had posed a significant threat to the land. After uncertain events in the recent past, the castle's lord, Duke Konrad, fell to darkness and raised an undead horde against his brother, Duke Conrad of Yonwell (the naming was a good joke at the time I swear). The Yonwell army barely managed to scrape a defense together and fight back the traitorous Honorwatch hordes. Defeated, the Honorwatch forces retreated to the hills where they menace travelers along the plains to this day, until...
 |
| Lorenzo Nuti |
The players trigger a resurgence of forces from Honorwatch after pilfering a Scrying Orb from an outpost in the mountains staffed by strange and powerful undead as well as recovering a magical sword from a hateful wight in a lake in the northern plains (at great cost). Castle Honorwatch mobilized a horde of the dead to find the sword (ostensibly) and attack Yonwell while the players joined Duke Conrad and the Bell Priests (clerical order that puts down the dead) in defense of the city at the Battle of Yonwell. In a pitch battle over an ancient blood altar (after accidentally and spectacularly blowing up one of their own horses), the players successfully slew the general of the enemy forces who was identified as being likely Duke Konrad himself. They recovered his cursed blade and signet ring after ritually salting the body to prevent resurrection, but have yet to venture into the now quiet Castle Honorwatch for fear of its dread reputation.
A Rangers Guild used to keep the roads safe and explore ruins in the region before they were destroyed due to murky circumstances surrounding possible involvement with the fall of Yonwell. After tracking down the location of their guildhall in the cursed Shellwood east of Yonwell, the players plumbed its depths for treasures and answers. While there, they encountered a Demon, Gorebold the Devourer, that was devouring the library in the guild. After much negotiation, Destrian Rumboldt (a former clown) agreed to feed the Demon knowledge and books in exchange for access to its repository of lore. During this excursion, Destrian also made use of the Scrying Orb and attracted the attention of something from inside of Honorwatch. After evading cloaked riders dispatched from the castle, he sought safety in the guildhall at Yonwell, as a giant three eyed crow stalked his movements... (The player then retired the character after losing the character sheet in a move and opting to "let him rest and be happy" before the player unfortunately moved away).
Now, several months later, the primary element of the Whoa Whoa Bellringers Club has returned from a lengthy expedition to the freeport of Gnarlshore, where they became embroiled in a snake-cult investigation (*cough*) and a second death-defying expedition into the depths of the Rangers Guild. While traveling abroad, they heard rumor of a haunting in Yonwell and children going missing. Now, returned to the guildhall, they make investigation of the rumors...
 |
| Malek Barah Abdoh |
Dramatis Personae:
Alma Tumbler (level 5) Aspirant Ranger, purple feather mutation, Wielder of the Unknown Blade and the Lightning Bow, Chronicler and Sole Survivor of the first session
Olga Derippe (level 3) Body builder, Hammer Enthusiast, Haunted by a Revenant, Death Defier, Hoardmaster
Pepper Slorah (level 3) Expert Archer, Herbalist, Bell Priestess, Blindshot Expert, expedition leader and freshly returned from work with the Bell Priests
Catching up with two retired PCs living in the guildhall, one Vivian Droll (Snake fingered, player moved) and Fox Gimbal (lost a leg in the battle of Yonwell, player not present this session) as well as reuniting with the long gone Pepper Slorah (player briefly back in town), the party uncovers some troubling facts. Firstly, the giant crow has been seen perched on the roof of the guildhall these past few months and there have been reports of children going missing around town. Additionally, Destrian Rumboldt stole a magical blade from Damaris Westergren (Destrian's player's other character) and left the guild. The next day, the flat across the street had a bright orange and white striped circus tent thrown over it and the giant crow began to roost on top of the tent. Travelers along the street have become almost non existent, but some guild members relate catching glimpses of cloaked figures entering and leaving the gaudy tent in the dead of night.
The party begins to discuss the plan for their next expedition and the possibility of locating Cormac the Green, former leader of the Rangers Guild and current leader of the Hunter's Pact in Taubey Town, deep in the Beastwarren. Cormac had been sighted recently in the Greenspine that walls the Dellen Plains hunting a drake of local renown. Having long tried to unravel the mystery behind Honorwatch's fall to darkness, the party begins to contemplate braving the deadly mountains for a chance to meet Cormac and illuminate their many questions.
While performing the session start ritual of accounting for everyone's inventories and loading up the donkey (Don Quetello) and horse (Yellow Beedums), Pepper asked what had been done with the cursed blade of Duke Konrad which had been recovered from the Battle of Yonwell. Upon asking, the guild realized that they had left it in the guildhall basement these many months, unattended, which they all now concurred was likely a very *bad thing*. They agreed that the local commander of the Bell Priests at the Bell Shrine just outside of town- Aliah-, should be consulted as to what ought be done with the blade.
Before any further discussion could be had, a woman's scream was heard form the street outside and the party decided to investigate. Immediately they realized that a heavy fog had been rolling in up and down the street and there was not a soul to be seen amongst the low visibility. The giant crow was seen atop the circus tent covered building, tapping its talons rhythmically. Coming to the conclusion that Destrian Rumboldt was likely in the circus tent covered flat house and that the woman's scream may have come from inside, they carefully crossed the fog-shrouded streets under an early autumn gloom and found the door.
 |
| Dalle2generator |
Beyond the door was a long, dark hallway. Proceeding carefully, lantern and bell in hand, Pepper led the group down the abnormally long and bare hallway. Eventually, the hall opened to a room beyond- but first they encountered an ossified skeletal arm hanging out of one of the walls, several weeks rotted at least. The walls took on a gray pallor and upon investigation looked to pit and bulge subtly. Pressing her hand against the wall, Olga felt as though another hand inside the wall was trying to grip hers before immediately deciding against continuing to touch the wall and the party crowded closer and proceeded into the room. Strange thumps were heard from behind the wall and a skittering was heard from up ahead.
A long room with a set of doors locked by chain at the end of the room. In the center of the room was a round, long wooden table with chairs thrown haphazardly back. A wrought-iron holder fit almost perfectly to that which held the stolen scrying orb sat empty in the middle of the table, at the far end was a small box with lid askew and torn colorful wrapping around it. Carefully investigating the box, they found whatever it contained gone- only a receipt for a carriage and horse teams bought for an extravagant price from the Incontinent Vicar, a traveler's inn just south of town.
Heavy footsteps were heard from above and Olga picked the lock on the chained door as the woman's scream was heard again- this time from the way they came. Still trying to locate Destrian, the party pressed forward through dusty red curtains behind the door and discover a floor to ceiling mirror at the end of a corridor. On approach they realized it was actually just the start of a dark hall of mirrors that continued on into the building. After testing marking the mirrors resulted in the mirrors screeching and trying to absorb what hit them, the party heard running and a heavy panting from further in the hallway and decided to leave and better prepare before daring to navigate the hall of mirrors. Before leaving they note a small engraved plaque on the central mirror: "Destrian Rumboldt's Funhouse Emporium".
Retreating out of the hall the party noted a lit candelabra set on the table that had not been there before and made haste to exit the building, spilling out onto the empty streets. The three-eyed crow atop the building laughed at the party as they debated the situation and tried to find another entrance into the building. Under the circus tent now but outside the building, they discover windows flanked the door and were boarded up from the inside. Smashing a hole through the boards, Olga peeked into the room beyond and saw a long, dark room with something large at the end of it. It squirmed. Pepper came to look as well and was startled to see nothing but a mirror, but when turning back to inform Olga- Pepper's "reflection" however maintained a steadfast stare dead ahead.
 |
| Ian Hampton |
Thoroughly spooked the group discussed illusion magic and tried to determine the source- possibly the crow or Destrian's demon pact, and after several minutes of heated discussion illuminated by lantern light under the tent- Pepper noted the hand on Alma's shoulder. Slapping it away they found it to be a severed hand that crawled along the wall quickly and spiderlike. Olga swung her hammer and appeared to smash the hand by her estimation- but Alma and Pepper looked in horror as they saw the hand scurry up the length of the hammer and up Olga's arm before crawling into her mouth, fingers disappearing last down her throat. Now panicking, the group reconvene outside the tent and in the empty street and try to convince Olga of what they saw. Eventually, Olga coughs and wretches up a slimy and gore covered hand under the laughter of the crow above- with the hand scurrying away under the tent.
The bird above coughs up a feather covered child's doll and takes flight- prompting the party to leave at haste and seek advice from Aliah. Upon exiting to the main streets they find the marketplace bright and busy and realize upon discussion with the local vendors (and buying some turnips in line with local saying "A turnip a day keeps the 'magination away!") that the peasantry were not even able to see the fog shrouded road to the guildhall or the distant circus tent, but they were increasingly guarded and moving in groups and armed.
Spying a clown near the fountain, Pepper approaches thinking they are Destrian but discovers only an unknown and silent face-painted harlequin in front of a central fountain juggling bowling pins to no audience, an old boot in front of them which Pepper tosses a coin into and tries to strike up a conversation. The harlequin leans forward and gestures for Pepper to come closer. Leaning in, Pepper sees the harlequin's facepaint begins cracking and they whisper into her ear "There's a snake in my boot." before bending unnaturally backwards and disappearing into the fountain with a splash. Pepper jolts backwards in time to evade the large python that coils out of the boot before slithering off into the crowd. The party decides its time to make haste out of town and make for the Bell Shrine.
Leaving town, Alma catches sight amongst the rooftops of a gigantic, four story tall peasant calmly walking amongst the town. The peasant stops and stares as Alma. Alma waves. The peasant waves back and smiles, the smile begins to split their face along the middle and suddenly the peasant drops on all fours. Alma sprints away to the Bell Shrine, dragging the rest of the party along with her.
 |
| Jef Wu |
Arriving unharmed at the shrine, they discover Aliah is on patrol with the Duke's cavalry after an unspecified uprising was reported near Shellport. Consulting with the local monks at the Bell Shrine, the party discovers that the giant three eyed crow was rumored to have been a demon summoned by the cursed Duke Konrad of Honorwatch's wife Elvea. The monk also details the ways in which cursed objects may be uncursed- through baiting the cursed spirit into a host and slaying the host while sanctifying the artifact or using a stronger spirit to destroy the curse. Alma recalls some previous lore about the swamp hags north of Honorwatch being able to trap spirits using tattoos but the party is not eager to venture to the swamps. Buying a great deal of ritually treated gravesalt, the party returns to the town and writes a letter to the Circle of Fire- a group of librarians and scholars collecting lore in Gnarledshore- and ask after information about the demon crow, now convinced it is the likely source of these illusions that plague them.
Heading back to the guildhall for the night and to stakeout the circus tent across the street, the party finds themselves quickly absorbed into the foggy street where something is slowly revealed to be walking in front of them. A lioness turns around as the party stops, with a second lioness appearing at her side. The party backs away slowly, offering turnips to placate the giant cats, before realizing an enormous lion now approached from behind- blocking their escape. Batting away the turnips, the lionesses disappear into the fog as the lion roars and leaps at Olga.
 |
| Jiayan Li |
Pepper flees down the street to the guildhall and eats a turnip, trying to convince herself these are just illusions. Olga and Alma engage with the lion and are suddenly attacked by one of the lionesses, nearly killing Olga after a critical hit. Thinking quickly, the pair decide to abandon the fight and run down the street to catch up with Pepper. Lightening their gear to try and gain a lead on the lions behind them, Alma hurls her helmet to the side while Olga tosses a lamp behind her which bursts brilliantly into flames that delay the lions. The party locks the guildhall door behind them at the last minute and Pepper takes time to salt the entrances to discourage any intrusions. The enormous face of the lion fills the front hall window, not fogging it from its breath at all, but watching Pepper until nightfall.
As night falls, Vivian and Fox inform the party that while they were gone a metal carriage tore down the street and stopped at the circus tent but due to the fog they could not tell if someone was entering or exiting. Armed with grave salt and unwilling to exit the guildhall under the dark of night, the party decides to apply as much salt as they can to the cursed blade of Duke Konrad in their basement and turn in for the night. However, upon uncovering the basement's trap door it blows open of its own accord and a cold wind issues forth.
The basement, however, does not contain the blade. Examining the shelf they had left the blade on revealed only dust and cobwebs. Scouring the room the party uncovers the source of the cold wind- cracks along the far wall which dissolve when salt is thrown on them and reveal a dark passageway that they surmise goes under the street and into the circus tent-ed house. Additionally, the party spies three large crates that they do not recognize amongst the cobwebs and detritus strewn about the damp basement.
Carefully opening the first crate they find it to be filled with damp hay, a scrap of brightly colored red cloth poking out from amongst it. Pulling on the cloth they find that there's simply more and more cloth until finally they dump the crate over and unfurl the full thirty feet of colored cloth- this greeted by the scratching laughter of the crow from the street above. The second crate is terribly similar, but as Olga begins to pull on the cloth she finds it yanked out of her hands and recoiled into the crate. Furious, she draws her dagger and stabs as the contents of the crate, the rest of the party watching on as flecks of blood fly out and a dark red stain develops around the base of the crate. Once satisfied, Olga dumps open the crate and discovers an eyeless corpse of a man- but one she knows. This is the corpse of Hannibal (Olga's player's previous character who had been left with the Mermaid Temple in Magda for training many months ago and never returned). As the grisly discovery washes over the party, they have little time to think when a rattle and buzz emits from the corpse. Minds recalling a horrific encounter with flesh eating giant locusts that burst out of the chests of their hosts- the party quickly tosses the body back in the crate and the three proceed to smash, stab, and slice apart the corpse until the buzzing stops.
The last crate they opened with resignation which quickly turned to greed as they found it contained a three foot in diameter hollow glass sphere. Inside of the sphere were the skeletal remains of at least a dozen snakes, with the glint of gems distinct amongst the mass of bones. Just before Olga smashed apart the sphere, the party sees the snake skeletons begins to slither and slide around inside the sphere, their bones grating against the glass. Having only recently barely survived an encounter with a gigantic skeletal snake, they resignedly reseal the crate and begin to come up with ways to safely deal with the snakes.
Cold wind blows out of the tunnel in the wall again and Pepper salt-wards it as a precaution, before the party musters their courage and head into the tunnel in search of the cursed blade and their lost companion Destrian who presumably stole it.
What will the Whoa Whoa Bell Ringers Club find at the end of the tunnel? Is Destrian behind these hauntings- fueled by his pact with Gorebold the Devourer or is it the demon three-eyed crow tormenting the guild that spited its master? Can the cursed blade of Duke Konrad be recovered? Will the secrets of Castle Honorwatch be unveiled?
All I can say for certain is that someone will probably aggressively ring their bell in desperation or for comedic timing.
No comments:
Post a Comment