THE HAUNTED MANSION
Summer, 4433
Characters:
Tarr the Younger, archer 1
Xasan Karimov, barbarian 1
Lothryk Bjargson, cleric of Njord 1
Ryoga, incantor 1
Krom, fighter 1
Kareem, fighter 1 (NPC)
Nuru, fighter 1 (NPC)
Philip, fighter 1 (NPC)
Samuel Browne, fighter 1 (NPC)
A group of beginning adventurers on their way to Viridistan had their passage cancelled. Stranded in the small fishing village/trading post of Braddol, they followed tales of treasure & mystery to a mansion on the cliffs rumoured to be haunted - where spectral lights were seen at night, and no locals dared to go.
They uncovered strange illusions, traps, collapsing floors, vicious wildlife and near-death escapes. Giant weasels are no joke - one almost killed Kareem and Nuru, and the battle in the attic, well... 'tis better not to speak of the bloodsucking beasts found there.
Some loot was uncovered, including a few magical items, a dead body with enchanted gear (and rot grubs!) and a wizard's sanctum guarded by skeletons [1 fear point] with golden treasures and magical tomes.
There was clearly something going on in the basement, with clues about shipments and a skulking figure who was quickly killed. Passing through a secret door, the group discovered a cave system below.
They stalked through and came upon a group of ne'er-do-well smugglers based beneath the mansion! They fought assassins, fighters & a hideous mutated man with one eye bigger than the other and bulging bicep-veins. One of the smugglers was a spell caster who baffled the group with clouds of fog and blasts of rainbow lights. [This nearly led to a TPK, but] Lothryk heroically held the passageway against a wave of assassins while the rest of the party recovered their senses [good job, take a Hero Point for this if I didn't already give you one. Remember you can have maximum of 1 right now].
The surviving smugglers fled on a small boat while Tarr peppered them with arrows, nearly killing all of them - only two escaped! Still, the group made out well with some nice trade goods like rum and silks, as well as a some rare contraband: a case of cigars made out of rare, multicoloured butterfly wings.
They also captured one of the smugglers and turned him to their cause. The young Samuel Browne is a bit shifty, but willing to join up for a fair share. He gave information about his former comrades, including details about a larger shipment coming soon aboard ship, and the lantern signals needed to communicate with it.
Ready to sail their own course, the group plots to surprise the smugglers and take this boat for themselves...
Monsters Defeated Total:
4 road bandits
2 giant centipedes
3 giant spiders
2 giant rats
1 giant weasel
4 stirges
6 skeletons
8 smugglers
1 mutant
Stenabal the illusionist (escaped)
Treasure:
(First session treasure accounted for, Lothryk and Tarr sold it already)
assorted gold jewelry: earrings, bracelets, rings, etc (365 sp) SOLD
Ring of Protection +1
potion (unknown)
"book of the philosopher's stone" (unknown value)
strange glowing stone (magical, unknown)
tin of 3 strange seeds (unknown)
crate of butterfly-wing cigarettes (contraband, unknown value)
scroll in bone tube (unidentified)
holy symbol of Mitra
deep black cloak of strange aspect (magical)
severed hand with candle (magical)
lightweight plate mail (magical)
fine longsword (magical)
[The function of all these magic items is unknown, but I assume you guys just cast detect magic on them during your days of waiting for the Sea Ghost. My note-taking wasn't the best during this session, so if you guys picked up other stuff not mentioned here, please chime in. Thanks to DF for a few corrections. -DM]
Payouts and XP:
Lothryk, Tarr, Xasan: 959 sp each
Ryoga, Krom: 480 sp each
Clues
In Stenabal's bedroom, they found a few notes in a box. What might they mean?
1 - "Delivery from the Skinpath arrived today. Strong, will be useful."
2 - "Pay Guocaun after next shipment."
