Thowin Four Fingers, a fighter, and his
torchbearer, Boarface
Imorfin the elf
Durik the cleric
Fretta the Dark, a thief
Balork the Medium, a magic-user and Bursus, his man-at-arms
Sunday, 23 Harvester
We rejoin the party
as they sit around a table at the Bone House, the tavern/inn that they call
home for the time being. It is their first time together after a couple days of
individual exploration of the city. They recount their experiences of the previous
two days and discuss the next course of action….
For the remaining
characters I will limit the story-telling and focus on the 'behind-the-scenes'
action.
Fretta the Dark and
Boarface, a torchbearer
After determining that Fretta and Boarface were
carousing together I had to figure out what amount of gold they blew in their
carousing. The normal house rule is to roll d6 x 100 to determine how much gold
is spent (whether they have that much or not). This is what I did for Fretta
and rolled a 1. So the thief spent 100 gold and earned as much in experience.
Boarface, being a torchbearer, had much less gold on
him. During the treasure division, Thowin did give him a 15 gold bonus on top
of his daily rate, but still it wasn't much. So I ruled that he would spend all
his remaining gold while carousing, boozing it up with the cheap stuff!
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| Art by Steve Zieser |
So now time for the saving throws versus Poison! I
roll a 17 for Fretta which is a success but poor Boarface fails his roll with a
12. I have different Carousing Mishap tables for PCs and retainers, so I roll
another d20 and consult the appropriate table….
Boarface enters an oiled pig catching contest sponsored by the Rose and Skull Tavern in the
Redlight District of Enharza….and takes first place! The torchbearer wins 10
gold and a trained, pet rat! Fretta and Boarface celebrate the victory,
whooping it up in the taverns along Tavern Alley.
Question: Does romance occur between Fretta and
Boarface? (50/50)
Mythic: 73, No
Nothing happens on this night, but I think the two
outcasts have formed a special bond as a result of the joint carousing, and I
will role play it accordingly going forward.
Durik
Durik the faithful
servant to Laex, goddess of wind decided to visit the temple in Enharza. New to
the city he hadn't yet met the brothers and sisters of the local order. When he
arrived he found a small shrine, clean and orderly, but definitely in need of
repairs.
Using an ad hoc table I determine that the order is
small (2d12), and come up with 14 current members. I decide that Durik will
contribute at least half of his gold and then developed the below possible
additional actions:
What happens at the temple?
1 - Durik makes a very large donation (80% of his
gold) and is warmly received by the rest of the order
2 - He learns of a crisis facing the Order of Laex
3 - He is invited to join the Order in a formal
position, after a test
4 - He is asked to help the Order in some regard
I roll a 2 and then use the below table to figure out
more about the crisis.
1 - There is a conflict with another temple
2 - A brother/sister is very sick
3 - The Order is in dire straits financially
4 - There are undead in the sewers below the temple!
5 - Strife within the temple (factions)!
6 - There is a conflict with another temple (same as
1)
I roll a 1.
The Order of Laex
warmly received their brother, Durik. And his generous donation would go a long
way towards much needed repairs to their modest temple and to filling the
larder. But he also learned of a crisis facing the temple. Their most treasured
possession, a minor artifact of Laex known as the Cloud Gem had been stolen by
a group of cultists worshipping Nag-Roop, a minor demi-God of the Underdark.
After discussing the
matter in more detail, Durik left the temple with a heavy heart. As he walked
back to the Bone House, he began to think how he could convince his new
comrades to aid his church in their hour of need.
Balork the Medium
During the party's last visit to the city Balork had
made his way to the Mages' Guild and was informed that all magic-users in
Enharza were required to seek membership. The fee was 200 gold. At the time the
Mage didn't have that amount of coin, but thanks to the sack of platinum found
in Stonehell, he now had more than enough to cover his membership dues. In fact
he had so much more that he also wanted to research a new spell.
What spell does Balork seek?
1 - Charm
2 - Spider Climb
3 - Detect Magic
4 - Random 1st level
I roll a 3, Detect Magic.
Q: Does he find the spell? (Near Sure Thing)
Mythic: 48, Yes
How much will it cost in materials? (170 gold)
Q: Does he pay? (Very likely)
Mythic: 02, Exceptional Yes
Since the result comes back as an exceptional yes, I
decide to use some Story Cubes (4) to see what additional happens. I come up
with Reading/Books, Fighting, Stealing/Thief, and Surprise/Fear.
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| Art by Tsabo6 |
As Balork poured over a table full of books in the middle
of his spell research, something out of the corner of his eye caught his
attention. Looking up he spied a man wearing a dark cloak, hovering by a nearby
bookshelf. The man surreptitiously pocketed a small book, unaware that he was
being observed. The thief began to leave, walking towards a still unobserved
Balork. The mage took it upon himself to intervene. "Thief! Stop!"
A scuffle broke out between the two and the thief was
able to escape Balork's grasp. As the man ran for the exit, Balork cast a Sleep
spell. The thief made his save (17)!
Q: Does the thief escape? (50-50)
Mythic: 55, No and a Random Event occurs as a result
of the doubles.
Random Event: NPC Negative (I then roll 'Disrupt
Wishes')
As the
thief tried to make his escape, he tripped and fell. Before he could even rise
several guardsmen were atop him.
So what happens?
1 - Balork is brought before the Guild's Council
Members
2 - The thief vows revenge against Balork
3 - Balork makes a key contact in the Guild as a
result
4 - Balork picks up something of note/value dropped
by the thief
I roll a 2…
As the thief was being dragged away, he looked up at Balork
with rage in his eyes. "You! I'll find you! I'll find you and make you pay
for this!" A
flustered Balork went back to his books but was unable to concentrate on his
work.
(To be continued...)
Tables, tables, and
more tables! I've always been a big believer in random tables and I'm now
finding that they are an integral part fleshing out the sandbox. I have quite a
few stashed away but I am ever on the lookout for more that I can use and
tweak.
