Brothers of the Black Feather: Prologue

“Brothers! Brothers!” Percy Pinklebottom the novice calls out hastily, shaking you from your sleep. “The Abbot wants to see you immediately!”

It’s a cold morning in the dormitory at the Brice Black Feather Monastery, and there’s a fair amount of grumbling as you dress amongst your brothers. The more martially minded amongst the faithful – yourself included – strap on weapons, holy symbols that crackle with the divine power of the lady of death, and armour carved with devotions to Her name, standing out amongst the more scholarly minded fellows who dress in simple habits of jet black hessian.

You ascend the stone steps to the main hall, bones weary from a night spent on a plain wooden pallet. All the brothers have been gathered in the main hall, and the abbot stands at the lectern waiting to speak.

“In her name!” Father Jacob Cobblestone, the Abbot of Brice’s chapter of the Brothers of the Black Feather, cries shrilly, and after you and your brothers reply in kind, a hush descends on the room. “I have called you here because grave news has arrived at the monastery. A letter just reached me from the head chapter, and two of our brothers have recently disappeared. They were believed to be journeying into Ostergardt, and we are the nearest brethren to their last known location. We have been asked to send out a delegation of the faithful to try to locate our lost brothers. I need volunteers – the journey will be difficult and dangerous…”

As the Abbot talks on your head begins to swim, and suddenly your ears are filled with the sound of beating wings. In amongst the noise you hear a woman’s voice, hollow as the grave, call your name. “I choose you” she says. As the room swims back into view, you find yourself stood up, alongside a few others, saying “I shall go”.

The abbot surveys the dozen or so of you – mostly novices like yourself – and says “So be it. In her name!”

You and your newly selected companions roar back the response, and set about making preparations. 

ARENTINE: Story Update

After conquering the dangers of the Shahamunti Mountains, the party saw the grim city of Khare on the horizon. Heading through the wasteland foothills that mark the beginning of the vast and terrible land of Kakhabad, they enter the city, and are greeting with streets streaming with blood and effluence. They make haste to refresh their supples before heading to a Harper safehouse in the northern quarter of the city. There they met a Harper agent, a rather scruffy and jittery ranger called Dogbone. He seemed unable to help them with their quest, appearing quite confused as to why Baba Yaga would send them to find Suzzarn. He informs the party that Suzzarn is no sage, but in fact one of Lord Azzur’s (the supposed ‘ruler’ of Khare) lickspittle courtiers.

The party choose to follow Dogbone’s advice to find an alliance in the city with one of the factions who run the streets; the Hanged Men, the Court of Jakob, or the House of Pale Lanterns. They also learn that it is the House of Pale Lanterns that is run by the infamous Forkiz Geung, the very same man who holds Orrind hostage. They make contact with all three gangs, and acquire a mission to investigate some disappearances at a dungeon named Conrad’s Point from Pavel Flind, the doyen of the Court of Jakob. Not fancying allying with the Vecna and Orcus worshippers, the party take this intelligence to the Hanged Men’s doyen Bad Krum, who sends them to investigate Conrad’s Point to see what the death cult is up to.

Upon their arrival at Conrad’s Point, they encounter a moribund cultist, who informs them that the dungeon is infested with demons. Sure enough, the party find and dispatch several bloodthirsty demons and abyssal traps. Bursting into the final chamber of the dungeon, they encounter another group of demons led by a huge bull-headed demon who introduces himself as Zod the Immortal. Full of hubris Zod announces that we will enjoy feasting on the party and, rather cryptically, that “he will not wait for the Eclipse”. After a furious battle, the heavily wounded Zod swoops into the fray, snatching up Alain Fu and escaping down a pit deeper into the dungeon…

Chase Rules

The Movement Check

A character’s Move check is +2 per point of base speed.  For an unencumbered human that moves at speed 6, that’s +12.  In a self-powered race like a footrace, you can add your STR bonus to this in a given round but then have to make a DC 15 Fort save to not become fatigued from the exertion.   Use this same formula for other movement types (riding, swimming) because it takes differing speeds into account well. 

The Chase Track

Rather than keeping up with specific distances, a chase has distance represented by an arbitrary condition track.  It’s defined relative to whoever’s in the lead, and has six levels -

1.       Close Contact – within melee range of leader.  Subject to all obstacles the leader has to deal with.

2.      Point Blank – close range can make any ranged attack without penalty.  Take leader’s obstacles or take an alternate path at DC 20.

3.      Short – Take leader’s obstacles or an alternate path at DC 15.  -2 on ranged attacks.

4.      Medium – From this far back, it’s usually easy to avoid obstacles.  -4 on ranged attacks. Can’t use ranged 5.

5.       Long – -6 on ranged attacks. Can’t use ranged 5.

6.      Lost – you done lost ‘em.   If you have allies still in the chase and you can still run (not fatigued or just giving up) you can run after them sufficiently to at least arrive on the scene once it’s all over, but you can’t get back into the actual chase.

For each 5 points by which you beat the leader’s movement check,  you close by one category on the track; similarly you slip back by one for each 5 points by which you miss their check.

Chase participants start at a chase level that makes sense – if they are right there with the leader and take off after them when they take off, they can start at point blank.  If they’re a round of movement away, or pause to shoot or take another action before they get going, start them at medium range.

Obstacles

In a chase, there’s a bunch of different kinds of obstacles and complications that can come up.  Here’s a sample but not comprehensive list.  In general the checks to pass these obstacles are DC 15.  If you fail the check, you drop back one level on the chase track; if you miss by 5 you take 1d6 nonlethal damage from a collision or similar mishap.  This is an urban specific list.  In a crowded urban environment, each round has a 1 in 3 chance of bringing a mandatory obstacle, or the leader can deliberately head towards obstacles as desired.  Roll 1d8 for what type, or choose one:

1.       Simple (Acrobatics/Melee) – barrels, gate, street vendor’s blanket, etc.

2.      Barrier (Acrobatics) – fruit cart, unexpected turn

3.      Wall/Gap (Athletics) – “end of alley” wall, fence, ditch, open manhole, pit

4.      Evasion (Perception) – spot where he's gone

5.       Traffic (Endurance/Dex) – pedestrians, mule team, orc pirates

6.      Squeeze (Str/Dex) – crawlspace, hole in wall

7.       Noxious (Endurance) – tannery, factory, sewage

8.      Terrain (Dex/Acrobatics) – gravel, mud bank, slick cobblestones

Chase participants farther back on the chase track can choose whether or not to hit the same obstacle.  Chasers in close contact have to negotiate the same obstacles as the leader.  Chasers in point blank can take the obstacle or make an alternate check at DC 20 to avoid it – for example, “I can’t swim, I’m going to run around the reflecting pool instead.”  Chasers at short range can take the obstacle or an alternate check at DC 15.  Chasers farther back can generally avoid routine obstacles, but the DM can require them if it’s logically necessary (the leader swam across the river, for example).

Actions

Anyone in close contact with the leader can conduct melee attacks on them.  Whoever wins initiative gets to determine if attacks or Movement checks happen first.

A character can take a ranged attack but automatically drops back one level on the chase track when they do.

If the chase goes a number of rounds equal to anyone’s CON score they have to make DC 20 Fort saves each round or become fatigued, and effectively drop out.

ARVENTINE: Story Update

Resolved to take the Cyrinishad to the Harpers, the party leave Arventine and travel on the north road, tailing the army that marches to lift the siege of Vos. On the way they aid the village of Pel's Hollow with a complex witch problem, and help the Arventine army destroy a Zhentarim fortress. 

Upon arrival at the Direwoods, they find a modest lodge owned by the Harpers. Inside they meet Sinifae and Mendoken, two Harpers who explain that a strange entity in the Direwoods named Baba Yaga wishes to speak to the party regarding the Cyrinishad. Heading into the dark forest, they are set upon by this Baba Yaga, and she uses her fey magicks to trap each party member in their own nightmares. The party overcome each dream, and they confront Yaga. 

Apologising for this 'test', Yaga goes on to explain that the Cyrinishad is not the soul of a dead god, but of an ancient Archmage named Cyric, who was killed on the cusp of achieving godhood, 8,000 years ago. She tells the party of 'The Pilgrim', the de facto leader of the Blind Varlets, who has obtained powers merely from the presence of the book on the prime material plane. The Pilgrim is preparing for something Yaga called 'The Eclipse'. The Hag then tells the party of Suzzarn, a creature who dwells in the city of Khare  who knows how the Cyrinishad could be destroyed. The party elect to travel to Khare to find this Suzzarn, instead of investigating this 'Pilgrim'. 

After passing through a Bel Turathi burial site, a series of underground rapids and facing a white dragon and its orc worshippers, the party make it through the Shahamunti Mountains, and the dark shape of Khare looms beneath them...

Evarressemme: Cast of NPCs

DINZHAR – A powerful and rather unpleasant “businessman” in the port city of Ilthmong.

TANI – An agent of the Dhigan Society – a shadowy organisation that is deeply involved in the shadier side of Evarressememe politics, sometimes, but not exclusively, acting as the empire’s secret service – whom the party angered and were nearly killed by in lthmong.

FENG – A representative of a power at the Evaressememe court, who has provided the party with a couple of (somewhat dodgy and underhand) jobs.

“MR HU” – The mysterious courtier who Feng represents.

MA HEI – Young, foppish nobleman who was a supporter of Mr Hu, but is now dead.

SOUNG – All the party know of this person is that they arranged the assassination of Ma Hei, the evidence for which was a letter at the assassins’ headquarters.

BIG WEN – One of Captain Octagon’s chief lieutenants.

CAPTAIN OCTAGON – A former pirate captain, who turned his crew over to the authorities in order for the chance to start a new life on land. Following this he became a mercenary, and won a certain measure of fame for leading a heroic charge at the Battle of Yu Han Hill. He then moved to the capital, Mongxar, where he set up as a general criminal overlord, and controls most underworld operations in south Mongxar. Also the party’s most recent employer.

OLD MAN LI – An wizened old denizen of the market and dockside districts known for having his finger on the pulse of what’s adrift in the Mongxar underworld.

ILTHMONG JO – A well connected opium house proprietor.

MADAME DENG – The madam at the Perfumed Fan bordello.

Evarressemme: The Ledger

September 2500

             In          Out              Notes

4th          20000                       Funds from Kh.

5th                      3000            men's wages

6th                      750              payment, Benny Ren

7th                      1300            weapons and armour

10th                     2500            fine seafood dinners

12th                     6000            bribe city guards

14th                     4500            donation - Viz. M.

Evaressemme: Anvarrus' Letter

My Liege,

the recent funds and supplies and men you have sent in means I am certain that I shall soon have completed the task you have allotted me, and our influence will soon hold sway over the Mong Xar underworld, at least as far as the commercial district is concerned.

I have cunningly imprisoned that fool who calls himself Captain Octagon in his quarters, exploiting his foolish obsession with ostentatious tattoos by having spell-woven ink used on him when last he visited Mr Magoo's workshop. He cannot set forth into the streets any longer, and I am certain that soon him influence will wane and his gang lose faith in him! When this happens, we shall be ready to fill the vacuum of power left and take over all his operations, just as you command.

He will only be able to escape if he manages to get hold of the original ink and have a local wizard dispel the ink in the original pot, this is the source of the enchantments power - and I can hardly see that happening. I'm sure he doesn't even know he's under a spell! The foolish pirate!

I am continuing the hunt for a local front-man for our operations, and am certain to find one soon.

In the Decayed One's name,

Avarrus