Charles Plemons' Blog

Game summary for July 27, 2013, Carrion Crown Adventure Path campaign, Trial of the Beast adventure; PCs included Amras Amandill (half-elf inquisitor), Dinendal Ironbow (elf ranger), Gnok Thatek (dwarf monk), Irnadette Steelsoul (elan psion), and Stoella Carter (human evoker), accompanied by NPC companion Thorkatla Foamflagon (dwarf cleric).

The team stepped into the night and continued exploring the village seeking more of the wraith spawn.  They didn’t take long in discovering one in another home.  A vicious fight ensued with the wraith being vanquished.  The team then spotted another down a side path and pursued only to discover it was leading them into unsprung bear traps!  Proceeding more cautiously, they continued on and tracked down several more unquiet spirits.

With four wraith spawn slain, the group spotted a pair darting up a hill outside the village heading toward a tall solitary figure in the distance.  They raced after in pursuit, and Gnok stepped into another bear trap!  He soon escaped, and Amras healed him with magic.  They then continued more carefully up the hill.  Stoella used flaming sphere to attack one of the wraith spawn but couldn’t seem to harm it.  Dinendal ran ahead and noticed the solitary figure was a mere scarecrow!  The wraiths surged forward and a tough battle followed.  The party suffered at the hands of the wraiths but eventually prevailed.  As the second fell, a loud droning buzzing filled the air as Brother Swarm emerged from beneath the hill.  The fearsome master wraith tore into the party with a ravenous hunger and undying hatred.  It stole life from several as it touched them, but Thorkatla proved too weak and died at the hands of the creature moments before the party ended its unlife.

The party discovered the bodies of the missing children beneath the hill and put them with Thorkatla before investigating the rest of the town.  As they returned to the corpses, they caught a glimpse of another wraith, Thorkatla, fleeing into the night!  Unable to catch her, the party returned to town with the evidence they gathered.  They met with the Barrister and made a plan for the following day.

The team rested and recovered spells and then went to the courthouse to present new evidence.  They presented several very good arguments, and many in the ground seemed agitated by the proof.  On the streets, murmurs were around of people angry that the Beast might actually go free.  The Barrister asked the party to come back early that evening in case some upstarts made an attempt on the Beast’s life.  In the meantime, they found a man named Karl, the sole survivor of the Karb Isle Sanctuary fire and interviewed him.

Game summary for July 25, 2013, Carrion Crown Adventure Path campaign, Trial of the Beast adventure; PCs included Amras Amandill (half-elf inquisitor), Dinendal Ironbow (elf ranger), Gnok Thatek (dwarf monk) and Irnadette Steelsoul (elan psion), accompanied by NPC companion Thorkatla Foamflagon (dwarf cleric).

The party awoke from their slumbers, studied spells, and made their way to the Lepidstadt courthouse.  At the proper time, they each came forward as witnesses and testified on behalf of the Beast, presenting evidence from the village of Morast to cast doubt upon the Beast’s guilt.  Some of their arguments were very compelling, others less so; however, they had a fair good showing for their first day.

After the trial, they visited three sisters who had witnessed the Beast in the town of Hergstag during the killing spree.  They claimed to have seen the Beast laughing while carrying the body of Ellsa.  The townsfolk drove him into the swamp, and he disappeared.  Over the course of several evenings, many children went missing, and their ghosts rose up and haunted the town.  After a total of six dead children, the townsfolk fled.  During their interview, the party discovered the last child, Karin, died two days after the Beast was driven off.

The team mounted up and rode their steeds the 10 miles to Hergstag, arriving right at dusk.  They entered the chapel of Desna and encountered the wicked smiling spirit of a young girl.  The shadowy figured taunted them and said “He’s coming” before faded into the darkness.  Amras cast light on his blade and strode boldly into the room and recognized the creature as a wraith spawn.  The party followed and engaged in a vicious battle with the malicious spirit.  As Amras cut down the undead monster, it uttered the word “swarm” as it dissipated.  The party turned in time to see the last sliver of the sun dip down behind the mountains and darkness fall over the village.  Night.  The time of wraiths.

Game summary for July 2, 2013, Carrion Crown Adventure Path campaign, Trial of the Beast adventure; PCs included Gnok Thatek (dwarf monk) and Irnadette Steelsoul (elan psion), accompanied by NPC companion Thorkatla Foamflagon (dwarf cleric).

The team investigated the Antiquities Department of Lepidstadt University looking for clues.  They found the door had been smashed, which triggered an alarm spell.  Booted footprints led to a rail where something, assumedly the Beast, had climbed over.  The room was smashed, except for the area where the Seasage Effigy had been.  They discovered the central window had recently been opened, but there were no tracks outside the window.

The group then traveled to the hamlet of Morast to investigate the 10 murders.  They met with the village elder, Lazne.  After some preliminary conversation, and Gnok vomiting after trying his horrendous dip, Lazne agreed to recount his tale of the Beast.  He told how they ambushed the Beast and chased it into the swamp near their old boneyard.  Just offshore, a blood caiman bit into the shoulder of the 7-foot monster and dragged it beneath the river never to surface.

The team talked him into taking them out to the boneyard island.  They discovered an old campsite and the remnants of a darkvision extract.  They, the found several of the graves had sunken in and were permitted by Lazne to dig one up to investigate.  While digging, a manticore swooped out of the sky and launched a volley of spikes!  Irnadette manifested energy missile repeatedly while Gnok climbed a tall tree in hopes of leaping on top of the manticore and Thorkatla swapped to a light crossbow.  The manticore swung out in a wide arc over the river while Irnadette continued to blast it with augmented psionic power.  Before it could fully come around again, she blasted it out of the sky!  It died crashing into the swampy river!

The group continued investigating and found the remains of a dwarf in the manticore’s nest.  They also found an old boat with dried blood in the bottom along with a moldy satchel.  There was also a rope leading off into the water that was attached to a man-sized bloody sack.  Within the satchel, the group found some old clothes and the detached face of a human being!  After talking themselves into it, the team looked in the sack as well.  It contained coils of rope, a rusty shovel, a rusted lantern, a trio of heavy knives, and a gag.

Finally, as the team was about to leave, they took one last look around, and Irnadette discovered a fine leather case filled with silver surgical tools!  Perplexed, the team returned to Lepidstadt to report their findings to Barrister Kaple.  He told them to go get sleep and be prepared to take the stand and present their findings by 12:30 the next day.