Nappendixia Campaign 3.0- Session 139

 

Nappendixia Campaign Session Report

Session #- 139 Session Date- 8/14/26

Time Passed- 8 days

Roll Call-  Hex Crawl Party-

Roland- P5

Bakarit- I1

Fletch- F5

Ralph- F1 hench

Pentagon- C2

Trotter- R2

10x mounted Archers

Sandpit Dungeon Party-

Ralph- F1

Bakarit- I1

Ard- M/U3

Trotter- R2

Pentagon- C2

Adventure Log-  Julystein final Wrapup Post-

The Triumph of the Coalition of the Good

A great timber beam is raised across the southern road into Ft. Dawnbreak, set on two posts and wrapped with garland. At dawn a bull is slaughtered beneath it and the meat is burned.

The Host Returns

The whole of the Coalition's strength forms up on the road and passes under the beam in column, every man with his head covered. They go through in silence. On the far side the covers come off and the shouting starts, and it does not stop for some time.

The Yoke

The surviving goblins and the brigand prisoners are brought up last and made to pass under the same beam. They are not bound afterward.

The Procession

Spoils taken from the enemy keep are carried up through the fort on carts — arms, standards, a fire drake head on a pole. Godhard rides at the head on a plain brown horse, in a wreath. Walking at his shoulder is a settler from the Gorge Hamlet in his working clothes, holding a second wreath above the high priest's head and speaking to him without pause the entire length of the route. The army follows, and the army is howling abuse at him. Every man in the column, the whole way up, and nobody stops them. Some of it concerns the high priest's horsemanship. Rather more of it concerns a week spent in a tent. Godhard does not respond and does not appear to mind.

Guests Under the Sun

At the gate the Patriarch dismounts and receives each foreign leader personally — Ted Nugent of Sunrize, YoinkusGrandPoobahsmasher The IV of the Rustic Gnomes, and Diana of Myrina — naming each a guest under Pelor's protection and setting a crown of green on each head with his own hands. Crowns are handed to every man and woman at the tables.

The Silent Course

The first dishes are eaten without a word spoken anywhere in the fort.

The Reckoning

Godhard then speaks the business aloud in front of everyone:

• The gnomes are paid what they were promised for the defence of the fort, and spells are handed across in the open.

• Terms are set with Sunrize: Hex 2414 will be left as untouched wilderness, though an exception will be made for defensive improvements such as roads and fortifications.

• Myrina's offer of fealty is answered: The Many Mothers must swear fealty to Godhard but they will govern internal affairs within Myrina.

• A new sheriff is named for Cowpens, Curtis, in the presence of Atagon, who is crowned beside the Patriarch and named as the man who put the Loc-Nar off the world.

• All will be called to settle disputes at the Thing during the Summer Solstice.

The Atonement

Godhard kneels and communes for some time in full view of the tables. Whatever answer comes, he rises, calls Diana of Myrina forward, and lays hands on her. A light comes off the two of them bright enough that the men at the back stand up.

The Fire Goes Out

At dusk every flame inside Ft. Dawnbreak is extinguished, including the chapel light, and the fort stands entirely dark for about an hour — long enough to be noticed from a considerable distance. Then a single fire is struck in the tent chapel by the young priest Meinhard, and carried out from his hand to relight the rest.

The Feast

Everything after that is loud and rowdy, and goes on until dawn breaks. 

8/14/26 session-

In the aftermath of the war between good and evil, Godhard gains recognition as a leader in the area.  Through troop and scout movements and reports from local villagers he is able to get information on terrain and inhabitants of the southern part of his domain, as well as some reports of nearby undead lairs.  Banking this information, he sends out a mid level party to explore the unexplored SW of his region.  After several days of exploration and mapping, they reveal the area to be drier, mostly scrub, rough, and plains, with some forested areas.  They are interdicted twice by a group of 17 ogres, but keep their distance and avoid encounter.  In the area they discover a N town of 4500; they make some introductory diplomacy with them and spend the night.  They also discover a CG village of 200 who receive them coolly, wary of the lawfulness that paladins bring to their lands.  Probably the most interesting thing they discover is a lone Illusionist hermit living in the wilderness.  Bakarit is able to make very friendly relations with him and finds a future trainer and mentor.  After 5 days in the field they return to Dawnbreak to rest.  With his entire hex now revealed, Godhard can now begin the task of clearing out lairs and planning construction for his keep.

Sandpit Dungeon Delve-

While resting, the low level guys find out that in the aftermath of the battle at Fort Dawnbreak, a group of goblins made off with several bolts of very valuable fine silk from their raid on the Merchant Quarters and are offering a reward for their return.  Bakarit is able to add to this rumor that while travelling to the fort he had seen a group of goblins descending down into a sandy area carrying some large bundles.  They quickly put 2 and 2 together and plan a delve into the nearby Sandpit Dungeon which up until now they have heard only vague rumors that some more powerful adventurers deemed the delve not worth their time.  They gear up and get to the locale, about a mile of scraggly pine nestled among low dunes of sand.  At the lowest spot they find a sand clogged hole, and Ard lowers himself first into a sand covered cavern, 2 piles of bones knit together into a skeleton and attack, as 2 more creep forward, the party pushing through the upper hole as fast as possible.  Ard holds them off with a mirror image spell, and the fighters smash 2 skeletons and Pentagon chases 2 more away with his holy symbol.  They consider chasing the fleeing skeletons down a natural stone stairs going east, but instead elect to finish exploring the larger cavern, where they avoid some fire beetles and giant rats, and find a small rear chamber containing 2 zombies which they turn and chase into a dead end staircase filled with sand and finish them off.  A small amount of treasure and some possibly magic arrows are found.  They search the NW part of the cavern and trigger a spray of spikes trap and a subsequent charge from 5 angry weirdly evolved bird men.  Their double talon attacks are quite formidable, but 3 fall to a sleep spell and the other 2 are brought down.  Three fine rubies are found on their meager garments.  Feeling like the larger cavern has been cleared, they move east carefully hoping to locate the fleeing skeletons; they also find a few scraps of filthy silk discarded here, and carefully avoid another trigger trap on the crude staircase.  The passage narrows and they continue east, opening into another large chamber, this one even larger, and containing a large pond fed by underground streams flowing SE.  They are besieged by giant ants, but defeat them, and notice a strange carved stone door that they avoid.  To the east they find another set of rough stone stairs, and again evidence of soiled scraps of silk leading down the stairs.  Before they can follow they are hailed by a group of gnomes who are stuck and lost down here, they ask for assistance and promise a reward.  They oblige them, tired from being sand covered and breathing the dusty air for hours.  They rescue the gnomes and make it back to Fort Dawnbreak.  

Session Notes-  We got a new player this week, so that was good to get some new player energy and make the party more robust.  I didn’t over-prep in anticipation of a new player, but I did finish off the Sandpit Dungeon, the “other” low level dungeon I'd given rumors on but had gotten no interest so far.  I figured a hook of some sort would have come in the aftermath of the big battle, and came up with the stolen bolts of silks, as the goblins actually had raided the merchant quarters looking for loot.  I figured at least one band would have escaped with some valuables.  They took the hook they didn’t have to.  This map took me no time at all, just improvised it and all rolled off the DMG dungeon level 1 table.  I did swap the dire corbies in for some orcs that I had actually rolled.  They just piqued my interest recently when I was browsing Fiend Folio, they seemed fun, tough, and were.  I think DMs can neglect the usefulness of just browsing the monster books in AD&D and only refer to them when needing a specific monster.  I’ve come up with several cool ideas recently just browsing the monster books.  I do recommend taking the time to do a little cross hatching border for your hand drawn maps, if anyone else still does this. Though tedious, it does really help make them pop and more fun to use.  

Treasure and XP-  Monsters- 4x Skeleton 44xp, 5x Dire Corby 145xp, 2x Zombie 100xp, 2x Giant Ant 88xp= 377xp + Treasure- 3x ruby 750xp, 5x Arrow +1 20xp, 100sp/20xp, 300cp/3xp, 50gp, 300ep/150xp= 1053xp.  Total 1430xp/5PCs = 286xp each.  Add % bonus if applicable.  Hench get 15% of their PCs xp.

Graveyard- 10x Gnomes killed by Guidon’s Brigands cavalry charge into the siege camp outside the western brigand Keep.  (session 134)

109x Troops of the Coalition of the Good killed at the assault of the Brigands Western Keep (session 135)

30x Lt Foot, 180x H Foot, 30x Lt Cav, 30x med Cav, 15x Crossbowmen (Coalition of the Good troops), Zalde- M/U5, Seth F6 (raised/failed, permanently deceased), Foyt- M/U5 (raised) killed at the siege of the Loc-Nar forces at Atagon’s ruined tower. (session 136)

Pentagon the cleric killed by Brigands outside the gnomes keep.  (session 137) (revived, 1 week bedrest)