(Trogs Redux) #8 - Night's Dark Terror

Phinious Whistelteets, a half-elf bard of Riffilin blood, trying to live up to his merchant family standards. His charming personality was going to get him a number of enchanted and rare items in a deal with the prominent Nubian merchant in Verge. Of course, his fear of light war horses and his deadly allergy to cheese was proving problematic on this journey.

Arnold, another half-elf bard of far more considerable blandness

"Keebs," a Gnome Titan BattleMage, and frighteningly the only competent fighter in the group.

Froedrick Cobblepot, a Gnome Cleric of worshiping the halfing goddess Yondalla. Very recently retired.

28th of HexDec, 1142 - Village of Verge, Kingdom of Marakeikos  

The group was approached by a local, Stephan Sukiskyn.  Representing the interests of his brother, Pytor, he was looking for solid adventurers looking to make solid coin escorting a herd of all-white horses to the elven settlement of Riffilian.  The caravan of horses began in seven days.

29th of HexDec, 1142 - Village of Verge, Kingdom of Marakeikos

With Froedrich quietly relaxing in his new-found retirement, the party needed to hire the services of other adventurers for healing, and perhaps some spellcasting might by helpful.  

Without much discussion, they picked up a cleric of the illegal Cult of Halav, named Danut Boichev.  

Danut

The search for a spell-caster was even more daunting.  They ultimately settled on a surface-living albino Drow named "White Thunder" Gomez. 

"White Thunder"

35th of HexDec, 1142 - Homestead of Sukiskyn, Kingdom of Marakeikos

The party rushed to reach the homestead in the last few flecks of dusk, only to encounter cries of battles and flames over the trees.  A massive goblin raid on the homestead was being conducted. Our heroes rushed to the battered gate, ignoring a pursuing pack of dire wolves with goblin riders.  There, they caught their breath for only a moment, as the portions of the palisade were being breached by yet another group of these endless goblins. 

36th of HexDec, 1142 - Homestead of Sukiskyn, Village of Verge, Kingdom of Marakeikos

Overnight, they aided the defense of the homestead, fighting off wave after wave of this goblin attack.  Finally getting a chance to introduce themselves to Pyotr, he explained numerous goblin tribes had been raiding numerous homesteads in recent weeks. One of the tribes stole their 42 white horses, pending sale in Riffilian, and double the pay would be offered just for the recovery of them.  An additional share would be paid if the safe recovery of Stephan could be made.  He disappeared during the attack, and Pytor was afraid he was held prisoner... or worse. 

2nd of SeptDec, 1142 - The Wildlands, Kingdom of Marakeikos

With the help of two of the homesteaders, 32 of the 42 white horses were recovered and returned back to Sukiskyn.  The party had dispatched most of the Yellowfang tribe, but in interrogating the survivors, discovered than Stephan might very well be the guest of the Wolfskull tribe.   As a great surprise, Froerick quickly cancelled his retirement and had arrived at the homestead with a new companion, a Gnomeling cleric named Or'elle Boffintoe.  Pyotr agreed to half the profits of the horses, in return for the safe recovery of his brother.  

3rd of SeptDec, 1142 - The Yegenev Homestead, Kingdom of Marakeikos

A day later they arrived at the Yegenev homstead, burnt to the ground. After Orel and Keebs debated a deity's ability to direct his clerics on hunches (or talking chipmunks), they moved into the deep woods.

The weather turned bad, freezing rain and the occasional gale force wind. They encountered a half a dozen giant vampire bats, followed a few rounds later by four large goblins being led by an even larger goblin wielding a two-handed sword and giant white wolf that had a freezing breath attack. They fought off the bats and goblins, but allowed the giant goblin and wolf to get away.

  

8th of SeptDec, 1142 - The Petrified Forest of the Wildlands, Kingdom of Marakeikos

Inside a petrified forest, sat a ruined keep, now the home of the Wolfskulls.  

The forest was completely petrified, even the leaves on the trees were turned to stone, the underbrush and a few wild animals as well (Orel snatched up a stone bunny to perform "miracles" on later in his preaching career).

The six had fared well thus far, but the wear and tear of combat finally caught up to him.   Another five vampire bats attacked them and they ripped the party apart.  Phineas' knee was damaged beyond the power of healing anyone possessed.  A later encounter with some of the Wolfskull goblins saw poor Froedrich's skull smashed in.  The captured (and tortured?) goblins provided the location of the where Gregor was being held, Xitiqua.  

Unfortunately for the survivors in the party, the inhabitants of the lair were hobgoblins, and better armed at that.   While the group killed many, encounters with jade statues, and other accessories for the goblin Warlord Vlack were too much for them.  

They never made it back to the homestead, much less Verge.  Stephan was never recovered, however all attacks and rumors of attacks by this group, these cultists, simply seemed to vanish.  

The goblins, working for this Cult of Janus, had obtained ten white horses for the leaders diabolical rituals, as well as a number of ancient Traldaran tapestries that had been hanging at the homestead.  Combined with other tapestries that they had collected, revealed a hidden valley north of their headquarters in Xitiqa.  With a small army of the remaining hobgoblins and gnolls, Illyana meandered through the mountains until finding the entrance to the valley.  They encountered short, stocky human Tralda, and the dog-face Hukkuta.  When the evil visage of Janus appeared, with all her power on display, both Tralda and dog-man bowed down in front of her.  

The heroes had saved Verge but at what cost for this civilization?  And worst yet, no one knew where this berserk Janus was, save a certain Druidess of Verge, and her elderly Pixe-Fairie companion....

GM Notes:  And with that, my third Hackmaster campaign, the one to reignite the remains of the first one, fizzled in a desolate goblin lair, far north of Cloudland Castle.  While it was not a success, it did set up a number of characters for their post-Burning Trogs lives, especially one particular Gnome Titan who has yet to have many mentions in the preludes to Burning Trogs Redux.  

The other benefit the campaign TPK was the transition to the long running Call of the Cthulhu 1920's campaign.  Like the original Burning Trogs Rule!, the storyline has been completed, but I did a much better job setting up 1927-28 if we happen to return to it one day.

I did find some notes on the survivors:

• Clarkos will return to Vadevicsny and help train the baronial militia. He will not adventure again. He will return the land gift to the baroness.
• Lorrigaard will establish a shrine to Echellon in Verge and, by 1147, establish a formal church in Sulescu.
• For Galdor Melwasul ("Strom"), the mad elf survived the orcs and is settling his land deed along the NE edge of town, using the underground lair of the the orcs in B11 as their compound of destruction towards the orkin races!

My notes of the campaign mention the wounds to Froedrich and Phineas.  Phineas was simply a level 12 crit to the knee, which hindered him and obviously the group as well.  Froedrich was hit by a level 17 critical to the side of his unprotected head. How bad is a level 17 crit? How about 4x damage, a broken skull, -7 to hit, -7 to Dex -5 movement, immediately fall unconscious and suffer a severe concussion and obtains the flaws migraine.

That was the beginning of the end for the campaign.

Next: A return to the Star Wars d6 campaign, with episode #23, a relaxing "Holiday" TO BE POSTED 12/14.

For the Burning Trogs Redux #9? I'll link it if it ever happens, but I will say it might involve midgets and a rowboat.