Rod's Way of The Wicked

[phil]

Homebrew Way of The Wicked Campaign led by Rod

(Warning : Lots of Spoilers)

[phil]

Players are first invited to introduce their characters (description, background, personality, picture).

For each session, I propose that someone volunteers to add a post summarizing following points :
- who attended the session
- party's key achievements during the session

- list of deaths
- party's key knowledge gathered during the session
- party's key's items / wealth which has been acquired / lost / spent
- remaining party loot which has not been split per character

To better track individual wealth / resources, I also suggest that for each session each player should add a simple post listing :

- any comments about the session
- total character wealth (based on reselling price) at the start of the session
- money acquired / lost / spent
- items acquired / lost / spent
- total character wealth (based on reselling price) at the end of the session

Obviously, the Thread can also be used for party discussions. In-Characters descriptions and interactions will be very much appreciated !

[phil]

Naneel, Undead Lord Priestess of Urgathoa

Naneel looks like a very pale and gaunt young woman. She rarely smiles and is often lost in her own thoughts. She wears a simple long dark robe and shawl. Naneel is only interested in dark religious topics or knowledge related to undeath, diseases and necromancy. She is extremely devout to her Goddess whose interests she will protect at all costs. In contrast to a lot of her clergy colleagues, Naneel has little interest in earthly entertainments and she would rather spend her time studying bodies (dead or alive), reading ancient necromantic tomes, developing new diseases and spells, raising undead or of course praying to the Goddess … Her only “weakness” is that she does enjoy very high quality food, that she will often prepare herself. Despite eating an amazingly large amount of food, she seems to never gain weight and remains almost unhealthily slim.

Her parents were very skilled Aasimars doctors. Her father was a great surgeon while her mother was an amazing healer specialized in curing diseases and poisons. Very young, she was already used to deal with sick / injured people and faced patients deaths on a regular basis. One day a terrible plague stroke the village where they were living. Villagers rotten limbs had to be cut by her father before the disease spread to other body parts while her mother was desperately trying to find the required cure. All her parents efforts were spent in vain as the disease progressed at lightning speed, killing the villagers by the dozen on a daily basis. Her parents also felt ill and she remained the only one in the village not yet affected by the plague. One terrible night, when all hope was almost gone, all the dead villagers hastily buried in the local cemetery, rose from their tombs and assaulted their former friends and family members. The slaughter was absolute. Her parents, weakened by the disease, were rapidly killed while trying to defend her and she faced with horror the undead crowd ready to tear her apart when a dark figure emerged and stilled the ravenous mob. The figure spoke in an unknown and ancient language which she could strangely understand. She was told that she had been chosen by the Goddess as she was the only one to have resisted the Unholy Plague. The figure renamed her as Naneel and touched her forehead, marking her with Urgathoa's dark symbol and turning her shining blond hair and sparkling blue eyes to a deep black color. Since that day, Naneel is a most fervent priestess of the Goddess. She is very comfortable among death, pestilence and the presence of undeads. Pestilence is a cleansing force leaving the strongest to survive and serve the Goddess.

[phil]

Quick summary of last 2 sessions

14 June 2015

- players : BK, Raymond, Zohan, Philippe

We finally found the secret passphrase to activate the vault in the demiplane. Our Archer managed to kill the angle golems while the antipaladin went down during combat. After going through the last door, we found the Book of the Damned, a Stygian Mirror, a Lord Vampire Chalice and an Unholy bastard sword with missing pommel. Our Hellknight went mad after reading the book while Naneel managed to overcome the magic insanity. We had to leave the Hellknight alone in the demiplane and he finally escaped after transporting himself through Hell. He is supposed to be hidden somewhere in the wilderness with the Staff artefact acquired during previous session. The Book of the Damned was given to the Wizard who opened the demiplane for us and he promised to help us in return for the upcoming war at the Vale. Naneel then raised the Antipaladin as a Juju Zombie and we gave the Chalice to the Vampire Prince who turned our new HellKnight to vampire. We went to talk to the Duergar who also agreed to help us after some dangerous discussions. We then went to talk to the Medusa. Naneel blinded herself and offered a blind young man to the medusa as a gift to facilitate negotiations. The medusa agreed to help us in the War if we could free her from the curse created by Isis, an ancient goddess shade currently located in Abbadon. Naneel transported the party there and we were requested by Isis to help free her from the dominion of a being located inside a magic gem. After being transported inside the gem, we fought some weird ooze and were told that the domain was controlled by a powerful Ravener who we had to defeat in order to free the goddess. Our archer accepted a position of Herald to defend the goddess interests.

Spoils of War : Book of the Damned found in the Vault, a Stygian Mirror taken by Naneel, a Lord Vampire Chalice found in the Vault and an Unholy bastard sword taken by the Archer

Lost Items / Valuables : Book of the Damned given to the NPC Wizard, Staff Artefact taken away by the insane HellKnight, a Lord Vampire Chalice given to the Vampire Prince

21 June 2015

- players : Clement, BK, Raymond, Zohan, Philippe

We met the Ravener who made our Archer to cower helplessly. After a brief discussion, the Ravener attacked us and the Archer was promptly fried to death. We would have been annihilated without our Summoner fantastic idea to destroy the gem the Ravener was protecting. The gem destruction allowed us to return to Abbadon while the Ravener thanked us for freeing him from the gem's dominion and kindly decided not to destroy us. Isis resurrected our Archer while requesting him to spread the faith and then she slowly faded away. We went back to the material plane to find the medusa transformed into a human cleric of Isis who decided to follow the Archer. After 30 days downtime during which characters could do crafting / retraining / spell research, we started the assault on the Vale. Our vampire squad was badly wounded by clerics but we managed to defeat all defenses including knights, paladins, Lamassu and a couple of golems. Naneel collected the soul and the corpse of the Captain there. Then our forces fought several waves of enemies resulting in the total destruction of our vampire and Duergar squads. Our Antipaladin was nearly killed by Clerics shooting Searing Light while our Vampire HellKnight went down and had to revert to mist form. While Naneel summoned a squad of Cacodaemons to collect more souls and more corpses (4 priests and 1 knight), paladins riding hippogriffs attacked her and she went down promptly. During that time, the Archer and the Summoner destroyed 2 Angels Archons. The paladins then attacked the Summoner,  the Archer and the Antipaladin who was finally destroyed. The Archer was almost killed but was finally saved thanks to the Summoner help. Naneel was healed back by the Summoner invisible cohort. This was the last battle which led to our victory. Townsfolk were promptly captured, enslaved, tortured and killed. 1 week downtime ensued.

Spoils of War : 7200 GP per surviving character while BK new character will get 4700 GP in addition to his starting gold, 1 rod of lesser metamagic was given to the Summoner, Naneel handed over the Stygian mirror to the Summoner, 2 Asmodean Large Shields +2, 2 scrolls of Cure Critical Wounds, Archer gave the Unholy bastard sword to the HellKnight, Archer took several arrows of Law, Isis Religious book given by Isis to Archer

Lost Items / Valuables : several castings of Non-Detection (at 50GP each)

Please let me know if there is anything inaccurate in this summary and do not hesitate to add/correct names.

[phil]

Actions performed by Naneel during 1 week downtime :

- get a town's major house quickly converted to a basic Urgathoan temple (using town's labor)

- spread a dozen deadly diseases amongst the 2000 surviving townfolk

- attend to townfolk death to collect ~10 basic souls every day

- categorize corpses of skilled townsfolk / fallen warriors and store them in the temple stone cellar

- store corpses of high level NPCs and Lammasu in a secure location in Abbadon

- teleport back to an Urgathoan major temple and purchase a dark Reliquary (+250GP) mithril buckler +1

- collect ~200 unskilled corpses to prepare build Necrocrafts

- identify potential pupils amongst high potential kids who seem resistant to the plague

- start preparing special ritual to raise a suitable Corpse Companion

- pray to the Goddess and thank her for our glorious victory !

[phil]

5 July 2015

- players : Clement, BK, Raymond, Philippe

During the 1 week downtime, Naneel prepared a great ritual while collecting souls of folks who died on a daily basis due to "interrogation" sessions, plague and harsh conditions. This ritual led to the sacrifice of the whole town population and enabled the raise of a great undead knight. The party, full of confidence, had to fallback after not being able to climb a simple mountain (which was protected against magical flying means and teleportation) ! After 1 day of additional preparation, the mountain peak was reached and we found an ancient temple at the top. Our fearless Summoner broke the temple doors and immediately the whole mountain top was covered by a raging holy fire storm causing immense damage every round. Inside the temple, a Peri-Angel paralyzed Naneel with some sort of fascination and started to furiously slash at our Summoner. The following round, the fierce HellKnight almost fried by the fire decided to roll down the mountain, while the Oracle joined with Naneel and her undead cohort to jump down from the peak while coordinating a Plane Shift to be cast just before reaching the ground 700 feet below. During that time, the Summoner sorely wounded and abandoned by his peers, had to retreat as well. The Oracle's Plane Shift did not work so well and the poor lass was lost somewhere in Abaddon and took 1 day to find her way back. The next day, we attacked the peak again to find the temple empty. Mysterious stairs in the sky were leading to the next mountain where the Angel had apparently joined a Mythic Phoenix. Courageously we attacked and both divine beings were quickly destroyed by the mighty fists of our Summoner. A great treasure was found in the form of a priceless Phoenix great egg and 5 minor ones. Naneel left to Abbadon to sell this treasure to the greatest bidder. Then we entered the temple on the last mountain. After a maze with various riddles, we managed to reach the heart of the sanctuary where a weak looking human couple was standing waiting for us. We magnanimously offered to spare their miserable lives if they would simply step aside and let us pass. Those fools refused ! The following round, the human female uttered a holy word which paralyzed the Hellknight and the Undead cohort while the human male teleported from party member to party member to deal frightening damage with his fists. Naneel was killed outright. In the meantime, our Oracle went with a stone of silence to face the human female to prevent further casting. However, the female adroitly smashed her staff on our poor Oracle face who died in 1 round. Our invincible Summoner was unable to land any significant attack on the human male who was way too agile. Decision was made to retreat. The Summoner and his cohort grabbed the dead bodies, while the Hellknight who turned into gaseous form was half inhaled in the Summoner lungs as a way to be carried outside. The undead cohort was left behind and was quickly destroyed. Naneel and the Oracle were transported to a temple in a great city where Naneel was first raised from death. She then raised the Oracle and performed the required Restoration spells (using Blood Money to avoid costly components).

Spoils of War : Phoenix great egg (250000GP), 5 minor eggs (1500GP each), dancing scimitar +3 (re-selling price is 49000GP); all items were sold resulting in 61300GP per character


Lost Items / Valuables : several castings of Non-Detection (at 50GP each), 2500GP spent by the Oracle and Naneel to pay for one Raise Dead


Please let me know if there is anything inaccurate in this summary and do not hesitate to add/correct names.

[MIB]

Jul 6, 2015 20:52:24 GMT 8 phil said:

After a maze with various riddles, we managed to reach the heart of the sanctuary where a weak looking human couple was standing waiting for us.

This is the part where I'll say:"Just kill/attack them before they kill/attack us! No ordinary human couple would just be waiting around such an area!"

Alas, hopefully you'll have your revenge after you find out who they are!

May the Dark Lord watch over you.

[phil]

I would like to clear some deep misunderstanding about Urgathoa. The Goddess is a strong believer and supporter of Mankind and other intelligent beings. She deeply cherishes the wonderful experiences that Life brings. She also believes that (worthy & strong willed) individuals should be given the chance to continue those experiences and overcome the limitations of their short-lived destinies. This is where she offers the glorious path of undeath. Urgathoa is very much respected in many regions as much by peasants as by more educated aspirants.

Here is a very popular song (extracted from Wayfinder 7) which briefly describes Urgathoa origins :

"
One evening very long ago a princess died of asthma
And found herself queued up with shades in line to see Pharasma.
The princess sniffed indignantly, “I’m not some protozoa!
I don’t know who this goddess is, but I am Urgathoa!”
Chorus: Urgathoa, she’s not some protozoa! Urgathoa, the Princess Urgathoa!

Pharasma said, “Please wait your turn, celestial or infernal.
While I will surely get to you, your wait may seem eternal.”
The princess laughed, “I’m out of here!” jumped on an extinct moa
And headed for the land above. “So long!” cried Urgathoa.
Chorus: Urgathoa, she rides a giant moa! Urgathoa, the Princess Urgathoa!

“I’m sorry, dear,” Pharasma said, “You simply can’t be leaving.
What’s done is done, and dead is dead, and folk are not done grieving.”
The willful princess then replied, “Ooh look! A feather boa!”
And grabbed a dead plumed serpent, put it on–That’s Urgathoa!
Chorus: Urgathoa, she wears a feather boa! Urgathoa, the Princess Urgathoa!

She spurred the axebeak with her heels, then with the dead couatl.
The moa took off like a spear launched out of an atlatl.
And where they landed in the world? Someone swore, “Croatoa!
Our colony has died!” he cried. “I blame you, Urgathoa!”
Chorus: Urgathoa, the plague of Croatoa! Urgathoa, the undead Urgathoa!

So that explains how undeath came and why we now have sickness,
And also it explains, I think, where undead get their quickness.
So if you die and you find death to be as sour as quinces
Just follow the example of the jolly pallid princess!
Chorus: Urgathoa, our Princess Urgathoa! Urgathoa, our Goddess Urgathoa!
"

[raymond]

The House of Caseus

Legend goes that the House of Caseus was founded centuries ago across the seas from the western port of Daveryn and only in recent decades have the Caseus operated a factory in that city.

In truth, the great trading house was founded by an itinerant alchemist of unknown origins (but with a lot of unexplained cash) a generation ago who had discovered the secrets of turning cold air into gold. Wielding the power of "refrigeration" Caseus ships soon cornered the market in exotic cheeses all across Talingarde. Soon fresh fruits from the south joined the list of "mandatory" condiments at any fashionable nobleman's table bring the House to even greater heights of wealth and power. This allowed them to finance much good work in the city of Daveryn including numerous religious statues and murals dedicated to the Mitra as profession of their faith.

Unlike other mercantile Houses of Talingrade, the House of Caseus took the pursuit of arcane knowledge very seriously. There shipping empire being built around it. It would also be there downfall.

Optimus, one of the many third generation scions of the House (they breed like rats after all), showed an aptitude for arcane arts from early age. Unlike many of his littermate, it was decided that he would pursue his mastery of the arcane in the city of Ghastenhall instead of being trained in-house.

It was in his fourth year in Ghastenhall, that a series of disasters finally struck the house. The low level terrorism of Asmodeus finally burst into full rebellion about 2 years ago and with it the peace time trade in luxury goods. Trying to pivot in the new mercantile landscape, the House of Caseus tried to move into meat shipment with only mixed success.

In the rapidly poisoning atmosphere of Talingrade in wartime, the House was first denied access to the food shipping business on "hygiene" grounds due to the (being) "rats" problem. This dire situation did not bode well for the House. Divining that the current situation was but a precursor of worst to come, the elders of the House enacting a desperate Plan. Dividing what remained of the House's capital among members of the third and fourth generation, the elders sent them out across the world in the hopes that at least some of them would survive. Those out of the city like Optimus received there own share via letters of credit to be redeemed into gold at the earliest opportunity.

Even then not all the younger members escaped before orders arrive that all "non-good" races were to be confined to a small part of the city as a precautionary measure in the event that some of them maybe spies for Asmodeus. The small number of Houses affect by the ruling would have their property "loan" to the city as a sign of good will since they did not need them at the moment.

The end finally came to rump of the House when books on demons and Amodeus (angels and Mitra were mixed in but never mentioned) as well as implements of demon summoning (or just general summoning) were found on the premises (what could not be destroyed in time).

The House of Caseus was accused of demon worship while falsely pretending to convert to Mitra. The remaining member were put to the question and never heard of again.

Optimus had by then dropout of magic training and was lying low in Ghastenhall when the Fireaxe army arrived. Pledging his allegiance to Asmodeus he joined the invasion but was killed during the magical duel with white clerics and wizards only to return as a Juju zombie as part of the mass sacrifice by Naneel at the end of the victory.

[phil]

UMA

Uma looks like a human woman with pale and slightly olive skin complexion. She usually skillfully uses make-up to further whiten her skin and artfully soften her naturally cruel expression. Her long dark brown hair are normally combed in a Geisha hairstyle including several long hairpins made of various colors and materials. She often wears an expensive red silken kimono, among which folds a weird hedgehog can sometimes be spotted by the most sharp-eyed observers.

Uma is over-confident, often behaves carelessly and can be extremely impulsive. However, she will flee without hesitation if faced with obviously overwhelming odds. “Others” life has no value in her eyes, unless of course those “Others” can help her reach her goals. Uma is extremely bloodthirsty, she relishes the feeling of hot blood rushing out of the veins of her enemies ...

Uma grew as an orphan street urchin in a large city where crime was rife. She never knew her parents and actually never missed them. Very early, she learned to fend for herself through deception and by using her quite unique poisoning abilities. She was quickly noticed by the local Thieves Guild and joined their ranks. She was trained in various domains including Anatomy, Alchemy, Assassination (AAA) and poisons manipulation where she truly excelled.