For years, the Great Waste to the west of the Republic has been the home of nomad raiders. Petty little tribes, both human and otherwise, have roamed this trackless waste, raiding each other and the surrounding settlements. For a while, the local lords easily controlled this banditry. Then the tribes became dangerous: the raiders apparently set aside their feuds and prepared for war. Spies reported massive armies gathering. Shortly, some of the farthest flung towns were no longer heard from.
Heeding their spies and the stories of refugees from the west, the lords and the governor of the Republic sent out a call for arms. Throughout the settled lands, they asked for mercenaries and experienced men to fight the nomad foes. All manner of men answered--peasants, mercenaries, veterans, elves, and adventurers. Among these many came your group.
You were late in arriving, for the main army had already marched. Your party joined the ragtag lot of reserves going to meet them: the undesirables and unusables of those who came to fight. Along the way there were many quarrels and disputes. Peasants fought for a dead man's boots; drunken mercenaries ransacked a village; men were knifed as old blood feuds broke out. Finally, the reserves reached a village only recently taken by the main army. Still among the smoking ruins were the signs of nomad enemies--humans, ogres, and other unknown creatures. The commanders halted at this place. Now you have been camped here for several days.
Day 1, Village of Pramayama, noon
Pramayama: civilization's final outpost on your trip west into the madness of the Sind Desert, another village destroyed by the marauding desert nomads. All but two of the villagers gone; the rest either killed or fled east to safety. All food--grain and cattle--has been taken or driven away. The stony fields that passed for farmlands lie stained with the blood of man and beast alike.
1 sq. = 10'
You and the rest of the reserves have spent the last three days using what few resources you have to try and set things right. Burying and burning the dead. Drying mud into bricks to repair the huts. Chopping the remaining palm trees to rebuild the palisade, and weaving palm leaves to mend the fences.
There have been no reports from the main army.
Because your small group of six has more experience than the normal soldier, you have been made special scouts and have been given the title "Guides." This has managed to keep you from having to do most of the dull and demeaning work of the ordinary soldier. Still, you pitch in when you can.
After a morning spent patrolling the lands to the south, you're resting in a lean-to, watching some of the ordinary soldiers at work. Beyond the haze of the heat rising off the earth, and the sounds of hammers, shovels and trowels, you see a ragtag group, even more ragtag than the lot of you, making their way into the village from the north, materializing out of the dust. Haunted men, hunched old women, and small frightened children.
Another group of refugees from the looks of them...
To read the rest, here's the link to the old thread over at Goblinoid Games:
http://goblinoidgames.com/community/viewforum.php?f=85
But here's the TL;DR synopsis:
1. The Village of Pramayama
The party talked with the refugees, and gave them food. The refugees described the destruction of their villages by desert nomad warriors. Captain Sarras assigned the party to guard duty that night, and told them to be on the lookout for Bishop Guillaume. The party instead went out looking for the bishop. On patrol they encountered a pack of hell hounds, one of whom Zelaz charmed. Zelaz, who was moving around dead bodies with his ring of telekinesis, and Taranna took a different way back, but since it was done by private post, those details are lost forever. On the way back, a cold shadow crossed the party's path, and they heard screaming from the middle of the river. It was Bishop Guillaume, under attack by a soul eater, aka, dark cloud with claws! The party defeated the soul eater, then brought the bishop to Sarras' hut.
The bishop had a map. On the right edge was a mountain pass. In the middle was open country. On the top left, written in red, were the words, "O Gods! Guide me to destroy this temple of death!" The next morning Sarras ordered the party to find the Great Pass through the mountains, and then on to the Temple of Death. He advised you to go out and find what's left of the Republic's Army, and see if they have any information that could help, emphasizing the need for discretion, stealth and secrecy. By following the Asanda River north, the party could eventually join a caravan route heading into the desert. Pormas, one of the two remaining villagers, would give you a ride on his raft.
That night, while preparing for the journey, a wizard flying a wyvern and three hastened trolls attacked the party, but thanks to a web spell were made quick work of. Tasrem managed to charm one of the trolls, named Krunk. The other villager, Harold the holy hermit came out and went crazy on the party. The party, not keen on bringing Krunk with them, left him in charge of Harold, hoping to kill the poor guy off. Bastards.
2. The Asanda River
Day 3. Joke was on you guys, though, because the next morning, Pormas related that Harold had killed Krunk during the night. Harold warned you to beware the Malakaz. With that, you were off. Pormas is a drunk, and the journey proved to be quite boring for about a week. Lots of destroyed villages, dead people and livestock.
Day 9. Party ran afoul of two giant crabs. Zelaz charmed one, deciding to ride it. Taranna blasted the other to crab meat. For some reason, the giant crocodile didn't attack you.
Day 12. Party encountered three kids in a boat, Tania the terrible, Dahn and Neru. They're the lone survivors from their village upstream, and were hoping to reach Pramayama. Zelaz gave them his charmed crab as consolation, and of course the party fed them. Roikos gave some wise counsel, and Aristide was bored and irritated by their presence.
Day 14. A boat-full of corpses chained to their oars floated past your raft. A few hours later, at a ford Pormas told you about, you encountered an encampment of one of the Master's army's patrols. At this point, it gets good, and you might as well just read the thread:
http://goblinoidgames.com/community/vie ... =60#p62004
Since everyone posted a combat action before the game met its unceremonious end, we'll resume the action with a combat turn describing the results of your actions. I'll handle the dice rolls for this round, but then leave you in charge of your own rolls for subsequent rounds.