Angharad Campaign (2012)
Contents
Campaign Materials
Materials for the 2012 Angharad campaign using Pathfinder rules.
PDF PlayerMap1_Ceirin_Rhan_Fionn.pdf
Campaign Log
Introduction
It is the year 82 of the epoch known as The Burning, and the players are in the territory of Clan Fionn for the Festival of Litha and the annual Fianna Competition. The Fianna is a loosely organized militia dedicated to the defense of the Angharad people. Being one of the Fianna is considered an honor and only the toughest and bravest may join their ranks.
The annual competition in Rhan Fionn is one of the largest in the region and many compete either for the coveted Fianna slots or for the prize purses offered. The competition itself is a grueling multi-day obstacle/survival course designed to test the skills and mettle of the participants. The competition grounds have been set up in the center of Rhan Fionn at the roadhouse known as The Four Winds. The characters are all known to one another from around the territory and they have decided to join up as a team for the competition.
The Characters
Aed (Human Angharad Cleric of Lugh)
- Priest of The Circle, Brehon and Inquisitor, Aed is seeking the truth behind rumors and omens of witchcraft in the area. Aed seeks to join the Fianna as a tool to continue his quest.
- Aed is from on a farm in Rhan Fionn. At a young age his potential was noticed by an itinerant priest of The Circle and he was taken to the Sun Temple of Lugh as a novice. Working earnestly and thriving under the priests there, especially his elderly mentor Sorcha, Aed is trained as a Brehon (knowledgeable in the laws of the Angharad people). After completing his studies and training Aed was sent back to Rhan Fionn to investigate rumors and omens of witchcraft. He has spent the last several months traveling the territory ministering to the people and acting a judge and mediator, seeking to confirm the rumors or prevent false accusations from causing mayhem. Aed sees joining the Fianna as a tool to help further his quest.
Drust (Human Angharad Barbarian (and eventually bard))
- A veteran of borders skirmishes with goblins and survivor of the Battle of Prywn Crossing, Drust is haunted by something in his past and sees joining the Fianna as a path to redemption.
- Drust is from a commoner farmer family in the goblin plagued territory of Cerdwigg to the west. He left the farm to join the militia to fight against the goblin threat and was among survivors of the terrible Battle of Prywn Crossing. Upon returning home, he discovered his family farm had been raided and all that remained was a burnt out shell and a mass grave. He drifted for a time from town to town, picking up enough work to get by and telling stories of valor in taverns for space on the floor and a full cup. Drust arrived at Rhan Fionn in time for the spring planting and has been working as a farmhand for several months. Something from his past haunts him and Drust sees joining the Fianna as a way to gain redemption.
Nemsey (Human Angharad Druid of Lugh)
- Raised by a wild druid mother, his blood filled with the elemental power of fire, Nemsey carries a rare sparkblade scimitar, a legacy from his unknown father. Nemsey is joining the Fianna as a way of seeking his heritage and his destiny.
- Nemsey was born of a wild Druid mother thought to be “touched by Pan” (a god of fey and chaos among other things) and raised in the forests north of Rhan Fionn. Unable to adjust to civilization herself, Nemsey’s mother frequently left him in the care of the kindly people in the Fionn village of Carumyr. When Nemsey came of age and gained the ability to summon elemental fire, his mother returned. She took him to the darkwoods and taught him the deeper mysteries, how to wield scimitar and fire and the secret language of the Druids. Last winter solstice she brought him a scimitar engraved with runes and the spark of fire on its blade. She said only “It’s from your father. Keep it safe...You will need it someday…” and refused to say more. When spring arrived she once again disappeared into the forest. Nemsey yeans to know more about his heritage and sees joining the Fianna as a step towards his destiny.
Rowan Melandar (Human Angharad Rogue)
- A non-gifted black sheep of the magically blessed Clan Melandar, Rowan seeks to make her reputation among the ranks of the honored Fianna.
- Rowan hails from the city of Tilith the southern capital city of Angtiria. A daughter of the powerful Clan Melandar, Rowan had no magical arcane or divine spark and was a disappointment to her family. Left to her own devices she roamed the streets of the city with other youths and became a pickpocket and shoplifter. Looking for a way out of town after getting in trouble with both the authorities and a local gang she joined up with a band of traveling tinkers who needed protection and appreciated the customers her dagger juggling tricks could draw. She traveled with them for nearly a year before the tinkers arrived in Rhan Fionn seeking business at the Rhan Fionn for the Litha Festival and Fianna Competition. Rowan sees joining the Fianna as an opportunity to earn a reputation and show her worth to her family despite her lack of magic.
Neferirkare (Nefer) (Human Harad Wizard)
- Nefer is the son of a noble house of Haradan who was more interested in his magic than ruling people. At a young age, Nefer shown an aptitude for the arcane and his father humored him by allowing him to study with the royal vizier. But when it appeared that Nefer was too interested in magic and began shirking his duties as first son his house, the father forbade him from continuing his arcane studies. The royal vizier, who had come to enjoy the time tutoring young Nefer (also, loving him like a son), thought it would not do harm to allow Nefer to study magic as long as he committed to royal obligations. Upon discovering the disobedience of his direct and divine decree, Nefer's father makes an example of the vizier and executes him. Devastated by the loss of his master and tired of the heavy-handed and oppressive rule of his father and the theocracy, Nefer leaves his family, his noble heritage and his birthright behind and heads north on search of knowledge and freedom. Neferirkare with his raven familiar is currently in Angtiria looking for magic and adventure. Unbeknownst to him, his father has sent guards, retainers and spies across the land in search of him.
Brand (Human Angharad Ranger)
- Brand is a ranger of Arawn.
Campaign Start
The players competed in the annual regional Fianna Competition for the privilege of joining the famed Fianna. A local Clan Elder Laithan Fionn induced the party to take his foster daughter on their team in exchange for free room and board for six months at the Four Winds roadhouse (which is a Fianna hangout anyway). Their main competition was from a group headed by a younger son of another powerful Clan Elder named Farne. During a multi-day endurance race through the wilderness the PC's encountered and killed a patrol of Serpent's eye goblins with a map, indicating they were searching for a "deep cave". Goblins are not normally found in organized bands on a mission in this territory. Nearby they found a cave with an Owlbear nest (along with a number of dead goblins). They won the competition and became local celebrities.
Later back in the local town of Ceirin, they were with Aed visiting the local Temple of Lugh when local guardsmen came to the temple for assistance. The scene they were brought to was a local drug deal gone bad with a twist, dark religious implements were found charged with negative energy which killed a guard. Channeling positive energy dispersed the auras. Among the implements was found a broken amulet or holy symbol.
Clan Fionn Politics
Clan Elder Laithan Fionn invites the party to his manor house to celebrate their victory, where he explains the three factions among Clan Fionn. Normally a suitable and capable Queen is chosen to lead a Clan, but Clan Fionn has a prophecy that the original bloodline must rule for the clan to prosper. The trouble is, (according to Laithan) the current Queen of the bloodline is spoiled and mismanaging the clan wealth and politics with other clans. One mostly urban faction supports the Queen, the Prophecy and the status quo. Another faction, mostly rural, wants a new queen and screw the prophecy (Lathain is a leader in this faction). The third wants to be left out of it, but generally supports the prophecy. Laithan lobbies for the support of the new Fianna, not directly in the conflict, but the gist is by 'I think the clan is in for hard times and I want to be proactive... by doing good things for the clan under my direction, my faction can gain prestige'. The group defers, choosing not to be seen as supporting one faction over another.
Owlbear Cave
Returning to the Owlbear cave, it was found to be very extensive with unusually large fungal and insect growth. Found in the cave was evidence of old and also ancient construction and a somewhat recent expedition by unsuccessful spelunkers of some type, one was found to have a complete amulet similar to what was found in the drug dealer's house. They also found access to a hidden shelf in the mountain above the cave with a monolith left by the Ancients, still filled with mysterious power and thought to be source/reason of the unusually verdant cave systems. At the far end of the caves an aqueduct system left by the Ancient's was also found.
Goblin Raid
Back at the Four Winds for rest and resupply, they receive word of a goblin raid at the nearby Brin Quarry. Several dozen serpent's eye had attacked and some the miner's/quarrymen were trapped. The PC's arrive just as the goblins are pulled out, this time they are accompanied by several of their hobgoblin masters. They are driven out, but a band of nearly a dozen escape. The players pursue even after finding out the raiders receive reinforcements. The goblins are defeated again, but again a number escape, in particular the hobgoblin leaders, and they flee into the wilderness.
The party tracked the raiders northward into the forest, and found that they had been joined by reinforcements. They were nearing the Silver River as dusk approached when they came upon the goblin camp and battle ensued. A contingent of goblins, including at least two hobgoblin leaders once again escaped, leaving their remaining minions to face the wrath of the party. At the end of the battle the party took a goblin prisoner, but being wounded and low on spells from their second battle of the day they decided to camp for the night. The prisoner knew little of value, except that they raiders were "looking for deep cave".
After many days they manage to track them to a cave, and find even more goblins, very much deeper in human lands than should be expected. The party observes a large amount of activity by the goblins as they scout the lands around, and they conduct minor raids over a week (with mixed success), foraging for additional supplies to supplement their dwindling rations and keeping cold camps.
- One day after observing a foraging party leave the cave, they venture in to make an attack. At the entrance a sentry goblin scampers off into the darkness shouting warnings. Not wishing to press to far from the entrance, took up station where they could still see the exit and waited the goblins out for over an hour. Then they noticed a goblin attempting to sneak past them from the outside. They killed the sneaker and spotted another, but as they headed towards the exit, a hail of arrows greeted them (either a foraging party had returned early, or there was another exit that allowed a force to be moved in behind them). Soon after the attack from outside, more goblin archers began to attack from within the cave, catching the party in a cross fire. Soon almost everyone had been wounded, so the party decided to rush the goblins outside and escape. Nemsey cast an Obscuring Mist to help cut down the goblin accuracy from the rear. The goblins on the outside withdrew in the face of the humans attack, some staying behind to slow them down, while others fell back still shooting, however the daylight and firing into melee cut down their accuracy. Eventually the party made a break for the forest. The goblins lost four or five, including some of their special serpent archers and almost everyone in the party had wounds, and both sides disengaged. However, once night fell the goblins sallied out and the party was tracked to their camp and attacked by a hobgoblin a bugbear and a dozen goblins. The party successfully fights them off, killing the bugbear, but the hobgoblin and some serpent archers escape. When daylight comes the party decides its gotten to hot to stick around.
The group heads to the nearby fort Crosswatch to rest and resupply. Fort Crosswatch is communal Angharad defense against goblins and humanoids from the mountains, manned by Angharad from most Clans in the region. At this point Aed the Cleric is now an NPC.
Brand and Nefer
While resupplying and sharing their findings with the fort commander, they are joined by Brand the Ranger and Nefer the Mage. The reinforced party travels back south and conducts several more raids, cutting into their numbers substantially, but the goblins receive substantial reinforcements from coming from someplace to the north. Leading the reinforcements is a Serpent Eye Warmaster, a terrible general of the goblinoids which has a serpent's head. Undaunted the players stage a daring raid through an alternate entrance directly into the hobgoblin leader's lair. They manage to slay two shaman and several hobgoblins as well as gather some loot and intel:
- After defeating the shaman and throwing back the goblin's first sortie, the players started ransacking a few of the rooms. The goblins had the hallway covered with archers, making Drust pay big when he crossed between rooms. While the archers were nocking arrows, Brand and Rowan moved up to the next set of rooms. From the darkness of the main room, a sibilant voice invited the "thresh-kreen" (moving food with teeth) to parlay.
- A few shouted words were exchanged and then Brand threw a torch into the darkened main room. A mini-horde getting organized to attack was revealed, about two dozen mixed goblins and hobgoblins with a few bugbears and the snake-headed Hob Warmaster. The Warmaster clarified his offer to be that if the party surrendered, their deaths would be swift... Brand's response was to pin a goblin to the wall with a javelin when it moved to douse the torch.
- Deciding to retreat, a well placed Obscurement and Grease spells kept the goblins fumbling and bumbling FOREVER in the hallway while the party grabbed what loot it could and retreated back to the escape shaft. Upon arrival it was found that the covering boulder had been rolled back into place. Drust and Nemsey climbed to the top and after a heroic effort (5 hero points burned) the raging barbarian managed to roll the boulder aside.
- The party is now strung out up and down the shaft with the goblin and hobgoblins close behind, and an unknown number waiting up top...
Luckily there was only a small party left at the exit (the others went back to the main attack, thinking the party was cornered) and the party manages to leave.
Fleeing the goblins through the forest they decide the brave the Old North Road (rumored to be troll territory) and escape to Fort Cam (a wooden stockade manned by forces from Crosswatch). At Fort Cam the commander there informs the party that there has been trouble at Crosswatch, and while they are not under arrest, they are to be escorted back to Crosswatch under guard for questioning.
At the gates Nefer "the heretic" has some trouble with an old rival, but the party closes ranks and trouble is avoided. There is dual trouble at Crosswatch, first, hostilities between Clan Moryan and Clan Fionn have escalated over some disputed grazing lands. Clan Moryan is withdrawing their troops which will probably be followed by a withdrawal of Fionn, substantially weakening the fort just before harvest raids on goblin farms. Second, a crow was shot by a hunter at the fort and it was found to be carrying a note in an unknown language. This happened right after Nefer left abruptly with the Fianna and suspicion fell on him (he is a foreigner wizard with a raven familiar who speaks many strange languages who was not popular with many people in the fort). However, the commander trusts him and after getting information about their goblin fighting he asks Nefer to translate the note. It is vague but seems to be carrying information about the forts readiness. The fort is locked down for awhile while a search is conducted, but no further information was found. Later the party concludes its business at the fort and head back south to square off against the goblins again.
