# Why the World Hates Them



## DemonZero (Jul 10, 2006)

Alright, so my group is done for the summer until school starts up again. We had played this campaign a little bit in the Spring, but really got into it during the summer session at college which most of us stuck around for. A few players left, a few were added over the course of our sessions, and probably a few will die when we start back up again,   . I'm the DM and I'm really looking forward to getting back to this, and hope anyone reading this can see why,   

I'm sure if anyone reads much of this they will quickly realize that ours is not exactly the most serious of campaigns, but we love it.

Here's some background info about the city they started in, followed by info on the former ruler:

*Drysand*
This is the self-proclaimed capital city of the Great Drywaste Territory located along the Flowater River that, up until recently, had been ruled by a cruel and mostly unpopular dictator Rhubarb. Recently this man was overthrown in a great riot that broke out in the marketplace.

A young woman, Sarah, was being harassed by soldiers early one morning in front of her father. When the older man stepped between his daughter and the corrupt law enforcers and demanded they leave her alone, he was quickly cut down. Sarah wept uncontrollably next to her fathers corpse like a good daughter as the soldiers taunted her, then grabbed a knife from one of the vendors and threw it at the soldier who gutted her father. She rolled a double critical and the knife found itself caught in an exposed point between the soldier’s helmet and studded leather armor, also known as his neck.

The soldier fell and promptly bled to death while his two friends, enraged, charged Sarah but were pushed down by a table thrown at them by a very large Half-Orc woman who had been in the area at the time and saw the events as they had happened. A few other guards heard the commotion and quickly arrived to the scene. The fighting continued to escalate as the guards were pushed back by the growing mob of angry citizens. The city guard couldn’t be mobilized quickly enough to cause any sort of effective resistance to this sudden surge in violence from the people who for so long had lied back and taken whatever hideous abuse had been done to them.

Some of the guard joined the rebellion. The guard were, after all, citizens of Drysand themselves and some truly did want to protect the people. Among the guard, an older captain named Alonso in particular stood out, ordering his entire patrol to join with the city once he realized what was happening. Many of the nobles and upper class fled by whatever means they had, though some were not aware of the true extent of the rioting until it had reached the palace. Rhubarb teleported to some unknown location in tears. He has not yet been found. Sarah was trampled to death in the riot and joined with her father in the afterlife. The people of Drysand raised the gold to have a true resurrection cast upon the two heroes who started the great rebellion, but they were happy in the afterlife and decided to remain, so the residents of the city are using the money to build a monument in their honor. 

Drysand is a desert city but is sustained well enough by irrigation from the Flowater river which flows through the center of the city. A large bazaar stretches from one end of the city to the other on either side of the river where just about everything is sold. Rhubarb’s palace is located in the north-eastern side of the city. This palace is currently in the process of being disassembled and each piece of it buried beneath the sand, never to be looked at or thought of again.

Drysand is currently trying to reestablish itself as the city is once was before the days of Rhubarb, known for its beautiful arts and crafts and peaceful life. People are trying to get away from the monarchy that had ruled it for so long, which isn’t very difficult due to the lack of any legitimate heirs of Rhubarb. Still, not much has been done historically in any nation that doesn’t closely resemble a monarchy, so the citizens are actually being pretty liberal for their time in their effort to establish an oligarchy.

Well-educated members from each race that makes up at least 5 percent of the population have been selected to serve on the Counsel that rules collectively with the power of a king, along with one notably wise Elven scholar named Lelia (Elves are only about 3% of this cities population, and are pretty uncommon in any nonelven society, though still present). Halflings, Half-Elves, and Humans make up the majority of the population. Council members serve for life, but can retire or be removed by the Council. The Council is composed of 12 individuals and will choose replacement members as they are needed.


*About Rhubarb*
Dictators have long been the standard in Drysand, though none had been so cruel and completely unconcerned with their citizens as Rhubarb. Early after he ascended the thrown at the age of 15 following the sudden assassination of his father, mother, 3 siblings older and younger, cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandmother a great fire also broke out in the Halfling district of Drysand. The fire burned a nearly perfectly square area and the surviving inhabitants were quickly forced off the land. Everything in that area was demolished and a magnificent palace was erected “to show people of Drysand that the city will recover from the tragedy and be greater than ever before.” Later in his life Rhubarb would not be bothered to explain his actions to the populace, but this was early in his career and he at least tried.

The palace was perhaps the most beautiful in the world, with murals painted on every wall, large fountains that threw water colored red, green, and purple high into the air, and exotic animals from around the continent kept in places that were maintained mostly through expensive magic. It was closed to the public.

The cost of maintaining the palace and Rhubarb’s other decadent projects was astronomical. The city had survived in the past by exporting arts and crafts to nearby cities, towns, and villages. There are also a few delicious fruit and some simply weird ones that for whatever reason, barring magical aid, seem to be capable of growing only in the sediment along the Flowater. This was enough for a comfortable living standard among most of the city’s residents.

However, to make his own living standard as comfortable as he wanted it, something had to be done. First Rhubarb increased taxes from three silver a month to one gold every three weeks. Shortly after that Rhubarb sought out extra funds by creating a slave trade. The Drysand army conquered nearby settlements and enslaved the populations, selling them to wealthier nations across the continent (though a few rare nations had criminalized this practice, most had no laws against slavery and no interest in making such laws, though some passed laws regarding proper treatment of slaves after the trade expanded thanks to Rhubarb’s efforts). The nation of Anaximandros in particular buys about 35% of all slaves coming from Drysand.

Eventually Rhubarb exhausted his neighbors and would not venture into other nations and territories for fear of starting a war. The guard of Drysand were more than enough to subdue other settlements in the Great Drywaste and keep the local population under control, but the power of other nations to the west and east of Drywaste intimidated Rhubarb from taking more aggressive actions. To find more slaves to feed the trade, Rhubarb decreed that the firstborn child of every couple become property of the city, and sold those children off to whomever would pay for them. As a result of this, most of the adventurers have an older sibling somewhere else in the continent whom s/he never knew and who serves some master, unless they’ve died (probably not, most slave owners take care of their investments).

Though Rhubarb’s current location is unknown, his power has been severely diminished with the loss of his city.


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## DemonZero (Jul 10, 2006)

*Introductions in the Beggining*

After the successful rebellion, the city’s newly formed oligarchic council calls upon six noble adventurers to serve the home everyone just fought so valiantly to protect.

Within this initial party were three heroes of the rebellion. An old man named Alonzo, captain of a squad of guards that joined with the uprising. His age often plays tricks upon his mind, but his heart is good and his soul pure. He pledged his loyalty to his god long ago and swore to defend the weak and the innocent. His granddaughter, Kaori, a fiery young woman who’s skill in combat surpasses even her father’s rides with him into battle. She is an untested woman who saw her first true combat in the rebellion, but her skill and potential are unquestionable. Their familial ties are unquestioned, their devotion and love for each other unbreakable, and other such metaphorical imagery.

The third hero is a young Gnome named Glim Nackle. He is the rebellious son of Rhubarb’s former advisor and sees it as his mission in life to mold the world into what he view's as perfect through the acquisition of knowledge and the power of song. During the rebellion, Glim rallied and inspired hundreds with music from his balliset and words from his heart. While not much of a fighter himself, Glim provides a boost to all his allies (and in a party this large any benefit given to the whole group can be extremely helpful) and often (sometimes unintended) comic relief.

Also called into action is a young artisan and former supporter of Rhubarb. Shinobu is his name and his family is the only thing keeping him from being banished. His family, though wealthy, is well liked by the commoners of the city for their philanthropic attitude towards the poor. Shinobu is an exception, a sort of black sheep in the family. They hope to change Shinobu’s view of the world and redeem him in the eyes of the people by putting him to work for the new government.

The next adventurer is an Elven ranger named Estacia, cousin to Lelia (the councilwoman). Estacia makes no attempt to hide her hatred of humans and in fact mentions often how easily they can be tracked and killed. No one is quite sure of the cause of this hatred, but given the general abundance of humans it could prove very useful in their adventures. Lelia also hopes traveling with the humans will calm Estacia’ hatred, but she has her doubts.

These five were summoned to appear before the council to receive their mission. They arrived to find the council a hideous, unorganized brawl of words. The clearly divided council, made of three Halflings, two Half-Elves, 6 Humans bickered and cursed each other while the twelfth member, the Elven master of lore Lelia, sat in her seat and stared disapprovingly at the rest.

-“We all know what the humans’ plotting did in the Halfling district, I see no reason why we should up and trust them just because there’s on less of them now!”
-“The tragedy would never have been so pronounced in the Halfling district had everyone not always been so insistent upon separating themselves from each other, having different ‘districts’ and ‘towns’ for each race was a terrible idea to start with.”
-“I’ve had to live next to a pair of the stumpies ever since that ‘tragedy,’ and I’ll have you know I would never have stood for it if I had a choice!”
-“Don’t call us ‘stumpies,’ that’s Dwarves!”
And similar banter.

Lelia finally pulled the party aside and explained to them in a private room what was needed. “The empire to the northeast of here continue to grow with every passing day. Our nation is old, but our government is young and our resources exhausted after Rhubarb’s rule. We need help from our sister cities and nations to the west, so I ask of you four to travel to the Westernlands to seek an alliance with the king of the capital city, Westernlands City. He is a Gnome with many names, as Gnomes are prone to have, but we do know one he likes to go by is Queuetip Fafnir. Based on this, we also think he’s probably a little insane, as Gnomes are prone to be [Glim stays silent at this]. Regardless, we need his help so we are sending you all to him to serve as ambassadors for Drysand.

“We have provided you with horses and two carriages, as well as enough food and water to last you several days. You will have to stop about halfway in the town of Mountains Bordertown to restock yourselves and perhaps take a day off of your travels if you are weary. We are prepared to pay each of you 1,000 gold pieces upon your safe return with any sort of official news from King Queuetip.” The party accepts the task.

Lastly, a cleric named Aurora joins the party just outside of the gates of Drysand. Little is known about this woman, but those who see her know enough to fear her. A terrifying sight, she covers her entire body in spiked, black plate mail and carries with her a greatsword and spiked tower shield. Not a traditional cleric, Aurora can heal wounds but would much rather cause all the suffering she can upon her enemies. For whatever reason, the council of Drysand had sent for her help in the mission.


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## DemonZero (Jul 10, 2006)

*An Ambush in the Sands, a Town at the Border*

The party welcomes Aurora after some conversation and reassurance from Alonzo that the woman who covers herself in black spikes is not a force of evil. The six set out into the night excited to be helping their homeland and, other than Estacia, are eager to learn about their newfound comrades.

The third day after they set out a group of Seven Gnolls begins following them. Unfortunately, none in the group realize this. Kaori had the first watch that night but was not paying any sort of attention at all (something like a 4 and 6 to spot and listen). So it was that her grandfather was awoken when a spear pierced his leg, seriously hurting him but not impeding his movement due to this game’s combat mechanics, 

The rest of the party quickly awaken. Alonso and Aurora haven’t the time to put on their armor, so they are particularly vulnerable, though they do at least have their shields. It is a tough battle, but the party does manage to make it through without losing anyone (a few almost bleed to death, though). They take the leader of the Gnolls hostage to question him and soon find that none of the six can actually speak with him. He is tied up and dragged along with the group. One of the six keeps watch on him and the two carriages pull into Mountains Bordertown about 4 days later.

Upon entering Mountains Bordertown the group discovers that it is actually named Comstock, that many of the townspeople think they’re pricks for calling them by that hideous false name, and that Drysand is often the subject of much ridicule for its naming conventions and insistence on calling every other political body by whatever name it feels is the most appropriate. About the only exception to this is Anaximandros, the great empire to the northeast of the desert nation. They also learn that the name of their destination is Teramore. The adventurers find an inn, The Flaming Halfling, and pay for rooms for themselves.

Once the innkeeper realizes who his patrons are he informs them that a woman living on the edge of the town foresaw their arrival and had told him that they must be sent her way when they arrive. This woman, a reclusive oracle named Alexis, apparently has something very important to talk to them about. The innkeeper also tells them Alexis may be able to help them communicate with their prisoner

The group walked along the road until they arrived at Alexis’ home, except Shinobu. He just kind of stayed in town and talked to people in the tavern. The others found Alexis living in a small, poorly designed hut. As they approached some of the more aware members of the party would’ve smelled the sweet aroma of the feast Alexis had prepared for their arrival. However, since none of the party is particularly observant about anything they had to wait until the walked through the entrance and saw a table, six chairs, and more food and drink spread before them than they could possibly consume.

Alexis is a very strange individual. Perhaps she stays so reclusive because she has such difficulty talking with and relating to other people. She can’t even make a good first impression with all the delicious food she prepared for the group. Much of her problem lies in the way she speaks, which resembles a deranged villain who makes no attempt to hide her evil intentions. Alexis is not an evil woman and in fact is quite nice once on gets to know her, but the party still felt quite uncomfortable in her home even after Alonso assured them he felt no evil emanating from her.

“Greetings, adventurers,” she says as they enter. “Please come in and have a seat. I have seen the future of this town and know that we will need your help to maintain it. There is a man who lives in a cave not too far from this town, perhaps 2 hours journey on foot at most. In this cave a man, Negredo, is planning a raid upon Comstock. Normally he sticks to travelers on the road, but recently he and his gang have grown more bold and wealthy. Negredo has also learned to channel more powerful magic from his dark god—“

“Which dark god?” Alonso asks, eager to do battle with this foul priest.

“I don’t know, there are hundreds of them. One of the more obscure ones. Negredo is a sadistic creature that delights on the pain and suffering of others! There is very little he will actually gain from the attack he plans but the satisfaction of seeing our blood spilled. I ask that you protect my home. But first, eat and enjoy!”

When asked about the food before them, Alexis explains it is simply the product of a hero’s feast spell. When asked if she can speak to the Gnoll Alexis replies that she has prepared a _Tongues_ spell for the occasion.

“Why did you attack us in the night, you foul beast?” Alonso questions the Gnoll.

“By the gods, we just wanted to eat you and take your things!” The Gnoll replies, very truthfully. “But then you woke up and fought back. We though you would be as weak as most from that city are, but you were strong! We expected it from the woman who was standing guard and the one asleep next to the black armor, maybe they were mercenaries or something, but you’re old, and the woman in black was unarmored, and all of you were asleep! You killed all my friends and tied me up and forgot to give me any food! Can’t I please just have one of your legs? Nobody seems to like that one fancy man (referring to Shinobu)...”

“You will not eat any of us,” Alonso responds, disappointed that there was no deeper reasoning behind the attack. Alonso convinces the party to let the Gnoll go. Some would’ve preferred killing him, but nobody is terribly set on the idea, so letting him go works just as well and keeps the knight happy.

The party meets up with Shinobu back in town standing by a fountain in the center and proselytizing for Rhubarb. They explain to him the mission they accepted from Alexis and he agrees to go along with it. They then set out on the road to look for the cave of Negredo.


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## DemonZero (Jul 17, 2006)

*Eight Goblins, One Idiot, and a Kitty*

The six become five. Estacia walks off into the woods when they were traveling down the road and did not come back (the player was dating one of the others, they broke up, it was unfortunate, ). The rest of the group wonders why Estacia walked off. She didn’t say anything, just kind of left. They shrug and continue along the road.

The rest of them continued on to the point in the road where Alexis had told them they’d have to leave and enter into the woods. Very soon after entering they found themselves being shot by creatures they couldn’t see. It took a little while, but they eventually managed to spot all their attackers and either kill or scare them off.

The goblins who were shooting at them were not very good at hitting things through the cover of the trees. They work for Negredo and mostly their shots are meant to scare off travelers and keep them from entering the woods. Negredo and his stronger henchmen were not with them, so they were not looking to draw out the fight. When the party found some of the Goblins and fought back the ones who survived ran away. They left behind their dead companions and a large burlap sack two of them had been dragging along.

The party searched the bodies of the Goblins and found a few coins and some small-sized equipment. Upon opening the sack they found something entirely different. An Elven woman was unconscious within it, her hands tied together and mouth gagged. The party stopped for a moment to wake her up and find out what had happened. The woman’s name is Mielianna Silvertree and she is a librarian from the nearby Elven Kingdom. She had never been outside the Elven lands and thought it would be a good idea to expand her knowledge by actually going out into the world and getting some “field data.” Joining her in her journey is her familiar, a cat named Ms. Kitty Softpaws. She thought it would be interesting to have a conversation with the Goblins and came to the conclusion that they are very hostile toward Elves for some undetermined reason.

Mielianna agrees to help the party out for rescuing her. She has some skill in magic and all sorts of obscure knowledge in her head gained over 110 years. She utilized this knowledge for the group almost immediately by forgetting that krenshar hunt in packs. About half a mile into the woods one of the feline creatures sneaks around behind them and jumps into view, pulling the skin on his head back and screeching horribly. This sends Shinobu running into the woods screaming. The rest of the party draws their weapons to fight the krenshar, not terribly concerned since there’s only one, but it immediately runs back into the woods and they lose it.

Shinobu, on the other hand, soon finds himself surrounded by three other krenshar. They bite and claw Shinobu and he loses consciousness just as the other party members arrive. A battle naturally ensues in which most of the krenshar are brought down by Kaori (she truly is the most powerful of the team, wielding a greatsword with two hands and power attacking for massive damage. I’m hoping the rest of the party can outshine her when they reach higher levels). Glim sings and they are inspired. Aurora quickly stabilized Shinobu and joined in the fighting (the other powerful character, good fighter, good spells, and the hardest to hit of the group). Alonso also joins in the fighting. Mielianna, after seeing the three other Krenshar, remembers that they tend to hunt in packs and announces this to the group. They all give Mielianna a cute “you’re such an idiot and I hate you” look.

A few more krenshar arrive, are quickly put down, and finally the big mamma krenshar arrives. She is a large-sized version of a krenshar, sees her fallen children, and promptly attacks the party. Already weakened from fighting the other cats, a few of the heroes are knocked out, but the party ultimately they overcome the beast.

With this battle done with, everyone decides to rest for the night and heal up before taking on Negredo and his gang. Their sleep is not interrupted and everyone wakes up the next morning ready to continue. Aurora and Mielianna prepare their spells and the party sets off.


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## Methinkus (Jul 19, 2006)

*Love it*

Well, you already know that I think this campaign is great, but know the rest of ENWorld can know how I feel about it as well.

Very original setting, I think the history of their home town is especially compelling - I hope you don’t mind if I steal the villain's policy of enslaving all the firstborn children. It's simply too great of an idea to not use myself.

I also am envious of the atmosphere you seem to have created with this group, there are some really humorous moments in this story so far, but it doesn’t seem to take away from the tension of the story. In particular I thought the Gnoll's answers during his interrogation were great: classic Gnoll.

Too bad about the one player leaving after the ooc breakup. It happens, but at least you guys handled it quietly. When that happened in a group I was in, the player's character was abducted by devils and pulled into the abyss in front of us. No heroic campaign to save her was mounted.

I can't wait to hear the rest of it man.


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