# The Adventures of "COLLATERAL DAMAGE!"



## Fend (Apr 22, 2007)

*The Entire journey*

Ive been running a long term homebrew campaign for over a couple months now and its been going really well so i figured id tell you all about it 

Initially the party began in the growing farming hub of harrowthorp. There was a dwarf barbarian named torthen, a halfling beguiler beguiler named rosco pasqualli tiddleskitch the 3rd, a dwarven wizard named Thorvar and a human knight named Sir.Darrius. 

They were resting in an inn when undead began attacking the town. So after some investiageing they headed off to the site of an ancient battle where a large graveyard/catacomb had been sealed off. They found it open, and while fighting the undead within, began battling deamons only to find somthing in the lowest chambers of the place had left a mark of lasting evil down bellow. 

They met 2 Clerics along the way in that place. Heinrich the Cleric of Cuthbert and Traygen the Cleric of Pelor. But Torthen perished against a mummy and Traygen very nearly did also, being dragged away into the dark. They saved him a day later, but the mummy had grafted a Zombie arm to him. 

Back in harrowthorp they found out that what was taken was actually an artifact meant to remain forgotten. The Orb of Anarchy. But with no leads as to who had it, all they could do is wait for a trail of destruction to emerge and follow. For the meantime their new objective began a quest to a place named howling mountain - so that the zombie graft on traygen could be removed. 

While in town though Rosco got arrested for carrying around a suspect amount of platinum. Darrius caught a murderous psycopath and brought him to justice - unbeknownst to him prooving rosco innocent for robbing the money lenders. While in jail, rosco met Raziel the Sorcerer - who was also prooven inocent - joining the party afterwards. 

That night there was a festival in town. Raziel became addicted to baccaran, and while searching for some dealers, discovered them being eaten by a juvenile nabassu! which then proceded to fly into the festival and begin turning people into ghouls. Most of the party ran and hid - but came out during the mopping up after the nabassu flew away. They left the next day, keen to get away from that place. 

on the way to howling mountain they stopped in the Dwarven Mineing hub Town of Baldur for supplies before continueing to the mountain. Once there however, they couldnt find a way up. And worse Rosco got himself captured by snow goblins who were keen on sacrificing him to a white dragon trapped in the ice bellow the mountain. 

After defeating the dragon and rescuing rosco, the Cowering snowgoblin tribe told them (with alittle charm from rosco) that there was a cave they never went in called the screaming passage. This said they went down it, And were confronted by a Crypt keeper who told them that beyond him was a series of challanges that would lead to the mountain top. 

The first was a dungeon full of shadows, undead, wraiths and the like. They searched the place room by room for instructions and items required to conduct a cerimony to open a portal in the centeral chamber - a room completely made of mirrors. In the chamber however they met interplanar travelers, the Nerra, who had lost their leader in the dungeon. A sillit named Schlaneek - who they had to kill a wraith to free. 

Eventually completeing the first dungeon, they went through a portal and ended up on the mountainside. Braveing the elements, Yeti's and an icey bridge over a chasm used as a nesting ground for a protective flock of giant ravens. After a slippery trip over the bridge constantly swooped by the massive ravens - who rosco dropped like stones with repeated sleep spells - they reached a portal that would only open at sunset. 

Finally at the mountain top they found a monastary, but it was completely destroyed, leaving only a ruin. within it they were ambushed by the juvenile Nabassu - which they ended up drowning in a Pool of holy water which they later used to remove traygens zombie graft, attaching instead an Arm of Nyr (which they found in the dragons lair in the caves bellow)

leaving the mountain they got attacked by a barlgura poseing as a dwarven cleric on the way back to baldur. which beat them up pretty badly, but they managed to chase it off with alittle help from a summon monster pellet the nerra had given them for their help. But it wasnt the last time they would see that deamon.

Back in Baldur they learnt that a large dragon was terrorising the region called the "Fang terror", but they chose not to get involved fearing imenant death. Instead, they delved into a castle ruin they had found between the 2 towns - hopeing to make it their own.

In the depths below however Heinrich was killed by a Tomb Spider (Raziel feeding him a potion only to watch him die instead as the spiders poison reversed the energy type to negative) - visited in the fuge plain by a harvester devil named Salizzar, who said if he bound his soul to the hells he could have another chance at life. he agreed. and in that instant converted to hextor. Salizzar visiting him a few times later in his sleep to give him secret missions. 

Deeper in the dungeon however, after opening up a door in some Ancient dwarven ruins  below the castle they lost Rosco to a pair of Aquatic Gricks in some flooded tunnels. This came as a massive shock to the group as rosco had always been the most lively, unkillable party member. 

With that they avoided going back down into that place. sealing off the ruins bellow - planning to return later for revenge. 

When they returned to Harrowthorp Darrius got a letter from the Army, recruiting him into the crusades. Feeling the call to duty, he too left the party. And later that day the church had reinforced them with a monk seeking news about the monastary's fate. Karl Gustav the dwarven sociopath.

They also met Oliver Flynn, a man on the run from his Ex - a pirate named Red molly. hopeing to lay low for a while inland with some powerful company just incase.

Their first adventure all together tho was the counts missing daughter, which they found had been kidnapped by the Barlgura they got mugged by on the way back. They took out his cult of Lizardman followers and returned her to him but somthing wasnt right. later that day they returned to the castle to find it attacked from within with the counts life in danger. They found the Barlgura on the roof about to kill the count and managed to destroy it before using a scrying spell to locate the counts real daughter. Finding her back in the cultists lair between the walls along with an ominous note about assasinating the count in preparation for an assault on the town by a tribe of orks. 

Readying the towns defences and gathering the regional gaurd the town came underseige. The players defending the temple at the heart of town while the professional soldiers dealt with the orks. The players ended up battling deamons however, Rutterkins and dretches assailing the temple before an ork shaman rideing an Armanite arived. 

The Ork offered them power, holding an orb in his hands, and the players were about to take it when the Armanite spontaniously and brutally killed him - and attacked the party (True to its chaotic nature). during the fight tho the armanite dropped the orb (as he exploded) and it whickered off somewhere into town. 

As they searched they fought more rutterkin. Eventually ending up in the town graveyard where they Met Jaquelin the rouge who wanted their help looting a crypt. Down in the crypt half the party became isolated, and with some persuasion from Jaquelin - stayed isolated - with the intention of looting them once they succambe to the traps. 

however she was eaten by dretches before her plan could come to a head. The witnesses in her backpack finding the Orb they were looking for. Freeing the rest of the group they headed to the temple. however it had now been 8 hours since the attack begun. They returned to the Temple and decided, with the archbishops advice to dunk it in a bath of holywater. 

The Archbishop then decided it was time to tell them its true nature - It was actually the Imprisoned soul of a Deamon named Zagrabel, who was banished but not destroyed some time ago by one of the kingdoms princes (who died snapping a staff of power to do so). The deamons the party had faced up until now, had been manifests of Zagribels essance... in a way "Failed attempts" at summoning his whole form. Upon destroying these they were only returning them to him - not the abyss. However, now that someone had awakened him and weakend his prison's bonds it would only be a matter of time before Zagrabel would free himself. 

The holy water wouldnt hold him for long. So the party decided to go deal with the orks in the meantime. 

The orks had captured the counts castle and were now Catapult shelling the town. Raziel swiftly delt with those however - his fireballs destroying all the catapults and routing the orks. Those that charged the town foolishly being cut down by Traygens spells and the Crossbolts of the remaining town defenders. 

Consolodating the party moved up to retake the castle, faceing more orks, 4 Ork berserkers and finally the Tribes remaining elder - a plague speaker of Yurtis (who they slew with ease)

Unfortunantly it was too late for the count however. But as a reward for saving the town the count's daughter gave them the ruined keep where Rosco died in. Saying everything between it and Redfields Barrows was their land to own. 

with the town saved it was only a matter of time before zagrabel would overcome the bath of holywater. So they headed quickly to Baldur to buy spells and Cold iron equiptment. Also, Karl got himself Enlargment and Permanancy cast. He always wanted to be 8 foot tall. 

When they returned to harrowthorp Traygen left again during the night to go to redfields. He had a score to settle with the mummy who stole his arm! It was a nightmare trip down, because the barrowyard was most active at night, and he encountered horrible things the party didnt see when they went down during the day. 

Eventually at the bottom he saw things such as pits full of skinless bodies, strange new zombies with spiked chains and the evil presance glowing red, manifesting manes and rutterkins - not to mention a door made of corpses. 

He slew the mummy by driving a cure critical wounds charge, down his arm of nyr into its chest. Screaming the whole time. And almost died on the way back out. With no Turn undead attempts remaining - and having been entombed already twice with the walls of the place by Entomber zombies - he bullrushed through the massed hoards of skeletons and Zombies blocking his exit - before running down the highway back to town with almost no hitpoints or spells left before sunrise.

Meanwhile however back in town the partys more sinister elements were planning and schemeing. Heinrich anounced to Karl the sociopath and Raziel (who had by now become a blood magus) that he was a discipil of hextor and that in order to be privalaged with spell casting ability he would have to find a temple of hextor. Having been visited by a devil who had been giving him tasks to do that would proove him worthy of finding the temple (obtaining a staff of healing from the Harrowthorp cemetary being one of them), he now had a mission to go north and slay a knight hospitiller doing humanitarian work in a small village.

The 3 Evil party members that very night - while the good cleric was away - headed north and after a failed attempt to manipulate the knight - Blew the entire town away. Slaying everyone. the knight managed to put up a fight - but Karl broke down the front of a church and Pinned him - headbutting him into unconciousness before Killing him with one of the town gaurds battle axes. 

Leaveing the town a smokeing ruin they headed back to town to find traygen and thorvar talking in a hallway. Thorvar telling traygen he had over heard the other 3 were up to no good - they couldnt do anything about it though. 

The next day they all decided to head to the City of Verbesk to buy better equiptment. Raziel had received a letter that morning also that his Uncle had died and left him an inheritance, All the more incentive to travel.

They headed east around a large lake and got there by early evening, staying the night before shopping the next day. Raziels cousins were sheltered, young and naive but otherwise likable - telling raziel he had inherited a portion of his uncles shares in a big shipping company named Iron Towers. 

While this was going on Traygen, who had done enough sluthing to figure out what the evil players had done went to the hospitiller chapter house and told them what had transpired. The hospitilers telling him that the knight had been investigateing a hidden temple of Hextor in the region - and that his death was no accident. He agree'd to find and destroy the temple to avenge the dead knight before dineing on bread and water with the hospitillers. 

The rest of the party spent most of the night drinking. Karl and heinrich back at Raziels' family manse with Raziels cousins - while Raziel himself and Thorvar (who could see he was getting sick of his borish cousins) went to a Gentlemans club and hobnobbed with the super rich. Learning about Irontowers and ofcourse various guilds and societys he could use to have the partys new'gotten caslte rebuilt. 

The next morning they took the family sailboat across the lake to make record time back to harrowthorp only to find the holy water font could no longer contain the orb (having disolved most of the holywater leaving it exposed). Raziel then suggested takeing the orb back up to howling mountain and putting it in the bath of holy water they drowned the Juvenile nabassu in. Everyone aplauded his brilliance. 

They quickly took it, and traveled with haste to baldur, which was on the way, But having foolishly decided not to take horses or a cart this time - they ended up resting in the ruins of their new castle.

During the night undead from the barrowyard began shambling up the hill and Oliver was nearly slain by Wights in the courtyard. luckily Raziel found a great vantage point and brought down an unrelenting volley of fire balls upon the advancing hoards - effectivly stemming then destroying them (when traygen arived to cast greater turning - after saving oliver)

after that they rested again. But no body went on watch because they were all exhausted. This folly cost them Thorvar however - as a greater shadow attacked him while he slept. The party managing to put up a mediocre' fight which ended when the shadow retreated into a wall with Thorvar's strength. 

Tray and raziel readied spells - and promptly Blasted appart Thorvar's Shadow when it animated a few rounds later. With little sleep and no real safety Traygen picked up thorvar and lead the party out into a thunderstorm outside to make a break for Baldur, which was 3 hours away.

Along the way however the nigh impossible happened! Lightening Struck the group! Thrown in all directions, no one died, but it was a grim reminder that wearing metal in a storm isnt safe. 

getting to town at 4 am, they stoneshaped open the gates and reasoned with the gaurds to get raise dead cast on Thorvar at the temple of moradin. When it didnt work a terrible realisation set in that they would need to travel back to Verbesk and get ressurection cast. But with what money? They didnt have enough. The Preist of moradin moving Thorva's body down to the morg for cold storage in the meantime.  

An hour later Oliver got attacked by the very same greater shadow that attacked them earlier while walking to an inn - but somehow he managed to destroy it single handedly - getting revenge for his fallen comrade. 

By morning Traygen returned after his prayers with speak with the dead set. They had come to the conclusion, that they would try to get the funds to have thorvar ressurected in verbesk by Slaying the Dragon known to be lairing in the region. It was a massive detour and they didnt have time to spare. 

They spoke with dead to thorvar, who was now in arcadia, but he didnt want them to risk their lives for him. But eventually Traygen was able to convince him into wanting to live again. 

Now the group faces a race against time. They need to get the orb up to howling mountain monastary, Slay a dragon and take its hoard to verbesk to ressurect their freind - And inevitably fight Zagrabel himself! 

More to come!


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