# Swords of the Amanar - the Return



## Aethan (May 13, 2002)

So, if you've been on these boards for a while, then you might recall that I used to post a recap of my D&D game here, which I call Swords of the Amanar. We've been on hiatus for some months while another DM ran a game, but, as we're back to playing this upcoming Thursday, I wanted to get things warmed back up here.

THE SEEKERS

Even as one retired group of heroes, The Unbroken Circle, reformed and set off on their most perilous adventure yet, a new group of Questers, one which, only recently, decided to call themselves the Seekers, set forth on their own Quests. Their descriptions are below, but their adventures to date can be found at http://home.attbi.com/~iyu/amanar/heroes.htm

THE HEROES

*Aldemar*
Rescued from a life as a gladiator slave by Randemara the Red, the young human called Aldemar worked hard as a disciple of the Empty Palm technique. Rather than learning the traditional martial arts styles of the school, however, Aldemar studied under Randemara to master his Gift, the power of psionics. Now, he uses his powers to enhance his abilities with his two-bladed sword. Under Randemara, he was the silent pupil. Now, out from under her wing, he has the chance to fly on his own. Recently, a bizarre encounter with a strange, not entirely human figure has left Aldemar with a yellow crystal embedded in his right palm. It is yet to be seen what effect this will have. 

*Artimus Cooper*
Artimus Cooper of Traveler's Rest is a bard by profession, and, by sheer charisma, he's beginning to emerge as a guiding force for the companions. He spent a goodly time before the beginning of the group's adventures as the chantyman for a Skyrunner ship called The Fleeting Star. Thinking he had lucked into a new patron, he cast his fortunes with Celissia Starbrow, an elven warrior/bard. When she left with the rest of the Unbroken Circle, he found himself with a new group of companions. Sensing the possibility of the group becoming a company of Questers, he seems to have resigned himself to guiding them in that direction. He has also been practising more with weaponry, in an effort to better bolster the group in battle.

*Cotterpin Temminel*
The "son" of the gnomish wizard Bastophus Temminel ap Thadwick, Cotterpin is a sentient stork, created in one of the wizard's experiments. Cotterpin displays distinctly gnomish tendencies, including a fascination with technology and inventing, as well as a bent for magick. His first invention, created with his "Father's" aid, was a backpack containing a set of fully functioning mechanical arms that allow him to manipulate objects. He is a good-natured, if odd, member of the companions. 

*Madcap*
No one, including Madcap himself, knows this archer's real name. He was found wandering in the northern wilderness of Thassaley by Garantor Bloodaxe, a half-orc ranger. When the amnesiac human's eccentric manners became clear to the half-orc, he nicknamed his charge Madcap. Madcap seems somewhat shattered of mind, and though he makes his new friends laugh, how reliable he is remains to be seen. He may possess other skills beyond archery, but, if he does, they remain an unknown quantity, as does he. A recent encounter with bandits suggests that, in another part of the world, Madcap has slain a powerful wizard and is wanted for murder. The truth of this charge remains to be seen. 

*Ranlok Swifthammer*
Ranlok is a dwarf, trained as both a ranger and a priest of Illuinen, the Making God. Under the tutelege of his uncle, Beldurin Broadhammer, he was learning the ways of smithing. When his uncle revealed himself part of the Unbroken Circle, he found himself cast adrift, and he has looked at this new group of Questers as a possible path to follow. With a sword in one hand and a hammer in the other, he can be a devastating battler, and his knowledge of woods lore makes him an invaluable member of the group. 

*Red Talon*
Red Talon is a hish'ta, one of the lizard men who inhabit the jungle planet of Cabaleth. Taken at a very young age to Olothin as a pit slave, Red Talon has been raised to be a killer. This savage training, however, has been tempered by the teachings of Dyne, a fellow galdiator, who helped the boy learn that life did not have to be all killing and dying. When Dyne was slain, Red Talon escaped, eventually bringing word of his friend's death to the Unbroken Circle. Clad in his bone armor and wielding a gyrspike, Red Talon cuts a barbaric and exotic figure amongst the others. Hopefully, his proclivity for violence will be channeled to good uses by his time with the Seekers.

*Saqqara Ghostpaw*
Saqqara is a sorcerer of the Atuki, the tribal raccoon-like folk from Ifildrith. He came to Olothin as a stowaway on a Skyrunner, but he was found out and imprisoned. Luckily for him, a halfling by the name of Tilman (Tim) Greenway was breaking out someone else and took pity on him. Tim and Saqqara became fast friends, so Saqqara gladly accompanied the halfling to the reunion of the Unbroken Circle. Without his friend, however, the sorcerer is somewhat quiet and reserved. Only time will tell if he will emerge from his solitude and make new friends among the Seekers. His magicks, which revolve around trickery, would certainly be a boon to them. 

*Temper*
No one is sure exactly what race Temper is. He is swathed in robes, veils, and scarves, and he covers his hands with gloves. He is small of stature, but his build is impossible to guess in the shapeless garments. The massive greatsword he carries marks him a warrior, and the robes he wears identify him also as a priest of Maldemyr, patron god of paladins. Temper lives up to his name and seems to have much rage boiling under the surface. Whether he can temper this into something that can aid the Seekers remains to be seen. 

*Willem Shepherd* - NPC
The ninth of the Seekers, and the first that has no direct ties to the Unbroken Circle, is the halfling boy, Willem Shepherd. Although some 27 years of age, he is only the equivalent of a 14 year old human in maturity. Nevertheless, when his family were wiped out by goblins, he demanded to be allowed to go with the companions to seek vengeance and to get answers as to why his family died. How the deaths of his family will affect this young adult and what path he will eventually follow are tales for a future time. He has picked up the basics of rangerhood from Ranlok and obviously intends to keep seeking justice for the death of his family.

*Edryn Bollynock* - NPC
A gnome of the hidden city of Aboken, Edryn is the tenth member of the Seekers. He admits to have been a street thief, once upon a time, but he has given up that trade, preferring, instead, the path of cleric in the service to the Twins, gods of trickery and mischief. He has an affable manner, and he tends to eschew battle whenever possible. He has already proven himself a great help in the short time he has been amongst the companions.


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## Aethan (May 15, 2002)

*Amanar Webpage Updates*

Finally got my copy of Deities and Demigods, so the "Powers of the Amanar" page has gotten some updating with the domains included there. It is at http://home.attbi.com/~iyu/amanar/powers.htm

Also, finally got the mammoth "Lands of Olothin" document up online. I hope to scan my World Map of Olothin today and get that up there, too. The Olothin document is, predictably, at http://home.attbi.com/~iyu/amanar/olothin.htm

That's all for now. First game of the post-hiatus run tomorrow night, and I couldn't be more excited.

- Andy


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## Broccli_Head (May 18, 2002)

Can't wait!


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## Caliber (May 18, 2002)

Yay! You guys were one of my favorites back in the day! Yay again!


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## Old One (May 19, 2002)

*The Return...*

Aethan -

Good to see that you are back.  I didn't comment very frequently, but I read regularly!

~ Old One


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## Aethan (May 21, 2002)

Thanks, guys.  Glad to be back. We played a session this past Thursday. I'll try to get something written up in the next day or two.

- Andy


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## Aethan (May 30, 2002)

*Book 3, Chapter 1*

Swords of the Amanar 

*Book Three: Dark Shadows of the Bright Empire* 

_Chapter One: The Brutal Highwaymen_

Some heartfelt farewells were made with the Goodwines, and the Seekers set forth bearing many bottles of Goodwine mead to help drum up possible mead trade in Kwan-Dai-Yuk. Eleniel took to the air and the crew headed towards Ardaven, confident that they would arrive late that evening. Cotterpin took the first flight, and, after eight hours, he began to feel some fatigue, so
Artimus took over the flying duties.

As Artimus piloted the graceful ship towards the wondrous city, several members of the group noticed two figures on the ground waiving to them. Only one or two of the group, however, noticed the large humanoid figures lurking behind boulders just ahead of the people on the ground. Artimus was one of them, and he immediately began to circle downwards towards the
ground. Willem, Edryn, Saqqara, Ranlok, and Madcap took up positions to fire slings, _magic missiles_, bows, and crossbows at the brutish figures, while Temper, Cotterpin, Aldemar, and Red Talon scrambled for the cargo hold, where Cotterpin's winching system was set up. As the ground team
prepared to emerge and rescue the two travelers, the fire cover team caused some damage in the ranks. More, Artimus found that, since he could see the large creatures (which proved to be ogres), he could affect them with his magicks. His _sleep_ spell made one of them slump to the ground unconscious.
Pleased with this newfound ability, he held ready throughout the combat to move the ship as necessary.

Once the ship was in place, Eleniel opened a hatch in her lower hull and allowed the winch platform to be lowered. As Cotterpin lowered it, Madcap called to the two travelers, telling them to head back towards the platform. Everyone was a bit surprised to see that both the travelers, an old man and a young woman, were holding battle crouches, slowly retreating, instead of fleeing like normal merchants. They retreated to the platform,
and the ground team jumped off. Although several members of the team were keen to simply rescue the pair and fly off, others seemed hungry for battle. The ogres, for their part, were similarly ready. Four seemed of the normal brutish variety, but their leader, dressed in a chain shirt and wielding a fearsomely large spiked chain, seemed more than the others. His eyes gleamed with a love of battle and a frenzy for the fight. Perhaps
matching this, Temper and Red Talon moved forward, towards the group. Cotterpin, leaning out of the ship's hold, used a sleep spell to take the fight out of another of the ogres, and more missile fire peppered the foes. Edryn, thinking the ground team might need some more healing at their disposal, headed down towards the cargo hold.

Temper and Aldemar each engaged one of the normal ogres, while the big leader and Red Talon moved towards each other. Much to Red Talon's dismay, as he moved closer, the ogre warrior suddenly shifted his grip on his spiked chain and struck the _hish'ta_ a savage blow with it. Red Talon's anger rose, and he entered into a battle rage to equal the ogre's own.
Aldemar made short work of his ogre and began moving towards the leader, while Temper struck a few more blows on his. The two travelers each used crossbows to strike the ogre leader, and the archers and spellcasters above concentrated their fire on him as well.

Before Aldemar could assist Red Talon, the hish'ta struck a couple of strong blows...and was cut down by the spiked chain for his trouble. The young woman, seeing one of her rescuers struck down, tried to go to his aid, only to be struck down herself. Edryn arrived and dove into the fray, using his gnomish techniques to dodge the ogre's blows. Temper felled his
enemy and moved to engage the leader as well. Both Aldemar and Temper were sent into unconsciousness by the ogre chief, but not before they both wounded it grievously. As Edryn was attempting to heal his friends, an arrow from Madcap's bow struck the ogre chief dead between the eyes, and it finally slumped to the ground, slain.

Some healing ensued, and the two travelers were identified as Hadran Redsky and his granddaughter, Mara. They were both monks of the Empty Palm School of technique, and they were headed to Ardaven to seek passage to Kwon-Dai-Yuk. Artimus and Hadran discussed the possibility of the Redskys taking passage on Eleniel, but no terms were set. A bit of searching around located the ogres' lair, and a sizeable trove was taken. In addition, as Artimus pointed out, they were now the King's Men, as privateers, and they had effectively slain their first "enemies of the Kingdom" as their charter charged them to do. Treasures safely stowed for future counting and examination, they traveled on towards the city.

Ardaven appeared first as a purple flame in the distance. Then, when they cleared the Crown of Flame mountains, they were able to see the many lights of he city below them. They sailed to Uptown, the floating island that is the center of Ardaven's skyrunning trade, and were met by official ships that guided them in to a dock. There they were directed to speak with Lord Kellurion Silverwind, the King's Reeve in Uptown. They were guided to the lord's manor and received graciously by the lord's servants. Finally, they were ushered into a well-appointed study where the lord himself, a silver-haired elf in official-looking garments, saluted them with a glass of wine. "Welcome to Ardaven," he said, with a polite smile.


_To be continued!_


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## Aethan (May 30, 2002)

*DM notes for Book 3, Chapter 1*

*The DM speaks!*

_ I wanted to start things off with a bang, but I almost started things off with our first fatality. The lead ogre was a 5th level barbarian, and he was dealing 2d6+13 when raging, with over 100 hit points. Very nasty! When Red Talon was stabilized, he was at -9 hit points.

Some city-based RP tonight. Can't wait! More soon!

- Andy_


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## Broccli_Head (May 30, 2002)

Hooray for the return! The Seekers are back!

I'll have to refresh my memory to keep track of them all...


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## Aethan (May 30, 2002)

Broccli_Head said:
			
		

> *Hooray for the return! The Seekers are back!
> 
> I'll have to refresh my memory to keep track of them all... *




Hey, BH. Well, the first post on this board is a list of the PC and NPC Seekers. Hopefully that'll help jog your memory. If not there's a much more complete section on the Seekers at http://home.attbi.com/~iyu/amanar/heroes.htm

- Andy


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## Aethan (Jun 14, 2002)

_Chapter Two: An Ardaven Welcome_

Lord Kellurion proved to be a fairly affable, if somewhat imperious, fellow. The Seekers took some small amusement in the way he dealt with his butler, Mensel, and they enjoyed his excellent brandy. Amongst various matters of state, two important facts emerged: they need to come up with Colors (a flag to fly, denoting their identity), and the King wished them to come to Public Court in three days. This taken care of, Artimus spent a few moments informing the innkeepers of several establishments of their search for crew.  The whole group (minus Edryn, who indicated that he wished to catch up with some family business), then met for an excellent dinner at the Inn of the Weary Gryphon, where Innkeeper Marcus d’Bathel treated them to a fine meal, including “Basilisk tail”, a “farcie” made with chicken and hot peppers.

The night passed largely uneventfully, except for Aldemar. In the middle of the night, he was woken up by a dull throbbing ache from the hand in which the crystal was embedded, and, for a moment, in the dark, he thought he could see it glowing, slightly. After a while, with the ache faded and no obvious glowing, he went back to sleep, wondering what it meant.

After a good rest, the party began pursuing various goals. Artimus met with an old shipmate of his, one Meldias “Sarge” Blackhair, and his half-orc companion Garokh Crookedtooth. Artimus hired them both, assigning Meldias the position of First Mate and happy that, with Garokh, they would now have someone capable of teaching the Seekers how to use the ballistae and catapult. Meldias promised to look into some promising leads for crewmen, and the two parted ways happily.

A mysterious message was delivered to Red Talon by a young boy named Lark. He indicated that a hooded and cloaked man had given him 2 copper pieces to tell Red Talon to meet “Dyne” in the alley behind a tavern called The Copper Bowl. This seemed to mean something to Red Talon, and, slowly, the others got the story out of him that this was a man he considered tantamount to a father, but, also, that he had thought he was dead. Temper, especially, seemed wary of this, and it was agreed they would accompany him, at least as far as the Tavern itself.

Aldemar, Red Talon, Ranlok, and Madcap went to the dwarven neighborhood of Ardaven, known as the Dwelve. Here, the streets were roofed, giving the illusion of being underground or in a building, in deference to the very common influence of dwarven agoraphobia. There, on the Street of Steel, they encountered a smith named Karok who promised to make a suit of modified banded armor for Red Talon. He also sold the hish’ta a masterfully worked warhammer, in exchange for several other masterwork weapons the group had captured in their various battles. Madcap purchased some arrowheads as well so that he could make his own arrows. Madcap then traveled to the elven neighborhood of the Gardens to purchase a masterwork shortbow. Artimus and Cotterpin looked into the purchase of some gnomish cannons from a gnome named Fezzleweg, but the price was too dear. Cotterpin sulked in his alchemist’s lab aboard ship while Artimus purchased a masterwork lute from one Alfred Luthier.

The group met back at the ship before preparing to depart for Darktown. Before they left, however, a dwarf appeared at dockside, requesting permission to come aboard. He asked to speak with Ranlok, and the two went to speak privately. The dwarf identified himself as Thurnon Kegbreaker, a wizard and scholar of dwarven legends and antiquities, and he had noticed something odd about the dwarven waraxe that Ranlok carried. It was not, as Ranlok had originally surmised, the Barakuld (a weapon that would shield as well as attack); that was only an illusion meant to keep the axe's true nature hidden. With Ranlok’s permission, Thurnon dispelled the illusion, revealing that this weapon was, apparently, the Tarmakuld, or Throne-Axe. It had been one of the traditional weapons of the dwarven king, and its reappearance might mean a return to greatness for the dwarven people. With this heady revelation, Thurnon promised to research all he could about the Tarmakuld. He left the ship, leaving a thoughtful Ranlok behind to ponder what this meant, especially in light of the vision he had received in The Mirror…

To Be Continued!


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## Aethan (Jun 14, 2002)

*The DM Speaks!*

_Very straightforward session, in many ways. Mostly I had fun trying to make all the NPCs very distinct from one another. My favrite pair were Lord Kel and his butler, Mensel. Lord Kel would let Mensel get almost out of the room and then remember something he'd forgotten. "Oh, Mensel!" he'd call, and the Players would laugh, every time, at Mensel's cringes and sarcastic tone.

This sessions has also allowed me to foreshadow some fairly major plotlines for the campaign. Time will tell if the Seekers will note the warning signs.

- Andy_


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## Aethan (Jun 17, 2002)

_Chapter Three: Life in the City of Wonders_

Edryn had not yet returned from his “Family business,” but the Seekers decided to head down to Darktown without him. Saqqara decided to retire early to recover from a stomach complaint, Cotterpin declined the chance to go “slumming”, preferring to work on alchemy instead, and Willem decided to head to the halfling neighborhood of Bramblebury for a late halfling-cooked supper instead. And so, Artimus, Madcap, Ranlok, Red Talon, Aldemar, and Temper proceeded to the rather dangerous neighborhood called Darktown.

Aldemar did the leading, for he was searching for some information. After trying at a tavern called the Dead Dog, they were directed to another tavern called the Ten Bells, which appeared to also be a house of ill repute. After making a few inquiries, Aldemar was pointed to one man, apparently a procurer of gladiator slaves, who sat drinking and talking with a companion. As he approached, they noticed him and stopped talking at once. Aldemar then surreptitiously hinted that he wanted information about the highly illegal arena fighting in town. The fellow looked Aldemar over, then sized up Red Talon, who was standing behind him. Aldemar hinted that Red Talon would be participating, and the gentleman at the table decided to test him out. Red Talon heard someone rushing at his back, and he whirled, dodging the attacker’s attempt to bludgeon him with an ale mug before punching the man in the gut so hard it made him stagger back into a chair. The procurer nodded, seeming impressed. He gave some information about a match to be held five days later. Satisfied, the Seekers entertained themselves for a couple of hours before heading off to the Copper Bowl Tavern.

The Copper Bowl was deeper in the heart of Darktown, and it was a much fouler and seedier tavern, run by Old Zelda, a woman of particularly ugly features and unpleasant manners. After a dubious encounter with the bar’s strongest whiskey (as ordered by Madcap, who then, displaying a rare streak of sense, passed it off on Red Talon), the group settled in to wait, while Red Talon wandered into the alley behind the bar. There, a hooded figure beckoned him deeper, and he, emboldened, perhaps, by too much ale and whiskey, followed.

The figure cautioned Red Talon not to react violently, or roof-top archers would be forced to kill him. When the hooded figure revealed his features, he was clearly not the hish’ta’s old mentor. He was, in fact, an aven, one of the dog-like people of Ifildrith. He explained that he had been hired by Red Talon’s old master, Jubali Falhazrad, to locate the missing gladiator. He wanted to give Red Talon a sporting chance, however, so he challenged the hish’ta to a fight. The two battled hard with rebated weapons, but, in the end, the aven’s skill won out. Rather than kill the exhausted hish’ta, however, the aven marked him with a strange-looking dagger. Red Talon bellowed as his rage took over, and he leapt to the fray, even as his companions began to exit the tavern.  Artimus, wondering what had happened to their friend, was already outside, and he witnessed the aven leaping nimbly back as six archers fired from the roof, sending the already exhausted Red Talon into unconsciousness. Thinking quickly, he let fly with a _sleep_ spell, and several archers fell unconscious. The aven grinned and tossed a heavy pouch to the bard. “Your friend has earned this,” he called, as he retreated through the alleys of the city. The others arrived, and Red Talon was revived, and the group, a bit wearied and worse for bad ale, made their way back to their ship.

The mark Red Talon had received could not be removed, and, indeed, radiated a faint magic. Artimus surmised that it was the Mark of a band of rangers called The Bloodhounds, trackers who could magickally mark their quarry to aid in locating him later. The pouch the aven had thrown proved to contain a heavy golden torc, set with small red garnets, which had belonged to Dyne. The group decided to keep an eye out for suspicious or unusual characters.

They did not have long to wait, in a sense. The next day, Meldias Blackhair showed up with a number of possible recruits for the crew of the Eleniel. The possible recruits included, amongst others, The Old Man, a skyfarer who had been sailing since the very first skyrunner. Artimus relied heavily on his advice, as well as Meldias’. Perhaps the most surprising figure who came aboard was a full-blooded elven druid named Sarn who signed on as ship’s healer. Temper displayed some barely concealed suspicion and alarm, but he insisted that there would be no problem.

In the afternoon, tailors showed up to take measurements for court garments, and, in the evening, a summons came that the King awaited them at his castle. And so, the seekers boarded a small, private airship, and began the long descent down to the King’s Court and their first public appearance as the King’s Privateers.

To be continued!


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## Aethan (Jun 17, 2002)

*The DM Speaks!* 

_This session was more roleplaying and character development than anything else. It was also a fun chance to play with subdual damage during the fight with the aven bounty hunter. I think more than anything else, the most fun part was playing all these various "made up on the fly" NPCs and keeping them distinct. 

Old Zelda was probably my favorite. She was this dour and unhappy person with a dark growth the size of a silver piece on the side of her nose, and the PCs reacted with as much disgust as I hoped they would. When Madcap asked for the strongest drink they had, I tried to have my eyes gleam with evil glee and I grinned horribly at him as I turned away, pantomiming fetching a cask. The players started laughing right then, and I knew I had a winner. I turned back, still grinning and described her blowing off te cobwebs before acting it out. The PCs all began to cough on cue. Then I pantomimed pouring the whiskey, describing it as a brown sludge, and I "handed" it to Madcap. The disgusted and horrified facial expression Madcap' player gave was worth it all. Old Zelda will almost certainly reappear in my campaign.

I'm looking forward to more political machinations in the next session, and letting hte PCs figure out who they can and cannot trust in the King's Court. Viscount Mordenkainen should also be in the next session, and I have plans for introducing his familiar, as well as some revelations about Madcap...

- Andy_


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## Caliber (Jun 17, 2002)

Very cool! Keep up the great work.


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