frp

• Third Age, Year 1108
• 2 Mar - Meet the hunters from Aulii (Jacy) and hunt with them
  • - Spend the night in Aulii and talk with chief Kaga
• 3 Mar - Begin four day trek along Kaga's “short cut”
• 4 Mar - Spot Black Dragon high in sky
• 5 Mar - Hear Demon shrieks in the fog
• 6 Mar - Spot Demon flying overhead
  • - Arrive at the dead village (Gressa) and fight shadow elemental
  • - Roderick has a vision
  • - Recover the Rain King's broken staff
  • - Scout the area, burn the bodies on a large pyre
• 7 Mar - Finish cleanup at Gressa; Bigby begins Identify
• 8 Mar - Identify complete; Bigby deactivates the staff

• I. Which path to take?
• II. The Rain King's army
• III. Suspicious village
• IV. The light in the pyre
• V. More encounters

Branching out from Gressa are two paths. The left path will take the party northwest towards the village of Adoette (see III below). The right path heads northeast deeper into the Rain King's domain.

The NW path should be the clear favorite, as it heads towards the pass that they eventually need to cross. In fact, if the party opts to go NE, they will likely tangle with the Rain King much more directly than is comfortable.

If Roderick attempts an Augury to determine whether the NE path is desirable, the result will be quite specific: Woe. This is because a small army from the Rain King will be marching into Gressa soon. They will arrive on the afternoon of the 9th and their mission is to defeat the shadow elemental and retrieve the Rain King's staff.

If the party hangs around too long, or decides to take the NE path, they will tangle with the Rain King's army. The group consists of nearly 100 men - though most are porters and squires that will not fight unless forced. Due to what happened to the previous expedition to Gressa, most of this group are terrified and will flee at the first serious trouble.

However, there are eleven veterans in command of the army, and they will stay and fight against nearly any challenge. The stats below are based on the “NPC Fighters” section on pages 52-53 of the DMG.

• Fighter/1 Str:15 hp:12 AC:17 Init:+1 Attack:+5 (1d8+2)
• Fighter/1 Str:15 hp:12 AC:17 Init:+1 Attack:+5 (1d8+2)
• Fighter/2 Str:16 hp:19 AC:17 Init:+5 Attack:+6 (1d8+2)
• Fighter/2 Str:16 hp:19 AC:17 Init:+5 Attack:+6 (1d8+2)
• Fighter/2 Str:16 hp:19 AC:17 Init:+5 Attack:+6 (1d8+2)
• Fighter/2 Str:16 hp:19 AC:17 Init:+5 Attack:+6 (1d8+2)
• Fighter/2 Str:16 hp:19 AC:17 Init:+5 Attack:+6 (1d8+2)
• Fighter/2 Str:16 hp:19 AC:17 Init:+5 Attack:+6 (1d8+2)
• Fighter/3 Str:16 hp:27 AC:17 Init:+5 Attack:+7 (1d8+2)
• Fighter/3 Str:16 hp:27 AC:17 Init:+5 Attack:+7 (1d8+2)
• Fighter/4 Str:16 hp:34 AC:17 Init:+5 Attack:+9 (1d8+5)

• Common to all: Dex:13 Con:14 Spd:20'
  • Armor: Scale mail w/large wooden shield (+6)
  • Primary weapon: Longsword (1d8)
  • Secondary weapons: Shortbow (1d6), Dagger (1d4)

In addition, there are 12 Archers that will likely be used at range if the army encounters a hostile party. Each is a 1st level Fighter as above, except they have no shields and are armed with a Longbow, rather than a Longsword. Note: these people will avoid close-order combat if at all possible.

• Str:15 Dex:14 Con:13 Spd:20' hp:11 AC:15 Init:+2 Attack:+3 (1d8)
  • Armor: Studded Leather (+3)

Finally, the army has five beast of burden, and one large cart filled with all manner of supplies for an overland expedition.

• Village name: Adoette (ah-do-AY-tuh)
• Main contacts: Keiki (KAY-kee) and her daughter, Aprili
• Chief: Alein (al-LIGHN)

Adoette will be found at the end of a full day's hike up the NW path. The people of Adoette have several reasons to be suspicious. First, they know that everyone in Gressa died (though they don't know the truth), so anyone coming from that direction raises a red flag. Second, they never trusted the Rain King. And third, there have been far too many monsters wandering the area recently!

Upon arriving near the village, the party will draw the attention of the village's scouts. However, since it is hard to be surprised by an active village, make spot rolls for the party and for the scouts to see who (if either) gets surprised.

The scouts will scatter upon first spotting the party. Some will fan out, to keep an eye on the group, while most will run back to the village to warn the chief. If all goes according to plan, the village will be armed and ready when the party arrives. However, there are few people in Adoette who would form a reasonable challenge to the party. In fact, only the chief and one warrior are armed and armored well enough to detail:

 Chief Alein of Adoette
 Fighter/5 Str:15 Dex:13 Con:14 Int:11 Wis:8 Cha:13
 hp:34 AC:17 Init:+5 Attack:+7 Longsword (1d8+2)
 Armor: Scale mail w/large wooden shield (+6)

 Arve, Warrior of Aloette
 Fighter/6 Str:13 Dex:16 Con:13 Int:7 Wis:10 Cha:12
 hp:30 AC:18 Init:+5 Attack:+7/+2 Longsword (1d8+2)
 Armor: Studded Leather w/large wooden shield (+5)

The party will NOT be let into the village. However, a woman named Keiki (KAY- kee) and her daughter, Aprili will approach the group after they've settled down nearby. She will ask the party to help Gilda. (See IV below)

• The radiance elemental: Gilda

“She” (actually rather androgenous) cannot stand the climate and must remain in a large pyre. She speaks telepathically and her appearance will vary depending on who is viewing her. Generally, she will appear as a winged, radiant white angel - though each culture has a different concept of an angel.

Gilda is being cared for by Keiki and Aprili with the tacit approval of chief Alein. However, the two women are at their wits ends. She is dying before their eyes, and they can't seem to help.

Gilda will tell the party all about the state of the elemental world and about the shadow. She will also tell them that the demon they saw is mostly harmless. He is only a scavenger and will die soon enough due to the elements. Still, it would be best to track it down and kill it.

A more immediate threat, though, is the Dretch Swarm that Gilda has seen. While there were several dozen to begin with (along with a Vrock leader), there are only fourteen left. When their leader was killed, they found themselves lost in an alien world and are quite uncertain what to do next. They fear everything and everybody, but will fight to the death if cornered.

   Large Mist Elemental, 65 hp
   HD: 8d8+28
   Init: +8 (+4 Dex, +4 Improved Initiative)
   Speed: 20 feet, 40 feet swim/fly
   AC: 19 (-1 Size, +4 Dex, +6 Natural)
   Attacks: Slam +10/+5 melee
   Damage: 1d8+4
   Special Attacks: Mist mastery
   Special Qualities: Damage Reduction: 10/+1
   Everything else: Same as Medium Water Elemental

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