Phoebe's quiet passing

After they rescued the giant frogs who lived in the swampy area surrounding the moathouse, Wolfgang, Gerilynn, and Phoebe enjoyed a few days of tacit notoriety: everyone knew it was their fault that there weren’t any frogs left kill on frogskin bounty day, but there were no out loud accusations. 

This lasted a few days. A half-dead merchant had been found on the road. He’d been beaten by robbers and left for dead on the road that passed near the marshes. And they stole his wares—a few barrels of wine and brandy. When he advertised a reward for the recovery of the wine, everyone looked at Hommlet’s newest heroes.

Wolfgang and co. volunteered. They did know the marshes and they had encountered humans there—what people live in marshes except brigands.

So they went to the swamp and after several hours of following its crisscrossing trails, they encountered a group of likely thieves: five scruffy, desperate men, with one-and-a-half pairs of shoes between them, armed with crude spears and bows. They were friendly, showed surprise to meet other people, and were vague about their purposes. They had killed a ducks and were looking for wood. They didn’t know anything about wine, but sure would like some. They didn’t like Wolfgang’s wolf, but did like his female associates. Their leader (the one with two intact shoes), introduced himself as Gumm and invited them to share the “hospitality of the marshes.”

Wolfgang, Phoebe, and Gerilynn agreed to share a meal with their new associates. The men did not have any wine, but they did have frogs—small, red, live amphibians carried in pouches. “Wanna lick?”

Wolfgang, Phoebe, and Gerilynn watched as the men licked their frogs’ backs, and then each accepted a squirming creature from its owner and did the same. They were hesitant, but the men were impatient, “Just lick and give it back here!” The taste was at once hot and soothing; immediately, the strain and fatigue of a long day wandering in mud and stagnant water left them. They felt some annoyance to find that, in that half-second of peaceful oblivion, the men had reclaimed that seemed to halfway belong to them. But then their head quickly cleared. They did not feel the dulling effects of wine or ale, but instead, a new sharpness.

The men seemed to experience the taste of the frogs in different ways. One plucked the duck with uncanny speed and focus. Gumm showed the same hyper-alertness that Wolfgang & co. were experiencing. Two others continued licking their frogs until they fell asleep. Another suddenly turned Gerilynn’s questions about wine back on her: “who wants to know? And what is it you are doing out here in the swamp with no other folk for miles around?”


Gerilynn apologized and everyone fell quiet. Dusk gathered. There was more talk of finding some wine. Somehow the duck got cooked, and those who were awake ate hungrily.

Hunger banished, the group revived its convivial spirit. Gerilynn’s interlocutor volunteered that they did have friends in the swamp and the friends did have wine, but they shouldn’t share. “Can we go there?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

The man hesitated.

Gumm interrupted. “It’s dark.”

It was. The heroes discussed returning to Hommlet. They disagreed about which direction it lay.

“We’ll show you,” one of the men said, “in the morning.”

Gerilynn argued, but the men said nothing. “Ok,” she agreed, “morning.”

Among themselves, Wolfgang, Gerrilynn, and Phoebe agreed that they would rest, but that that they wouldn’t fall asleep. But then one thing led to another, and one of the men offered Phoebe another lick of his frog. This time, she fell asleep. Wolfgang and Gerilynn, gave her some playful prods, and shouted her name to rouse her, and this gave the men some good laughs. Then Phoebe drifted off again; Wolfgang and Gerilynn fell asleep.

The group stated at the smoldering fire, and picked at the remains of the duck. 

Maybe Gerilynn drifted off for a moment. Or maybe she got drawn into a conversation about missing wine and the inhabitants of the swamp. There was a sudden movement, a gasp. One of the men was kneeling over Phoebe. He stumbled over to Gumm and whispered something. Gumm looked at Phoebe, at companions, and at the wolf.

Gerilynn jumped over to Phoebe and shook her. She wouldn’t wake. Her body didn’t feel right. She wasn’t breathing.

Gumm stood up, and held his hands out in front of him. The other two men started putting their packs together.

“What have you done to our friend?” Wolfgang demanded.

Gerilynn started casting a spell and the men ran. Wolfgang threw a rock.

Gumm got farther than the other two, but Wolfgang’s wolf caught him by the leg and pulled him to the ground.

Gumm begged for mercy and Wolfgang called off the wolf. “You poisoned her!”

“No one tried to do nothing,” Gumm pleaded, “it’s the frogs.” As he spoke, he reflexively drew his own frog out of his pouch and alternated between licking it and pressing it to the wound on his thigh. “It’s all good and bad sometimes.”

Gerilynn and Wolfgang spared him and let him get up and wander off into the swamp. The other men who had tried to run away were unconscious. When they revived, they were also sent away. Finally, Gerilynn and Wolfgang kicked the sleepers awake and sent them away.

They sat down, and without meaning to, fell asleep, waking up in the morning cold, sore and stupid.

 
Back in Hommlet, no one knew much about Phoebe or where she’d come from. Wolfgang gave her last rites.

Wolfbang, the frog protector

 During the winter, a new group of treasure hunters visited the moathouse, and finding the upper levels virtually entry, took their time searching the dungeon area, and found a hidden staircase leading to a still lower level. The survivors of that expedition shared news of their adventures back in Hommlet. New rumors of strange, bestial creatures circulated the village. Burne the wizard, and a few others with rare sensibilities, kenned a change in the environment that suggested the treasure hunters had unwittingly re-opened a source of magical energies or knowledge. Burner convinced the elders that it was time for Hommlet to establish an official claim to the moathouse and its contents. He proposed that a force of vermin-hunters, led by several of his own men-at-arms, and supported by Hommlet's militia clear out any remaining giant frogs or other similar odious creatures that laired in the ground level of the moathouse. This would allow a garrison force to secure the entrance until the village decided on a plan to exploit the magic resources below.

Jaroo, Hommlet's chief druid and a member of the council, was muted in his opposition to the plan to eradicate a species from its natural home. He provided sound reasons to delay the extermination plan, and in the meantime called on his fellows to send a young druid who could help him save thee frogs.

The druid college sent Wolfbang, a headstrong and bellicose initiate who arrived in Hommlet with his pet wolf and a donkey laden with spears. Jaroo explained his plan. The frogs days at moathouse were numbered, that was clear. But there was an expansive swamp south of Hommlet that would provide a better home. Wolfbang should hire some assistants and transfer as many frogs as possible from the moathouse to the swamp. 

Wolfbang talked to some of the treasure hunters who had previously visited the moathouse. Gerilynn and Phoebe accepted the job, making terms with Jaroo that involved payment of 10 gold pieces for each successfully re-located frog.

The group started by surveying the swamp, seeking a suitable new home for the frogs. The swamp seemed to extend for miles in the area south and east of Hommlet, becoming progressively swampier in the area near the moat house. They were surprised to find signs of human habitation, a criss-cross of narrow tracks through the trees and mud.


Next, the group approached the moathouse. Gerilynn, based on several previous experiences, explained to the others that frogs, if hungry, would attack anything living that made its presence known. The party came to within 30 yards of the muddy water surrounding the moathouse, and then began throwing stones and clods of dirt to attract the frogs' attention. 

Sure enough the frogs came. Wolfbang accosted the largest of the frogs and made it understand that he was not food. The second largest frog lashed at Phoebe with its long sticky tongue and began to draw it toward its mouth. Phoebe drew her sword and severed the tongue-- that frog retreated to the water. Several smaller specimens lingered on the edge of the water.

The remaining large frog made Wolfbang understand that it was still hungry and that if he was not food, then there should be food somewhere else close by. It looked meaningfully at Gerilynn.

And so Gerilynn started to run. The frog ran after her. Wolfbang, Phoebe, and the wolf followed the large frog while the smaller frogs followed them.

The merry chase led away from the moathouse and toward the swamp. Gerilynn sprinted toward one of the few trees suitable for climbing, and pulled herself into it. Wolfbang, Phoebe, and the wolf ran into the swamp. The smaller frogs began to gain on them in the thick mud, but the advantage was reversed once the party reached one of the tracks they'd located earlier. 

The large frog, finding it couldn't reach Gerilynn with its tongue, joined the smaller frogs in their pursuit of the main party. After waiting to be sure it was safe, Gerilynn climbed down, and returned to Hommlet on the path through the woods.

Running on the trail, Wolfbang and Phoebe discovered they could easily outrun the frogs, but varied their pace enough to lead their pursuers well into the swamp. Only when the shadows were lengthening toward the end of the day, did they run their hardest and complete their escape.

Beatriss and Tetsukishi return to Khanbaliq

After their victory, Beatriss and Tetsukishi left Tempat Larang and settled with their companions for several weeks in a good-sized village nearby. 

They traded a ruby for a pair of huts and hired local servants, enjoying a few weeks of rest. Plans were underway for the journey back to Pasar—chief among their concerns: how to avoid the vampire swamp.

One morning, their servants roused them with news. Imperial soldiers had arrived in the village, asking about them—and it seemed likely someone would talk.

Instead of fleeing, the company sought out the soldiers, who were still asleep when they arrived. The soldiers—only three in number—were stunned by their good fortune and tried to reassert control by summoning Tetsukichi to return to Khanbaliq and answer to the Empire. But the party’s eager reply—“Can we leave today?”—deflated their authority. After some blustering questions about Gwinch, Goyat, and Kawabi, and about needing proof of Goyat’s defeat, the soldiers admitted they had enough to justify a formal report.

The journey back was slow. The party’s maps were poor and their memories were foggy. Everything was green and there was no horizon. 

The return was slow. Their maps were vague, their memories fogged, and the endless greenery offered little sense of direction. But it was peaceful. In one village, the companions earned their keep by helping on a construction project. There, a worker pulled Beatriss aside to relay a secret: she could meet “the others” in a field beyond the swamp. He gave her careful directions and emphasized that she bring her traveling companions. Then, curiously, he challenged Tetsukichi to a no-weapons sparring match. Tetsukichi accepted—and was soundly beaten by the man’s strange techniques. The man ended the fight with a wink toward Beatriss and disappeared.

Thanks to the worker’s instructions, the party avoided the vampire, the leeches, and the deadly plague that had ravaged many soldiers. Weeks later, nearing Pasar, Beatriss suggested a detour toward the field the worker had described.

There, snakes slithered through tall grass—and led them to a hole in the earth. The party descended, encountering ghostly, translucent serpents that floated through the air. Tetsukichi hesitated. “Maybe we don’t want to meet the others,” he said. Beatriss, unsettled, agreed.

In Pasar, the soldiers filed their report. Their commanders questioned the party but seemed content—if cautious—with their story.

There, to their great surprise, Beatriss and Tetsukichi were reunited with their families, who had traveled from the Empire to meet them. It was a joyful and overwhelming reunion. Tetsukichi’s wife, Su-Laing, had demanded an escort to cross the mountains and find her long-absent husband, bringing both her own children and Betriss's.  The Sansar clan had been fored to leave their grazing lands, squeezed between lizardfolk raids and harassment from Imperial soldiers. Kreppu-san and Sukh,two brave warriors, and Shoji, a shaman had assisted them in their journey over the mountains. The journey had taken a toll: Su-Laing’s maidservant had been slain by a guardian statue, and the nurses who had cared for Beatriss’s fox-children perished in the bitter cold.

Amid the relief was growing concern. The road ahead would be long and unpredictable. And now they traveled not just as warriors, but as guardians of their families.

 

After a week of preparation, the now-expanded imperial escort—more than a hundred soldiers strong—departed Pasar with the heroes. They passed through Quitokai, now occupied by imperial forces, and Menkan, where the garrison had grown even stronger.

Weeks later, they reached Khanbaliq.

The Emperor’s ministers were skeptical, but His Imperial Majesty greeted the party with unexpected joy. He announced—without explanation—the precise date of their victory over Goyat. The party confirmed it. The ministers fell silent.

Lavish rewards were bestowed upon Tetsukichi, Golfo, and Beatriss. Tetsukichi and Golfo were told that they would be called upon again, and more honors would come to the Sansar clan. Then the Emperor turned to Beatriss.

He offered her a rare post: Supreme Guardian of the Women’s Palace. It was a sensitive and powerful role, reserved for a woman of unshakable discipline. No man was permitted in the harem, but Beatriss’s leadership and martial prowess, the Emperor noted, surpassed that of most men in his empire. When she hesitated, the Emperor did not withdraw the offer. Instead, he granted her a private apartment within the Imperial City—“so that you may think it over.”

Beatriss bowed and accepted the offer of accommodation but made no promises.

The heroes were dismissed. Tetsukichi and Golfo were given a walled compound in the Green Zone. Beatriss took up residence within the city walls, where she was introduced to Bayan—a bold, sharp-eyed former servant of a princess. The princess had labeled her impudent. Beatriss saw something else: the spirit of Madarua, wild and unshaped. She looked forward to testing her—and training her.

Wolfbang's Journal #3

We went went into a cave in a moathouse because it had magic? I Searched with this elf guy called Dan Darian who was trying to get this magic stones that was total awesome it could teach you epic spells. It Was kinda weird he used alot of water and a lot of other stuff to try to get the stone? To get to the moathouse we had to get pass Berns minion. I ended up killing them. NOW I CAN BRAG ABOUT GETTING KICK O-U-T OUT OF TOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wollfbang's Journal #2

We met a guy named Fernic. He was a annoying gambler. Next we went to this swamp near Hommlet.  Trying to get back some wine that was stolen we met the robbers. They let us lick there frog. We did and go plus 3 of any stat of are choice febee lick it twice and died. Then Jerry Lin used hold person. {she’s a cleric}. Woflbang used shellighla {he are drewed}.

About OA6 "Ronin's Challenge" (1990)

The victory of Beatriss and Tetsukichi in Tempat Larang marked the end of my use of OA6 Ronin's Challenge—over a three-year span!  It’s not a great module, but it’s very useful in some ways, and given that I may have spent more time with it than anyone, I’d like to share a few thoughts on how to make it useful to you.  After all, it’s a freedownload.

Background, specific to my campaign:  My use of the module began when Gwinch received the mission from the Emperor to track down the rogue General who he’d sent to deal with a rogue Governor.  After about a year-- and no word from Gwinch-- the Emperor decided he needed a cat to catch the birds he sent to catch the spider sent to catch the fly . . . and he called on Tetsukichi.  Both Gwinch and Tetsukichi were supported by other PCs and NPCs.

 The geographic area of the adventure is enormous, comprising a series of valleys based on real world cultures across Southeast Asia from Yunnan Province China to Indochina (Thailand, Laos, Vietnam) to Indonesia.  The physical scale of the adventure might not be quite as large as its real-world model, but it is close.  These valleys are roughly 100 miles wide and choked with jungles and swamp.  In dealing with the question of how adventurers could have any practical hope of crossing such a wilderness in pursuit of their goal, the adventure relies rather heavily on plot coupons—there’s a chance encounter with a sultan who tells them a story about a pirate trapped in a tomb, and if the pirate is released he tells them about such-in-such . . . .  It’s a sandbox that assumes DMs will build a railroad.  There are other ways to give the adventurers a way to pursue their quest without waiting for things to fall into their lap. I made the following decisions:

Many of the people the PCs encountered had a stake in their quest, because the mini-war between the General and the Governor was something that affected their lives.  The adventure includes a good way of stitching everything together, but doesn’t develop it properly.  There are some allusions in the random encounter tables to the fact that the rogue general and the rogue governor, each with his own army played a cat-and-mouse game across this area, and that the adventurers should encounter ruined villages and burned fields.  But this is treated as just background material.  As I ran it, when the PCs arrive at a large town (Pasar), there were able to find people there who encountered these armies, and can give some insight into what they were trying to do and what they might have been looking for. 

The devastation caused by the Governor and General created lots of potential adversaries for anyone else passing through.  The adventure also has a weird sub-plot about one of the Emperor’s advisers sending her own men to spy on the PCs (following them over hundreds of miles!).  Instead, I reasoned that deserters from the armies had set up shop as slavers and marauders throughout the region.  So rather than simple encounters, I had good material for developing side adventurers.  This also broke up the slog of “the longest backpacking trip ever,” but without taking away from the feeling that it was a grueling, dangerous journey.  Plus they were another, more natural source of information that propelled the PCs forward in their quest.

Underground shortcuts are at least half of what makes D&D great.  The adventure includes one labyrinthine mini-dungeon.  It had a cool atmosphere, being flooded with slightly acidic water that the adventurers had to navigate with miniature canoes.  But the individual encounters, beyond the swimming zombies, started to pall after a while.  Later groups of PCs found other ways to pass through the same mountains.  Some of the tournament modules, with their gauntlet-style series of challenging puzzles and encounters were very useful to me here. 

The various ancient buildings with cool powers and useful information are all located in Tempat Larang.   As written, the adventurers should discover a library, and observatory, and a shrine before they arrive at the climatic encounter in Tempat Larang.  There are a couple reasons why this wroks better in a movie or video game better than in an RPG.  First, in passive media, the protagonists' progress from one far-flung location to another just happens.  There might be obstacles along the way, but the audience doesn't notice that the protagonists rarely have to stop and ask for directions.  In an RPG, the automatic scene-shifting feels more jarring and contrived.  Forcing PCs to figure out where they want to go and how to get there adds depth, but can become tedious, so it's good to have just one final destination rather than several.  Second in movies/graphics-based games, the visual element comes cheap and can compensate for deficiencies in other areas.  In RPGs, the big challenge is helping everyone visualize the surroundings.   I wanted this ancient ruled capital to feel like an ancient ruined capital and to do that I needed buildings.  I used some other modules, including Faster Monkey’s Mor, to develop the layout of the larger city.

Run the climatic encounter as it’s written.  It feels a lot like a video game—the PCs take turns controlling a spirit dragon, with a dizzying selection of magic powers, while their enemy— after each “defeat”— takes on a new, more fearsome form, until it’s finally destroyed.  It was really fun for everyone.

(As a side point, the martial arts tournament has no meaningful connection to the rest of the adventure.  It's just a way for  the Emperor to take notice of the PCs.  Their main rival in the tournament has a shadowy backstory and he pops up throughout the rest of the adventure, giving one the sense that he has some interest in the tournament beyond the obvious.  But it seems that he just really wanted to win that martial arts tournament and that's it.) 

I used to think it would be cool to have a paladin based on Immanuel Kant

But someone has beat me to it . . . http://existentialcomics.com/comic/23