My First Campaign! (Continued)

[Gwenfloor]

Sorry guys, the Holly House encounter was really long, and I could not clearly remember everything that happened.
I have trouble presenting the campaign in a story format, so I will post what I learned so far.
Darryl found out that Lucas Kyros was a wolfwere from Kartakass, but Darryl was not quick to judge, and realized that at the time the murder was that Lucas would be in wolf form. The lack of fur of any sort at the murder scene cleared this up. The group found out later that a butcher knife was used in the murder, and that the murderer was from the inside.
The murderer was a doctor from Barovia, Eric, who conspired with Celinda and the Halfling Merchant, Ignatius, from Borca. Alfonse was less than straight, and was with-holding money from the business deal with Ignatius and Celinda. They hired Eric, a doctor/psychopath, who had the uncanny ability to drown out sound in a 10 foot radius. His insanity and talent, in-game, was from a failed powers check, and Dromir felt disturbed at Eric's powers. Where could a simple doctor gain such an ability? He did not radiate magic, as Dromir used a Feystool test that he learned from a Tepestani in his travels.

Dromir so far has failed three powers checks, and both he and the rest of the party are disturbed at his erratic behavior. His eyes are as black as coal, his skin is cold and clammy, and he appears detached and gloomy. Well, gloomier than before.
Darryl contracted lycanthropy, as I ran the adventure "A Calling from Verbrek." Darryl is now taking levels in the Moonchild prestige class, and eventually, Druid.
Ace received a bat as an animal companion through a feat, basically as a druid, but without the supernatural abilities. His bat is named Blaze.
Erlindil, a Sithican Elf Ranger/Fighter, played by a fourth player who newly joined, joined the party as they fled Barovia into Invidia. Erlindil was cold and aloof, even by Sithican standards, and usually talked in a brief sentence or two at most per day. He refused to discuss his past or personal life, and all that is known is that he was hired by Jacenty Girghiu to track the group down, but switched sides for reasons unknown to the party. (He found out that the Boyar was less than straight, and did not plan on paying him). All that is known is that he was a skilled hunter and tracker, and seems unnaturally jaded to all but the most horrifying and terrible of events. (Neutral Evil alignment, Courage, Elven Apathy, Iron Will, and Jaded with a 14 Wisdom combine to give him a +10 Bonus on Fear and Horror saves, and that's not counting the base Will Save Progression!) He did not flinch as he witnessed the brutality of Malocchio's Falknovian mercenaries and Lord's Men burn down a village said to be inhabited by a Vistani ghost!
The party met with Gabrielle, and agreed to work for her when they were paid with magical items retrieved from parts unknown. They asked about her, as how could a Giomorgio continue to live in such a hateful realm, and she said "We both have a common enemy, and I will not pry into your business if you do not attempt the same."
The party agreed.
Currently, in A Calling from Verbrek, at the end, they met Malocchio and his Darkling thugs.
Darryl mocked Malocchio for his hypocrisy, hiring out his sworn enemy as thugs to serve him, and to add insult to insult, called Malocchio an "in-the-closet Vistani-lover."
Malocchio started swearing inchoherently at this insolence, and ordered the Darklings to kill them... slowly.
The Darklings lost, and Malocchio fled in shame, biding his time for revenge.
When it comes to Darklords and other famous characters, I worry if I role-play them correctly.
What do you think?

[Gwenfloor]

Note: My players got misted to Odiare while exploring along the Valachan south.
I could not find 3rd Edition stats for Maligno and Guiseppe, so I made Maligno a CR 8 Carrionette and Guiseppe a PC-class version of the Expert, from Quoth the Raven I, in the Gothic Earth section.

[vipera aspis]

Nice job. this is good stuff. i think Malocchio was played well. What did Dromir do to fail those checks again?

[Gwenfloor]

Raising Undead.

[vipera aspis]

undead. yes i do believe the DP's have a sharp eye for that kind of thing.
quick question, ever use Ogres with Malocchio?

[Gwenfloor]

Yes.
I had in some Invidian villages Ogres living alongside humans in an uneasy truce. The Ogres partially integrated into Invidian society. At a bar in Mulidor, an Invidian village, the PCs saw Ogres and humans singing songs alongside each other in a Spring holiday.

When the party found out that Malocchio had the same last name as Gabrielle, they confronted her, and when she tried to enchant them, they successfully rolled their Will saves. Angered, Ace threatened to give away her location to Malocchio's forces if she did not come clean. Gabrielle reluctantly explained that Malocchio was her son, and was raised to irrationally hate Vistani, as Gabrielle was a Giomorgio and treated badly amongst the Vistani. She used to rule Invidia before Malocchio came to power.
The doctor in A Calling from Verbrek knew advanced medical techniques, and Gabrielle wanted his knowledge in order to gain an edge against Malocchio.
When away from Hunadora, Darryl mentioned that if Gabrielle won the war, that Invidia may not be better in much, if any, ways.

[vipera aspis]

Thats cool. i always bakc Malocchio with ogres. it's neat you have them ingrained in society.

That is awesome with Gabby though. I love when PC's can speak with a darklord instead of swinging at it.

[Gwenfloor]

Once again, the PCs accepted another mission from Gabrielle, unknowing that the entire journey was an illusion set by her to test their abilities.
The PCs, along with several Gundarakites, assaulted Karina and the PCs convinced the Gundarakites to create a diversion while they infiltrate the fortress of Malocchio.
A special team of Lord's Men, along with an Ogre Commando, managed to put a severe damper on the party's resources. Several Lord's Men poured buckets of Witchbane Leeches on Dromir, while Ace was injured by the Ogre.
Just as death was imminent, the scene faded to a foggy gray and they found themselves in a tent outside Castle Hunadora.
When Gabrielle told them that their vision was just a test, Darryl angrily demanded that they were not to be treated like mere pawns.
Gabrielle mentioned that they would have to make up for their failure by proving themselves one last time.
Fed up, Darryl retorted, demanding to know the whole story behind the events.
Knowing that enchantment rarely works on a person who knows of the attempt, and knowing that nobody would believe them, Gabriell told the party, in private, all the details behind her motives, including how she became a darklord and her betrayal by her son. She purposefully left out the Gentleman Caller and her Wolfwere lover.
Gabrielle told the group that they were not welcome in her realm any longer, and by that, she did not mean Hunadora, but all of Invidia.

Darryl was most disturbed by the information. If his home realm was created as the result of the sins of a Giomorgio, then could that mean that his family, his countries' history, was all a lie? Was Invidia just a playground between a vengeful mother and her madman of a son?
Darryl would not stand for it. Even if the country was an illusion, it felt real to him, and he would not let his homeland devolve into a war torn hell-hole just because of the folly of two delusional idiots.
Erlindil led the party to Sithicus for yet another new home, and Darryl silently made a pledge: first, Malocchio, then Gabrielle.






P.S.:If possible, could my campaign be added to the ones in the Veranda, or do I have to put it in?

[Gwenfloor]

I had the failed powers checks manifest as a cloaked man with a blood-red oval talisman, who identified himself as "the merchant." He offered Dromir powers in exchange for a curse of equivalent power. Dromir accepted the first three.

[Wiltrix]

Gwenfloor,

Great to hear that you are bringing 'A Calling from Verbrek' to life. I'm glad that you enjoying running the adventure, as much as I enjoyed writing it.

T

[Archedius]

your campaign sounds fun : )