The Letter from the Lighthouse

[Contents of the letter found in the lighthouse]

My recent voyages have not gone smoothly. The sea moans, as if from some great wound. The birds that always trail our boat are shy, breaking off soon after are out of sight of land.

When we arrived at the site, we used the potion that Miranda created. What a wonder! I climbed into the ocean on a rope, and breathed water like a fish! The novelty wore off soon, however. The ocean floor was deep below, but sure enough, I could see Bessy below, the whole ship intact.

I will be departing as soon as I have finished cataloging our find. There is much to discuss, but it is best said in person.
    [Symbol of an Eye]

Exploring the lighthouse

We saw some roofs on the other side of the hedges so we gathered ourselves and went exploring. There were no people there but sleeping palettes for eight though we had only fought four. The only other things of interest were in a small box—a bottle, a small obsidian eye which looked like it was designed to hang on a chain or something, and a scroll.

Leshrac said that the contents of the bottle were magical but neither of the other things were. Valkor looked at the scroll but couldn’t read it; apparently it was some sort of code. There was also a map but it wasn’t clear what it was. It looked like an island but for some reason the coastline was undefined.

We slept on the ship and were roused in the morning by calls from the deck. There was a boat headed toward the beach, but when they saw us they diverted further up the beach. It was clearly the other pirates so I opened fire with my bow. Revenge is sweet. It only took a few shots to have two of them slumped at the oars and the others surrendered.

We questioned them but they weren’t particularly helpful. We also had the map from their wizard which showed a lighthouse along the coast and we went to find out why we hadn’t seen their light last night, as if it weren’t obvious.

Four corpses, raided stores, and a broken mechanism for the lighthouse. There was one interesting thing, a note with a mark similar to the obsidian eye. It talked about searching for some sunken ship, the Bessie and made mention of a potion that allowed you to breathe underwater. I wonder what the bottle in the box is? With the additional information I looked at the map again. I guess it could represent some section of the sea bed, but so could almost anything. I think we need to ask questions about sunken ships—if we can find out some information about the Bessie, which is probably not the actual name of the ship anyway, then perhaps we can make use of the map.

When we returned to the ship we made plans for heading to town. We discovered that the pirates had a ship anchored off shore and took possession of it. The pirate that has been of help to us has been offered his freedom as reward. We have moved everyone on to the ship and now we just need favourable winds to take us against the currents that would otherwise carry us onto the reefs.

Shipwrecked

What can I say of the Blessed Wind? Not a lot, since I was confined to the darkness of the hold.

It was hard to keep track of night and day in the perpetual lantern-lit semi-darkness. If it weren’t for the slop we were occasionally fed there would have been no way to tell at all. Not that it mattered—with no purpose the period I spent there was like a time-out-of-time. I kept to myself and nobody tried to engage me in conversation. I sat and tried to reach out with my mind to the creatures of the sea. Simon always said it was possible to accomplish anything with focus.

I was thus somewhat surprised when I was pulled to my feet by one of the guards and brought before the captain. There was another convict there; I think the captain said his name was Barris. The captain told me that Barris had helped him realise that the prisoners he transported were victims of an unjust system. Really? The system is only as bad as the individuals that run it. My father was a good leader, but my brother was another story.

They offered me a chance to join them in some “alternate pursuit”, whatever that was. I didn’t really care. It was an opportunity to avoid whatever fate awaited me on Mota, and that was all I cared about. Perhaps it would be a good life. Perhaps it would be like my previous life—nominally part of my family, but in reality living my own life in the wilderness. I pledged my allegiance and was then set free on the deck. It was good to see the open sky, and I basked in the warmth of the sunshine.

Apparently not everyone was so amenable to the idea. A fight broke out below and it wasn’t long before it spilled up onto the deck. My first priority was to find something to fight with, so I headed into the forward cabin and found a quarterstaff.

When I came out Berris was surrounded so I knocked down two of his assailants. There was some guy in robes shouting for people to attack Berris, but I did give my word.

And then a huge wave struck the ship and threw everything into chaos. It happened again. And again. Barris run onto the poopdeck and I didn’t see him again. The mast shattered and fell overboard and then things settled down and somehow the fighting just stopped. When someone went up to the poopdeck there was no sign of Barris. Or the boat. Bye-bye Barris.

The captain was also dead. Maybe that was what took the heat out of the fighting—no captain, no Barris.

One of the sailors was trying to take control. Fine; just leave me alone. I went to find my belongings and located them belowdecks. A couple of the others were searching through the belongings. I don’t think they were just looking for their own things, but I had mine so not my problem. The sailor was trying to force everyone onto deck. I was done down there so I wanted to hear what they thought was happening.

Some of them wondered whether we had enough food and water. The sailor began mumbling something about the currents but didn’t really know where we were headed or when we’d get there, so I mentioned that we would reach Raora sometime just after dark. Except of course that there are reefs and we had no rudder. And there was a storm brewing that would be upon us before dark.

I asked the sailor whether he could drop anchor to keep us off the reefs in the storm. He said he’d try. Let me just say he won’t be a captain anytime soon.

We somehow made it past the reefs and it was probably fortunate that we had no rudder. There was a lighthouse and it was clear we were heading straight for it, which should mean trouble. In this case it was some sort of trap to drive ships onto the cliffs and being unable to steer we had to follow the currents which beached us safely.

Well, almost safely. Whoever it was that had set the lure loosed a volley of arrows as we were trying to decide what to do. There wasn’t much light to see what was going on, and they were concealed behind a hedge. I tried to climb down but hadn’t made much progress before I succumbed to some enchantment and fell asleep.

I don’t know how long I was out, but when I awoke most everyone else was on the sand as well. There was already a melee in progress and I joined in as it finished.

So now here we are, a bunch of misfits on a sandy beach I assume to be reasonably isolated (otherwise it wouldn’t have been a good location for the false lighthouse).

Raora is a reasonably well-connected island and it should be easy enough to get away from here. I’m sure some of the others think we’re free, and maybe they are, but for my part it would probably have been better had the ship sunk. Percy will hear that I didn’t make it to Mota and if the Blessed Wind were never seen again perhaps he’d think me lost at sea. As it is, there’s a giant monument to show that at least some of us made it to Raora and Percy will assume I’m amongst them.

Valkor

Valkor (continuing story from previously):

"Well, as can be expected, nothing ever is as easy as it seems. One day, while reading my books, I was dragged out to meet with the captain. Apparently, the captain had a change of heart, and was going to take up piracy. I couldn't tell if he was affected by some sort of enchantment or not, but I suspect that the convict Barris had something to do with it. They didn't believe me when I said that I was going to be tried in Mota for larceny, so I just told the truth. After all, if they're going to be outlaws, it wasn't as if word would get out to the judges. They didn't like what I had to say, so they told me that I was going to be dropped off at the next island. That certainly worked for me, because if they wanted to play pirates, I couldn't care less."

"But of course, the words of these barbarians are not to be trusted (I should have known when they didn't understand the word 'larceny'!). Soon after I was brought into my cell, I was taken out again, and the guard promptly tried to kill me. Fortunately, my cellmate Leshrac saved me, shattering the guard's staff with an utterance. I quickly used the opportunity to lock the guard in the cell, and free Leshrac. Just as I was doing this, a terrible wave must have struck the ship, and I heard the upper decks suddenly break out in combat. I moved up the stairs and saw Barris, and he came at me with a dagger. I cast a spell that conjured up a glob of grease from the kitchens in hopes of slipping him up. Just then, I saw a huge wave approaching the ship, so I quickly conjured myself into a room, and sealed the door shut."

"When the fighting died down, I opened the door, and looked out. Barris was no where to be found, so he must have been swept overboard. Just as well, since he was the obviously cause of all these problems. I spent some time fishing some of the others out of the water, and we took stock of the situation: there were 15 of us left, out of maybe the 30 to 40 that came aboard. The mast was broken, the captain dead, and we were drifting off into a nearby island. Some of the crew knew that the island was surrounded by a reef, so we took measures to prevent ourselves from hitting it. I waterproofed my books and prepared several spells to help me swim to shore."

"By some luck, we actually avoided the reefs, and beached ourselves near a lighthouse. But by some unluck, we actually beached ourselves near a group of pirates who quickly attacked and took out our scout. After a brief but furious fight (in which I was nicked again by a cutlass), we managed to defeat and capture them all. I doubt we'll get much information out of these savages, but at least they might know the island somewhat. Bringing them to authorities might be worth a reward as well."

"All in all, it was quite an exciting day, though what really piqued my interest was Leshrac. He obviously had some arcane magical talent. But though his abilities were similar to what I may cast, he drew his power from demonic sources as far as I could tell. I reminded myself that I would have to study his kind some more when I got the chance to do so."

The Last Thoughts of Poor Thom Writwater

[This is an example session write-up from Thom Writwater, the late captain of the Blessed Wind.]

Today was going so well.

I talked to Barris again. He's on to something. Every time I pick up prisoners, and hear theire tales, for every one who's killed or raped, there's one who insulted a magistrate or stole a loaf of bread. But it's all the same to them, in the end. A rigged trial, then harsh labor as a slave to keep this corrupted government afloat. And for it, my crew and I got a pittance.

But not that it matters. Barris's plan was sound, I am sure, if risky. But the sea, the blasted sea itself rose against us. The first wave could have been a fluke, but the second? The third? Again and again, tossed about the room like a sack of potatoes, but no longer. These wounds are too much, I can't even stand again. The next wave shall surely undo me.

Oh, Barris, I hope you survive. I hope you can save my poor ship, and convince the others that you can bring justice to this world of ours, no matter if the gods themselves try to smite you. Let my end have purpose... purpose.

Valkor

Valkor:

"So how did I end up here? Well, I guess I'll start from the beginning. Ever since I was young, I knew that I had quite a few talents. I was always considered hardy, quick, both fleet of foot and of the mind. I guess I was fortunate enough to have been apprenticed by a minor hedge wizard."

"One day, a bard came to my city and told a tale of the planes. He told of mountains that stretched so high that no man could ever reach the top in one lifetime. Cities so grand and majestic that they could only have been crafted by the gods themselves. He told me that even the prime material plane contained countless worlds, filled with creatures beyond imagination."

"The more I learned about the planes, the more I became convinced that true power, true enlightenment lay in understanding of the planes. The petty happenings on Alliejen paled in comparison to even the tiniest fraction of what took place in the multiverse."

"It didn't take long before I exhausted all the meager knowledge my city had to offer, and I needed to go to somewhere larger. I knew that Mota had the libraries and arcane guilds that I needed to continue my studies, and I resolved to head over there. Unfortunately,
I still had quite a few responsibilities left on my island, and the next transport ship was many months away. The only ship available was the Blessed Wind, a prison transport, so I concocted a plan that would solve both my problems at once."

"I had a good friend Kalen, who was a member of the guard, and had him 'arrest' me on the charges of larceny. More specifically, stealing 100 gold pieces worth of books -- the minimum required to be considered a felony. With the Blessed Wind already docked at port. It wasn't hard for Kalen to convince the magistrate that I was better off shipped off the island. I, of course, also had arranged for the evidence against me be conveniently misplaced (especially easy considering that there isn't any evidence against me), so that I would be promptly released after reaching the capital. I lastly had Kalen testify to the captain that I wasn't a threat, so that I would be allowed to keep my books and parchments. Kalen was a good friend, and I promised myself that I would repay his friendship as soon as I was able."

"So there I was, floating on a ship filled with cut-throats and murderers. I spent a few days arguing with a few of the brighter ones (or so I thought at the time, as now I see that I was wrong), trying to convince them why in the long run, it doesn't make sense to steal. I don't think I got through their thick skulls."

Edmund's backstory

I was never what my father wanted. Not like my older brother, Percy. Perfect Percy. Of course he should have some favour from my father as he would be the one to inherit the title, but it seemed my father didn’t want me at all.

I’m not sure I could blame him. I was small and brutish in appearance, which meant I had few friends. To protect myself I built up a wall and soon became known for my taciturn nature as well.

Of course I was still required to study the lordly disciplines, but where Percy studied swordsmanship with Chad the Champion, I studied with Armless Armand. Sure, he had seen plenty of fighting but you had to wonder at the skill of someone who had lost both his arms in battle.

Statesmanship, heraldry, and similar studies bored me to tears as well while Percy, of course, excelled in reciting all these tedious and unimportant snippets.

Nobody seemed to mind when I started skipping out on these classes. Well, that’s not strictly true. Percy would snipe at me whenever we were alone about how I was shirking my responsibilities, and at dinner he would deliberately raise topics that related to our studies in an attempt to cause some retribution for my lack of attendance. Of course, in my father’s eyes I may as well have not existed so all he did was converse with Percy on the topic. The attention served to fuel Percy’s ego, but it was equally obvious that he was annoyed that I had escaped my richly deserved punishment. I would laugh at first but then Percy started to beat me. He was bigger and stronger than I, and of course had been better trained in fighting. He had no trouble asserting his “superiority” and I learned that it was wiser not to provoke him.

So it was that I spent more and more time away from the keep, and I decided it would be wise to avoid the sight of anyone that might drag me back to my lessons... and Percy’s company. I would disappear into the forests, a large portion of which was reserved for my father’s private hunting ground. That made it more hazardous than it might have been so I sought out the groundskeeper Simon the Sure-footed.

Simon was like a shining beacon to me. No second-class training from him, and the things he knew about creatures of all kinds thrilled and excited me. He taught me to use a bow and even crafted one for me that took advantage of my strength. He taught me about the animals that prowled our forests and those that populated the shores around our island.

While I was handy with a bow I felt most alive when challenging the beasts hand-to-hand. I was so frequently hurt that the healers in town started to joke that i was “constantly in their prayers”.

One day Simon and I found the remains of a deer with some tracks which I had not seen before. I could see Simon blanch—something I had never seen before—as he told me it was a dire bear. “Fetch your father, boy. I’ll try to track it and leave a trail, but it will take a squad to bring it down safely.” I rushed back to the keep, and the first person I saw was Percy, who was training with the lance. I told him what was happening and asked him to collect a squad of pikemen while I went looking for father.

I helped my father into his armour and we returned to the courtyard. Instead of Percy and a squad of pikemen we discovered that Percy had taken off by himself. With a look usually reserved for me my father headed after him, commanding me to follow with the pikemen.

I had a knot in my stomach as I rounded up the pikemen and we found Simon’s trail. We followed for half an hour before we heard sounds of battle. Simon and Percy were down and my father was battling the dire bear. He was covered in blood and as we entered the clearing he drove his sword into its brain through the roof of its mouth. Rather than dying instantly the dire bear convulsed hideously, clamping its jaws on his arm and jerking his body around like a rag doll as it died.

The priests could do nothing for my father or Simon—they were so mangled they could not be restored. Percy, however, survived and took his rightful position as lord of our island. He immediately set about creating a land of oppression.

Yesterday I was returning from the forest when I man ran up to me. “Help me, please, the guards are chasing me. I know stealing food is wrong but my children are starving.” I hurried the man onward and as the guards approached I tipped over a cart in their path. By the time the chaos had subsided the man was long gone.

Out of frustration more than any expectation that I would really be punished the guards took me to the cells and locked me up overnight before taking me before the magistrate, where I was charged with theft and resisting arrest. There we waited while a messenger was sent to the keep to inform my brother that he would need to intercede. While we waited I was witness to the other “hardened criminals” on trial for trying to eke out a miserable existence beneath Percy’s boot-heel.

Eventually the messenger returned and handed a scroll to the magistrate. He read it carefully, drew a deep breath, then read “By order of Lord Percy, Edmund of Fallenoak will be sent by prison boat to Mota, where he will be imprisoned for his crimes of sedition.”

I wonder if he would have been as bold had there not been a prison ship already moored at our harbour. The guards that led me through the streets seemed embarrassed and tried to look like they were accompanying me somewhere rather than escorting me under arms. I was led down to the harbour and aboard the Blessed Wind were I was chained below-decks.

Action Points

We will use actions as here, with two variants: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/adventuring/actionPoints.htm

1) Action points don't carry over from one level to the next. When you gain a level, your action points reset to 5 + 1/2 character level.

2) You can only use 1 action point per round (on your turn or otherwise).

At 2nd level, you have 6 action points.

Backstory, v0.2

From a young age, I showed magical talent. I would occasionally torment the neighborhood children by having light chase them around or other small tricks. I grew up in a very poor peasant family. My father was a farmhand and my mother would occasionally have a position as "the help" in one of the more affluent houses. I was one of 6 children, only 4 living though, 3 boys and 1 girl (me). Due to the rumors magical aptitude, one of the priests of wee jas from a nearby island decided to meet with me when I was 10. The priests would often sail around the islands to look for promising candidates. My parents willingly gave me to him (one less mouth to feed) and I was taken away to the nearby island with the temple.

The temple had a building for young acolytes. Some other children and I who had shown exceptional magical aptitude were given strict training in various magical arts, as well as rituals for the dead, since the people of the island often asked for Wee Jas's blessings during funerals. However, I did not adapt well to the strict life. I showed a remarkable magical ability without the hours of studying and prayer that the other students required. I would sometimes cause trouble out of boredom and did not often listen to my elders, yet I progressed much more quickly than the other students. While the priests studied me, I instead took a different view of the matter, that it was a sign from Wee Jas. When I was 16, I started to believe that she did not enjoy the constant prayers and boring, unchanging rituals, and instead wanted her gifts and powers to be shown. Obviously, since I did not pray, yet I had been blessed with her gifts, this had to be true. I started sowing the seeds of doubt in my fellow students. Some started to believe that I was blessed or touched by her. Others did not study or pray as much (although they did not do as well as I without the prayers). I was starting to challenge the power of the hierarchy, something that was not looked fondly upon. I even changed my name to Alluvia, as my previous peasant name did not suit someone of my abilities.

Needless to say, the priests were not amused. I had almost half of the students following me instead of them. When I was 18 (now) they decided that I must leave the temple. When I refused, they accused me of stealing the offerings from the local townspeople and had me taken away by the prison ship.

Appearance - Tall, pale, with dark red hair and deep green eyes.

Game Mechanics

Write-ups: I'll use a blog to post game info. Post a backstory for your character here, as well as summaries of each game session, to get bonus experience (and possibly action points, see below). Each contentful write-up is worth 50xp * character level.

Character creation: Not sure what level we'll start at. For stats, point-buy with 25 points per DMG (I use http://www.moonrise.org/livingcity/stats.shtml because I'm lazy), or you can choose to roll 4d6, drop the lowest. For hp, you can either choose to get the average value at each level (rounded down for even levels, rounded up for odds), or roll.

For classes, feats, etc. from outside the PH/DMG, you need my approval. If something seems too powerful to me but you really want to try it, I'll permit it with the condition that I may reduce the power level if needed.

Other rules variants to be aware of:

1) Action points. I'll probably use the system as it is here.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/adventuring/actionPoints.htm

2) Craft points. You can craft either by time or craft points.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/craftPoints.htm

3) I'm a tiny bit more lenient with death. See * for details.

4) Taking 10: you can't take 10 in any situation where you are under stress unless the task is very simple, or you have an ability that allows it. You can't take 10 in any opposed check (e.g. bluff, hide), any check against a magical effect (e.g. disabling a magic trap), or for knowledge or diplomacy.

5) Power Attack: 3-2 benefit when using 2 handed weapons. For every point of penalty taken with a 2-handed weapon and power attack, you gain 1.5 points of extra damage. Round down after adding the 1.5 x strength bonus due to two handed wielding. E.g. A character with 16 strength (+3 strength bonus) wielding a 2-handed greatsword would
normally deal 2d6 + 4 (3 * 1.5 rounded down) points of damage. If he chooses to power attack and take a penalty of 1 on his roll, he would deal 2d6 + 6 ((3 + 1) * 1.5 rounded down) points of damage, not 2d6 + 5 (3 * 1.5 rounded down + 1 * 1.5 rounded down). Likewise, a light weapon would deal 0.5 times the power attack penalty in extra damage. All natural attacks benefit from power attack as normal.

6) Knowledge checks on enemies. You can try to identify the type of enemy you face as a free action. Check the PHB page 78 for which knowledge skills let you identify which types of enemies. It's a DC 10 to learn the name of the creature, DC 15 to learn it's primary special abilities and attacks. DC 20 to get the full stat block from the MM. For uncommon creatures all DCs are +5, for rare ones, +10. Bardic Knowledge can be substituted for all knowledge checks, but the DCs are +0-10 depending on the situation.


* Specifics: if you are below -10 hp, you are "mostly dead": you won't
immediately die, you'll only die if you take additional damage (aside
from the usual -1 per round). When mostly dead, self regeneration/fast
healing, etc. all stop working; only another player's heal check or
heal spell can stabilize you. Anything which is a "death effect"
becomes a "near death" effect, putting you at -10 hp and mostly dead;
anything which is a disintegration-like effect, still functions as
normal.

Intelligent PCs who are aware you are dying, and aware that the group
has a healer, will finish off dying (-1 to -9 hp) PCs. Generally,
enemies treat "mostly dead" as "dead" until they learn better, and will
therefore be unlikely to "finish off" a mostly dead PC.

Welcome to the Islands of Alliejen

The Kingdom of Alliejen consists of hundreds of islands. A few are “large” (~5,000 square miles) and densely populated (~100,000 people), but the majority are unpopulated or have only small villages. Estimates of the kingdom’s population range from one to three million, though any sort of accurate count is simply not possible given the cost of travel.

The islands are fairly closely clustered. Any two islands could be between 20 and 1000 miles apart (4 hours to one week by boat in favorable winds). The farthest islands are 3000 miles apart.

The vast majority of people are sustenance farmers. Many people have some simple command of magic (usually the village leaders and shaman), who are able to help by watering crops, speeding up their growth, mending broken tools, and the like. A few people are sailors, responsible for inter-island trade and the large number of cross-island marriages. A smaller set yet is “nobles”, most of who live on the larger islands and form the government.

The government is bare-bones, as there is no threat of foreign invasion—ship that have sailed in any direction find only open sea or never return. Essentially, any village in which some crime occurs that is too heinous for the village to address problem will send the convict to the large island, where the convicted is essentially enslaved. Best get along with your neighbors.

There are three PC races known on the islands, each about as common as the others: humans, elves, and gnomes.

• The term “human” refers to both the human and dwarven races in the PH. Dwarves in this campaign get 4 extra skill points at first level, and 1 extra skill point each level thereafter, but have only standard vision, do not have stonecutting, have no bonuses versus orcs, goblins, or giants, no bonus to appraise, and no bonus to crafting. Generally, humans can live to 80 or so, and dwarves to 120.
  
• The term “elf” refers to both elves and half-elves, as in the PH. Half-elves live as long as 200 years, elves as long as 250.
  
• The term “gnome” refers to both halflings and gnomes, as in the PH. Gnomes can live past 120 years, halflings generally not longer than 100.
  
• There is no PC “half-orc” race