Berador

Berador, a small farming and fishing village, lies at the intersection of the Blue Wash River running north to south and the Old Trade Road running east-west. Inside the wooden palisade surrounding the village proper adventurers can find several shops and craftsmen. Farmsteads and ranches dot the countryside around Berador for several miles in all directions.

Lake Callie, a small, but deep lake, forms in a valley just outside of town to the south, and the Blue Wash tumbles out of it over falls heading south to the River Elba and the town of Port Eben. Berador acts as a center of trade for the many small towns and villages within about one hundred miles as it sits at a convenient crossroads.

Berador produces mainly farm goods including roots, vegetables and some rare fruits as well as cattle and swine. Some locals also work in timber trade from the Greywood nearby.

Berador

Population: 300; another 1200 or so live in the surrounding farmlands and forests. The majority of the inhabitants are human and halfling, with a substantial number of dwarfs in town. Three elf enclaves have forest holds around the village and an eladrin village nestles deep in the Greywood. A smattering of tielfing and dragonborn call the area home.

Government: Berador has no government, per se. Several of the more respected locals make decisions for their own people, and often they will meet en masse to work out any problems that the village must face as one.

Some of the village elders/leaders include: Amil Greyski, Bull Emmett, Caer Branloth, Fenesin Lumiya, Reginald Dampero, Rodrik Vesash, Tamil Rivers, Ulfgar Fireaxe.

Defense: A dragonborn warrior by the name of Jadestar Kaldoran acts as an unoffical sheriff. The Greywood Wardens, who number around five dozen, patrol the Road in both directions for about 100 miles. The elf band called the Foresters keeps watch around the elf holds.

Inns/Taverns: The Maple House, owned and operated by Tamil Rivers, is the only public house in the village. It has a handful of rooms for rent and a large common are for local gatherings.

Trade: This farming community produces an excess of roots, vegetables and some fruits. Fish and timber are also significant exports from Berador. Numerous Traveling Carnivals pass through town each year providing exotic and luxury goods in exchange for farm goods and the crafted goods of the locals

Supplies: The Fireaxe clan of dwarfs provide many locally crafted goods for trade and often have exotic fair on hand as well. The halfling river traders bring in all types of things from far and wide. The local craftsmen have goods for trade as well.

Temples: Temple of the Sun (Pelor); the only temple in town is dedicated to Pelor and the local priest serves the same. The Temple of the Sun is open to all goodly people to worship and celebrate as they see fit.

Hit Points, Healing Surges and Second Wind

So, one of the players expressed some concern/frustration with the second wind ability last night. I think part of the confusion comes from what exactly hit points, healing surges and the second wind ability represent.

Hit points indicate a character's hardiness, health and moxie. When a character loses hit points the character has not necessarily taken any wounds. Look at lost hit points as fatigue, minor wounds, missed footing, and other impediments to combat performance.

When a character loses half of his/her hit points s/he becomes bloodied and has taken some significant wound or suffered a major injury. At this point losing more hit points indicates loss of blood from previous wounds, more fatigue and a general deterioration of abilities.

At zero hit points a character is unconscious and dying. The final attack that put the character below one hit point indicates some serious injury like a major concussion, a bloody wound or other damage that will result in death if no one tends to the character.

Healing surges replenish hit points. Typically a healing surge will replenish 1/4 of the character's total hit points. This number may be modified by various powers. A healing surge delivered by a cleric's or paladin's healing powers indicates divine intervention to sew up wounds, restore confidence and/or provide a burst of energy. A warlord's Inspiring Word power replenishes hit points as the warlord's commands and encouragement restores the target's confidence or grants him new found reserves of strength or stamina.

The second wind ability allows any character to restore 1/4 of his/her own hit points. Think of the second wind ability as the character taking a deep breath and reassessing the situation. You can also imagine your character as a hero in a movie: when the hero takes a punishing kick to the face he topples to the ground and the action pauses. Suddenly the hero rises to fight again, his stamina and grit renewed as he remembers what he is fighting for or against. A hero can only reach into this inner reserve of strength once during a single encounter.

The hit point number on a character sheet represents the static amount of abuse that a character can take in a short period of time before being in mortal danger. You can also think of hit points as a measure of plot immunity. That is, your character has a certain level of ability to avoid injury and death because s/he is the star of the movie. So until hit points are depleted s/he is immune to real danger from the bad guys. It takes a series of attacks from multiple enemies to put the hero in a really bad situation.

Healing surges represent the ability of a character to ignore minor wounds, recover from fatigue and otherwise restore his/her reserves of strength and stamina to fight on against all odds. Even this power has limits, which is represented by the total number of healing surges available to the character per day.

In a given encounter a character's hit points will be depleted and replenished as s/he suffers from the attacks of his/her enemies and recovers with the aid of his/her comrades or the use of his/her own second wind ability. Over a full day of adventuring the number of times a character can withstand assaults by enemies is regulated by the total number of healing surges s/he has available.

Hit points are an encounter resource. Healing surges are a daily resource. The second wind ability is the character's personal reserve of stamina that can be used once per encounter to persevere against danger.

Session Report: Keep on the Shadowfell - Chapter One

WARNING: spoilers for Keep on the Shadowfell abound in this post. Stop reading now if you plan to play this module.

King Mark Winland II, interested in expanding the influence of his kingdom, hired a hardy band of adventurers to seek out information in and around the village of Ford many leagues to the north. He had previously sent an envoy, Douven Staul, to see what he could learn. Douven should have returned long ago. Now brave heroes make their way to Ford to learn of Douven's fate and to continue his mission.

The Heroes

The heroes include:

• Stadir: half-elf cleric of Bahamut (Jon)
• Rik: halfling rogue (Jeff)
• Mizz: tiefling warlord (Zach)
• Moob: human wizard (Michael)
• Kahlashtar: dragonborn paladin (Matt)
• Berro: dwarf fighter (Rozanne)

On the Road: Kobold Brigands

The party has been on the road for weeks traveling to the village of Ford. They have a general idea of its location and expect to reach it late in the afternoon. About mid-afternoon Rik calls a halt to the band as he spots some rusty-skinned lizard-like creatures skulking about in the rocks and trees near the road. Seeing that their ambush has been foiled the kobolds leap into action.

The dragonmen march forward toward their foes. Two slingers hang back a bit as the warriors charge forward. Moob fires off a spell and fells one of the weaker warriors and Kahlashtar charges forward. A bloody mess ensues. The kobolds hammer at the dragonborn as his comrades pick their way forward to his aid. Berro and Mizz crash into the kobolds as Rik manuevers into an advantageous position.

The mass of kobolds surrounding the paladin bring him down, but a prayer to Bahumut from Stadir and an encouraging word from Mizz get him back on his feet. A bloody minute later and kobold corpses litter the roadside.

The heroes take a brief break to tend to wounds, loot the bodies of their fallen enemies and then continue their journey.

Ford: Questions Answered

The heroes arrive at the tiny walled village near dusk. Dozens of farmhouses dot the country side near Ford. The town proper sits on a prominent hill overlooking the road running east and west and a river that flows north to south. A spur off the road at the bridge leads up the hill to the open gates of the village where two guards greet the travelers amiably and advise them to seek Wrafton's Inn where they can find food, shelter and information.

At Wrafton's Inn the heroes quickly arrange a meal and bed for the night and set to finding what they can about Douven. The innkeeper, Salvana Wrafton, a heavyset middle-aged woman, tells them that Douven stayed in her inn, but just up and disappeared a few weeks ago. She hasn't seen or heard from him since. She's unsure of his interests, but seems to remember he spent a lot of time talking to Eilian. She also tells them that Valthrun might be able to help them out as well.

A handful of locals lounge about in the common room of the inn, taking in a bit of conversation, games of chance and a lot of ale. The heroes notice an elf woman watching them while trying to hide the fact. Rik and Stadir wander over to talk to her. She has no interest in speaking to them, and leaves abruptly when Rik tries to buy her a drink.

Later in the evening as more locals trickle in to the place, Salvana points out Eilian to the party. Eilian is a strange bird indeed. He speaks in sharp, staccato phrases and seems lost in his thoughts and those of others. His mind quickly wanders from topic to topic and his mouth quickly follows. He is most excited when he learns that the heroes seek Douven. "You knew Douven?" he exclaims. "Knew?" responds Stadir. "Well, know . . . I guess. You know Douven?"

After a great deal of wandering about in the strange world that is Eilian's thought process the heroes make an appointment to meet with him in the morning; but not too early! He is fascinated by Kahlashtar's prayer book and begs to take it with him to read, agreeing to return it on the morrow.

The heroes call it a night.

In the morning Moob, Berro and Rik make a run of the town and check things out. They discover there is not much to see. A stable, smithy, general store, some modest houses, a large tenement and a church take up about three fourths of the walled part of the village. An inner wall separates the rest of the village from Lord Paidrig's manor house, the guard barracks and warehouse.

The heroes speak briefly with Valthrun. Valthrun calls himself a political advisor to Lord Paidrig, the local ruler. Valthrun suggests that he can arrange a meeting with the lord, and the party agrees. Valthrun knows of Douven as well and tells much the same story as the innkeep.

After first waking Eilian around 11:00 AM the heroes finally meet with him around noon. He invites them to his modest home. They learn that he has a bit of a library of some thirty books and that he spends most of his time reading and advising Lord Paidrig on history, astrology, astronomy and other subjects. He stayed up the entire evening before reading Kahlashtar's prayer book and bores the party to tears recounting a parable from the book.

The adventurers finally manage to get some information of use out of Eilian. He tells them of a dragon burial ground nearby that Douven went to investigate several weeks ago. He draws them a map detailing the location of both the burial ground and the ruined keep which he claims is a pile of rubble and likely haunted.

Later in the evening the party makes a meeting with Lord Paidrig. This stately middle-aged fellow invites them to his manor where they are treated to fine drink and after dinner snacks. He seems interested in their exact relationship with Douven Staul and King Mark Winland II. When it becomes apparent that they do not have the power to negotiate on behalf of the king he seems to lose interest and redirects the conversation to helping them to find Douven.

He also offers to pay them to rid the village of the kobold menace. It seems the kobold activity in the region has picked up in recent months, and the ambushers have started to impact the well-being of the village. Merchants have gone missing and one of the scheduled Traveling Carnivals has not arrived as expected. If the heroes will track the kobolds to their lair and dispatch them he will pay them 50 gold crowns from the old Oshland Empire.

Kobold Ambush

The party agrees to take the job and will seek out Douven. It seems likely that he had a run in with the kobolds since both the burial ground and most of the kobold activity mostly are to the west. Using the map given by Eilian they set out west. On the road another band of kobolds attacks them. A fierce battle ensues, but the heroes manage the day with little trouble. Two of the kobolds flee the battle.

In looting the bodies they find an obsidian dragon necklace. Moob looks it over and discovers a crude ram-headed skull etched on the bottom of it. He recognizes this as the symbol of Orcus, the demon prince of the undead. The thought of kobolds worshiping Orcus unsettles them and they are even more determined now to wipe out the potential threat.

Scoping out the Lair

Moob manages to track the fleeing kobolds into the woods. An hour or so later they find themselves at a small clearing where a stream tumbles over a steep cliff face in the forest. Over a dozen kobolds mill about near the waterfall, obviously alert for trouble. After looking over the situation for a bit they decide to look for the dragon burial ground instead of facing this large band of kobolds. They will come back when better rested.

Burial Site

Using Eilian's map the party makes its way to the burial site. Once there Rik sneaks ahead for a look. He sees several men digging about in the place, a halfling skulking about nearby and another creature that he doesn't immediately recognize. The slender, gray-skinned creature is a gnome, as Stadir tells everyone once he sees it.

The heroes make their way down into the pit that is the burial site and the gnome calls out to them to come look at what he's found. As they gather around him he hefts a large curved bone and tries to slam it into Stadir's gut. Quickly his human diggers move to attack and two dog-like dragon creatures join the fray. The halfling, having vanished from sight repears and lets loose a hail of stones from his sling. Kahlashtar breathes lightning on the assembled enemies. The gnome disappears in a flash of electricity, but reappears a moment later waving a great pick at Khalashtar's back.

Rik and Mizz make short work of the halfling while Berro, Stadir, Moob and Khalashtar take care of the others. The fight is over relatively quickly and the heroes are none the worse for wear.

On checking out the burial site they find not only the gold and silver that the people carried, but a magical +1 Amulet of Health, a wooden crate with a mirror in it, and Douven Staul who is bound, gagged and covered with a blanket nearby.

They release Douven and question him about the goings on here. He tells them that he has had no trouble with kobolds, but that these miscreants attacked him before he ever reached the burial site. He had come out here to see what he could aobut the place. He will return soon to report to King Mark about his findings and asks the heroes to check out the keep in his stead.

Mizz recognizes the scroll work on the mirror and advises everyone that it is an item of value to worhipers of Orcus. It is not magical and is certainly of great value. They decide to take it with them along with the amulet, which Douven identifies as his own, but he gives to them as reward for rescuing him, but not before he takes the picture of his wife from it.

The party makes its way back to town escorting Douven. They now have an idea of where to proceed and maybe a bit of news for Lord Paidrig. Certainly they have uncovered some wealth. Douven agrees to wait in town to travel back to Roth with them unless a merchant caravan comes through that he can ride with.

The heroes decide to rest again for the night at the inn and will get an early start on the morrow.

Rewards

XP Earned: 600 each
Loot: 40 gold each; +1 Amulet of Health which Kahlashtar has.
Items of Interest: mirror with gold trim of undetermined value that Mizz claims has some connection to Orcus; obsidian dragon figure with symbol of Orcus etched on the bottom

Keep on the Shadowfell - Player Background

Keep on the Shadowfell is the first published adventure for Dungeons and Dragons 4th edition. This preview adventure provides quick start rules and pregenerated characters. This adventure will serve as a preview to the Greyshad campaign.

Player Background

It has been 217 years since the Purge and the fall of the Oshland Empire. In the dark years since that time communication between lands, travel and trade has broken down. Warriors and wise men have managed to establish small pockets of civilization in the ruins of lost empires. One such point of light is the great city-state of Roth.

Once the eastern jewel of the Oshland Empire, Roth fell on hard times after the Purge. The people of Roth have suffered the ravages of war as armies sacked the city three times in less than a century. For a time the great city fell nearly to ruin and its walls hid the hollow husk that it had become.

About fifty years ago Mark Winland, a mighty warlord with a faithful band of followers, proclaimed himself King of Roth and the Eastern Marches. He ruthlessly destroyed would-be usurpers, real and imagined, and launched a campaign to bring peace and order to the land. He spent the last thirty years of his life fighting battles with goblin tribes, pirates on the Elba River, and politicians who would seek to tear him down. On his death his son, Mark Winland II, ascended to the throne.

King Mark Winland II proved himself a man of strength and honor and a great conciliator. He made peace with the river bands on the Elba, established trade with Port Eben, and managed to turn back the last of the goblin hordes near Roth with a pledge of non-agression should they remain outside the border of his kingdom. Since the first seven years of his reign Roth has been at peace and managed to rebuild. While not nearly the city of splendor it was in the glory days of empire, Roth stands as a beacon in a sea of chaos and danger. All of the lands within a day's ride of the city know peace and prosperity.

This time of plenty has awakened in the king a desire to fulfill his father's vision of a new empire with Roth as its capital. Several months ago he sent an emissary to the town of Ford far to the north. The envoy, Douven Staul, had orders to establish contact with the governing body of Ford and to learn all he could about the situation in and around Ford. King Mark has it in his mind to establish dominion over the lands north and east of Roth. Ford once held an important crossroad in the Eastern Marches. Tales speak of an abandoned keep of the old Oshland Empire nearby. If the king can establish a military presence in the keep it will make the task of ruling the Eastern Marches far easier.

Douven's schedule called for his return to Roth and a report to the king two months ago. Unsure of the fate of his representative, King Mark has called on a band of adventurers to travel to Ford and return with news of Douven. They have secondary orders to learn what they can about the old fort, including its location, disposition and current occupants, if any.

The Mining Consortium

Dalton's Camp can make little claim to any civilizing influence or steady governing body, but the Mining Consortium makes a go of it. Founding members, and the only decision makers of the company, include Malakhala Anturorm, a human digger; Kharas Fireaxe, a dwarf accountant; and Rhakori Bladeleaf, an elf lore master. Between them they manage much of the action in Dalton's Camp. When parties have disputes over a claim they often turn to the Mining Consortium to sort things out. With wealth, knowledge and power to spare, the company has managed to control and/or direct a great deal of the goings on in Dalton.

The founders of the Mining Consortium worked together as adventurers and mercenaries some twenty years ago. After a particularly successful foray into hobgoblin territory near Dalton, they set up shop in one of the deeper caves where they found a mixed vein of silver and gemstones. With this newfound wealth they were able to bring in a great deal of muscle which they used to expand their influence in the area. Eventually they set up their headquarters in Dalton's Camp and have lived rather well off the proceeds of their many and varied business dealings.

Kharas Fireaxe acts as the face of the operation. Any new business dealings begin with Kharas. He has an incredible mind for numbers, a disarming personality and reads people exceptionally well. Adventurers in Dalton would do well to arrange a meeting with Kharas. If he doesn't have a job at the moment, he likely knows of one available. Even with no immediate work available he has been known to pay retainer fees for truly promising recruits.

Malakhala Anturorm's look and personality scream adventurer. His easy going manner never falters even in the face of terrible danger. He laughs at threats that would freeze lesser mortals' blood. He wears a battered brown leather hat atop his ruggedly handsome face. Malakhala's skill lies in finding the greatest treasure in a given dig and managing to bypass the hazards that may prevent easy acquisition.

Rhakori Bladeleaf spends most of his time researching matters important to the Consortium or studying new finds. He has a modest library and laboratory in the Consortium's offices at Dalton. Friendly relations with nearby sages, wise men and such ensure his access to other books, tomes, and scrolls at need. Rhakori is a bit of a recluse. Few people see him, and most would not know of his existence except for his well known exploits in previous adventures.

The Neighborhood: Points of Interest

Berador lies at the intersection of the Blue Wash, a river running roughly north and south, and the Road which runs generally east and west. A wooden palisade surrounds the town proper as it sits atop one of the higher hills in this rolling woodland. Just outside of the palisade on the south side Lake Callie, a deep, cold pool, gathers the waters of the Blue Wash between three high hills before they tumble over a swift fall to continue the southward journey. A narrow cart track follows the Blue Wash north out of town, and a similar path skirts the edge of the lake on its eastern shore and follows to points south.

The city state of Roth lies some three hundred fifty miles down the Road to the west and south. Once the eastern jewel of the long lost Oshland Empire, Roth still supports significant port trade and wealth as its great towers guard the Elba River as it passes between the sea to the east and the inland Great Lake to the west. King Mark Winland IV of Roth claims all of the lands within two hundred miles of his city, but in reality he holds less than a third of that.

Two hundred miles south of Berador the former pirate cove of Port Eben floats in the marshy mouth the Blue Wash where it joins with the Elba River near the sea. While time and civilization have tamed Port Eben somewhat, one can find a nasty bit of trouble there without looking too hard. Admiral Aaron Caine, the current governor of Port Eben, has worked hard over the last decade to introduce civility and culture to the place, but old habits die hard, and many of the sea captains that call Port Eben home still hold to the pirate ways of yesteryear.

Along the Blue Wash south of Berador are the towns of Darshire and Treefall. Darshire is a farming community, not unlike Berador about fifty miles downstream. Farther along, another seventy miles or so, is Treefall, a community wholly dedicated to the lumber industry. A great many of the ships and boats of Port Eben have their origin in the piney woods of Treefall.

Dalton's Camp, called Dalton by most, nestles high in the foothills of the White Mist Mountains some hundred miles up the road to the east and north of Berador. The place is little more than a mining camp with a wooden wall and a couple of guard towers overlooking the tightly packed inns and brothels. Many people will spend years in Dalton working the nearby mines trying to strike it rich. Some few families call the place home, but mostly the population consists of miners, guardsmen, traders, whores and ruffians.

About one hundred miles north of Berador, the town of Ford straddles the Blue Wash at an old crossroads. The east-west route that once ran through the town has fallen into disuse and is nearly impassable. Intrepid explorers could follow the track from the dwarf holdings in the White Mist Mountains way north and east to the town of Galloway in the northern reaches of old Oshland, but such a journey would surely bring great trouble. Many years ago the town of Ford was the commercial center of the region. When the dwarfs stopped trading with the men of Oshland the town dried up. Now it is a shadow of its old self. Many abandoned farms and shops litter the land while a hardy bunch of farmers and ranchers hold on in hopes of recapturing lost glory and wealth someday.

The ruins of the town of Kendall haunt the old track west of Ford. Kendall was once one of the "Free Cities" of the border, just out of the reach of the Oshland Empire's territory.

Well south of the road going west to Roth are the ruins of North Roth. North Roth was once an outpost of the Oshland Empire in what the kings called "the Eastern Marches". When the empire fell to ruin this town dried up as its purpose was to extend the reach of the Oshlanders. With no one to pay the soldiers' salaries, they drifted away and the town died.

Horror on the Road

begin

Feast for Crows

The crows swarm over the bodies obscuring them from view. Serra stifles a wrench in her stomach and tastes the bile in the back of her throat as the stench of blood and smoke mix with the afternoon heat and dust in a stomach turning haze. The crows scream at her as she drives Nightbreaker forward. Her enormous warhorse wants no part of this filth.

Seven things hang from the branches of a lone oak tree. The smoldering remains of two wagons lay nearby in heaps. Serra knows what she will find when the crows clear, but for the moment she sees only a blood wet roiling mass of black feathers and sharp beaks. She hobbles Nightbreaker about a dozen paces from the tree and approaches on foot. The crows continue their cacophonic protests.

Most of the crows take flight or hover overhead as Serra reaches the first of the bodies. A few particularly greedy birds eye her evilly as they take last gobbets of flesh before flying off with a squawk. Drawing her long sword Serra slashes the rope strung around the neck of the thing that was once a man and it drops to the ground. Even though the crows have worked at the man for many hours, Serra can see clearly that the man was flayed before he was hanged. Not a bit of skin covers the flesh from head to toe. She whispers a brief prayer to Pelor and wishes she could forget the thought that the man was probably alive at the time.

Serra spends the better part of two hours cutting down the bodies and digging a massive hole in which to bury them. Six men, one woman, all human by the shape of them, will never see home again. They spent their last hour in the World in a horror that few can even imagine.

Reavers Here?

Serra has seen the work of Reavers before, but always far west of Berador, never to the east. The thought of those inhuman fiends preying on the farms and camps here sends a terrifying chill down her spine.

After burying the dead Serra studies the ground carefully. A long, cautious search of the area makes plain the tale. Serra finds a foxhole near the Road where one or two of the Reavers hid in wait for their prey. The others stayed nearby behind some scrub. They rode in on the two wagons screaming murder and hatred. At least a score of them, most mounted, commandeered the wagons and captured the people with very little fight. They drove the wagons south of the Road to the oak tree and set about their butchery. The slaughter complete they rode further south towards the piney forested hills.

Serra tracks the Reavers for a couple of hours. Riding across the clear land between the Road and the hills she can see in all directions clearly to the horizon. The tracks enter the forest and there she turns aside. To pursue Reavers, alone, into the forest would be suicide. She turns back for the Road, driving Nightbreaker for what little speed he has to give.

A Warning

And so she finds herself alone on the Road with no cover in any direction for several hours. With only two hours until nightfall she must make for the uncertain shelter of the Greywood. She must survive; she must make it back to Dalton; she must warn the people. And so she rides.