Relicblade Summer Campaign
The Path to Hen's Neck
Welcome to the Relicblade Summer Campaign. This campaign will be run every-other Tuesday evening from June into early July. Beginners welcome! The dates will be:
- June 2nd - The Beginning: Foothill Pass
- June 16th - Crossing the lands of Scour
- June 30th - Descent into the Canyons of Kha
- July 7th - The Great Ascent to the Highlands
Arrive at 6pm. 5504 Joylynne Drive, come around to the back entrance, as the game tables are in the basement. Those that have allergies- we have cats. Food and drinks are welcome and encouraged.
Players should build their followers by consulting the Seekers Handbook, page 48. Select a base (pg 50) to determine influence, gold, and valor.
Fill out a Relicblade Roster Sheet. Every player should be able to keep track of their own influence, gold, and valor. If you've got the Seeker's Handbook this shouldn't be too hard. If you need help, ask! Our first night we will work out any bumps, teach new players the game, etc. Please bring dice, minis, terrain et al. I have terrain, but other people's stuff is way cooler.
Each campaign meet a player will be assigned one (or two with odd numbers) opponent according to who-showed-up. Whenever possible you should play
- a different opponent than last time
- a different scenario than last time
- a different environment than last time.
Environments can be chosen by the players, it would be cool if they matched the environments on the map but they don't have to! Default threat level 100, but you can decide otherwise with your opponent. Adventures could come from the Seeker's Handbook, or expansions such as The Volgelands. You are encouraged to fit the adventure to the terrain at hand, and play at a comfortable level. At the end of each battle players will work out rewards as detailed in the missions and environments. Some adventures offer the chance of a Relic, and some do not. If you are playing your second game and a relic hasn't been in any of your adventures, make sure there is one somewhere by the end of your second one!
The Story
The fire had been lit at the last second by the flame-bearer. Noxious smoke swirled into the air above the beacon brazier, twisting like a serpent into the night air. This signal fire was seen seconds later by every sea vessel loyal to Riverhold, a single winking white and yellow light on an otherwise midnight-black cluster of islands. Hailing trumpets, blaring over one another from all corners of the sea, commanded the naval homecoming. The calls echoed just above the guttural growls gurgling from the defeated throats of the trolls and squids, trampling back into the darkness, cursing the Flame Bearer on their retreat. As their adversaries disappeared behind the cliff, the priests of Justice and the rangers of Lone Guard gathered around the beacon, each silent face flashing golden by its sparking and flickering light.
The shore villages were sound, farmers slept in their straw cots completely unaware of the invasion that had been subverted.
After a short time, the Flame-Bearer broke the silence and pointed at the horizon, inland- across the fields and toward the rugged lands beyond the villages. He began to speak, in a hushed voice seemingly harmonized with the wind and rustle of leaves.
"Witness. The mountain foot of Hen's Neck."
All present, the Traveller, the Infiltrator, the Gnome, and the Cleric craned their necks toward the darkness beyond the island where they stood. The wind began to gust and silver sparks took to the sky- a momentary flight before being consumed by the curtain of night around them.
"There was a great storm in the Ruins. A party of merchants were scattered, and became victims to the evils that plague the land beyond. These events summoned the forces of justice and lured those broken by darkness. The Laurels of Chan'tu'kra were delivered to the three-forms, and the ruins are now impassable to any travel. The roads and paths of our forefathers teem with the bones and beasts of death and disease."
The white beard of the Flame Bearer began to float in the wind brought by the ocean currents behind him. Copper reflections flashed in his eyes as he stared back into the flame of the beacon, and his voice became a whisper, as if speaking to the fire itself.
"Those that are called to Hen's Neck join a council of death. Its ruins are filled with twisted creatures and traitorous villains. They ply the relics of the wondrous, the arcane, and the cursed. Riverhold is no longer threatened by the sea, as the darkness now moves into us from the base of the mountain."
Unseen by the advocates surrounding the brazier lurked an Eye of Augroth. It laid in the weeds just beyond the circle of light. The Aug-Suul witch had left the wounded disembodied eye behind, melting into a viscous goo among the grasses. Yet, as its diabolic magic expired there was still a maintained psychic link with the witch. At the shore where the stones met the water, the silver-haired witch paused, one leg on either side of the gunwale, frozen and staring at the stars, hissing.
"Shut up lizard man, I hear their plans!"
Moments later as the dark tender bumped upon the rocks and set out to sea, the decision was made to risk heading up river instead of returning to their camp to the south. If the defenders of Riverhold were heading to Hen's Neck, they would get there first, and lie in wait for them. The promise of bloody revenge gave the oarsmen strength.
The Road To Hen's Neck
The road to Hen's Neck begins just west of Twilight Seat, a beacon of hope on the mouth of the Volge River. The road begins as a cobblestone track, an impressive ten feet wide, but after two day's travel it degrades into a single set of wagon-ruts in dry mud, framed by thorny weeds and abandoned, bramble hedgerows. This area is known as the Foothill Pass, as the path winds between roughly thirty miles of rugged terrain that becomes increasingly sloped. Here the mud tracks transform into fractured rock, impassable to wagon wheels that are not reinforced with steel.
Upon clearing the foothills and passing by the mountain ranges to the south, the road diverges into a maze of used and unused routes. This land is locally referred to as Scour, populated by rugged individuals who live off the land or farm in small temporary plots. The people (and creatures) who live here move their settlements so frequently it is nearly impossible to pass through the land without a guide. Seemingly well-used roads suddenly come to dead-ends, some turn back on themselves in giant loops, and some lead directly into ambushes- a favorite tactic of the Scour Brigands that make their living by taking from others. This is a land of mistrust and black markets, some treasures still hidden in secret caches from better days when the roads were frequented by traders.
The canyons ascend through a series of plateaus called "The Steps," and open into an enormously long and steep incline appropriately named The Great Ascent. Here the road becomes more formal again, where clay bricks curb the road and the more open, grass-filled hills are less prone to hide villains. In comparison to the canyons and Scour, The Great Ascent is almost pleasant, if it weren't for such a severe incline to the highlands beyond. From these highlands one can see the elven standing stones to the west, far in the distance on the horizon, and the ruins of Hen's Neck, lying in the shadow of the mountains, just a day's travel ahead.
