Words and blood
Toirecíud has been locked in civil strife for many months now, as The Stormbringer Uprising continues to rage beneath its pearl-white walls. Blood has been shed on both sides, and were it not for imperial intervention the city would likely have torn itself apart. Now Prince-regent Ishmael Tanin's work at finding common ground between the two sides have allowed them to gather for peacetalks in the Akshusian capital of Ælmesleóht. With the Toirecíudan Soviet, composed of human workers, sailors and fishers, on one side and the elven noble council, led by Jeleneth Edrys, on the other, the two must find a compromise if Toirecíud is to have any hope at peace, peace that would give the city desperately needed time to prepare for the Cult of the Eternal Thirst's threat.
But not all wish to see peace come to Toirecíud, as several factions benefit from the current political situation. The Owls are ordered by the prince to protect the peacetalks, to ensure they runs smoothly.
But not all wish to see peace come to Toirecíud, as several factions benefit from the current political situation. The Owls are ordered by the prince to protect the peacetalks, to ensure they runs smoothly.
Relations
Allies
Jeleneth Edrys
Jeleneth Edrys is a councilwoman of Toirecíud, de-facto leader of the Edrys family and leader of the elven delegation to the peacetalks. She has long been sympathetic to the human cause, and now sees a chance to find a compromise between the two factions and bring peace and prosperity to the city, allowing her and her family to focus on combatting the cult. She will argue in favor of the Soviet to her fellow elves, but she wants to find a compromise as quickly as possible, knowing that things could escalate at any moment in Toirecíud.
During the attacks, she will defend herself and the other councilmembers to the best of her ability, and thugh she is unarmoured she is not unarmed, and carries two magical daggers on her person. She is a lvl 11 elven mastermind rogue.
Ishmael Tanin - the Young Dragon
Ishmael has invited the delegations to the peacetalks and has put his reputation and prestige on the line to ensure that they go smoothly and that peace is brought to Toirecíud. He also has an intention of parleying with the elven delegation, to make them give over trade rights and mining rights to the original tribes, for special rights. The alternative will be him leading an expedition to reclaiming the mountains for Akshusian glory, in the name of humanitarian aid to the tashkilites that have been trapped there (he will want Nadir's testimony for this).
Jeleneth Edrys is a councilwoman of Toirecíud, de-facto leader of the Edrys family and leader of the elven delegation to the peacetalks. She has long been sympathetic to the human cause, and now sees a chance to find a compromise between the two factions and bring peace and prosperity to the city, allowing her and her family to focus on combatting the cult. She will argue in favor of the Soviet to her fellow elves, but she wants to find a compromise as quickly as possible, knowing that things could escalate at any moment in Toirecíud.
During the attacks, she will defend herself and the other councilmembers to the best of her ability, and thugh she is unarmoured she is not unarmed, and carries two magical daggers on her person. She is a lvl 11 elven mastermind rogue.
Ishmael Tanin - the Young Dragon
Ishmael has invited the delegations to the peacetalks and has put his reputation and prestige on the line to ensure that they go smoothly and that peace is brought to Toirecíud. He also has an intention of parleying with the elven delegation, to make them give over trade rights and mining rights to the original tribes, for special rights. The alternative will be him leading an expedition to reclaiming the mountains for Akshusian glory, in the name of humanitarian aid to the tashkilites that have been trapped there (he will want Nadir's testimony for this).
Neutrals/Bystanders
Qildro Ashan
Qildro Ashan is the chancellor of Toirecíud and leader of the Ashan family. He has long sought the alliance with the empire to free up the city's hands in controlling the local region, but this plan has backfired so far. He comes to Ælmesleóht knowing that his position as head of the family is weak, and that he must be careful in how he handles the situation. He will be targeted particularily by Juen's assassins, but also by the eamilite terrorists. He is an elven noble.
Irhaal Shalasi
Irhaal Shalasi is mistress of the treasury of Toirecíud and leader of the Shalasi-family. She is an old, greedy elven woman who has made her family the most industrious and wealthy family in Toirecíud by a combination of micromanaging every aspect of her family's finances, being frugal and ruthless exploitation of competitors and workers over centuries. She is cold and calculating, and she has a long life of experience. She has come to Ælmesleóht in the hopes of mitigating the damage from the Stormbringer uprising, which has already cost her thousands and thousands of gold coins. She is initially hostile to the soviet, as her own family lost several ships during the uprising (which also killed some of her nephews), but she can be persuaded to allowing a compromise, provided her family retains their financial assets and ideally also their position as nobility. She is even willing to increase working standards in her factories and aboard her ships, but not as much as the humans want. She is an elven noble.
Lord Uni-Frash
Lord Uni-Frash kjenner Blaecbrand, me må berre bestemme kor godt, dei er kanskje ein summer fling.
The Soviet
The elected Soviet of the workers of the city, representing the humans, halflings and orcs, is a group of five trusted public figures elected to represent their friends and families before the elven rulers of the city. They were elected in illegal elections held in the city, though not all votes were counted. They represent the moderate side of the Stormbringer Uprising and do not desire a grand revolution to sweep through the city, rather they want:
Qildro Ashan is the chancellor of Toirecíud and leader of the Ashan family. He has long sought the alliance with the empire to free up the city's hands in controlling the local region, but this plan has backfired so far. He comes to Ælmesleóht knowing that his position as head of the family is weak, and that he must be careful in how he handles the situation. He will be targeted particularily by Juen's assassins, but also by the eamilite terrorists. He is an elven noble.
Irhaal Shalasi
Irhaal Shalasi is mistress of the treasury of Toirecíud and leader of the Shalasi-family. She is an old, greedy elven woman who has made her family the most industrious and wealthy family in Toirecíud by a combination of micromanaging every aspect of her family's finances, being frugal and ruthless exploitation of competitors and workers over centuries. She is cold and calculating, and she has a long life of experience. She has come to Ælmesleóht in the hopes of mitigating the damage from the Stormbringer uprising, which has already cost her thousands and thousands of gold coins. She is initially hostile to the soviet, as her own family lost several ships during the uprising (which also killed some of her nephews), but she can be persuaded to allowing a compromise, provided her family retains their financial assets and ideally also their position as nobility. She is even willing to increase working standards in her factories and aboard her ships, but not as much as the humans want. She is an elven noble.
Lord Uni-Frash
Lord Uni-Frash kjenner Blaecbrand, me må berre bestemme kor godt, dei er kanskje ein summer fling.
The Soviet
The elected Soviet of the workers of the city, representing the humans, halflings and orcs, is a group of five trusted public figures elected to represent their friends and families before the elven rulers of the city. They were elected in illegal elections held in the city, though not all votes were counted. They represent the moderate side of the Stormbringer Uprising and do not desire a grand revolution to sweep through the city, rather they want:
- Fair wage for fair work
- An end to the segregation of the city
- More fair work-days and vacation for holidays and one-two days a week
- That job-providers also provide pensions and compensation for injuries
- The right to organize politically and unionization
- The right to demonstrate and strike against future unfair conditions
- That the council of Toirecíud will heed the words of the elected officials of the Soviet, and that two members of the soviet also join the council as councilmembers
- That the council will dedicate resources and swears to work to provide healthcare for the humans, as well as education and a chance to learn a trade
- Margrete, the unofficial leader of the soviet and well-loved by the people. She is an old human woman and the closest thing the outer city has to a midwife. She has the stats of a human commoner.
- Adam Half-Hand, who represents the sailors and fisermen of Toirecíud. He is an experienced sailor who has worked on Ashan vessels for decades, though an accident on one of the ships, that could have been avoided with proper care, resulted in him mangling his hand. He could no longer work as a sailor, and the Ashan family fired him and gave him no money. He has lived on the goodwill of the humans of the Outer City and been a mentor to many young fishermen. He is angry at the council and one of the more radical members of the soviet. He is a human bosun, and he is unarmed.
- Marueja Laguia, a halfling who represents the stout halflings of the Outer City, servants and cooks to the elven elite. Several halflings have died in the riots already, and she wants to find a compromise that will give her people the opportunity to be something more than just servants and practically indentured slaves. She also has contacts as a spy for the Blind Baron, and she has worked with and for him for a long time. She is a stout halfling spy, armed with two daggers in secret compartments.
- Felicidad Agudo, a halfling who represents the lightfoot halfling traders of the Outer City. These traders have long had their operations harassed and legally sanctioned by the council, and now they finally see an opportunity to break the stranglehold the council has on trade in and out of the city, especially the emerald-trade. They want to open up trade more, and are particularily in favor of a deal that would give their people more freedom to trade as they see fit. They are a light halfling commoner.
- Kyriako Vasilio, a half-orc who represents the orcish immigrants to Toirecíud. His people have suffered greatly from the riots, as racial tensions against orcs have led to several vigilante attacks from the elven populace and even the humans of the city. Kyriako himself is a veteran of the whiesian royal army and claimed immigration to Toirecíud as his payment for his service. The orcs have so far had a very hard time integrating properly in Toirecíud due to the very static nature of the city and the tensions that run rampant. His people are not used to racism and having to fight for their rights, as they all hail from Whiesia, but if the tensions escalate they will fight on the side of imperial intervention against their oppressors. Kyriako has seen enough of war and would rather see a compromise made in the city to reduce the tensions and give the orcs some of the rights they are entitled to as imperial citizens. He is a half-orc gladiator, who goes unarmed. He knows the party through Asklepiades. He is also greatly troubled by the kidnappings and abductions that have been taking place over the last few years along the Akshusian coast.
Adversaries
Castian Juen
Commander Juen, lord of the Juen family, is a councilmember of Toirecíud and has travelled alongside the delegation to Ælmesleóht. He has hired killers to make an attempt on his life, and blame it on the soviet. He is plotting to overthrow the council in Toirecíud and is using, and manipulating, the political tension in Toirecíud by recruiting elves for his militia and planning an uprising where he takes over the city by popular approval. He is also in Ælmesleóht to discuss possibilities of imperial intervention on his behalf with Eisenfried. He is an elven noble veteran.
The Stormbringers
The Stormbringer was once the relatively peaceful Copper Dragon delegation to Toirecíud led by father Silvyr. Through years of seditious preaching, distributing illegal pamphlets and organizing a rebellion, Silvyr prepared the revolution, only to be cut down only moments before his moment of triumph by elven assasssins. With their leader cut down too soon, the Stormbringers have accelerated his plans and have started the violent revolution long before it was intended. They wish to change Toirecíudan society for the better quickly, and are opposed to any sort of compromise. In Toirecíud they have a large group of revolutionaries and thugs armed with imperial weapons, improvised weapons and firebombs.
Brother Roland
Brother Roland leads the Stormbringers after father Silvyr's death. He was Silvyr's protege and is in many ways very similar to him, with the same rage against injustice and fervour for change, but without his experience and patience worked up through centuries of inciting uprisings and revolutions. Roland has none of Silvyr's subtlety or connections, and he is working as well as he can to secure revolution in Toirecíud. In Ælmesleóht he is working to make sure the peacetalks are stalled as long as possible, and eventually end in failure, while he is trying to parley with Eisenfried so he can gain his support.
Juen's Assassins
Caddarim Ashan has recruited a group of drow mercenaries from under the Godmountains through Gold Empire sources, and she has spent a lot of her own money on these assassins. The drow are led by a master assassin, and they will try to kill Qildro Ashan, Jeleneth Edrys, Taegen Uni-Frash and wound Castian Juen. They will strike first in the bazaar.
Corrupted Eamilites
The tribes of Eamil have suffered greatly as Toirecíud have taken over parts of their ancestral lands, and the valuable crystaltrade that gave them money to live. This, combined with the war and the constant threat of Starchildren attacks, have led to many eamilites becoming bitter and enraged at the elven occupiers. The Lady of Sin sees this as potential growing ground for a Yeenoghu-cult, whose anger and savagery would be very useful in the final battle for Toirecíud. She has sent one of her lieutenants, Randson the Bloody, to recruit both eamilites and taskhilites with the promise of turning their anger into weapons they can use to throw the elves off their land, provided that they will aid the cult in burning the elven city when the time comes. Quite a few have said yes, and they are planning an insurrection in the mountains, whose blood will pave the way for an abyssal invasion from the Slaughterfields, which will in the end be pointed towards Toirecíud.
However, with the coming of the peacetalks to Ælmesleóht, the Lady of Sin has instructed Randson to send a group of assassins to attack the elven delegation. This is merely to serve as a distraction from the real goal, the murder of the Soviet by Coelwold, but if they are succesful that will also be useful to the Lady of Sin. Randson has thus sent a group of possessed eamilites to Ælmesleóht.
These eamilites have been posessed after rituals commited with the blood of elven caravans, and are posessed by daemons of varied strength. The strongest of them is a very powerful demon. I have to figure out how possession works and specifically how many there are.
The lead daemon possessing the eamilites is Hrizgaan the Devourer, a Goristro dedicated to Yeenoghu. It travels with three Yeenoghan Armites in its group to slaughet innocents, while a group of daemons astride The Assassin
Eisenfried
In public, Eisenfried presents a face of benevolence, mercy and peace as the Gold Emperor's chosen diplomat in the Imperial Far South. He moves between charities, peace talks and trade deals, but in the shadows he is another creature entirely. As the leader of a conspiracy he seeks to expand imperial influence through any means necessary. He is ruthless, cynical and the end always justifies the means.
Eisenfried has long held interests in Toirecíud, and originally sent father Silvyr there to foster revolution, as he saw that would most likely lead to imperial conquest of the city. In a surprising turn of events however, Fader Silvyr was murdered before this plan could come to fruition. This, combined with the even more surprising defeat of bishop Teodora-Marcela Sierra has resulted in his plans nearly coming apart. He sees fire and death in Toirecíud's future, but he is still trying to decide what path leads to the best outcomes, or rather the outcomes he desires.
He has foreseen that these peacetalks will open up new possibilities for him and the city, and he knows that whoever he decides to support now he will be locked in and commited to a path. He sees three
Pale Man
Commander Juen, lord of the Juen family, is a councilmember of Toirecíud and has travelled alongside the delegation to Ælmesleóht. He has hired killers to make an attempt on his life, and blame it on the soviet. He is plotting to overthrow the council in Toirecíud and is using, and manipulating, the political tension in Toirecíud by recruiting elves for his militia and planning an uprising where he takes over the city by popular approval. He is also in Ælmesleóht to discuss possibilities of imperial intervention on his behalf with Eisenfried. He is an elven noble veteran.
The Stormbringers
The Stormbringer was once the relatively peaceful Copper Dragon delegation to Toirecíud led by father Silvyr. Through years of seditious preaching, distributing illegal pamphlets and organizing a rebellion, Silvyr prepared the revolution, only to be cut down only moments before his moment of triumph by elven assasssins. With their leader cut down too soon, the Stormbringers have accelerated his plans and have started the violent revolution long before it was intended. They wish to change Toirecíudan society for the better quickly, and are opposed to any sort of compromise. In Toirecíud they have a large group of revolutionaries and thugs armed with imperial weapons, improvised weapons and firebombs.
Brother Roland
Brother Roland leads the Stormbringers after father Silvyr's death. He was Silvyr's protege and is in many ways very similar to him, with the same rage against injustice and fervour for change, but without his experience and patience worked up through centuries of inciting uprisings and revolutions. Roland has none of Silvyr's subtlety or connections, and he is working as well as he can to secure revolution in Toirecíud. In Ælmesleóht he is working to make sure the peacetalks are stalled as long as possible, and eventually end in failure, while he is trying to parley with Eisenfried so he can gain his support.
Juen's Assassins
Caddarim Ashan has recruited a group of drow mercenaries from under the Godmountains through Gold Empire sources, and she has spent a lot of her own money on these assassins. The drow are led by a master assassin, and they will try to kill Qildro Ashan, Jeleneth Edrys, Taegen Uni-Frash and wound Castian Juen. They will strike first in the bazaar.
Corrupted Eamilites
The tribes of Eamil have suffered greatly as Toirecíud have taken over parts of their ancestral lands, and the valuable crystaltrade that gave them money to live. This, combined with the war and the constant threat of Starchildren attacks, have led to many eamilites becoming bitter and enraged at the elven occupiers. The Lady of Sin sees this as potential growing ground for a Yeenoghu-cult, whose anger and savagery would be very useful in the final battle for Toirecíud. She has sent one of her lieutenants, Randson the Bloody, to recruit both eamilites and taskhilites with the promise of turning their anger into weapons they can use to throw the elves off their land, provided that they will aid the cult in burning the elven city when the time comes. Quite a few have said yes, and they are planning an insurrection in the mountains, whose blood will pave the way for an abyssal invasion from the Slaughterfields, which will in the end be pointed towards Toirecíud.
However, with the coming of the peacetalks to Ælmesleóht, the Lady of Sin has instructed Randson to send a group of assassins to attack the elven delegation. This is merely to serve as a distraction from the real goal, the murder of the Soviet by Coelwold, but if they are succesful that will also be useful to the Lady of Sin. Randson has thus sent a group of possessed eamilites to Ælmesleóht.
These eamilites have been posessed after rituals commited with the blood of elven caravans, and are posessed by daemons of varied strength. The strongest of them is a very powerful demon. I have to figure out how possession works and specifically how many there are.
The lead daemon possessing the eamilites is Hrizgaan the Devourer, a Goristro dedicated to Yeenoghu. It travels with three Yeenoghan Armites in its group to slaughet innocents, while a group of daemons astride The Assassin
Eisenfried
In public, Eisenfried presents a face of benevolence, mercy and peace as the Gold Emperor's chosen diplomat in the Imperial Far South. He moves between charities, peace talks and trade deals, but in the shadows he is another creature entirely. As the leader of a conspiracy he seeks to expand imperial influence through any means necessary. He is ruthless, cynical and the end always justifies the means.
Eisenfried has long held interests in Toirecíud, and originally sent father Silvyr there to foster revolution, as he saw that would most likely lead to imperial conquest of the city. In a surprising turn of events however, Fader Silvyr was murdered before this plan could come to fruition. This, combined with the even more surprising defeat of bishop Teodora-Marcela Sierra has resulted in his plans nearly coming apart. He sees fire and death in Toirecíud's future, but he is still trying to decide what path leads to the best outcomes, or rather the outcomes he desires.
He has foreseen that these peacetalks will open up new possibilities for him and the city, and he knows that whoever he decides to support now he will be locked in and commited to a path. He sees three
Pale Man
Backdrops
Locations
Palace
Soviet's manor
Peace-talk location (somewhere fancy in the city)
Streets of Ælmesleóht
Soviet's manor
Peace-talk location (somewhere fancy in the city)
Streets of Ælmesleóht
Encounters
Socializing
On the first day of the delegations they will all meet in Ishmael's palace hall, and they will all be introduced. Dolk will have a memory here about the amulet, and Silver's role in their life. Peace-talks
The peace-talks will take place in the Bazaar, where the days will be organized in a pre- and post lunch discussion. Diplomatic "minigame", where discussions will happen before and after lunch, and the Owls can move during the lunch and discuss things with talkers. In afternoons they can and discuss things with the different representatives. The characters, during the talks themselves, might try to:
Day 1
On the start of the first day, Ishmael, Margrete and Jeleneth have preliminary speeches, focusing on finding a common ground. The discussions will begin pretty harshly, with Irhaal Shalasi wishing to have justice for her lost familymembers (assets). Castian Juen supports her in this, while the Soviet deny that they did it. This is before lunch.
After lunch, depending on how the Owls handle Irhaal Shalasi, the peacetalks will begin properly. It quickly becomes bogged down on the specifics, and the elven families seem hesitant to all the Soviet's demands. Kyriako Vasilio is generally silent in these debates, but towards the end he says that the Soviet only wants peace and the rights they are beholden to under the Dragon God.
With the day over the Owls have the chance to discuss things with different characters. Day 2
On day 2, Castian Juen is particularily difficult.
Juen's mercenaries attack
The drow attack during a concert held by Song and other singers in Ælmesleóht. A distraction force will attack around the concert hall, but Theowulf and Andreas will hold these off. Eisenfried will see the main force coming up from underground, so the Owls will get the chance to ambush them down there, when Eisenfried sees them attack. The attack begins with Theowulf and the witch hunters smell drow arrive and they prepare the defense, which with Eisenfried's direction and Andreas and Taegen's martial might will be easy to hold off. Eisenfried will point the Owls to a way to the undercity, where the assassins are lurking, ready to blow up the floor and quickly attack Jeleneth and the other nobles. Ishmael and Jeleneth will want to join, it will be up to the Owls whether or not they will.
Hard encounter, with smart assassins. They maintain proper positioning for spells, even when they're not expecting it, and they retaliate any attacks hard and fast. The Elite Warriors will try to Faerie Fire their enemies, and fight the mainliners (Rod, Po, Dolk and Geronimo) in close combat, dodging and parrying. The Drow Mage will Invisible himself and try to shoot lighting bolts and witch bolts, as well as shields. The Captain will use his bonus actions to help the Warriors with dodging. The Captain will be more aggresive in combat, until he reaches half health at least, then he will be more cautious with dodges and similar relying on the mage and shadowblades to do damage. The Shadowblades will be more aggresive and go for obvious casters in the background, especially if they're isolated. They will prioritize Blaecbrand and Davor.
2 Drow Shadowblades 7200xp 14400
Drow House Captain 5000xp
2 Drow Elite Warrior 1800 xp 3600
Drow Mage
23000 xp
On turn 2 of the fighting 3 water elementals materialize from the water, drawn by the fighting. They are residual elementals from Riptide's domain and are ordered to fight anything that breaks into the undercity. The water elementals attacks anyone close to them and fight until they are destroyed.
They want to fight in the dark and will try to attack from a distance. They will attack during the evening when Ishmael is planning for a concert with Song and other artists. They will prioritize killing the nobles during the concert, and will flee when they kill Jeleneth or lose half their number.
The Eamilites attack
With the aid of brother Eisenfried, the Owls have identified that the eamilites are coming down from the north. They have made plans with Knight-commander Leberecht and the crown knights to go north and meet them in battle. When they begin their travel north, Andreas will demand to join. If the Owls allow him to join they will gain access to Yaldresh's fire breath during the battle, and make it easier for the knights, though there is a slim chance that Andreas will be killed.
The attack will begin with a big charge between both sides, eventually leading to the battlemap.
The Battle
The battle will be fought just north of the refugee camp, between the Owls and knights and the posessed eamilites. As the knights will aid the Owls, the Owls will have less daemons to contend with. Only hrizgaan, 2 armaliths and 1 vooshuva (Hrizgaan and 2 armaliths if Andreas joins). As the combat between Owls and the daemons continues, the battle rages on outside. The Owls will be rolling against the daemons according to the Mass Combat rules from Tome of Blood, representing the battle between the knights and the daemons. Should the knights begin winning, the Owls will gain points they can spend to ease the battle in some way (as many points as degrees of success). These points can, on the top of the turn, be spent on:
The Fight
The fight will begin with a great charge against the posessed eamilites. These are posessed who have come a long way int he posession and have some of their daemons' power. If I don't have time, I'll skip the posessed stage. When the posessed are killed, they will take their daemonic form.
The battle consists of Hrizgaan, 2 armanites and 1 shoosuva, or Hrizgaan, 1 armanite and 1 shoosuva if Andreas joins.
When they take their daemonic form, they will use the following strategies:
When Hrizgaan is reduced to zero points, he will enter his mythic stage. Summoning forth his bloodaxe, he will gain new actions and legendary actions to make him even more horrifying. Now he will stand and fight his ground, simply wishing to wound or kill whoever is nearby. He will no longer run between enemies and will rather focus on downing and killing whoever is within reach.
Deadly encounter.
The Pale Man attacks
The Pale Man is watching the Owls from the Shadowfell, and when they return to the palace he will strike when Eisenfried yells to the Owls to go and save the Soviet. The Pale Man fights alongside Ash Ghosts, fire elementals. He will suddenly manifest from the Ethereal plane and summon his ash ghosts through portals he has prepared. He will attack Davor with everything he has. Eisenfried will order the Owls to get to the Soviet as quickly as possible, and will join in attacking the Pale Man. 4 Ash Ghosts, which are fire elementals that are immune to necrotic and poison damage, as well as the poisoned condition. The Pale Man has the sats of an orcusian (+2) Soul Monger.
Coelwold attacks
After the attack Eisenfried meets the party in the palace to congratulate them. He is very happy and says that he sees good times ahead for Toirecíud, and then he is stunned. He looks in horror at the party, and a DC 20 insight reveals that he has made a mistake, and he yells to the Owls to go and save the Soviet. The Pale Man attack then. From this moment, the Owls have a minute to save the Soviet. It takes a turn for Geronimo to get to the palace, where they must get the Soviet away from the villa. There they can see a man-like creature with a daemon mask clad in a black tar-like substance that clings to their body. The assassin waves at the Owl that can see them, and then jumps off the cliff. The Owls can investigate the villas to find explosives in each of them. They have 10 rounds from Eisenfried gives them the warning to get everyone out of the villa, if they fail and anyone is still in the villa when the bombs go off they must succeed on a DC 20 Dex saving throw or take 10d10 Fire damage and 5d10 bludgeoning damage if they were inside one of the villas. They are mostly free in how they want to do this. The villa is 150 feet from where the battle begins.
The quiet after the storm
After the day of assassinations, Ishmael will gather all the surviving participants. He will thank the Owls for their fight, and then promise them that Ishmael will do his utmost to see that justice is done to whoever are responsible for these attacks, and that the Tanins do not forgive attacks on their guests. He orders them to travel home, with an escort of Princeguards and Crown legionarries and taninite soldiers, led by Asher. Ishmael is furious that something got past their defences, and is anrgy with Eisenfried that he did not see the attacks coming. Eisenfried is more quiet than usual, seeing as he failed.
Before everyone leaves, Ishmael will confer with the Owls regarding what should be done with Castian Juen. Clearly the cult also had its own machinations here, and it is alarming that their reach goes into the heart of Akshus, though it is unlikely that Ælmesleóht will see more activity from the cult.
On the first day of the delegations they will all meet in Ishmael's palace hall, and they will all be introduced. Dolk will have a memory here about the amulet, and Silver's role in their life. Peace-talks
The peace-talks will take place in the Bazaar, where the days will be organized in a pre- and post lunch discussion. Diplomatic "minigame", where discussions will happen before and after lunch, and the Owls can move during the lunch and discuss things with talkers. In afternoons they can and discuss things with the different representatives. The characters, during the talks themselves, might try to:
- Use Insight to pay attention to specific NPC's dispositions
- Use Investigation to deduce NPC's focus
- Use Persuasion to, well, persuade an NPC
- Use Deception
- Aid NPCs or other characters with Help
- Do something else entirely
Day 1
On the start of the first day, Ishmael, Margrete and Jeleneth have preliminary speeches, focusing on finding a common ground. The discussions will begin pretty harshly, with Irhaal Shalasi wishing to have justice for her lost familymembers (assets). Castian Juen supports her in this, while the Soviet deny that they did it. This is before lunch.
After lunch, depending on how the Owls handle Irhaal Shalasi, the peacetalks will begin properly. It quickly becomes bogged down on the specifics, and the elven families seem hesitant to all the Soviet's demands. Kyriako Vasilio is generally silent in these debates, but towards the end he says that the Soviet only wants peace and the rights they are beholden to under the Dragon God.
With the day over the Owls have the chance to discuss things with different characters. Day 2
On day 2, Castian Juen is particularily difficult.
Juen's mercenaries attack
The drow attack during a concert held by Song and other singers in Ælmesleóht. A distraction force will attack around the concert hall, but Theowulf and Andreas will hold these off. Eisenfried will see the main force coming up from underground, so the Owls will get the chance to ambush them down there, when Eisenfried sees them attack. The attack begins with Theowulf and the witch hunters smell drow arrive and they prepare the defense, which with Eisenfried's direction and Andreas and Taegen's martial might will be easy to hold off. Eisenfried will point the Owls to a way to the undercity, where the assassins are lurking, ready to blow up the floor and quickly attack Jeleneth and the other nobles. Ishmael and Jeleneth will want to join, it will be up to the Owls whether or not they will.
Hard encounter, with smart assassins. They maintain proper positioning for spells, even when they're not expecting it, and they retaliate any attacks hard and fast. The Elite Warriors will try to Faerie Fire their enemies, and fight the mainliners (Rod, Po, Dolk and Geronimo) in close combat, dodging and parrying. The Drow Mage will Invisible himself and try to shoot lighting bolts and witch bolts, as well as shields. The Captain will use his bonus actions to help the Warriors with dodging. The Captain will be more aggresive in combat, until he reaches half health at least, then he will be more cautious with dodges and similar relying on the mage and shadowblades to do damage. The Shadowblades will be more aggresive and go for obvious casters in the background, especially if they're isolated. They will prioritize Blaecbrand and Davor.
2 Drow Shadowblades 7200xp 14400
Drow House Captain 5000xp
2 Drow Elite Warrior 1800 xp 3600
Drow Mage
23000 xp
On turn 2 of the fighting 3 water elementals materialize from the water, drawn by the fighting. They are residual elementals from Riptide's domain and are ordered to fight anything that breaks into the undercity. The water elementals attacks anyone close to them and fight until they are destroyed.
They want to fight in the dark and will try to attack from a distance. They will attack during the evening when Ishmael is planning for a concert with Song and other artists. They will prioritize killing the nobles during the concert, and will flee when they kill Jeleneth or lose half their number.
The Eamilites attack
With the aid of brother Eisenfried, the Owls have identified that the eamilites are coming down from the north. They have made plans with Knight-commander Leberecht and the crown knights to go north and meet them in battle. When they begin their travel north, Andreas will demand to join. If the Owls allow him to join they will gain access to Yaldresh's fire breath during the battle, and make it easier for the knights, though there is a slim chance that Andreas will be killed.
The attack will begin with a big charge between both sides, eventually leading to the battlemap.
The Battle
The battle will be fought just north of the refugee camp, between the Owls and knights and the posessed eamilites. As the knights will aid the Owls, the Owls will have less daemons to contend with. Only hrizgaan, 2 armaliths and 1 vooshuva (Hrizgaan and 2 armaliths if Andreas joins). As the combat between Owls and the daemons continues, the battle rages on outside. The Owls will be rolling against the daemons according to the Mass Combat rules from Tome of Blood, representing the battle between the knights and the daemons. Should the knights begin winning, the Owls will gain points they can spend to ease the battle in some way (as many points as degrees of success). These points can, on the top of the turn, be spent on:
- 2 points: A group of knights manages to wound one of the daemons severely, and buy enough time for two of them to come to the aid of the Owls. 2 PCs regain 20 hit points or 1 PC regains 40 hit points, as 2 knights cross the field and quickly use their healing magic.
- 4 points: Managing to hold back the daemonic tide, a knight turns their attention to the Owls and sees the struggle there. Praying to the Dragon God, the knight blesses the Owls in their struggle. 3 PCs come under the effect the Bless spell.
- 6 points (only if Andreas is there): On top of Yaldresh, Andreas sees that the battle against the daemons is turning in the knights' favor. Andreas then turns his attention towards the center, and flies over the battle. With fire and fury, the Owls can place on young dragon's breath on the battlefield.
- 8 points: As the tide of battle begins turning, a battlesquad of knights defeats a daemon. They turn their attention to the core of the battle, and quickly rally to the aid of the Owls. One of the lesser daemons is removed from play, as the knights overrun it.
The Fight
The fight will begin with a great charge against the posessed eamilites. These are posessed who have come a long way int he posession and have some of their daemons' power. If I don't have time, I'll skip the posessed stage. When the posessed are killed, they will take their daemonic form.
The battle consists of Hrizgaan, 2 armanites and 1 shoosuva, or Hrizgaan, 1 armanite and 1 shoosuva if Andreas joins.
When they take their daemonic form, they will use the following strategies:
- Hrizgaan has plenty of damage potential and hit points. He will charge between different character to get his charge bonus, irrespective of damage that he might take. He will prioritize killing Davor, Rod and Geronimo, as they are his targets.
- The armanites are fast and cunning. They will skirt the outside of the battle, using their speed to stay out of range of melee combatants and to line up shots of their Lightning Lances. If they don't have their lightning lance at the ready, they will charge into combat against a non-melee enemy. If they are bloodied, they will stand their ground rather than risk an opportunity attack.
- The shoosuva is also fast, but not nearly as fast as its armanite cousins. It will try to attack those given orders to attack or those it believes has low Constitution, prioritizing Ceren and Blaecbrand.
When Hrizgaan is reduced to zero points, he will enter his mythic stage. Summoning forth his bloodaxe, he will gain new actions and legendary actions to make him even more horrifying. Now he will stand and fight his ground, simply wishing to wound or kill whoever is nearby. He will no longer run between enemies and will rather focus on downing and killing whoever is within reach.
Deadly encounter.
The Pale Man attacks
The Pale Man is watching the Owls from the Shadowfell, and when they return to the palace he will strike when Eisenfried yells to the Owls to go and save the Soviet. The Pale Man fights alongside Ash Ghosts, fire elementals. He will suddenly manifest from the Ethereal plane and summon his ash ghosts through portals he has prepared. He will attack Davor with everything he has. Eisenfried will order the Owls to get to the Soviet as quickly as possible, and will join in attacking the Pale Man. 4 Ash Ghosts, which are fire elementals that are immune to necrotic and poison damage, as well as the poisoned condition. The Pale Man has the sats of an orcusian (+2) Soul Monger.
Coelwold attacks
After the attack Eisenfried meets the party in the palace to congratulate them. He is very happy and says that he sees good times ahead for Toirecíud, and then he is stunned. He looks in horror at the party, and a DC 20 insight reveals that he has made a mistake, and he yells to the Owls to go and save the Soviet. The Pale Man attack then. From this moment, the Owls have a minute to save the Soviet. It takes a turn for Geronimo to get to the palace, where they must get the Soviet away from the villa. There they can see a man-like creature with a daemon mask clad in a black tar-like substance that clings to their body. The assassin waves at the Owl that can see them, and then jumps off the cliff. The Owls can investigate the villas to find explosives in each of them. They have 10 rounds from Eisenfried gives them the warning to get everyone out of the villa, if they fail and anyone is still in the villa when the bombs go off they must succeed on a DC 20 Dex saving throw or take 10d10 Fire damage and 5d10 bludgeoning damage if they were inside one of the villas. They are mostly free in how they want to do this. The villa is 150 feet from where the battle begins.
The quiet after the storm
After the day of assassinations, Ishmael will gather all the surviving participants. He will thank the Owls for their fight, and then promise them that Ishmael will do his utmost to see that justice is done to whoever are responsible for these attacks, and that the Tanins do not forgive attacks on their guests. He orders them to travel home, with an escort of Princeguards and Crown legionarries and taninite soldiers, led by Asher. Ishmael is furious that something got past their defences, and is anrgy with Eisenfried that he did not see the attacks coming. Eisenfried is more quiet than usual, seeing as he failed.
Before everyone leaves, Ishmael will confer with the Owls regarding what should be done with Castian Juen. Clearly the cult also had its own machinations here, and it is alarming that their reach goes into the heart of Akshus, though it is unlikely that Ælmesleóht will see more activity from the cult.
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