The Heroes of the Swan: Side Mission: The Exile
While in Muirthemne, the party visits the Imperial Army Headquarters in Llancarfan. They find Captain Gregory, a Cath Bruig Army officer with a mission.
Visit the Northmen Colony of Hope, north of the continent. They received a request for Imperial Army aid in dealing with an unidentified foe.
Report to the Imperial Embassy in Hope, who will give more information.
The party will be rewarded with 5,000 gold pieces to be divided up between the party.
Plot points/Scenes
On the road to the port of Osgar
While traveling over the Cloudspine foothills south of Osgar, an old beggar heading south down the road approaches the party. He speaks crazy, but when he looks at one of the party, they sense he is aware. He wanders off as soon as he appeared. After the beggar wanders out of sight, a small group of bandits attack.In Osgar
Upon arriving in Osgar, a snow storm has befallen the town. The town is fairly small, except for the usually bustling seaport. It is under control of the Northern Clans, but they have a friendly relationship with the Empire, who they rely on for trade, supplies and defense. When the party tells a ship captain that they need to get to Hope, he is quickly overcome with visible fear... Must pay 150 gold per party member.Off the coast of Hope
The seas are rough and the skies are dark and angry for the whole two day trip. The captain does not land, instead he directs the party to a row boat, where they load their belongings and equipment. They lose sight of their ship and he turns back towards the mainland, vanishing behind the tall waves. The party must then work to survive. Survive If they are unable to make the dock, they must survive to reach the village. They will have to heal their injuries, procure food and then make their way to their objective. Reaching Hope The party finds that the town is a small, fortified northmen village with hall log walls and watch towers. The towers are unmanned but they hear people inside.Structure
Exposition
Traveling to Hope. Talk to the villagers and the Imperial Ambassador. They all act shifty and nervous.
Conflict
They will be raided three times over the next four days. 9 waves per day of northmen raiders.
Rising Action
The Clan noble in Hope will ask the party to go forth and find the raiders' camp. As they search, they will be attacked by Changelings, which should not occur outside the Ermine forest.
The party will attack the raiders camp in a mock battle against a Clan Shaman who talks big but goes down fast.
Climax
When they return, the entire village is missing and only the Imperial Ambassador is left in the town. He will reveal he is not an Avatara but an excommunicated mage and he is preparing to enter the Sunken Trow City of si'Anwon but needed to prepare by harvesting the souls and life forces of the town to prepare for his journey under the ocean. With the number of deaths he feels within the party, he will have more than enough power to harvest and make his journey.
He must be defeated or he could ignite a war between the Cath Bruig and the Trow or worse, he might succeed in finding what he is looking for.
Falling Action
The fight begins and the exiled Avatara must be defeated. He will destroy several buildings when he misses or when he powers up an attack.
If they defeat him, they have the choice of killing him or sparing him.
Resolution
After their fight, the people slowly re-materialize in the center of town with no memory of where they have been. They reveal that they were taken captive by a southern sorcerer or poisoned the mind of their Imperial diplomat and sent him away while using the Binding Dream to force them into subservience while he slowly drained a person every three days.
The clan noble sends word to Osgar and to Muirthemne of what happened and thanks the party.
Components
Goals
Save the town of Hope.
Discover what they are being attacked by.
Survive.
Hooks
"Nevermore don't. Fallacy of the mind. Courtiers are bastards and the bastards are the true born.
Given trust. Makers of the holy sight and the breakers of earth.
Tell the grandmother, no more sugar! No more blood and one more bone to pick with the land-man.
Fucking avatara. Always watching. Always seeing. Never doing the dishes until they are already clean.
Morning, he isn't here. Dawn came and went and he flittered off. I don't know where he went.
Night is a whisper on the lips of a dying man. Sunrise are the moans of his lover in the arms of another.
No, not right now. Please not yet. Give me more time. Another minute to sleep or wake. Drive or prosper.
You, me. Insignificant cur! Curse you and may your souls rush headlong into the depths of Hope!"
Stakes
Save the town of Hope or it will be wiped out.
Discover what they are being attacked by or it will happen again.
Moral Quandaries
Who do you trust? What you see or what you feel?
Cruel Tricks
An avatara is found in the diplomatic mission in Hope. He is the true evil occurring in Hope.
Red Herrings
The northmen shaman is not the leader of the raiders attacking the settlement.
Relations
Protagonists
The Party
Allies
Clan Noble - Throndmyr of the Seven Sisters
Misneach Clan Warriors - 30
Neutrals/Bystanders
The northmen villagers of Hope
Adversaries
Fenrir - Northman Shaman
Binding Dream affected Clansmen
Dvapara - Imperial Ambassador and Avatara of the 4th Order
Backdrops
Locations
A large, mostly uninhabited island north of the continent. The settlement of Hope is located on it's north eastern shore.
Threats
Severe weather. Low temperatures. Unexplored island.
Encounters
The Mad Beggar
Interaction Use of a magical detection spell will reveal that magic has been applied to him, but it is very powerful and it has already warped his mind and that nothing can bring him back.Bandits on the Road to Osgar
Combat Encounter Three bandits of unfortunate intelligence. Can be spared and robbed or killed.Landing on the Island
Survival Must roll athletic and dexterity checks to keep from capsizing their row boat. If they succeed they will land at the small dock with a well maintained road that leads to the settlement. If they fail one check - they will be knocked off course by three days and will have to find their way there. If they fail two checks - they will be knocked off course further by six days and will have to fight when they land. If they fail three checks - they will capsize and be knocked out, lose their food and primary weapons and be nine days away. Once they are ready to leave their landing point, they will be surprise attacked. They can recover their weapons from the enemies they face (3 low level northmen). They will have injuries if they capsize. If they are knocked off course or capsized they must hunt at least one deer for every six days days or one rabbit for each party member every two days. They must use a survival checks to maintain a fire. Rolling Nat20 = fire for their entire stay at their camp is maintained Rolling 10-19 = fire is maintained for 4 days Rolling 2-9 = fire is maintained for 1 day Rolling Crit1 = they set themselves on fire and sustain burns. If the party moves their camp site, they must roll for their fire.The Long Way to Hope
Travel / Exploration The storm will calm and night will fall. An intelligence check will provide an idea of which direction is north. Whenever they move and set camp, someone must throw a stealth check. Rolling Nat20 = They are totally hidden, no attacks will occur. Rolling 10-19 = They will be attacked once if the DM rolls 1D6 of 4 or higher every three days they are there. Rolling 2-9 = They will be attacked twice if the DM rolls 1D6 of 2 or higher every three days they are there. Rolling Crit1 = They will be attacked immediately. Combat Encounter The party will be attacked as they travel if the DM rolls 1D6 of 3 or higher. Attacking parties will be 3 northmen warriors and a spearman.The Village
Meeting/Introduction with Cast When the party reaches Hope, they will be met with some resistance and rudeness. Charisma check will make it easier. They can attempt to talk to the villagers (there are 5 villages present when they arrive), but no one will talk. The Clan Noble, Throndmyr will be equally hostile, but will allow for them to use the General Store and the Inn (10 gold pieces per party member). A perception check will reveal that Clan Warriors are following them as they move around the town. An intimidation check (Nat20) will cause them to leave you alone for the rest of the day, but they will return the next day to follow and watch the party. A magical detection spell will reveal that magic has been used but it is not determined what type that it is. An arcana check will reveal that only dream magic behaves like that. Attacking them and the whole town will attack you, the avatara will prevent any teleportation actions and the townsfolk with bar the gates. The party can also visit the Imperial Diplomatic Mission, where the Imperial Emissary, a man named Dvapara will be present to answer questions. He will make up excuses about why the northmen here are rude, and will ask why the Imperial War Office only sent three "scruffy mercenaries" to help them deal with a northern raiding party with a shaman. The party can ask about the Clan Shaman leading the attacks and he will say only that he knows that his name is Fenrir and that he is known by the clansmen here. Intelligence rolls of Nat20 will reveal his abilities (druidic abilities). Otherwise the villagers and northmen will insult the party and wander off. With night falling and the temperature falling, the party should go to the inn. If they short rest, they will be woken up in the middle of the night by an attack by Fenrir's forces. If they long rest, the attack will come in the morning.The Raid
Combat Encounter Either way, the attack will come with the burning down of the inn. (Athletics Check Roll Crit1 and they leave their primary weapons and food in the inn as it burns down) They will face 3 waves of four northmen. They will not have long to prepare. Only rush to the west gate of the town. The attackers will fall back, along for the party to prepare. The Clan Noble, Throndmyr will be more approachable and ask for assistance from the party in defending the town. Another attack will come and another three waves of attackers will have to be taken down.The Shaman Part 1
Meeting / Introduction with cast After the last attack, Fenrir will appear. He will address the party directly and by name and says that he will not attack anymore, but he will starve the people out. If they want to stop him, they can find him at his camp. If anyone asks why, he will not answer and will teleport away.The Long March
Travel/Exploration The party will take Throndmyr, who knows where Fenrir's camp is and they will hike there. Food and camp rules apply. They must use a survival checks to maintain a fire. Rolling Nat20 = fire for their entire stay at their camp is maintained Rolling 10-19 = fire is maintained for 4 days Rolling 2-9 = fire is maintained for 1 day Rolling Crit1 = they set themselves on fire and sustain burns. If the party moves their camp site, they must roll for their fire. Whenever they move and set camp, someone must throw a stealth check. Rolling Nat20 = They are totally hidden, no attacks will occur. Rolling 10-19 = They will be attacked once if the DM rolls 1D6 of 4 or higher every three days they are there. Rolling 2-9 = They will be attacked twice if the DM rolls 1D6 of 2 or higher every three days they are there. Rolling Crit1 = They will be attacked immediately. Combat Encounter The party will be attacked as they travel if the DM rolls 1D6 of 3 or higher. Attacking parties will be 3 northmen warriors and a spearman.The Shaman Part 2
Combat Encounter The camp will be undefended and the Shaman will be waiting for them. Fenrir will strike down and disable Throndmyr immediately. A fight will ensue. It will not be hard. Interaction As soon as they defeat Fenrir, Throndmyr will thank them for their work and then will take a sudden gasp before vanishing in a flash of light and sparks. Travel / Exploration The party must then roll a survival check to determine where they are and where they must go. The party will not need to account for food or fire (scavenged from the camp). They must return to Hope.The Exile
Discussion / Interaction When the party returns to Hope, the entire village will be empty. No one is around. The only inhabited building is the diplomatic mission. Except for Dvapara, who will reveal who he really is: An Avatara of the Fourth Order who was exiled for his interests in the unnatural. The Party can ask what has happened to the townsfolk, which he will answer that they are in limbo, tied to his life force. He then explain that he is on his way to the Sunken Trow City of si'Anwon where he hopes to discover ancient powers. But he cannot do it as he is and must drain the life force and souls from the people of Hope to help him have enough power to survive being under water for several weeks while he enters the cities. History Check will reveal that if he does that, it may spark a war between the Trow and Cath Bruig. The last two times that the Trow went to war, a kingdom was sunk under the ocean (Yer-Ks) and an entire race obliterated themselves and left a giant bottomless hole in the middle of the Dwarven Lands in an attempt to defeat them (it didn't work). He will then comment that life force and souls have a funny way of transferring themselves, especially into the hands of a killer - like those of the party. He will then say that with their shattered souls and life forces tainted by killing and death and regret, I will have more than enough to make the journey. Combat Encounter When Dvapara powers up his initial attack, it will disintegrate the building around the party. If he misses, he will totally destroy houses and shatter them with wood splinters being shot every where. The fight will be very hard. Discussion / Interaction Once defeated, Dvapara's dream will collapse and the people of Hope will return to their plane. The binding dream will also break. Throndmyr will thank the party for freeing them and he will reveal that Dvapara used the Binding Dream on their real Imperial Diplomat, turning him into a mad man and sent him back to the mainland. He was draining a person every two days and had nearly finished when they arrived. Throndmyr will send word back to Osgar and Muirthemne to let them know that they have been freed from his grasp. The party is free to gather supplies and then return to Osgar and then to Muirthemne where they can collet their reward from the Captain.
Plot type
Side Mission
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