[PBEM News] NEW CAMPAIGN - Homebrew vis Yahoogroups; D&D 3.5 - 2nd l

From: squirrel.lake@yahoo-dot-com.no-spam.invalid (squirrel)

Date: Sat, 20 May 2006 03:05:13 +0000

'm searching for five players for a homebrew campaign; D&D 3.5
edition, starting at 2nd level.

SLOTS:
1 warrior-type
1 healer-type
1 arcane
2 open

Characters should have a 36-point buy for statistics; 2nd level; 300
gold for equipment and magic. Each should have a decent background
and description of appearance and personality.

Campaign will begin in June.

Visit:

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/Shadows_of_Aaren/

to register and receive further information...

Game opening:

Chill autumn winds, icy from the sea spray, whipped the thick cloaks
of the city watch about them as they searched the beach for clues.
The bodies of the lumberjacks, three burly men each festooned with
long-shafted arrows, lay crumpled in the surf, their blood
highlighted by the dawn�s light.

Alynna Doess, the captain of the watch, glanced at Sendel Keep, high
upon the cliff above the crashing waves. She walked over to Willem,
the huntsman, and waited while he examined the tracks and marking on
the sand. He was not one to say two words when one would do, and
often she had to nearly throttle him to get the one word out.

Willem glanced left and right, kneeling by the bodies, and then
stepping back to see a wider view. He plucked one of the arrows from
the leg of the nearest woodsman and eyed the shaft and fletching.

Alynna shivered in the cold air, wishing she had the ability to ignore
the cold that Willem of Kompt had. Willem knelt again, his thick black
hair flailing in the wind. He would be a handsome man, if not for the
scars that marked him a veteran of many battles. He was younger than
Alynna�s forty years, perhaps by as much as a decade, though probably
by only three of four years. His dark eyes and powerful build made his
silence even more off-putting to others.

The guard captain reached around Willem�s carefully covered longbow
and tapped the man on the shoulder. She learned long ago that she
should never touch the weapon, for Willem treated it as a delicate
child, rather than the potent messenger of death that it was in his
hands. �What news?� She asked.

Willem grunted, eyeing the scene one more time before standing. He
placed his left hand on the hilt of his sheathed longsword, a weapon
Alynna had only rarely seen him draw forth. He adjusted the studded
leather armor that he habitually wore, reminding Alynna that she
herself usually went without armor in the city, though if the cold
continued through winter, she may pull out her armor just to add a
bit of warmth and protection from the wind. �Trouble.� Willem said
simply. He glanced again at the sea before turning for the city,
climbing the rocky path that led to the docks proper on the north
side of the city.

Alynna sighed in exasperation. She knew it meant trouble when three
men were murdered in her city. She didn�t need the warrior to tell
her that. What she needed to know was who killed these men and why.
She nodded to the trio of guardsmen that stood a bit apart from the
murder scene, at Willem�s orders. They were inexperienced men, but
loyal to the city. �Stay here until someone comes for the bodies.�
She commanded before following Willem. The sound of the guards
moaning at the task was soon lost to her as she, too, following the
path to the docks.

ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

The port-master, Dogan Westlake, was a middle aged man of some girth
that had a voice that boomed over the docks of Mendel Hold. He had
cowed most of the captains on the Sea of Shadows with his quick
temper and iron control of the dock and its workers. Westlake,
however, was not a man to trouble Willem of Kompt. When the huntsman
entered, the dockmaster stood quickly and approached the warrior
himself, rather than allowing his assistant to lend aid. Dogan knew
that Willem would only come into his office with important business,
and that having to explain himself to an assistant before getting to
Westlake would irritate him to no end. No one, even the normally
authoritative Westlake, wanted to deal with the ire of the huntsman.

�Your manifests for yesterday.� Willem ordered.

Westlake handed the thick binder to the huntsman without asking the
obvious questions. Willem was well-connected and trusted by the
baron, and the baron, in turn, decided who ran the docks. The warrior
rustled through the papers, finally grabbing one as Alynna opened the
door and entered.

Not allowing the door to close behind her, Willem slipped past her and
stalked up the street toward the keep. She eyed a question toward
Westlake, but his shake of the head told her that he knew as little
as she. Sighing again, she left to follow him to the keep, where he
would have to explain to the baron what was happening. Perhaps there
she would finally learn who she would be apprehending for the murder
of the three woodsmen.

sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

The baron sat at his desk, listening carefully to his huntsman and
only occasionally having to interrupt to have the man clarify a point
or observation. While Willem was a quiet man, sparse in his use of
words, when he chose to speak those about him listened, even the
baron.

As Alynna entered, the baron waved her to a chair near the desk so
that she could listen as the baron relayed the findings to her.

�The arrows are of Ahmdhar design and make. Simple enough, except that
the bootprints near the bodies was not that of elves. Willem�s guess
would be hobgoblins, except that the bodies were dropped by longboat,
which, of course, suggests the buccaneers of North Islands. Whoever
dropped the bodies did so knowing we would find them and perhaps
blame the Ahmdahr. Since our attacking the Ahmdahr doesn�t obviously
aid the pirates, I must return to the hobgoblins as the most likely
culprits, though it may be that they had pirate aid.�

Alynna nodded. �Suggestions?�

The baron continued. �We need to send someone to meet the Ahmdhar and
establish that they are free of culpability. Since Willem has some
access there, he will go. I wouldn�t mind having some backup for him,
just in case. I don�t think they�d attack him outright for
approaching, but if I am somehow wrong and the elves killed the
woodsmen for trespassing or logging their wood, they might shoot
Willem full of arrows before he can explain our situation.�

Alynna cleared her throat. �It may also be that whoever sent the
bodies to us did something similar to the Ahmdhar in hopes that they
would attack us. It seems far too dangerous to send our people into
their home.�

The baron nodded. �I agree that it will be dangerous, however it may
well be more dangerous to ignore that they may think us guilty of a
similar crime. Something is definitely dodgy, and we need to ensure
the Ahmdhar that we are maintaining the peace.� He turns to the
huntsman. �Willem, recruit some militia to go with you.�

Willem laughs aloud. �They�d do little good and would likely cause
more trouble than they�re worth. I�ll find a handful of trustworthy
associates that have proven themselves in battle instead.�

�See to it.� The baron ordered.
--
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