Main > Compendia > History > Campaigns > Beast of Bloodstone

Details

Time Played: 1993-1994
Historical Era: Shattered Age
System: Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition
GM: Jason
Players: Aarrun (Kipsalia, Rowlf), Jessica (Sindra), Matt (the ranger), Sam (Kagck, The Jester), Steve (Argenterminalon)

Summary

This campaign was played in my freshman year of college.

The party began in the coastal village of Daggertide. There they were paid by a wealthy traveler to recover a gem from a defunct bloodstone mine. In the mine they discovered the scene of a grizzly murder long before, where a miner discovered a large, smooth bloodstone, and built a shrine to it. Then he gathered followers and murdered the rest of the miners, and caused a cave-in tomb for himself and his followers. Recovering the large, smooth bloodstone at the shrine, the party was very hesitant to provide it to the traveler. Unsurprisingly, the traveler took the gem, stiffed the party without payment, and fled Daggertide.

The party found a clue that just before Daggertide, the traveler had been at another nearby swamp village. They trailed the traveler across Acrolon in this way, by finding clues to each location the traveler had been to just prior to the one they had found. This brought them to every major nation except Moenia. Argenterminalon discovered that the traveler had murdered his niece in Plainshire. Eventually they made it to Eastreach and discovered that the traveler had raised two ancient Liches, who were creating an undead army. They gathered many allies from near-by nations, including the elves of Elvale, and defeated the Liches and their army.

Their assistance to a Jann earned each of them a wish. Wishes included Argenterminalon wishing for his niece back to life and The Jester wishing for immortality. The Jester's immortality was not entirely pleasant, as he later suffered a terrible wasting disease during a battle with elves in Elvale.

Then they finally tracked the traveler to his origin, deep within Jorgunhal Mountain, at the site of another ancient bloodstone mine, where a temple to Orcus, The Beast, had been built. There they defeated the cult, including the traveler, and prevented the summoning of Orcus. Bard entered the Quicksilver Portal to the Abyss, and Argenterminalon sacrificed his life to close the portal. This final chapter of the campaign borrowed from the classic module The Throne of Bloodstone.

Some notable enemies included an Emerald Dragon in Plainshire, a vampire in Eastreach, the pair of Liches raising an undead army near Jorgunhal Mountain, and the cult of Orcus in Bloodstone Hall within Jorgunhal Mountain. The party achievements included numerous victories against the undead army and first wave of the demon invasion from the Quicksilver Portal, victories against the cult of Orcus, finding items for Loki that caused Ragnarok, freeing a Yugoloth prince named Rabius, collecting all of the pieces of the Golemplate of Drax and much more.

Epilogue: As an epilogue to the main campaign, Bard traveled deep into the Abyss, equipped with an artifact called the Sanctuary Stone, which protected him from the bulk of divine might wielded by gods. With this protection he was able to confront Orcus, then a god of undeath, in a fair fight. He defeated Orcus and stayed in the Abyss to protect anyone from claiming Orcus' power.

Canon

The events of this campaign are canonized as the Second Tanari Incursion of the Shattered Age. Sindra is canonized as the necromancer queen of Malocia during the Shattered Age. The Jester is canonized as a deathless mortal master of The Harlequins.