{"id":1494,"date":"2024-10-06T22:30:27","date_gmt":"2024-10-07T05:30:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/werebear.net\/main\/?p=1494"},"modified":"2024-10-06T22:30:29","modified_gmt":"2024-10-07T05:30:29","slug":"session-2-the-quality-of-mercilessness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/werebear.net\/main\/blog\/2024\/10\/06\/session-2-the-quality-of-mercilessness\/","title":{"rendered":"Session 2: The Quality Of Mercilessness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Meepo explained his tribe\u2019s plight: Scalemolder cannot be cured by any means short of sap from an \u201cOaken Sentinel\u201d a treant named Mossbeard planted generations ago. Standard spells like Cure Disease are ineffective against the plague. The infection started one month ago with a single individual and rapidly spread to every tribe in the area. The party volunteered to help with a cure, so Meepo suggested a meeting with Chief Shov\u2019rakh at the kobold\u2019s camp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the party reached Meepo\u2019s tribe, they encountered a guard at the camp\u2019s entrance. His name was Cliff, and he doubted the party\u2019s intentions after multiple hostile encounters with local folk. It seemed prejudice against kobolds was still alive in this part of Midgard. All the kobolds present were weakened by the plague \u2014 some nearly to death \u2014 so Cliff couldn\u2019t admit any possible threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Meepo vouched for the party, Cliff still required more persuading. He told the party that his sister and little niece were missing, and that safely retrieving the pair would convince him of their good intentions. The only clue he could offer was his sister\u2019s name: Luna. As to Luna\u2019s last known location, that was anybody\u2019s guess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two groups of claw prints, one set small and the other large, led away from the camp. The party successfully identified these as Luna’s and her child\u2019s. Meepo offered to accompany the rescue team, and the group set out along Luna\u2019s path. Ironically, it led them to the area of Mossbeard Mill.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Mossbeard
Mossbeard Mill, a venerable and well-known landmark.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

At Mossbeard Mill, the party encountered five shifty people lurking in the undergrowth. All of them appeared to be local townsfolk or farmers. When confronted, they shouted their intentions loudly and unambiguously: “DEATH TO KOBOLDS!” The heroes had run into one of the hateful gangs Meepo and Cliff mentioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the fight, everyone made a second discovery — Cliff’s sister and niece. Luna laid motionless behind an old tree trunk, dead from an advanced case of Scalemolder. Her toddler-aged daughter clung to mother’s lifeless claw. Meepo snuck over to the child and did his best to protect her. “Mama won’t move” was the only thing the young kobold would say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Meepo defended the child, the party made short work of the thugs… mostly. Three ran away when their allies fell and their injuries approached critical levels. (Party earned 500 XP for defeating five thugs.)<\/em> The adventurers felt uneasy. They may have won this battle, but how would the townsfolk view this encounter? Nobody in Moonglow seemed especially fond of kobolds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The thugs left little worth looting as they were both poor and poorly-equipped. Eager to return the lost hatchling, the party proceeded back to camp while Meepo lingered to perform final rites on Luna. Fortunately, their young charge seemed free of both disease and injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cliff greeted everyone upon their return to the camp. Silent stares and head-shakes were exchanged, and Luna’s brother choked up at the news of her death. He turned to his surviving niece and told his “little star” to go play with the other children while the grown-ups discussed adult things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

True to his word, Cliff admitted the party to the camp and thanked them for finding his kin. Meepo arranged an urgent meeting with Chief Shov’rakh. Shov’rakh was incredibly ill from Scalemolder and nearing death himself. Not even the vibrant red plumes on his hat could make him seem livelier.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Chief
Shov’rakh, chief of the kobolds.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Meepo updated the chief on his search for the “Oaken Sentinel” revealed by Veles in a prophetic vision: a four-armed tree whose location he didn’t know. Chief Shov’rakh promised a small cache of gems and a “wizard’s ring” if the party brought the sap to him. Time was running out for him and every other adult in the tribe. Soon, their children would be orphans if a cure couldn’t be found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group departed without delay and made the mill their first stop for a more thorough investigation. Once there, the mill keeper exited to greet them. He’d heard the earlier fracas and opted to stay inside until it ended. Now that it was safe to come out of hiding, he wanted to know what happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The miller introduced himself as Emar Molliner, and said his family had run Mossbeard Mill for generations. He became increasingly evasive as the party inquired about both him and the area. In fact, one or two of the adventurers felt fairly certain he was up to something….<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
The suspicious miller is suspicious.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Once Molliner departed, the hunt for the four-armed tree resumed. Daegon spotted it close to the mill soon thereafter and extracted all its sap successfully. There was more than enough to cure all the kobolds, but the Oaken Sentinel rapidly withered. No amount of the party’s magic or knowledge could save it. This was an ancient thing, and its vital essence had been drained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The heroes delivered the sap to a greatly-relieved Chief Shov’rakh. He immediately set Meepo and the tribe to concocting and distributing their lifesaving medicine. Then, true to his word, he paid the tribe’s deliverers in gems worth 100 gp, along with an unidentified ring of some sort.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"The
The Oaken Sentinel near Mossbeard Mill.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

As the adult kobolds gradually returned to health, Mortimer helped amuse the children with songs and stories. This earned the party even more gratitude from the tribe. Helping so many unfortunate souls find health and joy again was quite an uplifting experience. (Party earned 200 XP for curing all the kobolds.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meepo’s relief was obvious. Now his people wouldn’t die a horrible, rotting death. But the Scalemolder had left another crisis in its wake. It had devastated all the local tribes, forcing them to become a single, unified one. Three-hundred kobolds couldn’t fit comfortably into any of their previous homes, and opportunistic people had also started claiming them. Now Moonglow wanted the tribe gone from their lands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The kobold cleric approached his tribe’s saviors and asked for a new favor. “I heard you talking about a tower beside a river at the edge of Old Margreve. We have no home to call our own anymore. Could we join you? Maybe settle on the surrounding land? We’ll be useful, I assure you!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why not? Bringing three-hundred kobolds along might also help the party secure the tower on arrival….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experience<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • 500 XP for defeating thugs<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • 200 XP for curing kobolds<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Total:<\/strong> 700 XP (140 XP per player)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Treasure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • 100 gp worth of gems<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • One “wizard’s ring”<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      There are three-hundred sick kobolds in desperate need of a cure for a painful, lethal ailment. Only one source can provide it, but will the angry, fearful villagers of Moonbright slaughter them before they find it?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":false,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[85],"tags":[86],"class_list":["post-1494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ttrpg","tag-tgr"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/werebear.net\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/81fbf284-c5d6-4e63-a6af-7b534793c0da.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peoZy7-o6","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/werebear.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1494","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/werebear.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/werebear.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/werebear.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/werebear.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1494"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/werebear.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1494\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1512,"href":"https:\/\/werebear.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1494\/revisions\/1512"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/werebear.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/werebear.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/werebear.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/werebear.net\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}