Actual Play Report - Fallen Empire Session III

Saturday September 27, we had our third installment of the Fallen Empire campaign based in the City of Port. And thanks to random tables, we were able to generate a whole fun night of adventure.

I had prepared to go back into the castle, Castle Triskelion. But I did know that soon (2-3 sessions) it would be Summer and new events would be happening in the city.

So for my own benefit, I rolled up what kinds of things would be happening in the summer so I could put some clues or foreshadowing in. I got:

• large war (reasons TBD)
• shortage (food or water)

Then we  all made random die rolls and we generated a rumor - that the Rugg family keeps a monster in the basement and is feeding people to it.

I decided that since one of the players owns a pub that's their base of operations, ale, wine and spirits were in good supply, but the BEER had stopped flowing!

OH NOES!

The players immediately realized that the beer shortage was a cool mystery and possibly an opportunity for windfall profits.

So they went the the biggest brewery in the city and heard that the reason beer has dried up is that their main source of malted barley had stopped. That source is the fields about a day and a half out of town.

The dwarves rode out and found that there was an enemy army out there hanging out and burning the fields. about 500 peasants were displaced and about 100 were dead or dying.

One of the dwarves is friends with the head of the Merchants' Guild. He secured space for the refugees in the old disused custom houses.

The Wizard and her man went to the university to tell them about the army, but the head was somewhat unconcerned, saying that someone else would handle it- but if not they would.

The other dwarf went to the head of the Dockworkers and found that he knew what was going on and was going to send his men in exchange for money. 

Both dwarves were asked by their guild heads to become captains in the new army.

Finally the unguilded mercenary man spent a few days hunting down a merchant ship, some maritime weaponry, and some marines.  They took the ship and went to two towns down the bay and up a river and came back with 10,000 GP of beer which they then sold for 20,000 GP. 

SCORE!!

They also met some Mermen and became real estate brokers on the way.

All in all a very Chris Tamm adventure and one that went better than I could imagine. All from scratch and a couple of random rolls. 

Port: University District

I've got two players (out of 5) who are members of the University. One is Simone's magic-user and the other one is Ethan's fighting-man, both level 3. Since there are two players I sent them off a copy of the map with the neighborhoods numbered. 

I wanted each of them to pick out one of them and tell us about it. As it turns out, Ethan did all the neighborhoods. I cleaned it up very minimally to keep it in line with the campaign world. 

I think a neighborhood can have up to 5,000 people in it, although many neighborhoods are completely devoid of residences. There are some neighborhoods that are not even controlled by people at all. Ethan did a good job of keeping this in mind in his write up.

The University District

26. Drenthe. The main grounds of the University are located here. This is where magic users of all levels come to train, study and practice the art of magic.  Furthermore, Special/unique magic items can be purchased here but they cost a lot of gold or trade. There are excellent libraries but their use is costly to keep commoners out. There are surely some relics stored here. Matron Bat-Sheva, the Headmistress, lives in a country cottage on the southern beach.

27. North Brabant.

28. Gelder.

Areas 27 and 28 are mostly dormitories for students and workers. A good bed can be had for a good price but a single dwelling is expensive. In area 27, known as North Brabant or NB, there is a famous tavern called The Sword of Stars where adventuring wizards and their retinue may be found. Additionally, ferries from Aldgate (32a) debark.

Area 28, Gelder, is where low level magic users live in a residential district with few services. A wildcatter Orcish ferryman named Cassius will take you between Gelder, Gillamore and Montenon (13) but only at night, and even to (Unnamed Neighborhood) (44) for a pretty penny.

29. Gillamore. Gillamore is where most forms of trade occur in the University. It is where ferries from Cobisou (9) and Bouzille (10) arrive. Here you can trade items for gold, buy and sell equipment, weapons, armor, etc. The main bank of the University is also located in Gillamore, where you can store treasure if you wish. Everything an adventurer needs can be found in the shops of Gillamore, but there are few magic items for sale here.  Additional adventurers and henchmen can also be found here. Some are desperate for work and any form of currency while others charge a premium for their services. 

30. Axminster. There are several barracks and housing units here, both attached to the University and independent. A large number of fighting-men and men-at-arms live here. There are guild halls and every alleyway has a pub. There is a large common area here where sheep and cattle graze while men practice and drill with individual weapons and formation fighting. Sometimes fighting-men and magic-user will drill together in wartime tactics.

31. Overjissel. Overjissel is known for its magical resources. There is a chance that if you have the money, you can find even advanced magic items such as staves and wondrous items. If you wish, magical items can also be sold here. It is a well-known neighborhood in the University and it is full of friendly folk, mostly lawful.

However, one of the shops is owned by a mid-level magic user who is currently out of favor with the leadership. He doesn't have anything of much interest in his shop, so it is not frequently visited. He can be hired for adventures and is desperate for money. His name is Renoldus (MU6), and his shop is called North Star. Another shop is Twin Sun Magic, where magical items of all sorts can be bought and sold. The shop is famous for high quality items and everyone in the University has been there at least once and knows the owner, Byrant Geradus (MU5 INT 18 CHA 15), who makes it a point to remember everyone who enters his shop.

A ferry runs to Corbisou (9).