Wednesday, June 11, 2025

A Man Named Dog

 

Mikhail Leafoot grew up in the northern most Woodsman village of the Gnarley. Living alone with his father after his mothers early death Mikhail learned the way of the wood and picked up leather working quite young. When he was 12 Mikhails father died during a Pomarj raid on the village. With this Mikhail went to live with his uncle, Harold, in the southern part of the wood. on his first solo hunt Mikhail was captured by a small Pomarj scout team. Without Mikhail knowing, he was shadowed by a senior ranger to ensure his safety. Due to this Mikhail was not held long but before his rescue they beat, cut, and permanently scarred his left ear. He focused on his hatred for them stemming from his fathers murder. Mikhail felt no pain and said nothing. This display of loyalty and his natural talent for tracking earned him the name Dog. Dog grew up and was trained with his fellow pupils Craddock and Vindryl and they grew close through the years. Rangers always operated in groups no more than three and the companions were to be bound by this grouping for life. Dogs training trio received their Oak Leaves at the same time naturally but only after they passed a test of courage and skill. A group of orcs was seen increasing thier patrols near Black Thorn Cavern and they were to track their movements and gather intel. Craddock, the leader of the three, lost his trail at one point and Dog had to fill the role of scout. This show of skill and perseverance shifted the groups dynamic as Dog emerged the most proficient of them. With the test passed they underwent more training and Craddock received the first solo mission.... investigating the happenings around the Temple of Elemental Evil.

After a time Craddock fell in battle with a group of like minded adventurers he met and traveled with. The news reached Ranger Knight Otis and he eventually sent Vindryl to finish the mission. Now the Rangers know without doubt that the Temple most be stopped from spewing its vile darkness through the Gnarly and eventually all of the land. In time the endeavor proved to be an undertaking not to be taken lightly and Vindryl also fell to the evil of the cults.
With a heavy heart Otis asked Dog if he would pick up the torch and continue the mission. In a show of the loyalty that earned him his name Dog accepted the task without thought. To him this was not only a welcome challenge but also how he could honor his fallen companions. Three became one and the one became hardened by the pain of his loss.

Breaking and Entering the Abbey!

 Breaking and Entering the Abbey!  


This is not what it looks like.  We all of us were just on our way down the road.  We all of us that is clearly heard Drow females calling for help.  That nice little goblin chap we ummm saved the other day told us about them.  That is clearly what we are doing here Clerics.  Umm yes!

Preparing for the Clerics return and inquisition into events that have transpired in their absence.  Nothing unholy about all of this.  Come on fellows get the story straight! 

Thieves!  Yes, thieves stole the 4 kegs of beer!  Those woods are full of evil!  We have stayed true to the moral compass and been exemplarily kind folk in your absence oh Great Cannon.  

Look your Paladin is still a good and true Paladin.  We did not corrupt him and change his class.  

Purely coincidence both Clerics absent the same day both Bards returned.  

Dixon Lumlir from the Duchy of Ulek





Monday, June 9, 2025

Chapter 3 / Episode 3 - Road to the Abbey

Chapter 3 / Episode 3 – Road to the Abbey

Players:

Dog, Ranger of the Gnarley Forest
Irving, the Reluctant, Paladin of St. Cuthbert
Dixon, Dwarven Fighter
Muspell Heavyhand, Gnome Illusionist
Slash the Bard

Coldeven 21, 576 CY

Weather:
Cold, clear skies. Temperature: 18.7°F to 47.6°F. Light breeze from the north.




The wind bit as the party rode north from the Watchtower, cloaks drawn tight. Just past midday, they spotted a familiar figure waiting at the crossroads—Slash, returned from his own errand. With a brief nod and a grin, he fell in beside them. “You lot look colder than a lich’s promise,” he muttered, rubbing his hands.


As the sun dipped low, Dog raised a hand. “Rider,” he said quietly. Dog moved forward to examine the noise finding a abandoned camp with the evidence of a single rider. They followed his trail northeast, boots crunching the frosted ground. At a fork in the path, Dog paused by a tree. “Here,” he said, brushing snow from a faint symbol etched into the bark. “Warning sign. My kin’s work—rangers of the Gnarley.”

The Abbey loomed ahead, black against the pale sky. Muspell pulled his hood low, covered in spare furs. “Let’s hope ‘humans only’ means what they think it means,” he grumbled. Irving’s white hare darted forward into the bush.


The Abbey

The gates were left open revealing an overgrown courtyard, the well at its center cracked but wet—recent use. Inside the crumbling bathhouse, the party scanned the damp, tiled floor. A dark wet spot caught Dixon’s eye. “This doesn’t sit right,” he said, lowering his torch. The moment flame met moisture, a shimmer cracked the air like static.

They stepped back, weapons ready.

“Something watches from beneath,” Irving muttered, hand tightening around his mace.

The Abbey had not been abandoned willingly.

Friday, May 30, 2025

Muspell Heavyhand, Deep Gnome Illusionist


aka Muspell the Immolated, Muspell the Unlucky, Last Son of Clan Heavyhand



Muspell Heavyhand is a deep gnome illusionist. He is hunchbacked and burn-scarred, and the left side of his face is paralyzed in a grimace. Lacking eyebrows and his head a web of scar tissue, Muspell prefers to shave off what little black hair still grows there. His slate-grey eyes are rarely visible because of the dark-lensed goggles he keeps on unless he is underground. To avoid stares in very populated areas, Muspell usually hides behind his illusion magic. He is gruff in all senses of the word but also sagacious. He is paranoid, neurotic, and has a short, violent temper, but is ultimately good-hearted and fiercely loyal to those who have won his trust. He speaks little of the Underdark, so full of shame are his memories there.

Muspell was born during the Festival of the Star Ruby in the remote deep gnome outpost of Eudialyte, far below the Kron Hills. Though birth at such a time is usually considered an auspicious omen, Muspell's life has been anything but lucky. Nearly strangled by his own umbilical cord, it was only through the intervention of a skilled midwife that he survived his first day. He was the only child of his family, and unusually happy and curious. He was always poking around the forbidden corners of his family's property, a sly grin on his angular face.

Muspell idolized his father Surtr, a mighty breachgnome who answered directly to the king. Shortly after his family was moved to the outskirts of the territory for a long term assignment, they were attacked by a band of drow. Muspell's father was on patrol when the drow came; Muspell hid successfully and watched from the shadows as the drow viciously butchered his mother. When Surtr returned, he vowed vengeance upon the dark elves and departed with his son in tow.

Muspell spent his adolescent years deep in the drow tunnels following his father in his quest for revenge. Father spoke to son but minimally, numb to all feelings but rage. A gnome possessed, Surtr provided but the barest essentials for his son's survival as he cut his way through the drow ranks. Eventually making their way to the temple of the drow priestess that ordered the raid, Muspell and his father stumbled into a chamber with a surprise - a chained red dragon. The dragon attacked instinctively with its flame breath. When Muspell came to, his body seethed with the pain of a full body burn.

As a slave of the drow priestess he'd come to kill, he often wished he'd succumbed to his injuries that day. Muspell was beaten daily and nearly driven mad by starvation, surviving only on carrion rats and mold scraped from the corners of his cell. The priestess loved to tease him about his dead father as she forced him to do humiliating acts for her entertainment, ranging from the sadistic to the disgusting. He managed to escape his cell one night while the priestess did battle with a rival in the nave of her temple. While sneaking out, Muspell stole a book from under an altar, hoping its pages might provide some nourishment for his aching belly. After somehow finding his way outside of the city, he opened the book. The eldritch tome contained profane secrets unfit for a sane mind, and would have killed him outright with its energies if he were not already half insane. The experience left the poor young gnome in a coma.

Muspell would not awaken until nearly a year later, back in the outpost of his birth. Though the book was nowhere to be found, its evil had infected his psyche, the images within burned into his brain. He was physically rehabilitated and adopted by a family friend, the illusionist Segojan Seamseeker. Unfortunately, Muspell's mind had been warped by his traumatic childhood in such a way that he exhibited antisocial behavior, eventually driving away even his would-be guardian. Forswearing all kinship, he threw himself into physical training, hoping to join the king's forces to avenge his parents. He was rejected, however; years of abuse and malnourishment during his younger years had left him stunted and weak. Broken, Muspell attempted to succeed where his own umbilical cord had failed by hanging himself.

He awoke with Segojan standing over him. 'Your sword arm may not be strong, but you possess a strength far rarer.' Segojan pointed to his head. 'That of the mind. Study under me and channel your pain into a power which will aid you in your future.'

Muspell saw no other path. He was simply not strong enough to be a miner or gemcutter, he thought. He accepted. He started his studies late, but by adulthood he'd overtaken his apprentice peers in magical proficiency. He simply had the knack. The confidence that accompanied this proficiency produced an emotion quite alien in him: confidence.

Muspell began, cautiously, to try his hand at courtship. The object of his affections was Frigga Seamseeker. Though Segojan carried many reservations about a relationship between Muspell and his daughter, he withheld them with the hope that Muspell and his daughter, who was herself troubled by mental illness, might find mutual comfort.

Frigga was apprehensive at first. Muspell was kyphotic and scarred from head to toe, marked by dragonfire and drow's whip. His demeanor was vulgar and uncultured. Yet, within him she saw the boy that once explored caves fearless and with a permanent smile, the boy whose only joy was to be nuzzled in the crook of his mother's neck. They married in the Temple of the Earthcaller, and for the first time in his life, Muspell wept with joy.

All seemed to be well, but for one thing. Months went by and Muspell failed to consummate the union. He was simply... impotent. Muspell came to realize to his great shame that he was only aroused by drow, the image of his former captor. Frigga tried to be understanding but grew impatient. She wished for children. Indignance turned into arguments and arguments turned into yelling matches.

Eventually, Frigga struck Muspell with a particularly strong verbal volley. Surtr was not dead, she claimed. He had been imprisoned as a traitor for abandoning his post, and lay crippled in the burrow's dungeons. She painted Muspell an idiot for his ignorance. Muspell screamed with the rage of his father and threw a stone pot at Frigga, barely missing her. He flew to the dungeons, where he found Surtr, missing an arm and leg and pockmarked with burn scars. Muspell dared not interrupt his father's labored snores, and forthwith journeyed to the surface, cursing his land and its people and swearing never to return.

Once on the surface, Muspell was taken in by the Temple of St. Cuthbert in Hommlet for a time. Muspell took to St. Cuthbert's teachings of common sense, though they did not come naturally to a gnome. He became a lay follower of the church, and began carrying a book of his teachings with him, meditating on those teachings when in despair. He also found a new purpose at the temple: to hunt chaos wherever it lurks.

Muspell now hunts monsters. He sees himself as a monster who kills monsters, and is happy to have found strong, trustworthy allies to aid him in that goal. Maybe, if he destroys enough evil, he will find the peace he so desperately craves.

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

War Crimes? The Clerics didn't seem concerned.

 I for one will be sleeping fine tonight.  We buried the clan brothers and Cannon Terry Or gave them a nice send off to the next realm.  The Abbey and the Witch who got away will be dealt with in the morning.  I was surprised to see they raised an Ettin.  Some new dark power must be backing them.  

They said something about a Spider Queen.  My hand goes to the brand on the back of my shoulder.  It must be her people.  Twice we have seen her servants called the Drow now.  I hope not.  She is worse than the Temple of Elemental Evil.  

More than just chaos she is TERROR and HATE!

Dixon Lumlir Dwarf of the Toy Makers Guild




Rangers of the Gnarley

The Rangers of the Gnarley Forest (WIP)


Description:
This association of 200-plus rangers has as its primary goal the protection of the Gnarley Forest. Its concern lies with the health of the forest: its members care little for the politics that may surround it, except as the directly affect it. While the rangers would not wish to see the entire forest fall under the control of the City of Greyhawk (or any faction, for that matter), it welcomes the assistance of the Greyhawk Militia in protecting the Gnarley and its dwellers.

This group is loosely organized. No individual is responsible for certain territory, but each is likely to have favored sections where he knows the residents and the terrain especially well. The group does not have leaders who give orders, but instead recognizes a number of Ranger Knights who meet every two or three months at Corustaith to exchange information. These Ranger Knights are also responsible for training younger rangers; the younger rangers swear a personal allegiance to their knight, promising to protect the forest, help good folk in need, and revere a good deity (usually Ehlonna).
Rangers of any level may join this group. A hopeful ranger must locate one of the Ranger Knights, undergo an interview process and a number of wilderness tests and offer several references.

Role:
The Gnarley Rangers are known for their efforts in protecting this vast woodland.
They monitor lumbering, flush out bandits and humanoids and safeguard the humans who dwell in the forest. Enemies include the orcs, gnolls and ogres of the Blackthorn cavern, occasional humanoid patrols from the Pomarj, and evil cult members who have been chased from neighboring states and now skulk in the Gnarley.
Generally rangers will are assigned to protect farmland and small villages.

Secondary Skills:
Required:
Bowyer/fletcher, forester, hunter, OR trapper/furrier.
Weapon Proficiencies: Required: bow (any), dagger or knife. Recommended: axe (any), sling, spear, sword (any).


Nonweapon Proficiencies
:
Bonus: Animal lore, survival (woodland). Recommended: Bowyer/fletcher, direction sense, fire building,
hunting, modern languages (elvish, gnomish, pixie, nixie, treant), rope use, set snares, weather sense.

Equipment:
No equipment is required to become a Gnarley Ranger, hut each member knows he is responsible for his own weapons, rations, survival equipment and other goods to provide for comfort in the wild. All rangers are given an oakleaf insignia which identifies their membership and rank in the group.

Special Benefits:
The rangers are a team that will come to the aid of their brothers and sisters at the first cry for help. They use a secret code of whistles and chirps that can summon aid almost immediately (if someone is within earshot). They also have a secret language made up of verbal and nonverbal cues. So subtle is this system that two Gnarley Rangers might use the code amid a group without the non-rangers even realizing that they are doing so. The system works well for communicating basic ideas and information about weather, forest conditions, strangers and so on, hut has no applications for abstract concepts.

The Rangers have a working knowledge of the secret druidic language. It functions as a thief's Read Languages skill (spoken word only) at 5% per experience level above the first. They also make use of a complex set of symbols that involve scratches on trees or logs, woven tree branches and marks on other forest plants to advise their fellow rangers of nearby dangers or resources.
It is said by some that these rangers have gained the cooperation of the wild animals from time to time. This most often involves animals dragging a wounded ranger to safety or providing a warning that danger is imminent.

Gnarley Rangers can gain hospitality from all the folk of the woodlands merely by showing their insignia. Those who are native to the Gnarley Forest are 90% capable of identifying plants, animals and safe fiesh water within the forest.

Special Hindrances:
Gnarley Rangers must stay close to the Gnarley Forest. They may spend no more than six months at a time away from the forest. For longer journeys, rangers normally seek the approval (they do not need actual permission) of their Ranger Knight. A ranger who spends too much time away from the forest without good reason may be asked to turn in his oak leaves.
Rangers do not get along well in cities. They may be perceived as easy targets for cheats and con games. They may forget matters of etiquette or be uncomfortable in the urban environment, resulting in penalties to reaction checks, outrageously inflated prices (“Hey, look at Jungle Jim! He couldn’t possibly know that an evening meal doesn’t cost 12 gold pieces!”) or other minor but annoying troubles.

Wealth Options:
Normal for rangers.
Since the Gnarley Rangers tend to live off the land and have little opportunity for earning money, they usually get by on much less gold (and have less need for it) than other rangers. 

Races: Any human except Rhennee and half-elf.

Level Progression:
As Normal
At level 7, a Ranger may go thru an ancient ceremony that which involves the drinking of the blood of a werebear. This allows the Ranger to change into a bear (usually brown bear) as a druid of the same level.  They also speak the language of bears.


Ware and were, friend is a greeting used by and to rangers of the Gnarley Forest, who have many friends among the werebears there. When used by an outsider, it indicates the courtesy to learn something of the rangers’ ways.

Oath:

My oath is to the forest, my loyalty unwavering. Until the last oak falls, I shall remain its guardian.



Monday, May 26, 2025

Chapter 3 / Episode 2 - The Watchtower Fallen


Chapter 3 / Episode 2 – The Watchtower Fallen

Coldeven 19–20, 576 CY

Weather:
Freezing — 21°F to 42.7°F
Light breeze (NE) | A few clouds | No precipitation

Players:

  • Dog, Ranger of the Gnarley Forest

  • Irving, the Reluctant, Paladin of St. Cuthbert

  • TerryOr, Cleric of St. Cuthbert

  • Dixon, Dwarven Fighter

  • Oleg, Half-Elf Magic-User / Cleric of St. Cuthbert

  • Tiger Wong, Monk of the Eastern Lands

  • Muspell Heavyhand, Gnome Illusionist





The road from Hommlet was quiet but tense, winter’s hand still clutching the land in brittle silence. The party made good time across the rutted road and arrived in the hamlet of Humming’s End before sunset. A warm stable, a hot meal at the broken sword, and a fresh riding horse—newly purchased by Irving—marked the only peace of the day.

But dawn brought purpose.

Guided by grim intent, the adventurers turned east toward the Watchtower*—a site they had once cleared and left to the care of Dixon’s kin. Smoke greeted them before the walls did. And silence—too much silence.

The Ettin came with the wind, crashing through the tree-line. Twelve goblins followed, hurling spears and curses. Irving’s charge was swift, his lance piercing deep into the Ettin’s flank. Before it could retaliate, TerryOr invoked holy fire—Flame Strike—and the beast fell, screaming as it burned.

The goblins broke.

Dog and Dixon gave chase. Oleg whispered an incantation, dropping sixteen of the fleeing creatures where they stood. The rest were dispatched. One lived—to answer questions.

“They came from the Abbey,” a goblin would confess later—after its kin had scattered and bled. The garb of the Water Temple marked them, unmistakable now.


The dwarves lay slaughtered. The construction, razed. Blood froze in the mud. Dixon knelt beside one of the bodies, jaw clenched. 

That night, beneath the fractured stars, the adventurers buried Dixon’s kin. No songs were sung. Only silence and the scrape of frozen earth.

The road to Safeton would have to wait. Vengeance had returned to the map.



* Note - Dixon purchased 4 kegs of stout to be delivered to the watchtower (possibly to surprise the worker), but with no one to deliver, the group decided to pay a visit to the watchtower since it is along the way.

A Man Named Dog

  Mikhail Leafoot grew up in the northern most Woodsman village of the Gnarley. Living alone with his father after his mothers early death M...