Middlands Campaign: Recap

Overview

Four strangers met in the house of Kevin, a wise old sage who charged them with the saving of the world from an army of demons. They first killed John May, a marauding bandit whose magical axe was taken by Karyd, then met with Alloren, a Witch Hunter, and assassinated Alistair Dorotheus after attempting to invade his castle. They then began their long journey towards Patrickburg.

First stopping at the village of Erbrechen to kill a supposedly demon-worshipping priest, Kevin and the Brotherhood were attacked by a immense, horrifying creature with the head of a moose, only surviving thanks to Karyd, who stayed behind to slay the monster with the mysterious axe. Trying to find her again, the rest of the Brotherhood were confronted by an invading Banderan-Hobgoblin force, which they thwarted by killing their leadership and narrowly escaping with most of the villagers. But at a heavy price, for Red-Shirt Q had fallen in battle while attempting to grapple a troll.

After arriving in Patrickburg, the Brotherhood realised that Kevin had lied to them all along: he was actually a servant of the Godkiller, an ancient being that imprisoned the Supreme Septenary, and that he was banished from the Patrickburg Academy of Wizards for attempting resurrection when he uncovered the existence of the Divine Order, a secret group dedicated to bringing back the Gods.

Allying with a member of the Order, Barek von Böse, the group confronted him and stole a resurrection scroll; yet the old wizard managed to escape by unleashing an incorporeal creature.

ABR Pathfinder Game: Sessions I to VII

The ABR Pathfinder Game is, obviously, a series of pathfinder campaigns played by members of the ABR Project. Hosted and DM'd by Yours Truly, it is set in a custom world called the Middlands.
The following is a recap of the events of the first campaign.

Session I
Following the growing threat of the Fargian Alliance’s territorial expansion, the Black Duke, ruler of the Middlands, has called for a council in the capital of Patrickburg, summoning all higher nobles and their knights.


In the southern county of Maniana, Count of Robert of Kleinestadt has recently called for mercenaries to guard his castle in his absence. Four such sellswords ran to his aid: Valtiz the Cavalier, Terynn the Summoner, Quardiira (pronounced Kwardiarrhea) the Rogue, and Virila the Feeble. While they stopped at the small village of Pequenia, they assaulted a man on the streets and were, save for one, captured by the village guards.


They made their escape from the gaol, killing every man in their path.


Session II
After their rampage in Pequenia, the would-be mercenaries hijacked a fishing boat. They then arrived in the docks of Joven in the early morning, after about 2 days and a half days of "sailing" as best as they could. Fearing they might be needing to navigate the seas again, they looked for a professional sailor to teach them his craft.


The man they found was all but what they were looking for; he was actually Ernesto de Lapiz, leader of a revolutionary movement meant to overthrow the Grand Duchy of the Middlands’ presence in the south, a land that once belonged to his people, the Segurans.


Believing the party (henceforth called the Anarchist Brotherhood of Revolutionaries) to be the heroes that would liberate them from the Middlanders’ rule (as evidenced by their unintentional "liberation" of Pequenia), he arranged so that tonight, they would overthrow the city's government by assaulting the mayor's palace and assassinating him.


The group accepted the mission, and were supposed to brief with him and his compatriots one hour after sundown, at the brothel "The Underground". However, the Brotherhood ran afoul of the local authorities when Valtiz made his animals defecate on their leader's porch, and after accidentally revealing that they were the ones who "freed" Pequenia to a passing knight, they were purchased all over town by over a dozen guards, and had to take refuge in "The Underground" brothel nearly 10 hours before the meeting.


While waiting for the debriefing, they started to amuse themselves with the brothel folks. In a fit of boredom and curiosity, Quardiira started to dance on a table while Regis, Virila's pet wolf, tried to hump her. Valtiz socialised with one of the male prostitutes, a handsome, well-build black man named Isaiah Mustafa. Only Terynn remained sober, his gnome nature providing a superior resistance to alcohol.


Session III
The sun set after hours of waiting, and after a short briefing. the party departed for the palace. Yet on the way, they noticed a shadowy figure stalking them, bidding his time in the darkness…


A man suddenly appeared before them, declaring himself to be Forcelift the Executioner, harbinger of their deaths. As he charged into the fray, he was bombarded by the Brotherhood's spells; it took no more than a few seconds to bring him down.


Threatened with death, Forcelift expressed his desire to join the party. The others agreed, and the five of them were on route towards the Mayor's Palace.


Session IV
After killing the sentries, the group rushed inside the palace and met the mayor, along with his personal guard. A deadly battle ensued, and the Brotherhood was able to kill each of the knights. The mayor was knocked unconscious and captured.


Session V
After triumphantly returning victorious from the Mayor’s Palace, the lord a hostage, the Brotherhood prepared from a night of merriment and drinking when Ernesto de Lapiz, Commandate de la Revolución, came back with grave news. Sage of Moncastille, Knight Commander of the Black Order, had mounted a resistance and taken shelter in a reinforced church.


Taking the matter in their own hands, the heroes went to the church and launched a fiery grenade toward it. The building started to crumble as the fire spread, and Sage, along with his knights, were driven out. In a suicidal fit of bravery, Virila and Horril went inside the burning church for reasons unknown, and with the flames charred their flesh right to the bone, Forcelift and Terynn ambushed the soldiers, slaying them in heroic combat. The hobgoblin and the horse finally ran out of the collapsing structure as it exploded, centimetres away from the blast.


With all the opposition vanquished, Ernesto crowned himself King of Bandera and appropriated the Mayor's Palace as the seat of his new realm. 


Session VI
The party was then tasked by Ernesto to bring the mayor to his new palace in order to humiliate him as part of the victory celebrations. Angered by such a mission, the Brotherhood betrayed their commander and rescued the mayor from his cell, killing one of Ernesto's trusted lieutenants in the process. They then made their escape by hijacking a boat and setting the city of Joven on fire as a final act of retribution.


After healing the mayor's wounds, the party realised that they were now considered criminals not only by the authorities of the Middlands, but also by their former Seguran allies. The mayor struck a bargain with them: they would bring him safely to the capital of Patrickburg, and he would grant them a pardon for their crimes. With no other choice, the Brotherhood accepted. They disembarked the mayor on the coast of the city; the noble told him that he would come back for them.


Several hours later, a guard came to the Anarchists, stating that the Black Duke himself demanded an audience with them. The Brotherhood followed him to the Duke's castle, where the ruler, along with twenty of his knights, was waiting for them.


His warriors started to surround the group as the Black Duke expressed his amazement at their combat aptitudes, and that he would make them his personal, elite mercenaries. As he reached for a handshake with Forcelift, the apparent leader of the Brotherhood, he drew his sword and stabbed him in the gut.
The ensuing fight was no less than a slaughter. The vastly outnumbered Anarchists were butchered one by one, yet in his final breath, Forcelift held his scythe and struck down the Black Duke, searing his body in half.
The End.