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Caladan Brood
Senior Scribe
Norway
410 Posts |
 Posted - 29 Aug 2015 : 21:16:42
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Today I couldn't help it. I *needed* some RP, I *needed* to live the Realms. So I asked my nine-year old if he fancied some adventurin'. He did (he takes, after all, after his father).
So I put the 2nd edition map of Faerûn on the table and asked him where he'd like to be. I didn't say too much, as I can whip out any FR sourcebook for any region. I explained what the symbols on the map meant, explained what "city-states" and "trade routes" means, and he - of course - decided on the "Remnants of the Forest Reaching", for which there is basically 0% lore ^^ Not that I mind :)
So we got to talking about what kind of character he'd like to play and I knew before he said it that he was going to be an Elf (he digs Legolas). All right, I said, and showed him Evereska and told him he came from there. Then I asked him what he had done before taking up the adventurer's life, and why he came to the (adventure starting) area. Well, he had a plan, all right. Turns out he has been waiting for me to ask him to play :) So he was going to be an Elf Wizard who wants to work his way toward raising a tower of his own (probably influenced by Minecraft; he was adamant about starting with nothing and earn the money needed to raise a tower; he began sketching for me what he envisioned, with rooms for chests and a kitchen, and I suggested a privy, and guest rooms, and rooms for guards and servants, and he got all excited about the prospect). Well, all right, anyway, a new adventurer has been born into the FORGOTTEN REALMS, and here is the first part of his tale. Hopefully, I will be able to add further adventures to this scroll. My son is the star, the High Elf Ghonteran (he made it up on the spot), and I'm the former farmhand toward the end of the adventure. Hope you enjoy this little start of a tale.
[As for Realmslore/canon, I think I made one "blunder" - I told him the River Reaching is swift and cascades down sloping terrain toward the Chionthar, whereas the sourcebooks state that goods are sent up the Reaching to Hill's Edge - anyway).
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Session 1: Introductions (29.08.2015)
The Year of the Staff, 1366 Dalereckoning, Scornubel in the Western Heartlands
The High Elf Ghonteran has been renting a room at The Dusky Hoof in Scornubel for some time. He came to the Caravan City a few years ago from Evereska in the north, in search of a place of solitude yet not too distant from the life of the Realms. In Scornubel he found the perfect city, as trade flows through the place day in, day out. Located on the River Chionthar, Scornubel provides routes toward Baldur’s Gate, Irieabor and the Sea of Fallen Stars beyond, and even to distant Waterdeep; the constant flow of trade through the city was perfect for the Elf’s plans - to erect a tower for himself, a tower like no other.
The only problem facing Ghonteran: He has a pouch with fifteen pieces of gold. On a late summer afternoon, Ghonteran set out, on foot, to explore the banks of the River Reaching to the east of Scornubel. He had been scouting the wilderness surrounding Scornubel for some time without finding the perfect spot. This afternoon, he came to the banks of the wild and tumbling River Reaching where it cascaded down toward the great River Chionthar, in search of a good place. Following the Reaching upriver, he came at last to the perfect dell, a narrow, shadowed gorge. Protected on three sides by tall, rocky knolls and the gorge’s floor apparently solid, Ghonteran had finally found the perfect spot. This was going to be the place where his tower would stand - a few hours’ walk from the bustle of Scornubel - the Realms at his fingertips, yet remote enough to be left in peace when required. One of the knolls, the one flanking the south end of the gorge, looked much like a giant troll head - brittle grass covering the top, shadowed recesses in the bare rock below reminding Ghonteran of spooky eyes - and so he dubbed it ‘The Trollhead’.
Pleased with finally discovering the perfect location, he returned across the plains, walked past the farmlands surrounding Scornubel, and back into the city. He went to his ‘home’, a room on the third floor of The Dusky Hoof, where he kept his belongings, including his spell book and his trusty dagger. He went to sleep.
The following day he studied his magic - memorizing Magic Missile, Protection from Evil, Feather Fall, and Jump, before going down to the dining room. Here, the innkeeper Fordrim was handing the few early birds breakfast. “Good morning, master Elf,” the fat man with the black mustache said cheerfully, “Same as always?”
Ghonteran replied, “Yes,” and was given his three slices of bread with fried eggs and salt. It was the only thing resembling something edible at the Dusky Hoof, Ghonteran thought, but the bread was good - mostly because Fordrim didn’t bake it himself but bought the bread from a baker further down Northstorm Street.
As he was eating his breakfast, a shy, stuttering man approached. He was tall and had a round belly, with bulbous blue eyes and hair the look and color of straw.
“Excuse me,” he said, “M-may I, uhm, sit down?”
The Elf nodded, and smiled.
The young human introduced himself as Tomin Buckman. He seemed to mull over every word - it turned out he was just nervous becaues he had never talked to an Elf before. He explained that his father had been forced to sell his farm to the Seven Suns Trading Coster, which left Tomin without work. He packed his belongings and went to the city, finding a room at the Dusky Hoof. Fortunately, Tomin had spent the previous year training with the Red Shields, the mercenary force policing Scornubel, while his father and the rest of the family had been busy packing their belongings and preparing to let their farm be taken over. Tomin, however, “just didn’t have the wits to be a Red Shield”, and so he found himself without work, and without a farm to come home to. As for the whereabouts of his family, Tomin is not quite sure.
Tomin wondered whether the Elf at the table was an adventurer, and if that Elf maybe would be in need of someone to help him out on his adventures. Ghonteran was thankful for the offer, and agreed. The mumbling man before him looked like he was very strong, and so Ghonteran thought that if Tomin could be his bodyguard, he might just dare to venture beyond the outskirts of Scornubel in search of the wealth he needs to realize his lifelong dream, a tower by the River Reaching.
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A Tower by the River Reaching
