This campaign was referred to as the "alternate campaign" as we tried very different characters and also a different location - going back to the start as it were with Daggerford (where Damage Inc started many, many years ago). This campaign was following the "Age of Worms" campaign from Dungeon Magazine, but the grand experiment failed as the characters ended up weaker than "normal" characters of the same level. At the end, the party turned over the quest to a powerful mage and his companions to complete, and they disbanded. Their current whereabouts are unknown, although it is likely they can be found either in Waterdeep or Daggerford.
The Whispering Cairn
· Starting Location: Daggerford
· Met Auric’s Band, three adventurers from Waterdeep who had won the Champion’s Belt in the Arena Games the previous year.
· Auric was planning to visit the Whispering Cairn in the Forlorn Hills because he heard that there were some treasures there. Magda and Trorang decided to investigate first, and as part of that adventure ran into Silverclaw and Galin.
· Investigated the Whispering Cairn
· Freed a human ghost from entrapment
· Discovered a market in dead bodies, being supplied by a miner named Balabar Smenk to a Necromancer named Filge.
· As a reward, the ghost helped the party get to the true tomb of Zosiel, a minor Wind Duke of Calim (noble Djinn) killed in the Battle of Pesh.
· History: Zosiel employed the Scepter of Calim to defeat Miska the Wolf-Spider who led the Army of Fire against the Calim Empire (which stretched up and down the Sword Coast thousands of years ago).
· Exposed Filge, who was banished from Daggerford.
· Discovered from Filge that Balabar Smenk hired him because a cult had set up in one of Smenk’s mines.
· Cult = The Ebon Triad – Worshiped Bane, Myrkul, and Bhaal (three gods slain during the Time of Troubles).
· Cult is trying to bring about The Age of Worms, when evil takes over the entire land.
· Filge had a green worm, which is used to create an undead called the Spawn of Kyuss.
· Kyuss was a powerful necromancer of some type who created the worms, and was known to have an undead dragon as a companion. He is known now as the “Harbinger of the Age of Worms”. His arrival is supposed to start the Age of Worms.
The Three Faces of Evil
· Smenk hires the party to infiltrates his own mine and get rid of the cultists, although while there the party discovers he was much more involved in their activities than he indicated. Due to his political influence the party doesn’t pursue his downfall.
· Party discovers temples to Bane, Myrkul, and Bhaal and kills the priests and servants. They discover an additional temple dedicated to the bringing an Ebon Aspect into the world to herald the start of the Age of Worms. They kill the clerics and wizard and also defeat the Ebon Aspect.
Encounter at Blackwall Keep
· Delfin Yellowknife (Magda’s mentor and Daggerford’s Wizard) goes with the party to Blackwall Keep near the Lizard Marsh to find out what happened to his friend Marzena.
· The party fights off an attack of Lizardfolk, and Delfin teleports back to town to bring in more soldiers. Meanwhile, the party pursues the Lizardfolk through the swamp to rescue Marzena, whom the Lizardfolk have kidnapped.
· The party kills the Lizardfolk ruler, rescues Marzena, and negotiates a peace with the new ruler.
· The party discovers some Lizardfolk infected with worms that cause them to turn into undead (Spawn of Kyuss).
· Party discovers a dragon named Ilthane has been storing eggs full of these worms (their contents a surprise to the Lizardfolk) in the Lizardfolk home. The party destroys them.
· The party returns to Blackwall Keep and kills the wizard, who has turned into a Spawn of Kyuss, just before the reinforcements arrive.
Hall of Harsh Reflections
· Delfin sends the party to Waterdeep to meet with Eligos who will take all the Age of Worms-related items to research.
· While there, the party is infiltrated by multiple doppelgangers who attempt to implicate the party in the murder of a popular inn-keeper.
· The party clears its name, penetrates the enemy base, and destroys the doppelganger clan.
· The party discovers a Mind Flayer named Zyrxog is behind the attempts to kill and/or imprison them. The party defeats him, but discovers that Loris Raknian, the leader of the Arena Games, is apparently the ultimate man behind the attempt to kill them.
The Champion’s Belt
· Party is approached by Celeste to see if they will participate in the Arena Games for a sponsor named Ekaym Smallcask who has a license but no gladiators.
· Ekaym later tells the party he really wants them to search for evidence that Raknian killed his sister.
· The party discovers a nasty cleric creating a nasty undead called the Ulgurstasta, directly beneath the arena. The party kills both, and discovers the cleric had turned Ekyam’s sister into a zombie. They kill her and return the body to Ekyam.
· Against all odds, the party wins every battle and is crowned the victor!
· Raknian, clearly disappointed that the party survived each battle and very surprised that the Ulgurstasta didn’t make an appearance in the final battle, slinks away during the celebration and secretly leaves Waterdeep, escaping just hours before Ekyam and the party reveal Raknian to be behind the murder of Ekyam’s sister, the attempted murder of the party, and the framing of the party for the attempted murder of the Inn-keeper of The Crooked House Inn.
· Okoral, the leader of Raknian’s personal bodyguards, also vanishes.
· The party learns that Eligos and his wife were murdered at some point during the games. Before he was killed, he left a package for the party at their Inn.
A Gathering of Winds
· Party returns to Daggerford to discover portions of the town in ruins, having been damaged by the Dragon Ilthane (Encounter at Blackwall Keep) in her hunt for Delfin.
· The party defeats Ilthane at the Whispering Cairn and discovers a new portal in the complex, where they subsequently find and rescue Delfin. The party (and Delfin) realize that they have surpassed him in power and Delfin returns to Daggerford, while pressuring the party to continue the exploration of the tomb, in the hopes of retrieving a powerful item or two which may aid in the battle to prevent the Age of Worms.
· The party discovers the tomb of the Wind Duke Icosiol, as well as his swords, ring, and a fragment of the Scepter of Calim.
· Magda leaves the party and returns with Delfin to rebuild his tower and to help the people of Daggerford.
The Spire of Long Shadows
· Delfin tells the party they must seek out his old master, Malchor Harpell of Longsaddle, far to the North of Daggerford along the Long Road connecting Waterdeep to Mirabar. The party locates him and turns over their mission to Malchor Harpell, who forms a team to complete the overall quest and prevents the Age of Worms from occurring.
(C) 2015 Curtis M. Sawyer, All Rights Reserved