Invisible Rings Stormwind
This page documents our adventures in the Invisible Rings campaign of Dungeons and Dragons. Don't read the DM Notes pages, which will be marked with a red banner at the top of the page.
Having just finished Invisible Rings Chapter One: Hints of Vim, we are now in chapter two. The first chapter brought characters from level one to level five. The second chapter starts with level one characters again, to bring in some players who are just starting out. Once these characters reach level five, we'll see about combining the groups.
This set of adventures uses the 4th edition rules, and is set in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting, as defined in the D&D 4th edition book Forgotten Realms Player's Guide (which I recommend you purchase), and the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide which you should not read if you're going to play this campaign. Here is the map of Faerun that we are using.
Getting started!
Follow these steps to join the fun:
- Read the DnD Intro page for some basic rules.
- Create a first level character. You must use method one or two to get ability scores, as described on page 17 of the 4th edition player's handbook. You can use any race or class in any 4th edition book. Check with the DM (me) if you want to use something not from a published book.
- Using the map of Faerun and the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide determine a basic background for your character, and get the corresponding bonus as described in the book.
- All of the deities are available, from the PHB and the Forgotten Realms.
- Be sure to join the GeekNightDnD Yahoo group, which is were we announce games, and maintain the calendar. I'll send you an invitation to join when you send me an email saying you want to play. Also, see the Hidden Keep on Facebook.
- Show up at the Hidden Keep, on our game night (As of 2010, it's every Saturday at 6:00 PM), and we can play!
If you have any questions, or need some help with anything, just send me an email. We can get together at the game store early, or at a different time, and get your character ready.
Session 1: Saturday, February 13 2010
- DM Eric Wadsworth
- Sanctity tiefling wizard, played by Jeff
- Shadow drow rogue, played by Michael
- Lulu changeling sorceress played by Mieke
- Vaylen drow sorcerer played by Gavin
- Tor shifter rogue played by Parker
- Berrian cleric played by Paul
Crusty old snow crunched and cracked beneath their feet, as the weary travellers made their way northeast, along the road from Immilmar, in the forgotten corner of Faerun called Rashemen. Spread out over about a quarter of a mile, most of them looked warily at each other. Strangers, but for some reason, all walking on this desolate road in the middle of winter. Somewhere, not far ahead, lay the forbidden pine forest of Urlingwood, under a light dusting of yesterday's snow. The residents of Immilmar spoke of witches, and secrets, and the dire consequences of even attempting to enter that forest. But each of these adventurers knew in their hearts that they were going to make the attempt, even if they didn't know why. The sun was just dropping low on the horizon when the howling began.
Seeing that being alone in this wilderness meant certain death, the strangers gathered together. No sooner than they did so, the wolves attacked. Several of the party went down, but the clerics called upon the powers of their gods, and they eventually killed all the wolves. The group decided to work together an try to find a way into the forbidden Urlingwood. They eventually snuck past the guards and made it into the twisting paths and gloomy trails.
During the journey, it was revealed why each member of the adventuring party had come to this distant corner of the land.
Sanctity - Your uncle died, and left you a small, locked metal chest, heavily gilded and ornate, but no key. Eventually, with the aid of a locksmith, you were able to open it up. It contained only a piece of paper, saying that "the magic item you need is in the forest of Urlingwood, in Rashemen, in an identical chest to this one."
Shadow - An old friend of the family has contracted a rare disease. The local fortune teller was consulted, and he will perish unless a small piece of bark from the trees that grow in the enter of the Urlingwood, in Rashemen, can be obtained and made into a potion to cure his disease.
Lulu - In a fit of rage, you threw a chair at another man in an inn. Normally, this would be acceptable behavior in an inn, but your aim was off, and the chair instead hit a mysterious woman, heavily cloaked, who was arranging the rent of a room with the innkeeper. With a shriek, she cursed you to dig your own grave in the Urlingwood, in Rashemen, before she vanished in a puff of smoke and flame. Ever since then, whenever you do anything other than travel to the Urlingwood, you have horrible misfortune.
Valen - For three straight months, you dreamed repeatedly about a journey to Rashemen, someplace you had barely even heard of, and visiting the forbidden forest of Urlingwood. You finally decided that you should actually attempt the journey.
Tor - You were hired by a foreign guild of winemakers to find the secret of the jhuild firewine, and to bring it back. Your investigation has led you to the Urlingwood, where you are convinced the wine is coming from.
Berrian - While hawking one day with your father, your hawks were attacked and killed by a strange bird. This bird then attacked you. Your father tried to fend the crazed animal off, but the bird bit off his finger and swallowed it, along with the ancient signet ring of the family. The local wizard performed a ritual, with the startling conclusion that the future fate of the family depended on regaining this ring, but that the bird had taken it into the heart of the Urlingwood, in Rashemen.
Once in the Urlingwood, the party encountered many strange sights. The witches apparently used this place to perform strange rituals, commune with spirits and fey, and other strange things. The party did get into a fight with a number of spirits and beasts. They also found some treasure in a stream, and behind a waterfall, found Sanctity's matching chest, containing a bag of holding. They also found a large tree, the bark of which was what Shadow needed. Lulu completed her geas, and dug her own grave. Tor obtained information on the magic used in the brewing of the jhuild firewine, along with a sample of the grape plants. In an abandoned cottage, Berrian discovered the remains of a bird, containing some finger bones and his father's signet ring.
In the cottage they also found an old scroll, damaged by mud and water, which listed the name of every person in the party, followed by this message: I must thank you again in his behalf. Just present this message to [... unreadable ...] be no trouble [...] Stormwind imprisoned in the Fortress of the Half [...] them so [...] invisible ring [...] free. Once [...] because th[...]
Berrian glanced out the window of the cottage, and saw a large number of witches. Moments later, everything went dark as some magic overwhelmed the party.
Session 2: Saturday, February 20 2010
- DM Eric Wadsworth
- Sanctity tiefling wizard, played by Jeff
- Vaylen drow sorcerer played by Gavin
- Lulu changeling sorceress played by Mieke
- Jackie gnome artificer, played by Brinn
- Peren some sort of mind thingie, played by Jason
The group awoke tied up and chained, in a wagon on the road back to Immilmar, captives of the Wychlaran. They got a nice tour of the city on the way to the Iron Lord's fortress, where they were thrown into the dungeons. They were in the dungeons for a day or so, and got to meet a man named Lethik, who is suspected in the abduction of Nespa, niece of the Iron Lord himself. He claims he was innocent, though, and that Adulura, a witch of some regard in the land, was involved in some way. He said that Nespa was taken by goblins, who headed north.
The party was later allowed a chance to bathe and clean up, and were presented to the Iron Lord, Mangan Uruk, in his fortress. He gave them some assistance, and set them free, due to pressure from the Wychlaran to do so, because of the scroll found on their person. Apparently Stormwind, a powerful treant, is missing, and the witches believe that the party might have a good chance of finding him.
The group spent the evening in the city, and listened to some rumors, in which they learned that both Nespa and Adulura like the same man, Jahalamandar. Perhaps there is more going on here? The next day, they set off along the road to the north, and were attacked by goblins. They followed their tracks to their lair, a hole in the ground. The entrance was guarded by bugbears. Inside, they found some corridors, and had a big battle with a bunch of goblins. They have not yet explored this area, however.
Session 3: Saturday, February 27 2010
- DM Eric Wadsworth
- Shadow drow rogue, played by Michael
- Target razorclaw shifter fighter, played by Michael
- Lulu changeling sorceress played by Mieke
- Vaylen drow sorcerer played by Gavin
- Jackie gnome artificer, played by Brinn
- Torent longtooth shifter fighter, played by Luke
The group tried a couple of doors, and found them to be made of stone, very strong, but stuck. They managed to break a chunk out of one of them. Then they tried another door, and found that it was barred from inside. Inside, a goblin claimed to have some prisoners, and made some demands on the party, threatening to kill one of the prisoners. They managed to get the door open, though, and after some negotiations that didn't make any progress, Vaylen attacked, and a battle ensued. It was very bloody. Inside the room was a powerful goblin, and two powerful bugbears. Several of the adventurers went down, and the goblin escaped, but the prisoners survived. Torrent was in one of the cages, but he broke free, and made it over to his weapons, before going down in combat. He revived himself a short time later, and was able to make a difference.
Unfortunately, shadow did not survive the battle, but was killed by one of the bugbears. The party rather callously distributed his belongings amongst themselves.
The girl Nespa was in one of the cells. She was very grateful for being rescued, and said that Lathik was fighting the goblins off, that were trying to abduct her. She doesn't know why he would be imprisoned in the cells.
A trapdoor was discovered underneath the bed in the chief's chamber, holding yet another prisoner, a fighter named Target. He decided to join the adventuring party.
The group took an extended rest, to fully recover from the really tough battle, then they began the trip back to Immilmar, to return Nespa to the Iron Fortress. On the way, they were attacked my Adulura, some spirits, and a sprite swarm. In the midst of the battle, Adulura vanished. When they delivered Nespa, they told the Iron Lord what had happened, and were given some rewards. The Wychlaran would take care of the renegade witch, according to the Iron Lord.
Session 4: Saturday, March 6 2010
- DM Eric Wadsworth
- Vaylen drow sorcerer played by Gavin
- Jackie gnome artificer, played by Brinn
- Sanctity tiefling wizard, played by Jeff
- Deesa dwarf runePriest, played by Mieke
- Yver human swordmage, played by Jeff's friend whose name the DM forgot
As the party was heading towards the sinister Fortress of the Half-Demon, they decided to duck back into that goblin lair, and see if they had missed any loot. They climbed down the hole, and continued their exploration. First they fought a bunch of rats in a really disgusting part of the dungeon, then they opened up an old tomb of some kind, and fought a bunch of skeletons. Then they got into an ancient temple of Moradin. They found it had been defiled when they were attacked by imps and a crystalline magic trap of some kind. Sanctity managed to capture one of the imps in his portable hole. Deesa, who worships Moradin, was able to re-sanctify the temple. The group tried to get some information out of the captured imp, after killing the others, but were not able to get anything of use, and the imp escaped. The re-sanctified temple itself brought about the imps eventual downfall.
Session 5: Saturday, June 19 2010
- DM Eric Wadsworth
- Jak male gnome artificer, played by Brinn
- Target male razorclaw shifter, played by Michael
- Larn male human shaman from the Dalelands, played by Justin
- Thalia female halfling rogue from Elfharrow, played by Kaylie
- Caffrey male gnome warlock, played by Steve
The Iron Lord, having dispatched one party of adventurers off to rescue Stormwind from the Fortress of the Half Demon, has also dispatched a second party as a backup plan. This is it. He promised them a rich reward for the quest. Jak, the excitable gnome, loves to make silly inventions. His favorite possession is a pogo-stick that converts into a crossbow. Target, strong but silent, has a set of carved dice that he prizes. The shaman Larn has a meat cleaver that he likes a lot. Thalie the mysterious rogue has a family heirloom, a necklace fro her grandmother. Caffrey has a small carved wooden box, full of little treasures and keepsakes, like pretty rocks and papers with doodles on them.
The group were north of Immilmar, on their way to the Iron Fortress, when a heavy rainfall caused them to seek shelter in a handy inn. The next morning, during breakfast, there were a group of strange-looking elves in the common root with them. They had necklaces of teeth around their necks. The elves asked the party to come to the stables and inspect some artifacts that they had found, that they could not identify. The group followed them to the stables, though some of them had some suspicions. Once there, they found a portal leading to some dusty place. After some debate, they went through the portal.
On the other side, a group of Firbolgs captured them. They argued with the elves over an agreement or some such thing, then the Firbolgs released the party into the hands of the evil elves, who immediately attacked. Once the party defeated the elves, the Firbolgs captured them again, and knocked them all unconscious in very short order.
The party awoke to find themselves buried in the desert sands up to their necks, tied hand and foot, with no equipment or even clothing, except for their underwear. They had been there for some time. There were several large anthills nearby, but the ants were avoiding them for some reason. As they struggled to free themselves, a hawk flew overhead and dropped a glass vial onto the ground between them. They got free of the sand and their bonds, drank the water that was in the vial, which got them a little healthier, and discovered that there was an invisible ring in the vial. A message read, "Bring to Gaerradh in Silverymoon". Jak, who was from Lurar, recognized Gaerradh as the leader of the Elven city of Silverymoon. There was also a symbol on the vial, a square with a circle inside, apparently a religious symbol. Perhaps some deity protected them from the ants as well?
Thalia, who was from Elfharrow, recognized this place as likely being somewhere north of the Dead Vale, near Elfharrow. With that information, she realized that the elves who attacked them were part of local tribe of such folk.
Jak fashioned some weapons out of sticks and shards of glass from the vial, and thus armed, they proceeded south. They fought some hyenas, ate the meat, and barely managed to live off of the dry wasteland. After several grueling days of travel through the desert, they met a few humans who helped them out somewhat. Eventually, they found a trail, which led them to the west, and to a small human settlement near a dried-up river.
Session 6: Saturday, July 17 2010
- DM Eric Wadsworth
- Jak male gnome artificer, played by Brinn
- Target male razorclaw shifter, played by Michael
- Larn male human shaman from the Dalelands, played by Justin
- Thalia female halfling rogue from Elfharrow, played by Kaylie
- Caffrey male gnome warlock, played by Steve
- Kinsh'odo male changeling rogue, played by Rick
- Kalhna male tiefling wizard, played by David
- Kai female halfelf warlock, played by Kendra
The group staggered out of the desert, and into a small human village. They were given a good meal, and provided with a barn to sleep in. In the early morning hours, a bunch of small blue gnomelike creatures attacked the village. Ka, one of the patriarchs of the village, ran into the barn and dumped a back of weapons on the floor, and shouted, "help!" before running out again. Everyone grabbed a weapon, and joined the fray.
When it was done, Ka told them that these Xivort were from a nearby den, and that they raided the village periodically. He offered a reward for the destruction of the den. So, with some newly fitted armor, the party headed off into the desert, following directions to a hole in the ground. Two gnomes and a halfling disguised themselves as xivort, and successfully duped a couple of xivort, which they then killed. Then they went down underground, and found some old dwarven tunnels, which the xivort were inhabiting. They finished them off, and returned and received their reward.
(The party achieved level 3 at this point.)
Session 7: Saturday, August 7 2010
- DM Eric Wadsworth
- Jak male gnome artificer, played by Brinn
- Target male razorclaw shifter, played by Michael
- Caffrey male gnome warlock, played by Steve
- Argith male half-elf fighter, played by Josh B.
- Fir male longtooth shifter fighter, played by Josh K.
- Stasi female human cleric, player by Kevin
- Darrak male dwarf fighter, played by Dan
- Aelar male half-elf rogue, played by Andy
The party once-again headed off into the desert, working their way towards the coastline, where they hoped to buy passage on a boat. They were heading for Ankhapur, which is the start of a road leading to Silverymoon. They came across a deep, narrow canyon, with a rope bridge. The bridge was swaying a bit, but not in the wind. It turned out that there were two invisible orcs on the bridge, and after some acrobatics on the bridge, with one character falling off into a pool of water at the bottom, the party got into a terrific battle with these two powerful orcs.
Eventually they prevailed, and found a very strong iron lockbox in the backpack of one of them. Opening it released a cloud of poison gas, and a bunch of air elementals. The party managed to dispatch the monsters, despite being dazed by the cloud of gas. Inside the box they found a small statue of Moradin. It appeared to be extremely valuable, being decorated with valuable gems, including some small astral diamonds! One of the gems on the statue didn't seem to belong. They pried it off, and Stasi put it in her pocket. They wrapped the statue back up in the white silk, and locked it into the lockbox. Some of the characters felt a surge of magic, and they inspected the body of the orc chieftan, and found a rune tatooed into his chest, which burned away as they watched. Could someone have just been alerted to the death of this orc?
The party went on their way at high speed.
Session 8: Saturday, August 28 2010
- DM Eric Wadsworth
- Jak male gnome artificer, played by Brinn
- Target male razorclaw shifter, played by Michael
- Caffrey male gnome warlock, played by Steve
- Fir male longtooth shifter fighter, played by Josh K.
- Xaerax male eladrin wizard, played by Andrew
- Abria female halfling rogue, played by Kristin
- Ebredian male dwarf fighter, played by Kris
After a day of travel across the desert, the party camped for the night. During the first watch, when Target was on the lookout, they were rousted out of sleep by the attack of another powerful bloodrager orc, this time with two dire boars as companions. During the battle that followed, Jak, Xaerax, and Target all went down, but they managed to kill the evil beasts.
They found a more fortified campsite, and finished the night there. The next morning they happened upon an odd structure: a low wall surrounding a large spherical boulder. There were some non-hostile apes nearby, and Xaerax feed them many illusionary bananas, before the party was visited by Pico, the fairy dragon, emissary to Master Vim. Pico encouraged the party to bring the invisible ring to Silverymoon, and provided some health potions for their benefit. She mentioned that the structure they were at was a shrine to Master Vim, a place of sanctuary. Then she flew off.
The party went onwards, and reached the coastline, where they found a small village and spend a refreshing evening at a little inn there. They hired two mercenaries to help them out, along with a skipper named Stu, his ship, and one crewman, and they set sail up the coast. They entered a river with yellow, bad-smelling hot water, and Stu said it led to the Lake of Steam.
Session 9: Saturday, September 11 2010
- DM Eric Wadsworth
- Stasi female human cleric, played by Kevin
- Severus male half-human-half-vampire ranger, played by Gavin
- Darrak male dwarf fighter, played by Dan
- Dari female dragonborn fighter, played by Adell
- Bjorkus male minotaur barbarian, played by Jason
- Lilli female gnome psion, played by Mieke
After several days in Stu's boat, the "Swearing Mermaid", the party arrived at the Lake of Steam, a large inland sea. They became becalmed out in the middle somewhere, and began to row the vessel towards the north, when they noticed an odd formation on the shallow lake-bottom. It was an underwater shrine of Vim! They anchored up, and dove down, harvesting a large pile of oysters. Stasi intuited that Vim would prefer to leave some oysters in his little shrine, so the party did so. Opening the rest up, they obtained nine nice pearls.
Soon another boat appeared on the horizon. It was a longboat full of orcs. When at became apparent that there was no outrunning them, they let them approach, and had an epic naval battle, emerging victorious in the end. This was when they discovered that one of their hired hands, Severus, was actually some kind of vampire. In the longboat, they found the former owner, a minotaur named Bjorkus. He joined the group, having nothing better to do.
That evening, the group was attacked by a giant crocodile and a bunch of enormous leeches, and the "Swearing Mermaid" was lost at sea. The group piled into the longboat (they had been towing it behind), and rowed the rest of the way to the city of Ahkhapur.
Stu received information that a certain blue-haired woman was looking for him, at which point he quickly purchased the longboat from Bjorkus, and set off alone. It turned out that there was some sort of romance involved, as there were love-letters in Stu's bag of payment, along with gold and treasure.
The party was just heading up the docks, when there was a commotion about some sort of "red pearl". A desperate cry for a healing potion went up, as the group was heading towards the temple to Moradin, so they stopped and provided a healing potion. They noticed that a critically injured young man increase slightly in health.
Session 10: Saturday, October 9 2010
The party, carrying their incredibly valuable statue of Moradin, rushed up to the temple gates, only to find them closed for the day. Some investigation revealed that the resident High Priest of the temple was a dwarf named Troar Helmgleam, who was out of town for the day. They decided to wait until tomorrow, and took residence in a convenient inn for the evening. They heard some rumors, include one about a dwarf named Glowerbrow Graglow, so they headed over to his house to chat. On the way, they were attacked by a band of thieves, and discovered that the thieves were hired by Glowerbrow himself. They obtained the trust of the city guards, and returned to their inn.
The next day, they battled their way through many layers of bureaucracy in the temple, before getting to talk to Troar himself. There was a great celebration at the return of the statue, and the party was given rich gifts, in the form of magical equipment. Glowerbrow went to the dungeon. Before the party left, they met with Troar one last time, and learned that Vim had a little assignment for them: enter a certain crypt, and retrieve an invisible ring from some necromancers in it.
Before they left, the party did a bit of shopping. Jak found out that some of his old gear, stolen by the firbolgs, had turned up at a store in town. He repurchased it.
The next day, the party arrived at a crypt marked by an ancient statue of a giant frog of some sort. Inside they dealt with skeletons, poison gas, zombies, and a wraith, and retrieved an invisible ring from the hand of a deceased necromancer.
