Cross-posting this from the new official WotC Tymanther board--delete or replace with link if you're dying for bandwidth, mods. Original message follows:
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Due to the overwhelming response to my first thread, I've decided to start up a whole new one so replies don't get lost. I just wanted to give a quick recap of the My Realms modules I ran at our last OwlCon, primarily for the benefit of players who will be returning this year (I can barely remember the mods I played last week!), but also to make the rest of you jealous.
Durbak's Rock:
A small island (Durbak's Rock, named for a hermit dwarf who lived there over a century ago), off the coast of Tymanther, had been abandoned since the Spellplagues, as shipping routes had changed with the restructuring of the Faerunian landscape. Pirate attacks on shipping trade between Tymanther and High Imaskar had escalated, and some ships reported seeing a light from the old lighthouse on Durbak's Rock. The PCs were hired by a representative of House Salva, a dragonborn mercantile house, to investigate. Outfitted with a small ship, the PCs were charged with landing on the gently-sloping eastern portion of the island, traversing its jungly width to the cliffs on the east side where the lighthouse was located, and investigating the sightings.
Upon arrival on the island, its wild nature became quite clear, as fey creatures, sometimes known as "Redcaps", beset the adventurers just as they were making landfall. Vicious battles ensued, with party members being punted up and down the sandy shore. Eventually prevailing, the parties
traversed the island, which seems to border closely on the Feywild.
Finding the lighthouse with little difficulty, it became obvious the installation was no longer abandoned. A large "No-man's-land" had been cleared around it, and barricades installed. A pair of caged tigers were spotted, and a mechanical construct patrolled the battlements. As the heroes approached, the arbalester raised a loud alarm, bringing the occupants out to do battle. The gnome Silas, along with his wife Shelley, tried in vain to defend their position, with the help of Silas' construct and the two large cats, but were eventually overrun. Shelley died in the fighting, but Silas escaped by jumping out a window, apparently to the rocky waterline a hundred feet below.
Examination of the area after the fight revealed that Silas, the gnome, had been working in conjunction with a group of pirates who were ensconced in a cavernous harbor below the lighthouse, supplying them with mechanical constructs in exchange for the trained tigers, and operating the lighthouse to aid them in navigation the deadly reef protecting the mouth of their hideout. The tigers also revealed some anomalys--a strange brand was found on the right rear paw of each, resembling three tentacles within a circle. They also seemed to be unusually docile when responding to the gnome's commands. Furthermore, the parties discovered the pirates stationed here were part of a larger, loose confederation planning to stage a large-scale surprise attack on several other groups of adventurers, near a group of recently-discovered sea caves up the coast. The pirates had been instructed to report to the Ship of the Gods, a volcanic island which sank beneath the waves in the Spellplague.
(check out some pics and a player review of this module--and OwlCon in general--at
tailslap.blogspot.com/2010/02/ale-break-...
Pontoon Paradise :
Yeah, stupid name. Shut it.
In
Durbak's Rock, adventurers learned that several groups of pirates were meeting at the Ship of the Gods to stage an attack. In a desperate bid to identify the mastermind of this plot, General Arrat of Djerad Thyman, through intermediaries, hired a group of powerful adventurers to investigate (and ideally put a stop to) these machinations--and quickly.
Sailing swiftly to the location, the adventurers found that, while the volcano may have (mostly) sunk, a small outpost had sprung up on the location nonetheless. An immense patch of seaweed, several feet thick, had somehow congregated about the site, and the pirates, enterprising wretches that they are, had covered much of it in wooden pontoon platforms, creating a semi-stable "land mass" to use, both for docking and for construction of several simple shelters.
Attempting to tie up to the local docking facilities, these paragons were beset by the aquatic guardians of the area: several sahuagin, one of whom was mounted on a dire shark. Swallowing ensued.
After this brief skirmish, the adventurers spoke with a seedy old fellow who appeared to be the local equivalent of an innkeep. Basically just a guy with a giant booze stash, he quickly coughed up what little information he had--a fellow by the name of Alistair was responsible for these shenanigans. Most of the pirate crews had already departed to launch their surprise attack, but Alistair remained, nearer the center of the pontoon city.
Of course, the PCs sought this fellow out. It turned out the volcano had not sunk entirely, but only a small portion still extended above the surface. That small portion, however, was enough for Alistair to use as an anchor for the seaweed patch, which he summoned with his Druidic powers. The PCs, arriving at the center of the camp, found the druid Alistair, in the company of Silas the gnome, performing ritual overwatch for the distant pirate crews. Breaking up the love fest, the PCs swiftly banished Alistair to another plane, kicked the crap out of his friends, killing the gnome in the process, and stood around in a circle waiting for the druid to eventually escape his extradimensional prison. Eventually he did...to his great dismay, his waiting party was patient. A veritable blizzard of pain rained down upon him, leaving him no option but to adopt the form of a raven and fly for his life. He didn't make it far. He was last seen sinking beneath the waves, covered in Magic Missile scars and sprouting arrows.
Investigation of Alistair's effects revealed he was operating under orders from someone by the name of Lord Trask. To what end is not yet known. Unfortuately, the druid's death also resulted in the breakup of the seaweed supporting the outpost, so any information regarding the motives of Alistair is now lost to the sea.
Hope to see all of you at OwlCon in January! We'll pick up some of these threads then.
(Also, hope to see all you other OwlCon authors post a little recap here, too!)