Combat Map - Turn 57

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

GoM: What Lurks in the Woods - GM Turn Post 1

In the interest of keeping momentum, we can start the next adventure without new character sheets but cannot go too far.
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Shortly after your last interrogation of Gellion, Mayor Sandra Trinelli reaches out to you directly to request a meeting at your earliest convenience. After arriving at Saringallow Town Hall, the party is lead to the Mayor's office.

Golden beams of light stream into this comfortable-but-official room’s picture window, illuminating a cluttered wooden desk and an empty chair pushed haphazardly to the side. Between the window and the desk strides Mayor Sandra Trinelli, who, brow furrowed, has clearly worn a pacer’s path into the plush red carpet. Noticing her visitors, she sighs in determined resignation and steps behind her desk, leaning over it gravely.

“I’m glad you’ve arrived,” she says, a measure of relief creeping into her strained voice. “Our town is dealing with its share of troubles right now, and this unknown menace beyond our walls has me the most worried.”

She takes a deep breath as if composing herself, and sits carefully in her chair, assuming a self-assured posture that seems to come to her much more naturally.

“Specifically, we may have a goblin problem,” the mayor continues. “I’ve recently received reports of goblins lurking in the woods outside of town. There have been no attacks yet—only minor damage to fences and some stolen sheep, I’m told—but we can’t afford to let our guard down. Given how we suffered during the Goblinblood Wars, we can’t assume that these scattered sightings are meaningless when they might very well mean that a major warband is about to descend on our heads.

“Even worse, it seems that these goblins are covered in some unholy manner of filth—even more so than normal! If word about that gets out, well, folks might start to panic. We are a superstitious lot here in Saringallow, as I’m sure you know.

“In short, we need to move quickly and deal with these goblins before they become a larger threat. Sending members of the town guard out into the woods, though, could leave us open to attack. I’m sure you see my dilemma.

“This is where I’d like you to intercede, my friends. Find out where the goblins are coming from and who—if anyone—is leading them, then take out the threat. I can offer you a bounty of 5 gold pieces for each goblin you kill, 10 gold pieces for each goblin dog, and an additional bonus of 100 gold pieces if you bring me proof that you’ve destroyed their camp or otherwise dealt with whatever additional threat they pose.

“Most of the sightings have originated from the area northwest of town, particularly near the homesteaders out by Clover Stream. That’s probably a good place to start your investigation. Aside from that, I’m afraid I don’t have much else to tell you. Unless you have any specific questions?”

12 comments:

  1. "What constitutes proof? We can understand cutting ears off of Gonline or dogs, but the camp...?"

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    Replies
    1. I imagine that providing a description and location of the camp will be proof enough.

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  2. Does anyone have any more questions for the Mayor?

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    Replies
    1. Are there any more objectives except the elimination of the Goblin threat? Anything else that may or may not be lurking out there?

      We left off with Nixa) in the west. Is this consistent with Northwest from the Mayor's office? Anything extra for Nixa?

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    2. Do you know anything more about this strange "unholy filth" they're covered with?

      Is anything else that you know of happening in that area that would displace them toward the settlers -- fire, flood, war, drought?

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    3. As far as Nixa is concerned, no sign of her has yet been found. The woods are large and range to the southwest, west and northwest of Saringallow. They eventually turn into foot hills and then mountains.

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    4. Are we to actively look, or not. It would take a lot of time , especially if we flubbed a tracking roll.

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    5. That is not the mission from the Mayor but Nolaria and, to some extent, Gellion have asked that you look for her.

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  3. As far as lunkers are concerned, there is nothing that the Mayor knows about. She does have something to say about goblins and goblin dogs:

    “Goblins are vicious little monsters that live in the woods, caves, or anywhere
    they’ve sunk their claws into, really. Alone, they aren’t so threatening—but groups of them are dangerous, and hordes of them are terrifying. The abhorrent beasts seem to feed off each other’s chaos, so things quickly get out of hand when they’re involved. In general, though, goblins hate dogs and fear horses, but they love fire. I also hear that they’re very superstitious about reading—they believe that it steals words out of your head, or some such nonsense.”

    "Goblin dogs, oh, they’re terrible, the hideous, rat-faced things. Goblins seem to love them and often use them as mounts. Don’t let that fool you, though. Goblin
    dogs are just as dangerous, if not more so, than their wicked little masters.”

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  4. The Mayor is not sure about the reports of "unholy filth" having not seen it herself but descriptions sound a lot like the Demon's Bile you told her about.

    Regarding goblin movements, the Mayor says, “There is no local goblin tribe. Goodness, no — we’d never suffer a goblin tribe to live within a stone’s throw of town. Isger in general is crawling with the little beasts, though, and these latest sightings might herald a band that’s recently come together to threaten us. However, the last of the proper tribes in the hills were wiped out decades ago.”

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