Fire Wormz Tribe

The Fire Wormz tribe is a small goblin tribe northwest of Quall. They live in a series of caves found in the rocky hills a little over a day away. Usually the tribe numbers around twenty five to thirty but has sometimes spiked as high as fifty. They generally don't cause much trouble for the town although they sometimes attack lightly defended travellers. Attempts to wiped out the tribe has been less than successful as they are adept at hiding in the numerous caverns. Not much was know about them until Torrzag's appearance. He happily regaled audiences with his tribes tales.

"Long before the goblins lived in the city of Arrganz at the foot of a mighty mountain in what is now known as the Fire Mountains. Ogres ruled the city. They indulged in any desire without thought of consequences. If food supplies ran low in winter they thought nothing of letting the goblins starve or even cooking them to quench their hunger. Their superior strength forced the goblins to submit to their every will. The foolish Ogres thought they were the ultimate race.

Unbenounced to anyone, the great Fire Worm lived beneath the earth. Awakened from it's slumbered, it listened to the surface dwellers and was not pleased. In a fit of anger several mountains exploded in fire. The life giving sun vanished behind a cloud of ash and smoke. Liquid fire poured forth from the mighty mountain destroying all in it's path.

The large arrogant brutes panicked. They ran in every direction. Stupidly trying to grab their valuables without regard to others. Ogres trapped underneath fallen debris were left for dead. Gold and gems were saved only to have the owner die later due to starvation. The king stood defiantly before the liquid fire expecting to simply push the opponent aside with his mythic shield. Sight of the burning king caused more than one Ogre to drop everything and flee.

Despite all the surrounding chaos, the goblins stood together. The first great king, Nartax, organized my people. One group set off to acquire food supplies. Another gathered materials for shelter and warmth. The last group secured weapons for the tribe's protection and hunting. Meeting up on the southwest side, they abandoned the cursed city.

The great Fire Worm observed the destruction of Arrganz. Seeing the smallest folk's resolve while the giants panicked impressed the God. The earth opened up before King Nartax. The great Fire Worm rose below. Most fell to their hands and knees before the God but the King merely bowed his head. Rangmun, the first to prostrate in veneration to the God, stepped forward. As the first prime servant, he would speak for the Fire Worm. In return for continued adoration, the Fire Worm ensured their safety. Since that day the Fire Wormz tribe has never submitted to another mortal."

King Gok currently rules. Intelligence is not Gok's best attribute. Strength forms the basis of his rule. The line of succession is chosen by the King and usually includes a son. Torrzag held a respectable level of social standing until recently. The King's inability to envision life beyond the present existence brought Torrzag into conflict with him.

The king's friend, Mersit, occupies the position of prime servant to the Fire Worm. Torrzag's knowledge on the worship of the Fire Worm is limited. Every year a trip to the volcano that destroyed Arrganz is made to give a sacrifice. Usually the sacrifice is an animal or some objects. Torrzag is unsure why a particular date is chosen for the sacrifice. It is usually during a hottest period of the summer. The contingent sent to perform the sacrifice isn't even consistent and may very in size and who is sent. Torrzag sometimes think the prime servant just makes it up to appear important. Overall he doesn't seem to have a high opinion of the clergy.

The tribe typically survives on mushrooms and small game. Occasionally they will take down larger prey but that is more commonly done for feasts. Raiding travellers account for most of their possessions. Loot is distributed based on kills so aiding others accounts for nothing. Torrzag seems to resent that model. Mariage seems very usual to the goblin bard. The strongest male goblin chose who they will mate with. Usually they take several women although sometimes a woman is willing to accept other mates on the side. Since Torrzag came to town the Fire Wormz tribe has engaged in some trade with Quall. With Torrzag's apparent falling out it is unsure if this will continue.

The Hamlet of Quall

Here's a small version of the town map. I haven't decided how much is going to be known by the bulk of you - but Torzzag will certainly know more than most of the rest of you.

How you all met

Okay - here's the start of where we can "get to know" the characters and how they met up. I'm writing in some background here that will hopefully help get things moving along, and since Torzzag (Dennis) is the closest to a "local" in Quall - this setup involves him as the centerpoint.

Notes from Torzzag's Journal
5 Edund 1002, Sunday (Karan at no-moon)
A cold, biting rain has drenched Quall and the surrounding area. This is good for the late season crops I'm sure, but it is also good for me - since it means many of the farmers will be coming into the Pale Pony tonight.
Lyanna and I have taken to conversations about her father when time permits. She misses him greatly, but I am sure the conversation helps.
This morning I received an ill-greeting by one of the Tolad children - a ball of mud tossed at me that struck me across the face. Retaliating would have been worth it - but his mother was quick to scold him and usher him away - so I let the issue drop.
Last night, a half-orc passing through Quall happened to enjoy my performance well enough to leave an entire gold piece as a tip. When most of my tips come in the form of various coppers, this is a welcome addition to my wallet. The half-orc left this morning, so I probably won't be seeing that kind of money again anytime soon.
18 Edund 1002, Starday (Karan at almost half-moon)
The rain of two-weeks past is all but gone and has been followed by a delightful few days of warmer weather. Again - this has helped the local crops from what I have seen, but more importantly, more merchants have been coming through the area for their last venture before the frosts of the winter.
This morning, I made acquaintance with the sheriff, Robert Salters. A unpleasant man, it appears the rumors of his corruption are true. Just in the moment of our meeting, he was greeted by a son of the Altarians with a small bag of coin. The exchange was little more than a hand-off and I was good to avert my eyes to feign ignorance. Best to be staying on his good side or at least outside of his notice. Tough to do since I am the only goblin in town... Our conversation was limited though, and was abruptly interrupted when his deputies came running up with a matter to call his attention.
Locals in the tavern are getting too accustomed to me performing though, and even though there are ample-enough singers and performers to keep the variety up - I seem to be garnering the smallest share of tips on my performing nights.
[End of notes]

Here's the start of things and how I am planning on setting it up. If any of you have specific changes, let me know - because little of this is written in stone.

30 Edund 1002, Earthday (Karan at almost full)
Weather: Cloudless and sunny, cool, brisk Fall day.
Characters: Torzzag, the goblin bard; Zelos Wilder, the human druid;
Scene: Zelos arrives in Quall just after midday, coming from his forced eviction from his homeland. Torzzag, as he customarily does, meets newcomers to gather new stories, legends and information for his own use in story, song or personal gain.

1 Xantis 1002, Freeday (Karan at first day of full moon)
Weather: slightly cloudy and mostly sunny. Cool, brisk Fall day.
Characters: Torzzag; Zelos; (doug), the half-orc barbarian; (renee) , Vestele Siannodel, the moon elf battle sorcerer; (tim), the human necromancer
Scene: Zelos stays overnight at the Pale Pony, Vestele arrives at midday, having heard of a goblin bard in these parts and is curious; (tim) arrives after nightfall - just before the action of the campaign starts (Torzzag is performing at the Pale Pony on this night)
(doug) and (renee) are unknown quantities - will have to write them in here somewhere. is not the half-orc mentioned in Torzzag's notes above.

General Serthen Info

Here's some of the more useful, boring information I will be using throughout the campaign. This is just basic Calendar information. For the most part - the calendar is irrelevant unless you guys actually want to use it (and is only for my purposes of the history of my world.

Calendar
Spring
Althair (30 days)
Defcall (30 days)
Sarthem (30 days)

Summer
Rayven (40 days)
Falts (30 days)
Guthal (30 days)
Vendes (30 days)

Fall
Zantis (40 days)
Fendet (30 days)
Edund (30 days)
Xantis (40 days)

Winter
Walthic (30 days)
Janitus (30 days)
Perthair (30 days)

Days of the Week: Sunday (Sunday), Moonday (Monday), Godsday (Tuesday), Waterday (Wednesday), Earthday (Thursday), Freeday (Friday), Starday (Saturday). Pretty much the week works out as a modern day week. Most of the "upper class" takes Starday and Sunday as days off from work; for most of the rest of the world, they take one or two days off here and there when it is reasonable to do so.

Serthen has one moon (Karan) which has 52 days between the first days of its full moon. The campaign is starting on the date of 1 Xantis 1002 (Freeday). Karan is entering the first day of a full moon.

As said elsewhere, Quall is located in a location that is between a temperate and arctic climate. So while the summers are reasonably warm, the winters are fairly cold and snowy. Picture Northern Canada if you like (though this location is in the southern hemisphere in Serthen).

Just the Facts

Okay - I've decided to use this space for both informational purposes and to roleplay between adventures when needed. If the format turns out to be ineffective - and another format is desired - let me know. I'm just using what I know (which admittedly is not very much when it comes to blogs...)

Anyway - the first adventure is scheduled for Friday, November 9th. I hope all of you can make it - but if not we can reschedule if needed.

I'm still waiting on the specifics of all of the character concepts, but if I get them all in time - I would like to start off the group introduction here until the action really starts (so we don't have to have a huge amount of exposition at the start). Unfortunately, this is very difficult to do without character backgrounds and reasons to be at the starting location.

If I am particularly ambitious, I might also use this blog to give a more narrative story of the adventure as it unfolds. We'll see if I get the time for it though.

In the next post, I'll include the general information about the town you'll be starting in as well as a relatively worthless map to reference...