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Adventures In Strange Places
A 3.5 D&D Campaign run by Matt

We begin with a motley crew trapped within a slavers den - a monk, a ranger and a….scout. A series of adventures (mostly surrounding a series of severe beatings dealt out by half orcs) led to the escape of the brave PCs. They found themselves on the lamb in an unknown desert far from home and with a large hole in their recent memories. Through luck and a bit of Rangerly skill the group survived long enough to reach a nearby town. Here the subject of slavery cropped up for a second time - a local tradition often favoured when dealing with strangers. Fortunately the team met up with a 'friendly' neighbourhood magus (Nathaniel) who was only too happy to provide them with the means to remain free - at a price.

The next few weeks saw the group greatly expanded as more displaced amnesiacs joined the bizarre team. Equipment and the much prized 'goo' was doled out by the mysterious Nathaniel in return for the pursuit of a pair of magical 'seeds', an altar and a skull that contained dark secrets relating to a group of necromancer-priests seeking to sow dissension in the area. The first seed involved a return to the same slave pens that the PCs had fought so hard to escape from, the second caused them to visit the tribal stronghold of Earthsblood, a strangely technical town inhabited by desert nomads (sorry - ex-nomads). Brushes with the law, Poisoners, Priests and a few maraudering kobolds resulted in the group missing the second seed by moments as it was whisked away down an underground river and into an underdark trading enclave. With persistence, bravery and a little outright insanity the intrepid (and still as yet unnamed) team followed.

A thrilling boat journey uncovered the fact that (A) no-one in the group knew how to steer a boat and (B) no-one knew how to stop a boat travelling at speed. Following a short conversation with an annoyed sorceress whose dock they had totalled, the group once more set off after the seed. The trail led to a small kobold tribe camped in the ruins of an abandoned drow settlement. The PCs boldly assaulted the entrenched kobolds and remarkably managed to slaughter 50 or so before they were forced into an alliance with the kobold king against a nearby orc tribe. All the PCs had to do was assault the orcs, behead their chieftain and return for their payment (the skull shaped seed). Aided by a kobold inspired explosion the PCs swiftly captured the outlying regions of the orc citadel, dealing death to orcs that never even got close to touching them. This incursion introduced the team to their first ghost and a brush with lycanthropy.

After securing the outer levels of the orcish warren the PCs claimed the area for the kobolds, only to find that the kobold King had decided to renege on his agreement (not a huge surprise for the heroes). Internal battles within the central orc stronghold looked set to remove the orcs as regional players and the kobold King had found other buyers for the seed (the Drow). A difficult confrontation between the half a dozen or so PCs and a kobold army of 60 plus was interrupted by a local warlord/magician known as Balance. Once again the team plunged into the thick of things (in case an army of kobolds wasn't thick enough) as they once more braved the orc warrens and plunged head first into a four way civil war at the behest of the sorcerer, Balance.

With masterful cunning (largely surrounding the use of surprise missile weapon fire against scattered groups of embattled orcish warriors and their human allies) the team gained a foothold within the war torn citadel and proceeded to question the odd prisoner or two. Oddly, the beautiful sorcerer/monk proved better at intimidation than a dwarven priest of the War god and a 6-foot tall warrior. Information was gained and it was soon revealed that he civil war was a free for all between four factions:

1. The orcish King and assorted loyalists.
2. A pretender to the throne backed by humans (Knights?).
3. The orcish priests backed by human tribesmen (and the mysterious 'Teg').
4. Any orcs that did not fit into the other categories but were interested in their continued right to draw breath.

Although there were four factions only factions 2 and 3 seemed to be of importance, two outside groups scheming to gain the resources of the orcs. A little information supplied to the sorcerer, Balance, has been rewarded with the final acquisition of the 'seed'. However, having fulfilled their original goal they have now been asked to corner the Teg - a Teg apparently being a form of unseelie (a dark fey). With the battle zone largely cleared the team now have a clear chance at this odd foe…

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