Dragon Storm Card Based RPG

Presented by Art by Susan Van Camp

The Five Stones
by Mark Rosenberger

Dragon Storm Main Page

“The Five Stones” by Mark Rosenberger (09-21-98)

Introduction:

This is a Dragon Storm scenario for 5 characters of 25-30 card point value. Adjustments may have to be made for higher or lower point counts.

Characters are recruited by an Ancestor Spirit to travel to a small valley several days travel from where they are. The local Valerian master not only approves of this, but insists that the players go. When they get there, they find a place untouched by Warp Storms, but where a rather powerful necromancer has decided to make his new home. Their mission will be to drive this necromancer from the valley or kill him, without turning the locals against Valerians or shape shifters.

GM Section:

The Politics Involved in Laurel Valley:

Laurel Valley looks small, and the people look simple, but underneath lurks deep politics. The people here are an ancient breed, who had very little contact with the outside for hundreds of years. Because of this, the people have almost no dragon's blood. The population is mainly humans, but there is a fair number of elves who tend a forest to the west of the village. Dwarves are not native to Laurel Valley, and are not normally seen in town. However, dwarves are respected here, because the only outside contact this valley had for many years was through a clan of dwarves that had a clanhold in the mountains to the east. This clanhold kept the valley a secret for reasons that were lost when they were completely destroyed right after the Death day Massacre. Players will have to travel through this clanhold to get to Laurel Valley.

Because there is no dragon's blood in the people of Laurel Valley, the people here believe they have been spared the wrath of the Dragon Storms because there are no shape shifters here. This is so pervasive, that even their ancestor spirits believe this! A shape shifter found here will be attacked almost immediately, as the people do not know the difference between shape shifters and mad spawn. They also have a general mistrust of Witches and Wizards, but respect Shamans and Spirit Speakers of all types. The Priestesses of Elethay here are all Shamans.

The presence of a Necromancer in the valley should have created quite a stir. Drennon York, however, is a masterful diplomat. He has managed to deflect most accusations against him and has made a few friends. His cover is that of a scholar. His overall plan is to take a few hostages under the guise of teaching them, and use that leverage to secure his position here.

The Valerian Council was made aware of the situation from rumors picked up through the ancestor spirit channels. They had orc scouts check the valley and found it to be extremely important. They resolved to send a team in there, but then discovered the problems. . .

The Channel Stones:

This valley is the home to 5 large and powerful Temple Channel Stones. There are 4 of them in the 4 corners of the valley, and 1 in the Temple of Elethay in Laurel Village. These stones are not only powerful, but they actually detect shape shifters, especially dragons! Actually, they were set up to announce the presence of dragons in the valley so that the town could prepare a proper reception for them. The local dragon clan, however, lost the battle for the clanhold to the dwarves (one of the few that the dragons lost during the Clanhold Wars) so the whole operation became moot. The dwarves knew the stones were of value to the dragons and therefore kept the valley a secret.

The stones, however, had to be able to distinguish a real dragon from background magic or those with just a little dragon's blood, therefore the stones will ignore any shape shifter under 35 card points. It will ignore any Unicorn or Pegasus under 40 card points, and any Orc no matter what his point value. These stones also detect any warp spawn of 30 points or greater. For warp spawn traveling in a group, the stones total the value of ALL warp spawn in the group to determine whether they are detected. Curiously enough, normal witches, wizards, shamans and are not detected. Necromancers are normally not detected, even those with warp features, unless they get close to one of the stones. Any being meeting the criterion entering the valley must make a resistance roll. The stones get +2 and +1 for each 5 points over the minimum that a character or being is. The stones winning means the was character detected.

If the stones detect a "dragon" then the main stone in the Elethay Temple will begin speaking in a strange tongue (at least to the locals.) Although it sounds like grunts and hisses, it is actually Drakkentung. The locals will assume that the stone is warning them of a dragon invasion or dragon storm and will rally the troops. This has happened several times in the past, when warpspawn have tried to enter the valley. Because of this, the people trust "The Stone" and its warnings about "dragons." The humans of the valley know nothing about the 4 other stones, however some of the elven elders know that there are others linked to the center one and the elven hunters of the area know exactly where the north-west one is. The elven temple of Elethay is located at the south-west stone.

Drennon York cares very little about the Elethay Temple, so is not likely to find out about the other stones until he has been in the valley for a long time. If the temple channel stone in the Elethay temple is warped or converted to a Jikadell stone, it's special powers will cease until it is cleansed. If all 5 stones are converted, they will regain their detection powers, but will now detect warp creatures of 35 points, and shape shifters in groups! Note that if only the center stone is warped or converted, the other 4 will work against this, and possibly turn it back.

Drennon York:

When Drennon York's flying warp elves found this place, they reported it immediately. York had been fighting a losing political war with several other necromancers and decided to go to check this place out. What he found amazed him. Although there were no shape shifters here that he could detect, the place was completely sealed off by high mountains on all sides making it an ideal hiding place. Furthermore, Laurel Valley did not show up on any map that he knew of. The local's fear and hatred of shape shifters could be useful as well.

York's plan is to set himself up as a scholar, and use this place as a refuge, while he slowly converts it to his domain. He uses teleports to get into and out of the village, and uses the excuse of "research and studying" for a week to cover his absence. He is not ready to risk actually draining a shape shifter in Laurel Valley yet; not until he has full control.

After setting himself up as a scholar from another place, he has convinced the local dignitaries to send their children to him for training. He is not only training these children to be Apprentice Necromancers, but he will use them as hostages. He will then wait until they are old enough and corrupt enough and then kill their parents off in a scene that will promote hatred against shape shifters. At that point his apprentices can take over, with York controlling the real power. A brilliant plan if he does say so himself!

Well, maybe not so brilliant. He has been at this for five years, and has been caught casting spells by some of the local spirits. These have not only tipped off the local Priestesses of Elethay, but also the ancestor spirits loyal to the Valerian cause. The priestesses have been reluctant to do anything, since being a wizard is not illegal, but they are keeping an eye out in case he turns out to be a shape shifter!

Creating Drennon York is easy: Use Imrys Tyn Vial , add Toughness , Wealthy , Charm and Perception . Drennon has the following spells, ability cards, and items available:

4 x Teleport 2 x Fatigue 3 x Stun Blast

3 x Fire Fingers 2 x Detect Shape Shifter 1 x Wizard Wings

3 x Warp Blast 2 x Poison Shot 2 x Pain Blast

3 x Good Moves 1 x Dual Action 3 x Dispel Magic

1 x Soul Gem 1 x Essence Drain 3 x Trust in Me

3 x Persuasion 1 x Spot the Hidden 1 x Fire Shield

1 x Belt Pouch 3 x Vale of Refreshment 2 x Healing Potion

1 x Short Bow 2 x Delarian Gems 1 x Magic Item (GM Choice)

Drennon's usual combat tactics is to blast off with all of his action cost 0 cards, then use his Dual Action to use his Vales of Refreshment to recharge those spells.

All of Drennon's Apprentice / Hostages will be alike. Creating them is easy. Use an Apprentice Necromancer , add Health . Give them the following spells, ability cards, and items:

1 x Detect Shape Shifter 1 x Fatigue 1 x Stun Blast

1 x Fire Shield 1 x Good Moves 1 x Persuasion

1 x Healing Potion 1 x Hooded Cloak 1 x Belt Pouch

Drennon has specifically made sure that these apprentices know little about what is happening. He is teaching them that shape shifters are evil and need to be killed, but has not shown them the true leanings of necromancy.

Female Apprentices will also get Charm and 1 x Pain Blast . Drennon is vain and only takes the better looking of the women. He uses them as his personal harem, and uses the excuse that they can only learn certain things by sleeping with him.

Currently Drennon has 1 Male and 3 Female Apprentices. There are also 3 younger male "students" at the school with him, but these are too young to learn spells yet.

Laurel Valley:

Laurel Valley is made up of 9 land cards in a 3x3 configuration. Cards below the terrain card indicate scene cards associated with that terrain:

North-West North North-East

Stormland Forest Stormland Forest Stormland Plains

Elethay Temple Ruins Elethay Temple Ruins

West Center East

Stormland Forest Stormland Plains Stormland Plains

Trade Village Trade Village

Elethay Temple

South-West South South-East

Wooded Highland Stormland Plains Stormland Plains

Elethay Temple Ruins Elethay Temple Ruins

All around these cards are Stormland Mountains cards. To the East of the North-Eastern Stormland Plains is a Scene card of Deserted Clanhold. This is the dwarven clanhold that players will have to travel through to get into or out of the valley. Drennon York gets in and out of Laurel Village via teleports through the Northern Stormland Forest.

The Elethay Temple Ruins scene cards indicate where the Temple Stones are located.

The Trade Village in the west is the elven village. It is a very small village of elven farmers. There will only be elves encountered here. The village leader is a Priestess of Elethay named Almira Greenleaf who is also secretly a Witch. She is teaching one of her adepts to take her place. Greenleaf will oppose York if she finds out that he is a necromancer, but otherwise is against all "dragons." Greenleaf does believe, however, that unicorn's are good and sacred.

The Trade Village in the center is Laurel Village. It is actually a fairly large town by Stormland standards. There is no sign at all of Warp Storm damage. Water is free here at one of several public wells. Food is available at 1GP per ration, or 5 rations for 4 GP if you buy in bulk from one of the elven hunters. More on Laurel Village in that section.

The Elethay Temple in Laurel Village is a grand place, unlike many Elethay Temples these people flaunt the fact that they have one and are proud of it.

The Scenario:

Starting out, pre Scenario setups:

Before starting be sure that you have a feel of what all the players are. Make a list of all the players to make it easier to award RP points. Also at this time, have all the players roll 2 dice 5 times and write down the results, along with their name and their character's name. These rolls will be used later to determine random outcomes. So that the players do not fudge the rolls, let them know that the rolls will either be used for their side of the roll, or the GM's side, and that rolls will be used in random order. Once you have the sheets back, assign each character a number. This is the order in which rolls will be judged for random unknown rolls.

Part one: Not a Chance Encounter:

Cards: Wooded Highlands, Restless Dead, Nighttime Encounter, Ancestor Spirit (0 point value)

The players are together because they are shape shifters and Valerians. If there are non-Valerians in the group (beginners), they are being recruited on a "bogus" mission. If there is not a scout or fighter type in the group, add in a Foxwing Renegade with Scout background.

Read to the players, 'You are on patrol west of the town of Rock Peak looking for Mad Spawn or anything else that might disturb the town. It is nice in the woods around Rock Peak, and you have just completed your sweep of this area of the Wooded Highlands. You are getting ready to sleep, I need to know what the watches are going to be.'

After players determine watches, find out who will be on duty at midnight. They get the encounter. Player(s) involved get to make a perception + WIS contest to see the spirit before he announces himself; the spirit gets +3 on his roll.

'You hear a rumbling voice that wakes the sleeping almost immediately. "Arise and attend to me" echos through the woods. You see before you a spirit of an Elf in regal clothes carrying a staff topped with a crystal eagle. The eagle moves, as if alive.' Give players a chance to say what they are doing, most of them should pay attention to this spirit. Y'vreen Tyr will speak at any Shaman in the party, or if none at everyone in general. "I am Y'vreen Tyr, I was lord of this land before the first human came to hunt and trade in my trees. I may go wherever there is my blood among the trees of my rule. It is thus that I have been chosen to come to you."

"You are to travel west for three days and meet with Lincus the Wolf at the large rock in the bend of the stream. These orders come from Nigel Stonetooth with the blessings of Kassandra herself."

If players ask Y'vreen any questions, he will only answer questions posed by a Shaman or an elf. Others he will answer but he will be evasive. If asked about whether he approves of their being transferred, he will brighten up and say, "It is a major hardship, I assure you. Protecting my lands is of the utmost importance, and giving you up may cause me sorrow. But this is a job which must be done!"

Y'vreen Tyr will follow the players if there is a Shaman or friendly elf in the group for one more day and then leave; that is the edge of his territory.

Day 1:

Cards: Wooded Highlands

There are no encounters this day. Hunting is good for those that have it.

Day 2:

Cards: Stormland Forest, Warpspawn Maraurders

There are 3 Warp Elves and a flying Mad Spawn who will see and attack players immediately. Two of the Warp Elves will stand off and shoot bows, while the Mad Spawn and the last Warp Elf attack on the ground. These are part of Drennon York's army, though players will probably never find that out. They are out hunting shape shifters. Elf #2 will only use his stun blasts on a shape shifter. #1 and #2 will run if things go badly for them. They will try to get the others as well, but will leave them if they have to. They will report known shape shifters to York or one of his apprentices. #1 and #2 will always target flying creatures first.

Warp Elf Archer #1 Warp Elf Archer #2 Warp Elf Archer #3 Mad Spawn

Bat Wings Bat Wings Bat Wings Bat Wings

Quickness Evil Genius Four Arms Poison Claws

Hide in Cover Detect Shape Shifter Good Moves Vigorous Strike

Scouting 2 x Stun Blast Boosted Strike

Lightning Bolt

If the players manage to kill any of the elves, they will find equipment and gold. The food and water that they are carrying is not edible by un-Warped creatures. Elf #2 is also carrying a map showing the general area. The map will show Laurel Valley on it, but players will not know this. If players think of asking, it is this bunch that they were sent out to guard Rock Peak against.

Day 3:

Cards: Stormland Forest, Odkin Encounter, Wandering Mentor (points only), Cave, Kassandra (used for Lincus, 0 pts), Griffit.

The players come upon a beautiful forest area. There is a merging of two streams one from the East and one from the West, that then head south. Near the nexus of the streams is a large rock. Players will have to make a scouting roll, or come up with some way of finding the stream intersection and the rock.

As they approach the rock, players may notice the Griffit watching them from one of the trees outside. The Griffit is trying to hide, but is not that good. Use player random roll #3 for the Griffit, and player rolls of 4,5,7,10,8. Player rolls have already been modified to account for Griffit trying to hide. If they see the Griffit and take any action, the Griffit will fly away and then try to circle back to its master Lincus.

At the rock, players can make a +WIS -2 contest roll to spot the hidden entrance there. Any player using a Spot Hidden card finds it automatically. If the players make enough noise, Lincus will hear and come up himself, though he only prefers to come out at night.

Once they find the entrance, they will see a cave. It is dark in there, but any Witch or Wizard in the group will sense the presence of Od in higher than normal amounts.

Deep in the cave, they will find a campsite. It appears to be deserted. Lincus is nearby studying the players. He will quickly realize that they are the people he sent for and come out.

Read to the players: 'You see before you a tall creature that appears to be a Werewolf, though he has human hands and a somewhat human face. He speaks in a rather gruff almost wolfish voice, "I see you are not late and managed to find my lair. Sit down and be comfortable because I have much to tell you." "I am Lincus the Wolf," he says, as he starts lighting one of several lanterns in the area. "I am the Valerian scholar of this area, it is my job to study the past to gain knowledge to help us in the future." "This is my library," he says, moving aside a stone revealing many scrolls and tomes.'

"You must help me put together a mystery, and stop a terrible evil before it takes hold. There is a place several days from here in the Landrune Mountains which I will take you to. It is an abandoned clanhold which belonged to the dragons and then the dwarves which I have visited many times in the past. It has only been recently that I learned of its true secret, however."

"We always believed that the Landrune Mountains were solid and impassable. The dwarves that owned the clanhold until the coming of the storms told us thus. Other sources agreed. It seems that this is not true, however. There is a small valley beyond the first row of mountains. The dwarves kept this a secret for many years. At first this seemed odd, then I found the true reason."

"During the clanhold wars, the dragons did not win all the battles. A few clanholds were won or kept by the dwarves, usually the ones that the dragons really did not care about. This clanhold was one that the dwarves took from the dragons and kept. Because the dragons that held it were killed, nobody knew the secret of the valley beyond, and all of the dragons went to the void and did not linger."

"The dragons of this clanhold were an enlightened bunch, and early on brought settlers into their private valley to work there on farms, fields and workshops. These dragons would trade with the humans and elves, but wanted to be respected. As far as I can figure, they never interbred with the humans or elves of the valley, and therefore there are no shape shifters there, nor are there likely to be any in the future."

"The dragons knew that the Od from the surrounding area would kill the humans that they meant to occupy the valley, so they placed several Temple Stones around the valley to absorb the excess Od and channel it away. I have yet to figure out where. The stones here, however are different. It has taken me quite a while to figure it out, but I finally located references to what they did. It is most interesting, and helps explain a lot of things."

"You see, these channel stones also have a secondary property of detecting shape shifters, dragons, and warpspawn. There is a larger stone in the village in the middle of the valley. If any dragon entered the valley, the outer stones were set up to detect this dragon and alert the humans to prepare for his coming. The problem is, they never got to use this ability, because that dragon clan was destroyed in the clanhold wars that occurred soon afterward. The dwarves knew all about the stones, and it was in their records that I found what I have now. Evidently their gargoyles created the effect."

"Now for the bad news. You see, the locals despise shape shifters, mainly due to the fact that they do not know the difference between shape shifters and warpspawn. You see their "warning stone" tells them whenever "dragons" enter their area, and they rally the troops. This is so pervasive that even their ancestor spirits believe this."

"This problem stumped me for a very, very long time. Then I finally found the key to the whole thing! You! I found a passage which indicated that gargoyles would also activate the alert signal. However, a young gargoyle passed through without activating it. This is the reason I need you. You are still young, and hopefully still able to get through the stone detections."

"I have recently also discovered the secret passageway through the clanhold into the valley. It was so well hidden that I walked past it many times and never realized it was there. When I got through I felt a pulling and heard in the distance a voice speaking Drakkentung. It was announcing that the dragons are coming. I quickly put the facts together and left back through the passage."

"Oh yes, I almost forgot, you need to know what your mission is. Well, you see, I am not the only one to have discovered this pocket valley. It seems that there is a Necromancer in town. Well, I think he is a Necromancer; the locals just think he is a magic user. These people are so barbaric that they do not trust any kind of magic user except Shaman. One of their Ancestor Spirits caught this guy York casting spells. Rumors travel fast through the spirit world. I sent a bunch of Orcs and Orc Spirits to check the place out, and they confirmed that there is indeed a Necromancer in there. Drennon York is a bad one. Lord knows what he wants to do to that valley. What he's up to, I do not know, but I know it is not good."

"I know I should tell you everything, but I can't. I cannot risk Drennon York getting the information from you. Heaven knows I am taking a risk letting you know where I live. But know this: the valley is far more important than even I thought. It is imperative that it not be contaminated by the Warp."

"I will make it simple. You need to go into an area totally hostile to shape shifters to thwart a Necromancer of some power, without turning the locals against us. You will not know what the Necromancer is up to, and you will get no support from anyone. You all swore an oath to take whatever steps it took to free our land. I am now asking you to take this mission based on that oath as a Valerian."

Players should mumble a bit about this, and finally agree. Lincus is open to any and all questions, and will answer them to the fullest. The one question that will get an interesting answer deals with "what are you?" or "what form are you in?" This answer will get the following, "Interesting you should ask that. You see, those of us with mixed blood can shape change, but some of us, as we get older, slowly lose this ability. I can no longer change into a wolf, or a man. I am stuck in a half-werewolf form, though I can still change into a werewolf if I really want to, but this form suits my purpose just fine. You see, a hermit is not concerned about his looks. Now you, on the other hand, would be quite hampered stuck as I am. Hmm... Actually I have found many references to certain types not being able to shift after they get older. I only started to lose my ability after I had turned 220. Most werewolves do not live to see 200, especially now, so this is rare. According to legends, Dwarven Gargoyles get stuck in Gargoyle form and cannot become a dwarf again. Pegasi get stuck in the middle, and end up looking like elves with wings, though they can always change into full pegasus form. Dragons never seem to lose their ability to change, and older ones seem to be able to change into other forms as well. I have read of one dragon who could change into an elf, a dwarf, and even an orc. Rumor had it that he also preferred to change into werewolf form! Unicorns are like dragons, with the older ones able to take many forms. They seem to be unique in the fact that they can change their sex at will, being a man or woman as they feel like it. Well enough of this, we have work to do!"

Part 2: Travels with Lincus:

Card: Stormland Mountains

Lincus will gather the group together and cast a teleport. He will pump a lot of points into the spell to carry everyone, and even more points to take them much further away. Players will arrive in a mountainous area. Lincus will give them one more speech. . .

"Ok, from here, you must travel west one day. Look for the abandoned clanhold. Once inside look for the relief of the gargoyle on one wall. On the opposite wall, you will see what looks like a small dead end. This is really the entrance to the hidden valley. I will make sure that there is someone here to take you home when you return." If there is the Foxwing with the group, he will say the following, "You," pointing at the Foxwing, "must stay behind. There are no Foxwings in the valley. It will be best that you guard the entrance in any case."

After that, Lincus will cast another teleport, and be away. Players should camp here. There will be no encounters that night.

The Clanhold:

Cards: Stormland Mountains, Deserted Clanhold

The players make a days journey through the mountains and hopefully make a scouting roll and find the clanhold. If not, let them wander another day and find it automatically.

The clanhold is a wondrous place, even for a small one like this one. It becomes obvious that dwarves owned this one because of the pictures of tunnels and dwarves digging and finding things. Any dwarf in the party can tell that at one time this was a pretty rich clanhold with gold mines in the surrounding mountains. It appears that they were wiped out during the initial Deathsday Massacre or soon afterward.

After wandering a bit, let the players make contest rolls to find the gargoyle relief. If they make it fully (a tie indicates failure) then they will find the entrance to Laurel Valley. Players will most likely want to stay the night in the clanhold, if not, try and steer them that direction. There are no encounters in the clanhold.

Enter Laurel Valley: (North-East)

Cards: Stormland Plains, Elethay Temple Ruins

Players are now in the North-East territory of the valley. This place looks like a fertile farmers dream, with plains stretching far across to the west. From these highlands they can see forests to the west of them, plains to the south and south west, and what looks like a sizable town in the plains to the south-west.

Unless players are actively looking for it, the channel stone is almost invisible. Players looking for one can make a normal contest roll at -1, players not looking for the stone and just scouting, get to make a contest roll at -3. If they find the stone, it may prove interesting. Only a witch or a gargoyle will be able to determine anything about the stone, unless someone is a scholar or has an ancient lore ace. Anyone making their contest roll can get the following: The channel stone is ancient, active, and sentient. It appears to be able to see, and sense the area around it for many miles. The markings on the stone indicate that it was made for the dragons by dwarves and blessed by a very powerful priest of Elethay. There are no signs that this stone has been worshiped at for many years, in fact, the stone appears to be hidden. The stone is actively gathering Od and sending it somewhere. Someone thinking of a way to figure out where and making her contest roll will also find that it is sending Od to another stone in the direction of the town.

Laurel Valley:

Players are now in Laurel Valley North-East. They can more from area to area. Area details will be listed in the sections below. This is not the order that players will visit them. See the map below. Players can move either one area across or diagonal at a time.

North-West North North-East

West Center East

South-West South South-East

North-West:

Cards: Stormland Forest, Elethay Temple Ruins

There is not a lot here out of the ordinary. Unless players are looking specifically for it, they will not find the temple channel stone hidden here. Even if they are looking for it, they will need to make a contest roll -3. There are a few scattered elvish farmers here, but they will also be impossible to find unless players are specifically looking. Wandering around here, however, is most likely to bring players to the attention of Almira Greenleaf.

Random Encounters on 8+.

North:

Cards: Stormland Forest

This is a broken forest with plenty of streams and animals. When players enter here they will see a small clearing in the distance. All of the sudden a figure will flash in, steady his feet, and then cast a spell flashing out. This is Drennon York teleporting through. The players can investigate and find that there are 4 marking stones dug into the four corners of the clearing. They have stumbled upon the necromancer's method of getting in and out. Recognizing York again will be a normal contest roll when they see him again. Other than that, there is nothing here. The York encounter above is the only encounter in this area, there are no random ones.

North-East:

This is where the players entered the valley and detailed above. If players go back here they can have a random encounter on a 9+.

West:

Cards: Stormland Forest, Trade Village, (others).

This is the site of the elvish village. The village looks like a well ordered tree grove until players get close. In the lower branches of a few huge trees are what look like tree houses. There are also a few buildings on the ground, but these appear to be nothing more than livestock pens and storage huts. This village has many elvish farmers, a few craftsmen and little else. Food is cheap here, only costing 1/2 GP each, though the elves here will look at the gold oddly. They are not used to that kind of stamping on the gold. Water available at the village pond.

There is one person here that may be of value here. Almira Greenleaf is the local priestess of Elethay. She is a Shaman and also secretly a Witch. While she does not trust most shape shifters, she has great respect for unicorns and most likely anyone that a unicorn would vouch for. Almira had heard rumors of a dragon in the area and has had her acolyte Jessica out looking for it. This is the witch in Random Encounter #6.

Random encounters are on a 10+ here.

Center:

Cards: Stormland Plains, Trade Village, Elethay Temple

See the Laurel Village section. Random encounters here are different and handled there.

East:

Cards: Stormland Plains

This prairie is little used except for herds of sheep and taurs. To the south you can see more plains and then mountains. To the east are impassible mountains. To the north is more plains and then mountains. To the west are more plains with a town in the center.

Random encounters are on an 8+ here.

South-West:

Cards: Wooded Highlands, Elethay Temple Ruins

This is a fairly dense woodland area. Players searching and making their roll will find a clearing near the base of a mountain. In the center of the clearing is large Temple Channel Stone. It is easily apparent that people worship here. There are inscriptions of Elethay everywhere. It is interesting to note that she is depicted with pointed ears here, except for one of the inscriptions on the stone. There she is shown as a wise woman with pointed ears, a mother carrying a child with round ears, and as a dragon fighting with her claws where a young warrior maiden should be. There are also two other symbols here of interest. One shows a unicorn greeting an elf, and the other shows a winged elf with a bow.

Players coming here the first time will always find it deserted. Otherwise there will be people worshiping here and a 2/6 (1 or 2 on a 6 sided) chance of Almira or Jessica being there. If a 1 is rolled, it is Almira, a 2 indicated Jessica. At no time will both be there, it is too risky.

Random encounters are on a 8+ here. If random encounter #5 is rolled here will always be attacking stack #6 with one extra Mad Spawn.

South:

Cards: Stormland Plains

There are farms in the northern part of this area, but no major encounters. You can see the mountains to the South, South-East, and South-West. There are Wooded Highlands to the West, a town to the north, and more plains to the East.

Random encounters occur on a 9+ here.

South-East:

Cards: Stormland Plains, Elethay Temple Ruins

This is a rocky barren plain. There are small foothills in the South and East which are backed up by larger mountains. To the West is more rolling plains. To the North-West, there looks to be a town; it is barely visible even from here. To the North is more plains.

If players search for it, they will find the Temple Channel Stone hidden behind a small ridge. If they are not searching for it, they will not find it. A Find the Hidden card played will automatically find the stone.

Random encounters are on a 10+ here.

Random Encounters:

Each day they are outside Laurel Village, players must make a roll for random encounters. Use the initial player rolls to determine whether there is an encounter. Cross off the rolls as they are used. If there is, the GM should roll 1D6 to see which one it is. There are only 6 random encounter card stacks. Stacks can be reused, but any cast members killed, should be removed from the stack. If a stack becomes empty and that encounter is rolled, roll a second time. If that also hit an empty stack, there is no encounter.

Encounter Stack #1 Encounter Stack #2 Encounter Stack #3 Encounter Stack #4

Elven Farmer Human Fighter Human Farmer Apprentice Necromancer

Elven Farmer - Toughness Human Farmer - Detect Shape shifter

Elven Farmer Human Fighter Human Farmer - Stun Blast

Even Fighter Human Fighter - Charm - Fire Shield

- Agility Human Fighter - Good Moves

Encounter Stack #5 Encounter Stack #6 Encounter Stack #6, more:

Mad Spawn Human Wizard - Good Moves

- Bat Wings - Witch - Good Moves

- Toughness - Charm - Persuasion

- Tentacles - Sense Dragon ** - Persuasion

Mad Spawn - Health Even Fighter

- Bat Wings - Strength - Toughness

- Muscular - Storm Shield

- Four Arms - Healing Bolt

** Roll Again

Notes on Encounter Stacks:

* Stack #1 and Stack #3 are farmers taking wares to Laurel Village, or coming back.

* Stack #2 is a wandering constable patrol, on the look out for dragons and other shape shifters.

* Stack #4 is York's male apprentice. He is an arrogant sot named James Hungrass. He is the son of the local sheriff. He is out hunting for dragons. See town section for more on him.

* Stack #5 is a pair of Mad Spawn who have made it into the valley. They are being hunted by the group in Stack #2. They are dangerous. (**) When this encounter is rolled, roll again for encounters, on a 7+ they are attacking another group, roll 1D6 to determine which group. If you roll another 5 it means that there are more Mad Spawn, add another Mad Spawn with Bat Wings. Then roll again for encounters as above. (It is possible to get a lot of Mad Spawn if you roll badly!)

* Stack #6 is Jessica Meadows, the witch apprentice of Almira Greenleaf. Jessica Meadows is an elf, not a human, but appears human in her cloak and robes. She can sense dragons like the Orc boon. If she spots a dragon, she will inform Greenleaf. She appears to be a girl of age 16. Her companion is a massive elf fighter, who appears to be her bodyguard. Actually he is an acolyte himself at the elvish temple.

Laurel Village: (Center)

Laurel Village is a really misnamed. It is actually a fairly large town. The first thing that players should notice is that the population is almost totally human, with only a few elves to be seen, and no dwarves, vermites, orcs, or any other races at all. The second thing that players should notice is that there is no signs at all of warp damage. All the houses and shops here are in beautiful condition. The last thing that players should notice is that the population in general is healthy and friendly. They are not as wary of strangers as stormland villages, and children even play in the streets. The people here, in general, do not carry around weapons, and do not look to the sky every 10 seconds like the people outside do.

Buying Things, Shops and Farm Markets:

There are many shops in the village selling everything from crocks to fine jewelry. Players can purchase any non-magical, non-weapon item they have the card for at 10% off. Weapons are not sold here. There are taverns a plenty here, and they are well stocked with beer, ale, mead, wine and rum. A good meal with plenty of liquids will cost 2 GP. Food is plentiful here with two different farm markets selling things from sunrise to sunset. Unprocessed food costs 1/2 GP / ration. Dried or cured food costs 1 GP / ration. Water is free at one of many public wells.

The Temple:

The Temple of Elethay here is far different from the ones outside. Unlike most of them outside this valley, this one is not hidden. It is a large, grand place in the very center of town. There are three spires that can be seen from anyplace in town. Inside the large triangular building is a very large Temple Channel Stone. The villagers will say that the stone talks and warns them when dragons are coming to attack them. They will say that it is because of the stone and Elethay that the village is as safe as it is.

Players wishing to pray at the temple may. They will notice very nice paintings of the goddess around the temple. She is shown as human here, in her normal phases as young warrior maiden, abundant mother, and wise woman. Players will note immediately that there is a priestess on duty 24 hours / day around the stone. There is also 1-4 town guards there as well. Shaman will note that there are also a number of ancestor spirits in the temple. If a dragon player walks within 20 feet of the stone, he must make a resistance roll against the stone with no modifiers. If he fails, the stone will say "Young one" in Drakkentung, which is like a hiss of steam. The priestess and guards will be surprised and stare at the stone, waiting for it to bark out another warning. The priestess will then get Feyora, the head priestess and tell her what happened.

Players also get to roll 2D6 for encounters if they are in the temple for more than 10 minutes. If they roll a 9+, the stone will start squawking, and the guard will be summoned. Anyone that knows Drakkentung will know that the stone just said, "A dragon has entered the valley, prepare for his arrival." The stone has just detected encounter #5 entering the valley, unless players have defeated it already in which case it has detected another group of 3 mad spawn with bat wings who become a new encounter #5.

Feyora Stonehauser is the head priestess of Elethay in Laurel Village. She is a very old lady with a grand motherly smile which acts as the best poker face in the area. Feyora knows everyone in town and will realize instantly that the players are strangers here. She will be even more curious if the stone identified a young dragon in the group. Otherwise, Feyora is always interested in new people, since the local legends say that this valley is sealed off from the outside. Players may have to explain to her how they came to be in her valley. As long as players are not overt magic users, shape shifters (that she can tell), or thieves, they will be accepted. Coming to worship at her temple is always a good sign. Feyora is not into gossip and will not say anything about York except that he is a scholar and is teaching some of the locals for a price. She, however, has her suspicions about him.

Feyora and York are not on good terms. It had been that the temple was the only place of learning in town, and people had to be destined for service there in order to learn to read and write. In this way, the temple kept control of the bookkeeping and records of the town. York's teaching children has been an a front to the temple, but not illegal. Feyora would love to shut down York's operation, but has no good reason. The fact that some of the spirits in town caught him casting spells is not enough. However, if he were a shape shifter. . .

The local Garrison:

There is a local guard here made up mainly of constables, but with a few regular warriors who defend the city from the "dragons." Players wishing to buy weapons must get them from the local garrison and must have a very good reason. If they manage to convince the local constable chief that they have a good reason, they will be allowed to buy weapon cards at 50% off.

Players causing problems may end up in the local dungeon here. The court meets once a week to dispense justice. Punishments range from a small fine to beheading.

York's Place:

York runs a small school here. His prices are very steep and only a few can afford to send their children here. Classes start with reading and writing, but include history (warped), mathematics and magic for the special few. Drennon York will probably not bother to check the players for shape shifters unless they are obviously strangers in this valley. If he does find out, he will take appropriate action. He does have the basement of the building set up to drain a shifter, but will not use it unless he has to, or is ready to. Most of the time Drennon will be in his study on the top floor. Sometimes, according to people there, he spends weeks at a time up there. The first floor has a classroom and a small library. This is where the students are taught. The second floor is for acolytes and apprentices and currently is mainly empty except for his 4 apprentices. The top floor is Drennon's own and includes another small library.

Other Places of Interest:

This is a large town. There are a number of things that players may attempt to do here. Most common things should be no trouble for the GM to improvise.

Other People of Interest in Laurel Village:

Besides Feyora, there are a few other people of interest in the village:

Munther Hungrass:

Munther is the local sheriff and chief constable. He is responsible for keeping order, catching thieves and repelling the "dragons" who enter the valley. His responsibility officially ends at the town border, but in reality extends to the whole valley. Munther is an overweight, arrogant man, who likes to wear very fancy clothes over his armor. He is known around the village as a man obsessed with his work, but in reality he leaves most of the tough stuff to his underlings. The constables and troops love Munther and will do anything he commands. One of the reasons for this is that Hungrass is a party animal, and throws private bashes just for his people. Munther's oldest son, James, is York's only male apprentice. James has been roaming the territories trying to find shape shifters. James is the apprentice in encounter stack #5. Like his dad, James is very arrogant, but not yet overweight.

Rudman Highfield:

Highfield is the Lord Mayor of this town. It is a curious position. The Baroness position is hereditary through the female line. When his wife (the Baroness) died, Rudman became the temporary ruler of the town until his daughter Gwendolyn is old enough to rule. Right now Gwen is 17, she must be 18 minimum to claim the crown, but can wait until she is 25.

Rudman is a jolly fellow, known for walking around town and talking to anyone who will listen. He is famous for always having a slate board and scribe with him, and diligently writes down and acts on all complaints that he hears. There are more than a few around town who would not mind if Gwendolyn never claimed the crown.

Gwendolyn is another story. She used to be much like her father. Now she is different. Three years ago, her father sent her to learn from a new tutor in town named York. Gwendolyn is now part of York's plan. York has twisted the girl into a power hungry monster. She wants to learn more spells and get more power. So far, York has not taught her any Necromancy. He is afraid that if she were to learn too much, she would not need him any more, and he is right. Gwendolyn plans on learning what she needs from York, and dumping him.

Gwen is an extremely pretty girl with an outward smile. She will use anything that she has to get what she wants. She is actively sleeping with York and trying to edge out the others in his harem to become his favorite. She only leaves York when he asks her to, or when she must attend her father. Rudman knows nothing about his daughter's changes. Gwendolyn will take the crown as soon as she has learned enough from York. She wants this to be soon, and is getting tired of his delays teaching her new spells.

Clairessa Fieldmason:

"Clair" as she is best known, is the town gossip and match maker. She is secretly a witch who has been trained on the outside. As a girl she found the clanhold entrance while herding sheep. She met a witch hiding there, who taught her a few tricks. She mainly uses her witchcraft to heal and play matchmaker. She knows that warp is bad and that necromancers make it, but she does not know that York is a necromancer. Clair is a good source of all kinds of useless information, however! She knows Healing Bolt and Scrying Pot . She also has Charm , 4 x Persuasion and 4 x Rumor Monger.

Random Encounters in Laurel Village:

Once per day in the village, players roll for encounters. Use the player rolls that they made at the beginning of the scenario until you run out. Any player going off on their own automatically rolls for an encounter. An encounter is 8+ on 2D6. If an encounter happens, the GM should roll 1D6 to see what kind it is.

1 & 2 - Minor Encounter: merchants, pickpocket, whores, tavern brawl. . . the usual.

First encounter in a tavern is Carlotta, see below.

3 - Constable patrol stops players - first time questions, second encounter may bring them in.

4 - Important Local Spots players - Feyora, Munther, Rudman, or Clair may talk to players:

Roll: 1 = Feyora, 2 = Munther, 3-4 = Rudman, 5-6 = Clair.

5 - Stone sounds warning, guard is summoned to repel the dragons

6 - Mad Spawn attack Village - Use stack from outdoor encounter #5 for Mad Spawn and

stack #2 for the town guard involved. Note that is encounter #6 is rolled before #5,

use #5 the first time.

York's Other Apprentices:

Besides James Hungrass and Gwendolyn Highfield there are two others: Carlotta Woods and Michellyne Knott. Both are daughters of wealthy and prosperous local craftsmen.

Carlotta is striking, redheaded young woman of 18. Her father wanted her to learn to read and write and therefore sent her to York. Carlotta learned extremely quickly. Her interest in all of this is more curiosity than power hunger. Drennon actually prefers Carlotta as his favorite, but officially keeps Gwen there, because Gwen is so important to his plans. Unknown to Carlotta, Drennon, and everyone else however is the fact that her father is not from here. He too, found the deserted clanhold and traveled through it to escape the storms. Carlotta has dragon's blood in her and if ever exposed to a warp storm, will turn into a dragon! Her father, likewise has dragon's blood in him, but is too old to change.

Carlotta, also known as "Cat," does not like the school and cannot wait to turn 21 and have her apprenticeship ended. When she is not busy learning, she can be found in one of the local taverns. She is quite a flirt, and will automatically be attracted to any male dragon player.

Michellyne Knott is a beautiful raven haired girl of 16. She is very tall, and has elf like features and skin but not the ears. Her father turned her over to York as a last resort. Because she looks so much like an elf, she was picked on and left out of most of Laurel Village society. She was Drennon's first student 5 years ago and has learned much.

Michellyne likes Drennon better than her own father. She wants to learn more from him and get more power. She dreams of knocking off Gwen and Carlotta and having Drennon all to herself. Unlike the Gwen who sleeps with Drennon to learn things, or Carlotta who does it because she is pressured to, Michellyne actually likes it. Michellyne only rarely leaves the school and a lot of times can be found teaching younger children downstairs. Michellyne knows that Drennon is up to something, and wants to be a part of it.

How to Fool York's plans and Accomplish their Mission:

There are many ways the players can do this. Some common ones are listed below:

Kill him:

This is not as easy as it seems. Players would not only have to kill him, but manage to do it without causing damage to the Valerian cause.

One way of doing this would be to intercept York at his teleport point in the northern forest. The chances of an ancestor spirit seeing anything there would be remote.

Another way of doing this would be to get Gwendolyn or Carlotta mad at him and then to "defend" the woman from York. Gwendolyn would be very upset if she were to find out that she did not need to sleep with him to learn more and that he was holding back. Carlotta would be more difficult, but if Carlotta is ever taken to the old dwarven clanhold she will change into a dragon. The main temple stone will cause the same effect interestingly enough, but this may cause severe problems for everyone!

The last way of killing York would be to maneuver the mad spawn and York into the same area. The mad spawn are too stupid to understand why York was not helping them and would call out to him for help. In this way, the town guard would become suspicious of York, and players may be able to attack him without repercussions. This way is not easy!

Discredit York:

The easiest way to do this may be to just expose the fact that he is sleeping with the Lord Mayor's daughter before she is married! The facts that he is sleeping with two other women at the same time should be enough to chastise York.

Another way to discredit York would be to show that he is not in his study when he says that he is studying, and that he uses magic to teleport in and out.

A third way would be to show that the mad spawn belong to him.

The last way would be to show him as a necromancer and prove to the town as to what necromancers do. This town is leery of magic users and may go along with it.

If discredited he will turn to force to rule the town. Gwendolyn will probably back him and Michellyne will definitely. Carlotta will probably duck for cover, and James is a toss up as to whether he backs his father or his mentor. York will use a persuasion on James to try and sway him. York will also try and call in as many mad spawn as he can, and he has 4 Warp Elf Archers with Bat Wings waiting to fly in from the north. If it looks bad, York will teleport away, taking Gwen and Michellyne with him if he can.

Force York to face the Stone:

Almira Greenleaf is a witch and understands that warp is bad, but not where it comes from. She also has an army of ancestor spirits at her disposal. If the players can find and convince Almira of what York is she would move against him. Almira also believes in Unicorns. Should a unicorn player character change for her, she would do anything the players ask.

Almira and Feyora are not on the best of terms, but still respect each other. Feyora would still listen to anything Almira said and trust her. If she were in doubt, Feyora would demand that York stand before the stone. Players may also be able to trick York into coming near the stone.

A necromancer getting near that powerful a stone would cause interesting effects. The stone would immediately drain him 1D6+6 ace cards, cause him a lot of pain and speak at him in Drakkentung saying "away defiler" which sounds like a booming roar. This should be enough to turn the whole town against York. Faced with those odds, York will abandon the town as quickly as he can using a teleport if he has one left. If he gets stuck there, the townspeople will attack him. What happens to his apprentices is interesting:

Gwen will run back to her father who will take her in. She will secretly use the knowledge she has gained to help her rule. Her taste for power blunted by her brush with death.

Michellyne will run away to live in the remote areas of the valley where she will become a bandit queen. This is assuming that the townspeople do not attack her as well.

Carlotta will flee as well, and may end up coming to players for protection, even though she does not know why. Having her with York when he faces the stone would be most amusing! If Carlotta does not find the players, she will most likely seek out Clairessa who will tell her how to find the way out of the valley. Players may find her in the clanhold on their way out, crying with shredded clothes lying all around her.

James has no morals or loyalty and will attack his master with the rest of the guard. He will claim that he was on to the guy all along and just waiting for the right opportunity. His real feelings however will be shaken, as York preached against the dragons. He will wait a long time and seek out Almira and the elves to confirm things. Almira will convince him that not all shape shifters are evil, the same as not all humans or elves. In the end, James' natural personality comes through and he takes over for his father with in office, spirit and girth.

Provoke York:

Laurel Village is very leery of magic users of all types. If players can provoke York into a fight, and only fight using weapons themselves, York may use magic. Players might also identify themselves as shape shifters to York, but nobody else and then run outside as a human. York would keep after them. Players then could yell for help from the guard. This is most easily done by one player, with the others coming to "aid" the first when she yells for help. York would revert to his old self and chase down a shape shifter at all costs, throwing spells like crazy.

After the fight, York will either be dead, or discredited and leave. Aftermaths as above.

Other Ways:

Players may think of something else that I have not. If it sounds reasonable let them go for it. Make sure that they remember what the goals here are.

The Real Reason the Valley is Important:

Unknown to the players, but known to Y'vreen, Lincus and Stonetooth is the fact that these Channel Stones are very active. They always thought that it was the Landrune Mountains that diverted dragon storms from the area around Rock Peak. It seemed funny that this area only got the rare storm that approached from the south.

The Laurel Valley Stones are filtering out the warp from a large area, which includes most of the Landrune Mountains. Now that Stonetooth knows the full power of the stones, he will do everything that he can to prevent their being tampered with. This will probably involve a group staying in the valley to fight off Warpspawn and Necromancers and a second group to hold the clanhold.

The final piece of the puzzle is this: where is the Od going? It certainly is not being sent back into the clanhold from the central stone. The answer is that the Od from the collector stones is being sent to the center stone and then straight back into the Earth where it emerges all over the place. So far, Lincus has not figured that out, but he should in the very near future. GM's using this scenario may have it be that the Od is being channeled to another clanhold on the other side which still has dragons in it, or anyplace else that they want to.

This site is copyright to Susan Van Camp 2007. Art on this site is copyright to Susan Van Camp.

Please do not download or use the art from this site in anyway without the express approval of Susan Van Camp.

e-mail questions to Susan at svancamp@mac.com

For Questions about Dragon Storm, or the web page, e-mail Mark at markharmon@mac.com

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