This post should be the first of many with notes from my current Pathfinder campaign, Return to Freeport.
-Nate
Return to Freeport
Campaign Notes
The
PCs:
Al—Leonard
Melachion, human male inquisitor
Aric—Kenton
Fuso, human male fighter
Brent—Birgir,
human male fighter
Geof—Templeton,
human male rogue
Michael—Hector
Nicolai, half-elf male sorcerer
Todd—Abinacki
of Ibstock, human male cleric of the Sea God
Session
1—Curse of the Brine Witch—20
August 2019
(We
took the first part of this session for creating characters.)
While
the PCs were passing through the Fool's Market, Gamey Rind reacted to
Hector, spewing information about “the biting eye,” “the
crone's red claw,” “the black blood of the poisoned earth,” and
“too many missing and not enough dead.” When the passersby
started to crowd the PCs, Templeton (more subtly) and Birgir (less
so) managed to back them down.
Shortly
thereafter they met Little Nell, who led them to Scurvytown for a
meeting with Lady Jane at the Torchlight Academy. They heard her
story, mostly via Nell, and decided to help. The PCs set up watches
to keep an eye on Lady Jane, while Templeton patrolled the street
outside the Academy.
During
the night Hector had a nightmare about a ship crewed by damned souls,
disembodied arms reaching out at him from the fog, and a fleet of
ships flying Mazin flags. Kenton woke him up from it. While on watch,
Birgir fell asleep, but Leonard was awake when a ghostly hand
appeared and struck Lady Jane with some kind of curse. It caused her
considerable harm, but Leonard raised the alarm and Hector hit it
with a magic
missile
to dispel it. The PCs decided to continue their investigation in the
morning.
Session
2—Curse of the Brine Witch—27
August 2019
The next morning the PCs started investigating. Hector took the black
powder to the Wizards' Guild, but they couldn't identify it. Abinack
went to the Temple of Procan, but had similar results. Templeton did
some asking around the Eastern District and Scurvytown, and met some
people who'd suffered various afflictions. There was also talk of
strange disappearances. Eventually the party ran into some pirates
who were attacking a woman they said was cursed; the PCs defeated
them and saved her. At another time they found a man who was being
attacked by a sand-blighted swarm of rats, which they managed to
slay.
From there they picked up a trail of black sand and followed it to
the Chambers Asylum, which had been boarded up. The PCs forced open
the door and entered. They were ambushed by a trio of azhar
buccaneers, but turned the tide against them. After some more
exploring they found three more buccaneers, led by First Mate
Nejhira; they outfought the pirates and captured her.
Session
3—Curse of the Brine Witch—3
September
2019
Continuing their exploration of the Chambers Asylum, the PCs set off
a trap in the kitchen, and then found a krenshar in the pantry. Its
howl brought more of the creatures, and the PCs fought them off with
a brave stand in the common room. Abinack stood over the uncounscious
First Mate Nejhira to ensure that she was unharmed. After confirming
that the ground-floor dormitories were unoccupied, they headed
upstairs.
Templeton tried to sneak up on the cultists, but failed; Birgir
attempted to vault their barricade, but crashed into it instead. Even
so, Hector put to of the cultists to sleep, and the rest of
the part slew the other one. From there they met and talked with
Clement Moore, and decide to bind him with shackles and bring him
with them. They also found three more cultists in the treatment rooms
and defeated them, too.
Finding the stairway that led to the underground level, they headed
downward. After examining the high-security cells, Kenton found the
secret door to the hidden laboratory. Zabreen the Magnificent,
protected by a shield spell and moving on the ceiling because
he could spider climb, caused the party considerable harm with
his burning hands. Abinack kept the PCs on their feet by
channeling positive energy, however, and using a combination of
ranged attacks, spells, and creative melee efforts (such as rolling a
large barrel under their foe, or having one character boost
another—they won the day.
Session
4—Curse of the Brine Witch—10
September 2019
Following their business in the Chambers Asylum, the PCs kept First
Mate Nejhira with them; they decided to let Clement Moore go after
questioning him. The next morning they headed to the Docks to visit
the Scalded Man, which they found occupied by a half dozen
crew members. After some consideration, they decided to leave Nejhira
there, with the possibility of doing business in the future.
Heading back into town, they were ambushed by Eyebiter, Constance
and a pair of snipers with crossbows; they won the fight using
weapons, spells and pursuit up to the rooftops to outflank their
foes. They were also attacked by a doru, which they defeated.
Arriving at Kafe Ilkin, they learned more about the divs and what
they might be doing in Freeport.
Session
5—Curse of the Brine Witch—17
September 2019
After their visit to Kafe Ilkin, the PCs were taunted by another
doru, who told them Little Nell was in danger. They went to check on
her, and arrived just as she was stricken down by the Brine Witch.
Another doru taunted them again, this time mentioning Arzu from Cafe
Ilkin. Rushing back there, they discovered that the azhar alchemist
was missing, but did manage to find a potion of see invisibility.
Using that they tracked yet another doru back to the Brine Witch's
lair, which they stormed, and managed to slay their foe.
Session
6—The Abyssinial Chain—24
September 2019
During their downtime the PCs have been staying at the Torchlight
Academy; they have taken to calling themselves the Torchlight Crew.
In the interim, Lady Jane, Little Nell and Arzu have recovered.
When approached by Maldemer Drum, all but Kenton agreed to be
interviewed. Hector told about his encounter with Gamey Rind;
Templeton mentioned the black sand and the Chambers Asylum; others
told of the Scalded Man and its crew, the assassins and Arzu;
tracking the Brine Witch to the abandoned house, and the final
battle. Somebody boasted, “As long as we're around, Freeport is
safe.” Templeton might have said something about freedom, justice
and honor.
The next day, after the story ran, Abigayle Wynt found them at the
Academy, and Abinack asked for the story. After hearing her tale, the
PCs agreed to look for her brother at her asking price. They headed
to Krom's throat on her tip, where Templeton spread around some gold,
said the right things, and learned that Jakob had also frequented the
Chickenscratch. The PCs went there, posing as spectators for the
cockfights, cased the joint, and then attacked—and defeated—the
guards in the hope of gaining access to the place's back room.
Session
7—The Abyssinial Chain—1
October 2019
The PCs continued their rampage through the Chickenscratch, defeating
the cockerels and their handlers. They ransacked the storage area and
entered the bunkroom, where Kenzing fled to the office to unleash the
cockatrice. The PCs defeated them with melee attacks, arrows and
spells.
Having heard cries from the arena to summon the Redblades, the PCs
set fire to some of the rooms and escaped through an exit that Kenton
had made. They evaded pursuit through the streets and alleyways
following Templeton's lead, and Birgir carried out the unconscious
Kenzing.
During some downtime at the Torchlight Academy, the PCs read through
Sackerson's papers and questioned Kenzing. They decided then to split
the party; some asked questions around the Docks, which cast
suspicion on the Mollycoddles, while others posted falsified messages
saying that Kenzing had taken over running the Cockspurs and wished
to deliver another batch of slaves. They were directed via other
posters to go to the Docks. There, leading a strange parade of
humanity recruited to act the part of prisoners, they were attacked
by some mermaids, and managed to defeat all but one of them.
Session
8—The Abyssinial Chain—8
October 2019
The PCs wove a trinket into the hair of an unconscious mermaid and
let her free; Abinack used locate object to find her out in
the harbor. Then they plunged into the water on the offensive.
Leonard was grappled by one of the crabs but liberated
himself. Abinack was grappled, too, but the others killed it before
it could eat him. The Mollycoddles came streaming out of the sunken
ship to defend their lair. Hector weakened some of them with a color
spray, and the other PCs used lots of movements, flanking attacks
and a good deal of healing to win the fray. After defeating the
mermaids, the PCs rescued their prisoners and learned the sewer exit
into which other captives had been delivered.
Session
9—The Abyssinial Chain—15
October 2019
After some preparations, the PCs headed into the sewers beneath
Freeport. At one intersection they were attacked by an otyugh, but
Kenton shot it in the mouth with an arrow before Birgir finished it
off with a swing of his axe. Later a cloaked dropped from the
ceiling, enveloped Birgir, and panicked all but Kenton with its moan;
the archer slew it with a pair of arrows. At another intersection Mr.
Licorice and his choker children ambushed the party. Leonard, Abinack
and Birgir were all grappled, but the prior liberated himself
while the latter two had their foes killed. Approaching the Hotel
Recherche, they tripped the alarm, and thus fought a ready Brazajer,
two thugs, and the amorous choker and mermaid, Panterri and
Gondalyn—but the PCs won the day.
Session
10—The Abyssinial Chain—22
October 2019
Moving up from the hotel's cistern and basement, the PCs explored the
ground floor. Two of the chairs around a long table were actually
mimics, and attacked them! Leonard became stuck to one, but again
liberated himself. The other PCs managed to dispatch the
shapeshifters. On the next level Templeton was stealthy and began
exploring, but Abinack was not so quiet and alerted Godmother Gold.
Thinking quickly, Templeton used a dagger throw to knock some
smoldering embers onto the ground, hoping to smoke the ratfolk out of
the counting room. Kenton and Hector began sniping into through the
barred window, before while Birgir and Leonard positioned themselves
outside the door. The PCs once again were victorious. One floor
higher, they ran afoul of hobgoblins, chain gangers, an alchemist and
a leopard, the latter of which pounced on and badly wounded
Leonard—but Abinack healed him. Again the PCs won the day, and now
there is only one more floor left in the hotel.
Session
11—The Abyssinial Chain/Storming
the Razor Caves—29
October 2019
Heading into the top floor of the hotel, the PCs heard Miss Vee's
offer to work for her; they played along a little bit in order to
approach her, but then rejected it out of hand and defeated her and
her chain ganger bodyguards in combat. In the aftermath they learned
about her efforts to recruit more gangs as part of the Abyssinial
Chain, and that she has an influential patron in Freeport known only
as G.
They also found evidence that Jakob Wynt and other slaves had been
taken to a place called Hangnail, which some investigation revealed
to be an island to the south of Freeport. They tracked down a
besotted captain, Flynx, paid some of his debts and convinced him to
lead them to Hangnail. Together they steered the ship through a
tricky passage in an area of dark water known as Midnight's Ichor,
fighting off some attacking wraiths along the way, and reached their
destination.
Session
12—Storming the Razor Caves—5
November 2019
Arriving at Hangnail, the PCs were confronted by Klinx Thickskull;
they decided to give up her estranged father, Captain Flynx. Heading
into town, they ran into a group of Ameer toughs who were coming out
of the tavern, but the PCs dispatched them. They then met some of the
surviving locals, who called them into tavern and told of the
situation on the island—including the facts that the slavers had
taken their chattel deeper into the caves of the island, and that the
slaving business had recently been disrupted. The PCs managed to
access the old warehouse, where they found a stash of jugs that
contained alchemist's fire. From there they attacked the old
meeting hall, facing and defeating more of the slavers.
Session
13—Storming the Razor Caves—12
November 2019
Moving on from the Congress of Captains meeting hall, the PCs
dispatched the guards by the door that leads back into the Razor
Caves and then broke it open. They fought off the guards from the
barracks, managing to hold against the villains' efforts to attack
from both sides. Some of the Ameer warriors in the secret harbor
noticed the party's incursion, however, and sounded the alarm. The
PCs defeated a slave master and more warriors, and began spreading
out into the rest of the compound. They now find themselves in the
thick of things, with numerous enemies still surrounding them.
Session
14—Storming the Razor Caves/The
Freebooter's City—19
November 2019
Moving further into the compound, the PCs dispatched another Ameer
warrior and a priest. Bosun Gelgooth, a winged ape-like creature,
attacked from aboard the Eth Abaddon, which was riding at
anchor in the secret harbor. There was much climbing across the line
being used for moving cargo to the ship, and Hector swam across to it
in an impressively aquatic manner. Kenton sniped with his bow while
others engaged, and they defeated the bosun.
Yusynaat, the pairaka div, used a summoned swarm to weaken
the PCs, and managed to charm Birgir to turn him against the
others. She tried to dimension door aboard the Eth Abaddon
and escape, but they caught up to and slew her. After exploring the
facility and finding what they could, the PCs set sail from Hangnail
aboard their newly acquired ship. In Midnight's Ichor they overtook
the Precocious Imp, which was drifting, with only Captain
Flynx left aboard. When Black Jules attacked, they struck a deal with
him, and then continued on toward Freeport.
Session
15—The Freebooter's City—10
December 2019
Upon arrival in Freeport, the PCs were met by a ship of the city's
navy and told to receiver boarders, including soldiers, Councilor
Nathan Grymes and High Wizard Tarmon. The latter two decided to
confiscate the Eth Abaddon temporarily for inspection, but did
pay the PCs 200 gp each and invite them to that evening's council
meeting. Abigayle Wynt also paid them the promised 1000 gp each.
After some shopping, the PCs went to the meeting, where they argued
for rallying the Freeport Navy against the Mazin threat, but the
councilors voted against doing so. Jacob Lydon met them at a tavern
afterward, however, and proposed recruiting a flotilla of pirates,
and the PCs agreed to do so. They found Katspur Zee at the Irate
Pirate tavern and convinced her to join; after that they found Mean
Wallace at Krom's Throat, beat him and his orc crew in a fight, and
thus won his cooperation, too.
Session
16—The Freebooter's City—7
January 2020
Continuing their recruiting, the PCs asked around town and learned
about Edward Cooper's interest in the late Dolly Jasmine, a victim of
the Brine Witch's curse; Lady Jane told them about Dolly's business
with Bryleth Hayes, a cartographer at the Freeport Institute. For
some compensation, he agreed to draw a copy of the map that had been
tattooed on Dolly, and they used it to win Cooper to the cause.
Next they trekked across A'Val to Cabbage Crack—being attacked by
and defeating a pair of shambling mounds along the way—and met
Christopher Bailey at his farmhouse. By appealing to his honor, they
convinced him to join as well. Back in Freeport, they learned that
Sabiha Carrington was seeking a letter of marque, and they had Jacob
Lydon write one for her.
Finally, following up on rumors that Sarinda Rogers was still alive
and dwelling in the sewers beneath the city, they ventured
underground—fighting off a blacking pudding as they did so—found
Rogers, heard her story, and agreed to help her find the
amulet
eternal.
Session
17—The Freebooter's City—14
January 2020
Abinack used a locate object spell to find the resting place
of the amulet eternal; the PCs drank potions of water
breathing and took the plunge. Entering the coral dungeon, they
handily dispatched the dire prawns—and saved the carcasses for
later use. The giant moray eels gave them a tougher time, but they
still won the day—and again saved the carcasses. In their battle
against the mermedusa and her sahuagin servants, none succumbed to
her petrifying gaze, and they were victorious. With the amulet
returned to her, Sarinda Rogers agreed to join their fleet for one
last voyage.
Once all were assembled, multiple captains threw in their names to
lead the flotilla, including Hector! For that reason, Maldemer Drum
arranged a competition. The PCs won the deck-swabbing contest when
Abinack called upon the Sea God to create water for doing so.
He won the climbing race, too, by using his dimension step
ability. Finally, Birgir won the drinking contest, and Hector was
named Commodore of the fleet.
Session
18—A Storm of Sails—21
January 2020
After she blew obsidian sand in Hector's face, the PCs chased
the mysterious red-robed woman; Templeton caught her, but she
dissipated before telling them anything more. Hector has a vision,
however, in which he met Ad Avish. The party hired seven artillerists
to operate the ship's ballistas, and then they set sail. En route to
Hangnail they fought off a slithering sargasso, a wing of
kapoacinths, and a gang of wights led by a spectre. Just before
reaching Hangnail, they spied two ships in the distance that tried to
turn about and make a run for it...
Session
19—A Storm of Sails—28
January 2020
The PCs captured another elemental baghlah, a scout for the Mazini
fleet; they fought their way through a deck full of enemies and a
stinking cloud to do so. They gave Christopher Bailey command
of it. The other one was sunk by the other ships in their flotilla.
Sessions
20 and 21—A Storm of Sails
and Traitor's End—4
and 11 February 2020
Knowing that the Mazini fleet is approaching, the PCs decided to let
those ships reach the main Hangnail harbor, and then use their own
flotilla to pin them into place; they would then sneak around from
the secret harbor and attack from behind. The Mazini spotted them,
however, and pressed for a direct engagement. It was a hard-fought
battle, and Ad Avish proved particularly tough. The PCs one the day,
but Abinac was killed in the fight. He was reincarnated as a
goblin.
Among Ad Avish's possessions the PCs found evidence revealing the
identity of the traitor, G; they returned to Freeport as the Drac's
Fall festival was beginning. After some investigation around town,
they headed to the Helkerna shipyard to confront Captain Cecelia
Mawkins and her pirates, whom they defeated. They learned that she'd
been making deliveries to Drusilla's Drafts, an alchemy shop in the
Merchant District.
Session
22—Traitor's End—18
February 2020
Upon arriving at Drusilla's Draughts, the PCs conversed with her for
a bit before pushing their way into the backroom, where they found
the secret entrance to a stairway leading below. At the bottom of the
stairs she tried to lead them into the pit trap, but she failed. The
chemical golem caused the party some trouble, as did the Ophidian
alchemists and Zesshessn, but the PCs won the day.
Session
23—Traitor's End—25
February 2020
From the Ophidian alchemists the PCs learned about the production of
ebon blight, a poision made from the black sand, and Grymes's plot to
poison the rum intended for the Drac's Fall celebrations. For that
reason they visited the Dirty Molasses distillery, only to find that
their rum had been moved to Warehouse 44 for distribution. Arriving
there, Leonard used a dimensional hop to bypass the front
door, taking Birgir with him; they unbarred the front doors, found
the blood stains and tracked them into the office. They found the
bodies of the slain supervisor and guard, then headed further inward.
Eventually the faced off against three rogues from the Vultures gang
and defeated them, before facing and defeating Grim Caldwell, his
phantom, and two more rogues.
After that they visited the Three Spears distillery, too, where they
ran into the bugbear brawler Bruiser Beegore and more Vultures thugs.
The PCs won that first battle and survived a cone of cold trap
before encountering and defeating Mercy Wintoris and more of the
Vultures thugs. From Mercy they took a note, which led them to
research the poetry of Opal Shelby.
Session
24—Traitor's End—3
March 2020
The PCs read the poem; Hector recognized he clue in it, and they set
out for Grimarch Alley. Following the secret directions, they
navigated its labyrinthine course. Upon reaching the quicksand,
Abinack moved himself, Birgir and Hector over it, while Templeton and
Leonard made running leaps. That was when the Guardian struck, trying
to push them back into the mirk. He proved a challenging foe, but the
party's numbers carried them to victory. They made relatively short
work of the giant squid at the base of the Spire, and then were
harassed by the nasu divs while making the climb over numerous
derelict ships. (Kenton was forced to wield a spear. A spear!)
At the top they found the div-touched Nathan Grymes, who pushed the
PCs to their limits; only through a combination of spells, healing,
knife slashes, rapier stabs, axe blows and arrow strikes were they
able to win the day.
