CR 571 January to April

[GM Mad]

- CR 571-

GM Notes: The year of 571 was when just about everything happens. This is where most of the games take place and it is a ridiculously busy year. Not much happens until April, so this post will cover the first four months. Beyond this we'll be dealing with one month at a time and then maybe portions of months after that.

March 28th -

(Stephanie's Tale) Lord Sherwood Sculley sends Stephanie Plowman to join in on the adventurers gathering in Crossroads. (STB1C1)

GM Notes: Much like Argent, Stephanie didn't have a whole lot of backstory given for her during the Q-Link days. She was another character that I was going to work into the new stuff at some point, but she was part of The Frontier until the very end so it wasn't possible. When I did use the character in the New Kingdoms game, I started to add more past to her and gave her a last name. With some minor changes, the Stephanie's First Adventure story works for her too. Those minor changes will be covered in her biography.

With the situation in Gateway more or less stable since it was reclaimed a year and a half ago, the Crown was looking to use adventuring bands to go forth and explore. Sherwood had been sending out of the way recruits that way and that seemed like the best way to get Stephanie involved. Before she just arrived in Crossroads as per the original first The Frontier post.

Unlike Argent, Stephanie doesn't have much in the way of skills that need any kind of explanation, so it was mostly just glossed over. The only thing that I did play up is that she was, at this time, illiterate.

As noted in Sherwood's Biography, Stephanie does remind him of his late wife Darya. That's why he was laughing as the two are similar to a point. There's also another thing that they have in common, but that I can't reveal just yet.

The code at the end translates into Stephanie's Tale Book # Chapter #.

[GM Mad]

April 1st -

(Stephanie's Tale) Stephanie Plowman begins her journey to Gateway. She departs Plowman's Stand and rides to Wrassledown. (STB1C2)

GM Notes: Originally, the first The Frontier post took place on April First, April Fool's Day, but I pushed it back until later for this project. There were huge gaps that were just sped past in the game, so I needed to fill them. One way was to just push things back further. So instead of the Seekers being formed on April 1st, Stephanie started her journey to Crossroads on that day.

April 2nd –

(Stephanie's Tale) Stephanie Plowman rides from Wrassledown to Timberline. Along the way she meets Lyra Stinson, Lady Jallarzi Sallavarian in disguise. The two ride together to Crossroads. (STB1C2)

GM Notes: Stephanie never did find out that Lyra was really Jallarzi. At least not as of yet.

April 3rd –

(Stephanie's Tale) Stephanie and Lyra ride from Timberline to Pyris City. (STB1C3)

GM Notes: When Lyra said that she was going off to run some errands, she was actually going to Castle Pyris to visit her relatives as Jallarzi.

April 4th –

(Stephanie's Tale) Stephanie does some shopping in Pyris City and then rides to Woods Edge with Lyra Stinson. (STB1C4)

GM Notes: At some point, the farm girl needed to get some better clothes, so this seemed like a good place to do it.

April 5th –

(Stephanie's Tale) Stephanie and Lyra travel from Woods Edge to Hillside. (STB1C4)

April 6th –

(Stephanie's Tale) Stephanie and Lyra leave Hillside and ride to Cruthway. (STB1C4)

April 7th –

(Stephanie's Tale) Stephanie and Lyra travel from Cruthway to Ridgeway. (STB1C4)

April 8th –

(Stephanie's Tale) Stephanie and Lyra travel from Ridgeway to Brookside. (STB1C4)

April 9th –

(Stephanie's Tale) Stephanie and Lyra arrive at Nemiston. (STB1C4)

April 10th –

(Stephanie's Tale) Stephanie and Lyra reach Crossroads and take a room at the Blushing Maiden Inn. (STB1C4-5)

GM Notes: When Lyra went off to run errands once again, she actually went to check in with Argent's parents at their shop. It's where she picked up the book to help teach Stephanie how to read.

[GM Mad]

April 11th –

(Stephanie's Tale, The Frontier) Stephanie says goodbye to Lyra Stinson and travels to the hall where adventurers are gathering. Captain Shea, General Logan's assistant, explains that the Crown is hiring adventuring bands to explore the old Keln Lands. Stephanie ends up joining up with Moorland the mage, Cereld of Heironeous, Finrod the elfin mercenary, Dalliance, an elfin swordswoman and sorceress, the dwarf Flint Gravelrock to form the Seekers. Lord Validar Vanarkus, the ranger Arafel Silverhilt, and Ti-Cat round out the group. Cereld, Lord Vanarkus, and Stephanie go to register the Seekers while the rest stock up on supplies. After being registered with the Crown, the Seekers retire to the Silver Merchant Inn for a “getting to know each other” meal. That evening, Stephanie shares her room at the Blushing Maiden with Arafel and Dalliance. (STB1C5-9, TF#1-2)

Roster of the Seekers: Cereld (PL), Arafel, Dalliance, Finrod, Flint, Moorland, Stephanie, Ti-Cat, and Lord Validar.

GM Notes: Above is how I will be listing groups and their membership. Leaders first, then members in alphabetically order. This is where we finally start to overlap The Frontier and see the Seekers formed. Much of the dialog was taken from the posts, but had to be moved around considerably to make it work in a story. Basically a MB game is a series of monologues, now it had to flow with back and forth talking.

Much like my own characters from this time, we don't know a whole lot about many of these people. So I was attempting to flesh them all out a bit more. Moorland was Mage Merlin renamed, as I wasn't going to let that name be used in all of this. A few other names were changed down the line.

April 12th -

(The Frontier) The Seekers reunite outside the hall where they were formed in the morning. The paladin Radagast and Dar Thaltus, a Priest and Ranger of Ehlonna, joined the group after speaking to Cereld the previous evening. With everything in order, the Seekers begin their ride to Gateway. Some of them share mounts as not everyone has a horse. Outside Crossroads the druid Raeden joins them. (TF#2)

Roster of the Seekers: Cereld (PL), Arafel, Dalliance, Dar Thaltus, Finrod, Flint, Moorland, Radagast, Raeden, Stephanie, Ti-Cat, and Lord Validar.

GM Notes: Dar and Radagast simply showed up during the trip to Gateway originally. The curse of simply having new players show up in an MB Game. I tried to make it more organic this time around and the best way to have them join was to have them in Gateway with the others instead of out on the road.

April 13th –

(The Frontier) While on the road to Gateway, the Seekers come across a caravan being attacked by bandits led by a Priest of Hextor. Cereld tries to make up a plan of attack, but with many in the group having never having been in adventuring band before his plan is mostly ignored. The Seekers defeat the bandits and slay the evil Hextor Priest, but Moorland was killed in the battle. A strange locked wooden box is found among the Hextor Priests possessions. Caravan Master Trevor thanks the group for this aid and requests that they ride with them the rest of the way to Gateway. The dead are buried and the caravan continues on. (TF#2-4)

Roster of the Seekers: Cereld (PL), Arafel, Dalliance, Dar Thaltus, Finrod, Flint, Radagast, Raeden, Stephanie, Ti-Cat, and Lord Validar.

[GM Mad]

April 18th –

(The Frontier) The Seekers arrive in Gateway. Cereld, Radagast and Lord Vanarkus meet with General Logan. They are introduced to the rest of the Gateway City Council: Lord Sharadin Sculley, Mother Selinda of Azrella, and Durn of Heironeous. The Seekers account in Gateway is set up and they are given a mansion to make use of. Like most of the estates in Gateway, the mansion was heavily damaged and is little more than an empty shell. (TF#5-6)

GM Notes: A lot of stuff happened in The Frontier #6, so I spread it out over several days to take up more time.

April 19th -

(The Frontier) Cereld, Finrod and Stephanie travel to Lord Sharadin's residence. There they meet Sherry and Terry. The Archmage reveals that the box the Hextor Priest had was a Chest of Security. The rest of the Seekers settle into Gateway. Furnishings for the mansion are bought or ordered and weapons are being constructed. Ti-cat leaves flowers for all the women and works on making bows for Dalliance and Stephanie. (TF#6)

April 20th -

(The Frontier) Raeden discovers strange writing on a wall in a cave outside and underneath Gateway. (TF#7)

April 21st –

(The Frontier) Several of the Seekers explore the cave Raeden found. Flint identifies the strange writing as goblin. It says, 'Precede no further. The halls beyond are cursed to the unworthy'. (TF#7)

GM Notes: I always assumed that Flint spruced up the goblin's message as it sounds far too elegant for them to write.

April 22nd -

(The Frontier) Cereld visits the local Heironeous Temple. Stephanie is given an enchanted sword found in the Chest of Security. (TF#7)

April 23rd –

(Stephanie's Tale) The Seekers meet their neighbors, an adventuring band calling themselves the 'Conquerors of Cynalon'. They are led by a Lord Marcus Kelvin, one of the sons of Duke Kelvin. They are an arrogant and pushy bunch, disliked by most.

GM Notes: When the Seekers were starting out in Gateway, there were other adventuring bands around. This was one of them. More would be added when Stephanie's Tale got this far. Lord Marcus Kelvin was added for later use.

April 24th –

(The Frontier) A young couple, Talice and Sorn Calhos are hired to run the mundane tasks around the mansion. (TF#7)

April 26th -

(The Frontier) Ti-Cat completes making Dalliance's bow. (TF#7)

GM Notes: And that takes us through April. The Seekers hit the road in May!