Part 3 of the ongoing Sorcerer-Kingmaker conversion leads the PCs to House Drelev and a confrontation with Baron Hannis Drelev, a lean and tough dune trading baron. This fight will take resources and a small army to bring down, as his manor is well-fortified and he is protected by an army of mercenaries, barbarian tribesfolk, and his elite half-giant juggernaut guards.
Hannis Drelev has always been a mean, opportunistic man. His early years on the streets of Balic are littered with incidents of betrayal, violence, and taking advantage. After one particularly violent year, he shipped out as a merchant guard on a caravan taking trade goods to Tyr, barely surviving an attack by the Jura Dai elves, but escaping with the wagon's pay-chest. He lived it up for a couple of days, and then was persuaded that he should invest in a better standard of living. So he started his own caravan, hiring gang members as guards, and shipping stolen iron back to Balic. Over the years, he has resorted to poisoning, murder, betrayal, and all but outright treason to survive. He has formed his fledgling dune trader enterprise into a powerful trading house, a fearsome military presence in the Stolen Lands, and a borderline- independent outpost on its own, staffed with thousands of slaves. Recently, an attack by barbarian tribes and forces of Balic (led by High Praetor Irovetus) forced a surrender from House Drelev, and oaths of fealty to Sorcerer-King Andropinis. As part of the treaty, five of House Drelev's children were to be handed as slaves to the barbarians. Terrion Numesti, one of the mercenary captains who served the house, protested, and was punished with imprisonment. However, his daughter Kisandra dressed herself in soldiers' clothes and escaped, pursued by a sizeable force of soldiers. After this force was presumably defeated at the Siege of Siltford, House Drelev has recalled all of its traders and slaves, and hired on extra guards, turning into a fortified outpost. While the PCs will still likely end up infiltrating, this should be against the background of conflict between House Drelev and the PCs' settlement- armies clashing; half-giants rampaging; the struggle for resources, respect, and riches; bloody violence on the sands. Fort Drelev holds a town of perhaps two thousand slaves, and is currently garrisoning near three hundred warriors. Its resources are already stretched thin, and the warriors have been commandeering supplies and slaves from the nearby area. Not only do the PCs need to take revenge for the unprovoked attack by Drelev's forces, they will need to take proactive action to safeguard the region from further attacks. Liberation of the slaves will be the best way to triumph in this situation. Key NPCs of House Drelev - Baron Hannis Drelev, neutral evil, Challenge 8 (disengage, sneak attack, and poison attacks) - Pavetta Stroon, Lady Drelev, neutral evil, Challenge 1/2 (poisoned daggers) - Imeckus Stroon, court Defiler for Andropinis, lawful evil, Challenge 6 (use 'Mage' statistics) - 'Lady' Quintessa Maray, bard and assassin, chaotic neutral, Challenge 8 (use 'Assassin' statistics) - Captain Terrion Numesti, mercenary captain, neutral good, Challenge 3 (use 'Veteran' statistics) - Three dozen barbarian warriors, chaotic, Challenge 2 (use 'Berserker' statistics) - About 200 mercenary warriors, neutral evil, Challenge 1/2 (use 'Thug' statistics) - Two dozen Half-Giant Juggernauts, neutral Challenge 6 (see statistics in Part 1) - Four mercenary captains, neutral evil, Challenge 2 (use 'Bandit Captain' statistics) - Fifty skirmishers, neutral, Challenge 1/2 (use 'Scout' statistics) If she is present, Kisandra will aid the PCs in trying to free her father Terrion, who can talk around forty of his mercenaries into deserting. He can also warn of some of the Baron's plans and help them fight back, as well as warning that the other four prisoners were taken away by the Loud Sisters, and that they said they would be used to 'wake the axe', whatever that means. Once the situation at Fort Drelev has been resolved, the PCs should be free to pursue Armag Twiceborn, and come to the finale of this adventure. Also posted on Game Masters Stash on 25 December 2020. Comments are closed.
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AuthorI'm Luke. He/him pronouns. Archives
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