Aravis: The Market Age
As some of you know, I have been working on a campaign setting for some time now, and recently began running a playtest of it. I thought it might be nice to offer a brief recap of what the players have been doing lately.
As the game began, a group of friends who had recently returned from some rather pedestrian mercenary work found themselves again contemplating guild membership. They knew it would be tough, dealing with the politics of rising in rank, but that's where the best work was. A chance meeting with a friendly Solicitor in a bar got them thinking about a third option: founding their own guild. A few hours later, they had a provisional guild license, two more guild members, and a contract to guard a caravan across the desert wastes of Hassar.
The Caravan Master was an experienced man, and travelled at night to avoid the desert heat. Unfortunately, many desert predators also come out at night, and the group was besieged by giant beetles, and later a horde of fairly large (about 3 feet long) scorpions. When they were but a few days away from the next large town (indeed, the largest city in Hassar) they encountered a grievously injured man. He had a large, seeping wound in his side, and could barely speak. He had stowed away on an airship headed to the city, and was discovered. While laws prevent throwing stowaways overboard (the fall, obviously, would kill them), there is no law against lowering them safely to the ground and leaving them there, regardless of how far they are from civilization.
They discovered that the man had been attacked by a large wasp, and that beyond the terrible wound (which they could heal easily enough with magic), the man had been implanted with wasp eggs, which would soon hatch and devour him alive. The Caravan Master, however, saw an opportunity: wasp eggs are a delicacy in Hassar. If they killed the man and cut him open before the eggs hatched, they could sell them at a profit. A member of their guild objected, claiming that she could cure the man medically, though there was a possibility that the cure could kill the man as well, and it could be painful. The group insisted that the man be consulted first, explaining his options.
The man explained that he was heading to the city to help his sister, who had fallen on hard times and was in danger of losing her house. Reasoning that his survival was uncertain, he agreed to let the group kill him (painlessly) and harvest the eggs, in exchange for them using the money to save his sister's home. Unfortunately, the only people with the medical knowledge to remove the eggs were the Solicitor (who refused, considering the outcome to be barbaric) and the Caravan Master, who insisted on a cut of the profits. The group put the man out of his misery, removed the eggs, and wrapped his body for transport to his family.
When they arrived in town, the Caravan Master sold the eggs for a tidy sum and took his share. The group found, to their chagrin, that the remaining shares were not sufficient to pay off the debts of the dead man's sister, and that she and her children were in danger of being forced into indenture. The group discovered a rather predatory system of financing at work in Hassar, and were at somewhat of a loss as to what to do. The money lender was not inclined to make arrangements for the sister because the land was worth more money than she paid for it, as a high-traffic commerce district (of the red-light variety) had sprung up around her; she was living on prime real estate. Still, the group was able to negotiate an extra day for the remaining money, and set about finding a quick job.
The quickest job they could find was actually collecting on another debtor; a man who lived about an hour's walk away from the city, in the desert wastes. They found a small compound there with walls 15 feet high and a pair of archers guarding the place. Negotiations for the peaceful surrender of the cash or the debtor failed, as the guild's Solicitor was negotiating better terms for the dead man's sister. The man reasoned that it was justifiable to remain delinquent on his payments, as the financiers were far greater thieves than he ever could be.
The group launched an attack, scaling the walls with ease and slaying the archers. It was when the group entered the debtor's home that they discovered the nature of his business; dead bodies littered the place, many of them animated and acting as a last-line security system. Through superior tactics, the group severely injured the man and dispatched his undead minions, and returned him to the collection agency. They were paid, and with the entirety of their reward they were able to pay off the last of the mortgage for the dead man's sister. In gratitude, she offered to let them use part of her land for the construction of a guild hall in the future. And so we have the entirety of their adventures so far.
As the game began, a group of friends who had recently returned from some rather pedestrian mercenary work found themselves again contemplating guild membership. They knew it would be tough, dealing with the politics of rising in rank, but that's where the best work was. A chance meeting with a friendly Solicitor in a bar got them thinking about a third option: founding their own guild. A few hours later, they had a provisional guild license, two more guild members, and a contract to guard a caravan across the desert wastes of Hassar.
The Caravan Master was an experienced man, and travelled at night to avoid the desert heat. Unfortunately, many desert predators also come out at night, and the group was besieged by giant beetles, and later a horde of fairly large (about 3 feet long) scorpions. When they were but a few days away from the next large town (indeed, the largest city in Hassar) they encountered a grievously injured man. He had a large, seeping wound in his side, and could barely speak. He had stowed away on an airship headed to the city, and was discovered. While laws prevent throwing stowaways overboard (the fall, obviously, would kill them), there is no law against lowering them safely to the ground and leaving them there, regardless of how far they are from civilization.
They discovered that the man had been attacked by a large wasp, and that beyond the terrible wound (which they could heal easily enough with magic), the man had been implanted with wasp eggs, which would soon hatch and devour him alive. The Caravan Master, however, saw an opportunity: wasp eggs are a delicacy in Hassar. If they killed the man and cut him open before the eggs hatched, they could sell them at a profit. A member of their guild objected, claiming that she could cure the man medically, though there was a possibility that the cure could kill the man as well, and it could be painful. The group insisted that the man be consulted first, explaining his options.
The man explained that he was heading to the city to help his sister, who had fallen on hard times and was in danger of losing her house. Reasoning that his survival was uncertain, he agreed to let the group kill him (painlessly) and harvest the eggs, in exchange for them using the money to save his sister's home. Unfortunately, the only people with the medical knowledge to remove the eggs were the Solicitor (who refused, considering the outcome to be barbaric) and the Caravan Master, who insisted on a cut of the profits. The group put the man out of his misery, removed the eggs, and wrapped his body for transport to his family.
When they arrived in town, the Caravan Master sold the eggs for a tidy sum and took his share. The group found, to their chagrin, that the remaining shares were not sufficient to pay off the debts of the dead man's sister, and that she and her children were in danger of being forced into indenture. The group discovered a rather predatory system of financing at work in Hassar, and were at somewhat of a loss as to what to do. The money lender was not inclined to make arrangements for the sister because the land was worth more money than she paid for it, as a high-traffic commerce district (of the red-light variety) had sprung up around her; she was living on prime real estate. Still, the group was able to negotiate an extra day for the remaining money, and set about finding a quick job.
The quickest job they could find was actually collecting on another debtor; a man who lived about an hour's walk away from the city, in the desert wastes. They found a small compound there with walls 15 feet high and a pair of archers guarding the place. Negotiations for the peaceful surrender of the cash or the debtor failed, as the guild's Solicitor was negotiating better terms for the dead man's sister. The man reasoned that it was justifiable to remain delinquent on his payments, as the financiers were far greater thieves than he ever could be.
The group launched an attack, scaling the walls with ease and slaying the archers. It was when the group entered the debtor's home that they discovered the nature of his business; dead bodies littered the place, many of them animated and acting as a last-line security system. Through superior tactics, the group severely injured the man and dispatched his undead minions, and returned him to the collection agency. They were paid, and with the entirety of their reward they were able to pay off the last of the mortgage for the dead man's sister. In gratitude, she offered to let them use part of her land for the construction of a guild hall in the future. And so we have the entirety of their adventures so far.