Black Hart

To Kill A King

DM's Notes: Chapter 7 - Oakhart Keep

Aranon earned Oakhart Keep by killing its previous occupant, a vampire by the name of Lord Aurallan. The Oakhart Rangers, as it says, are not all true rangers, some are just enlisted woodsmen who guard his territory.

Kaspin Wierd is a long-term NPC IMC. During the Civil War in Fax, Aranon and Fimuth were fleeing with the young Count and were cornered within Oakhart Keep. They only escaped by leaping from the Keep using two of Kaspin's flying machines (primitive hang-gliders in this case.)

The mage who is trying to get hold of Aranon's daughter is Garthanyel Giltholian, librarian of the White Order of Ossain in Fax. He is a chronomancer-mage who is determined to find the Hand and Eye of Vecna. He knows that Aranon owns the Demonomicon of Iggwilv and was planning to ransom his daughter in exchange for that book. Of course, what neither knew at that time was that Fimuth has already stolen that book from Zarn Varnt.

So far as the search in the forest goes, I tried through Tharhymm and his superior knowledge, to make the party aware how dumb it was to split up and stumble through the Suss at night. In the end it was kind of too early to have them all killed, but I had to give a severe lesson to them about overestimating their invulnerability, as we will see in chapter 9.