Black Hart Black Hart
An Introduction to the Black Hart Campaign
In the Beginning
These are the various chapters that are the story of my PBeM campaign, which I have called 'Black Hart'.
This campaign is the continuation of a real-time game which I played between the ages of 14 and 25 with various players, although the common link, as you will see below, was Peter. As time went on, our home town of Kilmarnock, Scotland, became too small and some of us went our separate ways, for a short time at least. But, as ever, technology came to our rescue, so despite living some distance apart, or for those of us who live nearer having the distractions of adult life, we can enjoy the game that has given us so much before.
The Original Campaign
This revolved around 4 main players:
Peter Drummond (the only remaining original
player)who played the Olidamarran priest Aranon
Silverlief
Murdo MacLeod who played the Olven mage Zarn
Varnt
His brother Calum MacLeod who played Olven
Fighter/Magic-User/Thief Fimuth Celanil
And last but not least, Johnny Morris, who
played the Dwarven warrior Teuch'tir and the
Schnai barbarian Sheyr Bn'Griz.
Together with the major NPC's, the gnomish thief, Thoggin Oakley, and the ranger lord Lancer, they adventured the Flanaess and beyond.
Aranon was perhaps the hub of my campaign, being the
consistent character throughout the years of play.
Now Lord Aranon Silverlief of Oakhart, his background is a story
that would take up many tomes of fascinating reading. A hero from
the original mould, he fought, and mostly succeeded, for the good
folk of Flanaess may times in his 43 years. He has paid the
ultimate price, and been brought back from the dead by holy
virtue, and has become somewhat of a folk hero, particularly in
the Woolly Bay area.
Aranon was born the bastard son of Karamic, the Furyondyan ambassador to Ket. His mother, a Ketish dancer, moved the to the city of Thornward after his birth, and it was there that Aranon grew up as a street urchin. His mother died when he was six and Aranon was taken in by an Olidamarran priest called Maffyn whom he had befriended. Aranon's natural charm made him a good priest, and, like Maffyn before him, he soon took to the adventurer's life. Sadly, Maffyn died shortly after his charge left to find his fortune.
Starting out with the ranger, Lancer, and the rogue son of the Duke of Celanil, the elven Fimuth, their heroic tales are now legend. Along with the Olven magician Zarn Varnt of Chendl, who was sent by the Count of Axewood to guard the wild Fimuth, and Thoggin Oakley of Hardby, whom they rescued from captivity and certain death in their earlier years, they found fame, fortune and power came quickly.
Aranon became a Knight of the Watch, and whilst exploring the Valley of the Mage he was captured and forced to stay there for several years. He married a girl from there, and they soon had their first child, a daughter. Escaping from there, Aranon became Lord High Priest of Olidamarra, in charge of the Rustic Hostel at Fax. Fighting for the self-styled Count of Fax during the civil war in Fax, Aranon was rewarded with Lordship of Oakhart for his loyalty and bravery.
Along with his companions, Aranon also helped defeat the Slavelords, but was to suffer greatly for this victory. Scarlet Brotherhood assassins were sent to avenge their losses, but for Aranon this was not needed. During a duel caused by some long-forgotten arguement, Aranon was killed by Thoggin in the Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl, and left there.
Shortly thereafter the party discovered and killed a Brotherhood assassin in their midst, also leaving him there. Some years later, a Brotherhood expedition sent to trace the fate of their assassin discovered, and retrieved Aranon, taking him to Kro Terlep where he was resurrected and brainwashed to the Brotherhood's ideals.
Returning to his companions, he set about killing them, but was discovered after murdering Fimuth, who was ressurected as a human. Helping his one-time friend, Fimuth realised that Aranon was not responsible for his actions, and used a vast portion of his inheritance to pay off the Brotherhood, and the assassination attempts stopped.
Aranon's many success attracted much attention, resulting in numerous encounters with 'the Warlord of Dorakaa', a high priest of Iuz, and his cohorts. The Warlord, his real name Grorgat Kyar, was eventually destroyed by Aranon, after journeying to the heart of Dorakaa itself. It was in this city that Aranon first met, and later became acquainted with the Warlord's daughter, leader of the legendary DragonKnights of Dorakaa, Emarill Kyar. On returning to Fax, he discovered that his wife and daughter were lost at sea in a storm. After the DragonKnights were sent to kill him, it was Emarill who saved him from certain death, helping him to defeat them within the Rustic Temple itself. She then left, and Aranon has heard naught of her since that day.
Aranon is greatly hated, and feared, within the land of Iuz, and it is certain he has not had his last encounter with their evil hordes. Before setting off to the DemonWeb Pits to fight the evil Lolth, Aranon's heart was lifted somewhat by the news that although his wife had indeed perished, his daughter was rescued by a group of aquatic elves.
The fight with Lolth over, Aranon has now found himself deep in the heart of the Battle of Galden field.
Recent Campaign History
In the live game, things were based around, although far from restricted to, the GDQ modules, which were played over a number of years. We have played exclusively 1st Edition, and I had never even heard of FtA until I went online in 1996.
All the same, my campaign went along a very similar line to FtA and the Greyhawk Wars happened of their own volition in my campaign. The main difference was that the forces of Iuz pushed the Furyondy/Veluna/Sheldomar alliance back into the Sheldomar, through Bissel and the Gran March. To the west, Sterich and Geoff fell, their armies retreating into northern Keoland.
Finally, all armies came to rest to the north of the Keoish capital, Niole Dra, and prepared for a mighty battle of epic proportions - the Battle of Galden Field!
This coincided with the party, having completed D3, but returning from the Vaults with Lolth's Egg, being tasked with the final destruction of the Spider Queen, and returning to do battle in Q1. IMC much of the Drow strength came from Lolth, and sages and wizards determined that only with her absolute defeat could the evil hordes be truly vanquished.
And so, the party, consisting of Aranon, Akhan, Lancer (NPC), Sheyr Bn'Griz (NPC), and others, including Sir Thanoin Varkrunden (a Schnai native who was a paladin and Knight of the Holy Shielding, and blood-brother to Akhan) set off, and, to cut a long story short, defeated Lolth forever.
To cut off you nay-sayers, this suited my campaign for many reasons, and I would accept that I 'allowed' this to happen. It will be better explained when I get around to posting my 'What happened to the Drow' file on my website, so I will refer you to that, whenever it arrives.
PBeM Preamble
With Lolth destroyed, the DemonWeb dissolved, casting the Heroes back to Oerth, and scattering them into the Battle of Galden Field. In Oerth terms, the months they spent in the Chaos of the Abyss amounted to three full days of fighting, spent under a Dark Cloud of magic which hid the sun, fuelled by the power of Lolth's magic. All seemed lost to the good folk of the Flanaess...
Book One - To Kill a King
The original PBeM game started about November 1996, with just Stuart Ferris and I. Peter and Colin only had (and still have) Internet access through their work, and for this reason it was a month or two before things really got going for them.
As my (then three) players initially played two characters each, as well as the well-known Aranon, Peter played the human mage Mordekei bat-Varruch, a reclusive and peacable mage who has latterly spent his life in magical research in the Keoish capital of Niole Dra.
Stuart Ferris played, and still does play the roguish half-orc fighter-thief Eloi Brand, and his diametrically opposed companion, the paladin and Knight of the Holy Shielding, Sir Jean-Paul Pascal D'Appignon. This pair provide a bit of comic relief, especially considering JP's misconceptions about Eloi's courage and in fact, his alliances.
Colin Alexander was another who chose to play opposites - the fanciful and foppish half-elf thief, Akhan Bherrulian, a man who enjoys the comforts of life to the full, and the stern ranger Bermen Zladek, dark and foreboding as the secrets that brew beneath his troubled surface. Akhan's antics are the stuff of adolescent laddish legend.
Although I did play a few times along with Stuart in my teens, he was never a part of our group, some would say due to the fact that his early characters had an unfortunate habit of trying to kill their companions. Thsi is something I am pleased to say he has outgrown. Colin was a late starter, playing his first tentative games at the age of 21, but as you will see he has caught on well.
Along the way, I honestly cannot remember when, we gained Jason Verbitsky as the all-seeing lurker, and DM's confidante, but for a long time Jason helped me develop and improve on plots. Unfortunately in early 1999 real-life took over and Jason had to cut his ties with Greyhawk to concentrate on work, a great tragedy. I hope this will be a short absence.
Also unfortunately, in January 1998, Peter bowed out due to pressures of work - he just couldn't get the time to put into the game during work hours and this was detracting from the whole game. Shortly after, in March 1998, they finished the first full adventure. After the introductory part, it took about a whole year to play through the storyline of 'To Kill A King', which took place in about about 3 weeks game time, 2 of those weeks travelling from Niole Dra to Torrisz. A few weeks later, I finally got the last of the chapters up to date and posted them to my website.
We then decided to have a break for a few months.
Book Two - Gradsul By Twilight
And after a few weeks I got bored.
So I started up the campaign again, but from the start one thing was obvious - I needed new players. I hate NPC'ing spellcasters - as DM I know the most effective spells to use, and cannot resolve the DM-knowledge v. NPC-Knowledge conflict.
First newcomer was Gary Welsh, long known to me on Greytalk, and he had just recently shown interest in my campaign, so I offered him first refusal - and he accepted. After protracted negotiations, during which I was horrified at his fantastic imagination, Smokelight the Scion, a drunken wizard with a deep secret, was born.
I then advertised on Greytalk for a cleric to round the group off - Russell Timm answered almost immediately, and I liked his ideas, so signed him up for the game asap. Thus Cinion Quicksilver, the speciality halfling cleric/thief of Brandobaris came into the Black Hart campaign.However, Russell did not feel that Cinion fitted in with the party, so I took over playing him as an NPC and Adar 'Adder' Pelgrin was introduced to the party.
Last, but not least, came Benzie Dio - of course I had only wanted 4 players, but his request to join the game so flattered me I thought 'why not?', and he brought Kyros 'Sablefist' Telliran, a dual-classed fighter-cleric of Olidamarra. This may confuse the reader, as this charachter is now known as Helden Graveleaf, for reasons that become apparent in the story.
Within the first week I saw the changes in my campaign - and they were for the better. The new players posted often and well, and the old players continued their good work. Thankfully this has continued and, 15 months later as I update this file, the campaign is still going strong. The party are well on their way to uncovering the full extent of the Scarlet Brotherhood plot in Gradsul, and all players are still posting well..