Difference between revisions of "Hook City (game)"

Latest revision as of 01:43, 28 November 2019

The crest of the Iron Dragons. The 'IA' initials a reminder of their humble beginnings as the 'Iron Adventurers'

The Game

Here you can find the latest posts in this game.

Current Events

The latest Great Migration of the Southern Continent has barely subsided and Hook City is already back to conducting business as usual. Our selected group of heroes did have what it takes to rise up from the muck of Mudtown to gain fame and fortune in Hook City!

The Iron Adventurers acquired a stone Tower on the border of SouthHook and LaborTown, a half mile downriver from the Bridge. It is in the middle of a square that is now known as Iron Square in honor of the heroes. Formerly a haunted and rundown locale, it is seeing a revival, and many of the people that the Iron Adventurers have helped have moved to the Square. The place is very pro-Iron Adventurers.

(DM SteveK Note: I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that Iron Tower remain a safe place to provide a sense of fulfillment for the Players and PCs.)

The Iron Adventurers have also collected many cursed items and now a magical vault to store the items safely. A recurring theme of the group has been collecting cursed and unusual magical items. They have a magical Vault in the Iron Tower (built by some of the retired Children of Chaos) where the group can safely store the cursed items.

Known throughout Hook City, our heroes have been involved in saving many people during the festivities of the Day of Faith, and was involved in the destruction of the Teucri Chit Machine and the failure of the Hook City monetary system. Can our heroes thread the political and economic monsters of Hook City?

The Story so far

Volume 1: Business as Usual (8th June 2009). Our heroes adventures began in a brawl in the watery streets of MudTown, where they were able to defeat a mind-flayer’s plot and gain ownership of Black Harris’ Emporium, and also gain access to the fabled wonders of Hook City.

Volume 2: Home of the Manfri (9th February 2010). Our heroes travel to a part of the Sargrass Plains that were still attached to Hook City since the Great Migration. There they assist the strange Manfri and stop a plot by a group of Witches.

Volume 3: Inbetween (23rd April 2010).

Volume 4: Night of the Zombies (11th November 2010) A prodigal son leads to a strange healer, then to a copse of corpses, then to a new way to make zombies, and then to the zombie master himself -- who is not who he seems to be. Having found a secret entrance to the catacombs beneath Hook City, the party follows tracks to the workshop of the evil Mr. E, a necromancer who has found a way to make a new kind of zombie. Mr. E turns out to be a disembodied spirit, housed in a Magic Jar-like necklace, who has possessed his great-great-great grandson. The party finds this out the hard way. Before the party can stop him, Mr. E unleashes a zombie horde on the city. The adventurers do what they can to give a warning. In the aftermath, Hook City authorities have questions.

Volume 5: The Ring of Malaphaz (20th July 2011)

Volume 6: The Girls (22nd November 2011) (Volume 7 was Intermission)

Volume 8: The Death of Heather Brody (18th January 2012) (Volume 9 was Intermission)

Volume 10: Fish On! (30th July 2012) Where our heroes rescued a dragon that had been balefully polymorphed into a giant goldfish with a bounty on its head!

Volume 11: Return to the Temple of the Illithid (14th December 2012) Where our heroes at last put to rest the Illithid demi-god and all of its imprisoned and kidnapped souls.

Volume 12: Southern Comfort (7th January 2013) Our heroes learn more about the secrets of the Southern Continent post-Great Migration.

Volume 13: The Cauldron and the Spear(23 July 2013) Our heroes stop a mad wizard from becoming a lich and destroying two magical artifacts.

Volume 14: Day of Faith (12 February 2014) Our heroes are on the trail to thwart a series of mysterious accidents on the eve of the annual Day of Faith, where citizens of Hook City test their faith in the Four Sky Hooks that give the city its name.

Volume 15: The Day After (18 July 2914) Our heroes are embroiled in the political and economic dangers of a powerful Hook City that is suddenly without money! They venture into the depths of the Treasury to discover more about the mysterious origins of the Teucri...

Volume 16: The Hunt for the Teucri (12 November 2014) Our heroes us a Teucri teleportation machine. They want to find the Teucri to repair the Chit Machine, but instead find themselves in a land of heat and sand and an ancient curse!

Cursed and Evil Magic Items in Storage with Iron Adventurers

The Iron Adventurers have been collecting cursed magical items almost since the beginning. At the end of "Southern Comfort", part of their reward was a magical vault to safely keep the cursed items. Current itesm are:

Sargrass Daggers. Two wickedly curved daggers (fate items) from the Sargrass that were used in an unknown ritual that summoned a weird spirit (the Sargrass is a blocked land, presumably destroyed. See ACDM or CDM for details.)

Skeleton Swords. Bosk has some skeletal hands that have swords fused to the wrist instead of hands. They have a faint evil aura and are worthless. They are mainly decorations in his room now and for nostalgia.

Teleporter Painting. A painting and a teleportation disk to the temple of the Illithid that radiated evil, but they are now deactivated and broken.

Branding Iron. a cursed branding iron. Successful attack requires Fort DC 18 and Will DC 18. Fail Fort = Baleful Polymorph to Acid Zombie (as zombie but explodes when killed for 3d6 acid splash damage). Fail Will = Dominate Monster spell under control of weilder. This item was lost along with Zeoll when the Iron Adventurers and Uncharted Heroes stopped the Chaos Bell at the end of "Southern Comfort".

Bronze Ring. The ring has a map and was owned by a Hook City elite from long ago with a strange accent that sucked the heroes inside for a series of arena battles. They do not know the significance of the map.

Red and Black Gem. Serves as a magic compass when placed in water. So far, it has pointed the team to a warehouse outside of Hook City, and to an Illithad Tadpole eating animal. They have no clue how it works.

Assasin Box. A box that the team cannot open and looks like it has a place to insert something like a signet ring. The Assassin that killed Heather had the box. The signet ring is unknown.

Chaos Bell Clapper. The group temporarily had this item, stopping a Witch in Threshold, but the Clapper was taken by Gargul and the Crones of Gateway Downs to keep out of reach of mortals.

The Spear of Eberyon. Corrupted to chaos and evil by the twisted drow mage, Khar Avon, this Spear changes all spells cast nearby to strange and horrible effects!

Archives

The full past history of game posts can be found here.

Characters

These are the characters, past and present, that have been featured in this game.

Group Name in Hook City: Iron Adventurers

Current Roster

Past Characters

Ariman Couatlfang [Jason] - Human / Cleric / 1

Lenwë Palantír [Ed] - Half-Elf / Wizard / 1

Naru Aetherwind] [Adam] - Human / Wizard (Enchantress) / 1

Padre Sixtus [Drew] - Human / Cleric / 1

Motley Anklebiter [Dominic] - Gnome / Barbarian / 1

Sanji Remeid [Eric] - Human / Rogue / 1 [currently an NPC at Five Mile House with Helmust and Jillian]

Grendel [Jay] - Half-Orc - Cleric 1/Wizard 1

Xeron [Alain] - Human - Rogue 3

Valla Crudarian [Marty] - Elf - Wizard 3/ Ranger 3 [Came again, left again, came again, left again]

Ransy [Wilson] - Human - Paladin 2

Cesar [Nick] - Human - Fighter 2

Maikill [Kelly] - Half-Orc - Barbarian 3

Kyan [Jon] - Human - Ranger 6

Alexi [Jon T] - Human - Fighter 6

Beltrin [Keith] - Human - Barbarian / Wizard (Transmuter) 5

Yondrim [Jon L] - Centaur - Barbarian 2 / Oracle 4 Killed. Re-rolled Wyaar

Wyaar [Jon L] - Human - Paladin 6 / Cradled 1 [2nd Character. Left upon consolidation of Hook City and Uncharted Heroes] Stayed at Threshold to rebuild Quinn's Fort

Zane [John C] - Surface Drow - Sorcerer 5 / Dragon Disciple 3 [2nd Character. Left upon consolidation of Hook City and Uncharted Heroes] Travelling

Zeoll [Cayzle] - Liontaur - Cleric 2 / Sorcerer 2/ Cradled 2 / Seer 2 [2nd Character. Left upon consolidation of Hook City and Uncharted Heroes] Sucked into the Chaos Bell temporal distortion and reappeared in Bonetown Game.

Cyniq al-liz [Ezra] - Elf - Wizard / Justicar - 10

Caius [Tanner] - Human - Fighter - 10

Anrete [William] - Human - Barbarian

NPCs

MudTown

Venbolio Penn - Quality spell component merchant and first employer of the group. Has tent and sells bottles and potions.

Gordo - Owner of the Bucket of Blood saloon in MudTown. Has Saloon on wagons and travels around MudTown.

Five Mile House Budding waystation on the isthmus between Hook City and Gateway Downs. It is 5 miles from Hook City (outside the 5 mile regulation for permanent structures)

Sanji – former PC. Female Rogue. Orphan, she is very loyal but hates bullies. Runs with Hemust and Jillian.

Hemust and Jillian - former Noodle gang members, who now work at Five Mile House and good friends of the Heroes. Jillian has short blonde hair and blue eyes, always suspicious. Hemust is half-elf, also blonde and blue eyed, and is arrogant.

Hook City

Magister Alistair - High level wizard who helped occasionally to navigate the government of the city. Died of old age. Now, Alistair's Manor is an exclusive dining and meeting establishment.

Sergeant Capon – was liaison between team and SouthHook Constablatory. High sense of duty, no sense of humor. Takes everything seriously. Is currently assigned to the Treasury security detail.

Inspector Auslander - detective for the Hook City Constablatory. Tough no-nonsense and skilled, appreciates effective assets. Has worked with the team before on cursed items. Currently the liaison between the heroes and the Hook City bureaucracy.

Brodery Family – Team saved family in MudTown and sponsored them to Hook City after their daughter was killed by assasins. They run “Brodery Apothecary” in Iron Tower Square. Jimbim. Now eldest brother. He's a nice guy. Expert herbalist. Clarissa. Sister. Penetrating stare. Expert alchemist. Katherine and Billy Boy. Youngsters. Very angry and vindictive. Gat. Cousin. Toss a coin to figure out that mans mood. He likes to fight and will take anything said to him as an insult. Expert crafter of common items.

Mara Weaver – VIP NPC, mother of another PC. She owns “Sargrass Weavings” on the Iron Tower Square. Very beautiful and makes beautiful carpets and anything woven. Master weaver moved from Rattledam before the destruction of the Sargrass. Can repair Steelgrass weavings.

Torm - Awakened Tortoise and high priest of Ma'ab in the Hook City Temple. Speaks slow and has great wisdom. Temple of Ma'ab in Hook City has grottos that are environmentally thematic; one area of swamp, one forest, one desert...

Flea - Halfling priestess at the Hook City Temple of Jantierri. The priests of the dead goddess augment people seeing visions with various drugs (voluntary only).

Foes Who May Be Alive

De Rais - An evil arcane spellcaster and his thrall children escaped into Hook City's sewers (Volume 6) after the Iron Adventurers thwarted his plans and killed his brother. He was also involved in killing two girls who used to be ghosts haunting the Iron Tower. Not a nice guy and does NOT like the Iron Adventurers, especially any 'taurs.

Mhalice - A drow Sorcerer/Spellweaver who was lieutenant of Khar Avon before the Iron Adventurers killed him (Volume 13). She was a huge problem because of her counterspell capabilities. Due to some bad blood, Mhalice and Sesha (heroic drow BloodWitch) are now arch-enemies.

Korrine - An Umbral Dragon who lives in Jericho Space. Tried to use a Tecuri Portal from space to a swamp near Oyster Bay (south-west coast of Gateway Downs) to bring an army of Serpentfolk and golems to conquer the Wold. The heroes stopped her by destroying the portal, and she is very angry at the Iron Adventurers. She speaks as if a grandmother talks to grandchildren. "Tsk, tsk, dearies, you must be punished." Often outright lies and has no issue with killing her own allies if it suits her purpose.

Geography

• The Iron Tower - the home of the Iron Adventurers in Hook City

The Iron Tower Neighborhood

• Iron Tower Square

The Iron Tower of the Iron Adventurers stands alone in the middle of a medium-sized square. It is downriver of the Bridge which is clearly visible only a ½ mile away, and situated on the border between LaborTown and South Hook. Quite fortuitous, really, as the mercantile activities of LaborTown is full of activities that provide information and are also full of people who will trade nearly anything. And from the South Hook precinct, the group has access to the constablatory, magistrates, and the respectability which comes of living in Hook City itself.

The square itself is bordered by shop/homes where the street level is of one shop or another and the upper floors are the home of the crafters, merchants, and traders who run the shops. At first, the square was nearly deserted because of the events of the Haunted (Iron) Tower. Yet the Iron Adventurers have caused this neighborhood to revive, and several new families have moved in with their own businesses. In fact, once per week, an open market occurs in the square, with vendors of all sorts vying for the attention of any passersby.

• The Southern Continent

• Hook City

Special Locations for the Iron Adventurers in Hook City

(all temples are located on the Marble Causeway)

Temple to Ma'ab and Eberyon This is a combined temple run by an Awakened Giant Tortoise named Torm. Torm is extremely wise if very slow in speaking style. The temple itself is set up as grottos for every possible environment and a cleric of Ma'ab or Eberyon or any druid can recover spells within the temple (even though it is within the city)

Temple of Wardd The temple is one big room built with a mix of every imaginable building material. In the center is a huge statue of Wardd (the pose and specifics of the statue change every time). Around the statue is always a hodge-podge of items that people leave or take hoping for luck. Any worshippers that want luck on a venture just come in and shout out their request! Sometimes, there is someone who can answer the question as they are waiting for their own luck.

Temple of Panthenon Set up like a court room, there is always one Justicar on duty to act as judge and hear any cases brought to them.

Temple of Jantierri Quiet, dim, and full of incense, there are many beds for supplicants to sleep and perhaps dream of the answer they seek.

History

Here you'll find links to all the events and history relevant to this game.

DM Pages

Here are all the resources a DM will need to run this game.

Hook City Fiction

Here are any stories written about Hook City Characters/Game Events