Fourth Age:Origins
Fourth Age: Origins is a GURPS campaign set in Ontological Zombie's Fourth Age setting. It is being run as a play by post game. It began on September 2nd, 2007.
Contents
Player character information
Each character began as a 100 point equivalent to a first level DnD character. Follows is a list of all of the player characters involved with the game.
- Cypro Cabot, an Italian wizard's apprentice seeking to learn of the world outside of Venice
- Rood Het Merk'Brand, a Scandinavian merchant
- Reinhard, a soldier fleeing vengeance and seeking a new purpose
- Adalardo Scawens, a Caeldonian Elven druid seeking a lost tome
- Xorsch Shieldbearer, an Alpen Dwarf seeking fame and fortune to earn the right to marry.
- Dagfin Rundell, a Jotenheimen Dwarf looking for Zellgar's magical lore
GM Notes: the players have yet to even start discussing any party matters, even the most basic questions of how to distribute the recovered treasure or what to tell those who might ask to call them. It is worth noting that groups without a leader are at a significant disadvantage when it comes to recovering from partial surprise.
NPC information
Recovered artifacts and magical items
History of play
Play is taking the structure of a series of old converted 1e Dungeons and Dragons modules, starting with B1. All dates below are in-game simply because out-of-game dates don't matter as much in a play by post game.
Dates are given in years since the founding of Rome, a convention used by the French, Spanish, Holy Roman Empire, Italians, and Heptarchy. While you can easily reach a real world year with such a date, there is no correlation between events in our world and this setting.
B1: In Search of the Unknown
The party had each heard of the stronghold of Roghan the Fearless and Zellingar the Unknown, two adventurers believed to have died fighting the Scandinavians. Separately or together, the party made their way to the location of the stronghold in Caeldonia.
They have met along the way and formed a loose alliance to plunder the tomb, face its dangers, and share its wealth.
dies Mercurii, Maius 4, 2111 AUC
2:00 pm
Arriving at the stronghold just before a storm, the party finds the entrance behind some overgrown vegetation. The door opens easily, and bears marks of having been forced in the past.
Inside they find a long hallway broken up by several pairs of alcoves. Going is slow as Rood leads the way, checking carefully for traps. The third such alcove contains a set of magical stone mouths which deliver a dire (and very long) warning to those who would dare invade before fading.
2:10 pm
After the last alcove two steps lead up to a four-way intersection housing a grisley discovery. Six corpses, killed in battle, lay about the area, including at least one dwarf, from Cairngorm. The others turned out to be a German and a Heptarch Briton. The three of them having apparently perished in battle against the other two corpses, both Caeldonian warriors.
2:15 pm
As the players investigated, a trio of kobolds rounded the corner. Reinhard immediately charged, and one of the kobolds had the presence of mind to attempt to stop him with a bullet from its sling. He injured another, and the third was impaled on one of Cypro's crossbow bolts.
The survivor grabbed his wounded companion and fled down the corridor. They found him curled up in an alcove, weeping and begging for mercy.
Meanwhile, a newcomer joined them. Dagfin, a dwarf from Jotenheimen, had come seeking magical lore.
Map
Presented below is the map of the stronghold as known to the characters. Click on the thumbnail, then on the image on the file page to get a good look at it.
