recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
NPC Cult Fanatic

* ***Armor Class** 13 (leather armor) **Hit Points** 33 (6d8 + 6) **Speed** 30 ft.*

* **Skills** Deception +4, Persuasion +4, Religion +2
* **Senses** passive Perception 11
* **Languages** any one language (usually Common)
* **Challenge** 2 (450 XP)
* ***Dark Devotion.*** The fanatic has advantage on saving throws against being charmed or frightened.
* ***Spellcasting.*** The fanatic is a 4th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 11, +3 to hit with spell attacks). The fanatic has the following cleric spells prepared:
	+ Cantrips (at will): *light*, *sacred flame*, *thaumaturgy*
	+ 1st level (4 slots): *command*, *inflict wounds*, *shield of faith*
	+ 2nd level (3 slots): *hold person*, *spiritual weapon*

### **Actions**

* ***Multiattack.*** The fanatic makes two melee attacks.
* ***Dagger.** Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack:* +4 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one creature. *Hit*: 4 (1d4 + 2) piercing damage.

**Fanatics** are often part of a cult’s leadership, using their charisma and dogma to influence and prey on those of weak will. Most are interested in personal power above all else.
Copyright

The Primal Magic campaign is a private, non-profit use and adaptation of the "Forgotten Realms" source material. All source or "canon" content, including text and art, is copyrighted to the original owner, either TSR or WotC.

Some material, including maps, have been modified for illustration under fair use.

This campaign leans heavily on the scholarship and diligence of the Forgotten Realms wikia community .
Magic item: consumables

Magic Item Pricing and availability

more stuff

> *Consumables represent all items that can be used up when used in their intended manner. By default, consumables are somewhere around one tenth the price of an equivalent permanent item. The scroll prices below represent a typical scroll of that level. Scrolls with significant direct value, such as scrolls of fabricate or wish, may be priced differently*.
>
>

> -**Saidoro**
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Special Costs:

* Robe of Useful items - Cost of contained items multiplied by 5
1412

## **Trolls prove their regional reputation**

By **1412 DR,** Stonehearth riverboats were just making their appearance at North Point.

The paddle boats had been busy in Baldur’s Gate for better than a decade now. By 1412, those paddle boats made their presence known up and down the Winding Water river. For fresh water river fish, this was a critical facilitator for getting up-river.

More than a millennia prior, the kingdom of Shavinar had united to make a stand against the ever-increasing reach of trolls from the north. They lasted five decades on the Sword Coast before finally abandoning the kingdom. This, far more than the regular gauntlet through the Trollclaw hills, was on the mind of Stonehearth – especially in these vulnerable times without completed walls.

Roughly three years after the founding of North Point Keep, the trolls stopped killing each other long enough to unite several tribes, amass an army and kill the humans across the river. Riding fallen logs down and across the river, a horde of trolls silently crossed the river and made a surprise attack on the northern riverbank hamlet of Mill Stretch.

The hamlet was quickly overrun, resulting in a terrible loss of life before Stonehearth even knew the river had been crossed. By a quick estimation, nearly 500 of the beasts had landed and attacked. Many were carried out to sea.

After destroying Mill Stretch, the quickly moved downriver to North Point itself. One the trolls came into range of the cannons, Stonehearth tore into them. Even bringing that firepower to bear, the trolls quickly reached the walls and Stonehearth Arms engaged with blunderbuss and muskets. Between overwhelming physical damage, as well as the fire and flame effects, the trolls were quickly outmatched.

The Troll corpses were quickly harvested for various on-demand options, not the least of which were materials used for brewing potions of healing, strength and so on.

The few survivors of Mill Stretch rebuilt and a new appreciations of the how stealthy the creatures could be were now a full-time occupation.

Among the Arms, casualties were very light – but the civilian population had taken a blow and so had their confidence. The marquisate knew the walls were important for last stands, but this was a lesson that they were going to have to be proactive in their defense if they wanted to hold this territory.
NPC Bandit

**Bandit**

* *Medium humanoid (any race), any non-lawful alignment*
* ***Armor Class** 12 (leather armor) **Hit Points** 11 (2d8 + 2) **Speed** 30 ft.*

* **Senses** passive Perception 10
* **Languages** any one language (usually Common)
* **Challenge** 1/8 (25 XP)

**Actions**

* ***Scimitar.** Melee Weapon Attack:* +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. *Hit:* 4 (1d6 + 1) slashing damage.
* ***Light Crossbow.** Ranged Weapon Attack:* +3 to hit, range 80 ft./320 ft., one target. *Hit:* 5 (1d8 + 1) piercing damage.
* **Bandits** rove in gangs and are sometimes led by thugs, veterans, or spellcasters. Not all bandits are evil. Oppression, drought, disease, or famine can often drive otherwise honest folk to a life of banditry.
1458

## **The Flow of Bones Attack**

**1458****DR:** An army of undead marched under the water to emerge on the riverbank right outside the walls of North Point. The army was led by a lich…

Given the high-level leadership of this horde, it was recognized as a love letter from Larloch.

Too close for cannons, this was another street-by-street, house-by-house battle outside the walls. Some areas had heavy damage, but given the size and power of the undead, fighting in an urban environment, the casualties were extremely light.

The target was assaulting the external anchor points for the mythal. The body of the Lich was destroyed – but the consciousness held in stasis as they traced it back the same way they did twenty years prior. Again, a portion of Warlock’s Crypt, under surveillance by Stonehearth Rangers, *blew up*.

More than the explosive damage caused to Warlock’s Crypt, having remotely blown up the *phylacteries* of two of his liches, Stonehearth sent a very potent message to Larloch. Like the last phylactery explosion, this sent ripples through the tattered Weave.

Not long after, Stonehearth received guests inquiring about the magic and intentions of the growing marquisate.
1327

## **Gold and Paper: from Ledgers to Presses to Schools…**

The legacy business from Oghmason, the scribe’s shoppe and library project, had become a central component of the Stonehearth family. By **1327**, this trade catered to both mundane academics and arcane scholars.

Stonehearth was already utilizing an abacus system for money and stock counting, but the figures had to be recorded somewhere. It was natural for a scribe family to write it down, but they were running into patterns of need: basically reinventing a new accounting ledger and starting books from scratch.

This led to thought of creating a way to put the ledger lines on paper to keep it all organized. They were already mass-producing the books themselves, this was just another step in the process.

Thus was invented ***printing presses*** – and the beginning of the ***Printing Revolution***.

The possibilities here were endless, from news pamphlets to activist pamphlets, maybe even to whole pre-printed books. Literacy was spotty at this point: beyond nobility and certain merchant classes, or those otherwise highly motivated and born somewhat lucky, there wasn’t access to public schools.

Stonehearth immediately made the printing presses for sale, though there was only so much demand since literacy itself was limited. Most of the customers in turn aimed their printing at the upper echelons of society, and mostly in pamphlet form.

House Stonehearth, on the other hand, opened a school for employees and their families (especially their children). This stretched from educating the earliest students in primary school up through the Stonehearth Academy, already a trade school for abacus-armed accountants.

Combined with the Stonehearth College (now celebrating 30 years), and the training programs for the Stonehearth soldiers security, the in-house craftsmen and engineers, and Stonehearth itself was a city within a city…
Quasimagical items

## An Echo of Netheril

A powerful tool within the reach of Stonehearth Mythallars, the devices known as quasimagical items were able to be (comparatively) inexpensively produced but bring tremendous power to bear. Comparable, in earthly terms, to a combination of power grid and telecommunications network, this was a level of territory-dependent coordination that hadn't been seen since the days of Netheril.

By modern eyes, this hadn't been seen *at all*.

Most folk simply had no idea any of this stuff ever existed, though a few scholars did. When the word got out that this was a trademark of Netheril, things fell into place for some – especially external critics.

For those on the inside, this may have been inspired by the past, *but it was the way of the future*.

One essential difference: Stonehearth wasn't using the power to float a city. In fact, Stonehearth tended to look down on those floating above (they made very easy targets for magical artillery).

### Arcane Physics of Quasimagical items

Stonehearth Mythallars were, in fact, very different from Netherese version. The Netherese tapped into the Weave, while Stonehearth versions tapped directly into raw magic. The result was Stonehearth mythallars were slightly more powerful, but considerably smaller and more defensible.

The mythal/mythallar of North Point was inspiration to recreate a callback to Netheril: quasimagical items. In this case, instead of limiting to a city’s mythal, Stonehearth was taking it to the next level, using the wave propagation of magic to blanket the marquisate.

Working with arcane physics that fell a bit between line-of-sight propagation and ground wave propagation, they found they could create a tower powerful enough to energize level 5 and below quasimagical items out to about a 26’ mile radius, where the curvature of Toril itself became a limiting factor.

The field power was fairly consistent to within 1 mile of the tower, where the projected power would climb substantially, reaching level 8 spell-power right outside the tower. In the marquisate, right at the drop-off from the highlands to coastal areas, the tower power drops from 5 to 3 at waters-edge, unless in line-of-sight of North Point’s Mythal.

### MythComm

Standardized communications spell: audio only or audio/video anywhere within the Stonehearth mythal network. Casts as a wand-based cantrip. Think of the person to be contacted – this contacts their wand (not them, which prevents compromising situations given the A/V possibilities).

It makes Stonehearth hyperaware of scrying attempts. Other cultures feel they’re paranoid, and they are – but other cultures don’t have the capacity to talk across hundreds of miles *instantly*.

### Arcane Finance

Magically-based money transfer system using a mythal-based wand.

The economy has absolutely rocketed in the last 20 years because of it.
1401

## **The Rise of the Gate Riverboat**

One of the places steam made its most visible impact was on river traffic to Baldur’s Gate.

Situated 20 miles up the River Chionthar from the Sword Coast, navigating the river by sail was on the border of a challenge simply because the timing of the sea breezes. Most ships would use the sunrise push to get to The Gate, or depart after just dark. Anything else took some tacking to accomplish.

By **1401**, Stonehearth put their steam engines to work on Chionthar paddle boats...

The steam power was taken out of the manufactories and hooked up to paddles to drive boats up the mighty current of the Chionthar. In the space of a week, the SMC experiment became a wildly popular way to move goods and people upstream.

Powered maritime vessels were the next wave of the Stonehearth future – and it was starting in the Gate…
Ambitions: Grand Goals

Stonehearth already maintains portals between the worlds of ***Toril-Abeir***, originally built to connect with Lantan and Halruaa during the Spellplauge-wrought sundering. They have since been measuring and quantifying comparative geography.

Going to stabilize Abier in the Prime Material plane, it’s shared orbit with Toril – *on the other side of the sun*.

This is the grand-daddy of all projects.

### ***Remove the Major Abeir Threats:*** expulsion or eradication

* ***In Preparation***

Starting with the Primordial in the volcano near Neverwinter, that will be the Stonehearth test run to eventually cleanse the Primordial threat.

Likewise, the Abolethic Sovereignty, and the aboleths within, are an objectively evil force. The polity, and its population, are already in the Stonehearth crosshairs.
Arcane Ballistics

It is said that ammunition is on its way out.

The Stonehearth Arms respectfully disagrees.

There are already weapons in the lab that are soldier-ready energy-only devices. These have a deep magazine akin to any wand or staff – and they will find their place – but the Stonehearth Arms has built a reputation across two worlds with the ability to load embodied malevolence into a device and deliver it to targets who have unfriendly intentions.

The only place ammunition is going... *is downrange*.

## The Evolution of Ammunition

From Stonehearth's first use of the beads from a necklace of fireballs, the concept of advancing ballistic trauma beyond bolts and arrows was inevitable. Funny that the principle would return to the concept of the bullet, arisen from the lowly slingshot, but this was the surprising turn of the discovery and inquiry into the science of ballistics .

Similar to Earth's own progression, there was a rapid evolution as Stonehearth applied, learned, progressed and discarded old methods. They started with completely separate methods of propellant, when the Arms used versions of powder horns. They progressed to integrated cartridges and next to caseless versions of the same – all pushed modern concepts in engineering, manufacture and accelerated by magic.

Finally, in 1433 DR, they reached the current stage of development: powered weapons that accelerated the projectile. When they could make them durable and poweful, they were released from the dangers of ammunition that was large and volatile.

### The State of the Art

The current level of ballistics for Stonehearth arms has been similar to earth's progress, and for the same reasons. It all starts with the basic slug, a heavy projectile accelerated to great speeds to transfer its energy into the target. The weight and shape of those projectiles have evolved, engineered to pack tremendous damage into a tiny space.

When called for, there are versions that can pierce heavy armor, or do just the opposite: rapidly expanding at the point of impact to maximize the tissue damage. Most versions issued to Stoneheath soldiers have a fire enchantment: delivery just a single point of fire damage – but that's enough to make the ballistic damage to regenerating trolls *permanent*.

## No Parity on the Battlefield

The rest of Toril has seen the Arms of Stonehearth, and certainly heard of Lantan's smokepowder, but after thousands of years of arbitrary divine conditioning that the chemistry doesn't work, research into making every soldier a caster has barely gone anywhere.

Stonehearth does not expect that tactical advantage to continue.

What is unlikely to happen, however, is for others to have the fast progression that Stonehearth has created. Expect that much of the world is just embracing simple firearms, with separate propellant and ammunition, akin to flintlock firearms.
AOP:Background 3a

## DEEPER BACKGROUND

The leak wasn't a leak at all: *it was a surveillance score*.

## The Whiskey Raiders

The WR are a notorious thieves guild out of Saerloon, Sembia. More of an organized crime syndicate, their only loyalties are to themselves. They're not patriotic by any means, but they're definitely no fans of neighboring Cormyr and their buttoned-down law enforcement.

A thieves' guild lieutenant from the "Whiskey Raiders" saw a heavy, escorted cart depart the Cormyrean War Wizards office in Suzail and knew that had to be some serious cargo. They tracked it north and managed to get a clairvoyant peek in the back of the armored carriage. Inside, the magical scrying discovered massive treasury sacks of Cormyrean cash.

Tracking the cart, the treasure went to the Stonehearth Mercantile estate in the Stonehearth-held Barony of Espar. Stonehearth Mercantile maintains a heavily crenellated (defended) manor, so sneaking in there was a death sentence. Still, that much cash going anywhere was noteworthy.

Reported back to Whiskey Raider captains in Saerloon, Sembia, the wheels started turning. That much coin (estimated to be about 25,000 gold) from the War Wizards to Stonehearth Mercantile could only mean one thing: they're buying magic. While it could be for any number of things, the most common item – *simply by counting how often they were seen used on battlefields* – was likely weaponized spell scrolls.

It was a common War Wizard technique to outsource for mass spell scroll production, especially on industry-standards like fireball, and doubly-especially when Stonehearth Mercantile could do it so well, at prices that made no sense for the War Wizards to do it themselves.

## Proskur Free Trade Association

The PFTA is a careful front for a thieves guild out of Proskur. The City of Proskur itself is bristling under the semi-recent Cormyrean annexation, and the PFTA isn't above guerrilla warfare against Cormyr. When they were approached by a shadowy figure offering a wagonload of gold – who appeared to be a Sembian noble poorly hiding his identity – they jumped at the chance.

The WR accountants did a little math on how many scrolls that payment would purchase, adjusted for a likely bulk discount for the Cormyr-Stonehearth quasi-alliance, and how long it would take for Stonehearth Mercantile to produce that kind of order. Now they had a time table...

Intercepting that order at any point in the chain-of-custody would bring an unbearable amount of heat, not something the WR wanted to endure. Instead, the WR guild hired the "Proskur Free Trade Association," a politically-motivated thieves guild in Proskur to actually do the job, paying them 7,500 gp (Cormyrean coin) up front and another 7,500 gp on completion.

## Where To From Here?

* **Background Notes 1:** The scene of the crime
* **Background Notes 2:** What's in the crate?
* **Background Notes 3:** Why Stonehearth cares about Cormyr's crate
* **Background Notes 4:** Stonehearth's own investigation
* **Back to the Overview**...
1429

## **The Incredible Vanishing Troll Hill**

**1429****DR:** Attacks in the south – again – are drawn by undefended southern settlements that sprung up when 3d Battalion started patrolling areas closer to official marquisate territory (pushing Troll harrassment south).

The mindset itself of the colonists was fairly common among frontier folk: a desire for the advantages of a wealthy society but no desire to pay the tax to build it. Undefended by anything more than a ragtag militia, undeclared, unorganized settlements were like honeypots: it attracted flies, but much larger and scarier.

The were 132 casualties, one entire independent village wiped out. There were no survivors to rescue, though Stonehearth was obligated to pursue the assailants or they would be encouraged to return.

The 3rd Battalion followed the trail, eventually catching up to a massive clan of trolls in the southwestern Trollclaw hills. Two different caravans passing through Trollclaw Ford witness the Arms surround the specific hill where those trolls were known to lair – and blast the hill over a two-day period *until they turned it into a crater*.

### **The Aftermath of Thunder**

That display of firepower was unheard of in Toril. The two caravans became an enraptured audience as they witnessed a kind of focused destruction never witnessed. Beyond the slight, permanent hearing damage the witnesses suffered, they carried the story to Cormyr, Waterdeep and eventually back to Baldur's Gate.

The legend of the cannons of Stonehearth rocketed to the next level.

It didn’t matter which specific battalion, this was the army of *Blood and Thunder*…
1373

## **Stonehearth’s Parchment of Duplication**

Now 15 years after the start of the Time of Troubles (and what would eventually come to be known as the Era of Upheaval), the rate of disaster befalling areas of Toril was alarming. The God of Murder had just cut a swath through Baldur's Gate and it was a miracle the city hadn't burned down in the process.

Or at least a miracle that had lots of earthly effort to keep that from happening...

One thing was clear, though: the collective knowledge and all that civilization had struggled to learn and accomplish and record was now at risk to being lost as ashes in the flow of time. By **1373**, the SMC had devised a way of preserving knowledge and even spreading it far and wide.

This made Oghma, God of Knowledge, *very happy*.

### **No Duplication of Effort**

The *Parchment of Duplication* project was half done with the scroll of conversation production from earlier.

In this case, Stonehearth produced *Books of Duplication* and *Scrolls of Duplication*. For these creations, a blank book or scroll was created and created a perfect facsimile of the source, including text, illustrations and so on.

On the first versions, once the *Book* or *Scroll of Duplication* was activated and copied a source, the enchantment was spent, there was no trace of magic – but there was an instant copy.

Copies could be made of copies ad infinitum without any loss of quality. The *initial* version wasn’t sophisticated enough to copy charged spell books, but they were working on that…

Stonehearth began copying their own Baldur’s Gate library onto silvered-page books and scrolls – material that didn’t oxidize or easily burn, creating a more durable library. These silvered volumes were stored at remote location.
VtC02

### **Reality Collapsing**

Rod Serling's voice begins the narrative but Jordan Peele's voice brings them up to speed. This is a slow realization that reality itself has shifted around the PCs, as if they’ve woken up one day to find the world around them has changed. The closer they get to the sword coast, the more they find is different from what they've heard about (or remember).

By the time they reach Baldur's Gate (or, heaven forbid, North Point)*, this is system shock.*

A variation on the Many Worlds parallel universe theory, the set-up alone rolls on the basis of a collapsing quantum reality. They’ve been transported from their world, as they’ve known it, to this one – which is so very similar in many respects – but whose history begins to diverge from about 200 years ago, based on their knowledge of lore.

Some from their world may have even been transported with them, potential allies (or possible rivals), and a running sub-plot becomes their discovery of the differences of their world to this one. Their family, if they have one, may or may not follow – and the reason they crossed the reality barrier may vary. Either this world’s version of them was dying as the transition happened, this world needed a “them” (and never had one), they were traveling by portal at the time, or similar.

All of the retcon necessities are slowly uncovered as the PC travels and interacts. Over the course of the campaign, the PCs will make two key discoveries:

1. Not only are there other survivors from their reality, there are survivors from other realities, all similar – and all consumed into nothingness.
2. The PC that survives long enough may eventually discover that their reality was destroyed by the eight elder evils hiding in the sky – and join the Stonehearth crusade to destroy these malevolent deities.
AOP:Southern Route

This mini-campaign is built around the party taking the combat-zone Western Route, though originally... we were designing it so that players had a choice of the Western or Southern (Team Three) route. This page serves as staging and a DM/GM source should somebody desire an alternate.

 Either way, you'll each be issued a Stonehearth livery badge for the duration of this assignment. I wouldn't necessarily wear it in town but once you're outside the gates, it'll get you through their lines with minimal questions asked. We'll collect those badges when you return to claim the completion fee.

#### The Southern Run

* Your four stops: **Redwater** to **Redwinds** to **Sullshurr** to **Shortbridge**.
* The longest leg is the first stretch: *Westgate to Redwater*. You're not cavalry, it's forgivable if you don't make that in one day. Redwater is reasonably sized and fairly solid in Sembia's grip, but not entirely by choice. Keep your eyes open.
* The slowest stretch will the second leg: Redwater to Redwinds on the Western Shore of the lake. You'll have the wind at your back but you'll be going against the current, and very likely during a storm. It's still shorter than going all the way around, especially through the war zone of Redsbridge.
* After that, ride or float is your option to Sullshurr. Ask the locals: if a ferry can get you there faster, expense and we'll reimburse you.
* Sullshurr to Shortbridge is a short leg, especially if you take one of the minor trails. Post the bills, enjoy a night on the town, then make your way back to surrender the livery badge and collect your completion fee.

## Where the Hell am I?

You're in the DM's secret storage closet, the locked "Southern Run" treasure chest.

* After the interrupted briefing, the PCs will have some **Time to Kill**
* **Overview review**
* **Westgate primer**
1440

## **Troll Wave at Hearth’s Reach**

**1440 DR:** Not half a year went by before the trolls were ready, willing and able to assault Hearth’s Reach.

Despite amassing 112 of the raging, regenerative giants, the entire horde was allowed close enough to attack the walls directly. The trolls didn’t even chip the metal-plated lower walls, but at point-blank range, the cannons had the maneuverability to aim straight down.

It was like shooting fish in a barrel… with a really big gun.

The cannons ripped through the horde, shredding them enough… to be harvested.
Cove of Ironport

*Of* **Iron Men** *and* **Wooden Ships...**

A mile south of North Point, down the Sword Coast, is the highly protected cove of Ironport, the primary Stonehearth Naval Yard. With roughly 1,800 permanent residents, it's large enough to rate as a "small town" by itself according to D&D standards.

This is the primary berthing, maintenance and repair facility for the naval branch of the Stonehearth Arms. With dry docks, a shipyard where contractors are brought in to build ships, and *extremely* secure areas for the cannons, this area is a maritime fortress.
1425

## **Stonehearth deploys *Books of Learning***

It had been a while since the last ground-breaking development. By **1425 DR,** the cycle of research and development had caught. It was time to rock the world once again…

Enchanting armor and weapons had grown significantly more efficient, increasing not just survivability for the noble arms, but lethality in their operations. Everyone assumed it was the scroll-based temporary enchantments buffing Stonehearth soldiers, but the reality was that these were permanent anhancements.

Likewise, their alchemy skill had increased tenfold. The secret of the extremely rich gold mine was that there was no gold. It was a lead mine – with an alchemy lab deep within. That realized gold, in turn, was poured back into the local community, attracting more exceptional craftsmen and artisans.

Books of Learning taught skills, elevating local partners… *increasing efficiency*. The senior advisors to Stonehearth have their own competition: *whose laboratory has made the bigger contributions?*

Master Yengevin Sid, born 1409 (the year NPK was founded), came from a Halruaan refugee family that earned its way into the Stonehearth circle after their escape to Baldur’s Gate.

The Sid magical academy in NPK was already breaking traditions, able to teach the highest levels of magic – and metamagic – when young Yen went through the academy himself. Even as a boy, he was talented – and by the time he was a young man, he was demonstrating profound genius.
AOP:Mission Progression

## **We Are Good to Go**

By the time the PC's enter the picture, the action has been going for weeks (if we start with the surveillance that started this whole thing in Suzail, Cormyr). You, as the DM/GM, have absorbed the background of this political thriller and are about to help the narrative make the jump to action/adventure.

The Point of Contact sequence brings the PCs into the maelstrom. While "quest" or "adventure" both work, the operative word here is "mission." It's a party, sure, but they're working together as a team. This isn't just gearing up, it's the D&D version of preparation and staging.

### **Route Sequence**

The overall sequence is simple:

* Part I: eight locations (four required), over eight days, minor complications
* Part II: sudden development; back-track and follow a lead.

This mini-campaign is designed for a tempo that will complete the story arc in 6-10 2-hour sessions, averaging 8. That can be compressed or extended to fit the temperament of the players.

### **Free Will**

*An Outsider's Path* is *not* scripted, but it *is* planned. It's based on responding to a sequence of events that are already in motion, including the actions and plan of NPCs who are well outside the view of the PCs, but whose own actions will affect the world (and the PCs in it).

 Easy Mode

The actions of Teams One, Two and Three will all have a significant impact with the diplomatic relations of Stonehearth with Cormyr and Sembia, and are taken as the good-faith show-of-effort that they're meant to be. Team Four will contribute to that, and one way or another, will be pivotal in larger sense. Like the butterfly effect, the decisions they make will have a potential to create triumph... or tragedy.

### **Operational Area**

The primary action is in the eastern Dragon Coast, starting from Westgate and heading west, past Teziir, likely concluding in the ruins of Pros on the southern Dragonmere coast. The first few sessions will be a travelogue with complications.

The rate they go will be entirely dependent on the "modest mounts" they've chosen in character generation. If everybody has a semi-modest "riding horse," clearing 50 miles in a day, they'll breeze through the minor stops and hit the major waypoints nightly. If they are, in fact, on modest draft horses, they'll make overnight stays in most of the smaller villages on the way.

Once they have a good sense of tempo, and they've found their groove, we're going to turn that flow on its ear. The last few sessions will be a mad, bloody dash with a potentially potentially crispy climax.

### **Injects**

There are a number of possible developments that can be used. Each sub-scenario can be used at any time, and to varying degrees, should the DM/GM decide it might be handy.

* Players running amok? Try: **What We Do in the Shadovar**
* **Dude, Where's My Horse?** (version 1 - modular scenario)
* **Seriously dude, Where's My Horse?** (version 2 - modular scenario)
* **Dude, Where's My Horse for realz this time?** (version 3 - modular scenario)
AOP:RRE Scornubel

## The Merchants from Scronubel

Human *Glorenn Ishieltur* and dwarf *Helmdall Dawnbright* are reps of the Red Shields of Scornubel, at one time a mercenary company, prime defense contractor of Scornubel and more lately a merchant company. While the Red Shields business was most famously to the coastal west, they were now expanding to the east as they looked to deepen their trade ties through shorter, less hazardous routes.

They'd brought and sold wool in Westgate, then made exploratory purchases of weapons from various vendors. They now carry a selection of moderate to high-quality longswords, axes and hammers.

Note: the Red Shields had largely been displaced by the Elturgard Hellriders, a cavalry-dominant force based out of Elturel.

## Where To From Here?

* **AOP: Random Road Encounters**
* **AOP: Mission Progression**
AOP:Mission Accomplished (phase one)

## A Job Well Done

If the PCs accepted the "extended mission" option, please scroll down to the "URGENT MESSAGE" section.

If the PC'd declined the extended mission option, their mission is over after they post the last *Bill of Reward* in Giant's Run. They are free to make their way back to Westgate, and may have have a smooth (or exciting) trip based on the momentum of the party and the preparation of the DM/GM.

They will receive their completion fee and assuming they wait a week, will receive a 10 gp bonus for their bill leading to the resolution of the situation.

Assuming the job was completed without burning any bridges, they will receive a **trusted contractor's token**.

### ROLL CREDITS

Congratulations, the *Outsider's Path* mini-campaign is complete. As the DM, please share feedback, and encourage the players to do the same.

## URGENT MESSAGE

After the PCs post their last *Bill of Reward* in Giant's Run and contemplate the best way home, their "Convo" wondrous device activates with a message from OA.

Please continue to **Lead One**...
1451

## **Neverwinter is destroyed by volcano**

**1451****DR**: Maegera, a primordial held in slumber through the craftsmanship of the dwarves of Delzoun and the elves of Iliyanbruen at the heart of Gauntlgrym, briefly awakens, causing Mount Hotenow, a long-dormant volcano, to erupt. A pyroclastic flow destroys the city of Neverwinter.

Only the Winged Wyvern Bridge survives the destruction relatively unscathed.

### **Stonehearth had agents in the city at the time**

Most of those agents survived and sent an emergency update to Stonehearth. The House, in turn, sent a fleet of 4 teleporting ships to the north with emergency supplies, among the few to give aid and comfort to the survivors.

Those same ships returned to North Point full of injured refugees.

With the city destroyed, there was an assumption on the part of the locals that most survivors would withdraw and abandon the ruins. There was, after all, both an active volcano and an imprisoned primordial that made the area extremely hazardous.

With that general consensus, Stonehearth officially withdrew from the devastated Neverwinter area.

Over the next few years, the area itself was surprised by the tenacious persistence of the remaining survivors – who would eventually proved bent on rebuilding.

## **Stonehearth Begins Defensive Experimentation**

The Arms had a good system, at least from the point of view of the protected Stonehearth subject. The Mobile Infantry had three phases of deployment: Forward deployment in the Hot Zone, close deployment to patrol home territory (the warm zone), and deployment as gendarmes in the city where they were garrisoned.

What did this leave out?

Actual recuperation, recovery and training time. It left out any chance for troops to decompress. That was taking its toll, especially as the Marquisate jurisdictions quickly grew in population density, threat elevation and actual crime surges.

The response was to let the various Battalions experiment with creating defensive specialists from volunteers among the more experienced Mobile Infantry soldiers. Most of the time, this led to permanent change-of-station orders, as well as enhanced training in the gendarme law enforcement and security techniques.

There were two different "Marshall" programs and a smattering of other, similar concepts around the Marquisate and Baldur's Gate alike.
AOP:Day Zero Staging

## Countdown to Departure

After the meeting in the Stonehearth Embassy, the PCs will likely be ready to make last minute adjustments and additions to their mission outfitting.

This isn't exactly an expedition across the untamed wilds. In fact, there's a good chance they could stay every night in some inn's comfortable bed. But they are going traverse a region that's a low-grade war zone as neutral travelers with no guarantee the sides will respect their diplomatic credentials (and then there are the bandits and monsters who will eat the credentials and the PCs along with them).

### Preparation

Far be it from the DM to be the party coordinator, but it's worth dropping hints that at least keep the real-world role-play pressure on. Once they're out Westgate's door, the easy mode slides NPC actions, while "Hard Mode" has a timeline that's running regardless of the players – and the PC's can miss the big payoff if they lag too far behind.

* The PC's bags should be packed and ready to go.
* A pre-dawn wake-up call left with front desk of wherever they're staying.
* If Stonehearth isn't paying for their room at the Jolly Warrior, which ever PC is the party scribe should record the expense in the ledger.
* Breakfast and/or Morning Rations set out for the road ahead.

If the PCs were unable to finish gearing in the break, a few outfitters in town have the candles going and will be happy to sell the essentials. The more exotic requests may be harder to fulfill at this time of night.

* Shop in scenic **Westgate**!

## Where To From Here

This concludes the introduction phase of the *Outsiders' Path* mini-campaign. With Chapter One done, the stage is set and the characters should be set for a run through the countryside.

* **AOP Overview**
* **Point of Contact**
* **Mission Progression**
NPC Troll

* **Armor Class** 15 (Natural Armor)  **Hit Points** 84 (8d10+40)  **Speed** 30 ft.

* **Skills**Perception +2
* **Senses**Darkvision 60 Ft., passive Perception 12
* **Languages**Giant
* **Challenge**5 (1,800 XP)

### **Traits**

* • Keen Smell: The troll has advantage on Wisdom(Perception) checks that rely on smell.
* • Regeneration: The troll regains 10 Hit Pointsat the start of its turn. If the troll takes acid or fire damage, this trait doesn't function at the start of the troll's next turn. The troll dies only if it starts its turn with 0 Hit Pointsand doesn't Regenerate.

### **Variant: Loathsome Limbs**

Whenever the troll takes at least 15 slashing damage at one time, roll a d20 to determine what else happens to it:

If it dies, so does the severed head.

If the troll finishes a short or Long Restwithout reattaching a severed limb or head, the part regrows. At that point, the severed part dies. Until then, a severed part acts on the troll's initiative and has its own action and Movement. A severed part has AC 13, 10 Hit Points, and the troll's Regeneration trait.

A severed leg is unable to Attackand has a speed of 5 feet.

A severed arm has a speed of 5 feet and can make one claw Attackon its turn, with disadvantage on the Attackroll unless the troll can see the arm and its target. Each time the troll loses an arm, it loses a claw Attack.

If its head is severed, the troll loses its bite Attackand its body is Blindedunless the head can see it. The severed head has a speed of 0 feet and the troll's Keen Smell trait. It can make a bite Attackbut only against a target in its space.

The troll's speed is halved if it's missing a leg. If it loses both legs, it falls prone. If it has both arms, it can crawl. With only one arm, it can still crawl, but its speed is halved. With no arms or legs, its speed is 0, and it can't benefit from bonuses to speed.

### **Actions**

* Multiattack: The troll makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws.
* Bite: Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) piercing damage.
* Claw: Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6 + 4) slashing damage.
1418

## **Hello again: *zombie invasion***

### ***1418****DR*****: The dead from Mill Stretch rise and attack**

Roughly 300 casualties from the decimation of Mill Stretch some six years before… were cursed to rise again as zombies.

There was no apparent necromancer leading the charge, but the force had come from somewhere. Most estimations was that the spell came from Larloch’s followers.

### **The threat was significant but not existential, despite the numbers rising.**

There was early warning and quick withdrawal from exposed areas.

The damage here was as much psychological as anything else – seeing loved ones or old friends violated (with six years of decomposition to boot – many of these were very nearly skeletons).

### **The Stonehearth Arms were in the streets, meeting these violations as they emerged**

Most fights were over before they began – with enormous force meeting the threats.

Each of the dead were consecrated and blessed before being burned.

This case was a significant scare, but resulted in zero casualties. There were significant searches for a necromancer, but nothing would show up (for another decade).

The response, however, pushed the public confidence the other way. Whereas an assault by the undead should’ve scared most away, the compassionate efficiency was the story of the day.
Primal Education

With progress comes new frontiers of knowledge. Here is a quick collection and description of all the skills, talents and class features found in the Primal Campaign.

#### ***Small Unit Tactics***

* Bonus die on initiative roll. If the character reaches at least six levels of Stonehearth Arms infantry levels, the feature will follow and scale even if they start multi-classing. The combined levels count against the following progression chart.

 d4

#### ***Close Quarters Battle (CQB)***

* Advantage on pointblank range, ignore loading quality.

#### ***Combat Ballistics***

* *Archery evolved:* gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls made with ranged weapons.

#### ***Sharpshooter***

* Ignore half and 3/4-cover, no disadvantage on long-range shots.

#### ***Savage Attacker***

* Once per turn when rolling damage for a melee weapon attack, that damage roll can be rerolled the and use either total.

#### **Security indoctrination**

Resistance to Mind Control, both magical and psionic. Progressive level bonuses assume that the Stonehearth soldier/employee is operating close enough to the marquisate for the annual boosters. This is a form of tailored, layered geas spells.

* Level 1 Stonehearth Arms Save vs Mind Control at 1/2 DC.
* Level 3 Stonehearth Arms Save vs Mind Control at 1/2 DC *with Advantage*.
* Level 6 Stonehearth Arms are immune to Mind Control.
1433

## **Stonehearth guns evolve past propellant**

### **Technical steps forward…**

The alchemy and chemistry of propellant was eliminated as the magical repulsive force was imbued directly into the barrel and powered by *Arcane Energized Crystals*. This simplified the ammunition component to bullets plus a crystal. When one bag of bullets ran out, swap out the crystal and start the next bag of bullets.

This streamlined the soldier’s job, allowing better focus on targeting and tactics, while reducing time spent on mechanics and maintenance.

This **1433 DR** leap forward would been notable as a single example of complex martial weapon, but as a mass-produced weapon, limited to one faction, it was a military advantage that elevated the Stonehearth Arms to a level that had no parity other among militaries on Toril by well more than an order of magnitude.

## **The Stonehearth *College of Arms* (CoA) is founded near North Point**

Stonehearth still had multi-function facilities in Baldur’s Gate that had been building the premiere troops of the Sword Coast for more than a century. The problem: the need had outgrown the school’s capacity and there was no more room to expand in the city without evicting neighbors or cannibalizing SMC area.

The answer was to build a new, high-capacity facility where there was plenty of real estate. The CoA would be constructed in the coastal lowlands, five miles south of North Point. This would become not only the new training facility, but the proving grounds for martial R&D.

The old Baldur's Gate training complex would be retained and repurposed by the Arms. The Arms alone had five buildings back in The Gate, three of which would continue to process, train and educate recruits, while two would be repurposed (and rebuilt) more specifically to normal operations for Lower City.

The three that were retained by training included a city within a city, used for training in extremely dangerous close urban combat situations.

### The Repurposed Buildings

* One of the repurposed buildings was shared-space barracks, which would no longer have to share space with anything else.
* The other was school logistics, which was repurposed to City Operations. While the Flaming Fist was the official authority, House Stonehearth their backup – indeed, the one thing that let them continue to take occasional (politically expedient) mercenary actions was knowing that the Arm’s 1st Battalion, Gate, would have the city in good hands.
NPC Commoner

**Commoner**

* *Medium humanoid (any race), any alignment*
* ***Armor Class** 10 **Hit Points** 4 (1d8) **Speed** 30 ft.*

* **Senses** passive Perception 10
* **Languages** any one language (usually Common)
* **Challenge** 0 (10 XP)

**Actions**

* ***Club.** Melee Weapon Attack:* +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. *Hit:* 2 (1d4) bludgeoning damage.
* **Commoners** include peasants, serfs, slaves, servants, pilgrims, merchants, artisans, and hermits.
Enchanted oar

## The Paddle of Speed

The Paddle of Speed is an enchanted paddle that can be used as a spell focus, an imbued quarterstaff capable of damaging magical creatures (+1), and gives a +10 movement bonus through water when actually using it as a form of propulsion with canoes or kayaks .

This also comes in oar form, but is usually produced, sold and used as a pair when done so. Using a single enchanted oar will result in rapidly rowing in circles...
Thunder

**Thunder** is a character from BTNVFO. He is a recommended character and was recommended by Crap. Thunder has somewhat of an attitude and a condescending demeanor. Like all elements, Thunder is based off of his respective element in the game, which is a yellow particle that can make electric currents more similar to that of lightning. Like most recommended characters, he is hated by Obama Bot.

## Appearance

Thunder is yellow coloured with a partially tired expression. Thunder is shown to be capable of generating electricity from himself, powering electric wires.

Thunder's voice is different from the other contestants due to his different voice actor. He is uncooperative towards others, including Obama Bot.

## BTNVFO History

In episode 2, Thunder debuts at the beginning of the episode. He is seen being held by Laser as Ant watches on. He is held do a metal pole connected to C-4 as he makes a spark of electricity, which goes down the metal rod and detonates C-4. Later on during the elimination, Thunder sits on the couch despite what Obama Bot says, much to the latter's frustration.
In episode 2 part 2, Thunder is first seen on the couch, asleep. Later in the episode he is pushed off by C-4 while he dodges a laser, and is thrown off screen. Thunder is seen later saying "What was that?" when Ant  bounches off of the couch after being slapped by Seed . Thunder is last seen during the execution of Plan A where he is killed with C-4.

**Characters**