The Hunters’ Codex

The Hunters’ Codex is a series of sessions relating to various monsters around Var’Tareen. It is an anthology game with loosely connected sessions. The first session took place in Tanner’s Vale, Toalla. It involved the hunting of a Melting Stag. Al’Sys made an appearance in this game. The Second session took place in Pruzer. It involved the killing of two Draining Spiders. Skua, The Curator, and Vella appeared in this session. The Legionnaire Orna Wellis was a character in both sessions.

## The Melting Stag

### Number of PCs

6

See Melting Stag

### Player Characters

Al’Sys: An assassin who stumbled across the hunt on his way south. He unsettled everyone else and left just as the group encountered the Melting Stag. He didn’t care about killing the monster.

Chrysanthemum: An artist from Mordehall and daughter of a noble family. Chrysanthemum took part in the hunt in order to watch people in struggles of life or death. However she was quite unprepared to spend time in the woods. Dirk and Chrysanthemum got along well and the Toallan had his butler help Chrysanthemum.

Al"Sys a year after the events at Tanner's Vale. Art by Ernesto Irawan https://www.artstation.com/ernestoirawan

Dirk Masters: The son of a powerful WMA member. Dirk was a trophy hunter who travelled with his butler Hobbsington. He was an expert with crossbows and his battle strategy consisted of having Hobbsinghton hand him loaded crossbows which he would fire and drop. In all other things he was inexperienced and useless. Hobbsington had to take care of him.

Doc McPriam: A researcher obsessed with finding a cryptid. He followed this bounty hoping it was his prey. The Melting Stag was not what he was after but the researcher was still able to provide helpful advice on how to take down the beast. Doc was an old man driven crazy by his hunt. Everyone else was put off by his demeanor.

Hobbsington: The butler of Dirk and the person who organized the trip. Hobbsington was strong and carried all of Dirk’s gear including his tent and many crossbows. On the trip to the Stag he took care of camp and made sure the rich son didn’t get hurt.

Ricky: The guide of the woods who was hired by Hobbsington. Ricky pretended to give wisdom to Dirk as a scam. However he was a competent tracker and was familiar with the woods. In the fight against the Stag he used his two knives to attack the beast directly.

### Important NPCs

Orna Wellis

Vince Carter

### Summary

Tanner's Vale was a small town in the east of Toalla, next to the mountain range Ghuramor's Spine. It was being disrupted by a monster which would eat crops, melt fences, and eventually kill people who tried to stop it. The local West Merchants Association posted a bounty on the beast. Many people showed up to try and slay it. One group was a rich young Toallan named Dirk Masters, his butler Hobbsington, his local hired guide Ricky, a man named Doc McPriam who studied monsters, a young Mordish artist from a rich family named Chrysanthemum, and Al'Sys. They were an odd group but after speaking to Vince Carter at the WMA office they were able to visit the places in town that had been attacked. Thanks to Doc they identified the monster as a Melting Stag, which Dirk then dubbed the Corrodafawn. They followed some old tracks out of town. Shortly after they ran into Orna Wellis who was a member of the Legion of the Dancing Winds. She was studying the beast to try and add it to the Legionnaire's Bestiary. She wished them luck, gave them advice, and asked that if they survive, bring her back some pieces or tell her where they killed it. They travelled deeper into the woods, resting for the night. Early the next morning they found a trail of blood. It led them to another group. Only one had survived their encounter with the Stag. Doc promised to help the survivor if he told them the direction to the stag. They learned the direction and stopped Al’Sys from putting the man down. As they walked in the direction of the Stag the horses began to get nervous and had to be left behind. The stag was found in a ruined part of the woods at the base of a cliff. All the grass and shrubbery in the area had been eaten. All that was left was burned trees and melted rock. They engaged the Melting Stag. It was a tough fight with nearly everyone getting close to death. The beast lost both its antlers. But in the end Chrysanthemum dealt the last blow. The Melting Stag was dead. They collected the head and their trophies and left to collect the reward.

## The Draining Spiders

### Number of PCs

5

See Draining Spider

### Player Characters

The Curator: A rich citizen of Pruzer. He was known for his charitable work and his secret connections with the Mordish Birding Society. He looked into the disappearances of miners at the behest of the guild. The Curator placed a bounty on the head of the monster that was causing this.

Jarin: A musician and storyteller who wanted to look into the disappearances to find the tale there. He worked with Weyland. He had no skill with a weapon but was able to energize people with his lute.

Skua: The bodyguard of The Curator. Where he went she followed. She was skilled with a bow and a ruthless killer. Though she didn't care much about the miners she helped because of devotion to the Curator.

Vella: A former pirate from the Southern Isles. She had recently ended up in Pruzer looking for clues about the secret struggle against the Kaiser. She took a job protecting Weyland on his investigation into the monsters.

Skua (right) after her injury by the female draining spider and Vella. Art by https://twitter.com/zgbms

Weyland Pharus: A historian of magic. He saw monsters as the only tether to the Old Gods and their powerful magic. He wanted to know what was killing the residents of the Coal Quarter so he could study it. His knowledge of monsters proved to be useful in killing the Draining Spiders.

### Summary

In Sharus of AeP 446 people started disappearing from the Coal Quarter of Pruzer. Though there were no witnesses, people around the city spoke of a terrible lethargy that accompanied the disappearances. Taking matters into their own hands because the Viceroy didn’t help, the Miners Guild held a meeting to discuss what to do. Word of this gathering got to The Curator, who showed up with Skua to hear the grievances of the miners. Also attending the meeting was Jarin, a local bard, and Weyland Pharus, a scholar of magic. Wayland had hired Vella for protection. The five of them were the only ones who weren't too scared to help. After The Curator placed a bounty on the monster's head, they all met up. They spoke with Guild Leader Jackson who promised the Curator a favor if the monster was slain. He also told them it was coming from the old abandoned mines. The miners had filled in all the entrances they had access to. One of the post offices nearby was built over an entrance. Since this was under control of the Viceroy it couldn't be accessed by the guild. It was already built over but would be easier to clear.

Jarin, Weyland, and Vella went to investigate the sites of the disappearances. At all four they found signs of a large beast but no blood.  Each person had gone missing less than a hundred feet from a mine entrance. Weyland also found signs of a second beast. Meanwhile the Curator and Skua tried to recruit some help. Though they couldn't convince any locals to assist, they did hear that a Legionnaire named Orna Wellis was in the neighborhood. She had gone underground the day before. In the early evening the five met up back at the church in which the guild meeting was held. They exchanged information, agreeing to go to the post office. Before leaving they borrowed mining equipment from the guild. The office was closing for the night so The Curator had to bribe their way in. He talked to the head clerk and handed her a note with an Earl's sea, which convinced her he had business here. Accepting the letter the clerk left. Skua snuck downstairs and found two rooms On the right side was an office. On the left a locked door where it sounded like someone was working. She hid in the office and waited for the others. After most workers cleared out, they went downstairs. The Curator kicked the person working there out, saying he was going to do some repairs. After the man left they broke open the ground to find the mine entrance. Vella did all the work and Skua retrieved The Curator's note.

After breaking open the floor they found a rotting wood staircase above a small pit. Weyland tried to go down first. After a few steps the wood gave out and he fell below. Before the others went after him, Vella remembered she had a grappling hook. She anchored it and lowered everyone down to Weyland. They found him patching up his leg. Vella took her other rope and tied loops in it. Everyone grabbed a loop and proceeded into the dark. To find the way, Weyland pulled out an earth stone. Using Unamancy he cast a spell to feel vibrations in the ground. There was only one, some ways down the old mines. He led the group there. When they reached the spot there was no one. A female voice called out to them. It was Orna Wellis. She had been about to return to the surface for help. They decided to team up. Using additional information from Orna, Weyland figured out the monster was a male/female pair of Draining Spiders. Orna explained the differences between sexes and recommended going for the male first. She led them to the spot she thought their nest was.

The nest was down an old shaft full of cobwebs, where there was once a lift. They needed to lure the spiders up the shaft. To do so, Jarin played a sad song on his lute. The powerful emotions were enough to entice the spiders. They came crawling up the shaft. Weyland started giving instructions on how to kill them, Orna started channeling a spell, Skua fired arrows down the shaft, and Jarin changed his tune to be more encouraging. The fight was quick but brutal. The spiders used their tiring gaze and ensnaring grasp. They almost killed Weyland and knocked Skua and the Curator unconscious. Partially thanks to Jarin's song, and Orna's spell which gave them all a burning energy, they were able to overcome the monsters. Vella happily engaged the male, killing it with her cutlass. In the end Skua killed the female by lighting it on fire, though the flaming spider did strike her, giving Skua a burn across her chest. With the spiders dead, Weyland and Orna took the corpse of the male up to the surface for study.