A recap of the first part of my latest game on RPoL. I’m DMing an old AD&D 2nd edition module (Thief’s Challenge by Troy Christensen) for my pal David.

The Story So Far:

Exiled from his homeland of Dynar for a number of fraudulent crimes and petty scams, the bard Nikos made his way across the seas to the lands of Garlin, where he had hoped to start anew. Nikos found himself in Turtlebay, a coastal city mostly comprised of farmers and brewers, although for all the alcohol made there it was damn-near impossible for Nikos to find a decent tavern. The people of Turtlebay were, as far as Nikos was concerned, a bunch of know-nothing yokels, and it wasn’t long before the crafty bard was up to his old tricks, fooling some of the locals out of a few silvers with a shell game scam.

Unbeknownst to Nikos, his actions were being observed from afar. A note was slipped under the door to Nikos’ room at the local inn, inviting him to come to the next town over – Whytelock, with a possible lucrative employment offer attached. Clearly bored of Turtlebay (and not wishing to draw any more attention to himself), Nikos boarded one of the barges heading northeast on the Thadysh River to Whytelock.

The bard’s instructions were to wait at the Gullwing Tavern and Inn for his contact to show up. After sweet-talking the serving maid into a free drink, Nikos was delighted to discover his contact was the inn’s cook, a swarthy looking raven-haired beauty named Kyma, who proceeded to put on an act for the inn patrons about Nikos being her long lost cousin. Kyma used this act to ask her boss, the innkeeper, for the rest of the day off so she could ‘catch up’ with her kinfolk. The innkeeper quickly relented, allowing Kyma and Nikos to depart out the back door of the inn.

Her previous act replaced with a rather icy demeanor, Kyma led Nikos down into a wine cellar, which ultimately led through to a secret passage into the sewers below the town. She took Nikos through a series of winding tunnels until they came to an underground chamber which looked as if it served as an interrogation room of some sort, at least based on the various torture instruments lying about the place. Nikos was greeted by a mysterious figure dressed in black, known only as ‘The Moll’, leader of the Whytelock thieves’ guild.

The Moll was the one interested in using Nikos for an important job, based on his information gathering skills, loose morals, and his status as an outsider. This job was to hunt down and discover the true identity of the Gullwing Bandit, a cunning rogue who has preyed upon merchant barges traveling up and down the Thadysh for months now. The Bandit’s raids have caused the thieves’ guild to lose face, since the merchants pay them protection money to keep their wares safe from pirates, not to mention all the money the guild has lost having to bribe the Duke’s soldiers not to come down on them (the lawmen are assuming the thieves’ in the area are somehow backing the Bandit).

Nikos was promised thousands of gold pieces if he could complete this task, but only if he passed a guild loyalty test first. He was to travel further up-river to Hylock and visit the manor of one Melbourne Greystreet. Posing as a phony antiquities dealer, Nikos would hopefully be offered a tour of the palatial home, where he could scout out some small baubles to steal later that evening. These trinkets would be pawned off to help recoup some of the money the guild had lost recently paying off Duke Garlin’s men. The Moll insisted that Kyma accompany Nikos and act as his right-hand during the mission, something that Kyma silently objected to.

Before setting off for Hylock, Nikos stopped off at Whytelock’s marketplace to scrounge a free meal off some poor sap. He found himself in the town’s huge trading post, where all manner of merchants had set up stalls to flog their wares. Nikos was greeted by Mary, the owner of the trading post. Hastily turning on the charm with some light chatting up, Nikos won himself a free cup of soup from the woman. Figuring he had a wealthy lady to take advantage of at a later time, Nikos then joined Kyma at the pier. The two boarded a barge headed for Whytelock, bickering like a married couple the entire time.

Whilst on the barge, Nikos heard the faint sound of a lyre emitting a melancholy tune. Being a lyrist himself, Nikos was naturally curious, and investigated, discovering a lithe redheaded woman working on a song. Nikos decided to immediately show-off by whipping out his own lyre and joining in with the music, but his choice of a snappy, jaunty number from his homeland of Dynar was more than enough to ruin the lady’s concentration. A little nonplussed, she asked just what the heck Nikos was doing, but Nikos quickly recovered and turned on the charm once again, fooling the woman into thinking he was a famed adventurer back in his homeland. The woman introduced herself as Luci Janns, a fellow bard who made a decent living traveling up and down the Thadysh River, playing songs and telling stories to the sailors and merchants for tips. A recent chance encounter with the Gullwing Bandit had inspired Luci to start writing a song about the infamous villain, but, as she explained to Nikos, she was lacking the inspiration to complete the piece. Luci hoped that by staying on the river she would eventually run across the Bandit again so she could finish the song. Thinking ahead to his subsequent quest, Nikos asked Luci a few questions about the Bandit, but Hylock was looming on the horizon, so their conversation was brief. Stating that she would attempt to look Nikos up again after his ‘business’ in Hylock was finished, the two bards bid farewell.

After doing a bit more arguing (flirting), Kyma and Nikos decided upon visiting one of Hylock’s taverns before settling into an inn for the night. Kyma led Nikos to an establishment known as The Witch’s Brew, a place that really didn’t live up to its name (way too clean, and not a witch in sight!). The tavern was dead as far as Nikos was concerned, but he enjoyed a glass of red wine with Kyma nonetheless. The two discussed Greystreet and the Moll’s motives behind robbing him (Kyma seemed to think it was purely for monetary gain and nothing else), until a group of rowdy soldiers came in and broke up the quiet calm of the room with their banter. Deciding it was wise to avoid any contact with the law, Nikos and Kyma made their departure soon afterward and made their way to The Hylock Inn.

A very well-fed halfling named Chip introduced himself to the newcomers as the owner, offering them a room and breakfast in the morning for only six silvers. After paying and settling in, Nikos immediately switched on the charms again, making sure Kyma knew he liked to sleep in the nude. Seemingly disgusted by Nikos, Kyma stormed off to get a room of her own, but she returned only moments later, more or less tackling Nikos onto the bed for a night of ‘wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more’. (I haven’t had the opportunity to use the AD&D Book of Sex for ages!)

The next morn, after scarfing down a quick breakfast, Nikos made his way south of town towards Greystreet’s home. He presented his false documents to a guard at the gate, and was then begrudgingly led inside the marvelous home. Nikos was taking in the security details all the while, noting the number of guards hanging around the place in addition to Greystreet’s collection of rottweilers lazing about the garden. Once in the main lobby, the butler marched Nikos into the study, where the master of the house awaited him.

Greystreet, an elderly gentleman in a smoking jacket (Hugh Hefner!), was more than delighted to give a ‘fledgling antiquities dealer’ a tour of his home. Greystreet did most of the talking, dragging Nikos along from room to room, showing off a collection of rare history books in his private library, and a number of valuable pieces in his own little art museum, including a silver lyre that almost made Nikos start drooling (Nikos was using his skill in appraising to try and get some rough estimates as to the value of these trinkets on the black market). Greystreet’s butler reminded his master that he had a lunch appointment with an ‘important guest’ soon, so Nikos’ tour was cut short. Nikos graciously thanked his host and took his leave. On his way out, Nikos passed Greystreet’s guest, a stern-faced military man of high rank, at least judging by all the badges and crests on his uniform.

Returning to Kyma at the inn, the two plotted exactly how they would pull off the heist later that night. It was decided they would rent a raft from the boatwright and leave it shored just outside of town so the pair could make an immediate retreat to Whytelock. Based upon his brief scouting, Nikos thought it best to try going over the wall surrounding the mansion rather than attempting any tomfoolery with the guard at the gate. The southwest corner was, according to Nikos, the weakest looking section of the grounds security-wise. Based upon Nikos’ suggestion, Kyma also procured a few pieces of chicken from Chip’s kitchen to distract the dogs if need be.

Well after midnight, the two rogues made their way back to Greystreet’s home, careful to avoid the accusing stares of soldiers hanging around the streets of Hylock (their highly visible presence around town the result of the Bandit’s raiding). Climbing a tree outside the wall, Nikos did a brief recon to assertain if any guards were still on duty. He found at least two of them milling about close to the front entryway, so the thieves decided to go in through a side door leading into Greystreet’s library. Nikos was easily able to scale the brick wall, but Kyma, clad in a suit of leather armor, had some difficulties, and fell flat on her rear on the first attempt. She hastily tore the armor off and chucked it into the bushes before trying to climb again. Fortunately, things went much better for her the second time around, and the pair soon found themselves slinking over to the door, hearts pounding and sweat dripping off them.

Kyma was able to pick the lock and get them into the library, just barely managing to avoid one of the guards making his rounds. Nikos lit a candle and immediately began robbing the place, tossing a few of the rare history books into his pack. Kyma followed suit, but soon found something even more interesting on Greystreet’s shelves… a hidden button. Nikos and Kyma discussed whether or not to bother pressing it – Kyma was concerned the opening of a secret passage could make noise, but Nikos thought otherwise and pressed the button. A shelf moved aside to reveal a secret section of the library containing a dragonbone candle and a small shelf of books with arcane symbols on the spines. Nikos gloomily wondered if Greystreet was secretly involved in the occult, which seemed to unsettle Kyma just a bit. The bard considered taking the spellbooks with him, but was concerned they might be trapped with warding spells, so ultimately decided to leave them be and continue on with the theft as planned.

After finding a path that avoided the guards spotting them, the robbers found themselves in front of Greystreet’s art room. Kyma went about picking the lock, discovering a poison dart trap in the process. She miraculously picked the highly complicated lock (an 8% chance and rolled a 1 on a d100!), quickly shuffling Nikos along into the room. Nikos had his mind set on two items in the room, an elaborate toy chariot lined with many small pieces of jewelry, and the silver lyre. Kyma asked if Nikos was going to keep it for himself, which he admitted that he fully intended to. Kyma wisely talked him out of it – the lyre was too distinguishable (a golden goat’s head topped the instrument) for Nikos to even consider playing it in public anywhere near Hylock.

It was just then that something outside upset the dogs, sending them into a torrent of barking and yelping. Their packs now weighed down with stolen goods, the duo decided it was a good time to get the hell out, hastily making their way back outside to the southwest wall. Nikos easily climbed and flung himself over the wall again, but Kyma once again failed on the first attempt, making quite a bit of noise as she did. The guards, already alerted by the barks of the dogs, spotted Kyma and demanded she stop, but Kyma was able to scramble up the wall and tumble over to the other side. She discovered upon landing that she had taken an arrow in the hip, at a very awkward angle.

Practically dragging his injured cohort along, Nikos made for a copse of gnarled trees, intending to take a shortcut to their waiting raft. The sounds of guards and hunting dogs rang out in the distance, clearly Greystreet had woken and discovered what had happened, but the thieves had managed to get away clean. They practically jumped onto the raft and started paddling their way to Whytelock, guided only by the light of the moon. It was only a short ways into their journey that Kyma realized she had left pieces of her leather armor in the bushes outside the manor. While they didn’t contain anything that could implicate her directly, it was obviously armor sized for a female, which made Kyma think she ought to lay low for a time when they returned to Whytelock.

Upon arrival, Kyma led Nikos to a safehouse on the northern shore of town. Although an exceptionally spartan home, the place did contain a few choice supplies, including a roll of bandages, so Nikos was able to yank the arrow out of Kyma’s side and stop any bleeding afterwards. The two talked for a little afterwards, mostly personal stuff, until Nikos volunteered to keep watch while the wounded Kyma got some rest. A meeting with the Moll awaited both of them in the morning…

DM’s comments:

Hmmm… what to say about Nikos? He’s certainly an interesting character thus far, reminding me of a scoundrel from Star Wars (Lando immediately springs to mind – Nikos definitely has that hint of flamboyance about him). It’s no secret that David has played nothing but good, wholesome characters up to this point, so I hoped to challenge him to ‘expand his horizons’ a little by playing a character without scruples. In this respect, it’s pretty damn cool to see him now playing a character who has loose morals and can, if need be, act like a total slimeball. I was just a tad concerned that David would have Nikos stray over to the light instantaneously, but I’d say Nikos has lived up to his billing as a neutral PC thus far.

Nikos’ background describes him having a silver tongue, much like David’s previous character Halo was purported to possess. Another similarity to Halo is this… I don’t know what to call it… a physical trait, I suppose… that results in Nikos finishing every other sentence with either a wink or a silly grin on his face. However, Nikos actually has a lot of charisma to back this up, so most folks really are charmed by the bard’s smarmy behavior.

In regards to women, Nikos is pretty much James Bond at his most camp. I mean that in a good way, of course, but I could totally see Roger Moore doing something like this:

“Well,” he says, arching a brow, “there are ways to keeping warm during the night.”  He sits back down on his bed and gently pats the spot next to him invitingly.

Brilliant.

We’ll see how he continues to evolve. There was a hint of a hidden side to Nikos. He admitted to Kyma that while he may have done his fair share of heart breaking, he too has been burned by previous love interests. His philosophy on life seems to be to not take it too seriously, or you’ll soon end up with grey hairs and wrinkles. I wish I could have that outlook.

As for the module thus far, I like it, although the first part seems a little linear to me. I guess that’s okay, because it’s leading into a more free-form investigation, but I kept feeling like there was only one path for David to take throughout. There actually were some other options available, but I suppose they’re meant as backup plans in case something goes terribly wrong.

Notable NPC’s:

Kyma the Axe – I like Kyma. There’s not much to her description besides her appearance and some basic motivations, so I was free to come up with a real personality for her. She’s what I would call a… ‘complicated’ female. She seems a bit sassy at times, and also a bit moody too (definitely chaotic neutral, this one), although she appears to be more business-like than Nikos usually is. Initially Kyma seemed quite jealous of having to play second-fiddle to a raw recruit to the guild, but she was obviously attracted to Nikos enough to put that aside and sleep with him (they were basically flirting with one another from the very beginning). Kyma later explained that she doesn’t really have any expectations from Nikos, she just wanted to have some fun with him, which probably suits Nikos just as well. He’s definitely the ‘girl in every port’ kinda guy (though he did already come up with a pet name for her after just one night together). Kyma also has some sort of special talent that Nikos has yet to witness. He seems to think it’s a type of perverted carnal knowledge, probably because he’s a bit of a perv himself!

The Moll – The very mysterious leader of the Whytelock thieves’ guild, always covered from top to bottom in dark robes and speaking in a raspy whisper. Nobody, not even higher ranking guild members, know the true identity of the Moll. Nikos seems to think the Moll’s gender is male, but who can say for sure? His/her initial interaction with Nikos was limited in this first part of the adventure. Basically, the Moll acted in the role of ‘quest-giver’.

Mary Reisyk – Owner of Whytelock’s huge trading post. Nikos only met her briefly, managing to snag a free lunch from her thanks to his charms. Nikos considered the possibility of taking advantage of her somehow in the future, so perhaps these two will meet again.

Luci Janns – Another lyre playing bard encountered by Nikos on the voyage to Hylock. She seemed a bit nonplussed by Nikos initially, but later bought into the man’s BS about being a ‘famed adventurer’. Luci was on a barge raided by the Gullwing Bandit and his men, and has decided to write an epic song about the infamous criminal. She wishes to encounter the Bandit one more time in the hopes that his presence will give her the needed inspiration to complete the tune.

Chip Homsford – Fat halfling who runs the Hylock Inn with his negligent sons. Had an awkward encounter with a towel-clad Nikos when attempting to serve him breakfast in the morning.

Melbourne Greystreet – Filthy rich philanthropist and antiquities dealer with whom Nikos was sent to burgle. Thanks to some forged diplomatic papers, Nikos was able to assume the identity of a fellow antiquities dealer, ‘Maddocks’, and was then permitted a tour of the manor by Greystreet himself. The old man seemed to like Nikos well enough, but then it also appeared that he just loved the opportunity to brag and waffle on about the pieces in his private collection. Nikos also later discovered that Greystreet may have taken up magic as a hobby.