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Rum (game)
Contents
The Game
Here you can find the latest posts in this game.
Current Events
Island Hopping: The WLA heroes from Rum want to explore the Island interior that the new town is on. They are encouraged on their way by the sighting of strange animals.
Building of Rum: The frontier city of Rum continues to build. Many of the tents around the city are down, with real houses and stores taking thier place.
Defenses: The main defenses for the city is a citadel on a small hill on the north side of Rum, and the tower of the Fixers on Fixer Island in the harbor. The walls around Rum are complete and pocked with varied towers and gates.
Harbor: The harbor, a large stone pier and many smaller wooden piers are complete. A Harbormaster is hired, but currently few ships arrive and there is little activity other than small fishing boats. Rum has no fee for anchoring at port, as they want to encourage trade.
Roads: The major roads are paved with smooth stones, secondary roads have a layer of crushed gravel, and alleys are of packed earth or mud depending on the ammount of rain.
Public Buildings: Barracks and Offices are completed, though there are few people actually in them right now. Every main crossroads has a fountain or public water trough. All the public buildings are made of a first floor of stone with higher stories of half-timber and stucco.
Private: 50% of private buildings are complete; made of a variety of methods from similar to a public building to all stone, all wood, stucco, or even wattle-and-daub construction. Many locations are still bare, waiting for more people to come, and many have tents and/or lean-tos while building thier businesses and homes.
Status of Rum:
Government: Rum is currently run by the Fixers; Anvil Stormrager is the Chief Fixer who heads a Council that is made up by a representative from every group that wants to participate. The spirit of cooperation is high, and there is no organized police or watch force.
Population: On the arrival of Second Fleet, the population of Rum exploded from 1,000 pioneers to 7,000 citizens! There is still so much building and farming, and other work to do that there is no unskilled labor or any sort of day laborers to be hired out. Neither is there an organized underground or black market that anyone knows of... The city is just too new.
Catacombs: The Catacombs has recently opened up a shop headed by a genial and energetic gnome calling himself Babbit Emberson. He has a *Cape of the Mounteback* to travel quickly around. His shop is a gaudy tent that can be converted to a backpack with a command word from Babbitt (so he is portable). This may mean that Babbitt can come upon the WLA Heroes in the wilderness, and also that he may not be at home when the WLAers are in RUM. (This allows the DMs to regulate when the heroes are able to get hordes of magic.)
Equipment/Magic: Local shops and the Fixers are able to provide any non-magical item from the Pathfinder Core Book and any magical item worth 1,000 gold or less.
The Story so far
Rum: A New Hope. Young, eager would-be heroes were recruited from all over the Elennian Penninsuls and arrived at the One Mile Inn outside of South Harbor to meet their contact, WLA Captain Sal Theringer. He explained that the WLA is taking an active interest in establishing the new merchant city of Rum. Rum is going to be a cooperative city by all the nations and guilds of the Elennian Penninsula and is intended to open up exploration and merchantile ventures to the west, 6 months travel across the ocean!
Before starting the city and the WLA outpost, our heroes have to GET there! And there seems to be one or more factions actively hindering that goal. First, the young heroes are involved in a brawl, then are barred from getting on thier ship, then their ship's supplies are held by a greedy merchant! But our heroes overcome all, and they sail with the Fixer Fleet!
On the ocean there are other dangers, from vengeful mermaids to storms (which scattered the Fleet) to an island inhabited by flying tentacle heads and a seaborne ambush by sahaugin. Founding a new city is difficult!
Divinations and Explorations: Our band of heroes has arrived with the Fixer Fleet and started to build Rum. Mostly a tent city, the streets erupt as a dozen large holes appear with a raid by spider-taurs! Several citizens are kidnapped, and adventurous bands are selected to go down into the holes to the rescue! Our heroes battle spider-taurs, well-entrenched kobolds, and an intelligent giant centipede to rescue two victims and discover that there is a group called the BeastLords who are doing expirimentation underground and resent the intrusion of Rum on the island above!
Island Hopping: Our heroes have gone on an exploration of the large island that the city is on, looking for strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities. What they found was a hidden Valley with many magic-twisted monsters and a race of cat-people with a "Paradice Lost" mythos surrounding the ruined city of pyramids. Our heroes discovered the secrets of the pyramid and mythos, and learned more about the mysterious enemy of Rum: the BeastLords!
Beastlord Zoological Society Our heroes are trying to rendevous with Scully's Heroes (a mercenary adventuring party with a love-hate relationship with the WLA Heroes) and their ship "The Leaper" in order to get back to Rum. Turns out the beach selected for a pickup is the same beach as a BeastLord has set up a monster breeding program! Are our Heroes going to be able to shut down the Beastlord or will they become the next monster's dinner?
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.
Current Roster
Barratore Steelwind the Minotaur Fighter
Brom the Human Barbarian
Gerox Shale the Gnome Sorcerer
Peza Tefani the Human Twilight Ranger
Edson Kazil, the Elven Rogue (arrived November 2012)
Past Characters
"Iron Shot" Tom Conroy the Human Fighter (Stayed at the Wemic Village. Tuesday October 18th, 2011 2:30:57 PM)
Leapold the Half-elven Rogue (Went with one of the Fixers in the fleet as apprentice. Wednesday October 26th, 2011 12:34:57 PM)
Crag Hammerfist the Dwarven Cleric, Pantheon Devotee of the Gods of the Wold (Moved to small monestary on north side of Rum) July, 2012
Bralin the Stonesinger the Dwarf Fighter/Oracle of Stone (called by Stone Powers to who-knows-where through a portal. October 2012)
Arno the Dwarf Rogue (stayed with the Catfolk in Hidden Valley. November 2012)
Lemick 4-Leaf Sted the Human Cleric of Waard
Harvest Moon the Half-elven Monk, Druid and Cleric of Domi left for the Contested Kingdoms June 2014
Hert The Human Cleric of Gargul (arrived December 2012) took up higher administrative duties in Gargul Temple in Rum after the uprising (May 2014)
Zalmay Tufan The Half-orc Sorcerer (arrived November 2013) Boarded a ship to new lands April 2014)
NPCs
Sal Theringer: Captain of the WLA Outpost on Rum. A human ranger: a lean, weatherbeaten and scarred warrior with longsword and handaxe on either hip. They look worn, well-cared for. Doesn't say much, but always to the point good and bad.
Artus Morindim: Navigator of the SeaSprite. A crusty halfling, in charge of the SeaSprite, and second in command of the WLA outpost in Rum after Sal. Likes to stay on the ship when in harbor.
Dhonngel: - Cabin Boy on the SeaSprite. Very exciteable and enthusiastic. Often gets into well-meaning trouble.
Bertold: Human Fixer helping the neighborhood around the WLA outpost. Assigned to another part of the city.
Torian Silverleaf: A Fixer of Alemi and a member of the Woldian League of Adventurers. Selected by the Fixers to work with the WLA for needs of mutual assistance.
Anvil Stormrager: Chief Fixer of Rum: Tattoo of an anvil and hammer on his bald head, he is very imposing, but gentle of voice. Carries a very ornate and large adamantite vial of Woldsblood around his neck as a holy symbol. Alemi’s symbol is embossed on the front of the vial. His Dwarven’s clan’s coat of arms is on the back: The hammer and anvil.
Pursis: Stormrager’s personal Bard. Tall and skinny as a beanpole, his eyes seem to see everything at once, always moving around. His fingers always tapping or fingering the lute that hangs off of his belt. A guitar is hung on his back. It is beat up and used, but of amazing workmanship.
Vikki Sweerit: A reporter for the Plateau City Herald. Thin woman in a lime green coat. Has a nose for news and will be shoving her recording stones in wherever the action is. She is so into recording what goes on that she doesn’t think about any danger she may be in. (First in Scene 1, Divinations and Explorations)
Carlee’s Demons: A band of adventurers who engineered a fight with the heroes when still in South Harbor. Whereabouts and motives unknown.
Scully’ s Heroes: A band of adventurers led by Scully Swiftblayde, and travel on "The Leaper", a ketch-rigged ship that is slightly faster than the SeaSprite, but can't turn as fast or sail as close to the wind. Scully's Heroes also have a headquarters across from the WLA and are the WLA Heroes' greatest rivals. They have had a good-natured scuffle or two, and have come to respect each other. Sorta.
Scully- human fighter. Very arrogant and sure of himself. The leader of the group. Equipped with chainmail, large steel shield, longsword. He seems arrogant and very sure of himself. Loves to intimidate, but will respect those that stand up to him as someone to reckon with.
Tarnwit- half elf Bard. Always praising Scully and putting the team efforts in the best light. He is hanging his future reputation on Scully's exploits. Equipped with chainmail, rapier, and hornpipe, he sings "sea shanties" for his spells. He is radiantly confident and superior to anyone besides Scully.
Mac Allen - Ranger. A cloaked man with a boyish face is Mac Allen, a quiet human Ranger. Equipped with chainmail, kukri, shortbow. He is quiet and even Scully's crew doesn't know much about him. Deceased
Lupo - human Barbarian. Wearing hide armor and carrying a battleaxe, Tarnwit hinted that Lupo owes Scully a life, but didn't go into the details. Will follow Scully anywhere.
Sieur Hooch - tipsy man. Human (Witch). From the far-away Southern Continent. Equipped with a net and bola, Hooch claims that voices speak to him and he can only keep them away by drinking. He has an outlandish claim that the Southern Continent had a Great Migration where the lands actually rip out of the earth and rearrange themselves like puzzle pieces. He was caught in a rip and landed on Scully's front door in Cinamon Valley. Taking it as a sign, he follows Scully around.
Tinsy - gnome sorcerer with magic symbol robe. Talks alot and has fun even in battle. The gnome sorcerer owns a dagger, but of course is a spellcaster and a complete happy-go-lucky spirit.
Matte' Tor - brilliantly garbed in reds and golds. Even more arrogant than Scully, and also has hair-trigger temper. He owns leather armor and probably several daggers (at least 3). Matte is a swashbuckling acrobat who seems to like everyone knowing just how good he is.
Libscomb - Human cleric. bear-like cleric of Domi. Congeanial. He normally wields a breastplate, large steel shield, and mace. Looking like a bear to Scully's bull, he loves to wrestle and seems to enjoy life and challenges.
Jeyne - female elf. Ranger? She replaced the now deceased Mac Allen.
Hmanas: A sailor, and the first innocent death seen by the heroes. Fell to the kiss of a Batwing-Head (Vargouille) off an uncharted island during the SeaSprite's journey back to the Fixer Fleet after being blown off course by a storm.
Drys: A black spidertaur encountered in the tunnels underneath Rum. During battle it negotiated it's passage out of the conflict, but left these words as warning with regard to a mysterious group known as the Lords.
"Peace? You will not have it. But not from me. The Lords will see to that. What do I care? I care for myself! If you Swear the Oath to leave me be, I Swear the Oath to leave you, your friends, and your dirty, verming infested, goblin puke of a town in Peace as well. And don not look at me like that! Is it not true? Look at your town. I have seen cities of the poorest of my kind that are pallaces in comparison to what lies above. You can only Hope and Pray that it can hold itself together long enough to survive its first year. For enough lies above to squash your precious town even without the Lords."
Hrrerricko's Children: A tribe of Catfolk (Bestiary 2) live in Hidden Valley among the mountains near the island's center. The WLA heroes befriended and helped the catfolk, solving a generations old mystery of why they came to be. The leader is always called Mother, and one catfolk (now called TB) is a liason with the WLA in Rum. They refer to each other by position title; Mother, First Cousin, Second Brother, Mother’s Mate. It can be confusing to an outsider, but the interal positioning of the tribe is very important. If Second Brother fights with First Brother and wins, evryone then calls him First Brother; the status has changed. Similarly, the Catfolk dont’ seem to understand personal names, and they are just as confused about the Heroes naming themselves. These catfolk are tribal hunter-gatherers who dwell in harmony with the valley. As a culture, catfolk are loyal, generous, and amiable. They like belonging to and being at harmony with a group whose members work together to accomplish their needs and wants. Catfolk have few taboos, and often exhibit harmless but strange eccentricities, and often take risks others might label unwise.
Hrrerricko's Children live in a hidden valley on the island shared by Rum. It lies on the opposite side of one of the largest hill/mountains that make up the island's spine. They are a tribal group who call themselves simply, The People.
Notable amongst the Catfolk to our to our Woldian League of Adventurers heroes are:
Mother: A middle-aged female with feathers and ribbons in her braided hair, Mother is the matriarch of the Catfolk.
Young Mother: Is second to Mother and a hunt leader.
TB (Third Brother): Was the one designated to take the quest of the Pyramid in the time that our adventuring heroes came upon the Catfolk. (See Catfolk Creation Story below.)
Catfolk Creation Story (as related by Mother)
In the mists of Yesterrday, beforre living Memorry, Hrrerrkho came to Island. He saw plants and prrey and prredatorr, but therre was Nobility missing. So Hrrerrikho lived in Valley and built Pyrramid and worrked to crreate Nobility. At firrst, he made the Apex, like the Owl-Bear you slew this day. But this was only to prreparre forr Nobility, not the People themselves. At last, when rready, he took a parrt of himself and fashioned the best of curriosity, generrosity, and a happiness forr the worrld, and he made Firrst Motherr. For yearrs, Firrst Motherr and herr kin lived joyfully with Hrrerirkho, until Unname came, the Thrird Brrotherr of the Thirrd litterr. Currious without generrosity, Unname went into the Pyrramid and disturrbed Hrrerrikho in the middle of a crreation. In a furry, Hrrerrikho closed Pyrramid and set a Guarrd and drrove the People out of Pyrramid until generrosity may again be learrned.
Since this time, any Third Brother of a litterr takes the quest to go to Pyramid to demonstrrate generrosity and ask for forgiveness of Hrrerrikho so the People may grow in happiness once morre."
The Ships in the Fleet
The SeaSprite: A Sloop, and the ship of our heroes.
The Leaper: A Ketch, and the ship of Scully's Heroes.
Adva Carlin: The gnome who runs the ferry between Rum city and Rum island. An elderly gnome with thinning grey hair, long thin beard, and wearing a light blue robe. He propels the ferry using magic.
The ferry runs on a cable that spans the divide to the mainland. A large sign attached to the dock reads:
Rum City Ferry Service Daylight service only. Cost 5sp per person Cargo 5gp load
Background
Read more on the history and geography of Rum at the link provided here.
From the Journal of Harvest Moon
We did not know of this when we first gathered in the stone building of the Plateau City branch of the Woldian League of Adventurers in South Harbor. We were only drawn there by the desire to seek our places in the Wold. Few of us even imagined that our search would take us to the other side of Yrth, to Rum. We were, of course, equally unaware of the various acts and desires, far off and in high places, that would birth this place called Rum. We knew nothing of Hildalgo Conti of the Shipping Guild, who's idea Rum had been, and his desire to build sea trade to its past glories. We knew nothing of the Free-States League who took the idea and created the plan. Nor did we know of the group of governments and companies named The Triangle who handled the building of this new place called Rum or the tremendous interest by many peoples to acquire land or other interests there.
All that we knew at that time was that the Woldian League had taken us in. We were now in that family. Captain Sal Theringer was our father in this. And the task set for us by the Woldian League was to be the representatives of the League of Adventurers in this new city to be created called Rum. There were many trials on our way there. Just getting to our boat seemed more difficult than it should have been. We were forced to fight or way onto our boat at the docks. It was fortunate that no one was slain, as we were later told that this may have been an attempt to sully the reputation of the Woldian League for the purposes of having us barred from the fleet. Who would have thought that such lawlessness existed in Plateau City. I was very much reminded of the gangs who would ransom the roads in the Contested Kingdoms where I was born. We never did discover who it was that set that plan in motion.
Once our ship, the SeaSprite, took sail, we came upon the Wemics, a lion people, and made friends of them. We discovered an island of flying bat-winged heads that I now know are called Vargouille, and we escaped from a great flock of them. At one point on our journey, we became separated from the main fleet. We were blown off course by a great storm. We were attacked by fishmen - the shark-like Sahuagin.
Finally, though, we came to the site where we would build Rum. We won our race to the site that we most preferred for the compound of the Woldian League of Adventurers and began the settlement from there. It was unfortunate that the mercenaries of Scully's Heroes managed to secure a site directly across the road from ours, but such things may happen in a free city. We have never gotten along with them. Within the first week they came to us and provoked a fight. It is very fortunate that Chief Fixer Anvil Stormrager arrived to stop the fight before true harm was done. We have been bitter rivals ever since.
It was very soon after this that the Spiderkin arrived. We had only tents then. No walls. The stake markers of our claims were still even in the ground. The spiderkin came up from holes in the ground and carried off some people. Afterwards we descended into their tunnels to find the spiderkin and rescue our people from both they, and as we found out, their kobold allies. It was after this time that we first heard of the Beastlords from the mouths of the captives that we had rescued.
In the time after that, the Fixers turned their magic to building many things. The docks, the roads, the public buildings. They even turned their hand to the defenses of Rum, including a citadel on a small hill on the north side of Rum -the main defenses for the city- and the tower of the Fixers on Fixer Island in the harbor. For this they did not even ask monies. Or, so said Captain Sal Theringer. And during this time, we received word of the coming of the Second Fleet, with thousands of people and more equipment and other materials. Until the arrival of the Second Fleet, though, provisions and manpower were stretched thin. There was little to spare to pursue the Beastlords and their many exotic half-insect creations. But, an attack by Wolf-Eagles, convinced Anvil Stormrager, the Chief Fixer, that something must be done. So we, the League Adventurers, were sent to explore the island, to map the land, and to seek out the Beastlords.
During our explorations we discovered the hidden valley of The People. The People were a catfolk who gave sacrifice to a long abandoned laboratory of one of the Beastlords. We found that the Beastlord who had lived there was long dead and only his spirit remained. We freed The People from their need to give sacrifice to the long dead Beastlord. But, unfortunately, the abandoned laboratory of the dead Beastlord was burned in a fire.
From there, we struck out from the eastern coast after orders from Captain Sal Theringer told us to return. We had mapped and explored only the south half of the island by this time. Upon our arrival, we came upon very large pens made of elaborately carved poles between which stretched invisible walls. Within the pens were kept animals of extraordinary size. Eventually we found a large white stone building and encountered some of the Beastlords for the first time. These ones, or so it seemed, were charges with breeding and taming fantastically large creatures with a mix of different body parts for delivery to other Beastlords. Among the papers was the name 'Faramenth'.
Two months had passed. We had been away two months from Rum. More people were in evidence, and yet we have heard nothing of the coming of the Second Fleet. Today, Captain Sal Theringer and Chief Fixer Anvil Stormrager announced a Bounty Board. Peza and I have secured a bounty notice for The Pirate King of Rum. The men of Scully's Heroes were very jealous and wished to take from us this bounty notice. But it was ours and we did not give it over to them.
Once again we of the League Adventurers departed from Rum, this time in search of the dread pirate Morelock, also know as the Pirate King of Rum. We found the island. We fought many orcs to arrive at the supply depot of the Pirate King. And, in the end, we defeated Nathaniel Morelock and rid the seas of his menace.
Once return to Rum, we found it much the same as before. (As described by DMZach - Monday May 20th, 2013 9:22:19 PM.) And yet, there seemed many things different, things we had not know of before. It seems now a metropolis. (As described by DMMark - Wednesday May 22nd, 2013 9:12:18 AM.) We encountered Captain Sal Theringer as he lead men to a place of which we had not heard before. It was called the Cesspools and we were told that it was where the Rum's poor lived. Things did seem very much changed to me. The people of the Cesspools seem dissatisfied with the Fixers. From what I gathered they wished more assistance from them. It appears as the city approached completion, construction had slowed leaving some without work. New boatloads of people continue to arrive every other day, or so I gathered from the talk. Was this the Second Fleet? This is very possibly so. Gerox Shale spoke of the city growing and changing before his eyes as new inhabitants flooded the streets with each new ship's mooring. And he said there were reports of attacks on ships and explorers across the island, getting ever closer to the city itself. However official news was, he said being suppressed by the Fixers. Or so the rumors went.
It was difficult to take in all of these changes, for we were called away almost immediately. The next day after returning from the island of the Pirate King, we were called away again. This time it was Third Brother of the People. He came to us with a plea for help. The People, he said, were being attacked by orcs. Of course we agreed to help and left the next day. We found that these Orcs were actually a group of mercenaries lead by a Two-Head giant. We fought them. They were quite strong. Some of The People died in the attack. But we won. We never discovered who had hired these mercenaries or why they were sent to attack The People. We did, however, discover that they carried a symbol of three bars.
We returned to Rum from the People to find that a festival was planned for the next day. We rested the night and set out the next day - which is today, this very day in which I write this short history - with our new sashes that marked us as members of the Woldian League of Adventurers. At first things seemed quite festive and normal. But, as the day went along, we heard and saw the things that would lead us to a fight with many of the mercenaries of the three bar mark and the apparently senseless slaughter of many Fixers.
