Crescent Moons Trading Company

The Crescent Moons Trading Company was one of a half-dozen small members of the Dirt City Merchants' Guild trying to make an honest living in a city of thieves. Only a few people knew its secret: it was the cover for brave do-gooders, heroes dedicated to helping the common folk of Dirt City to the best of their ability. What rose from this company was a band of heroes, The Tide, called to cleanse the streets like a vengeful flood.

The Game

Here you can find the latest posts in this game.

Game Background

The election of Liam Kent, the former head of the Woldian League of Adventurers, as the Prince of Dirt City ushered in a two-year period of relative stability and prosperity. That all changed when Kent disappeared. Assassinated or died: the rumors flew. The next three Prince each lasted less than a month: fled, killed, abdicated. Finally, in exasperation, the House of Knives and the House of Wolves collaborated to elect their man, Argus Fexel. He used draconian laws and harsh punishments to bring peace-at-a-price. And the price was the non-affiliated common folk, who have no powerful allies to shield them.

Enter our heroes, who first worked under the cover story of the CMTC, then as an independent adventuring party, and finally as a powerful team that could directly influence the balance of power…

Characters

These are the characters, past and present, that have been featured in this game.

Current Roster

Hmerrin - A human fighter played by Mike

Danko Pureheart - A Human Sorcerer/Rogue played by Yves

Nira Wynvyre - A Elf Blood Witch/Wizard/Mystic Theurge played by Rob C

Gaffer - A human druid played by Courtney

Ramirez - A Human Bard played by Brian Z

Desdichado - A human paladin played by Ryan

Nightly Watch

1st Nira and Gaffer

2nd Hmerrin and Ramirez

3rd Desdichado and Danko

Past Characters

Gilmek - a gnome bard played by Briton

Roy "The Red" Thandor - an elf ranger played by Justin

Broom - a dwarf monk played by William

Ashley Steward - a human fighter played by Nicholas

Avin Fellows - a human wizard played by Thomas

Alizar Alegari - A elf cleric played by Rocky

Talanthrel - A half elf fighter/rogue played by Paul

Var Tuegh - A half-orc ranger played by Tom

Dušan - A human blood witch played by Erik

Asteria Amarante - A human barbarian played by Genevieve

Ethani - A 3/4 sea elf cleric played by Nellie

Lornak - A surface drow twilight ranger played by Frank

Toston Lotor - A gnome monk/gold draconic sorcerer/gold dragon disciple played by Hugh

Sarge - A Dwarf cleric played by Kathy

link to be inserted Eisenhorne - A human wizard played by David

link to be inserted Sharpe - A human Fighter played by Charles

NPCs

Abel Boggs Head of the CMTC organization and primary contact for the party. The party is now their own group separate from the CMTC, but still on good terms. He is a very average-looking human man in his forties, with thinning sandy hair and a very forgettable face.

Madri Brightside is the company's receptionist, a halfling woman who is unfailingly kind and cheerful. She can usually be found in the reception area, where she has a smile and a friendly greeting for everyone.

Tombo (Tom) Greenhand is one of the group's tenants, owner of Tavern. Tom is a young man, tall and thin, with sandy red hair and blue eyes. He is dressed in halfling-style clothes: fine shirt, waistcoat, shortened trousers, and bare feet. Of course, his feet lack the thick soles and curly hair of regular halfling feet; they are narrow, and pale, and a little dirty.

Mazea Ironthane is another of the group's tenants, owner of the leatherworking shop. Mazea is a middle-aged dwarven woman, with a long braid composed of roughly equal parts red and gray hair.

Sunny Culpepper is another of the group's tenants, owner of the sewing school. She is a human woman, very pretty, no more than 20 years old. She has blonde hair and blue eyes, and her dress, though simple, is well-made and fits her perfectly. Hmerrin has quite the crush on her.

Cinzi was hired by the Tide to be the night watchman for Shale House. A non-descript human that doesn’t speak much, he is an expert at watching and alerting; just don’t expect him to get more involved.

Brother Elthorn is a drunk acolyte of Ffloy and tender of a small shrine / graveyard dedicated to Ffloy. In his own words he has a 'posisshen' and complains that no one appreciates either Ffloy or him.

Jasper and Posie is a gnome couple that take care of Tide House proper, Posie in the kitchen and Jasper the maid service. Posie often completes Jasper’s sentences even when he doesn’t say anything.

Darmious Foxx is the Prince of Dirt City’s liaison for The Tide; a highly skilled burglar, he is an athletic-looking human man with well-groomed but graying beard. Knowing how powerful the Tide is in divination and detection magics, as well as distrustful of the Prince’s motivations, Darmious is very careful to always appear as himself, with no weapons, and tell the absolute truth!

Allies

The Temple of Ffloy A merchants ally and so to the Tide

The merchants of Clover Lane Allies of the Tide and CMTC, they will always be helpful within reason of their safety

Eyes of Warrd through Sharpe Cultivated with kindness, the grubbers and poor souls of Dirt City who come to Warrd are willing to whisper what they hear to The Tide

Beggar boy and Walker Go between to the new hidden WLA in Dirt City

Crafting

Poisons and Alchemical Remedies https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IFSx1JIQFFez3MPYfcn4tzy8Eko-AyQSjRfTyKNqmSw/edit?usp=sharing

Geography

This game takes place in Dirt City.

=== The Crescent Moons Trading Company=== was located between Moontown and the Backstab Quarter. It was burned by a hit squad later to be found in the pay of the Rakshasa (M12). The same group killed everyone in the known WLA safe house in Dirt City.

===Marsh House===.A large house rented from the CMTC located in Dockside. The odd place (DM posts: 17,25,26 March 25, 2015) was destroyed a week before the CMTC headquarters (M12)

===Shale House=== was a refurbished three story warehouse owned by the heroes in Wolf Town. The group lived here for several years with some supportive NPCs. Due to the non-interference agreement (M13), The Tide sold Shale House to the House of Wolves, and the NPCs eventually moved to Tide House.

Tide House

Located in Moon Quarter, this is a two-story manor house with a courtyard enclosed on three sides. Made of pale sandstone blocks and red tiled roof, it was formerly a rich merchant’s house, then a secret Ga’al temple and rakshasa lair before The Tide cleansed it and took it over for its own (M13). Several NPCs maintain the location; one of the only safe spaces in Dirt City! 1) The Buttering Ram. Tavern run by Tombo Greenhand, a human who prefers halfling ways and foods. 2) Leatherworking shop operated by Mazea Ironthane. 3) Sewing school operated by Sunny Culpepper.

Income – incidental to The Tide

Defenses - All doors are reinforced, heavy wooden doors with three levels of bracing (top, middle, bottom). - All windows have interior, reinforced, heavy wooden shutters with bracing, and external iron bars. - The tree in the courtyard is a Treent - The Manor itself (not courtyard) has a Hallow spell.

History

Here you'll find links to all the events and history relevant to this game.

The road so far

Part 1: CMTC M1: Undead in Grubbertown Our heroes (Wilford, Avin, Toston, Var, Talanthrel, Broom, Ashley and Gilmek), recruited by Abel Boggs, meet at the Crescent Moons Trading Company. The first mission: a rash of undead attacks in Grubbertown. The group finds a cemetery, disturbed graves, and a shrine (and Roy). The shrine is maintained by drunk Brother, an acolyte of Ffloy. He needs to renew a ritual to prevent the dead from rising from his cemetery, so the group sets out to get a needed powdered silver, and re-consecrate the graveyard. The mission is peppered with zombies and the instigator, a Wight! The heroes are successful (Roy leaves). In reward, the CMTC rent Marsh House to the team.

M2: The Ghost of Clover Way Abel Boggs relays more reports of the undead, this time in the City Below (Broom leaves). The merchants of Clover Way, the alchemist Wendy and the gnome tinkerer Fletch speak of disembodied voices and a glowing figure. Three-Bits, the shady information dealer, has information but only after the heroes deal with a ‘bug problem’: a giant scorpion! They also meet the erstwhile ‘House of Silver’ (Alizar joins). It turns out the 'Ghost' of Clover Way was a cover up to a robbery by the House of Silver! After a long and brutal fight (including the arrival of Dusan, Lornak and Hmerrin) the adventurers previal, and the were-rat Anner is taken prisoner and tells of the House of Silver (Avin, Ashley, Gilmek leave). A woman, Selene, organized a street gang into an aspiring ruling House. Selene, and most of the gang, were lycanthropes, and jokingly named themselves the House of Silver. The group exiles Anner, an idea the were-rat is keen on to avoid repercussions from failing Selene.

M3-M4: The Streets of Dirt City/ The Way It Had to End Spring! And the Dirt City merchants welcome a trade delegation from Aisildur. Assassins attack the Aisidlurian Delegates. The party deal with the assassins and finds a single black & purple glove that was deliberately left on the body of the slain Aisildurian. Conferring with the CMTC, the glove was the calling card of a famous, now dead, Dart named Dema Fahr. Many leads and dead ends later, including meeting a Dart informer named Nightblade, and fighting their way through an angry mob after them, the heroes realize the House of Silver is out to get them. They clash with Reakos, an insane Were-Leopard wizard and his goons, but the House Knives show up and arrest everyone!

Jailed, on bail from the CMTC, and hiding in a safe house (Asteria arrives, Talanthrel leaves). At the trial between the team (AKA "Mercenary Company 709") and Selene and the House of Silver, the ruling is trial by combat; a Fight to the Death in the arena! Investors and bets on the outcome. Nightblade meets with the team and says the Darts want the House of Silver to lose, and will help. The group reluctantly agrees. (Toston, Lornak, Var, Dusan, Hmerrin, Asteria, Wilford, Alizar) abstain.

The Arena fight is the heroes and Dart ringers against Selene, Reakos and the rest of the House of Silver. The House of Silver also had ringers, but all are killed or subdued. The House of Silver is ended! As part of the reward, the heroes inherit the ‘Tower of Silver’, which they rename “Shale House”.

The team also meets Jeraldh, of the House of Keys who claims they are now allies.

M5-M6: Acid Trip…And Back Again Boggs recommends that the group 'lay low' and help a merchant caravan to Acid City. They fight bandits, experience Goblin’s Rest, and are accused of trafficking in stolen goods. While in Acid City, they hunt down the merchant cartel supplying the bandits and end the threat.

Travel back includes the cursed Blackbird Forest, an abandoned campsite, and a hysterical man who claims that something took his wife into the woods! The heroes track the woman and have to kill a Harpy and a Redcap before rescuing the woman. Goblin’s Rest and orcish warbands round out the eventful trip home.

Using their CMTC contacts, the team meets Tombo, Mazea, and Sunny, who join them at Shale House. They also meet the House of Wolves, who coerces 'insurance' on their building... The heroes are also more recognized and putting the CMTC in danger because of that recognition. They cut official ties to not become a vulnerable target (but maintain speaking terms).

Part 2: The Rising Tide M7-11 House Knife and House Teeth, not trusting each other, have come to the party. Each House has had property stolen and crimes committed against them and evidence points to an internal job and the culprits have fled into the Wilds. Each House wants their stuff and man back.

An adventure at the Docks and underwater fights sahaugin and merfolk, both of whom are having a major war against each other. This helps the team find the trail to the House Men

The Tide tracks their quarry to an old Tower in the Badlands and fight both House men and 2 unknown accomplices. (Ethani is killed) Both House men were under a compulsion! There is a war underwater between sahaugin and merfolk, and something "A soft chuckle and golden eyes in the shadows” is feeding both that war and interHouse warfare.

(Lornak, Var, Dusan, Asteria, and Alizar leave during this time) (Sarge, Desdichado, and Gaffer arrive)

While travelling home, a party of orcs that the heroes didn’t kill provides some treasure and a map. The heroes follow the treasure map to the eaves of Culverwood, meet the unicorn-riding orc clan, and save a nyiad from a curse. Loaded with more treasure, they head home, eventually getting paid off by House Knife and House Teeth. Through this time of The Tide becoming more powerful, each of the House contacts continually works to get our heroes enmeshed in that House’s team and plan. The Tide is careful to avoid allies or enemies, treading a careful tightrope while blindfolded. (Wilford leaves)

Part 3: The Rise of Golden Eyes M12-13 Rise of Golden Eyes Evil has struck at the heroes. The WLA has been destroyed Three Bits is missing, her shop gutted and her body-guard hung on a wall. Marsh House and CMTC was hit as well, though The Tide was the target and most of the CMTC is intact and alive. The assassins then hit Shale House and though a hard fight, the Tide was victorious. 2 of the 5 were killed, but the others escaped. Following a lead from Three bits before she vanished, the Tide went to the Arena and the head of a slaving operation in Dirt City. There, they uncovered that the head of the slavers and several in his company were Rakshasa! (Eisenhorn and Sharpe arrive)

Deciphering clues, The Tide went to rid a farm of Rakshasa, and found the evil creatures were ‘farming’ noble-races as food! Killing rakshasa and allied humans, our heroes dealt with the farm, only to return to find the WLA lead of Dirt City was a Rakshasa all along, and he has taken hostages! Our heroes found the final rakshasa lair in Dirt City inside a secret Alisidurian temple to Ga’al, and rescued the hostages, only to find out the Houses are also infiltrated! But the Tide has contacts, and they meet with the Prince and all House representatives. They reveal the rakshasa danger and reach a deal with the Houses: you get yourselves in order and stay away from Moon Quarter, and we won’t interfere in House business.

M14-15 DeepForge Clan and the Teucri Time Bubble. Sarge gets a message about deep trouble in her home clan, the DeepForge Clan, and the Tide come to help! The travel is long, because teleporting in the Scab is dangerous, so the team treks to Angel Springs, and thence across the mountains, encountering frost giants. Deep in the Scab, the DeepForge mines have a tear that things from another plane are leaking into the Wold. With a lot of hard fighting, the Tide manages to defeat the monsters and close the tear. As a reward, they are named Dwarf Friends, and each given a Stone of the Forge Lord. (Eisenhorn and Sharpe leave)

The team have been gone a long time, and Gaffer attempts to teleport via plants for the team to get back to Dirt City… but they are still in the Scab! Weird magic happens and they find themselves inside a Teucri artifact where time doesn’t pass (meet Nira) They have to solve the riddle of the time bubble or they may be trapped forever! They do, and reappear in DeepForge, finding out a year has passed since they were named Dwarf Friends. (Toston and Sarge leave, Danko and Ramirez arrive).

M16-17 Hunting Rakshasa. The heroes are the lead rakshasa killers for the WLA, and they know this hasn’t been isolated to Dirt City, but throughout the Elennian Penninsula! They get a lead where the rakshasa are in in the Emerald Kingdom, and hunt down another nest, this time in a mine and a gambling location in Karri, the Emerald City. There they find the trail that all the precious goods are being sent to Plateau City and Golden Eyes herself! At last, they are getting close!

Field Notes from CMTC Mercenary Company 709

Z is for Zombie

Z is for Zombie, most rotted and foul; use slashing against them and you're wise like an owl

DM Pages

Here are all the resources a DM will need to run this game.