Session Report III - The Gang Screws Up a Heist

The party response to a "job board" request, potentially lift a curse, and extort a man for his apartment. 

The Adventuring Party

Jerm (of Perm) - Halfling bard, plays a bone flute, enjoys eviscerating the psyches of his foes with shitty songs.

Reika - Half-elf druid, anarcho-communist, enjoys thrashing foes with thorns and nature magic.

Gerg - Half-orc rogue (with a whip), large yet sneaky, mostly silent but makes exceptions to grab things with his whip.

Halisstra - Drow rogue, puts up with her "friends" long enough to get what she wants, stabs backs happily. 

Harold Flesh-eater - a small psychic kangaroo/dog hybrid thing that they picked up on a prior adventure (LVL 1-3). He doesn't do much but complain about being hungry, but is happy to eat bodies if given enough time.

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Having received the crow-borne message from Jerm, Reika rejoined the group at their new apartment. A long discussion was had, but ultimately they decided on two things: 1) they definitely needed to steal this artifact from the White Web, and 2) after extorting Gor, they couldn't trust him not to send his associates after them. After resting, the group decided to track down Gor again, and make sure he hadn't snitched on them to Krawl and Vasken. Despite an incoming sandstorm, and several carnivorous reptiles in the streets, the group asked Harold to pick up his scent and lead them to him. A great deal of successful rolls later, and the group managed to track him to Drunkard's Bottom, a slumlike neighborhood nearby, utilizing the network of above-ground bridges that span the city. 

Gerg, utilizing the noise of the storm and shadows to his advantage, snuck up to the top level of the building Gor had visited. Inside, he noticed a group of White Web thieves (including Gor) plotting some sort of heist. After informing the group of this strange turn of events, Halisstra persuaded them that this was fortuitous - what better way to practice for their planned theft of the White Web artifact, than by stealing these heist plans? After some debate, the group assented. 

Jerm planned a distraction - he would pose as an orphan collecting donations for his orphanage - while Gerg and Halisstra would sneak in and steal the plans. 

Initially, their plan worked flawlessly: Jerm drew the theives' leader to the front door, while Gerg slipped in through a window and took the plans. However, on the way out Gerg was spotted and Jerm's disguise was seen through. The theives' leader sounded an alarm and within moments, several other White Web initiates had appeared on the nearby rooftops, ready to strike! 

Session Report II - The Gang Extorts a Man for His House

The party response to a "job board" request, potentially lift a curse, and extort a man for his apartment. 

The Adventuring Party

Jerm (of Perm) - Halfling bard, plays a bone flute, enjoys eviscerating the psyches of his foes with shitty songs.

Reika - Half-elf druid, anarcho-communist, enjoys thrashing foes with thorns and nature magic. (ABSENT)

Gerg - Half-orc rogue (with a whip), large yet sneaky, mostly silent but makes exceptions to grab things with his whip.

Halisstra - Drow rogue, puts up with her "friends" long enough to get what she wants, stabs backs happily. 

Harold Flesh-eater - a small psychic kangaroo/dog hybrid thing that they picked up on a prior adventure (LVL 1-3). He doesn't do much but complain about being hungry, but is happy to eat bodies if given enough time.

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On the morning of their second day in the city, the group awoke to find the ground-floor doors of the Broken Bell Inn shut with heavy iron bars. It was the Day of Desert Feasts, they were told, which meant for the next 24 hours carnivorous lizards would be roaming the streets of the city, eating offerings of fresh livestock. Whatever they did, they were not to venture out at street level. After conversing with some locals, the gang noticed several parchment scraps stuck to a wall near the bar and got leads on several "jobs":

1. Several children have been missing in the area since last night. Please find them.
2. (A bloody scrap of parchment, written hastily) A man may have summoned the Murder Men while drunk. Lift the curse. 
3. A simple request to transport some goods to a nearby neighborhood. 

Our party decided on option 2, as "Murder Men" seemed particularly intriguing and nobody at the bar would give them any information about what this curse entailed. 

The followed the provided directions across the rooftop bridges, buying some rations along the way, and met Gor at his apartment. Gor explained his predicament: while drunk, he attempted to summon the Murder Men by chanting their name, his name, and the names of two business "associates", and then smashing his mirror with his forehead. In his drunken stupor, he had hoped that they would appear to kill him, and then kill the men he was indentured to when they found his body. Upon waking in the morning, he remembered what he had done and panicked. Not knowing how to truly lift the curse, the group figured that mending the mirror would solve the problem. They told Gor they would do so...on the condition that he give them his apartment to stay in as needed. He agreed, also telling the crew that the two men, Vasken and Krawll, were low-ranking members of the White Web, a religious thieve's guild in the city. 

After mending the mirror, and not detecting any residual magic energies, Jerm sent a message via crow to Reika back at the inn to join them. 

Having accomplished their job, and "paid" in the form of a man's apartment, Jerm and Gerg set out to see what was nearby while Halisstra combed through the apartment to find anything of value. Jerm and Gerg were pickpocketed nearby, but managed to catch the thief, who revealed himself to be a White Web initiate (obviously a very poor one). After some coaxing, he revealed the location of a hidden White Web meeting place in the sewer canal in the neighboring district of Cat's Cradle, and also of the object of worship of the guild: a mysterious thieving artifact said to have been used by the God-thief Quizid himself. 

Having this information, the gang released the pickpocket, giving him the formerly-but-potentially-still-cursed-mirror as thanks for the information. 

Session Report 1 - The Gang Comes to Vymrrys

The party arrives in the city, settles down at an inn, and explores the neighborhood. 

The Adventuring Party

Jerm (of Perm) - Halfling bard, plays a bone flute, enjoys eviscerating the psyches of his foes with shitty songs.

Reika - Half-elf druid, anarcho-communist, enjoys thrashing foes with thorns and nature magic.

Gerg - Half-orc rogue (with a whip), large yet sneaky, mostly silent but makes exceptions to grab things with his whip.

Halisstra - Drow rogue, puts up with her "friends" long enough to get what she wants, stabs backs happily. 

Harold Flesh-eater - a small psychic kangaroo/dog hybrid thing that they picked up on a prior adventure (LVL 1-3). He doesn't do much but complain about being hungry, but is happy to eat bodies if given enough time.

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The party awoke in what seemed to be the middle of a desert, half buried in hot sand, surrounded by scrub and cacti. After digging themselves out and determining that they had no rations or water, they set off headed West, attempting to find animal or caravan tracks. Luckily, after scaling a dune, they saw a small merchant caravan of covered wagons about a mile away. After catching up and explaining their situation (aka totally stranded in some desert unsure of where they are) the caravan leader, Lilit Eeben, allowed them to hop aboard and hitch a ride to Vymrrys (the city where the majority of this campaign will take place). 

Lilit proved to be kind and helpful, giving the party a bit of information about where they were and where they were headed. She even offered to put them up in her Inn for a night until they could find work or more secure lodging. 

A day later they arrived, through the giant, fanged gate that merchants from the East use, in Vymrrys. Here, the gang took some time to scrub the sand out of their armor and clothing, and prepared to find some work. They explored to find the nearest open-air market, where Reika bought some food for the party. Gerg took this time to find the neighborhood library, tucked away in the cool shade of the city wall, and being himself, managed to sneak out with a few stolen books, unbeknownst to the snake-men librarians. Unfortunately, none of the books he managed to steal have come in handy yet. Halisstra used her time to meditate and calm her rage at having mysteriously appeared so far from home. Jerm and Harold made some coin by entertaining locals at the market, though a guard approached Jerm and informed him that the forest-green piping on his tunic was a violation of local sumptuary laws. He was forced to remove it and perform half-naked. Reika also stumbled across the neighborhood apothecary, keeping the location in mind for future potion-making endeavors. 

As the sun set on their first full day in the city, the sandstone towers sparkled in a way they had never seen before. The inner mineral pearlescence of the stone itself seemed to shift as it caught the dwindling rays of light. Having oriented themselves to this small slice of the city, they returned to the Broken Bell Inn to drink and chat with the locals. Reika tried hopelessly to hit on Lilit, who seemed too consumed in her work as well as other personal matters, to be so quickly seduced. 

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The first session was slow and contemplative, with the gang exploring their first slice of the city. They had a great time learning more about the local culture and customs, and feel they are adequately prepared to seek out work next session. Gerg was especially interested in the architecture. This urbancrawl campaign is being run using some slightly modified 5e rules, with additions from other sources such as Vornheim by Zak S. Since his book was such a huge influence on my style, I wanted to also name my city with a "V". Corny, I know.