My foray into the ShadowDark RPG did not begin or end with The Witch. Last week, I was chatting online with someone about my idea for a time travel adventure called "The Keep Killing Aleena," where the premise is a bunch of high-level adventurers go back in time to try to save her life, and the results of that interference. It is not an adventure I have ever finished since few ideas in it have never jelled right for me. BUT in my research I did uncover the 3.5 Edition adventure from Dungeon Magazine #150 (2007, Paizo era) called "Kill Bargle" from Pathfinder's own Jason Bulmahn. The idea has stuck with me for years. It would make for a great convention game. It is a low-level dungeon crawl where you need to, well, what it says on the tin, Kill Bargle.
When I ran T1 Village of Hommlet, I included Aleena, Morgan Ironwolf, Rufus, Burne, and yes, Bargle. I did their stats in 4e Essentials, but ended up running it in 5e. In that adventure, Bargle still kills Aleena and gets away.
I could not help but think revenge would be nice and maybe someone gathered everyone up to go get him.
Enter the Fearless Five!
Given the "Women in Refrigerators" treatment of Aleena, I thought it might be fun to grab all the "Basic-era" heroines and send them on a quest to kill Bargle.
Premise: Skylla, wanting something from Bargle's trove of magic (likely his spellbooks) decides that the only way to get it is to assemble a group of adventures who have a personal grudge against him. Knowing they will never follow her or do what she asks, she gets the one person she knows they will follow. It's just too bad that person, Aleena, is dead.
So Skylla gets Aleena resurrected (she still has contacts in the cult underworld). She gets Morgan Ironwolf to find her, and then she gathers the Sorceress, Duchess, and Candella together to go after Bargle. Five heroines to kill one villain. Easy peasy.
While I could run an adventure like this in nearly any system, it seems fitting to me to run it with ShadowDark.
Aleena
Ancestry: Human
Class: Cleric, 2nd level
XP: 20
Alignment: Lawful
Deity/Patron: Madeera
Background: Noble
Str: 11
Dex: 14
Con: 10
Int: 10
Wis: 16
Cha: 16
HP: 9
AC: 15
Weapon: Mace
Gear: Chainmail, holy symbol, backpack, torches, 1 week of rations, wolf'sbane
Languages: Common, Elvish
Talents
Human: +1 to melee attacks
1st level: +1 to Cleric spellcasting checks
Spells
Tier 1 (3): Cure wounds, Light, Shield of faith
Aleena is a cleric. She was brought back to life by Skylla's intervention but has no memory of the time between then and when Bargle killed her.
She feels Bargle is a threat to all that is good and lawful, and he must be stopped.
Morgan Ironwolf
Ancestry: Human
Class: Fighter, level 3
XP: 34
Alignment: Neutral
Deity/Patron: None
Background: Soldier
Str: 16
Dex: 13
Con: 14
Int: 7
Wis: 9
Cha: 8
HP: 21
AC: 14
Weapon: Longsword
Gear: Chainmail, bow and arrows, quiver, 5 silver arrows, 50' rope, 10' pole, 6 torches, 1 week rations, 1 qt wine, large sack
Languages: Common, Goblin
Talents
Human: +2 to Strength
1st level: +2 to Constitution
3rd level: +1 to melee and ranged attacks
Morgan thinks of Aleena as a little sister who needs protecting; as such, she blames herself for Aleena getting killed. She would go after Bargle for free just to have the pleasure of killing him herself.
The Sorceress
Ancestry: Human
Class: Wizard 3rd level
XP: 35
Alignment: Lawful
Deity/Patron: Ord
Background: Wizard's Apprentice
Str: 10
Dex: 14
Con: 12
Int: 18
Wis: 10
Cha: 13
HP: 10
AC: 13
Weapon: Staff
Gear: 6 torches, 1 week rations, large sack, spellbook, bag of spell components
Languages: Common, Elvish
Talents
Human: +2 to Intelligence
1st level: Advantage on one Spell: Magic Missile
3rd level: Advantage on one Spell: Burning Hands
Spells
Tier 1 (4): Magic missile, Mage armor, Light, Burning hands
Tier 2 (2): Detect thoughts, Invisible
The Sorceress knows the group is getting played by Skylla. She is friends with Morgan and wants to make sure everyone comes out of this alive. The chance to rummage through Bargle's collection of magic is an added bonus.
Duchess
Ancestry: Human
Class: Thief, 5th level
XP: 55
Alignment: Neutral
Deity/Patron: None
Background: Thieves Guild
Str: 11
Dex: 16
Con: 18
Int: 12
Wis: 15
Cha: 15
HP: 17
AC: 14
Weapon: Longsword
Gear: Leather armor, short bow and arrows, quiver, thieves tools, 50' rope, 10' pole, 6 torches, 1 week rations, 5 qts wine, large sack
Languages: Common, Dwarvish
Talents
Human: +2 Charisma
1st level: +1 to melee and ranged attacks
3rd level: +2 to dexterity
5th level: +1 (+2 total) to melee and ranged attacks
And her partner in crime:
Candella
Ancestry: Human
Class: Thief, 5th level
XP: 56
Alignment: Neutral
Deity/Patron: None
Background: Urchin
Str: 12
Dex: 17
Con: 15
Int: 15
Wis: 13
Cha: 14
HP: 14
AC: 14
Weapon: Short sword
Gear: Leather armor, short bow and arrows, quiver, thieves tools, 25' rope, 7 torches, 1 week rations, 3 qts wine, large sack
Languages: Common, Goblin
Talents
Human: +2 to Dexterity
1st level: +2 to Strength
3rd level: +1 to melee and ranged attacks
5th level: Backstab +1 dice of damage
Bargle hired Duchess and Candella to retrieve an item for him. He meant for them to get killed, but they ended up in jail instead. Worse, he never paid them for the item. They are in it for the money and revenge—but mainly for the money.
Skylla
Ancestry: Human
Class: Witch, 6th level
XP: 64
Alignment: Chaotic
Deity/Patron: Baba Yaga
Background: Cultist
Str: 9
Dex: 11
Con: 10
Int: 12
Wis: 11
Cha: 15
HP: 16
AC: 11
Weapon: Staff
Gear: 3 torches, 1-week rations, large sack, bag of spell components
Languages: Common, Diabolic
Familiars: Raven, Owl (+1 to Wisdom checks)
Talents
Human: +1 to occult spellcasting checks
1st level: +2 to Charisma
3rd level: one additional witch spell (T2)
5th level: additional familiar (special)
Patron Boon: Learn 1 Tier 1 Wizard Spell: Magic Missile
Spells
Tier 1 (3): Charm person, Disguise self, Mage hand,
Tier 2 (3): Call lightning, Light as feather-stiff as a board, Turn Undead (Ritual)
Tier 3 (2): Hag's Illusion (Baba Yaga), Bestow curse
Our "sixth" member of the Fearless Five is the mastermind behind all of this. Well...sort of, she is discovered rather quickly, but her intuition that these women would all do this to get back at Bargle is spot on. Have to figure out who gets the best magical loot between her and The Sorceress.
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I love the idea of a distaff "Usual Suspects" or "Reservoir Dogs." I really want to run this sometime. I would love to see how a witch (Skylla) and a wizard (The Sorceress) work together in an adventuring party run by someone other than me.
And more to the point, I just want to see Bargle get curb-stomped by a bunch of women.
.png "The Sorceress")
.png "Duchess")
.png "Candella")
.png "Skylla")
