Adventure Logs - Keep on the Shadowfell 1 - The beginning

With the 4th Edition of DnD coming out, we decided to convert to the new rules and start adventuring with the first adventure Wizards of the Coast released. For this adventure we are using a 5 man party with a 1st time Dungeon Master (DM), who has been the rogue in almost all adventures we played before. He decided he wanted to be DM because that would prevent him from sleeping during game sessions which very often go well into the night. Since he has the ability to sleep anywhere, especially in movie theaters, often we would have to attempt to wake him up, when we needed a trap disarmed or a chest opened... We have all dabbled in DMing before, except him, so it was time he gave it a shot. 

For some of you who may also be doing Keep on the Shadowfell, you may find that our experience is very different than yours. That is because we tend to improvise, especially in regards to names of people and locations (which often end up totally changed), since English is not our primary language. 

Without further delay, presenting the party:

Adeon Brightstar, male half-elf Warlock (me); Sora, female dragonborn Warlord; Kralho, male halfling Rogue; Ceteribus Paribus, male eladrin Cleric; Chuck Norris, human Fighter. 

In the beginning of the adventure, the DM tells that none of us knows each other before, but that we all end up on the small village of Scart for the same reason. We had all received word that an old friend and mentor Doven had gone missing and were called to his home by his wife, who required our assistance in finding him. Why and how we knew him was left to our creative freedom. Doven being a known adventurer and explorer, most of us decided that we had met whilst training under him or during one of his adventures. At some point, someone around the table also suggested that Chuck Norris knew him because he had been molested by Doven as a child. Despite his attempts to deny it, it kind of stuck... :). 

Doven's wife Rebecca informs us that Doven has been missing for 3 months and that he left with 2 companions in the direction of Winterhaven, a larger city a few days away on horseback. Apparently, during his travels he had found a map detailing the location of an old dragon's lair where it was said to exist great treasures, and had left to attempt to retrieve it. At Doven's house we also met his 12 year old son, Daniel, a child prodigy, showing a remarkable intelligence at his young age. With the promise of treasure and the rescue of an old friend ahead of us, we immediately accept to head to Winterhaven and search for him. 

But first, a little information gathering and preparations had to be made. Regretably, the village was very small and had little to offer our adventurous types. Most annoying was the lack of taverns where we could get wasted, or of a decent stable where we could get some horses. However, we are still able to find some people to pester for information. We come across an old scholar named Barley, who tells us about an Old Keep located near Winterhaven, where precious documents and treasure might still be kept. He offers to pays us 250 gold if we return to him with more information about this keep, a veritable fortune, considering our current poverty. 

We also find the resident Cleric, Marla, who speaks to us about the rise of an evil Death cult around Winterhaven, lead by a former Cleric named Kalarel who had lost his way. She offers us 250 gold for proof of the destruction of this evil cult. Winterhaven starts to feel like our kind of place: dragon's lairs, old dungeons and evil cults on the move... Yummy. Meanwhile, Chuck, who had gone off wandering alone, manages to find a farmer who sells him a couple of mules for 50 gold. Considering there are five of us, at least we'll have something to carry all the fat loot we can find. 

We stay the night at Doven's house, and get ready to leave at first light. Before we leave though, Rebecca hands me an old ornate compass. According to her, we shouldn't trust anyone in Winterhaven, except an old farmer and storyteller named Elian the Old who might help us. If we show him the compass, he will know we have come from her.

And off we go, already salivating over future treasure. Next stop, Winterhaven.