History of Otari/Vengeance of the Kobolds

 A bit of research at the Dawnflower Library tells of a time over a century ago when Otari was ruled by kobolds, who either drove out the original human founders, or colonised the abandoned settlement (accounts vary), around 4594-4600 AR. They soon began luring ships to their doom on the rocky shore, which resulted in an expedition from Korvosa led by Maklanni Menhemes (ancestor of the current mayor, Oseph Menhemes) driving out the kobolds and refounding the town in 4610 AR. All records agree that the defeated kobolds swore vengeance upon the town, and have hated Otari ever since. It is now 4726 AR, and it seems their plans may near fruition...

4407 AR Following victory over the local Shoanti barbarian tribes, the City State of Korvosa is founded by colonists from the empire of Cheliax.

4544 AR The Roseguard, a band of adventurers from Korvosa, slay the evil wizard Belcorra Haruvex at her 'lighthouse' tower/keep, the Gauntlight, two days west of Korvosa. The rogue Otari Ilvashti is slain in the battle. The Roseguard survivors Aesephna Menhemes, Vol Rajani, and Zarmavdian decide to retire from adventuring, and found a port settlement just south of Gauntlight, which they name Otari after their fallen companion.

4590 AR The last of the Roseguard pass away. Otari is in decline.

4594-4600 AR Stonescale Kobolds colonise Otari.

4610 AR The notorious kobold king Yarlaip lures ships to their doom on the rocks near Otari. A vengeful expedition from Korvosa led by Maklanni Menhemes, the grand-daughter of Aesephna, defeats the kobolds and refounds the town. Maklanni decides to take advantage of the plentiful cedar groves north of town, giving Otari a new lease of life.

4623 Construction of the Otari Lumber Mill & Log Flume completed.

With its accessible port Otari soon becomes well known as an exporter of Varisian cedar to Korvosa, Veldraine and even Magnimar, far to the west, ushering in a century of prosperity.

4721 AR Threatened by invincible Rune Giants, the Kingdom of Korvosa formally acknowledges Runelord Karzoug of Xin-Shalast as Emperor of New Thassilon, with Korvosa now a tributary realm. Much gold soon flows north and east from Korvosa and the other tributary realms to fund Rune-Emperor Karzoug's war against the Whispering Tyrant, Tar-Baphon, lich-king of the Isle of Terror.

4726 AR Present day. Korvosa is in six months of mourning for the death of the much-loved King Tsadok I Arabesti (r. 4709-4726 AR). It is widely believed Tsadok died from years of over-exertion of carnal appetites with his Queen, Sorshen, now ruler of Korvosa. Queen Sorshen announces that her new kingdom is to be known as Korvosa-Eurythnia, the 'Realm of Love'.

Session 1 29/3/4726 AR

Tamily Tanderveil, owner of the Otari fishery

 Party recruited from a local tavern investigate fish missing from the Otari fishery, and battle rats, a spider, skellies & kobold fish-thieves in caves beneath the town. The kobold trapmaster-priestess wears a piece of green dragon shell. Party retire for the night preparatory to a second expedition tomorrow.  

1. The Heroes of Otari - by Judith Grognar, a Greataxe wielding Dwarven Fighter (Gus) Keshani, a circus-raised Monk (Judith) Kyra, a Priestess of Saranrae, whose wit is as sharp as her scimitar (Matt) Crocus, a Wizard for whom magic is the ultimate power (Bill) Valeros, a sometime mercenary Fighter wondering if adventuring is a better career (Kermit)
2. 
   
3. XP: 536 each including session account.
   
4. After a slow, unexciting day filled with the mundane tasks of learning haberdashery, I headed for the tavern to meet up with the guys. On the surface I think we were an unlikely bunch of friends, but we’d meet up to chat and drink ale most evenings. Occasionally we’d see the greenish flash from the lighthouse, but paid little heed to it.
5. That evening we ended up with some unexpected excitement when Bess, an employee of Tamily, the owner of the Fishery, came in to announce that someone had broken in to her basement and stolen a lot of the salted fish that was stored there ready to be sent to Korvosa for sale. She went from table to table asking for help, and when she came to us I guess we were bored enough to say we’d take a look. For me it was certainly going to be interesting than being shown the correct way to hem a robe – for the sixth time…
6. We grab what gear we think might be useful: weapons and armour for Valeros and Grognar, Scimitar and holy symbol for Kyra and Bo Staff, Shuriken and Sling for me. Crocus disdained ‘gear’ as it was beneath the dignity of a wizard to rely on anything other than his magic.
7. 
   
8. We descended into the basement of the Fishery and found several broken-in barrels, discarded salt fish scattered on the floor, and a large hole in one wall. Before we could do much investigating, five giant rats scuttled from the hole to attack us. After a brief skirmish they were killed and, looking through the hole, we found ourselves at the top of a steep incline.
9. 
   
10. I attached a rope to a pillar, and with casual self-assurance Valeros climbed down to steady anyone less athletic. On the ground we saw footprints of some small bipeds which Crocus suggested belonged to kobolds. After a few minor mishaps we successfully negotiated the slope and started to explore the caves. Kyra summoned the Light of Sarenrae which bobbed overhead and followed us. After a few yards the tunnel opened up into a large room filled with thick spiderwebs. I was able to spot the spider lurking on the far side of the chamber, while Valeros noted several webbed bundles of the spider’s larder. On the assumption that spiders often use poison, we decided to attack from range. So too did the spider – which managed to cover Grognar in sticky webbing. I managed to kill the spider with my trusty bo staff, and Kyra got her hands dirty de-webbing the dwarf. In the spider’s lair we found a corpse on which we found a bronze shortsword with an emerald set in its pommel and a minor healing potion.
11. Continuing on we reached a junction where one direction was barricaded off. From beyond the barricade Kyra sensed the chill of undead. She urged us to go and destroy the undead. I agreed with her as undead normally means tombs, and tombs normally mean loot. Wary of making too much noise I figured out how to quietly shift the barricade with Valeros’ help, and we went through the resulting gap. Going down some rough hewn stairs we found ourselves in a crypt: a corpse on the floor, five coffins in alcoves around the walls, and a larger, much more impressive coffin in the middle. To nobody’s great surprise skeletal figures started to emerge from the coffins, but we were able to strike them down before they could clamber out. Another figure, this one still retaining some rotting flesh, slowly moved to attack. Assailed on all sides it succumbed to our attacks. Valeros grabbed a bronze shield embossed with the head of a snarling lion while I grabbed the Everlight Crystal that had illuminated the room. A glance around the crypt told those more knowledgeable than me that it was ancient Varisian work, but the corpse on the floor was much more recent. We returned to the junction and headed the other way. A high ledge on the left side housed a pair of double doors which opened into a weird shrine. A statue of some kind of squid-thing was in a niche opposite the door, and on an altar was a silver bowl that was apparently filled with water.
12. Grognar took a swig of the water and was nearly overcome with nausea – only Kyra’s calming words allowed him to push through it. Despite the side effects the water seemed to be beneficial as it was blessed by some water deity none of us could remember. Moving on we surprise a group of kobolds who had been trying to break into a locked cage which was a storage area for many casks and crates. We kill several of them, but one tries to flee to raise the alarm only to be cut down by Valeros. Faced with the locked cage, I pulled out my set of picks (I know, legacy of a misspent youth) and managed to open the door. We find some loot within including a magical shortsword which Crocus takes as a focus for one of his spells. Following the route the kobold had been taking during his attempted escape, Valeros points out a trap in the floor beyond which we enter a long room. In it are three statues – one of them Abadar, the god of money. We’re challenged to complete the Test of Abadar to find the fake amongst nine gold coins.
13. Crocus easily figured it out, and both Valeros and I knew the trick to solve it. The statue of Abadar was duly impressed and gifted us the eight non-fake gold coins. A room off to the side hosted a large mechanism with a lever which Grognar decided was the control for some kind of device – probably a trap.
    Some peepholes in the wall showed us a large room beyond with a distinctive patterned floor. Moving the lever to the ‘active’ position caused the sounds of gears moving from somewhere beneath that floor. We moved into the room, carefully avoiding all the patterned parts of the floor, and encountered a group of kobolds led by a trap-master around whose neck was a large green-speckled fragment of eggshell. When whole the egg must have been about 2’ long… During the ensuing fight Grognar discovers what the trap can do by dint of throwing one of the kobolds into it. The kobold ends up skewered by multiple spears so we are now doubly careful to avoid the patterned floor! In the end we stand victorious! None of the kobolds was able to flee down the stairs at the back of the room to raise the alarm, but more worryingly the eggshell is identified as being that of a horned dragon… Wearied from our efforts we return to the Fishery to report to Tamily and rest before planning to come back and continue to explore the caves.

The Caverns Beneath

The Bronze Shield

The Undead (Artist's Impression)

Kobold Warrior

Kobold Trapmistress

XP/Starting Level

 Highest PC Level:  Lowest/New PC Level

1:       1

2:       1

3:       2

4:       2

5:       3

6:       4

+1      +1

Level Difference from Highest PC  : XP Award Modifier

0:   x 1

1:   x 1.5

2:   x 2

Otari PCs

 Otari PCs (from M3 4726 AR)

Grognar Venkervale, dwarf male, a Greataxe wielding Dwarven Fighter (Gus), bartender at the Rowdy Rockfish tavern, working for his mother Brelda Venkervale. Brelda's older (& favourite) son Lasda vanished almost without a trace a year or so ago - locals saw him walking out of town with a hooded stranger carrying a lantern. Brelda suspects he's gone for good.

Keshani, human female, a circus-raised Monk (Judith), haberdasher's assistant

Kyra, human female, a Priestess of Saranrae, whose wit is as sharp as her scimitar (Matt), assistant cleric at the Dawnflower Library

Crocus, human male, a Wizard for whom magic is the ultimate power (Bill), former student of the Acadamae in Korvosa

Valeros, human male, a sometime mercenary Fighter wondering if adventuring is a better career (Kermit)

1. Judith PC: Keshani (nephilim monk) is part of a loose group of refugees from Cheliax who has been taken in by her distant 'aunt' Xanthia, the owner of a local haberdashery.  The group had originally been a small travelling circus, but accusations of theft and (unspecified) antisocial behaviour levelled at them by a branch of Hell Knights had led to the circus fragmenting as each sought to proclaim their own innocence while blaming their erstwhile colleagues.  Keshani's teacher, the Impossible Yao Mei (a martial artist originally from Tian Xia), had quickly vanished as had many of the other leading acts of the circus, leaving their apprentices and the riggers to deal with any consequences.

Despite being notably deft, with fine hand-eye co-ordination, Keshani is not convinced her future lies in dressmaking...

Keshani

Friends: Grunda the dwarf, a young dwarf hatmaker employee of aunt Xanthia.

Grunda, Haberdasher's Assistant

Campaign Notes

Subsistence: As longterm residents of Otari you can generally cover your basic living expenses by working 4 days a week, and with the rest of your time either earn a couple extra sp, or do other stuff.

Magic Items may typically be sold at half price. A selection of items may be acquired at list price; commissioned items typically cost double list price. Items may also be crafted.

_______________________________________

CRAFTING

Crafting Trained Actions

Craft

Downtime Manipulate 
Source Player Core pg. 237

---

You can make an item from raw materials. You need the Alchemical Crafting skill feat to create alchemical items and the Magical Crafting skill feat to create magic items.

To Craft an item, you must meet the following requirements:

• The item is your level or lower. An item that doesn't list a level is level 0. If the item is 9th level or higher, you must be a master in Crafting, and if it's 17th or higher, you must be legendary.
• The item must be common, or you must otherwise have access to it.
• You have an appropriate set of tools and, in many cases, a workshop. For example, you need access to a smithy to forge a metal shield, or an alchemist's lab to produce alchemical items.
• You must supply raw materials worth at least half the item's Price. You always expend at least that amount of raw materials when you Craft successfully. If you're in a settlement, you can usually spend currency to get the amount of raw materials you need, except in the case of rarer precious materials.

You attempt a Crafting check after you spend 2 days of work setting up, or 1 day if you have the item's formula. The GM determines the DC to Craft the item based on its level, rarity, and other circumstances.

If your attempt to create the item is successful, you expend the raw materials you supplied. You can pay the remaining portion of the item's Price in materials to complete the item immediately, or you can spend additional downtime days working on it. For each additional day you spend, reduce the value of the materials you need to expend to complete the item. This amount is determined using the Income Earned table, based on your proficiency rank in Crafting and using your own level instead of a task level.

After any of these downtime days, you can complete the item by spending the remaining portion of its Price in materials. If the downtime days you spend are interrupted, you can return to finish the item later, continuing where you left off. An example of Crafting appears in the sidebar below.

Critical Success Your attempt is successful. Each additional day spent Crafting reduces the materials needed to complete the item by an amount based on your level + 1 and your proficiency rank in Crafting.
Success Your attempt is successful. Each additional day spent Crafting reduces the materials needed to complete the item by an amount based on your level and your proficiency rank.
Failure You fail to complete the item. You can salvage the raw materials you supplied for their full value. If you want to try again, you must start over.
Critical Failure You fail to complete the item. You ruin 10% of the raw materials you supplied, but you can salvage the rest. If you want to try again, you must start over.

Income Earned

Task Level	DC	Failed	Trained	Expert	Master	Legendary
0	14	1 cp	5 cp	5 cp	5 cp	5 cp
1	15	2 cp	2 sp	2 sp	2 sp	2 sp
2	16	4 cp	3 sp	3 sp	3 sp	3 sp
3	18	8 cp	5 sp	5 sp	5 sp	5 sp
4	19	1 sp	7 sp	8 sp	8 sp	8 sp
5	20	2 sp	9 sp	1 gp	1 gp	1 gp
6	22	3 sp	1 gp, 5 sp	2 gp	2 gp	2 gp
7	23	4 sp	2 gp	2 gp, 5 sp	2 gp, 5 sp	2 gp, 5 sp
8	24	5 sp	2 gp, 5 sp	3 gp	3 gp	3 gp
9	26	6 sp	3 gp	4 gp	4 gp	4 gp
10	27	7 sp	4 gp	5 gp	6 gp	6 gp
11	28	8 sp	5 gp	6 gp	8 gp	8 gp
12	30	9 sp	6 gp	8 gp	10 gp	10 gp
13	31	1 gp	7 gp	10 gp	15 gp	15 gp
14	32	1 gp, 5 sp	8 gp	15 gp	20 gp	20 gp
15	34	2 gp	10 gp	20 gp	28 gp	28 gp
16	35	2 gp, 5 sp	13 gp	25 gp	36 gp	40 gp
17	36	3 gp	15 gp	30 gp	45 gp	55 gp
18	38	4 gp	20 gp	45 gp	70 gp	90 gp
19	39	6 gp	30 gp	60 gp	100 gp	130 gp
20	40	8 gp	40 gp	75 gp	150 gp	200 gp
20 (critical success)	—	—	50 gp	90 gp	175 gp	300 gp

Magical CraftingFeat 2

General Skill 
Source Player Core pg. 258

Prerequisites expert in Crafting (Skill)

---

You can Craft magic items, though some have other requirements, as listed in GM Core. When you select this feat, you gain formulas for four common magic items of 2nd level or lower.

Crafting Example

Ezren is a 5th-level wizard and an expert in Crafting. He has a Crafting modifier of +13 and the Magical Crafting feat. With 2 weeks of downtime ahead of him, he decides to craft a striking rune, a 4th-level item, using its formula. The GM secretly chooses a DC of 19.

The item has a Price of 65 gp, so Ezren prepares 32 gp, 5 sp worth of raw materials. He has another 32 gp, 5 sp worth of raw materials on hand. After spending 1 day building and incanting spells, he rolls a 12 on his Crafting check, for a result of 25. That's a success! At this point, Ezren can spend the additional 32 gp, 5 sp worth of materials to complete the item immediately for 65 gp.

However, Ezren has 13 more days on his hands, so he decides to spend additional time to complete the item. Because he's a 5th-level character and an expert at Crafting, he reduces the amount he has to pay by 1 gp for each day spent. After spending 13 days working, he reduces the total cost to complete the item from 65 gp to 52 gp. He spends the remaining portion of its Price in materials, completes the striking rune, and goes out on his next adventure. (He could have stayed home to keep working on the striking rune, eventually reducing the item's total Price to just the half he paid up front, but adventuring is far more lucrative!)

If Ezren's Crafting check result were a 29 or higher, he'd have gotten a critical success. In that case, he'd reduce the remaining amount by 2 gp per day (the amount for a 6th-level expert), lowering the amount needed to complete the item after 13 additional days of work to 39 gp.agical Crafting Leads To...

Magical Scrounger, Signature Crafting

Traits

General:

A type of feat that any character can select, regardless of ancestry and class, as long as they meet the prerequisites. You can select a feat with this trait when your class grants a general feat.

Skill:

A general feat with the skill trait improves your skills and their actions or gives you new actions for a skill. A feat with this trait can be selected when a class grants a skill feat or general feat. Archetype feats with the skill trait can be selected in place of a skill feat if you have that archetype’s dedication feat.