He was
getting closer. Every day he strode forward, eating up the miles. Every night
he spent time in taverns with locals or fellow travelers looking for true
believers who would join him on his campaign.
And he had
found some. Goar, Odoin, Frideric, Ibba and Hunulf had joined him. He equipped
them well, fed them well and told them of the glories and riches that would
come to them. They would take the Keep and he would give them land holdings and
slaves. Together they would take order to the borderlands where others had
failed.
Over 7 days (travelling at 16 miles a day), Azazel
had numerous opportunities to interact with a broad range of travelers and
locals. He had tested them all in terms of their beliefs and using his
diplomacy, he turned their Attitude to Helpful, convinced them of the
advantages of providing Dangerous Aid and even overcame the fear of Giving Aid
that Could Result in Punishment. He had five takers and equipped Goar, Odoin
and Frideric with Leather Armour, Heavy Wooden Shield and Short Spear, Ibba
with Leather Armour and Long Spear and 3 Javelins and Hunulf with Leather
Armour, Short Spear and 3 Javelins.
House Rule #1: Commoner Stats. All
commoners have attributes of 10 for Str, Dex, Con, Int, Wis and Chr, 8 hit
points, no feats nor skills and a BAB of 0. They accrue experience points at
half the rate of player characters. Upon accruing 1,000 experience points they
become Lvl 1 characters and choose a character class. Their experience points
are re-set to 0 but they gain Ability Score points (roll d6, 1-4 get Low
Fantasy (10 points) and 5-6 get Standard Fantasy (15 points)) and maximum hit
points for their new character class. In every way they are now level 1
characters.
As Azazel
crests a small hillock he sees the Keep in the distance. Whilst it’s only midafternoon
it’s already becoming dark and in the distance small fires can be seen from the
Keep and the surrounding village, keeping the local populace warm in the
chilling evening. Turning his faithful he announces “See Goar my new Castellan,
see your new Keep, yours to build higher to better worship Asmodeus. And Odoin
my Master of Arms, how you must yearn to train your men, Frideric my Curate,
how will call the faithful and teach them in the ways of Asmodeus, Ibba my Magistrate
how you will enforce the law of Asmodeus and ensure that everyone meets the
full duties of their contracts and Hunulf my Treasurer you will guide our
citizens to even greater endeavors. Come now my brothers let us go together.
DEW
