Friends & Foes (NPC List)

[reefwood]

I decided to make a separate thread to list NPCs, and each post will be for a different Chapter. This should make it easier to reference than having it all be lumped into one post in The World thread.

PC and NPC names will appear in bold when they first appear in a particular post. This will help them stand out since most of the posts also include brief summaries to help jog memories.

[reefwood]

Chapter 1: Storming the Beach

Coalition forces storm the treacherous beaches of the Hydrahead Peninsula which extends west from the greater continent of Vallest.

Soldiers allied under Nemedor land on the western head and defeat Vallestitian troops who were cut off from their supply lines but had gathered from across the peninsula to defend the beaches.

One wave of Nemedoran soldiers is led by the trio of Private Grolton, Private Jared Tumblebutte, and Private Nero. Their soldiers include human archers and swordsmen.

Vallestitian troops consisted of several elven archers, a few dwarven axemen, and a human manning the stakebow.

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The Nemedoran army goes on to siege to valley city of Verdas.

Soldiers allied under D'henna land on the northern head and go on to siege the port city of Ione.

A third leg of the Coalition landed on the southwestern head and is making its way to siege the city Min'tath.

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Chapter 2: Marching Inland

As the bulk of the Nemedoran army marches toward Verdas, smaller divisions are sent to establish Coalition control across the countryside. The one sent to Gharn and Longtree is led by Sergeant Nero. His officers include Corporal Preston Shaw, a human mage, a human priest, and a human scout. The soldiers are comprised of human archers and human swordsmen.

Gharn - village where resistant is met, but citizens fall in line after their mayor is killed.

• Mayor Arthur Gharnell (adult human male): defeated and executed
  
• Gharnell's children / local heroes:
  -- Krell (adult half-orc male): ran off
  -- Dreth (adult half-orc female): defeated and executed
  -- Ran'do (adult half-elf male): defeated and executed
  
• Captain Strauss (adult elf male): local militia leader, put in charge of Gharn

Longtree - village where everyone is missing, and zombies of various common races in commoner clothing are encountered in a nearby grove along with a zombie ogre.

In the end, all the Nemedorans ran off or disappeared within the vicinity of Longtree, except for Sergeant Nero who returns to the main army in disgrace.

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Chapter 3: The Mystery at Longtree

A small squad is sent to investigate the missing citizens of Longtree and zombie activity in the nearby grove. They are led by Sergeants Grolton and Sermon who are accompanied by their Corporals James and Crow. Corporal Brion Shaw is assigned as their healer, and the recently demoted Private Nero is their guide

The Nemedoran squad encounters enemy opposition on the road in the form of a Vallestitian squad of half-elves, half-orcs, and humans led by a gnome:

• Sergeant Harbul Ponkarsh (adult gnome male): commander of Chimera division, 5th squad

While camping in the hilly plains, Corporals Crow and James ride off in the middle of the night as zombies attack the rest of the Nemedoran squad.

Longtree is overrun by zombies, including that of Corporal Preston Shaw. The squad from Nemedor also encounters a pair of living foes:

• Male half-orc: killed by Nemedorans
  
• Male halfling: escapes

Sergeant Sermon is killed by zombies in Longtree. The rest of the Nemedoran squad escapes but does not determine who or what created the zombies. Sergeant Nero retires after the squad returns to the main army.

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Chapter 4: The Siege at Verdas

The bulk of forces from Nemedor arrive at the valley of city of Verdas, and after attempts fail to negotiate a surrender fail, a siege of the city begins.

One siege tower is led by Sergeant Grolton with Corporal Brion Shaw as second in command and additional assistance provided by Specialist Herzog and Specialist Lo Brine Do. The rest of the siege tower force is comprised of human archers and human swordsmen.

The defenders on the wall included elven archers, dwarven axemen, and a pair of casters (dwarf male, half-elf female) but none are identified.

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Chapter 5: Taking the Tower

The tide of battle turns when the Order of Kem reveals its presence in Verdas and drives the Nemedora off the wall. All members of the order encountered are dwarven males on top of the tower, along with ballistas manned by humans, but elven archers and dwarven axemen are also stationed in the tower. Most members of the order wield wands of magic missile, but one floats above the tower while casting spells, and another stands at the center of the tower with flaming fists but does not engage in the battle.

In addition to many casualties among the rank 'n file Nemedoran soldiers, Specialist Lo Brine Do was also killed.

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Chapter 6: A Brother Lost

Sergeant First Class Grolton, Sergeant Brion Shaw, and Private First Class Sahme Sweetwater are sent to search for the missing Red Blade battalion, and if necessary, take up their task of investigating the increased orc activity in the Wyrmscale Mountains.

• First Lieutenant Alastair Durst: Red Blade commander who was found dead - chained to the wall in a small room of the orc cave. Burn marks were dotted across his body in addition to battle wounds, and all his fingers and toes were cut off with the stubs seemingly corterized with heat.
  
• Warrant Officer Shaw: Red Blade officer and elder brother of Brion Shaw who was found chained to the wall near Alastair Durst and in similar condition but alive and only missing two fingers.
  
• Sergeant Cedric Trow: Red Blade officer who was found dead - alone, unchained, and freshly-gutted in a separate room with signs of battle wounds, burns, and one finger missing.

8 more Nemedoran soldiers were found alive and chained to the wall of a large room in another part of the orc cave.

The orcs encountered included 2 orc youths on patrol in the mountains, and later, 8 orc youths in the cave who were accompanied by 1 orc elder and 1 wolf.

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Chapter 7: The Orc Horde

Sergeant First Class Grolton, Sergeant Shaw, and Private First Class Sweetwater ride off in search of the orc horde. The trail leads from the Wyrmscale Mountains to the Thinth Forest where several orcs are encountered:

• 2 orc horsemen: one is interrogated and reveals there are more than 100 orcs in the horde, plus horses, wolves, lions, and owls, and their leader is a "blackscale" called Krogg.
  
• 4 orc archers: one is able to blow his horn before being cut down
  
• 14 orcs, 4 wolves, 1 dire wolf: 4 orcs are archers and 10 orcs wield greataxes

Sergeant First Class Grolton scouts ahead while Sergeant Shaw and Private First Class Sweetwater ride back to the Wyrmscale Mountains with orc prisoners. Grolton follows the trail in bird form until he hits the Rift. He then skirts the edge of the Rift but fails to pick up the orc horde trail again.

Sergeant Shaw and Private First Class Sweetwater return safely to the orc cave where they are greeted by Warrant Officer Shaw and 2 Red Blades. The other 6 Red Blades have been split into 3-person patrols, but only 1 patrol returns by nightfall. Later in the night, the Nemedorans are attacked by at least 5 orcs, and 2 Red Blades are killed.

In the morning, Warrant Officer Shaw leads the 3 remaining Red Blades in search of the missing patrol while Sergeant Shaw and Private First Class Sweetwater go back in search of the orc horde, and after reuniting with Sir Grolton, they eventually it crosses their path.

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Chapter 8: Across Fields & Fens

Nemedor sends a diplomatic envoy to negotiate a trade agreement with the mithral mining town of New Briar, which sits along of the northern edge of the Blackfens. Captain Nola Whimsir is the representative for Nemedor. Staff Sergeant Brion Shaw is been assigned to lead her escort with Corporal Sahme Sweetwater as his second in command, and six very capable soldiers accompany them.

• Captain Nola Whimsir (adult human female): commander of the diplomatic envoy
  
• Nimuux (bronze wyrmling male): encountered outside New Briar
  
• Chancellor Brock (middle-aged half-elf male): representative of the Council of New Briar

The envoy is attacked by a malevolent spirit and black dragon, along with some lesser beasts and monsters, but there is no sign of enemy troops.

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Chapter 9: Negotiations in New Briar

The diplomatic envoy from Nemedor arrives in New Briar and negotiates a trade agreement while meeting various locals and surviving an ambush.

Council of New Briar

• Mayor Donovan Reegan (middle-aged human male): elected by citizens 4 yrs ago; short, brown hair and well-trimmed beard - both with tinges of gray
  
• Guildmaster Prah'el Moonleaf (adult elven male): leader of the Mining Guild, appointed by the Guild House 2 yrs ago
  
• Archcleric Kilvir Stoneroot (old dwarven male): high priest of the Abadar, appointed by the Ministry 3 yrs ago; missing one arm, fully gray with big beard
  
• Chancellor Brock (middle-aged half-elven male): representative of the Council, selected 2 yrs ago

Bronze Dragons

• Nimuux (wyrmling male): first met in abandoned shacks in the swamp outside New Briar (aka. Briarbog)
  
• Lady Karryx (age unknown?): elder sister to Nimuux, most often encountered in the form of a half-elven female, can be contacted thru the Mages Guild

Misc

• Lamar (old human male): librarian
  
• Ambushers (humans & half-elves): attacked the carriages transporting the Nemedoran envoy between the city center and the "villa embassy"
  
• Whisper (adult half-elven male): passed a message to Brion during the ambush and led the way from the yellow tail trail to underground caverns
  
• Follower of the Starlight (old halfling male) - outlined how key players connected to New Briar politics and the Council have been taken out of play over the past year or so

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Chapter 10: Securing the Dock

Master Sergeant Shaw leads the Nemedoran unit to secure Dragon Dock. Second in command is Staff Sergeant Sweetwater. Each sergeant is joined by a pair of elite soldiers, and new additions to the unit are Corporal Steerhelm and his personal bodyguard.

Nemedor

• Specialist Ni Mwa Lu (adult elf) - mage; teleports people & supplies between Verdas and New Briar
  
• Sergeant Coppertin (adult dwarf) - blacksmith; oversees mithral collection

New Briar

• n/a - no one new

Feather Falls

• n/a - did not enter

Avan'ti (Rocky Seas in Celestial)

• Mayor Rendow (adult dwarf)

Dragon Dock

• Ionese Soldiers - gnomes, half-elves, boars

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Chapter 11 [The Hunt for Magnus Drekk]

Master Sergeant Shaw leads a search and capture mission across the northern half the Dead Spike. He is accompanied by Corporal Steerhelm and their combined squad of living and undead troops.

Coalition

• Covert Ops Major (adult half-elf)
  
• Covert Ops Mage (adult elf)
  
• Covert Ops Bodyguard (adult dwarf)

The Dead Spike

• Magnus Drekk (adult human/vampire) - traitor (see Ch. 11 for details)

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Chapter 12 [Pushing into the City]

Staff Sergeant Sweetwater takes command of the squad with Sergeant Steerhelm as his second in the Nemedoran effort to push the front line further into Verdas. They encounter resistance from the Order of Kem, Verdasion troops, and young rebels, but all are rather easily quashed.


[OOC: No named or standout NPCs were encountered.]

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Chapter 13 [Pushing into the City, Part II]

First Sergeant Shaw resumes command of the squad with Staff Sergeant Sweetwater as his second. They take heavy losses against a band of wild orcs and beasts but do save the survivors of another Nemedoran squad that was ravaged by these vicious warriors.


[OOC: Survivors - Sergeant Cleric 10, PFC Fighter 5 #1, PFC Fighter 5 #2]

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Chapter 14 [Into the Heart of the Heart]

Recent losses aside, the squad is reunited and reinforced.
First Sergeant Shaw, Staff Sergeant Sweetwater, and Sergeant Steerhelm are joined by the other Sergeant and Privates First Class who barely survived battle against the wild orcs. Together, they push into the heart of Verdas and past the final line of defense: a dual wall of fire and stone lined with archers and a mage.


[OOC: No new major NPCs were encountered.]