The Legacy of Fire begins with the players each being brought into the group for one reason or another (usually mercenary work or slavery) and having to work together from the beginning to squelch a fire that erupts in camp shortly after they arrive. They must then investigate the origin of the fire, and bring the arsonist to justice. Along the way they meet several of the camps' regulars, and gain a good sense of the personalities and ethical minds that they will be working with closely as they try to accomplish their goal of freeing Kelmarane from a band of gnolls and their new chief.
The group moves to a log abandoned monastery, which gives some foreshadowing towards the threat that looms over the Adventure Path's climax. Upon investigating the monastery they come across a group of small rat-like creatures known as Pugwampis. Pugwampis are terrible little gremlins that bring bad-luck everywhere they go. The group ends up making friends with the creatures, and find a shared sense of entertainment in them.
After cleansing the monastery, the group moves into town. After several strikes against the town they make a full on assault of the Battle Market (a center of entertainment and blood-sport in the town). With some conflict along the way, they send the chief to the afterlife. Their final task in freeing the town is moving to the lower levels of the local church and investigating the potential source of the invasion.
This concluded chapter one, and in that those few chapters I found a sense of enjoyment in the game that I had never felt so easily in a game before then. As I analyzed the reason for this enjoyment I found the answer to be a simple one. The game was fun because everyone around the table wanted to be there. Beyond that, they genuinely enjoyed the characters that they created, and found great enjoyment in playing them physically and mentally. It's something that a GM dreams of feeling. The best part is that this feeling stayed around for the following five chapters, and is still around even into talks of a second story arc.
The first Adventure Path took the players to various locales, including a couple planes of existence. They've made many friends along their journey, and even more enemies. Even in their extensive travels, they barely got to explore their past. Each character has a rich past that presents the opportunity for so much adventure. It's often hard to hold back the excitement.
I'll begin with Rooster. Rooster is one of the most straightforward characters in the campaign. He's rough, tough, and answers to no-one. He can easily be described as an homage to Clint Eastwood and various other protagonists from the classic Spaghetti Westerns. He comes from the isolated nation of Alknestar, a magic devoid land that excels in scientific discovery and industry. Alkenstar's largest attraction is its gunworks, though it rarely exports such goods.
After the murder of his grandfather, Rooster set out to find the man responsible. He now carries with him two revolvers, and a custom made rifle. He is never without ammunition. He is one of the few in the group that wished to find a family and settle down. After the group disappeared for three years, he returned to Kelmarane to find that he had a daughter of three years by the name of Anna. Rooster can currently be found in the town of Kelmarane as its Guard Captain. He also runs a small gunworks of his own.
Each player has chosen an actor to represent a visual image of their hero. Rooster is currently being "played" by Adam Baldwin from t.v.s Chuck, and Firefly.
Next on the list of heroes is Draiden Ker Gerrstein. Draiden is played by Jeremy Renner (The Avengers, Hurt Locker, The Town). He comes into the game in search of a man wanted for multiple murders. He is the most unpredictable of all the heroes, and it seems like his moral compass took some time to develop. He is prone to rushing into rooms, which usually ends badly for him. He is versed in unarmed combat with some experience in healing. The has recovered from a pesh addiction that he fell into out of jealousy for an NPC with a larger moral compass than his own. The end of the first story arc saw the reveal that Draiden was not originally sent after one person, but was also tasked with bringing in Rooster.
Draiden has not succeeded much romantically, although he did enjoy a brief stay at the Pleasure Palace Ruins in Kaikashon, and he also had a brief relationship with a harpy. The relationship did not last long though as Draiden dragged her through a dangerous situation that saw her demise. Draiden is currently traveling back to the headquarters of the organization that sent him after Rooster with the intentions of gaining control of the organization, and ridding it of its corruption.
The third and final hero of the group, and my personal favorite, is Trevvis Maddox. Trevvis is played by the fabulous Ron Pearlman (Hellboy, Season of the Witch, Drive). Trevvis' focus lies heavily in his training with his shield and longsword, though his faith rewards him with various spellcasting prowess including those of restorative and healing arts.
Trevvis has never expressed interest in any relationship aside from that of friendship, and this is likely explained by his age since Trevvis is nearing his early sixties. Trevvis' biggest problem currently is that he cares too much, and this has cursed him with the inability to accept death. The abuse of his ability to revive the dead has recently attracted the attention of the Inevitables from Mechanus (a group of emotionless machines that patrol order in all the planes). To continue to abuse his powers would mean eternal imprisonment by the Inevitables.
Trevvis can currently be found in Kelmarane standing as head adviser to its church of Iomedae. Trevvis constantly thinks about the condition and whereabouts of his two younger brothers, one of which left at an earlier age while Trevvis and the youngest remained at their church.
Well, that pretty much recaps the party. The first adventure saw the heroes caught up in a plot where they had to stop a long imprisoned genie from resurrecting a herald of Rovagug that could potentially destroy reality. The next story arc will likely focus on the history of each character while showing the corruption that comes with too much power.
I hope you enjoyed this post. It's my longest so far, but I had a lot of fun writing it. If you play D&D or Pathfinder I would highly recommend checking out Paizo's Adventure Paths. Each one is usually six books long and has enough story to take your characters from level one to fifteen. They are perfect for a GM that has trouble writing stories, has little free-time, or just wants a break.
I'll do my best to provide updates regarding the future adventures of the Heroes of Kelmarane, and might go into details about some of the threats and friends that the group has encountered along the way.
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