The Adventures of Valentine Camero
The adventures of Valentine and company are based on notes kept by Ian. These adventures occurred way back in 1984 or thereabouts and are an important step in my role-playing career for a number of reasons. Firstly this was my first attempt at DMing; secondly because in the later stages we finally let my younger brother, Jason, finally join our regular gaming group; and thirdly, becasue these adventures would be one of the last undertaken by one of the founding members of our gaming group, Paul Milthorpe.
The initial adventurers were:
* Valentine Camero (hu, m, Fighter, LN- Ian Curd)
* Romanous Bargord (hu, m Fighter, N- Craig Courtis)
* Jerath "the Roamer" (hu, m, Monk, LN- Tony Lee)
The campign began in a bar in Loftwick, the capital of the Yeomanry. The three adventurers agree to travel together and make plans to travel to the Tors, a monster infested range of hills along the Yeomanry's southern border. All the adventures occur in the Year 575 CY.
4. Planting
8th: The adventurers explore a cave complex in the heart of the Tors. In the heart of the catacombs they meet a group of dwarves and insults are exchanged. A battle soon follows (dwarves are notoriously thin skinned when it comes to insults) but the dwarves are defeated and tied up by Valentine and his companions. Shortly thereafter an ogre approaches the adventurers who are arguing over what should be done with their hostages. Valentine, Romanous and Jerath climb onto a ledge to escape the ogre, leaving the dwarves to their fate. While the ogre is occupied (having the dwarves for lunch) the adventurers attack it. The hapless creature is soon slain and then the party loot his treasure room and flee back to the surface. (It must be noted that this party had a low tolerance for dwarves hereafter).
14th: The adventurers return to Loftwick and spend the next week training. During this time Romanous meets up with an old comrade from the days when he was a soldier on the borders of the Yeomanry, Dread Delgath (hu, m, Fighter, CN- Jason Courtis). Valentine meanwhile meets up with a girl called Jemima who becomes his girlfriend.
15th: The party once more finds itself in trouble, this time a warrior insults Valentine, (okay, the warrior pushes past this somewhat unstable noble and Valentine, being Valentine takes, offence and before long a fight breaks out). The unfortunate dwarven female is then slain in a back alley.
Note: Actually Valentine needed about 10 xps to go up a level so sought out a dwarf to kill and get some Xps.
5. Flocktime
2nd: The party meets up with Joanne Merriweather (elf, f, Bard, NG- Paul Milthorpe). They all agree to travel together and decide to head northwards to the mysterious Valley of the Mage.
8th: The party is attacked by wolves in the Joten Mountains and Joanne Merriweather contracts lycanthropy.
9th: The adventurers reach the city of Istivin in Sterich and Joanne is healed by the local clergy. However in return she must perform a quest for the church. She must recover a lost artefact that is currently in the possession of a band of giants.
12th: The comrades locate the giants lair and manage to slay the leader of the clan and recover the artefact.
22nd: While travelling through the Stark Mounds the adventurers are attacked by a young blue dragon, which they slay. After searching the surrounding hills for several hours they chance upon the dragons lair and loot the place.
24th: Reach Gorna, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Geoff. The party spends the next six weeks in this city while Valentine trains to become a mage.
7. Reaping
17th: The adventurers finally arrive at their destination, the Valley of the Mage. They descend into the valley but are soon spotted by guards and are challenged. A bloody battle ensures in which Jemima and Jerath are slain. By the end of the battle only Valentine is still standing, Dread and Joanne are knocked unconscious. Valentine buries Jemima and puts his fallen comrades onto horses and flees the valley.
23rd: the adventurers reach the town of Hochoch where the local clergy agree to raise Jerath.
26th: Valentine, Dread and Romanous head into the Dim forest but are attacked by three owlbears. Although the monsters are slain the adventurers are sorely injured and are forced to return to Hochoch.
28th: The adventurers return to Hochoch.
8. Goodmonth
6th: The party reaches the town of Hookhill, the capital of Gran March.
8th: A thief breaks into the party's rooms in the White Stag tavern. The intruder is slain and the adventurers forced to flee from the city watch. They decide to head out of town and into the Lortmil Mountains.
11th: A patrol from Hookhill catches up with the adventurers and after a brief struggle they surrender.
13th: The party is brought before the Petros, the commandant of the Gran March. After all evidence is heard the adventurers are fined. Joanne, the instigator of the troubles is ordered to give free performances each day for a month.
9. Harvester
15th: The adventurers have a discussion about what to do next. Valentine is in favour of returning to the Valley and slaying the ruler. Jerath, Dread, Romanous and Joanne want no part in this scheme. An argument develops and the fellowship is broken up. Joanne decides to wander the lands in search of adventure, stories and legends. Dread agrees to accompany her. Romanous returns to Hochoch and accepts a posting in the local town guard and becomes a Captain of the Watch. Jerath retires to a monastery and prays for guidance. Valentine meanwhile joins a group of mercenaries who are planning to sack the Valley of the Mage...
At this point the campaign ended altohugh Ian continued it in the form of a story that he wrote which chronicled the revenge of Valentine on the mage of the Valley. That wasn't to be the end of Valentine however, and he came out of retirement several years later to aid a group of young adventures around the town of Hochoch in the borderlands between the Grand Duchy of Geoff and Gran March in Greyhawk. Those adventures are told in the story of the Silver Blades.