The Adventures of the Wolfshead Band (1988-91)

The Original adventures of the Wolfshead Band

Well, I've found my original notes for the first few adventures of the Wolfshead Band, the campaign was begun by Mark Walker in a small orphanage near the city of Scornubel on the Sword Coast back in 1989.

The Wolfsheads Are:

• Kylas the Mage: Human, male Magic User (Craig)
• Gilfronden: Elf, male, Fighter/Magic User (Terry)
• Aldor of Tempus: Human, male Fighter (Ian)
• Murwood: Human, male, Fighter (Garth)

Adventure 01: 14th June 1989

• Some creatures have been attacking outlying settlements near the town of Scornubel, and having heard that there is a 100 gp reward the adventurers decide to investigate.
• We search several burned out farms before finding any sign of the culprits, tracks leading away from one of their latest crimes. Following the tracks we are lead to a wood several miles away from the farmstead, they eventually end at the entrance of a sinkhole.
• Gilfronden is lowered down into the ground and is attacked by a band of kobolds but with the help of Murwood kills them all. We then explore the kobolds caversn and kill quite a few of the little pests before finding a cave where several kobolds are beating up a gnome. Of course we rescue the hapless adventurer who turns out to be a gnomish fighter called Tyne.
• About this time there is an earthquake so we take cover. Once the trembling subsides we question one of the kobold prisoners we've captured and he informs us that a group of evil dwarves rule the caves, so we force him to take us to them.
• We are taken top a larger cavern where two dwarves (derro) are forcing about 20 kobolds to clear rubble and debris from the recent earthquake. We attack and thanks to the timely use of Kylas's sleep spell we are victorious. We return to Scornubel with the derro heads and collect our reward.

Adventure 02: 21st June 1989

• We spend several weeks in Scornubel trying to find work and spending our reward money from our last adventure. In one tavern three half-orcs make fun of Murwood, Gilfronden and myself (Kylas) so I pour a beer over one of the ruffians, with obvious results. A large brawl erupts and is eventually broken up by the arrival of the city watch, we are thrown in the cells for disturbing the peace. It turns out that the half-orcs were bouncers at the establishment and they weren't arrested.
• Two days later Tyne (our gnomish ally) bails us out and leads us to a friend of his, a gnomish merchant called Zoltan, who has paid for our release. Zoltan "asks" if we'll accompany him to Elturel, a town about 120 miles east of Scronubel and act as his body guards on the journey. As we are already in his debt we agree.
• On the way we are attacked by 3 large spiders but they are quickly despatched. That evening we arrived at a small farming community run by a friend of Zoltans and spend the night. Apparently the farmers have been troubled by orcs of late.
• The following morning as we prepare to depart we spot an orc watching us from near a copse, we ride out to intercept the humanoid but are forced to flee when a large force of mounted orcs (approximately 80) led by an ogre charge over a hill to attack us. We flee back to the village to make our stand.
• There is a furious battle but in the end we are victorious thanks to Murwood slaying the ogre in single combat , which breaks the orcs morale. We also capture 60 horses and numerous weapons.
• After resting a couple of days we continue onwards. As we rest for the night our camp is attacked by two ravenous owlbears that slay four horses before themselves falling to our weapons.
• We are stopped by a group of half-elven highway men just a couple of hours short of our destination. We refuse to hand over our goods and after a brief fight kill all the robbers, recovering more loot including two spell books.
• We spend several weeks in town training and recovering from our journey, during this time we meet up with two other adventurers who agree to join our group, a human monk called Tim, who insists that we name our party Tim's Band, and a priest of the War god Tempus, known as Aldor.

Adventure03: 28th June 1989

• Zoltan has finished his business so we agree to escort him back to Scornubel, he wants to go via a glade that he can harvest some rare herbs. On the way we are ambushed by an ankheg but slay the creature and then explore its burrow. We slay three offspring of the insectoid but find nothing but bones in it's lair, the remnants of some poor soul apparently.
• Two days later we are attacked by a fierce manticore and although we manage to slay it I am seriously wounded and must rest up for several days. But we finally reach the glade, collect the herbs then head onwards to his friend's village, reaching our destination late in the afternoon. A horrible scene greets us though as the village has been ransacked and the villagers slain. Several bodies wearing chain mail are amongst the bodies, the brave villagers put up a fight. Enraged by the horrors we have witnessed we swear vengeance and begin to track those responsible northwards from whence they came.
• Two days later we catch up with the bandits and there is another battle. Zoltan is killed as are most of the bandits but their leader escapes. Amongst the loot we find a magic long sword and discover that all the bandits have the same tattoo of a striking snake on their right wrist. We decide to return to Scornubel with Zoltan's body.
• We train and rest in Scornubel for a few days while deciding our next move. Tyne uses Zolltan's influence in the city to arrange to get our mentor raised from the dead. Gilfronden claims the sword and discovers a map in a secret compartment in tis pommel, that map has an "X" located in the Greycloak Hills, with no other leads to work on we decide to head to the hills to investigate.
• We take a barge as far as Hillsedge and are attacked by lizardmen on the way, but drive them off.
• In Hillsedge we purchase several mules and supplies then head north into the wilderness.
• Near the edge of the Sunset Mountains we are attacked by three giants but we kill them all, I unfortunately am sorely wounded in the encounter. We track the giants to their lair and lot it of anything of value, which isn't much.
• Three weeks later we have reach the Greycloak Hills and following the map find a cave and begin toe explore it. The cave leads into a hidden valley and we soon meet some little people that stand barely 1 foot tall. We help them fight off an ogre and they take us to their city. Murwood was badly wounded in the encounter with the ogre so the little people agree to let us rest in their city for several days.
• Four days later the city is attacked by another little people and we rally to its defence but are captured in a skirmish with the opposing tribe.
• We are imprisoned and forced to work in the mines after somehow being shrunk to the same size as the little people. Eventually we are summoned and taken to their king for questioning where we learn that the shrinking is only temporary.

Adventure 04: 12th July 1989

• We manage to escape our prison rescuing the king of the friendly tribes son along the way. The evil small people pursue us but we lose them in a wood.
• We make it back to the good people's city and over the next couple of days grow back to our usual sizes. We thank the king for his hospitality and leave the valley, only to be beset by a band of adventurers. We slay them and I claim a wand of magic missiles, found on the body of their spell caster, as my reward. We decide to head for home.
• Late the same afternoon we are beset by Beltar, the brigand leader, who demands that we return his sword, of course we refuse and another battle erupts. We slay many of his followers but Beltar escapes. We decide to head southwards rather than pursue the fleeing cultist.
• A week later while I am on watch a group of goblins attacks our camp, I manage to raise the alarm and let off two sleep spells before being overwhelmed.
• I awake several days later n a temple in Hillsfar having been returned from the dead thanks to the help of my companions. Apparently they drove off the goblins but not before I was slain. The clerics of the Morninglord ask me to perform a service on their behalf as thanks for their help and I readily agree. The snake cultists have captured several clerics for their evil rituals and the priests want them rescued, if a live or at the very elast the cult smashed. We agree to the request.
• During the next week we prepare for our next mission and get cloaks, complete with wolfsheads, fashioned from the skins of some wolves that had the misfortune to cross our paths on the harrowing journey back toHillsedge. We now call ourselves the Order of the Wolfshead Adventuring Band, or the Wolfshead Band for short.
• We decide to return to Scornubel to seek aid from Tyne and Zoltan, perhaps they can help us with our task, we hope so. However reaching the city we find that all is not well and that the two gnomes have been forced into hiding. We leave a message with a friend of their's and they eventually contact us. They inform us that they think the cultists have abase in the woods north of Scornubel. We leave the next morning accompanied by Tyne.
• As we near the forest we are attacked by several hippogriffs but drive them off. We find their nest and capture three fledglings and decide to try and get them trained as mounts. Tyne knows of a druid who may be able to help, so we head south to find him.
• The next day we are attacked by the remainder of the hippogriff clan out to rescue their young but slay them all.
• We meet with the druid and he agrees to train the mounts for us.

And that is the end of my original notes and (if I remember correctly) Ian took over DMing for a while.

The Wolfsheads are besieged in a way station, between Hardbuckler and Triel, by a large force of orcs. The siege lasts for several days before the Wolfsheads manage to kill most of the orcs in a pitched battle in the way station- with the Wolfsheads literally fighting from room to room. After the battle the surviving orcs flee.

If I remember correctly at this point the Wolfsehads were hired by a duke from Berdusk to rescue his missing daughter whos omehow ended up in the ruined elven city of Ruanon. The party found the girl and took her back to the duke. Imissed the adventure but turned up later in the evening just as they were preparting to take the girl to the duke who waited in aruined building! It smacked of somethng fishy to me & I told the guys so, just as the ambush was sprung. THe "duke" was a rival of the real duke. I'm no longer sure of how or why the girl was kidnapped but the Wolfsheads managed to defeat the minions of the duke and create a powerful enemy- not for the last time I might add did they screw up an adventure and make enemies!

The Wolfsheads then head west to the port of Baldur’s Gate. Here they hire a ship and begin to track down a band of Slavers that have been operating along the Sword Coast. Travelling to the Pirate Isles they locate the pirates base and attack it. Unfortunately they are overwhelmed by the pirates and imprisoned in the dungeons beneath their fortress. Escaping from the dungeon they attack the leaders of the slave ring. Several of the leaders are killed but three escape. The menace of the Slavers is at an end.

(Note: As you can probably tell this was another rip off of the Slavers Series- one of our all time favourite series of modules!).

Returning victorious to Baldur’s Gate the Wolfsheads are hired by the Dukes of Baldurs Gate. to infiltrate a pirate city, Scrape, which lies on the Sword Coast near Cloak Wood. They then spend several weeks trying to track down the slavers. Eventually the discover the lair of a dragon that is aiding the pirates and decide to attack. Unfortunately the dragon lairs in an old mesa, in the centre of which is a lake. The dragon’s cave is located on the far side of the lake so Tim convinces the rest of the party to row out onto the lake on an old raft. He then yells to attract the dragons’ attention. The dragon responds, sees the party on the raft and kills them with it’s chlorine breathe- not the greatest of plans! Tim manages to get the bodies back and manages to convince the Dukes of Baldur’s Gate to raise his comrades.

Returning to the dragon’s mesa- with a different plan- the Wolfsheads sneak into the dragon’s lair and slay her. They dump the dragon’s trove in the lake- this will in the future prove bothersome for them!

Returning to Scrape the Wolfsheads bungle an attempt to kill Yorin, the leader of the pirates and Tim is killed by ogres as he tries to flee over the city walls. His body is not reecovered.

After resting up over winter The Wolfsheads head north to locate the lair of a band of lizard men that are raiding caravans in the vicinity of Daggerford. After infiltrating the stronghold they kill the lizard king and end the menace. The stories told in taverns about the deeds of the Wolfsheads are starting to grow!

The Wolfsheads next appearance is in Waterdeep. Aldor hears rumours of trouble brewing in the North and an ancient legend concerning the Sword of Tempus, a legendary artefact. Following up on the rumour they head to a demon infested island and from here travel via a Gate to modern day London. They eventually find the sword in a museum but manage to trip the alarm. The police respond and their is a big fire-fight outside the museum. Murwood tries to charge the police while the others flee. He is gunned down. The others using invisibility spells sneak into the morgue and steal the body back before returning to the Forgotten Realms and making a triumphant return to the Hall of Heroes where they donate the sword to the Priests of Tempus.

Hearing rumours of giants riding near hamlets Secomber they decide to investigate and eventually discover those responsible. A family of cloud giants. The Wolfsheads sneak into the giant’s cloud castle and attack the giants- killing them all. They claim the castle as their own and after figuring out how to control it fly back to Waterdeep. After this deed the whole city is talking about the Wolfsheads Band! The Wolfsheads rest up for several months while an army of workmen convert the castle into a proper home for humans. The Wolfsheads are treated as celebrities by Waterdeeps nobles and attend many private functions- they even meet Khelbun Blackstaff.

The Wolfsheads deed is to attack the Zentarium base of Llorkh. Here they unite the local citizens against their oppressive rulers and liberate the city after ambushing most of the city guard. They set fire to Lord Geildarr’s residence and with the aid of dwarven miners attacked and killed the soldiers as they left the barracks to fight the blaze. Lord Geildarr manages to escape.
The Lords of Waterdeep send troops to garrison the town and the son of the town’s former lord becomes lord. The Zentarium’s plans in the North have taken a major set back.

As winter approaches fierce storms and blizzards sweep the north followed by roving bands of frost giants. The Winter War has begun. Within a few weeks several cities are besieged (by bands of giants and humanoids) including Citadel Adbar, Sundabar, and Silverymoon. The Wolfsheads fly the cloud castle to Silverymoon and bring much needed supplies on the way they are attacked by cloud giants come to reclaim their dead kin’s property, .ie. the castle. A parley takes place on the battlements in which the following conversation occurs:
Aldor: "This castle is ours, we will not give it back without a fight."
Gilfronden: "Yeah!"
Giant: "And who might you be."
Aldor: "I am Gilfronden Elendyl, who are you?"
Gilfronden: "WHAT!….Aldor you bastard!"
In the ensuring battle the giants are driven off and the Wolfsheads reach Scornubel.

The Wolfsheads are asked by the ruler of Silverymoon to reconnoitre a giants lair in the mountains near the city. In the dungeons beneath the Glacial Rift the Wolfsheads are counter- attacked by a strong force of giants and all but Shamahl are slain.

Thus ends the Original Adventures of the Wolfsheads Band.