the-bearded-bard

[the-bearded-bard]

The misadventures of Roblin-Hood & Gang. Session 2 Video [OC]

[the-bearded-bard]

DBH #5

Could be the fact that one of Thorne’s flaws is ‘if there is a plan - he will always deviate from that plan’. Eg. “Ok, we’ll both hit him on 1.. 2.. *thorne’s already shived him*... *Lev face palms*.

- but more or less people tend not to f*** with the guys once they recognise the mark of the DBH or meet their threatening gaze/ demeaner.

The black markets are strewn with killers and thieves. They cross paths with a few later to be important NPC’s: Steve the blacksmith (highly skilled blacksmith that has a knack for improving weapons & armour beyond the normal scope of battle but creates. - wishes to experiment with some of his own designs & work solo), poison lady (an unbalanced poisons expert - twitching & muttering to herself - has a fondness for snakes & other venomous creatures. Also eats rats (main ingredient to her chicken ‘noodle soup’, that & a dash of poison - is immune to the poisons she concocts.

The brothers meet credence. A DBH tattoo artist that lives on the east side of the island on a floating Jetta-like village of huts.

Long story short - just a few of the many epic tales of tortuga:

Through a series of horrible events, including a mimic, mermaid, hags, fake Dark Brotherhood killings - Gouhls & ghasts are atracted to the death that saturates the ground, as is their special brand of kink. The brothers dispatch the undead creatures almost effortlessly & blow the nest.

They start to notice that in almost every nook and cranny on the island, there is something that wants to kill them.

Thorne’s love of wolves sees him bond & alpha a pack of wolves that he utilises to f*** shit up on a regular.

People start ending up in barrels all over the island. Word of a serial killer that leaves their victims in barrels spreads across the island.

The dark mother sends word of her arrival on Tortuga.

The hand (the five fingers of death) have also arrived on tortuga with an army of assassins to eradicate the potential threat of this fake DBH.

The guys f*** with a very rare, very old dragon oak tree (sentient). Produces a sap that once plied to the bottom of your boots, severely deadons the sound of footfalls makeing the wearer extremely stealthy. Lev notices strange eggs. And removes them. A dragon snake comes out striking, accompanied by a male giant snake. Thorne manages to kill the giant snake in combat narrowly while being poisoned. Lev instead gets chased down by a dragon snake. The snake has true sight. Attracted by the dragon oak sap that acts as a beacon, with or without the eggs; And hunts him to the desperation of cutting his arm off just above the wrist to successfully lose it. Somehow retrieved & with a lot of powerful magic, the dark mother binds Lev’s arm leaving a nasty permenant scar around the severed limb.

Chasing a would be assassin, the brothers discover an underground tunnel beneath the sand markets that leads to ropers down one side (monster manual). Narrowly escaping with their lives, the guys make it back out (Thorne May have left Lev behind in the process). The guys follow the second path, leading them to an underground fortress. The fake dark brother fortress.

Tactfully organising a stealth mission to swarm the fortress & finally eradicating the imposters for good. The brotherhood assassinates all mages and imposters in their wake. They are confronted by a small room & a wall of summoning symbols & shapes glowing on the walls. They can go no further. Their quarry somehow has made away in to thin air.

[the-bearded-bard]

DBH - #4

Setting eyes on the vast white sandy beaches & thick green forests - The Island of Tortuga was stunning. The smell of salt on the wind. The sailors had warned of the shady deals & deathly encounters on the so told paradise. Docking at the long & only ship port. the ropes twinged with tension as the men hauled & tugged at the ships birth.

Looking at the island from the ship, a sand market not 15 feet left of the docks was well into it’s days trade. The forest was set back a good 40 ft back from the waters’ edge Leading all the way left as far as the rounded beach will take your eyes. An inland waterfall spills into the ocean creating a 10-15ft gap between sand shore to the next. A gorgeous sight. To the right of the sand markets, the tree line is a backdrop leading off a dirt path to the bamboo housing district of the island.

A giant elevated plantation sits between the thick forest right of the docks & the ocean on the east side of the island.

The brothers wasted no time in shimming down the ropes & making their way into the heart of the community. Their armour standing out, dark and ominous among the common island wear & pirate feel to the aesthetics.

A winding bustle of wooden stairs & bamboo walkways. Small businesses & chimneys smoke away over the tree tops. The sound of the men & women enjoying the tavern’s festivities - loots & bards singing sea shanties fill the village air.

Thorne: “Do we just beat the shit out of villagers until we find one of these fake brotherhood bastards?” Eyeing off a fisherman hauling a net over his shoulder and pots under arm. Lev: “Fuck Thorne, How about we ask around a little before we give ourselves away”. Thorne: “Where’s the fun in that?”.

The brothers pull up a seat at the bar. A white haired, tanned barman leans against the counter polishing a mug with his spit. A familiar tapping on the glass in thieves cant (susses the brothers out). lev replies with acknowledgement of the craft. Barman (In thieves cant): “What brings you here?”. Thorne (in thieves cant) “Have you seen this mark?” as he points to his tattoo. The barman struggles to keep his witts about him. “ah well, what are we having then boys?, that is if you’re not intending on cutting my shift short?” 

[the-bearded-bard]

DBH - #3

Lev & Thorne pack what little they had into their satchels. Lev fixing his many blades to his sheaths, straps & hidden armour compartments. Arriving at the docks, the boys meet the crew and Captain Marcel, whom gives them the nodd and let’s them know he knows their trade & expectations of hard labour aboard his well organised ship. The crew seem to move with intent, wasting no time in stocking & organising the ships departure. Clearly a well seasoned captain. Marcel reveals his navy background & long standing friendship with the Dark Mother. There are few men he trusts & only one or two he’d turn his back to with ease.

Their travels are riddled with adventures & shady ghost ships peering in & out of vision through thick fog.

Thorne reveals the co-captain Jaime’ to be a trader. Giving away the merchant ships’ position to pirates on the open ocean. Surprisingly the crew reacts with precision & well timed attacks, revealing their cannons. The first thought helpess merchant ship flips the table on battle & sizes the pirate ship up for an all out military assault, lead by Captain Marcel, quarter master Calico & the aiding assassins on board.

Before the brothers set the pirate ship to blow. They sweep each deck. finding barrels on barrels of jewels and gold coin (Had thought they would blow it all to shit in a rainbow of wasted wealth). Loading on to the Marcey & taking up residence in the former co-captains’ quarters (right of the captains quarters). They leave behind the sunken pirate ship along with it’s contents & dismembered crew; & a dirty co-captain face down.

Weeks go by as the brothers get down & dirty, earning their passage with the cruel labours of sailor life. They take turns in keeping watch. train in the dead of night on deck & trans their rest hours in the crows nest. They earn the trust of the crew & join in the occasional drinking & merriment. The odd scrap is essential on board. There is no backing down once an opponent challenges or is challenged. To walk away is to be dishonourable & disrespectful to their naval traditions. Thorne’s ego always get the better of him in these situations & bloody brawls were had. Even one or two brother on brother. Coin exchanging hands to pass the time while the ocean winds weren’t blowing.

[the-bearded-bard]

DBH - #2

The Dark Mother (not to be confused with the night mother of skyrim lol) is a mysterious presence of force & patience. How old?, none too brave to ask. How powerful?, none lacking of wisdom to test her as of yet. But highly respected & is priority number one in the DBH’s Den. Usually never seen out fraternising with assassins - her right hand Gray, solely coordinates missions/ assassinations.

The Dark Brotherhood is not a club, or a sword for hire. But a serious, history re-writing commodity that trades in blood. Not any coin or even more often not accepting any coin at all. The Dark Brotherhood’s needs come before all others. Political or otherwise - that could include the ruling of a dictator that threatens the DBH’s progress or a small time businessman opening shop next door to a jealous noble wanted to eliminate the competition.

After a grooling repetitive process of kill, heal, sleep & kill again. Always the first to accept Gray’s charges. The brother’s make a name for themselves as two of the most ambitious assassins in the Den.

Foiling political gains of one Crag mayor (neighbouring town - North East of Blackhart) & enforcing the Dark Mothers’ will on the Crag election - they had finally earned their marks.

One day, on a noticeboard in the Den (where small charges of thievery & reconnaissance missions, simple local/ regional issues to be resolved have been palmed off for other brothers to accept coin, etc) the brothers notice a strange note lodged behind a few they happily accept. “Market place, noon. Blue banner”. The brothers are intrigued and go out in search into the crowded hustle & bustle of the market place looking for anything suspicious. Sure enough around noon when the sun is highest in the sky - the pair notice a dark robed figure liaising with another assassin-looking gentlemen.

With some not so stealthy spy work - the brothers are noticed by the other pair. Cutting into the crowd, an epic chase takes place. Flips were made. Commoners & daggers were thrown into the wind. More flips. After a hardy rooftop/ side ally/ parkour montage - the pursuit ended in the two mysterious figures eluding the brothers. Shame damage was had.

Later that night, settled into their room in the Den. Lev & Thorne were attacked while sleeping. Narrowly surviving their would be assassinations. Unfortunately, before possible interrogation, the last attacker drawing breath still - iterated the brotherood vowel & snapped his own neck in defiance. The attackers bore the same marks as all brothers upon initiation; only in blue - not black. & not permanent.

An assassination attempt on a brother in the sanctuary of the DBH Den was punishable by a slow painful death.  The boys were pissed & seeking answers.

The Dark Mother approaches the boys along side her right hand. She shares intel on a supposed ‘Fake Dark Brotherhood’ fronting as our assassins in our name. Donning the fake mark. The dark mother tasks them with a worthy cause - to locate & eradicate the fake brotherhood, wherever it should lead them.

All intel points to a base of operations on the island of Tortuga. They must locate & board the Lady Marcey with captain Marcel for safe travel.

[the-bearded-bard]

DBH - beginnings.

I’ve been DM’ing a Dark Brotherhood campaign for years now, & it’s about time I share it with others. The best way to get to the here & now is briefing through the plot & headway to make room for future sessions.

After accepting the mark & their Dark Brotherhood vowels. The elven brothers Lev & Thorne set off on dangerous yet secretive high action missions. Leading them further down the path of darkness.

Journeys start:

Giving themselves over to the dark brotherhood completely was an easy ask. Their beliefs & values hold fast to a childhood rather forgotten. With only each other to rely on - Orphaned too young to remember any remanence of their parents. After a short guilded career of thuggish & petty thievery in his youth alongside his lifelong friend & mentor Grim; Lev left the guild to join the kings army as soon as he could wield a sword with decent skill - to go on to later leave his mark on the regions war history. Better known to the king’s legions as the ‘Butcher of Raider Bay’. Leaving his younger brother Thorne to fend for himself in the wretched orphanage. Lev would soon apprentice Bard (a well known & respected hunter), as a hunter-gatherer in the Forrest’s east of Blackhart’s walls. Selling their wears along the shotty, bandit infested trade roots. Thorne put his keen senses as a rogue to work, honing his sharp eye & stealth abilities.

The return of Lev:

Upon Lev’s return from the war (a dishonourable discharge - truth be told, his cold approach to death had frightened his superior officers. His quarters converted into a bloody shrine of his victims, bathing in the blood of thine enemies). A rather trying time for a young veteran. He seeked to remove his brother from the harsh conditions of the orphanage. Upon finding that Thorne had been bestowed a better life. Lev left him in the wilderness with Bard to return to the Reavers - a lowly, youthful guild - at least putting his new talents to use as a debtor.

The Dark Brotherhood eventually caught up with Lev, after making a name for himself in Blackhart amongst the guild. Going after a debt, he had unknowingly stolen one of the DBH’s kills. Instead of levelling the playing field. They made him a life changing offer - to join the secreted brotherhood society.

All members must pass the trials before they are initiated into the DBH. A passage of right. After a groolling process & hoops to jump through. Lev’s last task was to cut all ties to his former life in servitude to his new life as a brother. He killed Grim point blank in proof of his dedication. Granting him access to one of the continents most powerful organisations.

Thorne’s offer:

The curious younger brother stealthily followed His suspicious counterpart. Uneasy about his secretive movements & whispered meetings in dark alleys. Lev had been tasked with assisting a reconnaissance mission. Unbeknownst to the 3 assassins, the sting was a trap. Thorne’s sharp eye & sprightly footing stopped a foreseeable turkey shoot in process & saved the lives of all assassins on that mission. Thus rendering him a threat or liability to the brotherhood. Rather than kill both Lev & Thorne for the trouble, a second offer was made. The same trials applied - instead, Lev was the target for young Thorne. Without the need for death. Lev willingly lost a finger in sacrifice & Thorne obliged.

Though they have their many differences & difficulties working alongside eachother as siblings surely do. The pair team up to be an unstoppable force in the ways of the sword & bow.

[the-bearded-bard]

DM’ing Murder Hobos

My players (elven rogues) are total Murder Hobos. Couple that with the fact that I run a Dark Brotherhood Campaign - their egos are basically sitting at god status.

Eg. A town guard/ king/ common man/ woman/ child/ dog disrespects them in any way shape or form... Dead. They’re dead. Anyone in a 1 mile radius, dead. Their mail man/ florist/ anyone they’ve ever been in contact with, dead.

Some people have suggested rail roading to teach them a lesson. Not necessary, when you know that dangling a blood-lust-carrot infront of them will get the same results, eh. It’s hella entertaining.