Invictus

Origin
This campaign started in August of 2016 among a group of college students. It takes place in an original fantasy setting with brand new character concepts. As the game continued, players came and went and the group finally began to solidify. In April of 2017, Invictus began recording sessions and putting them up on Youtube, later transitioning to Twitch livestreams.

Gith
Bentley and Nazili Aldeen met in the small town of Cliffhaven, where they were attacked by a Gith raiding party which Scorpius the Red Dragonbron helped aid. The monks managed to win the day, capturing Scor as well as the leader of the Gith raiders, Krull Spearwielder. They managed to persuade Scor to join their side and take Krull to the city of Costana to be questioned by the governor.

Along the way, the group met an energetic halfling called Passion, who introduced them to the Whaler organization.

Once in Costana, they met the rest of the Whalers, as well as a halfling ranger named Wilkin Maddocks. After handing Krull over to those in authority, Bentley and Nazili assisted Wilkin in a mission. The monks also assisted a nobleman named Sir Wesley von Penrose with a break-in situation, discovering the reputation of the notorious crimelord, Reynolds.

While in the marketplace, Nazili and Bentley ran into a young, distressed Desert Elven alchemist, Nero Magmaris, who was on the run from some demonic activity. The two monks offered their protection and they would leave Costana with him in a few days.

A few days into her stay in Costana, Nazili received a letter from Krull asking for a meeting. She agreed and visited him in the city prisons. Bentley accompanied her. The three of them had a deep discussion about morality, gods, and purpose. The monks decided to help Krull plead his case during his trial and make the first moves towards overthrowing the corrupt Gith empire.

The majority of those in Costana authority agreed to help Krull stop the Gith expansion by overthrowing their empire from the inside. They sent Krull to be trained as a spy in the halfling city of Drainbanks with haste.

The monks were to meet up with Krull in Drainbanks in a few weeks time, so they decided to travel South by ship and on foot. They took Scor, Wilkin, and Nero with them in their adventure. While travelling on foot in halfling country, they recruited a stoic half elven rogue, Eroan, to help them resolve an issue with a minor devil. After reaching Drainbanks, the group planned their next steps with the Circle of Spies. Bentley, Nazili, Nero, Scor, Wilkin, Eroan, and Krull would travel south to the Gith city-state of Akivrakk'a and meet up with the secret Gith resistance.

After making their way out of the jungles, the Invictus encountered a few Gith that were holding resistance prisoners. The Gith were quickly handled and two of the prisoners rescued. Resistance general Dazak the Unyielding would meet up with the other resistance members while the other prisoner, the dwarven wizard Tordek Ungart, would lead the party through the lower layers of Akivrakk'a.

After meeting with the resistance, Invictus devised a plan to attack the city and corner the Emperor as he tried to escape using a secret underground passage. As the Whalers attacked from the sea and the Gith resistance attacked from the land, Invictus battled the Gith Emperor and his guards in a fight to the death.

After learning of the Emperor's demise, the city of Akivrakk'a yielded to the resistance. Much celebration followed this victory. The next day, Invictus discussed the new government regime with the leaders of the resistance. It would take a few months to create stable leadership, and they agreed that Krull was the best fit to lead the Gith during that period.

Invictus returned to Costana along with a Gith diplomat, Farkhar. Invictus received noble titles and were dubbed "Champions of Costana" after securing an alliance with the Gith and protecting the Scarlet Province.

Devils and Giants
Invictus set off to deal with a Frost Giant threat to a city in the southern reaches of Oddithis. While in Heartford, imps began to pursue the party. Nero said that they were his father's minions, sent to bring him back to Hell. After leaving the city, Nero was ambushed by one of his tiefling sisters, who dragged him into a portal. Invictus entered the portal after them. In this plane, the group met a High Elven paladin, Athena D. Ingrith, who helped rescue Nero and return the party back to the Material Plane. They also captured a succubus named Lilith, who was to be taken to the High Elven empire for questioning.

While the group traveled to the town of Pinefolk, Scor was ambushed in a tavern by a group of angry Wood Elves. He made a break for it, and the surviving elves chased after him into the snowy night. Little did they know, this would be the last time Invictus would see Scorpius for a long while.

In Pinefolk, Yarl Erling Dokken told Invictus where the Giants' settlement was and the party took off to resolve business. Unfortunately, the group fell into a gnomish ruin where only chaos awaited. They discovered a sinister shrine to Baphomet and barely escaped a Wendigo. And Tordek, overcome with desire, decided to take a risk and go after some pieces of ancinet gnomish machinery, which cost him his leg.

Not everyone was able to escape the traps of this labyrinth, as Athena was cleaved by a swinging axe, dying from her wounds. Invictus managed to escape from the ruins, heading back to Pinefolk to recover. The priests of Tyr were able to construct a mechanical leg for Tordek and the party continued onward. They burned Athena's body with honor, and came into contact with one of Athena's slaves, a strange Gith named Law D. Ingrith. He joined with Invictus to avenge Athena's death.

Also during this time, Wilkin began having strange dreams while eating his breakfast. He would fall asleep for a handful of seconds, his consciousness being transported to the Feywild. Here, Wilkin came into contact with the Maiden of the Moon, who asked for Wilkin's help and made him her champion.

Invictus trekked through the forest to the mountain where the Frost giants made their home. They fell prisoner to the King, narrowly escaping death by a Remorhazz. In order to save their lives, they created an alliance against the Frost Giant king and helped another giant take over leadership of the clan. After killing the King, the remaining giants offered assistance in the fight against the White Dragon lord that they fell in servitude to.

Invictus infiltrated the dragon's lair with the assistance of one of his kobold minions. The giants and Invictus fought valiantly in the fight against the white dragon. As the magical glass bottle that acted as Lilith's prison broke, Law made a pact with her in order to keep her from escaping back to Hell. All of the giants perished in the battle, and many of the party members fell to the dragon's icy wrath.

After recovering enough to travel, the group went back to Pinefolk. They donated some of the dragon's riches to the city to help them rebuild. Bentley did not join up with the party the day the group was supposed to leave for Heartford. Concerned, Tordek went to check on Bentley in his room. Much to his surprise, a stranger was tearing Bentley's room apart. Flynt, a tiefling monk, was also searching for Bentley. Invictus investigated the room, but could not find any traces of their missing friend. The group allied with Flynt to investigate what happened to Bentley.

Invictus traveled for several days back to Heartford, lugging a chunk of the dragon's hoard with them.

Along the way, the party stayed for dinner at a small farmhouse. They met an Elven lady named Ceridwen, who was also a guest of the family. They did not get to enjoy the hospitality for long as began devils attacking the farm. Invictus, aided by Ceridwen, finished off the devils, but burned down nearly the entire farmstead in the process. Invictus left the family members with a large sum of money before leaving into the night.

When they arrived in Heartford the group stayed at a tavern. Much to their surprise, Krull was waiting there for them. Not thinking anything was amiss, the group was content in enjoying the reunion with their friend. Later on, Krull asked Nero to talk in private. Nazili and Eroan followed them but were too late, as the imposer Krull kidnapped Nero.

Devastated, the party took a portal back to Costana the next day. They were gifted with an abandoned keep on the outskirts of town and made plans to renovate it to a livable standard in the coming months. They were informed that there would be a meeting of the leaders of the Scarlet Province in their capitol of Red Gem at the end of the week, and that Invictus would be escorting governor Lockwoode to the meeting.

After taking care of some business in the city, the Whaler ship The White Maiden docked in the harbor, ready to take Invictus to Red Gem. The party was reunited with Krull and Farkhar and the group sailed north.

Red Gem
During the sea journey to the Scarlet Province's capitol, The White Maiden came under attack by a mercenary ship. After routing the mercenaries down to one man, Invictus were able to learn that a person called Calathes hired the mercenaries to kill governor Lockwoode.

At the mention of this antagonistic figure, Eroan seemed visibly affected. Nazili tried to console him on the situation, but his lethargic mood drove a wedge between them. The once-close pair had a falling out. Krull managed to calm Nazili down, but Tordek's attempt to get to talk to Eroan only ended in more animosity.

Once docked in Red Gem, the group went about their duties. The Gith representatives, Governor Lockwoode, and Spymaster Eichenbrowe, attended the political meeting and the other members of Invictus set out into the city. Tordek, Eroan, and the Whaler, Setchi, traveled to the shady Undercity to procure unconventional goods. The others ventured to a library so that Bentley could contact a scholar in order to find out information about a sinister being called Klazztrysk.

After obtaining a few reagents from the Undercity, Eroan hid out in a graveyard. He summoned an Erinyes devil, trying to get it to make a contract with him. Instead, the devil took him to the Nine Hells. Eroan was brought to one of the Lords of Hell, Fierna. Not impressed by his attempt at establishing a contract, she had a pit fiend murder him.

The other members of the party wrapped up their business in town and met up with the Gith and the other representatives. Apparently the meeting with the governors did not go well, as the other governors openly refuted trying to establish a large-scale alliance with the Gith empire.

At the end of the night, the party became worried that Eroan had not returned. They ventured onto the city streets in the middle of the night, trying desperately to find him. Lupus managed to track his scent to the graveyard, finding two Wood Elves standing over the dead body of Eroan. Before the Elves could respond back to their master, Invictus made quick work of them.

They took Eroan's body back to their room at an inn. Ceridwen said she would be able to resurrect him, but she needed a diamond in order to do so. Because it was so late at night, Nazili, Krull, and Wilkin broke into a Jeweler shop and took a diamond. Krull made sure they left proper payment on the counter.

After resurrecting Eroan, the entire party had a slew of questions for Eroan. Emotions broiled, and eventually, the group managed to calm down. Nazili, at her wits end and quite tired of her friends going missing, made the eight party members sleep in the same room and said that no one could go anywhere alone from now on.

The next day started off with a bit of much-needed R&R. The group visited a spa and tried bonding with one another. At this spa, they met a fire giantess, Oghavati, and her companion, Jasper. Nazili befriended the giant mercenary and promised to stay in touch.

That night, Invictus would be boarding the White Maiden and returning to Costana. Eichenbrowe informed the group of a dire lead that needed to be investigated before they left. Williams White, the leader of Red Gem and the Scarlet Province was part of a suspected conspiracy against Costana.

Invictus snuck into White's manor. They overheard him having a conversation with Calathes, discovering that they were going to send mercenary troops to siege Costana in the coming days. Invictus relayed the information back to Eichenbrowe and the others, who immediately sent word back to Costana as well as to their Gith allies for assistance. Nazili also sent for Oghavati and Jasper to join them in helping defend Costana. Law also told the group that he needed to return to his superiors in Aendrithas as soon as possible and left on his own to head back to his homeland. The group then sailed back to Costana with haste.

They arrived back at the city without much time before the Red Gem mercenaries started to begin their attack. Invictus made preparations and headed to defend the North gate. They were met with a tough slew of opponents, struggling to keep them at bay.

Towards the end of the battle, Williams White made an appearance. He utilized death magic, but was abruptly stopped as he was made top priority by Invictus. As the Gith reinforcements arrived and cut through the remaining mercenary troops, Tordek's construct sliced White in half.

The city celebrated their victory, but was disheartened to acknowledge that the rest of the Scarlet Province had turned against them. Invictus however, needed to turn their sights in another direction. They discovered a lead on Klazztrysk, and needed to venture to the Eastern Wastes. They made preparations to take a portal to the Eastern city of Sarn the next day.

As they traveled through the portal, a familiar voice terrorized the group. Calathes cast a spell that disrupted their journey, casting them into the space between spaces. Thinking on his toes, Wilkin communed with the Maiden of the Moon, who whisked everyone away into the Feywild.

The Feywild
The party crash landed in three different locations in the Feywild. Wilkin and Krull fell into a darkened forest. While trying to escape, they came across a giant spider lady, who tried enchanting them before attacking. Acknowledging the unbalanced odds, Krull picked up Wilkin and booked it out of there. Wilkin called for aid from the Maiden of the Moon, who managed to distract the spider lady in order for the two heroes to escape. The Maiden then gifted Wilkin the magical Gnarled Bow.

Flynt, Eroan, Tordek, and Lupus feel in another part of the forest. They saw some questionable statues and were introduced to a mysterious Unseelie Fey named Tecria. She led them through the forest where they met up with Wilkin and Krull.

Nazili and Ceridwen feel into a swamp, far out of the range of their magical earrings. The two Elves wandered to the shore where they ran into a Red Knight, who led them to Iggwilv's house. Here, the witch was surprisingly hospitable and foretold a prophecy. She escorted them to the edge of the swamp in her moving house and let them on their way.

All members of the group reunited and Tecria took them back to her tribe, the Banshrae fey. Together they devised a plan with Tecria's father, Chief Soxta to invade the palace of the Summer Queen during a ball. In a previous dream, Wilkin learned that the Summer Queen was holding Bentley captive there.

Invictus snuck into the palace while the festivities were going on. While the Banshrae caused a distraction, the group ran to the prisons and broke Bentley out. Tecria led them out of the palace and to a large black portal. Invictus jumped into the portal, escaping the Feywild.

Klazztrysk
Invictus crash landed in the desert sands of the Eastern Wastes. After adjusting to the heat and figuring out their location, the group found their way to Sarn. Here they found evidence of a fight including a rakshasa. They also discovered a lead into the disappearances of the townsfolk of outlying provinces near the ruins of Skymeet.

Tordek came into unsettling contact with Calathes while in a tavern. The Dark Elf wizard was not openly hostile towards Tordek, but left the young Dwarf wizard with a lingering sense of dread and anxiety.

Nazili ran into an old acquaintance of hers, a wise-man named Fahad. He is a Blue Dragonborn that was close friends of Mother Unirys, the old leader of the Sun Soul Order. He was surprised to learn of the extermination of the Order and made plans with Nazili to go back to Amaunt Alkar someday to honor the fallen.

After wrapping up business in Sarn, Invictus pursued a lead to the small town of Cobalt. Once the town was in their view, they heard a booming voice sound from in the city center. The party proceeded with caution and stealth.

Once they got a good viewpoint, they saw the frightened townsfolk transfixed with a large Eladrin figure. He forced them to bow down to him. Standing at his side was Rakshasa with a strange eye, and a bewitched Nero.

Winter Intrigue
The group arrives back in Costana, worn and weary. They decide to take a well-deserved rest for the two winter months, spending time with each other and enjoying their newly renovated Keep.

Wilkin traveled with Sir Bedivere to Heartford to consider the King of Reodor's offer to employ the Maddocks family's talents with dog breeding and training for the kingdom. Wilkin visited his family in Derry for Yule and brought up the King's deal, which the Maddocks family have yet to accept.

Nazili was surprised to discover that six young acolytes had ventured to Invictus Keep in search of her, sent by a vision from Amauntor. She was eager to teach them the ways of the Light, turning a few of the caves near the Keep into a makeshift monastery.

As Yule passed and the Winter Solstice neared, Invictus decided to celebrate by throwing a winter ball, inviting friends and allies from far and wide. They greeted loved ones and political connections into their home and had a lovely celebration.

However, Wilkin and a few of the more observant guests noticed something slinking around the grounds of the Keep. After doing some investigating, they discovered that the Wendigo had tracked them down and was laying in wait for a moment to strike.

As to not start a wide-scale panic, Wilkin decided to join with a few of his ranger friends, Siari and her mentor, Kodlak, Flynt, Ceridwen, Admiral Cara, and Nazili's sister, Siobhan to slip away from the ball and end the Wendigo once and for all. They trekked through the howling snowstorm, tracking the Wendigo to Eroan's treehouse, slaying the cursed creature.

Flynt also did some reconnaissance of his own with a shifty nobleman, Stanley Moris. He was keen on following a lead that the Moris family had ties in Red Gem and were connected to the slave trade that occurred along the Red Coast. Flynt managed to gain an invitation to the Moris mansion later on in the week.

After the ball, Tordek learned that Setchi had been captured during her mission in the Xander empire. The Whalers received one of her hands and a note taunting them. Overcome with the urgency to rescue his lover, Tordek signed a contract with Oberen the Green, one of the leaders of the Arcane Domain, in order to teleport to the prison where Setchi was being kept and stage a rescue.