Mission Archive
The adventurers of Haven journey forth to deal with threats and explore the unknown of the New World.
Missions
01 - The Founding of Haven
January 3, 2021
The Old World is dying. It has been known for a couple years as fields begin to go fallow and streams begin to dry up. However, the process has been slow – until recently. Over the last month, lakes have suddenly dried up, crops withered, and forests have begun to burn. A call went up for adventurers to strike out and find a new place to settle, to start anew across the great ocean.
Many groups set out – yours among them. You know you will never return to your old homes again – by the time you got back there would be no way to live in the Old World. The only hope is that you are able to find a place to settle and that when the others set out, they will be able to find you. Yours wasn’t the only group to set out, but it was one of precious few, and you’ll likely be alone for some time before others cross the ocean and find you.
Your task is simple – to find a place to settle and to clear the way for others to arrive. Your journey begins as you set sail from your old, dying town and out towards a New World, where you seek to establish Haven.
Mission Report
Having braved many dangers aboard the Dawning Horizon, a group of adventurers has found a place to settle and begin Haven. They have chosen the rocky shores of a bay, bisected by a river - one bank forested - to begin this new home. Over the next months, the area is secured, food is gathered, and new homes are built. Welcome to Haven.
02 - Beast of the Woods
February 7, 2021
As scouts have been sent out to explore eastwards toward the mountains, many have reported back early with sightings and close calls with a monstrous creature that stalks the forests. They have not been able to explore far and will most certainly be unable to reach the mountains should this beast not be dealt with.
Reports are varied. Some say the creature is stealthy, capable of expertly hiding in the shadows and getting the drop on its quarry, others say it is massive and strikes with immense power. All reports say that it is a dangerous creature that should not be taken lightly.
Mission Report
Setting out east into the forests near Haven, you tracked down a beast that was threatening your scouts. It turned out to be a brown bear, though it was most peculiar. It seemed to have some sort of crystals growing out of it which granted it magical abilities. With its downfall, you have opened up the way for the scouts to head out further into the mountains.
03 - The Shimmering Marsh
February 20, 2021
Scouts headed north along the river have come across something most interesting – an area along one of the riverbanks is a wet marsh, coated in a thin layer of ice and containing what seem to be crystals scattered throughout. It is unknown how such crystals came to be or what they might be exactly – perhaps by taking a sample back to Haven, more can be discovered about them and potential uses.
The scouts have continued beyond that area, giving it a wide berth. Alongside the reports of crystals, one scout also reports that the ground in that area seems swampy or spongy, possibly quicksand, which has been left to the adventurers to deal with.
Mission Report
Venturing into the Shimmering Marsh, you worked your way through quicksand and slimes to collect a number of crystals for further study. Along the way, you learned of what seem to be local fish-people, though their gibberish was impossible to understand and they attacked without hesitation. Haven’s scouts will continue to push further north and back at Haven you will be able to study the crystals to better understand their purpose.
04 - Lake Kuo-Toa
March 14, 2021
Windrunners have returned, completing the first pass of the North River – trailing it 4 days to the north where it opens up into a large lake, hundreds of miles in circumference. Many more of the kuo-toa have been spotted in that area, seemingly spaced out in scattered villages around the lake – their homes built primarily of reeds half in and half out of the water. It also appears that they are not a united species – scouts have reported infighting between groups, but it is unknown why or what for.
First contact has been left for the adventurers – if the kuo-toa prove to be aggressive, it’s best that practiced fighters can defend themselves. There are multiple ways to approach this area – perhaps simply approaching in peace and forming an alliance with at least one of the groups is possible, or perhaps sneaking around to just learn from observation is more important. Attacking the kuo-toa is less than ideal, but the need for self-defense may arise.
There is hope that the kuo-toa can give more information on what other dangers the New World holds, or maybe know more of what the asterian quartz can do. At the very least, an understanding that the kuo-toa are not immediately dangerous to the denizens of Haven would be ideal.
Mission Report
Following your first meeting with kuo-toa in the Shimmering Marsh, you ventured out further along that river to the area where it seems those kuo-toa come from. A massive lake around the perimeter of which are built the homes of many disparate clans of kuo-toa, seemingly often coming to blows.
You watched them and potentially sparked tensions into a true battle between some of the clans. At the culmination of the battle, you watched as a massive asterian crystal-backed frog emerged from the lake and seemed to be worshipped by the kuo-toa. After swallowing four of them, it retreated back into the depths.
As part of this battle, one of the kuo-toa tribes was wiped out and the other two returned home. Returning home yourselves, you spoke with your prisoner and learned that he was part of one of the latter two tribes, but little else.
05 - Coastal Explorations
March 28, 2021
Finally, after months of building the port, stocking the Dawning Horizon, and preparing to set sail down the coast, it is time to start exploring the coastline of the New World. The first exploration of its kind will be moving westwards, around the plains to see if anything of interest can be spotted.
As this is the first such exploration, adventurers have been asked to take part – there may be incredible dangers along the route and the crew of the Dawning Horizon will be more confident in the expedition with adventurers aboard.
Mission Report
Your first expedition down the western coast of the New World has been completed, finding ruins, sea creatures, and a shipwreck with a single survivor. You recovered what you could and brought home a scribe who can aid you by providing scrolls and research.
06 - Establishing Fort Terakka
April 18, 2021
After months of exploration, a safe route into the mountain range known as the Spine has been located, and a preliminary trail established. However, delving into the mountains themselves has proved most dangerous. A plan has formed – establishing a fort, dubbed Fort Terakka, in the Spine will allow for miners and stonemasons to set up shop in the mountains, and though it is likely that travellers and caravans may require guards, a strong Perchguard can easily handle that issue.
Actually getting a larger caravan into the mountains to set up Fort Terakka is a larger issue. Adventurers have been requested to travel with this caravan and aid in its protection so that Fort Terakka can be set up. As part of this, they will also have great say over where exactly the fort will be built.
Mission Report
After travelling through the Petraklad Woods and the Spine where you faced off against stirges, an asterian cougar, and saved a Windrunner from a cliff, you decided on the center of Terakka Valley for Haven’s mountain outpost, Fort Terakka. There, you began to establish some means by which Haven can more sustainably gather stone and metals.
07 - Kuo-Toa Relations
November 27, 2021
Despite all the care that has gone into ensuring the kuo-toa are not alerted to the presence of Haven and the people there, with Windrunners keeping tabs on the kuo-toa tribes it was almost inevitable that one of the runners would eventually be spotted. However, it was not foreseen that they would be hunted down and caught, taken prisoner to the kuo-toa’s camp!
This has created all sorts of issues, and it’s up to the adventurers of Haven to deal with this! This mission has two primary objectives, and a bunch of bonus ones should you find yourselves able to complete them. Firstly, the captured Windrunner – a cervan by the name of Rudolf Hailhorn – must be successfully returned home, preferably uninjured. Secondly, the kuo-toa cannot be provoked into immediate hostilities – this mission is to be undergone with minimal combat and absolutely no killing.
Secondary objectives are varied, and some preclude others. These are as follows: (1) extract Rudolf Hailhorn stealthily, without alerting any kuo-toa to your presence; (2) extract Rudolf diplomatically and establish some sort of meeting between leaders of the tribe and of Haven; (3) discover what the goals of the tribe are and assess a threat level; (4) learn more from the kuo-toa (or investigate the camp to find out more) about the purpose of their practice of feeding a giant frog asterian quartz; (5) and lastly, learn how much the kuo-toa know of Haven and its people, through espionage or diplomacy.
Note that too many adventurers would likely be much too intimidating and may provoke hostilities just from appearing – whatever tactic is chosen, no more than four adventurers will be allowed to participate in this mission. Also note that if either of the two primary objectives are failed (Rudolf is not extracted, a kuo-toa is killed, or the kuo-toa are provoked to begin a military campaign against Haven), a checkpoint towards levelling will not be granted.
Mission Report
After some downtime where you got to know Palladoop, your kuo-toa prisoner, you set out to his home village of Bellepe, where you got to know Ollipop the archpriest of the Bellepe tribe. From there, you managed to establish a very unstable alliance with the tribe after showing them Haven. Returning north to Lake Kuo-Toa, you were stopped along the way by Rudolf Hailhorn, who appeared to have jailbroken himself and 4 kuo-toa prisoners out of the Olobagolla tribe jail. The Olobagolla marched to the gates of Haven, but upon seeing the town and a show of magical force, they turned tail and fled, leaving your task failed successfully.
08 - Starlight Eve
December 27, 2021
In the Old World, Starlight Eve was celebrated with candlelight and family, with caroling and of course the exchange of gifts. That’s sure to remain similar here in the New World, but there’s more to it – Haven’s founding was only a few short days after Starlight Eve, making it not only a celebration of family and friends, but also of rebirth and a new chance in this new land.
However, something strange is afoot… Gifts that had begun to create a sizeable pile beneath the Totem Tree have had their gift tags all mixed up (as noted by curious children), foodstuffs and culinary tools have turned up in strange places, and worst of all, Nora Middlepaw of the Shattered Prism has reported all of the stained glass shards that decorate her storefront have gone missing!
It’s Starlight Day and with all these preparations coming to a close, it would be good to know what’s going on before the celebrations start – you’ve been asked to get things figured out tonight.
Mission Report
After quite the treasure hunt through the many shops of Haven, you finally found what turned out to be pixies terrorizing the people of Haven, and you battled with and took out the mech they had built for their rather dangerous attempt at Starlight Eve cheer – as well as the many mephits they had herded into the city.
09 - Nests and Burrows
February 6, 2022
As the Windrunners have explored the forests leading towards Fort Terakka, they’ve come across what appears to be some sort of a nest or burrow. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem, but the area around seems to be unstable – like the tunnels below are destabilizing the area, and the Windrunners are concerned this might have adverse effects on the forest. If these creatures are too large, they may also be a direct danger to the Windrunners or worse, any lumberjacks that go out that way, which means they may have to be exterminated. Thus, you’ve been sent to explore the tunnels and exterminate anything you judge to be dangerous to the forest or to those who explore it.
Mission Report
You delved deep into unstable dirt burrows and tunnels, fighting your way through a colony of ankheg and digging your way through the dirt all the way down to the deepest tunnels where you found the queen already dead - a strange small creature you found to be called a meazel feasting on its corpse and eggs. You came out victorious - and the owners of some no-longer buried treasure!
10 - Pilgrimage
February 19, 2022
Led primarily by discourse between Misha and Paladoop, a much stronger understanding has been forged between Haven and their northern neighbours – the Kuo-toa, especially those of the Bellepe tribe. As a sign of alliance and unity between your two peoples – though archpriest Ollipop still doesn’t quite seem to grasp the idea completely – a handful of representatives from Haven have been permitted to join the archpriest and his priests on their pilgrimage to the temple of Gnec.
It is a rare time of truce for the kuo-toa, where those of the many tribes that encircle Lake Kuo-toa meet in faith to their god. It is of course, also a time when each tribe can show off its strength and gauge that of the other tribes. You have a feeling that appearing with the Bellepe tribe may be a show of power to the others...
Mission Report
While taking part in events that proved the Bellepe tribe to be the most powerful amongst the 9 kuo-toa tribes present, you also investigated the temple where the pilgrimage took place to find it a remnant of birdfolk who once travelled to the New World.
Having won their events, Farley and Osbert were nearly swallowed as sacrifices to the mighty Gnec, but were saved by the timely arrival of the heathen Uldabop tribe which attacked the Gnec, forcing it to retreat. Now kuo-toa tribal war brews on the horizon...
11 - The Petrified Grove
April 8, 2022
Forest explorations have moved southwards - the north side of the East River has been deemed cleared, now for the south side to truly make that route to Fort Terakka safe. However, preliminary explorations have been most strange - though nothing seems wrong from the trail and banks of the river, not too far south of that, the forest changes. The trees go gray, and their bark turns as hard as stone.
Because it is stone - a grove, entirely made of petrified wood stands in the Petraklad Woods. Windrunners have not come across anything immediately dangerous on the outskirts of this grove, but there can never be too much care taken and the area has been deemed a place where adventurers should venture first.
Mission Report
You delved into the petrified grove where you dealt with attacks by stone-cursed deer, attempts at stealing your valuables by the stone-cursed squirrels, and eventually finding a second massive crystal of asterian quartz in the likeness of a large elk stag. There you fought off a large lizard that had been corrupted by the quartz, and pondered on the stages of asterian quartz corruption...
12 - Further Coastal Explorations
May 22, 2022
It’s high time the Dawning Horizon set out on another voyage along the western coast with the adventurers aboard to explore anything found on or just off the coastline.
Though the Dawning Horizon has traveled up and down the coast a number of times with various objectives in mind - including determining the best fishing points, tide levels along various parts of the coast, and more such work - they have yet to explore a couple points of interest along the route - a task best suited to Haven’s adventurers.
Mission Report
You sailed ever further out along the west coast, first returning to the temple ruins where you finished off the flameskull once and for all, then further onwards where you explored a cave where you met Ekjadarra - a bronze dragon who likes to take the form of a kuo-toa - as well as her hoard of treasures. You continued north to find submerged ruins that you were unable to explore, and eventually came across sun-bleached bones where you fought strange swarms of vampiric insects.
13 - Odd Jobs
November 12, 2022
A note has been left at the Totem Tree for Varak to find. It reads only: “In need of someone I can trust to take on a couple odd jobs and wrap up a loose end. - Kleftis”
Mission Report
Following the trail of dead drops, missed drops, and friends of Melanie, you uncovered a plot by Derrek Hardbeak to force Haven’s hand in being much more aggressive about its defenses, as was his platform when he unsuccessfully ran for Master of Defense. Melanie had uncovered the plot and been kidnapped by the burgeoning bandit group to keep their secret safe. You both managed to save Melanie and defeat the bandits, bringing them to justice before the Perchguard while maintaining as much plausible deniability as possible as to your involvement with any black market ties. Should this day have any new far-reaching consequences is yet to be seen…
14 - Against the Uldabop
May 25, 2023
The war cry has been sounded and the kuo-toa gather to launch their assault against the heathen Uldabop, seeking to sentence to death those who would dare attack the mighty Gnec. You have also received the call, as friends (Allies? Subjects?) of the Bellepe tribe to take part. You’ll be marching with a large vanguard comprised of multiple tribes to bring the Uldabop to justice and potentially to raze their tower home to the ground.
Master of External Relations Oleg Koloss sees this as an opportunity. Aligning with the platform that he was voted in for, those who take part in this assault are also to use it as an opportunity to choose which kuo-toa tribe(s) are best for Haven to ally with.
Mission Report
Journeying out, you joined together with the Bellepe tribe and made your way towards the Uldabop’s tower ruin where you decided to stealth ahead alone and try to get a read on the Uldabop tribe. You found them to be much more intelligent than expected and formed an alliance in order to save their tribe and learn more secrets about asterian quartz and the avatars - or abominations as Headmaster Dumpel called them.
What you didn’t notice was the shadow that stalked you - Jonin Pukla of the Shopo tribe revealed you to be traitors and the Bellepe tribe was massacred for your deviousness. You returned to Haven with the Uldabop tribe as refugees, and later learned that the kuo-toa had turned on each other due to being unable to find a consensus on how to resolve the turn of effects, giving you a respite for the time being.
A respite that might be needed to combat the growing corruption that afflicts Varak…
Hunts
H01 - Adama, the Diamondshell
July 17, 2022
250gp bounty (each)
Until now, you’ve primarily only seen creatures that have been subtly corrupted by asterian quartz – a bear with crystals protruding from its back and a cougar with similar patterns. However, recent sightings have been much more concerning – a gargantuan tortoise, larger than even an elephant is slowly trudging its way down the coast towards Haven. But it’s not the size that’s the most worrying, but the level of asterian quartz corruption that this creature has clearly been affected by.
Nicknamed ‘the Diamondshell’, the massive tortoise known as Adama appears to have an asterian quartz shell through and through, shimmering prettily in the sunlight as it shakes the ground with every step – easy to find, and most likely incredibly difficult to stop.
Mission Report
After a long and hard-fought battle, the adventurers of Haven proved themselves victorious, standing tall over Adama despite it stomping the earth up and pulling the waves across the beach. As it fell dead, it's soul was sucked into a Selenian Pearl, and a second glass key was found. Raanan also made an appearance and revealed himself to have been watching Haven at the behest of his people for signs that they had come to destroy the New World (which he called Eretz), but upon defeating Adama his trust was truly won over. He told a tale that generations ago, birdfolk arrived in Eretz and soon the mana of the world began to disappear, leading to the disappearance of dragons and coinciding with the appearance of asterian avatars - before the birdfolk just disappeared. The world has remained damaged, but Raanan has hope that perhaps Haven will aid it in its rebirth.
Terakka Mines
M01 - Terakka Mines
With Fort Terakka established, mining is in full swing, and with mining has come discovery. Prospecting has been fruitful and various mines are being established for certain ores and minerals. However, alongside rocks there have been other discoveries.
Various mines have broken into what appears to be a massive cave system, crawling with creatures of all kinds. This has made digging deep difficult, but should these caves be mapped and cleared it would lead to an enormous amount of ore – enough to push forward smithing and jewelcrafting to the next tier in Haven. However, the caves are truly expansive, and may take many weeks to clear...
M01-1
December 5, 2021
Headed into the mines beneath Fort Terakka for the first time proved them to be full of dangerous creatures - and also a little mystery when an illusory wall proved to be hiding three paintings in a small corner of the tunnels. Many branching paths have been found on your largely-eastward explorations so far, as well as a massive chasm that seems to cut through the tunnel system. What more might yet be found?
M01-2
January 4, 2022
Delving into the mines beneath Fort Terakka for a second time, you went mostly westwards, finding another connection to the massive chasm, as well as a section of the tunnels that appears to be spider territory.
M01-3
January 14, 2022
Once again you made your way westwards in the mines, clearing out spider after spider - including what appeared to be a strange humanoid/spider creature and a spider that could phase in and out of the material plane at will. And yet, there are more tunnels to explore...
M01-4
January 24, 2022
Once more into the mines you went - tying up some final rooms in both the spider section of the caverns, as well as to the northeast, finding a loop back to your entrance chamber. Additionally, you spent some time and a little asterian quartz magic to get Varak across the chasm and tied off multiple ropes to allow the workers of Fort Terakka to create a proper bridge for you to cross into the southern portion of the mines.
M01-5
March 13, 2022
Looking to clear out the area north of the chasm, you ventured east, where you encountered a strange, unmoving hook horror which turned out to be a spore servant guard for the myconids - a race of mushroom people who appear to live in these tunnels. Their village is located next to a lake - a lake next to which you defeated a two-headed crocodile, then nearly died to a gargantuan sea serpent. Maybe you'll return to take that on later...
M01-6
March 18, 2022
You finally crossed the chasm and made your way south, ignoring offshoots in a straight line as far as possible. You dealt with floating gemstones - or rather a gelatinous cube, rust monsters that which made Varak sad by rusting his maul, and finished off with a roper in a larger cavern. Along the way, you found another entrance into the mines and a secret room!
M01-7
March 30, 2022
You explored around the other chasm crossing, finding more river crossings infested with ooze that corroded your weapons and armour, a cloaker that enveloped Osbert, and a dead end.
M01-8
April 25, 2022
Ever deeper into the mines, you found a loop back to places you had already been after retracing your steps from your last delve. Continuing forth, you also looped all the way back around to the opposite side of the underground lake. Throughout this venture, you dealt with tiny tunnels which made combat quite difficult, and found a small chest containing some potions and poisons.
M01-9
June 26, 2022
Venturing through the westmost reaches of the mines, you found gemstones galore, guarded by various rocky creatures. Passing by a flail snail that you decided to leave in peace, you also found a talking strigg face carved into a wall that eventually revealed a secret room with further treasures.
Later, you sailed back out to the ruins off the coast to the west and dived down to find - among other simple things - a treasure map, and after you eventually determined the point where the treasure chest was found, were rewarded with an incredible amount of gold and gemstones.
M01-10
September 17, 2022
With one final battle against piercers and a hidden room trapped with a rolling boulder, you worked your way through the final rooms of the first floor of the mines. Time to finally take Fort Terakka's industry to the next level - and soon it'll be time to venture ever deeper into the tunnels...
M02 - Buried Crypt
The first floor of the Terakka Mines has been cleared, but there’s a lot more that lies beneath – and who knows what kind of prizes might remain below the Spine...
M02-1
January 5, 2023
You delved into the second level of the mines for the first time, exploring two different areas - in the northwest a massive graveyard with specters and tiles that caused various effects; and in the northeast, finely hewn stone corridors with puzzles and riddles - as well as a glass tube that allowed for one to reshape themselves, albeit with some consequences...
M02-2
February 5, 2023
You returned to the northwest area, working your way through a chessboard, a seemingly illusory junction that could transition between desert, rainforest, mountain ridge, and beach to provide you access to different areas, and finally a new massive cavern over a mile in diameter where you found, fought, and ran from a demonic effigy in the form of a scarecrow. You’ve made it out alive - for now...
M02-3
March 12, 2023
Once more into the dark depths of the buried crypt you delved, this time choosing the southwest entrance. There, you discovered a proper crypt - alcoves filled with coffins lining the walls, some names recognized by Kodenn as gallus heros of eld. You discovered a green lantern, which you were able to use to fight through several groups of skeletons and skeletal monstrosities. Lucius also caught a glimpse of a new figure, a luma cloaked in shadow near a sarcophagus titled with a name you've heard before... Ceri Underbark.
M02-4
March 31, 2023
You returned to the northwest graveyard caves where you were able to collect the rest of the pieces of the blue lantern through an onslaught of shadows. With three lanterns now in your possession, these tunnels are starting to look less threatening.
M02-5
May 7, 2023
You ventured for the first time into the southeastern entrance into the crypt, where the tunnels were formed of hard-packed dirt interwoven with ancient tree roots, and there you found within the stench of death zombies by the dozens and a red lantern.