Wrath of the River King was the first 4th Edition Open Design project from Kobold Press. I ran this adventure in 2009, setting it in the Feyshore Forest near Parsantium. Here’s the first write up.
Introducing the Characters
- Brave Ella, female elf ranger
- Koh-Bar the God King, male tiefling sorcerer
- Krivinn, male dragonborn paladin of Bahamut
- Margarita, female watersoul genasi warlord
- Sharden, male dwarf invoker
26th Maius 1745
Leaving the forest ruins of Gopura, the PCs head for the village of Riverbend, home to Mahadevi, the peasant woman they’d rescued from an ogre’s cave.
Towards the end of the day, the PCs arrive at the village mill – across the other side of the dam, two beautiful horses drink from the pond watched by an eladrin knight in green armour and his squire. As the party approach, the knight leaps into his saddle and shouts “Which of you dares cross water guarded by the servants of the River King? None shall pass the river without defeating me first.”
The Green Knight rides on to the dam and challenges Krivinn, charging the dragonborn paladin. The other characters ignore (or just don’t get) the principles of single combat and get stuck in. Margarita leads the attack, cutting off the Green Knight’s head and is somewhat surprised when it grows back! Sharden then pushes Sir Oberest into the stream with thunder of judgement. Illisfan the squire uses fey step to appear behind Ella and Sharden as the Green Knight uses his entangling blade to restrain Krivinn. Margarita bull rushes the knight into the water for a second time, then the squire knocks Sharden in too with his bashing shield. Ella shoots Illisfan, killing him, as the Green Knight flees, chased by Krivinn who takes him down. Sir Oberest’s horse runs off but Margarita manages to grab hold of the squire’s so that Ella can leap on its back. The elf ranger rides around for a while but the horse is just lulling her into a false sense of security. While the others search the two eladrin’s bodies, the fey horse steps through the mists and disappears. Margarita takes the squire’s magic shield which is decorated with a golden bee on a green field.
The PCs carry on into the village, unimpressed by the welcome they’ve received so far from the people of Riverbend. Outside the Golden Knight Tavern, a crowd is gathered. The party talk to the men and women, learning that a talking bear and a gang of satyrs are running riot inside the bar. There is also some talk about Hamid the miller murdering his eladrin wife but the party decide to deal with one issue at a time.
Krivinn strides inside the tavern and starts trying to reason with the satyrs. He does well initially but ends up antagonizing the fey who attack. Redcoat the bear’s fierce roar causes Krivinn and Margarita a lot of trouble, making it hard for them to attack the beast in melee. The satyrs taunt the party, whirling around the taproom and jabbing with their spears. It’s a very tough battle which spills outside into the street. Both Krivinn and Margarita end up bloodied, but the PCs are eventually able to kill four of the satyrs and to drive off the fifth one and Redcoat.
Art by Herman Lau
Richard Green | Game Designer 