This was it - the big meeting. I knew there was going to be a dragon in it, but how/what/whee was going to depend on the party and how they all got it to work.
DMing a dragon is difficult because (I like the 2nd edition versions of them) honestly, if you misjudge the party's ability it will result in a TPK. AC's well over 20, breath weapon capable of taking out every henchman/hireling, even a frontal assault is three hits and attacks on all sides include leg kicks, tail sweeps, and wing buffets so conceivably a grounded dragon will get Bit/claw/claw/wing/wing/kick/kick/tail - with the wing's hitting up to 2 flankers and the tails sweeping up to 3 back attackers. And then there is the fear aura, the breath weapon, and the magic use.
Sometimes a good idea is to sting the beast and run for your lives - which I sort of expected the party to do (There was a memorable scene where the lone fighter was hacking at the dragon's legs and the party's priest is holding up his meager belt pouch of 10 crowns and begging for the dragon to not judge the rest of the party on the action of the fighter) - but they didn't. They stayed and had a great plan and hacked the beast and to my chagrin - killed it (but not before I had taken out one PC, and 2 NPC's in the process).
At the end of the meet the party had a chance to run into the BBB (big bad boss), Vanir - who was in an "unattackable" position and the group had to sit there and put up with his presence.
Overall, a great meeting.
Write up follows:
We piled what tables we could drag in front of the temple doors, eventually also dragging the cart in place, Arnog and Haydin twisting it around so it was pressed against both portals. Norris had helped Soren to his feet, guiding the ranger back to the courtyard, a potion of extra healing going a long way to getting most of his wounds set and somewhat healed. Coruth’tae called forth a shield spell on himself. Brother Beren went into the 1st guard house and with Nelia and Kazak’s help, began trying to raise the first portcullis.
The first of the lizardmen began trying to bash the door down, but the two upended tables and the cart were preventing them from achieving it. They shoved and hissed and bashed, but to no avail. Then we heard rhythmic chanting from within and the tingle of magic filling the air. Norris whistled up a charm and cast silence on a coin, tossing it to Arnog to throw through the door. The fighter climbed onto the cart and tried to time a toss within, getting the silence coin inside the corridor. The bashing stopped and he clambered off, bracing his back along with Haydin’s on the cart. Meanwhile Beren, Nelia, and Kazak had raised the portcullis and were running over to the other guard post, working on getting that one raised next.
At that moment there was the twang of crossbow fire and Coruth’tae shouted in pain and fell to the ground, his back pierced from above. We looked and saw the same lizardman sentry that had pegged us before had crossed the top of the complex and was now taking pot shots at the party from above. Soren took aim and fired back and the lizardman hissed in aggravation and slid back from the wall.
It was at that moment that the doors to the temple area shuddered and shook and Arnog and Haydin glanced at one another. Then there was a cacophonous booming sound and the doors exploded outward, cracking one of the tables and the other one acting like a lever to hurl the cart and Haydin aside like a rag doll. Arnog picked himself up and beheld perhaps the most powerful and muscle bound lizardman ever seen before. Holding a marble stand to a statue like a battering ram, it hurled the massive stone at the fighter and caused him to rock back, nursing his shield arm and blinking in surprise at the new foe’s power. Arrayed behind were a 5 count of lizardmen, two with spears, and three wielding swords.
Coruth’tae, nursing his own pain, grit his teeth and sounded off a fear spell rocketing it down the corridor, turning two of the lizardmen away – one of them the muscled one! Arnog ran into the breach and hacked and slashed at the remaining sword wielder. Haydin climbed to his feet and shook off his pain. Soren fired arrows with the lizardmen up top who was forced to duck to avoid taking further damage. The first of the three sword using lizardmen recited a spell and Arnog was suddenly held in place. Another one called forth a spiritual hammer and let fly at Gwyn while a third cast a blindness spell at Coruth’tae. Norris sang a spell and in a flash of smoke and fire summoned – a kobold. He directed the ankle biter to charge into the breach and assaulted the first one attacking Arnog.
The fighters advanced while Brother Beren tried to dispel the magic surrounding Arnog – failing to do so. Nelia stayed hidden in the guard house, poisoning a javelin and waiting for the right time. Kazak ran out to help Brother Beren, the half orc taking his job seriously. Coruth’tae struggled to his feet and Norris was going to run to help Haydin and Gwyn against the four lizardmen when he felt a breath of “something” at his back. His initial thought was “Basilisk!!” and he slammed the door to the complex and cloister closed just as something tried to step through. A crowbar jammed under the frame in an attempt to block it. Soren watched the sentry lizardmen above work his way further toward the front, the odd arrow forcing it to stay low. His quiver was getting empty. Coruth’tae passed him a handful of arrows from his own quiver and went to see what Norris was talking about. The sentry lizardman had reached his goal and blew a horn up there – alerting any and all in the area of our presence. Damn it! We were running out of time.
When the door behind him opened and there stood…Zoltan. What the?!?! Zoltan smiled at Norris, winked, and then throw a vial at the bard. The crystal shattered on his skin and he was afflicted with painful blisters as the potion of Elvenbane sluiced across his body. Racking in pain, he shouted out his fury and ran in. Zoltan then hit him with a vial of acid, which the bard was able to wipe partially on the wall as he grappled with the gypsy. The two of them went back and forth, arms wrapped about one another, trying to beat each other to death. To Coruth’tae’s eyes though it looked like Norris was fighting himself. NO – it wasn’t an illusion – doppelganger!!
Between Gwyn and Haydin (and the kobold!!), they had taken down one of the priests and the last spear wielding lizardman, but the last two priests were trading damage with the group as well as healing spells with one another. Brother Beren was attempting to get closer to help when the two priests each clapped their hands together and a wave of black energy flew up – and SIX of the formerly dead lizardmen shuddered, rolled over, and rose up as zombies! Kazak was pulled down and lizardmen strength beat the half orc to unconsciousness. Two more wandered into the guard post and assaulted Nelia, the 16 year old thief shouting and gurgling, unable to drive the undead beasts away. They turned to assault Soren next who had taken careful aim and shot the lizardman sentry on the wall in the head at long last!
Brother Beren shouted out to Tyr and his power burst against the zombies – dropping four of them to shadows and dust. Arnog was still held. Coruth’tae went into the hall but Norris and his double were unidentifiable as different. Finally Norris pulled his head back and head butted the double – and since he was helmed and the doppelganger wasn’t – it was metal on flesh and the shape shifter was stunned. Hand axes came out and he chopped them hard into the running flesh and form of his double. Coruth’tae checked Norris to be Norris (with a dagger hilt to the head to verify it was really a helm and therefore really Norris) and then went back out to offer what aid he could.
The fight was running away from the lizardmen and the call on the horn to aid still hadn’t materialized yet. One of the remaining spell casters hissed out some words and summoned a monster – causing a gelatinous cube to appear! The translucent horror burst into being around Gwyn, Haydin and the doughty kobold – the paralytic ooze making the latter two freeze up and cease moving. Our dwarven fighter grit his teeth under the pressure and acidic slime, hacked his way forward with his scimitar, and tore his way OUT of the gelatinous cube, pouring his anger and fury on the priests.
The fear spell that had affected the two other lizardmen was beginning to wane and it was at that moment that Arnog was showing signs of breaking the holding enchantment on himself. And then there was the crashing of trees and splintering of woods and the prodigious bulk of a green scaled, 72’ foot long drooling angry dragon landed at the gate of the complex. The great beast curled its front claws over the top of the barbican, its serpentine neck pushed its head low as it shouted out, “I’ve been called!! Who are you and why do you assault the lizard men?!?!”
Most of the group sidled towards the side door out of the courtyard and towards the cloister – not wanting to chance running through the portcullises and under the dragon itself. It began to inhale deeply when Coruth’tae came forward and tried to speak with the tremendous beast. There was some talk of humility and an attempt to kiss up to the dragon. It contemplated the words and then offered the party the chance to live and leave if they would, “Give up all their treasure, every coin, every gem, now!!”
Um…damn.
And then Arnog had control of his limbs, spun towards the dragon, shouted out a valorous cry, and threw his armor class to the wind to hack at the mighty beast’s lower legs. His sword struck scales and bounced off. He hacked and slashed and tore and twisted but the dragon’s hide was too thick. Brother Beren tried to offer the dragon the 10 crowns he had, begging for forgiveness, but the lizard was furious and assaulted Arnog, battering the fighter about and his mighty teeth and jaws ripping through his platemail and crushing his muscled body within.
Gwyn heard the two lizardmen coming back from down the long hall, the fear spell gone. The gelatinous cube was right behind him, but it was a summoned creature. So he redoubled his efforts and between his hydraspear and “Elfsplitter” he was able to take down the last lizardman and the cube disappeared with a “pop!”
The dragon was wroth and angry and Gwyn and Soren quickly traded some gear and then the ranger took aim and timing the beast’s inhale for a use of its breath weapon let fly our potion of Feign Death. Perfect shot. The potion bottle whistled against the dragon’s teeth, burst open, and broken glass and eldritch potion shot into the dragon’s mouth and down its throat.
And then it passed out.
According to Coruth’tae, the dragon would most likely wake up in about a minute – but that gave us ONE solid minute to flee…or attack. And attack we did!
Arnog hit the dragon twice, then his ring of rapidity flared to life and he hit the dragon TWICE more! Arrows were shot and swords were slung. The crackling burning flare of a lightning bolt arced from the grey elf’s Staff of Power – the final charge now used, and tore across the dragon’s supine form. Brother Beren withdrew his scroll of Mass Cure Moderate Wounds and standing as close as he could with the party cured most of the wounds on everyone – even surprising us all by waking up Kazak (who was bleeding to death and unconscious – but not dead!) from under the dead lizardmen.
The two lizardmen had finally run back down the hall – but on seeing almost everyone dead, and the one that had been very strong was now normal as the 3 strength spells it was ensorcelled under had worn off, they decided that attacking the party was a bad idea and ran off again back the way they came. Gwyn grabbed the paralyzed Haydin and hoisted him on his shoulders.
The dragon stirred and it threw off the effects of the involuntary potion with a roar. We struck at it hard and fast, Arnog using the last effect of his ring of rapidity again – hitting the dragon another 4 times. It pummeled the fighter with its claws and smacked the group about a bit, but its eyes fastened on Coruth’tae and his lightning wielding power and it’s head snapped down and it BIT the grey elf! Half of the illusionist went into the dragon’s mouth, his legs kicking. Then it threw its head up and snapped its jaws forward and swallowed Coruth’tae, crunching down and killing our mage and friend with bone splintering finality.
And in doing so it ground the Staff of Power in its mouth to wood pulp and released a single retributive strike.
Blowing its head apart in a 25’ ball of white hot burning fire.
The group was stunned. Coruth’tae was killed, gone – but had somehow also killed the dragon in his final moments. We had only minutes (maybe less) before the horde of remaining lizardmen arrived from the alarm call (as well as the dragon’s roaring and the party’s fight with it). We scooped up the odd claw and tooth to prove what we had done, grabbed Nelia’s body to bring back to Rigil Blackshadow, bid our bowed heads and farewell to Coruth’tae, and then ran out of the complex and into the swamp perhaps three minutes (barely) ahead of anyone coming to investigate the call.
We ran on beyond endurance through the cloying swamp and eventually the borders until we came at long last to Eider. The guards let us in and we made our way to Baronet Wodenlach’s manor to clear up the last of the bounty and inform the nobleman of what had happened.
It was on arrival when we came, filthy, saddened, tired, hungry, worn out, and was presented before Baronet Wodenlach in his study, that we saw that he had a guest. A man in his 40’s, brown hair long and going to grey in places, handsome and keen eyed, and smiling. And the Baronet looked at us and clapped his hand on the stranger’s shoulder and welcomed us back and introduced us to his new friend and visitor, Vanir.
Vanir.
It took GREAT restraint on both Gwyn and Soren to not draw weapons and attack the slaver-mage. Wodenlach seemed odd and off, taking most of Vanir’s suggestions to heart and not exactly being himself. It was Vanir’s interest in Coruth’tae and his whereabouts that most interested the mage who grew cross at learning the grey elf was not here and had died in the swamp. The group was then dismissed and we went into the hall to talk.
There was much talk about rushing in and taking the mage out now, but the Baronet was our friend and there were 6 of his guards in there. And it was thought to be stupid – there would be a time and a place. And what if Wodenlach WAS under a spell? Would we have to strike him as well? Norris suggested we go see Blackshadow, inform the thief master of what had happened, return Nelia’s body, and tell him of our concern over treachery concerning Vanir.
The half-elf took Soren, Haydin, and Gwyn with him, while Brother Beren, Kazak, and Arnog went to the Sunken Boardwalk to relax and wait. The row boat ride across was short and Norris was able to bring his two friends with him. Haydin spoke of his time and accorded himself well and there was some lamenting over Nelia’s passing. Blackshadow reminded us that we were going after lizardman bounty – not dragon slaying – Damn it, Nelia’s a 16 year old girl! We apologized and told him of how things had not gone the way we expected and he seemed to accept it.
Norris then spoke of Vanir and Wodenlach’s strange behavior. Possibly a charm. Rigil doubted it, as Wodenlach was pretty strong willed normally PLUS he had a amulet to prevent such charms on him (the group could not remember seeing it). Could be a potion or maybe some sort of poison. He didn’t want the group ANYWHERE near Wodenlach or Vanir and suggested that Norris go back and get his three friends and bring them here as his guests for a single night.
Norris went and on finding his companions he brought them back via the same rowboat when the man’s eyes glazed over and he suddenly lifted his oar and went to strike the group. Arnog caught the flailing oar with one arm, brained the boatman hard across the temple, and tossed his unconscious form overboard and into the bay. Brother Beren was horrified and wanted to know WHY and Arnog explained that there was no excuse. If it was a spell it wasn’t going to end just then, and if it was a hired killer, he deserved to go swimming with the fishes. It was then that Brother Beren began to suspect that our young fighter was not either Lawful or Good. Chuckle.
We made it to the island (with less skill but we made it there) and Rigil welcomed us all. He offered us rooms to sleep in and told us that he had dispatched two of his best to spy on Wodenlach and Vanir and would learn a bit more of what’s going on. We were safe from prying eyes as no scrying could get through the wards on the island so we could sleep without worry (in a keep filled with thieves, assassins, thief-mages, sellswords, bounty hunters, and poisoners – hahahah) and decide what our next step would be in the morning.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Meet 99, Adv 9, 5/1/10
I like small encounters as a DM - short combats, one shot traps, the odd riddle, brief explorations - they keep the game going and moving forward.
However, every so often, it's nice to pull out a "set piece" and let the complexities and d20's fly. I never had it planned that the party would go toe to toe with the Lizardmen guarding the front gate - a main assault would result in a TPK unless the d20's were in the group's favor. But my assumption was always from the outside coming in - allowing the Lizardmen to be prepared and ready for the group. Tactics worked out, covering missile fire, spell use - the works.
The situation was turned on its head for this meeting as the party was able to sneak up on the Lizardmen and do the likewise back to them - they had at one point 7 preparatory spells in place (not counting just about everyone invisible), covering fire, and a really good plan of action. So what was expected to be a brick wall that the group would bash head against and then retreat was almost a rout for the Lizardmen as the party took them to task.
Which sets up VERY nicely my plan for the 100th meeting - not exactly where I expected it to be but easy enough for me to adjust the plans - and it works out better for everyone.
Write up follows:
We left the room filled with gore, blood, and dead slavers, and followed Kazak Goretusk – the half-orcish ex-slaver who was now working with us, out into the hall, down a hall with some old symbols and motifs to Sif, and to the quietest and most ruined portion of the complex – the former dormitory.
According to Kazak, this room, although is poor repair and suffering from weak walls and ceiling along the northern wall, was where the Goretusk clan had rested and slept when not on duty or needed by the Greenscales. It was in poor condition but dry. Brother Beren called on Tyr to help establish a camp and a horde of strange winds and powers swept the area, set up blankets, started a fire, set our own packs down and readied bedrolls, and even prepared a simple stew from some food stuff that Norris had with him.
We then had Kazak draw us out the complex and learned of what was around. South of the slaver room was the cloister which then led to the cloister garden – open to the sky and home to somewhere between 2 and 8 harpies. They were foul and cruel, and their singing enchanted many who wandered in there who awoke 3 days later scratched, sore, and suffering from various crab lices and painful groinal aches and diseases. Past the harpies was a longer hall that joined the cloister to the main courtyard and temple proper – occasionally a single lizardman guard would roam those halls.
As for the courtyard, we could count on besides the open air, 4-12 lizardmen, two smaller guard rooms often manned by one or two or the scaled humanoids, and to the south a set of doors leading to the temples and the north open if sometimes barred by portcullises and eventually the swamp. To date we had not tackled anything more than 6 lizardmen at a single time, and that was not a foregone conclusion for our successes. This would be a pitched fight and we would need to be prepared beforehand.
During the dinner and night we discussed many plans and the entire group was lively in the working of the options. It was decided on a few objectives.
1) Remove the harpies from the area.
2) Split the party into two units – with distance fighters situated up top and firing into the courtyard.
3) Attack the courtyard hard and fast.
Brother Beren hit Coruth’tae with a Nap spell, giving the grey elf an hour of sleep but making it feel like 8. After that our illusionist spent the rest of the night on watch and studying multiple Invisibility spells, hitting the party members one at a time until everyone was invisible. At some point he heard some noises through the south wall, scrabbling and bodies moving, but he stayed silent and the noises (from the room with the dead slavers) fell quiet after half an hour.
We awoke disoriented but well rested (and invisible!) and we broke our fast, studied our spells, readied our weapons and clad our armor. We went over the plan again, tweaking it in a few places until everyone knew their place. And then we set off.
Soren led us back into the hall, past the slaver chamber, and to the cloister. Narrow windows showed through to the garden, many flowers and plants and some half dozen stout trees reaching upward. Norris readied a silence spell on a single arrow which Soren kept in his belt and then the ranger opened the door and took careful aim at a single harpy. He shot – she fell from the tree and dropped to the ground and arrow sticking from her. The other harpies took flight, calling to their sister but we could not hear them! Their charms were not working. One of them tried hurling her own feces at us and Soren concentrated his next three shots on her, plugging her in the breast, thigh, and ass.
As for the other party members, they began walking across the garden, checking out the other door and the hall beyond, Gwyn taking the chance and happy to note that no lizardman was there waiting. Soren finished off the dying harpy and Coruth’tae, using Norris’ boots, levitated to the top of the wall 30’ up on the west side, trailing a grapple and rope, and set it there. He removed the boots and dropped them down, Norris putting them back on, while Nelia and Soren went to the top of the wall and looked around.
The space between the courtyard and the cloister garden was 15’ wide and they crawled n their belly over and looked down. The courtyard was sizeable, 40’ square, two guard posts along the north wall. The inner portcullis was up, the outer one was down. A few tables were here as well as a large cart but no draft animals. The group counted about 10 lizardmen visible. The doors to the temple were closed.
Also – on the far end of the complex, 180’ or so to the north west, also on the top wall like the 3 part members, was a lone lizardman sentry with a crossbow, and on the southwest corner was another one situated the same. They were looking out at the swamp and not paying attention to the party or anywhere else. Soren checked the silence arrow and knew it was only going to last 10 minutes tops.
We got ourselves into position: Haydin, Arnog, Gwyn, Norris, Brother Beren, and then Kazak. Blesses were cast, Strength was enchanted, Prayer to Tyr was enacted. Norris whispered a Message spell telling Soren above that it was time. The ranger took aim, noting which lizardmen had crossbows, which lizardmen had crests (and were presumably stronger) and called his shot at one of the three crossbow wielding humanoid – right in the weapon! Great shot – he split the firing trough and ruined the weapon! Nelia hurled her poisoned javelins and Coruth’tae scorched the courtyard with a bolt of lightning, dropping two of the lizardmen.
Haydin burst out the door and at the range of 7’ hurled a poisoned throwing axe at one of the lizardmen’s chest and knocked the foe back. Arnog tore across the still electrified ground and hacked wildly at one of the enemy, cleaving it almost in half and causing them to scream in terror. Gwyn stepped around the corner and fired his heavy crossbow at another of the missile wielding foes, knocking the lizardman down from the impact of the 250lb pull gnomish made weapon. Norris’ sword led the way as the bard took to the fight, calling on his own magic and summoning a zombie to help attack the panicking throng. Brother Beren drew closer, making sure his own conduit to Tyr was still close enough to encompass everyone, Kazak standing at the priest’s side.
Arrows fell like rain into the fight and 4 of the lizardmen were down, two more badly wounded. The inner portcullises dropped and we laughed because now the foes were trapped in the courtyard with us! Swords rose and fell and more poison was plied. The crackle of spells filled the air and the screams of the lizardmen spurred the party on to even greater efforts. Norris skewered an enemy on his long blade. Haydin wrestled bodily with one of the scaled beasts. Even Kazak plied blade at those reeling from the efforts of Gwyn, Arnog, and Haydin; the half orc acting as “cleanup” for those hurt but not dead.
One of the lizardmen saw what was coming and ran for the temple, ripping the door open amidst clattering arrows, and got inside yelling in his own sibilant language. Fuck – company would be coming. From the guardhouse other lizardmen emerged and tried to turn the tide of the fight but it was already too far gone against them. Gwyn’s scimitar cut deep and often, Haydin and Norris tore their swords against any foe foolish enough to remain standing. Arnog was shot not once, but twice from a closed guard booth, making the already terrifying fighter truly angry.
He lowered his shoulder and charged the guard post, trampling the last lizardman in front of him, his ensorcelled blade tearing the howling monster from thigh to chest. His shield upraised he slammed into the heavy door and the timber lock broke free and then the furious Arnog was in the small chamber with his anger, his weapon, and the foolish lizardman that had shot him twice.
The silence spell had ended at this point and the other enchantments around the party were beginning to wear out as well. A few lizardmen still stood and we massed upon them in an effort to end the struggle immediately. Up top, the three party members drew the attention of one of the lizardmen sentries who took up his crossbow and loaded a deliberate bolt into it. Soren tried to shoot the lizardman but it was a long shot and the enemy fired. And just before the streaking quarrel hit the party it sparked to fire, runes peeled down its shaft, and it hit Soren, Nelia, and Coruth’tae as a concussive ball of fire.
We watched in horror from below as fire and screams tore across the roof above, our friends up there yelling in pain. Coruth’tae and Nelia dragged the rope up from the cloister side of the wall, reset the grapple on the courtyard side of the wall, and started climbing down. When the lizardman sentry took aim and shot a second time. Soren had nowhere to go so he braced for another fireball but it didn’t materialize – instead he was struck by the speeding quarrel. It knocked him down and he fell over and backwards – and into space – dropping 30’ down to the cloister garden below where he felt something in his chest snap and his leg and hip jar terribly and then he knew no more – reduced to -4 hit points.
Coruth’tae and Nelia made it to the ground while Norris pumped his legs and arms, his own personal safety not mattering, racing across the corridors as fast as he could until he slid to a stop at Soren’s unconscious body. He called upon his flagging spells and was able to whistle up enough of a healing to stop Soren’s progress towards death and stabilize him at a mere 5 hit points. He awoke with a start but was in terrible pain (-4 on everything for the next almost 2 days), draping his arm across Norris’ shoulder and allowing the bard to drag him back to the courtyard and the rest of the party.
As for us, we knew that the lizardman guard that had made it to the temple was getting reinforcements – priestly lizardman ones. We gathered together and Gwyn, Arnog, Kazak, and Haydin were piling the tables in front of the door and then dragging the cart closer to hopefully slow down whoever and whatever would be coming out. There was no time to cut tails or loot bodies – we had to prepare steel and spell for the racing foes we heard through the portal – foes that were hissing for our blood.
However, every so often, it's nice to pull out a "set piece" and let the complexities and d20's fly. I never had it planned that the party would go toe to toe with the Lizardmen guarding the front gate - a main assault would result in a TPK unless the d20's were in the group's favor. But my assumption was always from the outside coming in - allowing the Lizardmen to be prepared and ready for the group. Tactics worked out, covering missile fire, spell use - the works.
The situation was turned on its head for this meeting as the party was able to sneak up on the Lizardmen and do the likewise back to them - they had at one point 7 preparatory spells in place (not counting just about everyone invisible), covering fire, and a really good plan of action. So what was expected to be a brick wall that the group would bash head against and then retreat was almost a rout for the Lizardmen as the party took them to task.
Which sets up VERY nicely my plan for the 100th meeting - not exactly where I expected it to be but easy enough for me to adjust the plans - and it works out better for everyone.
Write up follows:
We left the room filled with gore, blood, and dead slavers, and followed Kazak Goretusk – the half-orcish ex-slaver who was now working with us, out into the hall, down a hall with some old symbols and motifs to Sif, and to the quietest and most ruined portion of the complex – the former dormitory.
According to Kazak, this room, although is poor repair and suffering from weak walls and ceiling along the northern wall, was where the Goretusk clan had rested and slept when not on duty or needed by the Greenscales. It was in poor condition but dry. Brother Beren called on Tyr to help establish a camp and a horde of strange winds and powers swept the area, set up blankets, started a fire, set our own packs down and readied bedrolls, and even prepared a simple stew from some food stuff that Norris had with him.
We then had Kazak draw us out the complex and learned of what was around. South of the slaver room was the cloister which then led to the cloister garden – open to the sky and home to somewhere between 2 and 8 harpies. They were foul and cruel, and their singing enchanted many who wandered in there who awoke 3 days later scratched, sore, and suffering from various crab lices and painful groinal aches and diseases. Past the harpies was a longer hall that joined the cloister to the main courtyard and temple proper – occasionally a single lizardman guard would roam those halls.
As for the courtyard, we could count on besides the open air, 4-12 lizardmen, two smaller guard rooms often manned by one or two or the scaled humanoids, and to the south a set of doors leading to the temples and the north open if sometimes barred by portcullises and eventually the swamp. To date we had not tackled anything more than 6 lizardmen at a single time, and that was not a foregone conclusion for our successes. This would be a pitched fight and we would need to be prepared beforehand.
During the dinner and night we discussed many plans and the entire group was lively in the working of the options. It was decided on a few objectives.
1) Remove the harpies from the area.
2) Split the party into two units – with distance fighters situated up top and firing into the courtyard.
3) Attack the courtyard hard and fast.
Brother Beren hit Coruth’tae with a Nap spell, giving the grey elf an hour of sleep but making it feel like 8. After that our illusionist spent the rest of the night on watch and studying multiple Invisibility spells, hitting the party members one at a time until everyone was invisible. At some point he heard some noises through the south wall, scrabbling and bodies moving, but he stayed silent and the noises (from the room with the dead slavers) fell quiet after half an hour.
We awoke disoriented but well rested (and invisible!) and we broke our fast, studied our spells, readied our weapons and clad our armor. We went over the plan again, tweaking it in a few places until everyone knew their place. And then we set off.
Soren led us back into the hall, past the slaver chamber, and to the cloister. Narrow windows showed through to the garden, many flowers and plants and some half dozen stout trees reaching upward. Norris readied a silence spell on a single arrow which Soren kept in his belt and then the ranger opened the door and took careful aim at a single harpy. He shot – she fell from the tree and dropped to the ground and arrow sticking from her. The other harpies took flight, calling to their sister but we could not hear them! Their charms were not working. One of them tried hurling her own feces at us and Soren concentrated his next three shots on her, plugging her in the breast, thigh, and ass.
As for the other party members, they began walking across the garden, checking out the other door and the hall beyond, Gwyn taking the chance and happy to note that no lizardman was there waiting. Soren finished off the dying harpy and Coruth’tae, using Norris’ boots, levitated to the top of the wall 30’ up on the west side, trailing a grapple and rope, and set it there. He removed the boots and dropped them down, Norris putting them back on, while Nelia and Soren went to the top of the wall and looked around.
The space between the courtyard and the cloister garden was 15’ wide and they crawled n their belly over and looked down. The courtyard was sizeable, 40’ square, two guard posts along the north wall. The inner portcullis was up, the outer one was down. A few tables were here as well as a large cart but no draft animals. The group counted about 10 lizardmen visible. The doors to the temple were closed.
Also – on the far end of the complex, 180’ or so to the north west, also on the top wall like the 3 part members, was a lone lizardman sentry with a crossbow, and on the southwest corner was another one situated the same. They were looking out at the swamp and not paying attention to the party or anywhere else. Soren checked the silence arrow and knew it was only going to last 10 minutes tops.
We got ourselves into position: Haydin, Arnog, Gwyn, Norris, Brother Beren, and then Kazak. Blesses were cast, Strength was enchanted, Prayer to Tyr was enacted. Norris whispered a Message spell telling Soren above that it was time. The ranger took aim, noting which lizardmen had crossbows, which lizardmen had crests (and were presumably stronger) and called his shot at one of the three crossbow wielding humanoid – right in the weapon! Great shot – he split the firing trough and ruined the weapon! Nelia hurled her poisoned javelins and Coruth’tae scorched the courtyard with a bolt of lightning, dropping two of the lizardmen.
Haydin burst out the door and at the range of 7’ hurled a poisoned throwing axe at one of the lizardmen’s chest and knocked the foe back. Arnog tore across the still electrified ground and hacked wildly at one of the enemy, cleaving it almost in half and causing them to scream in terror. Gwyn stepped around the corner and fired his heavy crossbow at another of the missile wielding foes, knocking the lizardman down from the impact of the 250lb pull gnomish made weapon. Norris’ sword led the way as the bard took to the fight, calling on his own magic and summoning a zombie to help attack the panicking throng. Brother Beren drew closer, making sure his own conduit to Tyr was still close enough to encompass everyone, Kazak standing at the priest’s side.
Arrows fell like rain into the fight and 4 of the lizardmen were down, two more badly wounded. The inner portcullises dropped and we laughed because now the foes were trapped in the courtyard with us! Swords rose and fell and more poison was plied. The crackle of spells filled the air and the screams of the lizardmen spurred the party on to even greater efforts. Norris skewered an enemy on his long blade. Haydin wrestled bodily with one of the scaled beasts. Even Kazak plied blade at those reeling from the efforts of Gwyn, Arnog, and Haydin; the half orc acting as “cleanup” for those hurt but not dead.
One of the lizardmen saw what was coming and ran for the temple, ripping the door open amidst clattering arrows, and got inside yelling in his own sibilant language. Fuck – company would be coming. From the guardhouse other lizardmen emerged and tried to turn the tide of the fight but it was already too far gone against them. Gwyn’s scimitar cut deep and often, Haydin and Norris tore their swords against any foe foolish enough to remain standing. Arnog was shot not once, but twice from a closed guard booth, making the already terrifying fighter truly angry.
He lowered his shoulder and charged the guard post, trampling the last lizardman in front of him, his ensorcelled blade tearing the howling monster from thigh to chest. His shield upraised he slammed into the heavy door and the timber lock broke free and then the furious Arnog was in the small chamber with his anger, his weapon, and the foolish lizardman that had shot him twice.
The silence spell had ended at this point and the other enchantments around the party were beginning to wear out as well. A few lizardmen still stood and we massed upon them in an effort to end the struggle immediately. Up top, the three party members drew the attention of one of the lizardmen sentries who took up his crossbow and loaded a deliberate bolt into it. Soren tried to shoot the lizardman but it was a long shot and the enemy fired. And just before the streaking quarrel hit the party it sparked to fire, runes peeled down its shaft, and it hit Soren, Nelia, and Coruth’tae as a concussive ball of fire.
We watched in horror from below as fire and screams tore across the roof above, our friends up there yelling in pain. Coruth’tae and Nelia dragged the rope up from the cloister side of the wall, reset the grapple on the courtyard side of the wall, and started climbing down. When the lizardman sentry took aim and shot a second time. Soren had nowhere to go so he braced for another fireball but it didn’t materialize – instead he was struck by the speeding quarrel. It knocked him down and he fell over and backwards – and into space – dropping 30’ down to the cloister garden below where he felt something in his chest snap and his leg and hip jar terribly and then he knew no more – reduced to -4 hit points.
Coruth’tae and Nelia made it to the ground while Norris pumped his legs and arms, his own personal safety not mattering, racing across the corridors as fast as he could until he slid to a stop at Soren’s unconscious body. He called upon his flagging spells and was able to whistle up enough of a healing to stop Soren’s progress towards death and stabilize him at a mere 5 hit points. He awoke with a start but was in terrible pain (-4 on everything for the next almost 2 days), draping his arm across Norris’ shoulder and allowing the bard to drag him back to the courtyard and the rest of the party.
As for us, we knew that the lizardman guard that had made it to the temple was getting reinforcements – priestly lizardman ones. We gathered together and Gwyn, Arnog, Kazak, and Haydin were piling the tables in front of the door and then dragging the cart closer to hopefully slow down whoever and whatever would be coming out. There was no time to cut tails or loot bodies – we had to prepare steel and spell for the racing foes we heard through the portal – foes that were hissing for our blood.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Meet 98, Adv 9, 4/24/10
With henchmen, the party numbers 8 - the weakest member is a 16 year old hireling 4th level 98 lb human thief - with enough poison to drop a charging rhino. Twice. Per hour. So when they stumble into a trap (incidentally, not all of them are mechanical in nature) I as the DM watch with some trepidation. Is it too much? Too little? Will I have a TPK?
In this case - it was a slaughter. For the enemy.
At 24 to 8 - which equates to 3 to 1 odds, the party was even surprised and assaulted first, and within 2 minutes they turned the tide of battle and took prisoner the lone survivor. And then turned the lone survivor into a henchman of their own.
And now with 9 in their stable - wanted to tackle the biggest knot of lizardmen and take names.
I can tell you - planning will be their key and saving grace in the next major encounter.
Write up follows:
The battle with the lizardmen continued strong. Nelia and Haydin, our two newest hirelings, accorded themselves well with javelin and sword, wading into the fight where able to and adding their own skills to the rest of the group’s. Arnog stayed by Soren, defending the ranger from any further unexpected blows. Gwyn took aim and shot his 250 lb pull heavy gnomish made crossbow at one of the lizardman shaman and blasted the enemy off his feet, knocking him to the ground. Norris drew his long sword and helped hack down one of the closer halberd wielding enemies. Coruth’tae fired off a color spray spell, hurled sanding turning into a stunning wind that knocked three off the scaled humanoids down.
From there the battle turned swiftly and the party put down foe after foe. Brother Beren hurled a spiritual hammer skyward and had it slam down during the fight. One of the lizardmen tried to run, shoving his way back into the complex in an effort to escape but Arnog hoisted his enchanted sword over his head and hurled it with all his might – the blade spinning until it plowed into the fleeing lizardman and knocked him over. More than enough time for the maddened fighter to tackle it and finish the job close up.
We took tails and dragged the lizardmen into the stables, shutting the door and taking stock of the situation. No one seemed to have heard us and we were seemingly lucky so far. Some healing was given out and eventually Soren was able to move again. We lined up and as a party, we reentered the complex ready for anything.
The room past the stables that once housed the giant sundew was empty, as was the numerous foes we had dropped some 3-4 days ago. It was decided that we should carefully go past where the lizardmen and basilisks once were and check out the stonecutter’s shed. It was empty and we reapplied the locking bar. No one wanted to enter the graveyard/cemetery.
We returned to the intersection and went back to the room where Olthar had been turned to stone. A cautious listening and a quick look through the hole in the door showed that it was not in use and no one was there. We followed the hall until it turned to the right, a breeze blowing towards us and making our torches flutter. There was a short corridor with a door on the left wall and then a set of stairs going down into the darkness. We listened at the door and it was also silent, a quick look revealing nothing except old ruin and an empty chamber perhaps 20’ square.
This brought us to the steps downward. We knew there were still basilisks not too far from here and we went down with severe caution. It was 20’ down, the area was rough and unfinished, barely 5’ in width, 7-8’ in height. The smell of old meat and earth was strong. The corridor went to the right and the left, the group opting to go right.
The subterranean corridor went some 30 paces or so until it opened to a natural chamber, 6 other possible exits were visible, 3 of which were no larger than 3’ off the ground. A half dozen 6’ tall insectoid men (similar in shape and body as the ones we had seen in the depths of Dargan’s Folley) were here working on leather and bits of netting, a small number of very large ants skittering about the chamber. We immediately backed away and moved as quietly as we could – not wanting to get into any fight with these denizens.
Once back at the base of the stairs, we decided to go left. It was some 50 paces or so of narrow corridors and nervous glances (with another 1 or 2 of those smaller 3’ tall tunnels crossing the main thoroughfare as we trod onward) until we came to another chamber. This was not large, maybe 10 paces oval, another passage on the far side leading onward into the gloom. There were 4 pits in here – each one 3’ around and 3’ deep – currently empty. Along the northern wall was a metal ladder affixed on the wall going upward to what seemed to be a trap door in the ceiling.
We walked past the pits and Gwyn climbed, looking cautiously up at the top as he lifted the stout wooden portal. It was a narrow room and long, filled with over a dozen humans clad in ragged cloaks and chained to the walls. At least 3 orcs were in here, wearing leather and sporting whips and swords. Slavers.
The group wanted to get out of this area with the antmen, not wanting to engage them in combat if we could help it. And going up top here and taking out the slavers seemed the right thing to do. It meant we would have even more people to watch after but just knowing slavers were here was not something we wanted to just brush over and skip past. We would have to take the orcs by surprise and do it fast and quietly.
It was decided that Arnog, Haydin, and Soren would go first, followed by Gwyn, Brother Beren and then the rest of the group. We readied ourselves and then took to the metal steps. We opened the trap door, a few of the closer slaves surprised to see us. Mouthing quietly to them we stepped up, drew weapons, and by the time Soren was up and in place Arnog tackled the first orc with his sword hacking down. The porcine humanoid whirled at the last instant, his own blade rising up, and the clang of steel on steel was on as we surprised the foes.
Soren loaded up a stonebiter arrow and shot across the entire length of the room, critically hitting the orcish leader, an almost 7’ tall brute with a Romanesque helmet and whip. The shaft whistled as it dug into the commander’s chest and knocked him back against the wall.
The priest, illusionist, and dwarf came up next, weapons ready. Arnog and Haydin were surprised that the lead orc was still not down, while the second one was smiling cruelly. Coruth’tae shot at the lead orc, HITTING the same stone biter shaft inside the commander’s chest! The orc fell back and as he was slumping over, Soren shot him a third time – the next shot hitting him in the same area. Gurgling and panting he was dragging himself down past a small alcove when all hell broke loose.
The “slaves” all stood up, dragged short swords out from underneath themselves, and the manacles and chains that were around their wrist fell away as they were never on. In a single roar the “slaves” fell on the party and hacked and chopped at the group who were surprised at this turn of events. The slaves were actually half-orcs, now obvious as by the size of them and their features twisted in the flickering lamp light without the aid of concealing hood and cowls disguising them. They hit and hacked and chopped and snarled and tried to bury the party under their assaulting punishment.
It was here that Arnog’s skill came to the forefront. With his sword held high he spun and slashed and ducked and parried and dealt blow after blow after blow at the throng about him, the skilled fighter dropping SIX of the half-orc slaves in just under a minute. Haydin followed suit, the brawler taking down another in a fury of blows one after the other. Arrows filled the hall and the half orcs who had thought they had the party dead to rights were shocked to see it was not the case. Coruth’tae called forth a powerful illusion and made it appear as if a chain lightning crawled across the chamber – “slaying” another half dozen of the half-orcs.
The last armor clad orc tried to intervene but Arnog shoved past him while Nelia hurled a poison tipped javelin at it and Haydin, Norris, and Gwyn surrounded the slaver and took it down with a multitude of blows. Arnog rounded the corner and the sounds of fighting were short and fierce, the orcish leader’s head actually bouncing into the main room without the body. The last half orc dropped his sword, sat down heavily, and put his own hands in the manacles, locking them up and said, “I surrender. Who in THRYM’S name are you people and where did you come from?!?!?”
We spoke to the last half orc at some length and learned many things. His name was Kazak and was once a member of the Goretusk clan, a group of orcs living north of here. His clan had been beaten some half dozen years ago by some lizardman tribe and they had been all carted off and traded time and again until they arrived with the Greenscales. Once here they acted as liaisons between the various slavers and the lizardmen – earning their freedom and making a sort of home for themselves here.
The temple complex was home to not only the lizardmen above, but also the antmen below – and something else. Kazak had never seen it, and whatever it was, it sort of “ruled” the lizardman tribes – uniting them in a way that had not been seen before and giving them ideas and plans not normal for the lizardmen. As for the sheer number of ghouls, the complex was once holy ground to Sif, but had been decayed and corrupted – and now whoever dies here there is a chance that their corpse arises as a ghoul at some point later. Whatever it is that “rules” here – also seems to have something to do with the ghouls and the corruption.
We asked Kazak where the best place to find more lizardmen was and he was very forthcoming, giving us a layout of the upper area and the temple ground itself where a number of lizardmen could be found. He owes no allegiance to the complex and with the knowledge that the group can discard him at will, he was willing to offer his services and sword arm to us if we could get him out of the swamp and to a friendly place (he does have some ability at ciphering and knows his numbers). We accepted his offer and Kazak clad himself in some of the orcish leather, the help, and gripped his sword with confident and expectant fingers.
In this case - it was a slaughter. For the enemy.
At 24 to 8 - which equates to 3 to 1 odds, the party was even surprised and assaulted first, and within 2 minutes they turned the tide of battle and took prisoner the lone survivor. And then turned the lone survivor into a henchman of their own.
And now with 9 in their stable - wanted to tackle the biggest knot of lizardmen and take names.
I can tell you - planning will be their key and saving grace in the next major encounter.
Write up follows:
The battle with the lizardmen continued strong. Nelia and Haydin, our two newest hirelings, accorded themselves well with javelin and sword, wading into the fight where able to and adding their own skills to the rest of the group’s. Arnog stayed by Soren, defending the ranger from any further unexpected blows. Gwyn took aim and shot his 250 lb pull heavy gnomish made crossbow at one of the lizardman shaman and blasted the enemy off his feet, knocking him to the ground. Norris drew his long sword and helped hack down one of the closer halberd wielding enemies. Coruth’tae fired off a color spray spell, hurled sanding turning into a stunning wind that knocked three off the scaled humanoids down.
From there the battle turned swiftly and the party put down foe after foe. Brother Beren hurled a spiritual hammer skyward and had it slam down during the fight. One of the lizardmen tried to run, shoving his way back into the complex in an effort to escape but Arnog hoisted his enchanted sword over his head and hurled it with all his might – the blade spinning until it plowed into the fleeing lizardman and knocked him over. More than enough time for the maddened fighter to tackle it and finish the job close up.
We took tails and dragged the lizardmen into the stables, shutting the door and taking stock of the situation. No one seemed to have heard us and we were seemingly lucky so far. Some healing was given out and eventually Soren was able to move again. We lined up and as a party, we reentered the complex ready for anything.
The room past the stables that once housed the giant sundew was empty, as was the numerous foes we had dropped some 3-4 days ago. It was decided that we should carefully go past where the lizardmen and basilisks once were and check out the stonecutter’s shed. It was empty and we reapplied the locking bar. No one wanted to enter the graveyard/cemetery.
We returned to the intersection and went back to the room where Olthar had been turned to stone. A cautious listening and a quick look through the hole in the door showed that it was not in use and no one was there. We followed the hall until it turned to the right, a breeze blowing towards us and making our torches flutter. There was a short corridor with a door on the left wall and then a set of stairs going down into the darkness. We listened at the door and it was also silent, a quick look revealing nothing except old ruin and an empty chamber perhaps 20’ square.
This brought us to the steps downward. We knew there were still basilisks not too far from here and we went down with severe caution. It was 20’ down, the area was rough and unfinished, barely 5’ in width, 7-8’ in height. The smell of old meat and earth was strong. The corridor went to the right and the left, the group opting to go right.
The subterranean corridor went some 30 paces or so until it opened to a natural chamber, 6 other possible exits were visible, 3 of which were no larger than 3’ off the ground. A half dozen 6’ tall insectoid men (similar in shape and body as the ones we had seen in the depths of Dargan’s Folley) were here working on leather and bits of netting, a small number of very large ants skittering about the chamber. We immediately backed away and moved as quietly as we could – not wanting to get into any fight with these denizens.
Once back at the base of the stairs, we decided to go left. It was some 50 paces or so of narrow corridors and nervous glances (with another 1 or 2 of those smaller 3’ tall tunnels crossing the main thoroughfare as we trod onward) until we came to another chamber. This was not large, maybe 10 paces oval, another passage on the far side leading onward into the gloom. There were 4 pits in here – each one 3’ around and 3’ deep – currently empty. Along the northern wall was a metal ladder affixed on the wall going upward to what seemed to be a trap door in the ceiling.
We walked past the pits and Gwyn climbed, looking cautiously up at the top as he lifted the stout wooden portal. It was a narrow room and long, filled with over a dozen humans clad in ragged cloaks and chained to the walls. At least 3 orcs were in here, wearing leather and sporting whips and swords. Slavers.
The group wanted to get out of this area with the antmen, not wanting to engage them in combat if we could help it. And going up top here and taking out the slavers seemed the right thing to do. It meant we would have even more people to watch after but just knowing slavers were here was not something we wanted to just brush over and skip past. We would have to take the orcs by surprise and do it fast and quietly.
It was decided that Arnog, Haydin, and Soren would go first, followed by Gwyn, Brother Beren and then the rest of the group. We readied ourselves and then took to the metal steps. We opened the trap door, a few of the closer slaves surprised to see us. Mouthing quietly to them we stepped up, drew weapons, and by the time Soren was up and in place Arnog tackled the first orc with his sword hacking down. The porcine humanoid whirled at the last instant, his own blade rising up, and the clang of steel on steel was on as we surprised the foes.
Soren loaded up a stonebiter arrow and shot across the entire length of the room, critically hitting the orcish leader, an almost 7’ tall brute with a Romanesque helmet and whip. The shaft whistled as it dug into the commander’s chest and knocked him back against the wall.
The priest, illusionist, and dwarf came up next, weapons ready. Arnog and Haydin were surprised that the lead orc was still not down, while the second one was smiling cruelly. Coruth’tae shot at the lead orc, HITTING the same stone biter shaft inside the commander’s chest! The orc fell back and as he was slumping over, Soren shot him a third time – the next shot hitting him in the same area. Gurgling and panting he was dragging himself down past a small alcove when all hell broke loose.
The “slaves” all stood up, dragged short swords out from underneath themselves, and the manacles and chains that were around their wrist fell away as they were never on. In a single roar the “slaves” fell on the party and hacked and chopped at the group who were surprised at this turn of events. The slaves were actually half-orcs, now obvious as by the size of them and their features twisted in the flickering lamp light without the aid of concealing hood and cowls disguising them. They hit and hacked and chopped and snarled and tried to bury the party under their assaulting punishment.
It was here that Arnog’s skill came to the forefront. With his sword held high he spun and slashed and ducked and parried and dealt blow after blow after blow at the throng about him, the skilled fighter dropping SIX of the half-orc slaves in just under a minute. Haydin followed suit, the brawler taking down another in a fury of blows one after the other. Arrows filled the hall and the half orcs who had thought they had the party dead to rights were shocked to see it was not the case. Coruth’tae called forth a powerful illusion and made it appear as if a chain lightning crawled across the chamber – “slaying” another half dozen of the half-orcs.
The last armor clad orc tried to intervene but Arnog shoved past him while Nelia hurled a poison tipped javelin at it and Haydin, Norris, and Gwyn surrounded the slaver and took it down with a multitude of blows. Arnog rounded the corner and the sounds of fighting were short and fierce, the orcish leader’s head actually bouncing into the main room without the body. The last half orc dropped his sword, sat down heavily, and put his own hands in the manacles, locking them up and said, “I surrender. Who in THRYM’S name are you people and where did you come from?!?!?”
We spoke to the last half orc at some length and learned many things. His name was Kazak and was once a member of the Goretusk clan, a group of orcs living north of here. His clan had been beaten some half dozen years ago by some lizardman tribe and they had been all carted off and traded time and again until they arrived with the Greenscales. Once here they acted as liaisons between the various slavers and the lizardmen – earning their freedom and making a sort of home for themselves here.
The temple complex was home to not only the lizardmen above, but also the antmen below – and something else. Kazak had never seen it, and whatever it was, it sort of “ruled” the lizardman tribes – uniting them in a way that had not been seen before and giving them ideas and plans not normal for the lizardmen. As for the sheer number of ghouls, the complex was once holy ground to Sif, but had been decayed and corrupted – and now whoever dies here there is a chance that their corpse arises as a ghoul at some point later. Whatever it is that “rules” here – also seems to have something to do with the ghouls and the corruption.
We asked Kazak where the best place to find more lizardmen was and he was very forthcoming, giving us a layout of the upper area and the temple ground itself where a number of lizardmen could be found. He owes no allegiance to the complex and with the knowledge that the group can discard him at will, he was willing to offer his services and sword arm to us if we could get him out of the swamp and to a friendly place (he does have some ability at ciphering and knows his numbers). We accepted his offer and Kazak clad himself in some of the orcish leather, the help, and gripped his sword with confident and expectant fingers.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Meet 97, Adv 9, 4/17/10
The party realized that bringing Olthar back to life (from stone) was NOT going to be easy, quick, or cheap.
And that allowed us to bring in a replacement character for the good elven thief: Brother Beren. The addition of a cleric was much needed especially as I was pulling out our often missing druidic Detheron due to a messed up period of personal life.
I am also a fan of hirelings and henchmen and the group was able to pick up a couple: two of them and I gifted them to the party due to the fact that they had been making a local name of themselves and some of the populace looks to them to help out. So welcome Nelia (4th level thief) and Haydin (4th fighter/2nd thief).
If they come back alive and with some coin in their pocket than the party can put a feather in their hat.
What they do with the information they learn at the lizardman complex from this point on (ie: finish the story arc) is up to them - it's a big sandbox and they are welcome to build anything they want in it.
Write up follows:
Arnog and Detheron went with the petrified Olthar to Wodenloch’s Manor while Soren and Gwyn went to Swampside to talk to Dollius at the Platinum Pestle. The alchemist had no unguent that would turn a stoned person to flesh again, and did not know of any particular magic that would do it. He was willing to work and learn though and the party hired him to go to places south, Principia, Tarkis, and eventually Daro and Darkwaters, to try to learn if there was a possibility of brewing a potion that would make someone stone, flesh again. A handful of platinum was passed over as well as one of the basilisk eyes (as possible item for study for a reagent). He was going to come to Wodenloch’s to see Olthar himself before leaving.
As for the Baronet, he was unable to help, having neither mage nor anyone magical at his beck and call. He did suggest that the group could talk to Rigil Blackshadow but did not know if it would suffice. As for the bounty, we had only gotten 16 out of 25 lizardmen tails and he was willing to accept that as payment to allow one of the two party members in – specifically Norris.
There was concern over Zoltan (who the Baronet had liked a lot) and his disappearance. Some questions were raised: Only Coruth’tae noticed he was gone and the grey elf went off alone to find him. The grey elf claimed that Zoltan had stolen from him (something not normally in Zoltan’s nature). He could not find Zoltan but did find some basilisks. There were too many concerns and inconsistencies Wodenloch felt that allowed him to fully trust Coruth’tae and suggested the group watch him carefully.
Norris was allowed back in and we spent some time at the Baronets, drinking and feasting. Norris took a boat ride to Blackshadow’s where Rigil accepted payment from the bard to cover Gedades’ (the person he and Coruth’tae had assaulted) protection costs for the next year. He also had Rigil send missive to Agnandus in Dilabria removing himself from the thieves guild there as belonging to more than one was an exercise in fragmented loyalty.
Rigil told Norris that they had accorded themselves well in the lizardmen issue and that he had two persons in his employ that he wanted to have some experience out of the city and with the party as aids, hirelings, and sellswords. Norris told the thief master he would discuss it with the group and come back tomorrow to give him their answer.
We spoke for a bit and discussed other alternatives to getting someone to turn Olthar back to flesh. There were some purchases and eventually the group decided that we should honor our commitment and return to the Eiderdown swamps and finish our bounty on Lizardmen tails. Detheron was not coming with us, our hurting and saddened druid instead taking a sister mission for Baronet Wodenloch that would have him in other places for a short time. This meant our group was down another person – and even with the inclusion of a few helpers from Blackshadow’s guild, it was thought that we needed someone else – preferably a healer.
Soren and Gwyn set up a table @ the Sunken Boardwalk where they gave a general call out for adventuring clerics interested in joining them. Most of the healers in the area had been sent northward to Flatrock to help stem to rising threat of plague there but there were still a few in the area. One was a smarmy dark haired follower of Hel who spoke well of his skills and abilities but the party did not feel comfortable in his presence. The other was a softer spoken human cleric of Tyr named Brother Beren who seemed to be a better fit for the group (which antagonized the 1st cleric) who we signed on for an equal share.
The party (sans Coruth’tae) did all meet up at the Sunken Boardwalk, including the two junior members of the thieves guild that were coming with us: Nelia Fingerlight, a slip of a 16 year old girl with a steady hand, a penchant for poisons and javelins, and a need to get out of the city for a while. And Haydin Umbarson, the louder of the two, wide heavy and strong, a very notched broadsword held at his side and a crooked smile.
There were welcomed and promised a full share of whatever treasures we found in lieu of getting a signing bonus or a per day rate – which they thought about and agreed upon
We left the next morning, a steady rain and grey sky meeting us. It was a long trudge to the lizardman swamp and then even longer to slog through the sucking fetid muck until we returned to the temple complex. We didn’t see as many lizardmen about but those that we did spy were on more of an alert than what we had seen earlier.
We opted to NOT go back through the secret opening in the south end of the temple again, and going in the main gates was still thought of as suicide. That left either the stables or the woodcutter’s shed and we opted on the stables. There was a 20’ gap between the swamp and the complex in this area and Gwyn crept forward to check it out while we waited in the woods, weapons ready. The dwarf heard nothing inside and a glance through the gaps showed the same. He tested the handle, it wasn’t locked. He then wanted to open the door to peer better inside so he used his long metal pole, shoved the door ajar.
And a bucket on top of the door fell over, dropping brown ink everywhere as well as the clattering ring of dumped over metal bits and tools. Crap. He ran back to the swamp and we all hid in the bushes as two lizardmen stepped out from inside to look around.
Brother Beren blessed the group and we stood up firing and shooting. Javelins flew back and forth and then a few other lizardmen made themselves seen – two of them hurling spells! One of them cast a hold person at Soren, freezing the ranger in place, and the other shot a silence spell at the party, ending spell casting until Brother Beren and Coruth’tae both backpedalled away into the swamp until they could hear again. Arnog stayed to help Soren who was getting walloped by halberd wielding foes and we were putting a better plan into place to strike back at the enemies who were arrayed against us.
And that allowed us to bring in a replacement character for the good elven thief: Brother Beren. The addition of a cleric was much needed especially as I was pulling out our often missing druidic Detheron due to a messed up period of personal life.
I am also a fan of hirelings and henchmen and the group was able to pick up a couple: two of them and I gifted them to the party due to the fact that they had been making a local name of themselves and some of the populace looks to them to help out. So welcome Nelia (4th level thief) and Haydin (4th fighter/2nd thief).
If they come back alive and with some coin in their pocket than the party can put a feather in their hat.
What they do with the information they learn at the lizardman complex from this point on (ie: finish the story arc) is up to them - it's a big sandbox and they are welcome to build anything they want in it.
Write up follows:
Arnog and Detheron went with the petrified Olthar to Wodenloch’s Manor while Soren and Gwyn went to Swampside to talk to Dollius at the Platinum Pestle. The alchemist had no unguent that would turn a stoned person to flesh again, and did not know of any particular magic that would do it. He was willing to work and learn though and the party hired him to go to places south, Principia, Tarkis, and eventually Daro and Darkwaters, to try to learn if there was a possibility of brewing a potion that would make someone stone, flesh again. A handful of platinum was passed over as well as one of the basilisk eyes (as possible item for study for a reagent). He was going to come to Wodenloch’s to see Olthar himself before leaving.
As for the Baronet, he was unable to help, having neither mage nor anyone magical at his beck and call. He did suggest that the group could talk to Rigil Blackshadow but did not know if it would suffice. As for the bounty, we had only gotten 16 out of 25 lizardmen tails and he was willing to accept that as payment to allow one of the two party members in – specifically Norris.
There was concern over Zoltan (who the Baronet had liked a lot) and his disappearance. Some questions were raised: Only Coruth’tae noticed he was gone and the grey elf went off alone to find him. The grey elf claimed that Zoltan had stolen from him (something not normally in Zoltan’s nature). He could not find Zoltan but did find some basilisks. There were too many concerns and inconsistencies Wodenloch felt that allowed him to fully trust Coruth’tae and suggested the group watch him carefully.
Norris was allowed back in and we spent some time at the Baronets, drinking and feasting. Norris took a boat ride to Blackshadow’s where Rigil accepted payment from the bard to cover Gedades’ (the person he and Coruth’tae had assaulted) protection costs for the next year. He also had Rigil send missive to Agnandus in Dilabria removing himself from the thieves guild there as belonging to more than one was an exercise in fragmented loyalty.
Rigil told Norris that they had accorded themselves well in the lizardmen issue and that he had two persons in his employ that he wanted to have some experience out of the city and with the party as aids, hirelings, and sellswords. Norris told the thief master he would discuss it with the group and come back tomorrow to give him their answer.
We spoke for a bit and discussed other alternatives to getting someone to turn Olthar back to flesh. There were some purchases and eventually the group decided that we should honor our commitment and return to the Eiderdown swamps and finish our bounty on Lizardmen tails. Detheron was not coming with us, our hurting and saddened druid instead taking a sister mission for Baronet Wodenloch that would have him in other places for a short time. This meant our group was down another person – and even with the inclusion of a few helpers from Blackshadow’s guild, it was thought that we needed someone else – preferably a healer.
Soren and Gwyn set up a table @ the Sunken Boardwalk where they gave a general call out for adventuring clerics interested in joining them. Most of the healers in the area had been sent northward to Flatrock to help stem to rising threat of plague there but there were still a few in the area. One was a smarmy dark haired follower of Hel who spoke well of his skills and abilities but the party did not feel comfortable in his presence. The other was a softer spoken human cleric of Tyr named Brother Beren who seemed to be a better fit for the group (which antagonized the 1st cleric) who we signed on for an equal share.
The party (sans Coruth’tae) did all meet up at the Sunken Boardwalk, including the two junior members of the thieves guild that were coming with us: Nelia Fingerlight, a slip of a 16 year old girl with a steady hand, a penchant for poisons and javelins, and a need to get out of the city for a while. And Haydin Umbarson, the louder of the two, wide heavy and strong, a very notched broadsword held at his side and a crooked smile.
There were welcomed and promised a full share of whatever treasures we found in lieu of getting a signing bonus or a per day rate – which they thought about and agreed upon
We left the next morning, a steady rain and grey sky meeting us. It was a long trudge to the lizardman swamp and then even longer to slog through the sucking fetid muck until we returned to the temple complex. We didn’t see as many lizardmen about but those that we did spy were on more of an alert than what we had seen earlier.
We opted to NOT go back through the secret opening in the south end of the temple again, and going in the main gates was still thought of as suicide. That left either the stables or the woodcutter’s shed and we opted on the stables. There was a 20’ gap between the swamp and the complex in this area and Gwyn crept forward to check it out while we waited in the woods, weapons ready. The dwarf heard nothing inside and a glance through the gaps showed the same. He tested the handle, it wasn’t locked. He then wanted to open the door to peer better inside so he used his long metal pole, shoved the door ajar.
And a bucket on top of the door fell over, dropping brown ink everywhere as well as the clattering ring of dumped over metal bits and tools. Crap. He ran back to the swamp and we all hid in the bushes as two lizardmen stepped out from inside to look around.
Brother Beren blessed the group and we stood up firing and shooting. Javelins flew back and forth and then a few other lizardmen made themselves seen – two of them hurling spells! One of them cast a hold person at Soren, freezing the ranger in place, and the other shot a silence spell at the party, ending spell casting until Brother Beren and Coruth’tae both backpedalled away into the swamp until they could hear again. Arnog stayed to help Soren who was getting walloped by halberd wielding foes and we were putting a better plan into place to strike back at the enemies who were arrayed against us.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Meet 96, Adv 9, 4/3/10
For a long time I had toned down the lethality of my game due to 2 main factors: 1) Under the modified 1st ed/3.5 ed I play character creation takes some 40 mins and because of that I generally play with kid gloves until a party exceeds 3rd level (lots of "knocked to 0", "you pass out", that sort of stuff) and 2) I was not a big fan as a player of single "save or die" situations while playing - especially if I've had some 30, 40, or more sessions with a single character.
But - there is a sweet spot in D&D - between 5th and 9th - where the characters make that slow plodding step from "schmuck with a sword" to notorious, known, or even heroic. And it's when the characters as a group or individually overcome odds and situations that would be stacked against them that makes for good story telling around the table.
While looking for filler adventure, I decided to use one (ie: module) that I had played some half dozen times in my youth (Thank you, Kev, Jerry, and Dan!) and mess around with the contents to make it more in line with my current game/world. And in it - were basilisks.
And that meant: save vs gaze attack or be turned to stone.
And I decided to leave them in. There are 6 basilisks in the dungeon and the party has encountered 4 of them - and one of the members has been turned to stone and then had said stone statue arm broken from his body.
I think more and more strongly as I've gotten older that going back to some of the more original and traditional roots of the game are the way for me and my players. I don't use rose colored glasses - not everything in the halcyon days were wonderful and the good old days were a very specific time. So I pick, dip, and sample from 35 years of accumulated D&D lore and glean the pieces that work for me and my group.
I don't appeal to everyone - but I do have great games and good people who come back.
And that's all that matters.
Write up follows:
We took stock of our situation and decided to press on a bit more, anxious to see if we could get the 25 lizardman tails as bounty as we had been tasked. We returned to the area outside the giant sundew room and took a good look at the options, deciding to go down the long northern hallway as opposed to the passage on the right. Just to be safe, Olthar checked out the smaller corridor a dozen paces, listening at the closed door and hearing nothing.
The thief then went down the long walk until it turned to the left, ending at 2 sets of double doors. The one on the left was partially ajar and some sort of breeze was blowing dead leaves and grit about the hall, the pair on the right were closed but a number of sibilant lizardman voices could be heard beyond them. He returned and we talked about what was before us.
We wanted to go and take out the lizardmen, relying on surprise to do so – but on getting closer, we were unsure if we could pull it off as they were sitting in what was obviously a stonecutter’s shed (as could be seen through the cracks in the doors) and there was another set of doors that went out beyond the complex. If we failed to get them all at once, some might run and attract more lizardmen to assault us – and from our count on looking through the door – there were 6 already in the shed.
Gwyn suggested we leave through the double doors on the left which obviously went outside, sneak around to the other outer door by the stonecutter shed and attack from both sides. We went quietly to the left double doors and followed the dwarf in with care. It was a cemetery, overgrown, old, and decaying. The trees were dying and the undergrowth was thick, obscuring clear view beyond 25’ or so. There was a sense of being watched, and watched with ill favor.
Most of the markings were of Sif, which had Coruth’tae question that this might not be the temple area of Thor as had been mentioned with the wizard’s bane potions. There was a path, narrow and winding, and a stone tomb overgrown with an iron door. We opted to stay on the path and avoid the tomb. It was most of the way through the cemetery that we realized it would not open outside the complex and that the path seemed to wrap back around to the front when the strangest things began happening.
A couple of vines tried to pick Gwyn’s pocket and the dwarf instead of cutting the fronds spun and danced forward. Then a 300 lb tree limb broke free from above and almost splattered the party who jumped away barely in time, the group split in two. We opted to head back for the doors and get out of here as this was a bad idea.
Tree limbs began swinging wildly, two of the party members were entangled and had to be cut free, and near the entrance a pair of 4’ long giant ants burst out of the growth and snagged Olthar, trying to drag him to their any hole and bring him down. He was grabbed and dragged back while Gwyn readied a flask of oil and Arnog led the group out of the cemetery and the dwarf set the place ablaze. Fire raced across the dried wood and the entire place hissed, squirmed, and squealed.
And then the door to the stonecutter shed opened and the 4 lizardmen assaulted our flank with reckless and terrible fury. Two of them slammed long handled halberds at us, axe heads splitting armor and shields. Two of them hurled spears with barbed heads at us, effectively hooking some of the party while then pulling back on the corded leather that was tied to the back of each spear! Olthar was badly hurt, barely holding on at a single hit point.
Soren was hooked and in pain, Gwyn took some punishing blows, Arnog was struggling to get to the front but was trapped in the back. The dwarf hacked off one of the lizardman’s arms. Spells fired and lizardmen swung and there was the cry of battle and the snap of the whip. Coruth’tae grew anxious and hurled a fear spell into the room, sending two of the lizardmen into retreat and also affecting the ranger, Soren who was caught in the blast. Soren raced away, spear still in his shoulder, knocking down Olthar and kicking him in the head – that single point of damage enough to cause the thief to swoon and pass out.
The fire behind us grew hotter as the cemetery was being consumed. One of the lizardmen tried to force Gwyn back into the conflagration but was unable to uproot the stoic dwarf. Bit by bit, the lizardmen paid in their blood and flesh, but the party was suffering the same, our strength flagging and wearing down. Poison was hurled and Soren, still affected by fear, ran Arnog over and took off down the hall – stumbling into two MORE lizardmen who emerged from near the stables! The party’s fighter growled, took out his sword, and Arnog rose to his feet and threw his armor class to the wind to try and help Soren before the ranger was slain.
Gwyn had managed to kill off another of the lizardmen and the one with the severed arm had died from his wounds – leaving only two left, both of them struggling against the group. Detheron called on Frey and a bobcat burst into being, tearing at one of the lizardman’s feet and legs, their oily blood sluicing across the ground. Arnog hit the two lizardmen at the same time that Soren overcame his fear spell, the fighter stepping in front and getting badly wounded while he dished out terrible blows of his own.
The fight wound down as the last of the enemy fell over, the party horribly wounded, most of us under 20 hit points (some of us as low as 6!). The doorway out of the stonecutter’s shed was barred from our side with a stout oaken timber and we hacked off tails, grabbed belt pouches, and ran to rejoin Arnog and Soren who were nervously looking about – if even a single enemy approached us, there was no guarantee we would prevail.
There was though on fleeing the complex but we felt we would be seen in the swamp so we then though about where to hide out. We went back through the sundew room, past the alcove, and to the room with the 30’ deep pit. Once here we climbed down and Norris came last, untying the rope that would announce us being here and using his levitating boots to get to the bottom.
Detheron had few spells left if any and he dispensed them where he could. Norris did the same and the party was then bandaged up and ate a cold meal of trail rations from our skins. We decided we would stay here in the darkness, no lights, under the edge of the pit in the rubble, until tomorrow and then decide in to press on and get more tails for bounty (we had 16 out of 25) or to go back to Eider instead.
Olthar kept first watch and it wasn’t long after the group fell asleep that he heard voices coming. Not lizardmen, but common! Three men in brigantine, bearing swords and torches, crossed overhead talking about the group and that they were looking about for the lizardman chief who wanted them found. Consensus was they might still be in the area or they might have left – but they were looking around with care.
Eventually the three men came back and crossed the pit above again, never noticing the party below and still talking about the bounty. At some point some hours later a basilisk came to the edge of the pit to sniff about, and Olthar and Soren (who was wakened up) saw the 8 legged lizard, they did learn that the gaze attack did NOT work in the infravision spectrum and a single arrow sent the beast to leave with a snarling hiss.
The night passed and we woke up after a long time, well rested and feeling much better. We broke our fast, checked our wounds, oiled our swords, prayed for our spells, and then decided we would press on and check out the complex for more lizardmen.
We went back the way we had come, noting the door to the stables was opened now and the bodies once in there (as well as the hall) were no longer there. We then opted to NOT go back to the stonecutter’s shed, but to go east down the right hall and check out that direction. The single door there was relistened to and Olthar declared it safe. The thief grabbed the knob, turned it, and pushed the door in.
And was turned to stone.
A basilisk on the other side hissed at the group and we were flustered. Damn it! Olthar was stone! Norris tried to roll past the door but the basilisk’s gaze caught him fleetingly, making his fingers numb until he was able to shake it off. Gwyn was trapped on the other side hall past the door and didn’t want to run past. At that point the basilisk started to shove its way into the hall when the group heard a stony snap as Olthar’s arm still gripping the door handle broke away from the rest of him as the 350 lb lizard shoved its way into the corridor.
Detheron called on obscuring mists to block all vision and Arnog put a large sack over his head and ran forward, sword swinging wildly. We hacked and slashed and there was talk of firing blindly into the mist and Gwyn was frantic to hack at the basilisk on the other side when the dwarf’s keen ears picked up the sound of something approaching behind him. Attracted to the noise of the battle.
Another god damned basilisk.
He jumped and leaped, teeth clacking just on his heels, trying to get over the 1st basilisk that Arnog was engaging. Detheron told the group to get back and the druid pulled out a precious piece of greater mistletoe, screamed out to Frey, and filled the hallway with terrible divine flames from his god to strike down and consume both of the deadly gaze reptiles.
That was it – we were done. Gwyn used his axe to hack the handle off the door with Olthar’s hand still gripping it and Arnog picked up the heavy statue of the elven thief and shouldered it as we made our way to the stables, snuck out the door, and raced off into the swampy woods and away from the lizardmen and their temple complex.
It took the group almost 8 hours of slow, plodding effort to make it back to the gates of Eider. Their clothes were swamp stained, boots filled with muck, faces haggard, one of their members turned to stone and missing his arm (Olthar), and another one inexplicably missing in the temple (Zoltan). Detheron felt that in the course of a few days he could cast enough mending spells to reattach the stone arm to Olthar’s statue (with Gwyn’s help as the dwarf had a keen eye for stonework). We were at the gates at 5 in the afternoon, Norris and Coruth’tae still not allowed within the city, exhausted and in need of help and hopefully someone who could tell us how to turn our companion from stone to flesh once again.
But - there is a sweet spot in D&D - between 5th and 9th - where the characters make that slow plodding step from "schmuck with a sword" to notorious, known, or even heroic. And it's when the characters as a group or individually overcome odds and situations that would be stacked against them that makes for good story telling around the table.
While looking for filler adventure, I decided to use one (ie: module) that I had played some half dozen times in my youth (Thank you, Kev, Jerry, and Dan!) and mess around with the contents to make it more in line with my current game/world. And in it - were basilisks.
And that meant: save vs gaze attack or be turned to stone.
And I decided to leave them in. There are 6 basilisks in the dungeon and the party has encountered 4 of them - and one of the members has been turned to stone and then had said stone statue arm broken from his body.
I think more and more strongly as I've gotten older that going back to some of the more original and traditional roots of the game are the way for me and my players. I don't use rose colored glasses - not everything in the halcyon days were wonderful and the good old days were a very specific time. So I pick, dip, and sample from 35 years of accumulated D&D lore and glean the pieces that work for me and my group.
I don't appeal to everyone - but I do have great games and good people who come back.
And that's all that matters.
Write up follows:
We took stock of our situation and decided to press on a bit more, anxious to see if we could get the 25 lizardman tails as bounty as we had been tasked. We returned to the area outside the giant sundew room and took a good look at the options, deciding to go down the long northern hallway as opposed to the passage on the right. Just to be safe, Olthar checked out the smaller corridor a dozen paces, listening at the closed door and hearing nothing.
The thief then went down the long walk until it turned to the left, ending at 2 sets of double doors. The one on the left was partially ajar and some sort of breeze was blowing dead leaves and grit about the hall, the pair on the right were closed but a number of sibilant lizardman voices could be heard beyond them. He returned and we talked about what was before us.
We wanted to go and take out the lizardmen, relying on surprise to do so – but on getting closer, we were unsure if we could pull it off as they were sitting in what was obviously a stonecutter’s shed (as could be seen through the cracks in the doors) and there was another set of doors that went out beyond the complex. If we failed to get them all at once, some might run and attract more lizardmen to assault us – and from our count on looking through the door – there were 6 already in the shed.
Gwyn suggested we leave through the double doors on the left which obviously went outside, sneak around to the other outer door by the stonecutter shed and attack from both sides. We went quietly to the left double doors and followed the dwarf in with care. It was a cemetery, overgrown, old, and decaying. The trees were dying and the undergrowth was thick, obscuring clear view beyond 25’ or so. There was a sense of being watched, and watched with ill favor.
Most of the markings were of Sif, which had Coruth’tae question that this might not be the temple area of Thor as had been mentioned with the wizard’s bane potions. There was a path, narrow and winding, and a stone tomb overgrown with an iron door. We opted to stay on the path and avoid the tomb. It was most of the way through the cemetery that we realized it would not open outside the complex and that the path seemed to wrap back around to the front when the strangest things began happening.
A couple of vines tried to pick Gwyn’s pocket and the dwarf instead of cutting the fronds spun and danced forward. Then a 300 lb tree limb broke free from above and almost splattered the party who jumped away barely in time, the group split in two. We opted to head back for the doors and get out of here as this was a bad idea.
Tree limbs began swinging wildly, two of the party members were entangled and had to be cut free, and near the entrance a pair of 4’ long giant ants burst out of the growth and snagged Olthar, trying to drag him to their any hole and bring him down. He was grabbed and dragged back while Gwyn readied a flask of oil and Arnog led the group out of the cemetery and the dwarf set the place ablaze. Fire raced across the dried wood and the entire place hissed, squirmed, and squealed.
And then the door to the stonecutter shed opened and the 4 lizardmen assaulted our flank with reckless and terrible fury. Two of them slammed long handled halberds at us, axe heads splitting armor and shields. Two of them hurled spears with barbed heads at us, effectively hooking some of the party while then pulling back on the corded leather that was tied to the back of each spear! Olthar was badly hurt, barely holding on at a single hit point.
Soren was hooked and in pain, Gwyn took some punishing blows, Arnog was struggling to get to the front but was trapped in the back. The dwarf hacked off one of the lizardman’s arms. Spells fired and lizardmen swung and there was the cry of battle and the snap of the whip. Coruth’tae grew anxious and hurled a fear spell into the room, sending two of the lizardmen into retreat and also affecting the ranger, Soren who was caught in the blast. Soren raced away, spear still in his shoulder, knocking down Olthar and kicking him in the head – that single point of damage enough to cause the thief to swoon and pass out.
The fire behind us grew hotter as the cemetery was being consumed. One of the lizardmen tried to force Gwyn back into the conflagration but was unable to uproot the stoic dwarf. Bit by bit, the lizardmen paid in their blood and flesh, but the party was suffering the same, our strength flagging and wearing down. Poison was hurled and Soren, still affected by fear, ran Arnog over and took off down the hall – stumbling into two MORE lizardmen who emerged from near the stables! The party’s fighter growled, took out his sword, and Arnog rose to his feet and threw his armor class to the wind to try and help Soren before the ranger was slain.
Gwyn had managed to kill off another of the lizardmen and the one with the severed arm had died from his wounds – leaving only two left, both of them struggling against the group. Detheron called on Frey and a bobcat burst into being, tearing at one of the lizardman’s feet and legs, their oily blood sluicing across the ground. Arnog hit the two lizardmen at the same time that Soren overcame his fear spell, the fighter stepping in front and getting badly wounded while he dished out terrible blows of his own.
The fight wound down as the last of the enemy fell over, the party horribly wounded, most of us under 20 hit points (some of us as low as 6!). The doorway out of the stonecutter’s shed was barred from our side with a stout oaken timber and we hacked off tails, grabbed belt pouches, and ran to rejoin Arnog and Soren who were nervously looking about – if even a single enemy approached us, there was no guarantee we would prevail.
There was though on fleeing the complex but we felt we would be seen in the swamp so we then though about where to hide out. We went back through the sundew room, past the alcove, and to the room with the 30’ deep pit. Once here we climbed down and Norris came last, untying the rope that would announce us being here and using his levitating boots to get to the bottom.
Detheron had few spells left if any and he dispensed them where he could. Norris did the same and the party was then bandaged up and ate a cold meal of trail rations from our skins. We decided we would stay here in the darkness, no lights, under the edge of the pit in the rubble, until tomorrow and then decide in to press on and get more tails for bounty (we had 16 out of 25) or to go back to Eider instead.
Olthar kept first watch and it wasn’t long after the group fell asleep that he heard voices coming. Not lizardmen, but common! Three men in brigantine, bearing swords and torches, crossed overhead talking about the group and that they were looking about for the lizardman chief who wanted them found. Consensus was they might still be in the area or they might have left – but they were looking around with care.
Eventually the three men came back and crossed the pit above again, never noticing the party below and still talking about the bounty. At some point some hours later a basilisk came to the edge of the pit to sniff about, and Olthar and Soren (who was wakened up) saw the 8 legged lizard, they did learn that the gaze attack did NOT work in the infravision spectrum and a single arrow sent the beast to leave with a snarling hiss.
The night passed and we woke up after a long time, well rested and feeling much better. We broke our fast, checked our wounds, oiled our swords, prayed for our spells, and then decided we would press on and check out the complex for more lizardmen.
We went back the way we had come, noting the door to the stables was opened now and the bodies once in there (as well as the hall) were no longer there. We then opted to NOT go back to the stonecutter’s shed, but to go east down the right hall and check out that direction. The single door there was relistened to and Olthar declared it safe. The thief grabbed the knob, turned it, and pushed the door in.
And was turned to stone.
A basilisk on the other side hissed at the group and we were flustered. Damn it! Olthar was stone! Norris tried to roll past the door but the basilisk’s gaze caught him fleetingly, making his fingers numb until he was able to shake it off. Gwyn was trapped on the other side hall past the door and didn’t want to run past. At that point the basilisk started to shove its way into the hall when the group heard a stony snap as Olthar’s arm still gripping the door handle broke away from the rest of him as the 350 lb lizard shoved its way into the corridor.
Detheron called on obscuring mists to block all vision and Arnog put a large sack over his head and ran forward, sword swinging wildly. We hacked and slashed and there was talk of firing blindly into the mist and Gwyn was frantic to hack at the basilisk on the other side when the dwarf’s keen ears picked up the sound of something approaching behind him. Attracted to the noise of the battle.
Another god damned basilisk.
He jumped and leaped, teeth clacking just on his heels, trying to get over the 1st basilisk that Arnog was engaging. Detheron told the group to get back and the druid pulled out a precious piece of greater mistletoe, screamed out to Frey, and filled the hallway with terrible divine flames from his god to strike down and consume both of the deadly gaze reptiles.
That was it – we were done. Gwyn used his axe to hack the handle off the door with Olthar’s hand still gripping it and Arnog picked up the heavy statue of the elven thief and shouldered it as we made our way to the stables, snuck out the door, and raced off into the swampy woods and away from the lizardmen and their temple complex.
It took the group almost 8 hours of slow, plodding effort to make it back to the gates of Eider. Their clothes were swamp stained, boots filled with muck, faces haggard, one of their members turned to stone and missing his arm (Olthar), and another one inexplicably missing in the temple (Zoltan). Detheron felt that in the course of a few days he could cast enough mending spells to reattach the stone arm to Olthar’s statue (with Gwyn’s help as the dwarf had a keen eye for stonework). We were at the gates at 5 in the afternoon, Norris and Coruth’tae still not allowed within the city, exhausted and in need of help and hopefully someone who could tell us how to turn our companion from stone to flesh once again.
Meet 95, Adv 9, 3/20/10
I had a long time member drop out of the game this week. His reasons are his own and I honestly wish him well in his endeavors. However he was a staple around the table (even including his flakey attendance, characters, and attention) and the group was initially concerned on how I was going to handle it (as I have a small group of tag-a-long characters that I DM-run during absenses and what-not).
So when I had him turn up missing during an encounter - and scarfing the group's healing wand to boot - eyebrows were raised and the party went looking.
And then I threw basilisks, devious traps, lizardmen, and ghouls at the group and they didn't give a hoot after the 5 round of combat where the missing party member disappeared to.
Write up follows:
We spent a few minutes getting our bearings and cleaning up some of the obvious wounds before readying ourselves and moving out. Olthar took the lead this time, checking carefully for traps and other issues along the way. There was an area of strange barrels and boxes of very rotted and decaying food stuffs and wines that had been shoved down a shallow corridor. We spent a few minutes looking them over, finding nothing of value, before moving on to the area which involved the party climbing to a 2nd floor.
At this point Coruth’tae noticed that Zoltan was not with him and no one in the group remembered when they saw the gypsy last. Telling Detheron he’d be right back, the grey elf walked backwards a short distance, calling softly for our friend as he looked around. According to his infravision, there was some tell tale heat signatures on the floor, fading now, that proved that a single person went back this way. He followed along, going beyond the ghoul room and even further back.
Meanwhile the rest of the group joined Olthar at the top of the steps. The chamber was sizeable, but the middle 20’ section of so had collapsed due to fire, dropping down to the first floor and then THAT floor had collapsed and it was straight down to the ruined basement level. On the left wall was maybe 5” of crumbling floor, on the right wall was perhaps 2’ of solid planking still, and across the middle was some unsteady but functional beams from the ceiling above that was acting like a bridge of sorts. A few plans were tried out, and the floor below was dangerously covered in broken trash, but it was Norris and his levitating boots that provided some solution. The bard travelled across the middle of the beam, floating just over the surface, towing a rope with him to help whoever came next to get across.
As for Coruth’tae, he got down to one of the doors and found it not only closed, but spiked from the other side! He bent his shoulder to the stout panel, working at it repeatedly until he heard first one, and then another metal piton slip free. He went to his waist to get out his shadow wand when he then noticed that his healing wand was missing! Damn – did Zoltan take that? Why? What happened? What was the purpose? He walked on, noticing that there was some strange noise from down the far hall. He approached, walked towards the opened door, and saw that the “repaired wall” had been broken down from this side, opening to the courtyard beyond. And coming through was a large wedge-shaped lizard head, 350#, hissing and dragging – basilisk.
Coruth’tae ran. The 8-legged lizard followed as the illusionist raced to the corner and thought about slamming up an illusion – he opted against it instead blindly shot a lightning bolt around the corner. The basilisk howled and roared, and the wooden and plaster wall crumbled away from the thunderous impact of the bolt, the lightning scoring far into the courtyard beyond.
As for the rest of the group, Soren was holding a rope anchored to the far wall by Norris and held tight by Arnog. The ranger worked across the wide right hand side of the wall when a portion of the floor slid free and the entire right wall fell in on him, dropping down to the ruined floor below. The ranger struggled back to the platform. It was then that we heard running and Coruth’tae returned.
We pulled him to the side and in an instant he told us what was coming. Norris was on the other side of the room, and the rest of us waited carefully while the basilisk ran up the stairs and ahead a few paces after an illusion of Coruth’tae that had been glamoured onto the beam bridge. Swords slammed down and poisoned arrows and bolts tore into the gargantuan lizard. We fought with eyes squinted or fully shut, hanging onto the scaly hide as we hit the beast again and again, its toothy maw devouring Arnog’s leg as the burly fighter slammed the beast in the head with his sword. And then it was done.
Detheron took to removing the creature’s eyes, the task easier as Arnog had hacked the beast’s head off. It was going along, with the party beginning to work their way across to the other side with the use of ropes and anchors when we heard a 2nd basilisk racing towards us from the stairs! The group drew weapons fast and as the beast hit the top of the stairs at a full run we hit it with everything we had, poison included. Its whipping tail slammed into the group as it dumped over the side of the hole and fell 30’ to the floor below. Arrows struck it repeatedly until there was no more noise. A trip down the hole had us get the other basilisk’s eyes and some healing was dispensed.
As for Zoltan’s disappearance and seemingly theft, we had no answers. It was not in the gypsy’s character at all and we were wondering if something else was afoot. The decision was made to press on, and we did so.
The hall meandered for a bit, another alcove filled with 3 barrels of vinegary wine. The smell of honey was growing strong and there was a decidedly noisy buzz in the air. Olthar went forward and we looked on as the thief entered the next room. Not too large, perhaps a ten count of paces square, door on the other side. Hundreds of flies and a 5’ diameter, 2’ tall ropy pile of tarry looking rags in the center. Didn’t trust it.
We discussed what to do when the ropy bundle had dragged itself closer and snapped out a pile of tendrils, slapping into Olthar and dragging him halfway across the chamber. Arnog and Gwyn leapt down and hacked at the mass of vegetation but their weapon’s stuck fast. Olthar was slammed backwards into the beast and his mouth and nose were hit, the thing trying to suffocate him. Detheron called it a sundew and we needed to break the adhesive and fast. Vinegar would do it.
Norris and Coruth’tae went back to the alcove and started rolling barrels down the stairs, the wooden staves smashing in and gallons and gallons of acrid liquid hitting the vegetable menace. The adhesive weakened and Olthar was pulled free. The sundew was unable to do more than flail about as we struck it again and again, slaying it at last. We looked underneath it and found old bones, scraps of hard to digest metal (button and buckles), as well as a ring of spell storing and some coinage! We snagged the treasures and took time to move on. We still needed lizardmen tails for the bounty.
The door opened to another area of the complex, the walls taking on a different look. We opted to go left (the other choices were straight and right) and went to the door at the hall’s end. Cracking it opened, we saw it had once been a stables, 6 stalls wide, loft above, a large double door leading presumably outside. But there were 4 lizardmen there – and it was our first time actually seeing one (that hadn’t become an emaciated ghoul).
Just a click of 6’ tall, very wide and muscular shoulders, large biceps, curious 4 fingered hands set in a fan shape and deeply taloned, some had a crest of red from their flat noses down their backs, large heavy balancing tails, each had to be closer to 260 lbs. Ok...not at all what we expected.
We wanted to take them out and do it fast, not to let any of them get away or raise an alarm. A plan was hatched; Norris, Olthar, and Soren would enter carefully and climb to the loft. Once up there they would net and poison sleep the two lizardmen closest to the door. Arnog and Gwyn would sneak in after the other 3 were in place and charge the closest two. Detheron would support with spells if needed and Coruth’tae would guard the hall to make sure we weren’t surprised by visitors.
The set up was fairly easy except when Soren leaned against a bad section of the loft and it groaned ominously. One of the lizardmen stabbed his sword randomly upwards from inside one of the stalls but after not hitting anything went back and returned to the 4 way conversation. And then it was time. Norris leapt down and missed netting one of the lizardmen. Soren drew bead on one of them and shot it, knocking it out. Olthar leapt down with sword and rapier and with weapons coated with poison, took out another one.
But the fight was on and Gwyn and Arnog was surprised to find the lizardmen for all their brute were also skilled fighters – and the two of them were suddenly not facing two easy marks but were fighting for their lives. Soren shot from above and Detheron, low on spells, called for guidance and other small blessings from Frey. It was touch and go until one and then the other lizardman fell.
But during the struggle the sounds of our fighting had attracted other beings – ghouls! A 5 count ran into the hall and Coruth’tae was forced back into the vinegary soaked chamber, ghouls scrabbling to tear at him. Only a frantic and life saving Shield spell kept the snarling undead at bay – but still their combined mass drove him into the corner. He wailed for help and Arnog and Gwyn ran to aid.
Arnog tore into the backs of the ghouls with savage fury and within a few minutes, the last of the undead were down and the grey elf was safe. We all regrouped back into the stables area and figured the time was between 3 and 4 in the afternoon – deciding what our next course of action was going to be.
So when I had him turn up missing during an encounter - and scarfing the group's healing wand to boot - eyebrows were raised and the party went looking.
And then I threw basilisks, devious traps, lizardmen, and ghouls at the group and they didn't give a hoot after the 5 round of combat where the missing party member disappeared to.
Write up follows:
We spent a few minutes getting our bearings and cleaning up some of the obvious wounds before readying ourselves and moving out. Olthar took the lead this time, checking carefully for traps and other issues along the way. There was an area of strange barrels and boxes of very rotted and decaying food stuffs and wines that had been shoved down a shallow corridor. We spent a few minutes looking them over, finding nothing of value, before moving on to the area which involved the party climbing to a 2nd floor.
At this point Coruth’tae noticed that Zoltan was not with him and no one in the group remembered when they saw the gypsy last. Telling Detheron he’d be right back, the grey elf walked backwards a short distance, calling softly for our friend as he looked around. According to his infravision, there was some tell tale heat signatures on the floor, fading now, that proved that a single person went back this way. He followed along, going beyond the ghoul room and even further back.
Meanwhile the rest of the group joined Olthar at the top of the steps. The chamber was sizeable, but the middle 20’ section of so had collapsed due to fire, dropping down to the first floor and then THAT floor had collapsed and it was straight down to the ruined basement level. On the left wall was maybe 5” of crumbling floor, on the right wall was perhaps 2’ of solid planking still, and across the middle was some unsteady but functional beams from the ceiling above that was acting like a bridge of sorts. A few plans were tried out, and the floor below was dangerously covered in broken trash, but it was Norris and his levitating boots that provided some solution. The bard travelled across the middle of the beam, floating just over the surface, towing a rope with him to help whoever came next to get across.
As for Coruth’tae, he got down to one of the doors and found it not only closed, but spiked from the other side! He bent his shoulder to the stout panel, working at it repeatedly until he heard first one, and then another metal piton slip free. He went to his waist to get out his shadow wand when he then noticed that his healing wand was missing! Damn – did Zoltan take that? Why? What happened? What was the purpose? He walked on, noticing that there was some strange noise from down the far hall. He approached, walked towards the opened door, and saw that the “repaired wall” had been broken down from this side, opening to the courtyard beyond. And coming through was a large wedge-shaped lizard head, 350#, hissing and dragging – basilisk.
Coruth’tae ran. The 8-legged lizard followed as the illusionist raced to the corner and thought about slamming up an illusion – he opted against it instead blindly shot a lightning bolt around the corner. The basilisk howled and roared, and the wooden and plaster wall crumbled away from the thunderous impact of the bolt, the lightning scoring far into the courtyard beyond.
As for the rest of the group, Soren was holding a rope anchored to the far wall by Norris and held tight by Arnog. The ranger worked across the wide right hand side of the wall when a portion of the floor slid free and the entire right wall fell in on him, dropping down to the ruined floor below. The ranger struggled back to the platform. It was then that we heard running and Coruth’tae returned.
We pulled him to the side and in an instant he told us what was coming. Norris was on the other side of the room, and the rest of us waited carefully while the basilisk ran up the stairs and ahead a few paces after an illusion of Coruth’tae that had been glamoured onto the beam bridge. Swords slammed down and poisoned arrows and bolts tore into the gargantuan lizard. We fought with eyes squinted or fully shut, hanging onto the scaly hide as we hit the beast again and again, its toothy maw devouring Arnog’s leg as the burly fighter slammed the beast in the head with his sword. And then it was done.
Detheron took to removing the creature’s eyes, the task easier as Arnog had hacked the beast’s head off. It was going along, with the party beginning to work their way across to the other side with the use of ropes and anchors when we heard a 2nd basilisk racing towards us from the stairs! The group drew weapons fast and as the beast hit the top of the stairs at a full run we hit it with everything we had, poison included. Its whipping tail slammed into the group as it dumped over the side of the hole and fell 30’ to the floor below. Arrows struck it repeatedly until there was no more noise. A trip down the hole had us get the other basilisk’s eyes and some healing was dispensed.
As for Zoltan’s disappearance and seemingly theft, we had no answers. It was not in the gypsy’s character at all and we were wondering if something else was afoot. The decision was made to press on, and we did so.
The hall meandered for a bit, another alcove filled with 3 barrels of vinegary wine. The smell of honey was growing strong and there was a decidedly noisy buzz in the air. Olthar went forward and we looked on as the thief entered the next room. Not too large, perhaps a ten count of paces square, door on the other side. Hundreds of flies and a 5’ diameter, 2’ tall ropy pile of tarry looking rags in the center. Didn’t trust it.
We discussed what to do when the ropy bundle had dragged itself closer and snapped out a pile of tendrils, slapping into Olthar and dragging him halfway across the chamber. Arnog and Gwyn leapt down and hacked at the mass of vegetation but their weapon’s stuck fast. Olthar was slammed backwards into the beast and his mouth and nose were hit, the thing trying to suffocate him. Detheron called it a sundew and we needed to break the adhesive and fast. Vinegar would do it.
Norris and Coruth’tae went back to the alcove and started rolling barrels down the stairs, the wooden staves smashing in and gallons and gallons of acrid liquid hitting the vegetable menace. The adhesive weakened and Olthar was pulled free. The sundew was unable to do more than flail about as we struck it again and again, slaying it at last. We looked underneath it and found old bones, scraps of hard to digest metal (button and buckles), as well as a ring of spell storing and some coinage! We snagged the treasures and took time to move on. We still needed lizardmen tails for the bounty.
The door opened to another area of the complex, the walls taking on a different look. We opted to go left (the other choices were straight and right) and went to the door at the hall’s end. Cracking it opened, we saw it had once been a stables, 6 stalls wide, loft above, a large double door leading presumably outside. But there were 4 lizardmen there – and it was our first time actually seeing one (that hadn’t become an emaciated ghoul).
Just a click of 6’ tall, very wide and muscular shoulders, large biceps, curious 4 fingered hands set in a fan shape and deeply taloned, some had a crest of red from their flat noses down their backs, large heavy balancing tails, each had to be closer to 260 lbs. Ok...not at all what we expected.
We wanted to take them out and do it fast, not to let any of them get away or raise an alarm. A plan was hatched; Norris, Olthar, and Soren would enter carefully and climb to the loft. Once up there they would net and poison sleep the two lizardmen closest to the door. Arnog and Gwyn would sneak in after the other 3 were in place and charge the closest two. Detheron would support with spells if needed and Coruth’tae would guard the hall to make sure we weren’t surprised by visitors.
The set up was fairly easy except when Soren leaned against a bad section of the loft and it groaned ominously. One of the lizardmen stabbed his sword randomly upwards from inside one of the stalls but after not hitting anything went back and returned to the 4 way conversation. And then it was time. Norris leapt down and missed netting one of the lizardmen. Soren drew bead on one of them and shot it, knocking it out. Olthar leapt down with sword and rapier and with weapons coated with poison, took out another one.
But the fight was on and Gwyn and Arnog was surprised to find the lizardmen for all their brute were also skilled fighters – and the two of them were suddenly not facing two easy marks but were fighting for their lives. Soren shot from above and Detheron, low on spells, called for guidance and other small blessings from Frey. It was touch and go until one and then the other lizardman fell.
But during the struggle the sounds of our fighting had attracted other beings – ghouls! A 5 count ran into the hall and Coruth’tae was forced back into the vinegary soaked chamber, ghouls scrabbling to tear at him. Only a frantic and life saving Shield spell kept the snarling undead at bay – but still their combined mass drove him into the corner. He wailed for help and Arnog and Gwyn ran to aid.
Arnog tore into the backs of the ghouls with savage fury and within a few minutes, the last of the undead were down and the grey elf was safe. We all regrouped back into the stables area and figured the time was between 3 and 4 in the afternoon – deciding what our next course of action was going to be.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Meet 94, Adv 9, 3/13/10
I took off the kid gloves on the group at this point. They screwed up in town (now their 2nd one), and I banished two of their members.
When the party thinks that a singular random NPC is the bad guy and then accosts him - they have to pay the piper. Espeecially since their assumption was entirely wrong. They focused on a red herring and it burned them.
So I threw them a short dungeon crawl to redeem themselves - if they wanted it. Left it up to them - or it's time to move on again.
Let's see what happens.
Write up follows:
Detheron and Zoltan followed the Baronet up to the throne room where they listened to Gedaides talk and explain in detail what happened. A few questions were asked but it was pretty obvious that the hedge wizard was convinced he had escaped with his life and the party was accosting him for some unknown reason.
The group was admitted (without Coruth’tae, who was still at Gedaides house looking for the poor man’s spell book after shadow-blasting the squirrel) and eventually their story was told as best as possible – with Gedaides swearing his innocence and admitting he recognized Norris – but the grey elf was not here. A watch-man was also present and asserting some of the story as he had seen it (smoke from the shop, the sound and flash of fire within, two men outside with bows, a dwarf further away a bit confused, and then Norris and Coruth’tae coming out with weapon drawn and a staff brandished).
Coruth’tae showed up and more of tale was told – with the grey elf admitting that there was a wizard’s eye scrying on them and since he was the only mage in town – he must be it. Gedaides said he wasn’t the only mage in town, and he wasn’t that powerful, he sells lice repellant, love charms, and copies the odd scroll now and again for coin. He didn’t do it – and the group accosted him in his home and only through blind luck and a few well placed spells he was able to escape through the sewers and come here. He does pay protection to Rigil Blackshadow and he has never welched on his taxes to Baronet Wodenlach.
Wodenlach let the man go back to his home to account for anything missing or damaged and that left the furious Baronet with the party. He told Coruth’tae and Norris they were banished from Eider and told to never return. Five guards walked the two to the Sunken Boardwalk where they got their equipment and then were brought to the gates where they were let out and told to never enter the city again. Lovely.
As for the rest of the group, they were allowed to stay and Wodenlach was torn about the situation. Some conversation followed and we had asked if there was anyway to fix this. He sighed and said sure, “the lizardmen have grown brave as of late – between their own raids and egging on the gnolls. Bring me 25 of their tails as bounty and I’ll drop the banishment on those two.” He was smirking while he said it, but we took him at his word – how hard was it to take out 25 lizard men?
Zoltan went with Olthar to Blackshadow to return the staff of passwalls and explain our duplicitousness in taking it and what it was for. To make it up, we gave the thief master a 25% take of our haul and the venerable ex-adventurer chuckled at our efforts and accepted our apology and payment. The rest of the coin was split amongst everyone and we were all feeling flush with coin.
We equipped up, grabbed food and water, and then met Coruth’tae and Norris outside, filling them in on what we were doing next. We then travelled northward for 5 hours until night fell, going back towards where the gnoll encounter was - knowing that lizardmen were near there (instead of stomping around the swamp randomly). Some locals came out at night and kept us a bit of company (barbarians) but left without any issues or problems. The group awoke the next day well rested and we got close to the collapsed manor house where the gnolls were. Detheron transformed into a falcon and began scouting – returning about an hour later with news of a clearing about a mile and a half in the swamp, east north east of here, some sort of temple structure very overgrown but numerous lizardmen around it.
We trekked off and had to avoid assassin vines, snakes, and even some boggy/swamp mud – but nothing more dangerous until we arrived near the lizardman area. The temple complex was sizable and was 3 or four main building inside a walled area. The main entrance was well guarded (a dozen SEEN lizard men) and had a pair of portcullis warding the front door. Soren and Detheron walked around the place, checking it carefully and avoiding what lizardmen were around.
In the back they found a weed choked break in the rear of the walled stone and a corridor beyond. No one seemed to be watching it much. They returned to the group and the consensus was to NOT risk the front gates but to go and use the rear entrance. The party went the long way around and we approached the area. It was decided that Gwyn and Arnog would lead to watch the most for any lizardmen with the rest of the group following behind.
The crack was wide enough for us to get through and it ended at a door in bad repair with many spots and spaces. On the other side it would be flush with the wall, but here it was no a concealed doorway. There was thoughts that it was trapped and Zoltan was voted to check it out. The gypsy assured us that it was – a tension bar was on the other side and it was held back and spiked – anyone opening the door would risk getting whacked by it. It would need to be removed – but who? Gwyn said to tie a rope to the door and open it but he was outvoted saying the door would make lots of noise.
Zoltan opted to remove the trap but he slipped up on cutting the trigger rope and the heavy bar smashed into the door, spikes penetrating and impacting the poor man. He nursed his side and bandaged his arm, commenting the trap was removed. We chuckled and entered. Corridor was narrow – 5’ wide, maybe 9’ tall, running left and right for 20’ for so. We opted right.
Lantern was lit and Detheron held it up as we followed Gwyn. Corridor turned left and went a dozen paces to a door. We listened – quiet. Checking it there were no heat sources so the light was brought up. It was some 15’x20’ and showed some sort of collapse and ruin from above. Garbage and old wet plaster and sodden planks on the floor. The far wall showed recent repairs both in structure and plastering. The group came in and we looked about. Gwyn used his augur and drilled through the wall, the dwarf then lowering his eye to the hole and peering through. It was dim in there, some light filtering in from the poor ceiling above. Some sort of courtyard sort of thing, a few statues of some skill positioned about the place. Maybe something heavy moving but nothing else. We waited and there was nothing else there, or any other noises.
There was talk of bashing through the wall but it was decided that it would be dangerous and we should go back to the entrance and opt to go left instead. Back tracking we travelled along some dozen paces and turned right – going a short distance to a door. Norris listened – coast was clear. We cracked the door and it was another corridor some 20 plus paces that turned right. We went forward, on guard for whatever was ahead.
Turning right it was 3 paces to a burned and badly damaged door. Gwyn hit the portal three times with his warhammer, breaking a hole large enough for us to enter. Door on the far end, ceiling had collapsed in some fire revealing ruins of a room above, a lip maybe 5’ around circled the room overhead. Broken beams and trash littered the chamber. We began to cross – Gwyn, Arnog, and Norris when the shit hit the fan.
Ten bodies dropped from above, surprising the party. Half were human, half were lizardmen – all were dead, emaciated, starving, slavering – ghouls and ghasts. They fell on the dwarf, the fighter, and the thief and within the first frantic seconds their diseased and disgusting claws paralyzed the two main fighters and the bard. Damn it!
Detheron and Coruth’tae shot out spells, Soren’s bow sang and the paralysis was dropped on Gwyn. A four count were stunned and then Arnog was released and between Gwyn and the fighter the ghouls were quickly dispatched. Ok, that was not a good first encounter. We prevailed but the bad guys literally got the drop on us and took out 3 party members instantly. Healing was dispensed and we checked out the area, Coruth’tae snarfing an Efreetipotion and a decent diamond from the ghoul’s crud on the broken floor above. Ready once again for whatever was ahead we squared our shoulders and pressed on.
When the party thinks that a singular random NPC is the bad guy and then accosts him - they have to pay the piper. Espeecially since their assumption was entirely wrong. They focused on a red herring and it burned them.
So I threw them a short dungeon crawl to redeem themselves - if they wanted it. Left it up to them - or it's time to move on again.
Let's see what happens.
Write up follows:
Detheron and Zoltan followed the Baronet up to the throne room where they listened to Gedaides talk and explain in detail what happened. A few questions were asked but it was pretty obvious that the hedge wizard was convinced he had escaped with his life and the party was accosting him for some unknown reason.
The group was admitted (without Coruth’tae, who was still at Gedaides house looking for the poor man’s spell book after shadow-blasting the squirrel) and eventually their story was told as best as possible – with Gedaides swearing his innocence and admitting he recognized Norris – but the grey elf was not here. A watch-man was also present and asserting some of the story as he had seen it (smoke from the shop, the sound and flash of fire within, two men outside with bows, a dwarf further away a bit confused, and then Norris and Coruth’tae coming out with weapon drawn and a staff brandished).
Coruth’tae showed up and more of tale was told – with the grey elf admitting that there was a wizard’s eye scrying on them and since he was the only mage in town – he must be it. Gedaides said he wasn’t the only mage in town, and he wasn’t that powerful, he sells lice repellant, love charms, and copies the odd scroll now and again for coin. He didn’t do it – and the group accosted him in his home and only through blind luck and a few well placed spells he was able to escape through the sewers and come here. He does pay protection to Rigil Blackshadow and he has never welched on his taxes to Baronet Wodenlach.
Wodenlach let the man go back to his home to account for anything missing or damaged and that left the furious Baronet with the party. He told Coruth’tae and Norris they were banished from Eider and told to never return. Five guards walked the two to the Sunken Boardwalk where they got their equipment and then were brought to the gates where they were let out and told to never enter the city again. Lovely.
As for the rest of the group, they were allowed to stay and Wodenlach was torn about the situation. Some conversation followed and we had asked if there was anyway to fix this. He sighed and said sure, “the lizardmen have grown brave as of late – between their own raids and egging on the gnolls. Bring me 25 of their tails as bounty and I’ll drop the banishment on those two.” He was smirking while he said it, but we took him at his word – how hard was it to take out 25 lizard men?
Zoltan went with Olthar to Blackshadow to return the staff of passwalls and explain our duplicitousness in taking it and what it was for. To make it up, we gave the thief master a 25% take of our haul and the venerable ex-adventurer chuckled at our efforts and accepted our apology and payment. The rest of the coin was split amongst everyone and we were all feeling flush with coin.
We equipped up, grabbed food and water, and then met Coruth’tae and Norris outside, filling them in on what we were doing next. We then travelled northward for 5 hours until night fell, going back towards where the gnoll encounter was - knowing that lizardmen were near there (instead of stomping around the swamp randomly). Some locals came out at night and kept us a bit of company (barbarians) but left without any issues or problems. The group awoke the next day well rested and we got close to the collapsed manor house where the gnolls were. Detheron transformed into a falcon and began scouting – returning about an hour later with news of a clearing about a mile and a half in the swamp, east north east of here, some sort of temple structure very overgrown but numerous lizardmen around it.
We trekked off and had to avoid assassin vines, snakes, and even some boggy/swamp mud – but nothing more dangerous until we arrived near the lizardman area. The temple complex was sizable and was 3 or four main building inside a walled area. The main entrance was well guarded (a dozen SEEN lizard men) and had a pair of portcullis warding the front door. Soren and Detheron walked around the place, checking it carefully and avoiding what lizardmen were around.
In the back they found a weed choked break in the rear of the walled stone and a corridor beyond. No one seemed to be watching it much. They returned to the group and the consensus was to NOT risk the front gates but to go and use the rear entrance. The party went the long way around and we approached the area. It was decided that Gwyn and Arnog would lead to watch the most for any lizardmen with the rest of the group following behind.
The crack was wide enough for us to get through and it ended at a door in bad repair with many spots and spaces. On the other side it would be flush with the wall, but here it was no a concealed doorway. There was thoughts that it was trapped and Zoltan was voted to check it out. The gypsy assured us that it was – a tension bar was on the other side and it was held back and spiked – anyone opening the door would risk getting whacked by it. It would need to be removed – but who? Gwyn said to tie a rope to the door and open it but he was outvoted saying the door would make lots of noise.
Zoltan opted to remove the trap but he slipped up on cutting the trigger rope and the heavy bar smashed into the door, spikes penetrating and impacting the poor man. He nursed his side and bandaged his arm, commenting the trap was removed. We chuckled and entered. Corridor was narrow – 5’ wide, maybe 9’ tall, running left and right for 20’ for so. We opted right.
Lantern was lit and Detheron held it up as we followed Gwyn. Corridor turned left and went a dozen paces to a door. We listened – quiet. Checking it there were no heat sources so the light was brought up. It was some 15’x20’ and showed some sort of collapse and ruin from above. Garbage and old wet plaster and sodden planks on the floor. The far wall showed recent repairs both in structure and plastering. The group came in and we looked about. Gwyn used his augur and drilled through the wall, the dwarf then lowering his eye to the hole and peering through. It was dim in there, some light filtering in from the poor ceiling above. Some sort of courtyard sort of thing, a few statues of some skill positioned about the place. Maybe something heavy moving but nothing else. We waited and there was nothing else there, or any other noises.
There was talk of bashing through the wall but it was decided that it would be dangerous and we should go back to the entrance and opt to go left instead. Back tracking we travelled along some dozen paces and turned right – going a short distance to a door. Norris listened – coast was clear. We cracked the door and it was another corridor some 20 plus paces that turned right. We went forward, on guard for whatever was ahead.
Turning right it was 3 paces to a burned and badly damaged door. Gwyn hit the portal three times with his warhammer, breaking a hole large enough for us to enter. Door on the far end, ceiling had collapsed in some fire revealing ruins of a room above, a lip maybe 5’ around circled the room overhead. Broken beams and trash littered the chamber. We began to cross – Gwyn, Arnog, and Norris when the shit hit the fan.
Ten bodies dropped from above, surprising the party. Half were human, half were lizardmen – all were dead, emaciated, starving, slavering – ghouls and ghasts. They fell on the dwarf, the fighter, and the thief and within the first frantic seconds their diseased and disgusting claws paralyzed the two main fighters and the bard. Damn it!
Detheron and Coruth’tae shot out spells, Soren’s bow sang and the paralysis was dropped on Gwyn. A four count were stunned and then Arnog was released and between Gwyn and the fighter the ghouls were quickly dispatched. Ok, that was not a good first encounter. We prevailed but the bad guys literally got the drop on us and took out 3 party members instantly. Healing was dispensed and we checked out the area, Coruth’tae snarfing an Efreetipotion and a decent diamond from the ghoul’s crud on the broken floor above. Ready once again for whatever was ahead we squared our shoulders and pressed on.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Meet 93, Adv 9, 2/27/10
Good planning - it does earn its rewards.
The party spent so much time going over the plan to steal the chests and refining them and talking about them - that 2 weeks in real time passed and then the entire plan went without a hitch. No fight against superior enemies, no shadow games with pursuers, no frantic charms and potion wrangling - just a well thought out plan that resulted in the mission finished as well as a handsome reward.
And then at the end of the day the other half of the group went off half cocked and randomly assaulted some hedge-wizard in broad daylight in town and pissed away what good will they had garnered with a single ill-thought action.
I'm so happy I don't plan these things out - you can always count on players to make the day more exciting than it has to be. :)
Write up follows:
There was some more shopping in at and around town for a bit as well as learning a bit more from Baronet Wodenlach about what the DTS Rising Current was about and when and where it would appear. But for the most part, the party opted to stay low and hide out at the Sunken Boardwalk, the Inn near Dock Street and the southeastern section of town.
The DTS Rising Current showed up on time and we watched the great ship dock with ease at Quarantine Docks. It was many hours later when we noted that the cargo from Eider had been loaded as the first of the shore leaves was declared. The plan was to wait until just before the ship left the next day (which was with the tide at 7-9AM) to pull off the heist.
Zoltan, Arnog, and Detheron were each readied with a divesting of most gear, a well applied Endurance spell for the cold water, and the gypsy and the druid each given a water breathing spell. Then with the passwall staff in hand at 10:30 PM the three men stole to the dock, walked into the surf, and proceeded to walk due east under the water and across the channel bottom towards the docks and the Rising Current some 700’ off the mainland.
It took about an hour to get there and once there Detheron took up post under the ship, a detect animal spell going and the druid watching very carefully. Meanwhile both Zoltan and Arnog began climbing up the slimy dock posts some 60-70’ to the keel of the Rising Current. Zoltan paced off the ship from the stern and situating us at the port side he presented the passwall staff, activated it, and made sure that he willed it to be just for himself and Arnog. The two men swam up the 5’x8’ vortex looking rift and cautiously peered up and out.
The other end of the “pass” was about 2 and a half feet over the floor of the secure hold, faint light filtering in through the mess hall above and no other light sources visible. Zoltan used his continual light locket and verified the hold was empty. Then the two of them stepped into the hold and looked around. We identified the two chests that were Eider’s and we moved them silently towards the door, blocking the portal. Then we sorted through the other chests and picked up not 2 as was requested of us, but 4 in actuality (two of them Dragonhole’s, and the other two were from Flat Rock and Karon). Then we had Arnog pick them up, hold them over the passwall vortex, and drop them – where they fell 70’ down to the ocean floor and near where Detheron was scaring away local thresher sharks.
We dropped three of the chests and then Arnog and Zoltan held onto the last one, slipped through the passwall, and Zoltan waved the staff and we plummeted back into the water and dispelled the magical portal. Once on the ocean floor again we began the long walk back to shore, Arnog dragging two of the chests and Zoltan and Detheron each pulling one. The trip back was much longer and we were tired, soaked, and water logged. At the shore we didn’t feel comfortable emerging from the surf with 4 obviously stolen chests in our possession so we paced ourselves about 12’ under the surface, some 70’ from shore, near Wodenlach’s manor house and we waited for the sun to come up, the Rising Current to depart, and amused ourselves by playing “Go Fish”.
As for the rest of the group, when the awoke about 7 they noticed that the 3 friends had NOT come back yet and there was no note on how the heist had gone. After a brief conversation they split up and scoured the town, with Coruth’tae staying behind in case the 3 missing heisters returned. Gwyn ended up at Wodenlach’s and Soren went to Quarantine Docks himself. The Rising Current left shortly afterwards without issue.
While Coruth’tae was entertaining himself though, he did manage to catch what seemed to be a floating eye staring at him. He went to investigate it and it whisked away – Wizard’s Eye. Damn it – someone was spying on him.
Zoltan had gone to Wodenlach’s and had the Baronet arrange a few men to come out with lobster traps to mark the sunken chests and then get them dragged to shore. The gypsy told Gwyn about the success and to tell the rest of the group. Gwyn went back to the Sunken Boardwalk where he heard from Coruth’tae as he spelled to Norris, Olthar, and Soren that they were being watched and it was by a wizard. Both the grey elf and the bard felt it was Gedaides and wanted to go march on the hedge wizard that was situated on the north end of town near Beggar’s Canyon.
The 5 count went fast and in the crappy section of the city they banged on the door hard and both Coruth’tae and Norris stormed it (the area silenced by a judicious use of the coin trick again). Roiling fog filled the entire shop/home, blocking all visibility. Some illusionary fire swept through the shop. A beggar in the street tried to snatch the silence coin and run but Soren knocked him in the leg with a bird arrow to keep him from fleeing. Gwyn was very uncomfortable with this debacle in the street and stood a bit away near a sewer drain with his crossbow out loaded with a poisoned bolt.
Coruth’tae and Norris wound their way through the shop, looking as best they could, but the choking fog made any decent search impossible. Olthar and Soren circled the building; no other exit was seen used. And a crowd was starting to form in the street, shocked at the “fires” they saw engulfing Gedaides home. A bucket brigade was called to order and they began to line up.
Meanwhile, Gwyn heard a voice from the sewer by his feet and a voice said something eldritch – tugging at his mind. He shook it free and realized someone was trying to charm him. He opted to go along with it and played stupid. The figure in the sewer was Gedaides and was wroth as he paid his taxes on time as well as protection to Blackshadow, who were these guys? Gwyn nodded a bunch and said he would cover for his new buddy’s retreat as he clambered out of the sewer and said he was going right to Baronet Wodenlach to bitch.
Some of the town militia were mustered as well as the fire brigade but even a light review showed nothing was burned and everything was fine (except for Norris and Coruth’tae being soaked from good natured helpers throwing water wildly into the building interior). The party wandered back to Wodenlach after Gwyn informed them of Gedaides escape, with Coruth’tae staying back long enough to scour the hedge wizard’s private room to try and find the spell book – no luck.
Arnog, Detheron, and Zoltan, looking like drowned zombies with pale skin, waterlogged clothes, wrinkled and pruned, and after submerged for the better part of 10 hours, accompanied the 4 boxes to Wodenlach where they went with the precious cargo to the dungeons of the manor house and the Baronet was pleased to see them. There was some talking but the chests were not cracked open before a problem arose. A man of some reknown in town, Gedaides, was complaining that associates of Zoltan and Detheron assaulted his home not half a glass ago and attempted to kill him for some unknown reason. He was upset and frightened and to make matters worse and interesting at the same time – the 5 count of the rest of the party were outside the manorhouse with a deep interest to come in and talk to the Baronet now.
And Wodenlach wanted Zoltan and Detheron to join him upstairs to help him come to the end of this matter.
The party spent so much time going over the plan to steal the chests and refining them and talking about them - that 2 weeks in real time passed and then the entire plan went without a hitch. No fight against superior enemies, no shadow games with pursuers, no frantic charms and potion wrangling - just a well thought out plan that resulted in the mission finished as well as a handsome reward.
And then at the end of the day the other half of the group went off half cocked and randomly assaulted some hedge-wizard in broad daylight in town and pissed away what good will they had garnered with a single ill-thought action.
I'm so happy I don't plan these things out - you can always count on players to make the day more exciting than it has to be. :)
Write up follows:
There was some more shopping in at and around town for a bit as well as learning a bit more from Baronet Wodenlach about what the DTS Rising Current was about and when and where it would appear. But for the most part, the party opted to stay low and hide out at the Sunken Boardwalk, the Inn near Dock Street and the southeastern section of town.
The DTS Rising Current showed up on time and we watched the great ship dock with ease at Quarantine Docks. It was many hours later when we noted that the cargo from Eider had been loaded as the first of the shore leaves was declared. The plan was to wait until just before the ship left the next day (which was with the tide at 7-9AM) to pull off the heist.
Zoltan, Arnog, and Detheron were each readied with a divesting of most gear, a well applied Endurance spell for the cold water, and the gypsy and the druid each given a water breathing spell. Then with the passwall staff in hand at 10:30 PM the three men stole to the dock, walked into the surf, and proceeded to walk due east under the water and across the channel bottom towards the docks and the Rising Current some 700’ off the mainland.
It took about an hour to get there and once there Detheron took up post under the ship, a detect animal spell going and the druid watching very carefully. Meanwhile both Zoltan and Arnog began climbing up the slimy dock posts some 60-70’ to the keel of the Rising Current. Zoltan paced off the ship from the stern and situating us at the port side he presented the passwall staff, activated it, and made sure that he willed it to be just for himself and Arnog. The two men swam up the 5’x8’ vortex looking rift and cautiously peered up and out.
The other end of the “pass” was about 2 and a half feet over the floor of the secure hold, faint light filtering in through the mess hall above and no other light sources visible. Zoltan used his continual light locket and verified the hold was empty. Then the two of them stepped into the hold and looked around. We identified the two chests that were Eider’s and we moved them silently towards the door, blocking the portal. Then we sorted through the other chests and picked up not 2 as was requested of us, but 4 in actuality (two of them Dragonhole’s, and the other two were from Flat Rock and Karon). Then we had Arnog pick them up, hold them over the passwall vortex, and drop them – where they fell 70’ down to the ocean floor and near where Detheron was scaring away local thresher sharks.
We dropped three of the chests and then Arnog and Zoltan held onto the last one, slipped through the passwall, and Zoltan waved the staff and we plummeted back into the water and dispelled the magical portal. Once on the ocean floor again we began the long walk back to shore, Arnog dragging two of the chests and Zoltan and Detheron each pulling one. The trip back was much longer and we were tired, soaked, and water logged. At the shore we didn’t feel comfortable emerging from the surf with 4 obviously stolen chests in our possession so we paced ourselves about 12’ under the surface, some 70’ from shore, near Wodenlach’s manor house and we waited for the sun to come up, the Rising Current to depart, and amused ourselves by playing “Go Fish”.
As for the rest of the group, when the awoke about 7 they noticed that the 3 friends had NOT come back yet and there was no note on how the heist had gone. After a brief conversation they split up and scoured the town, with Coruth’tae staying behind in case the 3 missing heisters returned. Gwyn ended up at Wodenlach’s and Soren went to Quarantine Docks himself. The Rising Current left shortly afterwards without issue.
While Coruth’tae was entertaining himself though, he did manage to catch what seemed to be a floating eye staring at him. He went to investigate it and it whisked away – Wizard’s Eye. Damn it – someone was spying on him.
Zoltan had gone to Wodenlach’s and had the Baronet arrange a few men to come out with lobster traps to mark the sunken chests and then get them dragged to shore. The gypsy told Gwyn about the success and to tell the rest of the group. Gwyn went back to the Sunken Boardwalk where he heard from Coruth’tae as he spelled to Norris, Olthar, and Soren that they were being watched and it was by a wizard. Both the grey elf and the bard felt it was Gedaides and wanted to go march on the hedge wizard that was situated on the north end of town near Beggar’s Canyon.
The 5 count went fast and in the crappy section of the city they banged on the door hard and both Coruth’tae and Norris stormed it (the area silenced by a judicious use of the coin trick again). Roiling fog filled the entire shop/home, blocking all visibility. Some illusionary fire swept through the shop. A beggar in the street tried to snatch the silence coin and run but Soren knocked him in the leg with a bird arrow to keep him from fleeing. Gwyn was very uncomfortable with this debacle in the street and stood a bit away near a sewer drain with his crossbow out loaded with a poisoned bolt.
Coruth’tae and Norris wound their way through the shop, looking as best they could, but the choking fog made any decent search impossible. Olthar and Soren circled the building; no other exit was seen used. And a crowd was starting to form in the street, shocked at the “fires” they saw engulfing Gedaides home. A bucket brigade was called to order and they began to line up.
Meanwhile, Gwyn heard a voice from the sewer by his feet and a voice said something eldritch – tugging at his mind. He shook it free and realized someone was trying to charm him. He opted to go along with it and played stupid. The figure in the sewer was Gedaides and was wroth as he paid his taxes on time as well as protection to Blackshadow, who were these guys? Gwyn nodded a bunch and said he would cover for his new buddy’s retreat as he clambered out of the sewer and said he was going right to Baronet Wodenlach to bitch.
Some of the town militia were mustered as well as the fire brigade but even a light review showed nothing was burned and everything was fine (except for Norris and Coruth’tae being soaked from good natured helpers throwing water wildly into the building interior). The party wandered back to Wodenlach after Gwyn informed them of Gedaides escape, with Coruth’tae staying back long enough to scour the hedge wizard’s private room to try and find the spell book – no luck.
Arnog, Detheron, and Zoltan, looking like drowned zombies with pale skin, waterlogged clothes, wrinkled and pruned, and after submerged for the better part of 10 hours, accompanied the 4 boxes to Wodenlach where they went with the precious cargo to the dungeons of the manor house and the Baronet was pleased to see them. There was some talking but the chests were not cracked open before a problem arose. A man of some reknown in town, Gedaides, was complaining that associates of Zoltan and Detheron assaulted his home not half a glass ago and attempted to kill him for some unknown reason. He was upset and frightened and to make matters worse and interesting at the same time – the 5 count of the rest of the party were outside the manorhouse with a deep interest to come in and talk to the Baronet now.
And Wodenlach wanted Zoltan and Detheron to join him upstairs to help him come to the end of this matter.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Meet 92, Adv 9, 2/20/10
One of my players - the new leader of the party, Detheron the druid, has been absent for 4 sessions or so lately - and it has kind of had the group not as focused as I'd like - especially as he disappeared it was when the focus of the game shifted to him. So we've had this elephant in the room that hasn't been addressed and it has fractured in my opinion the flow of the game.
Every DM manages flow different - and you know when it is going right - the night just flies by and everything stays on track and the party is just a juggernaut. This meeting was not one of them. There was a lot of pondering of how to take out the treasure and to step it forward without me attaching a cart to the rails - I let them come up with their own ideas. It eventually worked out but that was a rough patch.
Also - we will be having our 100th meeting in 8 more get togethers and I have a REALLY good night planned for them - it will be terrific. I have to scout ahead and see when it really occurs in RL and make sure that everyone shows and comes with their game face on.
Write up follows:
We returned to Baronet Wodenlach’s manor, our charges in tow and nothing but praise from Gelain on our rescue and recovery of his daughter and the other captured women. Wodenlach listened and after the merchant had gone spoke frankly – not happy about the taking of girls from around his area, not happy about the brazen gnolls and the lizard man clan getting “big” for their britches, and finally not happy about potential elven slavers coming to his neck of the woods (swamp) to do their business. He wanted to know if we found something out to keep him in the loop and he’d pay for the info.
After that we wandered the town, looked over the landscape, and took in the sights around Quarantine Docks – getting a feel for what was to come and what we would need to do to take the two chests Wodenlach asked of us.
There were many ideas. Charming a whale and smashing it into the ship. Attacking it from sea. Staving in the sides with a battle axe. Sneaking on invisibly. Using Ignore potions. Making believe as one of the crew. Getting a hold of a Gelatinous Cube and somehow stapling it to the side of the ship. Sneaking boxes on board. Sneaking the chests out.
However, it wasn’t until later in the day that it was thought that we could somehow get hold of a passwall spell and use that to gain access to the ship. Arnog could already breathe underwater and if the chests could be dropped OUT the passwall and to the bottom of the bay, the fighter could haul them across the seabed to the shore and just walk out of the surf.
Such a spell was beyond anyone’s ken or ability and the thought of buying a scroll was going to place it closer to 3,000 crowns to get one – if even anyone in Cymbarton would have it available. At that point Norris took Coruth’tae with him to his warlock contact and through some dropped coin and questioning, learned that a Master Blackshadow, a former adventurer and one time friend of the Baronet either had a scroll or knew someone who had the ability to cast Passwall.
The thought of going to see someone that the Baronet was not friendly with was seen as questionable, especially since the pirate-king was out benefactor at this time. Before taking a rowboat to Blackshadow Manor (a stately 2 story stone and wood keep on a private isle some 300’ off the main coast) Zoltan suggested we talk to Wodenlach first.
The Baronet informed us that there had been a falling out between him and Blackshadow some years ago and that although Rigil (Blackshadow’s first name) swore he’d never live in Eider or “anywhere that pompous windbag claims to rule” ever again – Wodenlach still considered the “gentleman adventurer” one of his closest friends.
We took a rowboat to the Baronet’s place where Zoltan, Norris, and Olthar paid a visit. It was quickly discovered that this was a thieves guild and Rigil Blackshadow was the master of it – and from his own lips controlled most if not all of the black-market business in Eider. Rigil was a older man well past 60, his hair steely grey and black, eyes alert, and he wore obviously ensorcelled leather armor as well as a single silver band and a silvered steel rapier at his side.
We talked to him about the passwall and he admitted he had a staff of such a power – one time belonging to a friend and wizard companion of his some years ago. It had been used 16 times to his knowledge and at least once before it came to his hand and control. That meant there were at most 8 charges remaining in it. He wanted to make sure that they knew to return it with at least a handful of charges still. The group then spun a yarn that they needed the staff to get a shield out of the Armory in Dragonhole and the staff would make entrance and exit easy and swift – two things they needed.
He had heard of the Sundered Chains – learning of their name first almost a year ago after they had dispersed Fulgore Keep, and again recently as they had returned to town with 4 young women destined for slavery. He agreed to lend the staff to the group for about a week – for the cost of 1,000 crowns. He lowered the price to 850 and took the other 150 as payment costs to welcome Zoltan, Norris, and Olthar to the Thieves Guild.
Staff in hand the group reconvened at the Rusty Boardwalk Inn and we talked a bit more on out soon to be daring plan to hoist a bit of piracy against the DTS Rising Current as well as possibly go back to Dragonhole and steal back Gwyn’s shield “Steadfast”.
Every DM manages flow different - and you know when it is going right - the night just flies by and everything stays on track and the party is just a juggernaut. This meeting was not one of them. There was a lot of pondering of how to take out the treasure and to step it forward without me attaching a cart to the rails - I let them come up with their own ideas. It eventually worked out but that was a rough patch.
Also - we will be having our 100th meeting in 8 more get togethers and I have a REALLY good night planned for them - it will be terrific. I have to scout ahead and see when it really occurs in RL and make sure that everyone shows and comes with their game face on.
Write up follows:
We returned to Baronet Wodenlach’s manor, our charges in tow and nothing but praise from Gelain on our rescue and recovery of his daughter and the other captured women. Wodenlach listened and after the merchant had gone spoke frankly – not happy about the taking of girls from around his area, not happy about the brazen gnolls and the lizard man clan getting “big” for their britches, and finally not happy about potential elven slavers coming to his neck of the woods (swamp) to do their business. He wanted to know if we found something out to keep him in the loop and he’d pay for the info.
After that we wandered the town, looked over the landscape, and took in the sights around Quarantine Docks – getting a feel for what was to come and what we would need to do to take the two chests Wodenlach asked of us.
There were many ideas. Charming a whale and smashing it into the ship. Attacking it from sea. Staving in the sides with a battle axe. Sneaking on invisibly. Using Ignore potions. Making believe as one of the crew. Getting a hold of a Gelatinous Cube and somehow stapling it to the side of the ship. Sneaking boxes on board. Sneaking the chests out.
However, it wasn’t until later in the day that it was thought that we could somehow get hold of a passwall spell and use that to gain access to the ship. Arnog could already breathe underwater and if the chests could be dropped OUT the passwall and to the bottom of the bay, the fighter could haul them across the seabed to the shore and just walk out of the surf.
Such a spell was beyond anyone’s ken or ability and the thought of buying a scroll was going to place it closer to 3,000 crowns to get one – if even anyone in Cymbarton would have it available. At that point Norris took Coruth’tae with him to his warlock contact and through some dropped coin and questioning, learned that a Master Blackshadow, a former adventurer and one time friend of the Baronet either had a scroll or knew someone who had the ability to cast Passwall.
The thought of going to see someone that the Baronet was not friendly with was seen as questionable, especially since the pirate-king was out benefactor at this time. Before taking a rowboat to Blackshadow Manor (a stately 2 story stone and wood keep on a private isle some 300’ off the main coast) Zoltan suggested we talk to Wodenlach first.
The Baronet informed us that there had been a falling out between him and Blackshadow some years ago and that although Rigil (Blackshadow’s first name) swore he’d never live in Eider or “anywhere that pompous windbag claims to rule” ever again – Wodenlach still considered the “gentleman adventurer” one of his closest friends.
We took a rowboat to the Baronet’s place where Zoltan, Norris, and Olthar paid a visit. It was quickly discovered that this was a thieves guild and Rigil Blackshadow was the master of it – and from his own lips controlled most if not all of the black-market business in Eider. Rigil was a older man well past 60, his hair steely grey and black, eyes alert, and he wore obviously ensorcelled leather armor as well as a single silver band and a silvered steel rapier at his side.
We talked to him about the passwall and he admitted he had a staff of such a power – one time belonging to a friend and wizard companion of his some years ago. It had been used 16 times to his knowledge and at least once before it came to his hand and control. That meant there were at most 8 charges remaining in it. He wanted to make sure that they knew to return it with at least a handful of charges still. The group then spun a yarn that they needed the staff to get a shield out of the Armory in Dragonhole and the staff would make entrance and exit easy and swift – two things they needed.
He had heard of the Sundered Chains – learning of their name first almost a year ago after they had dispersed Fulgore Keep, and again recently as they had returned to town with 4 young women destined for slavery. He agreed to lend the staff to the group for about a week – for the cost of 1,000 crowns. He lowered the price to 850 and took the other 150 as payment costs to welcome Zoltan, Norris, and Olthar to the Thieves Guild.
Staff in hand the group reconvened at the Rusty Boardwalk Inn and we talked a bit more on out soon to be daring plan to hoist a bit of piracy against the DTS Rising Current as well as possibly go back to Dragonhole and steal back Gwyn’s shield “Steadfast”.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Meet 91, Adv 9, 2/6/10
We had a serious lack of bodies at the table and I was tempted to cancel for the night but the boys that did show were in good spirits and game - so we did some shopping, wrecked the local economy, and then opted to take a trip into an under 5 room dungeon so the: savethe merchant's daughter from the swamp gnolls quest was borne!
It was a beer and pretzels sort of night and that was fine by me as well as the bodies that came. Not every meeting has to be high fantasy and earth shaking decisions.
Write up follows:
For the next few days the party did some exploring of Eider, making some purchases as well as a few contacts around the seaside city. They were able to get a rough map of Quarantine Dockyards as well as a layout of the DTS Rising Current (the tax ship due in about 2 weeks). Mostly they walked about the town and learned the layout of the swampside port city.
The city was surrounded by a bulwark of mounded earth, roughly 2/3rd of the way about the perimeter, 10’ high, 20’ wide, and topped with an 8’ rough timber palisade wall. A single wide gate allows entrance in and out. The northern section of the town slopes down into the Eider Swamps and most of the homes there north of Raised Road are in danger of eventually being dragged into the sodden ground – it’s where activities even pirates want to keep away from the light of day take place and where purchases and sales are done under the fetid shadow of overhanging eaves.
The most curious item is the sewer system. Baronet Wodenlach had a section of the northern area of town closest to the swamp itself dug out and laid in with stone, creating a tremendous pit the size of 8 homes. He placed walls of stones in strange angles and then had immature gelatinous cubes he had purchased placed into the pit. Every day at 6 AM indentured men and women start at the southern most end of town with buckets and brooms and soak the cobbled and wooden streets, sweeping everything northward and downhill until the muck and filth runs into what has been called the Cubic Cesspit and the cubes within devour it all. Every so often bilges are used to pump out any standing water from within the cesspit because as the Baronet learned some time ago – Gelatinous Cubes float.
Around the 5th of Heatmonth, the party was called to Wodenlach Manor where rounding up what members of the group as we could gather (Soren, Olthar, Coruth’tae, Norris, and Arnog) we met with the hung-over Baronet as he entertained a sniveling and weeping man who was begging his lordship for help. His name was Gelain and he was a merchant who traded in belts and buckles, making the trip from Karon to Eider overland, skirting the Eider Swamp to avoid the trade roads. It seemed he might be also trading other items but the Baronet refused to mention it.
What was the issue was that about 4 hours outside of town he had been accosted by a pack of gnolls, 7’ tall, 270 lb hyena-men who lived along many of the old homesteads and manors that the swamp had been reclaiming over the last few decades. His wares had been upset and two of the mules slain, but Gelain’s daughter had been taken and the merchant bleeding and distraught ran here on mule back to ask for help.
Wodenlach asked us to intervene and bring the man’s daughter back safely. We were loaned 6 horses and Gelain led us back to that area of the swamp, easy to see now as the cart had been dumped over and two of the mules were still on the ground, obviously dead with the choice bits of meat stripped from them.
Soren looked the ground over and assured us that between 3 and 8 gnolls had been here and they had gone into the swamp to a dimly seen overgrown 2 story manor house. It had a number of vines and other growth about it and we wanted to check it out from all sides instead of chancing the front door. Giving the place a wide berth we walked through the swamp, looking it over with a careful and critical eye. It was in poor shape, 2/3rd of it collapsed and sodden. What was interesting was that most of the windows and other doors were stuffed fully with bushes, wood, and ropes of vines – making any attempt to enter or exit that way folly.
Soren was able to identify some of the growth as Assassin Vine – a nasty plant that had a habit of lashing out if anyone got too close to it or touched it. We circled the place, getting stuck in some of the more boggy areas, before returning to the merchant. There seemed only the one way in. Norris wondered if there was a 2nd way out on the roof? The group agreed and Norris snuck closer to the manorhouse and then stomped his boots of levitation down, enacting them and wiling himself upward to about 30’. From there he pulled himself closer bit by bit and was able to deduce that there were no other obvious entrances or exits on the roof. However, from the dark doorway two arrows fired out, striking the floating bard once across the arm and the other blasting into (but not through) his armor. He descended and ran back to the group who decided that it was time to storm the place.
Arnog led the way, shield up and ready, taking arrows at him almost every few seconds. The other 4 members ran behind with weapons waving and we tore into the darkness with sword and steel. Soren and Coruth’tae couldn’t see well enough to fire bows and spells so crept in only far enough to allow their vision to flare into the infrared spectrum. Although Norris and Olthar held their own it was Arnog’s controlled fury that took down the majority of the last gnollish blow wielders and ended the fight. Norris had charmed one of them and we used the hyena-man to answer some questions as to the layout of the place, and learning where the merchant’s daughter (and others!!) was being held.
The manor house was in poor condition inside as well, with strands of assassin vine coiled around shadowy windows and breaks in the walls. We walked onward, picking our way through until we came to a split, taking the right-most hallway and walking past a room with a number of gnolls within. Opting NOT to engage those we didn’t have to, Norris sang up a silence charm on a copper coin and we tiptoed beyond the gnoll room and onward.
We listened (beyond the range of the silence coin) and heard a number of gnolls as well as some human females crying. There was a rutting animalistic sound and it was time for us to do what we could to save them. We charged in, half the gnolls were having their way with 4 battered and beaten human females while others were laughing and drinking – only one of them wearing some strapped plates across his chest and sporting a very large battle axe.
The young fighter tore into the gnoll chief and the two of them traded blows swiftly – Arnog very surprised to feel the chief’s powerful thrusts and ripostes even through his own ensorcelled armor! Norris and Olthar took out a few of the gnolls with stealth and sword while Soren stayed far enough back and shot what and who he could. Olthar was slammed hard and went down, a gnoll trying to stab him. Coruth’tae stood in front of the fallen wood elf, his own Shield spell turning the blows as best as possible.
The melee was furious and blood flowed but honestly once Arnog was able to deliver the death blow on the chief it was only a matter of moments before the rest of the gnolls went down. We freed the human females and learned what we could – the women were captured from the surrounding area and the gnolls were selling them to an elven slaver named Tindion – who came by every number of weeks or so to trade with the lizard tribe in the swamp. The women were all between 15 and 19 and except for the merchant’s daughter, had been here about a week and been used by most of the gnolls violently.
We opened up a secret door in the back of the place and slid down to the swamp below, Coruth’tae making sure to take the “silence” coin with him and shutting the place. We then rode hard and fast back to Eider with the merchant Gelain, his daughter, and the 3 women we saved who were a mixture of numb and hysterical. We ended it after we rode up to the gate on Heatmonth the 5th at 4:30 PM and were discussing what we should be doing next.
It was a beer and pretzels sort of night and that was fine by me as well as the bodies that came. Not every meeting has to be high fantasy and earth shaking decisions.
Write up follows:
For the next few days the party did some exploring of Eider, making some purchases as well as a few contacts around the seaside city. They were able to get a rough map of Quarantine Dockyards as well as a layout of the DTS Rising Current (the tax ship due in about 2 weeks). Mostly they walked about the town and learned the layout of the swampside port city.
The city was surrounded by a bulwark of mounded earth, roughly 2/3rd of the way about the perimeter, 10’ high, 20’ wide, and topped with an 8’ rough timber palisade wall. A single wide gate allows entrance in and out. The northern section of the town slopes down into the Eider Swamps and most of the homes there north of Raised Road are in danger of eventually being dragged into the sodden ground – it’s where activities even pirates want to keep away from the light of day take place and where purchases and sales are done under the fetid shadow of overhanging eaves.
The most curious item is the sewer system. Baronet Wodenlach had a section of the northern area of town closest to the swamp itself dug out and laid in with stone, creating a tremendous pit the size of 8 homes. He placed walls of stones in strange angles and then had immature gelatinous cubes he had purchased placed into the pit. Every day at 6 AM indentured men and women start at the southern most end of town with buckets and brooms and soak the cobbled and wooden streets, sweeping everything northward and downhill until the muck and filth runs into what has been called the Cubic Cesspit and the cubes within devour it all. Every so often bilges are used to pump out any standing water from within the cesspit because as the Baronet learned some time ago – Gelatinous Cubes float.
Around the 5th of Heatmonth, the party was called to Wodenlach Manor where rounding up what members of the group as we could gather (Soren, Olthar, Coruth’tae, Norris, and Arnog) we met with the hung-over Baronet as he entertained a sniveling and weeping man who was begging his lordship for help. His name was Gelain and he was a merchant who traded in belts and buckles, making the trip from Karon to Eider overland, skirting the Eider Swamp to avoid the trade roads. It seemed he might be also trading other items but the Baronet refused to mention it.
What was the issue was that about 4 hours outside of town he had been accosted by a pack of gnolls, 7’ tall, 270 lb hyena-men who lived along many of the old homesteads and manors that the swamp had been reclaiming over the last few decades. His wares had been upset and two of the mules slain, but Gelain’s daughter had been taken and the merchant bleeding and distraught ran here on mule back to ask for help.
Wodenlach asked us to intervene and bring the man’s daughter back safely. We were loaned 6 horses and Gelain led us back to that area of the swamp, easy to see now as the cart had been dumped over and two of the mules were still on the ground, obviously dead with the choice bits of meat stripped from them.
Soren looked the ground over and assured us that between 3 and 8 gnolls had been here and they had gone into the swamp to a dimly seen overgrown 2 story manor house. It had a number of vines and other growth about it and we wanted to check it out from all sides instead of chancing the front door. Giving the place a wide berth we walked through the swamp, looking it over with a careful and critical eye. It was in poor shape, 2/3rd of it collapsed and sodden. What was interesting was that most of the windows and other doors were stuffed fully with bushes, wood, and ropes of vines – making any attempt to enter or exit that way folly.
Soren was able to identify some of the growth as Assassin Vine – a nasty plant that had a habit of lashing out if anyone got too close to it or touched it. We circled the place, getting stuck in some of the more boggy areas, before returning to the merchant. There seemed only the one way in. Norris wondered if there was a 2nd way out on the roof? The group agreed and Norris snuck closer to the manorhouse and then stomped his boots of levitation down, enacting them and wiling himself upward to about 30’. From there he pulled himself closer bit by bit and was able to deduce that there were no other obvious entrances or exits on the roof. However, from the dark doorway two arrows fired out, striking the floating bard once across the arm and the other blasting into (but not through) his armor. He descended and ran back to the group who decided that it was time to storm the place.
Arnog led the way, shield up and ready, taking arrows at him almost every few seconds. The other 4 members ran behind with weapons waving and we tore into the darkness with sword and steel. Soren and Coruth’tae couldn’t see well enough to fire bows and spells so crept in only far enough to allow their vision to flare into the infrared spectrum. Although Norris and Olthar held their own it was Arnog’s controlled fury that took down the majority of the last gnollish blow wielders and ended the fight. Norris had charmed one of them and we used the hyena-man to answer some questions as to the layout of the place, and learning where the merchant’s daughter (and others!!) was being held.
The manor house was in poor condition inside as well, with strands of assassin vine coiled around shadowy windows and breaks in the walls. We walked onward, picking our way through until we came to a split, taking the right-most hallway and walking past a room with a number of gnolls within. Opting NOT to engage those we didn’t have to, Norris sang up a silence charm on a copper coin and we tiptoed beyond the gnoll room and onward.
We listened (beyond the range of the silence coin) and heard a number of gnolls as well as some human females crying. There was a rutting animalistic sound and it was time for us to do what we could to save them. We charged in, half the gnolls were having their way with 4 battered and beaten human females while others were laughing and drinking – only one of them wearing some strapped plates across his chest and sporting a very large battle axe.
The young fighter tore into the gnoll chief and the two of them traded blows swiftly – Arnog very surprised to feel the chief’s powerful thrusts and ripostes even through his own ensorcelled armor! Norris and Olthar took out a few of the gnolls with stealth and sword while Soren stayed far enough back and shot what and who he could. Olthar was slammed hard and went down, a gnoll trying to stab him. Coruth’tae stood in front of the fallen wood elf, his own Shield spell turning the blows as best as possible.
The melee was furious and blood flowed but honestly once Arnog was able to deliver the death blow on the chief it was only a matter of moments before the rest of the gnolls went down. We freed the human females and learned what we could – the women were captured from the surrounding area and the gnolls were selling them to an elven slaver named Tindion – who came by every number of weeks or so to trade with the lizard tribe in the swamp. The women were all between 15 and 19 and except for the merchant’s daughter, had been here about a week and been used by most of the gnolls violently.
We opened up a secret door in the back of the place and slid down to the swamp below, Coruth’tae making sure to take the “silence” coin with him and shutting the place. We then rode hard and fast back to Eider with the merchant Gelain, his daughter, and the 3 women we saved who were a mixture of numb and hysterical. We ended it after we rode up to the gate on Heatmonth the 5th at 4:30 PM and were discussing what we should be doing next.
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