Sir Grim, his demented jester Tuddlebock, and his remaining followers have finally been dealt with, and by dealt with I mean killed and their bodies looted.
We started the adventure after Derros and his Duergar minions had been defeated. The party divided up the evil priest's gear, which included a helmet of wisdom +2, a heavy mace of frost +2, a suit of fire resistant banded mail +1, an amulet of health +2, a minor ring of spell storing, a heavy steel shield +2, and two potions of maximize spell.
Smith Graugthum and the remaining armed villagers met up with the adventurers and Captain Grey after successfully freeing their friends. They gathered up weapons and armor from the dead and dropped the bodies into the sewer openings as offerings to Kang the garbage monster. Afterwards the smith led them all to the center of town where Sir Grim had established a defensive position behind the gates of the town hall, a complex made up of the mayor's estate, the courthouse, and 3-story tower which combined the functions of armory, militia barracks, and jail.
When the party arrived they found Sir Grim and Tuddlebock holding Prince Hadron hostage on a platform connected to the tower which doubled as a gallows and executioners block. Down below in the courtyard was a line of three of Grim's elite soldiers armed with glaives, ready to repel attackers. In front of the soldiers were barricades piled up against the spiked iron fence and locked gates. Several severed heads of unfortunate villagers who were killed during the failed defense of the city were spitted on the ends of the spikes. A large black raven stood on one of these heads, picking at it's moldering eyes. Above them, on the roof of the tower, stood a line of archers with torches, ready to rain down death on anyone brave enough to climb the
gates and barricades. More debris were piled up against the outer doors leading into the mayor's estate and the courthouse and all the windows on the first floors were boarded up.
The raven, spotting the approaching villagers squawked and took flight. Beornweynne hurled a well aimed throwing axe at the pest and clipped it in mid-flight. The raven, distracted by the cut, morphed into its true shape, a small red leathery bat-winged imp. It paused long enough to glare at the barbarian who had struck it and then retreated to land on Grim's shoulder and inform him of danger. The party agreed that it was probably this same beast that was watching for them at the ruined farm house when they returned from the bandit caves. Later they learned that this creature's name was Spite, and served as a devilish servant to Sir Grim, one of the many powers bestowed to him on becoming a Blackguard.
The party huddled with Captain Grey and Smith Graugthum to come up with an elaborate attack plan. Captain Grey admitted to being aware of Prince Hadron's identity and was under orders from Earl Luthor Gryffon, the Prince's maternal uncle, to attempt a rescue mission. He advised against a frontal assault since it could endanger the Prince's life. Instead Captain Grey would attempt to parley with Grim while strike teams would attempt to find a way around the obvious defenses.
Lookouts spotted kegs of lamp oil buried in the barricades, apparently ready to be lit by flaming arrows if an attempt was made to scale the gates. Hildagarde scouted the interiors of the mayor's estate and courthouse, gaining access through the unguarded second story windows, and discovered reserve soldiers stationed in each building with more exploding kegs. The party decided to use some of the villagers to build a staircase to one of the unguarded windows out of the barricades blocking the doors. Other villagers were instructed to use some of Elrothien's flaming arrows to set off the exploding kegs behind the gates and then target the elite soldiers. Meanwhile Sir Andros and Digna would fly with Bon Jovi, the paladin's celestial hippogriff mount, and drop behind the archers stationed on the tower. Hildagarde would be air-dropped over the flaming gates by his eagle companion Bingo and attempt to take out Tuddlebock. Everyone else would either focus magical attacks on Sir Grim to keep him from harming the Prince, or attempt to gain entry to the courthouse via the makeshift stairs. It was an ambitious plan.
Captain Grey approached the gates and addressed Sir Grim. "Unhand the Prince and turn yourself over to the law, Sir Grim, and your mens' lives will be spared." Grim laughed and replied "Your mission has failed, Captain Grey. Even now the Baron's stronghold is being overrun by Trogdor's army and soon reinforcements will arrive here to deal with you. I am prepared to wait unless you wish to see this boy lose his head now."
Sir Grim continued, "I have counter-offer. Toss over your weapons and the signet ring your pets stole from me and you will not be killed. Instead you will be enslaved and sent to work in the quarry and mines at Blackpool or retrained to fight in Trogdor's army. If not, you will be killed and serve as arrow fodder in undeath." Insults were hurled back a forth while the villagers diligently toiled away at moving debris. Finally Sir Grim tired of the witty banter and said, "Enough! I tire of this witty banter" and brought his axe down on Prince Hadron, cleanly severing his outstretched hand. Tuddlebock gleefully snatched up the hand and began gruesomely juggling it as the Prince appeared to crumple and feint from shock.
Initiatives were rolled and the attack plan was put into motion. Elrothien made the first move, summoning a fiendish medium spider, the group named him Chitter, to attack Sir Grim. The spider climbed up the execution platform and encased Grim in sticky webs. Grim was forced to tear himself free of the webs before slashing the spider to death with his keen greataxe. Tuddlebock retaliated by tearing off a faded red swatch of cloth from his motley suit and summoning forth a swarm of sewer rats to mob the wizard. Gignus followed up by centering a zone of silence on Prince Hadron around the platform, hoping to keep the evil bard from using any more magic. Bon Jovi delivered Sir Andros and Digna to the top of the tower behind the archers and they waded into them with mace and axe. Sir Andros was wielding the mace of frost which delivered an icy blast after its impact damage. Digna cleaved furiously into her foes, dropping one immediately. The remaining archers dropped their bows and drew swords before closing in. Hildagarde cast entangle on the line of elite soldiers, causing most of the courtyard to erupt in grasping roots, weeds, and vines while Bingo lifted her off the ground by the backpack straps and carried her over their heads towards the platform. At the party's command half of the villagers fired flaming arrows upon the entangled guards and the hidden kegs of oil. Balls of flame erupted from the kegs which set the surrounding debris alight and blew the gates from their hinges. Smith Graugthum, heedless of the flames, hurtled over the fence and rushed through burning barricade only to get tangled up in the writhing courtyard. Captain Grey, not to be outdone by the village smith also climbed over the fence and charged the elite soldiers. Beornweynne, Lukana, and the remaining villagers scaled the walls of the courthouse and broke in through the second story windows to come out on a gallery overlooking the main floor. The guards stationed inside raised an alarm and moved to intercept them.
Elrothien broke free of the swarming rats and retreated to the side of the courthouse, along with Gignus who waited for her companions to unbolt the door. A couple of the villagers, one with the nickname "Superman", proceeded to beat the rats to death. Villagers "Jack" and "Sasha" continued to pepper the elite soldiers with arrows. A couple of the elite soldiers broke free of the grasping plants and charged the smith and the captain, both of which moved in and began single combat with their respective foes. More soldiers poured forth from the mayor's estate climbing over the barricades on the other side of the door to rush the villagers. "Midget" survived the attacks of three soldiers before killing one and retreating with critical wounds. Other villagers moved to block guards trying to climb the stairs to the courthouse gallery. Beornweynne leapt down into the main floor and attacked three of the guards. Lukana threw a rope down to help Elrothien and others climb up and then dropped into the fray on the main floor. Sir Andros traded blows with an archer, while Digna killed two more and cleaved into a third. Spite, who had gone invisible during the last round, suddenly reappeared behind the dwarf and attempted to pierce her with it's scorpion-like tail, but could not get through her armor. Sir Andros instructed Bon Jovi to swoop down and recover the unconscious Prince. He dove and grasped the Prince's body which became insubstantial on contact, and the illusion faded. Sir Grim laughed and struck the celestial steed with the business end of his mighty axe, but the hippogriff survived and flew away to safety. Meanwhile, Hildagarde was dropped onto the platform and fired a volley of arrows at Tuddlebock before diving away to safety. Tuddlebock, unable to use his magic, instead reached into his magical bag of holding and drew a dagger which he threw at the rogue. The dagger missed, magically returned to the bard and was thrown again which struck home before returning once again to the thrower.
Digna cut down Spite and cleaved into the remaining archer. Sir Andros finished him off and then noticed a trap door that led down into the tower. Tuddlebock, still unable to use his magic, once again reached into his bag of tricks and pulled forth a horn of fog. Putting it to his lips and blowing produced no sound, but a thick cloud poured from its mouth and shrouded the whole platform in mist and fog, obscuring him and Grim from view. Hildagarde tossed an acid flask into the general area and then moved to the base of the platform. Captain Grey and the smith continued to fight with the elite soldiers in the courtyard while arrows rained down on them. "Midget" was struck down by guards and the remaining three charged the villagers. In the courthouse Beornweynne and Lukana made short work of three of the guards while a pair of villagers in the gallery held off the fourth on the stairs. Elrothien climbed through the window just as Lukana unlocked the door and let Gignus in. Then they all made a rush to the door that opened onto the courtyard.
Tuddlebock, dripping with acid splashes, opened the gallows trap door and swung down with the noose in one hand as obscuring fog drifted down around him and attempted to incapacitate Hildagarde with a Hideous Laughter spell, but Hildagarde was not amused. In retaliation she sprung forward to deliver a Light spell by touch, but groped about in the fog ineffectively. Beornweynne, Lukana, Elrothien, and Gignus rushed the fog covered platform in the hopes of getting a shot in at Sir Grim. Sir Andros cautiously opened the trap door and descended a ladder into the armory. He could hear the steps of heavily armored foe on the stairs leading down to the barracks. Digna dropped down from the tower roof onto the obscured platform and found the door leading into the tower barracks closed and barred from the inside. Taking out her flail of sundering, she smashed the barrier open and stepped inside to see Sir Grim halfway up the stairs to the armory. In the background the villagers, the smith, and Captain Grey continued the fight with Grim's minions.
Tuddlebock retreated back up the rope and into the fog once again. Hildagarde followed, using her cape of the bat and continued to hunt her prey in the fog. Sir Grim rushed up the stairs and seeing the paladin smote him mightily with his greataxe. Sir Andros in turn smote Sir Grim and landed a critical blow which blinded and dazed him in spite of the magical runes inscribed on Grim's armor to protect against such events. Digna took a moment to quaff her last haste potion and then charged upstairs. Gignus was the next to enter the tower. Tuddlebock tumbled away from Lukana and Hildagarde and into the tower only to find Gignus waiting for him inside. In a moment of panic he withdrew a withered mummified hand he wore as a necklace and muttered some plea to it. One of its remaining extended fingers stiffly folded into the palm as a disembodied gigantic hand materialized between Tuddlebock, Gignus, and the door, effectively blocking the other from entering the tower.
Lukana, blocked from entering the tower by the platform door chose to scale the side of the tower and ended up on the roof looking down into the armory. Sir Andros and Sir Grim continued their deadly dance of mace and greataxe, Grim momentarily getting the upper-hand. Gignus ignored Tuddlebock and charged up the stairs. The giant interposing hand followed the cleric, thereby leaving the tower door unblocked. Tuddlebock seeing this unfortunate turn of events retreated downstairs to the jail level. Beornweynne and Elrothien were then able to enter the tower and headed upstairs. Beornweynne tossed her pick of disarming to Digna, who hastily picked it up and brought it down on Sir Grim's hand, making him drop his greataxe. Hildagarde followed the rest of the party into the tower and chased after the bard.
Sir Grim was now surrounded in the tower armory. Elrothien struck him with a ray of exhaustion while Gignus performed a battle prayer to boost her allies and hinder her foes. As Grim bent to retrieve his weapon he was assaulted on all sides by mace, pick, and greatsword. He took one more swing at the paladin before Digna again successfully disarmed him. Lukana jumped down into the armory, tumbled through the melee and came up with the greataxe in hand. Sir Andros and Beornweynne continued to beat on the mostly helpless fallen knight. In the basement Hildagarde crept up on Tuddlebock who was frantically trying to unlock a cell door, behind-which the real Prince was bound and gagged. Hildagarde delivered a sneak attack on Tuddlebock with her arrows. The surprised and bloodied bard turned and cast Grease on the stairs, but Hildagarde easily avoided the hazard.
In the armory Elrothien attempted to blast Sir Grim with a scorching ray, but missed. In a last ditch effort to survive Sir Grim called upon his evil powers to close some of his wounds, but this provoked a flurry of strikes from Sir Andros, Digna and Beornweynne who cut, punctured, crushed, and froze him to death. As he was struck down his blackened soul visibly left his body and then was sucked into his greataxe, which glowed redly and then faded. Lukana dropped the evil weapon as Gignus muttered something about "the death knight's curse". Then they all rushed down to the jail level. Digna was the first to hit the newly greased stairs and slipped, falling prone halfway down. Beornweynne and Lukana, alerted to the danger now, deftly vaulted over the stunned dwarf.
Below Tuddlebock tried again to incapacitate the rogue with laughter by doing his best silly dance and failed. After another volley of arrows from Hildagarde, the evil bard cast Slow on all the new arrivals. Digna was the only one to fail her savings throw, the Slow canceling out her Haste. Desperately, Tuddlebock pulled his knife and attempted to bargain for his life by threatening Hadron's. Everyone dropped their weapons, although Lukana was still considered armed and dangerous. A short stand-off ended when the gnome panicked and attempted to cast Expeditious Retreat to get away. Beornweynne was ready and grappled him to the ground. Hadron was pulled to safety while Tuddlebock was interrogated and then put to death with two of Hildagarde's arrows in the back of the head.
Before Tuddlebock was killed he told the party all he knew. Sir Grim was planning on selling Hadron to the highest bidder. Currently he was in negotiations with the Cult of the Dragon's Fist who wished to sacrifice the Prince to Trogdor, who they revere as a demi-god. Apparently he was also in communication with Countess Vandra who wished to have the boy for her own mysterious purposes. Emissaries from each side were expected any day now to make their final bids. Sir Grim also sought out the three signet rings given to each of the three young princes by the old King Aeron. Sir Grim had one ring, the party had found the other in the poly-temple earlier, and the third is believed to be in the possession of the Cult of the Dragon's Fist. Sir Grim believed that these rings were carved from fragments of a talisman the last Orc Emperor had on him when he died. This talisman was said to be the source of Trogdor's power and the key to the Emporer's control over him. Sir Grim thought that if he could recover the fragments, find the lost talisman and restore it he would gain power over Trogdor and then build an empire of his own. But all of his evil plans have been destroyed by our brave heroes.
The party piled up and took stock of their rewards: Sir Grim had a suit of mithral full plate +2 of light fortification, gauntlets of ogre power +2, a helmet of charisma +2, a brooch of shielding, a ring of protection +2, lesser boots of riding, Prince Benron's signet ring, and his now cursed and evil keen executioner's axe +2. Tuddlebock wore a small suit of elven chainmail under his faded motley, a pale green ioun stone of competence +1, lesser boots of dancing, a ring of force shield +2, and a spectral hand of the mage around his neck. In his small bag of holding he also had a horn of fog, a dagger of returning +2, a small sap +2, two potions of empower spell, and a masterwork tambourine along with many gold coins and gemstones.
The rest of Grim's men had been dealt with by Captain Grey, Smith Graugthum, and the remaining armed villagers. Only three of the villager's died in the final battle. Bodies were stripped and dropped into the sewers to appease the garbage monster. Captain Grey was glad to see the Prince safe and promised to escort his safely to his uncle. The smith became the defacto leader of the village and began making preparations for rebuilding their homes. The party was left discussing what to do next. Their mission was complete, but there was no guarantee of additional reward since the Baron was currently under siege by an army invading Hobgoblins and their monstrous minions. The Dragon's Fist Cult along with Sidor's chest are believed to be secreted somewhere in the woods near the mountains in an abandoned hunting lodge. Trogdor is believed to be lairing in the ruins of old Higate surrounded by more of his minions. Sir Grim's greataxe, a powerful and valuable weapon, had become possessed and was now under an evil curse but Elrothien felt if given time he'd think of a way to cleanse it.
Experience was given for the encounter and bonuses were given for completing the main goal of the adventure and for each character who had specific goals for defeating Sir Grim, Tuddlebock, or retrieving another of the signet rings. Elrothien, Hildagarde, Gignus, and Sir Andros all earned enough experience to gain another level.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Sunday, June 15, 2008
The Death of Derros
This session consisted of one massive battle between the heroes, a handful of Captain Grey's men, the remaining Duergar mercenaries and their leader Derros.
After destroying the dark skull in the poly-temple the party headed downstairs to see what became of the zombified villagers. To their surprise the twenty or so villagers had returned to normal after the destruction of the artifact that had stolen their souls. They were a bit disoriented and confused except for one who carried himself with an air of confidence and authority, the village smith Graugthum. He deftly took charge and thanked the adventurers who were obviously the ones who had rescued them and slain their captors. While he retrieved a hammer and shield from one of the fallen Duergar he explained how most of the villagers had safely retreated to the wilderness before the Reavers had attacked. Those who stayed behind were in the militia or were not willing to leave without a fight. Many had been slain during the failed defense of the walls. The dead had been raised by the gray Dwarven clerics during the fight and turned against the remaining villagers. They soon were forced to surrender and were put in chains.
That was four days ago. Since then some of them had been tortured and questioned to death about the whereabouts of the Prince. That stopped when the mayor had cracked and told Mortimer Grim where the party had taken him. Grim had taken some of his men and ridden North in the hopes of catching him then. Derros had been left behind to set up defenses, so he commanded his clerics to take over the poly-temple and begin converting villagers into "followers" using the dark powers of his favorite toy, the Dark Skull, a slow and painful process.
The adventurers quickly related their tale to the smith, mentioning their indebtedness to the garbage monster Kang who lives below in the old Orc warrens who showed them the secret way into the village. They also told of the company of loyalist soldiers waiting to liberate the villager outside the gates. The smith told them that the gates were well guarded and that he preferred to go rescue the remaining villagers first, who he knew were not as well watched. He grew impatient and instructed the villagers to arm themselves and follow him. Before they left Graugthum warned the adventurers to beware of the Duergar, that they have the ability to remain unseen. And with that they parted ways.
The party decided it was about time to finish their mission, opening the Northern gate and letting in Captain Grey and the remaining loyalist troops. Hildegarde decided to scout out the Northern gate. At first appearance the Northern gate looked deserted, but as Hildagarde watched and waited she became aware of the telling sounds of shifting feet and the clink of metal on metal that revealed to her that the gates were not unwatched and their guardians were staying well out of sight. She shared her findings with her companions and they worked up a plan.
Since it was the dark of night Hildagarde was able to take flight in bat form and soar over the gates in search of their loyalist allies. She found them hiding amongst the underbrush not far away and surprised them by sneaking up from behind. A startled soldier almost struck out at her before his arm was stayed by Captain Grey. He asked her of news and she related their tale all over again. When she queried the captain at the small number of soldiers remaining at his command he admitted that most of them had been sent back to Castleton already. Earlier in the evening they had made a brief assault on the South gate. During the he had received word of a large army of Hobgoblins and their thralls approaching the Baron's town. Captain Grey had then let Sir Grim see him give the command to retreat and abandon the liberation of Portyngton. Instead he had stayed behind with a few hand picked soldiers and Sergeant Brown. Hildagarde asked Captain Grey to wait and watch for the gates to be opened and then returned to the party.
Hildagarde was experimenting with her new found abilities as a druid this session. One power allowed her to summon nature's companion which took the form of an eagle she named Bingo. She took the opportunity to work on Bingo's tricks, in particular teaching him to "fetch". Unfortunately she didn't tell Bingo exactly what to fetch so he flew off in search of something random. Eventually he returned with an empty wooden tankard. This seemed to please Hildagarde.
The party, knowing it was guarded by hidden watchers, stealthily approached the North gate. Lukana and Hildagarde secretly worked their way around buildings and under the ladders leading to the watchposts over the gates. Sir Andros and Gignus took up positions where they could see the gates and support if any defenders should show themselves. Unfortunately, due to their heavy armor and unfamiliarity with sneaky techniques, they both ended up in a very exposed position in a pool of lantern light. Elrothien took up a more advantagious artillery position safely in the back behind the corner of a building. Beornweynne and Digna took a much more direct approach of charging the gates openly, hoping to draw their attention.
Beornweynne was first to meet with resistance, head-on as she barreled into an invisible foe and staggered back. Three enlarged Duergar warriors, bolstered by the blessings of their cleric allies, revealed themselves and attacked. Digna charged into battle singling one out while Beornweynne marked another. The other warrior attacked the poorly hidden Sir Andros. A sudden volley of cross-bow shots from above revealed the remaining three Duergar, all clerics, stationed on the watchposts high up on the wall. Hildagarde returned fire, lodging one of her arrows in the lung of an unfortunate alcolyte. Lukana vaulted up to the wall and drove the projectile even deeper into the wound before killing and tossing the lifeless body down below. The most powerful of the evil clerics singled out Gignus, directing his spiritual weapon a ghostly pair of iron shackles, to strike him again and again. Elrothien made use of one of his newly mastered spells to fly into the air above the fracas and launch magic and mundane missiles down on the evil clerics.
Gignus ignored the thrashing of the spiritual weapon and performed a blessing of Moradin over the battle field, bolstering his allies and hindering their enemies. With a well placed spell Elrothien greased the weapon of a warrior who dropped it, while Hildagarde tumbled under his feet to snatch it away. Beornweynne, Digna, and Sir Andros quickly brought down their now disadvantaged opponents. Lukana took the opportunity to unbar and open the gates. Captain Grey led his troops as they cheered and rushed into the village. Soon the remaining guards were brought down.
Hildagarde remembered that she had taken a crystal ball from the hag Zabeedah and thought it might tell her where Grim was hiding. Taking it out of her bag she saw that it had been cracked and ruined. In a flash of inspiration she used one of her new druid spells to mend the crystal. Before she could peer into it Elrothien gave a shout of alarm from above. The night rain had produced puddles and rivulets in the streets and the splashing of invisible boots betrayed the approach of more enemies. Hildagarde used another of her new spells, faerie fire, to outline the approaching foes in a bluish glowing light. Captain Grey and Sergeant Brown quickly moved their soldiers into position.
The new threat included four enlarged Duergar warriors and a sergeant supported by five clerics and followed by their mercenary lord, Derros mounted on his armored dire boar. Derros wasted no time in increasing the number of his troops by raising his slain followers from the previous fight as zombies. The adventurers and loyalist troops appeared to be surrounded.
Elrothien launched magic missiles down on Derros from above but found him protected by a magical barrier. Derros retaliated by sending his own spiritual weapon to chase the flying wizard. Gignus called upon the power of Moradin to destroy the animated zombies. Captain Grey and Sergeant Brown led their men into battle against the gray dwarven warriors. The rest of the adventurers spread out and engaged the front lines.
From the relative safety of his ferocious mount, Derros brought down an unholy blight on the loyalist troops. The cold, cloying miasma of greasy darkness enveloped and killed all of the lesser soldiers leaving only Captain Grey and Sergeant Brown alive but sick and weakened. The adventurers struck back bringing down many of the warriors and clerics before closing in on their leader. Beornweynne was the first to reach him, but she was gored grievously by the dire boar and then smote by the evil clerics mace which delivered icy bursts of damage with each strike. Digna quaffed one of her potions of haste and then charged at the boar, striking it repeatedly. Sir Andros finished off the beast with a pair of well placed arrows, and it crashed down into the mud and muck. Derros was able to roll free however. Elrothien flew back into range long enough to blast him with a scorching ray, which did not penetrate the defensive barrier but did shatter it.
Derros once again called on the dark power of his evil god and animated the newly dead as zombies. Gignus was forced to try to destroy this new batch of undead, but was unable to summon forth enough power to get them all. Sir Andros was able to drive off the rest with the invocation of his deity. Sergeant Brown charged the mercenary lord and was slain. The rest of the warriors and clerics were dealt with and the adventurers converged on Derros. He fought viciously and delivered terrible blows to our heroes, but was finally brought low when Elrothien hovered above him and drove a bolt of lightening straight through him, killing him instantly.
When the dead were tallied and experience was given Lukana, Digna, and Beornweynne earned a new level each.
After destroying the dark skull in the poly-temple the party headed downstairs to see what became of the zombified villagers. To their surprise the twenty or so villagers had returned to normal after the destruction of the artifact that had stolen their souls. They were a bit disoriented and confused except for one who carried himself with an air of confidence and authority, the village smith Graugthum. He deftly took charge and thanked the adventurers who were obviously the ones who had rescued them and slain their captors. While he retrieved a hammer and shield from one of the fallen Duergar he explained how most of the villagers had safely retreated to the wilderness before the Reavers had attacked. Those who stayed behind were in the militia or were not willing to leave without a fight. Many had been slain during the failed defense of the walls. The dead had been raised by the gray Dwarven clerics during the fight and turned against the remaining villagers. They soon were forced to surrender and were put in chains.
That was four days ago. Since then some of them had been tortured and questioned to death about the whereabouts of the Prince. That stopped when the mayor had cracked and told Mortimer Grim where the party had taken him. Grim had taken some of his men and ridden North in the hopes of catching him then. Derros had been left behind to set up defenses, so he commanded his clerics to take over the poly-temple and begin converting villagers into "followers" using the dark powers of his favorite toy, the Dark Skull, a slow and painful process.
The adventurers quickly related their tale to the smith, mentioning their indebtedness to the garbage monster Kang who lives below in the old Orc warrens who showed them the secret way into the village. They also told of the company of loyalist soldiers waiting to liberate the villager outside the gates. The smith told them that the gates were well guarded and that he preferred to go rescue the remaining villagers first, who he knew were not as well watched. He grew impatient and instructed the villagers to arm themselves and follow him. Before they left Graugthum warned the adventurers to beware of the Duergar, that they have the ability to remain unseen. And with that they parted ways.
The party decided it was about time to finish their mission, opening the Northern gate and letting in Captain Grey and the remaining loyalist troops. Hildegarde decided to scout out the Northern gate. At first appearance the Northern gate looked deserted, but as Hildagarde watched and waited she became aware of the telling sounds of shifting feet and the clink of metal on metal that revealed to her that the gates were not unwatched and their guardians were staying well out of sight. She shared her findings with her companions and they worked up a plan.
Since it was the dark of night Hildagarde was able to take flight in bat form and soar over the gates in search of their loyalist allies. She found them hiding amongst the underbrush not far away and surprised them by sneaking up from behind. A startled soldier almost struck out at her before his arm was stayed by Captain Grey. He asked her of news and she related their tale all over again. When she queried the captain at the small number of soldiers remaining at his command he admitted that most of them had been sent back to Castleton already. Earlier in the evening they had made a brief assault on the South gate. During the he had received word of a large army of Hobgoblins and their thralls approaching the Baron's town. Captain Grey had then let Sir Grim see him give the command to retreat and abandon the liberation of Portyngton. Instead he had stayed behind with a few hand picked soldiers and Sergeant Brown. Hildagarde asked Captain Grey to wait and watch for the gates to be opened and then returned to the party.
Hildagarde was experimenting with her new found abilities as a druid this session. One power allowed her to summon nature's companion which took the form of an eagle she named Bingo. She took the opportunity to work on Bingo's tricks, in particular teaching him to "fetch". Unfortunately she didn't tell Bingo exactly what to fetch so he flew off in search of something random. Eventually he returned with an empty wooden tankard. This seemed to please Hildagarde.
The party, knowing it was guarded by hidden watchers, stealthily approached the North gate. Lukana and Hildagarde secretly worked their way around buildings and under the ladders leading to the watchposts over the gates. Sir Andros and Gignus took up positions where they could see the gates and support if any defenders should show themselves. Unfortunately, due to their heavy armor and unfamiliarity with sneaky techniques, they both ended up in a very exposed position in a pool of lantern light. Elrothien took up a more advantagious artillery position safely in the back behind the corner of a building. Beornweynne and Digna took a much more direct approach of charging the gates openly, hoping to draw their attention.
Beornweynne was first to meet with resistance, head-on as she barreled into an invisible foe and staggered back. Three enlarged Duergar warriors, bolstered by the blessings of their cleric allies, revealed themselves and attacked. Digna charged into battle singling one out while Beornweynne marked another. The other warrior attacked the poorly hidden Sir Andros. A sudden volley of cross-bow shots from above revealed the remaining three Duergar, all clerics, stationed on the watchposts high up on the wall. Hildagarde returned fire, lodging one of her arrows in the lung of an unfortunate alcolyte. Lukana vaulted up to the wall and drove the projectile even deeper into the wound before killing and tossing the lifeless body down below. The most powerful of the evil clerics singled out Gignus, directing his spiritual weapon a ghostly pair of iron shackles, to strike him again and again. Elrothien made use of one of his newly mastered spells to fly into the air above the fracas and launch magic and mundane missiles down on the evil clerics.
Gignus ignored the thrashing of the spiritual weapon and performed a blessing of Moradin over the battle field, bolstering his allies and hindering their enemies. With a well placed spell Elrothien greased the weapon of a warrior who dropped it, while Hildagarde tumbled under his feet to snatch it away. Beornweynne, Digna, and Sir Andros quickly brought down their now disadvantaged opponents. Lukana took the opportunity to unbar and open the gates. Captain Grey led his troops as they cheered and rushed into the village. Soon the remaining guards were brought down.
Hildagarde remembered that she had taken a crystal ball from the hag Zabeedah and thought it might tell her where Grim was hiding. Taking it out of her bag she saw that it had been cracked and ruined. In a flash of inspiration she used one of her new druid spells to mend the crystal. Before she could peer into it Elrothien gave a shout of alarm from above. The night rain had produced puddles and rivulets in the streets and the splashing of invisible boots betrayed the approach of more enemies. Hildagarde used another of her new spells, faerie fire, to outline the approaching foes in a bluish glowing light. Captain Grey and Sergeant Brown quickly moved their soldiers into position.
The new threat included four enlarged Duergar warriors and a sergeant supported by five clerics and followed by their mercenary lord, Derros mounted on his armored dire boar. Derros wasted no time in increasing the number of his troops by raising his slain followers from the previous fight as zombies. The adventurers and loyalist troops appeared to be surrounded.
Elrothien launched magic missiles down on Derros from above but found him protected by a magical barrier. Derros retaliated by sending his own spiritual weapon to chase the flying wizard. Gignus called upon the power of Moradin to destroy the animated zombies. Captain Grey and Sergeant Brown led their men into battle against the gray dwarven warriors. The rest of the adventurers spread out and engaged the front lines.
From the relative safety of his ferocious mount, Derros brought down an unholy blight on the loyalist troops. The cold, cloying miasma of greasy darkness enveloped and killed all of the lesser soldiers leaving only Captain Grey and Sergeant Brown alive but sick and weakened. The adventurers struck back bringing down many of the warriors and clerics before closing in on their leader. Beornweynne was the first to reach him, but she was gored grievously by the dire boar and then smote by the evil clerics mace which delivered icy bursts of damage with each strike. Digna quaffed one of her potions of haste and then charged at the boar, striking it repeatedly. Sir Andros finished off the beast with a pair of well placed arrows, and it crashed down into the mud and muck. Derros was able to roll free however. Elrothien flew back into range long enough to blast him with a scorching ray, which did not penetrate the defensive barrier but did shatter it.
Derros once again called on the dark power of his evil god and animated the newly dead as zombies. Gignus was forced to try to destroy this new batch of undead, but was unable to summon forth enough power to get them all. Sir Andros was able to drive off the rest with the invocation of his deity. Sergeant Brown charged the mercenary lord and was slain. The rest of the warriors and clerics were dealt with and the adventurers converged on Derros. He fought viciously and delivered terrible blows to our heroes, but was finally brought low when Elrothien hovered above him and drove a bolt of lightening straight through him, killing him instantly.
When the dead were tallied and experience was given Lukana, Digna, and Beornweynne earned a new level each.
Friday, May 23, 2008
D&D invades BYOB
We took D&D night on the road this week since Jenny was kind enough to let us invade BYOB game night. I knew a majority of the group would be there, but Earl was in Hawaii and Sunny had emergencies at work to deal with so we didn't have the full group. So I carted my laptop, books, box of dice, notes, journal, white-board, pens, grid-maps, miniatures, and other crap over to Jenny's house. We had some good natured ribbing for being "nerds" and being "anti-social", but for the most part it worked out well. In fact, at least a couple other random folks who showed up to game night recognized what we were doing and came over to share their own D&D stories. It took until 8pm to get everyone together, settled and in character, but then we got 3 hours of solid play time in before we called it a night.
Beornweynne, Sir Andros, and Digna leveled from 5th to 6th last time. 6th level is huge for fighter-types since they get a second attack per round, and they were eager to put their new abilities to the test.
The first encounter the players were presented with was a large iron door blocking access to the basement of the poly-temple. At first glance it appeared to be a simple but effective barrier, although something about it or the temple foundations themselves caused the hairs on the nape of necks of those closest to the door to prickle. The paladin confirmed with his keen human senses that evil was thick in this area. Initial attempts to open the door were met by fierce resistance from the door itself. A gruesome apparition manifested from within the door and howled at the intruders. It's ghostly babbling continued to fray the edges of everyone's nerves while they deliberated on how to get past. Sir Andros and Gignus pooled their divine knowledge and hit upon a possible solution. Together they were able to summon enough holy power to overcome the possessed portal.
Once turned, the door unlatched and swung inward releasing a cold blast of stale and fetid air. Beyond the party discovered a crypt crowded with discarded broken and beastly statues from a forgotten era. The flickering shadows cast by torch-light seemed to give the statues a life of their own. A spiraling set of stone stairs leading up the inside of the temple and a trio of ornate sarcophagi were the only other distinguishing features in the room.
As the party began to search for anything of further interest, a black wraith sprung out of the sarcophagus it was hiding in and commanded the shadows themselves to attack. The party was surrounded and their weapons seemed to be harmlessly passing through their assailants' incorporeal bodies more often than not. Gignus discovered he had a slight advantage, wielding his magical warhammer that struck true against ghosts. The wraith and it's shadow thralls attempted to drain the party of their warmth and life forces, but the evil spirits were turned away by the holy power of the cleric and paladin. The shadows were sent cowering in the dark corners of the crypt and the wraith hid once again inside a sarcophagus. Digna used all of her strength to throw off the lid of one of the stone tombs, but the wraith simply passed into another one. Frustrated, Digna smashed open the lid of the second sarcophagus with her flail of improved sundering. The wraith sprung forth again for a final desperate attack and was soon destroyed by the concentrated efforts of the party. The shadows dispersed soon after.
They party searched the tombs and was very disappointed to find nothing of value, so they continued up the stairs. At the top they reached a short rusty iron ladder leading to a stone hatch in the ceiling. Set in the wall was a horizontal lever which apparently operated the hatch, but the wary travelers were suspicious of such a simple device and searched high and low for hidden traps. When none were found they finally braved the switch. As expected it rotated the stone hatch above out of the way and revealed the ground floor of the poly-temple.
Digna was the brave one to go first up through the hatch. Above she discovered that the hatch was actually cleverly disguised as the stone altar to Wee Jas, a goddess of magic and death. Standing in neat rows on either side of the large room were the villagers of Portyngton, but they were eerily still and quiet, their skin a pale and deathly shade. Digna reached out a curious hand and touched the skin of one of the unresponsive villagers and felt it was cold to the touch.
Just then heavy footsteps were heard coming down the stairs from the second floor and four additional zombified villagers came into view. Digna quickly hid behind the altar and Hildegarde came up and hid in the shadows. A commanding voice from above called down "Bring up the next group!" and a pair of guards escorted four living and very frightened villagers into the temple. The lead guard was a duergar, one of the evil gray dwarves who live in deep caverns of the earth, and was wearing broken iron shackles on his wrists, the accoutrements of an acolyte of Laduguer, an evil god who was cast out of the dwarven pantheon for encouraging the practice of slavery among his followers. The other guard was human and wearing Sir Mortimer Grim's badge of service.
The party ambushed the guards, killing them almost immediately. The surprised villagers were sent into the crypt to hide. The commanding voice from above demanded to know why it was taking so long and more guards began descending the stairs. Another duergar acolyte and human soldier came into view, and behind them followed a heavily armed and armored duergar warrior. Once they spotted the heroes the acolyte commanded the zombies to attack. Digna cautioned her companions against killing the villagers, because something about them struck her as odd and she believed they could be saved. Gignus successfully turned the zombies and they moved away from the party. The first two combatants went down under a hail of blows from the party. The duergar captain stepped up and called upon his races supernatural ability to double their size and mass. As a 10' tall dwarf, he swung his now massive ornate dwarven waraxe, dealing damage to those in the front ranks. Digna called him out and stepped up, relying on her race's innate combat expertise against giant-kin to protect her. The duergar captain quickly changed his tactics and shrunk back to normal-size. He was quickly overpowered and defeated. Digna triumphantly wrested the magical dwarven waraxe from the dead duergar's hands and claimed it as her own.
After looting the bodies, Hildegarde stealthily climbed up to the landing to catch a peek of the upstairs. At the back of the room was another duergar cleric. This one's attention was mostly taken up by a black crystal skull hovering mid-way above the floor in the center of the room. Waves of evil seemed to pulsate out from the unholy skull. At the feet of the cleric was a hell hound and a pair of fiendish vargouilles, vampiric disembodied heads with batwings for ears and tentacles where their necks should be, floated above desecrated statues and watched the stairs. Taking a risk, Hildegarde fired two rapid shots at the cleric, but the arrows were deflected by an entropic shield protecting the duergar.
The rest of the party decided the best defense was a good offense, so they rushed upstairs and into battle. The vargouilles watching the stairs were quickly cut down. Gingus attempted to silence the cleric, but failed. The duergar cast hold person on Gignus, but he resisted. The hell hound belched a burst of flame on the party, burning a few of the member who could not get out of the way. More arrows were deflected by the duergar's entropic shield. Gignus next summoned a spiritual hammer to strike down the evil cleric. The duergar in turn summoned a new pair of vargouilles to harass the party. The vargouilles unleashed hellish shrieks, attempting to paralyze their foes with fear, but only Gignus was affected. Digna finished off the hell hound and a vargouille, Sir Andros killed the last vargouille, while Beornweynne closed with the duergar cleric. The cleric desperately tried to kill Beornweynne with his baleful touch, but the hearty barbarian shrugged off the negative energy damage and quickly defeated the gray dwarf.
The party then turned their attention to the evil hovering skull. It was incredibly hard and resisted their initial attempts to destroy it, but eventually it began to crack and then suddenly exploded, sending dark shards of crystal outward in every direction. The feeling of unholy blight about the area quickly dissipated and from below the party could hear the voices of confused but living villagers.
We wrapped up the game here, and I packed up my gear and headed home with Kat. I think it all went pretty well. We got through the encounters I had fully prepared for the session. If we had gone much further then I'd have been winging it. I thought it was fun to see how the party dealt with the ghost door, incorporeal dead, and the zombified villagers. I'm glad they didn't slaughter the villagers, since they could be saved by smashing the skull (ala the podlings from dark crystal who'd had their essences drained).
The essential stats for the night: 6th level characters received 2100xp, 5th level characters received 2520xp, Gignus received an additional 250xp for destroying the dark skull, Digna received an additional 150xp for role-playing her alignment (lawful good) well and saving the villagers from needless death. The party found 240 gold pieces, 2 red garnets, 5 red spinels, a dwarven waraxe +1, medium chainmail +1, heavy steel shield +1, and a heavy crossbow +1.
Beornweynne, Sir Andros, and Digna leveled from 5th to 6th last time. 6th level is huge for fighter-types since they get a second attack per round, and they were eager to put their new abilities to the test.
The first encounter the players were presented with was a large iron door blocking access to the basement of the poly-temple. At first glance it appeared to be a simple but effective barrier, although something about it or the temple foundations themselves caused the hairs on the nape of necks of those closest to the door to prickle. The paladin confirmed with his keen human senses that evil was thick in this area. Initial attempts to open the door were met by fierce resistance from the door itself. A gruesome apparition manifested from within the door and howled at the intruders. It's ghostly babbling continued to fray the edges of everyone's nerves while they deliberated on how to get past. Sir Andros and Gignus pooled their divine knowledge and hit upon a possible solution. Together they were able to summon enough holy power to overcome the possessed portal.
Once turned, the door unlatched and swung inward releasing a cold blast of stale and fetid air. Beyond the party discovered a crypt crowded with discarded broken and beastly statues from a forgotten era. The flickering shadows cast by torch-light seemed to give the statues a life of their own. A spiraling set of stone stairs leading up the inside of the temple and a trio of ornate sarcophagi were the only other distinguishing features in the room.
As the party began to search for anything of further interest, a black wraith sprung out of the sarcophagus it was hiding in and commanded the shadows themselves to attack. The party was surrounded and their weapons seemed to be harmlessly passing through their assailants' incorporeal bodies more often than not. Gignus discovered he had a slight advantage, wielding his magical warhammer that struck true against ghosts. The wraith and it's shadow thralls attempted to drain the party of their warmth and life forces, but the evil spirits were turned away by the holy power of the cleric and paladin. The shadows were sent cowering in the dark corners of the crypt and the wraith hid once again inside a sarcophagus. Digna used all of her strength to throw off the lid of one of the stone tombs, but the wraith simply passed into another one. Frustrated, Digna smashed open the lid of the second sarcophagus with her flail of improved sundering. The wraith sprung forth again for a final desperate attack and was soon destroyed by the concentrated efforts of the party. The shadows dispersed soon after.
They party searched the tombs and was very disappointed to find nothing of value, so they continued up the stairs. At the top they reached a short rusty iron ladder leading to a stone hatch in the ceiling. Set in the wall was a horizontal lever which apparently operated the hatch, but the wary travelers were suspicious of such a simple device and searched high and low for hidden traps. When none were found they finally braved the switch. As expected it rotated the stone hatch above out of the way and revealed the ground floor of the poly-temple.
Digna was the brave one to go first up through the hatch. Above she discovered that the hatch was actually cleverly disguised as the stone altar to Wee Jas, a goddess of magic and death. Standing in neat rows on either side of the large room were the villagers of Portyngton, but they were eerily still and quiet, their skin a pale and deathly shade. Digna reached out a curious hand and touched the skin of one of the unresponsive villagers and felt it was cold to the touch.
Just then heavy footsteps were heard coming down the stairs from the second floor and four additional zombified villagers came into view. Digna quickly hid behind the altar and Hildegarde came up and hid in the shadows. A commanding voice from above called down "Bring up the next group!" and a pair of guards escorted four living and very frightened villagers into the temple. The lead guard was a duergar, one of the evil gray dwarves who live in deep caverns of the earth, and was wearing broken iron shackles on his wrists, the accoutrements of an acolyte of Laduguer, an evil god who was cast out of the dwarven pantheon for encouraging the practice of slavery among his followers. The other guard was human and wearing Sir Mortimer Grim's badge of service.
The party ambushed the guards, killing them almost immediately. The surprised villagers were sent into the crypt to hide. The commanding voice from above demanded to know why it was taking so long and more guards began descending the stairs. Another duergar acolyte and human soldier came into view, and behind them followed a heavily armed and armored duergar warrior. Once they spotted the heroes the acolyte commanded the zombies to attack. Digna cautioned her companions against killing the villagers, because something about them struck her as odd and she believed they could be saved. Gignus successfully turned the zombies and they moved away from the party. The first two combatants went down under a hail of blows from the party. The duergar captain stepped up and called upon his races supernatural ability to double their size and mass. As a 10' tall dwarf, he swung his now massive ornate dwarven waraxe, dealing damage to those in the front ranks. Digna called him out and stepped up, relying on her race's innate combat expertise against giant-kin to protect her. The duergar captain quickly changed his tactics and shrunk back to normal-size. He was quickly overpowered and defeated. Digna triumphantly wrested the magical dwarven waraxe from the dead duergar's hands and claimed it as her own.
After looting the bodies, Hildegarde stealthily climbed up to the landing to catch a peek of the upstairs. At the back of the room was another duergar cleric. This one's attention was mostly taken up by a black crystal skull hovering mid-way above the floor in the center of the room. Waves of evil seemed to pulsate out from the unholy skull. At the feet of the cleric was a hell hound and a pair of fiendish vargouilles, vampiric disembodied heads with batwings for ears and tentacles where their necks should be, floated above desecrated statues and watched the stairs. Taking a risk, Hildegarde fired two rapid shots at the cleric, but the arrows were deflected by an entropic shield protecting the duergar.
The rest of the party decided the best defense was a good offense, so they rushed upstairs and into battle. The vargouilles watching the stairs were quickly cut down. Gingus attempted to silence the cleric, but failed. The duergar cast hold person on Gignus, but he resisted. The hell hound belched a burst of flame on the party, burning a few of the member who could not get out of the way. More arrows were deflected by the duergar's entropic shield. Gignus next summoned a spiritual hammer to strike down the evil cleric. The duergar in turn summoned a new pair of vargouilles to harass the party. The vargouilles unleashed hellish shrieks, attempting to paralyze their foes with fear, but only Gignus was affected. Digna finished off the hell hound and a vargouille, Sir Andros killed the last vargouille, while Beornweynne closed with the duergar cleric. The cleric desperately tried to kill Beornweynne with his baleful touch, but the hearty barbarian shrugged off the negative energy damage and quickly defeated the gray dwarf.
The party then turned their attention to the evil hovering skull. It was incredibly hard and resisted their initial attempts to destroy it, but eventually it began to crack and then suddenly exploded, sending dark shards of crystal outward in every direction. The feeling of unholy blight about the area quickly dissipated and from below the party could hear the voices of confused but living villagers.
We wrapped up the game here, and I packed up my gear and headed home with Kat. I think it all went pretty well. We got through the encounters I had fully prepared for the session. If we had gone much further then I'd have been winging it. I thought it was fun to see how the party dealt with the ghost door, incorporeal dead, and the zombified villagers. I'm glad they didn't slaughter the villagers, since they could be saved by smashing the skull (ala the podlings from dark crystal who'd had their essences drained).
The essential stats for the night: 6th level characters received 2100xp, 5th level characters received 2520xp, Gignus received an additional 250xp for destroying the dark skull, Digna received an additional 150xp for role-playing her alignment (lawful good) well and saving the villagers from needless death. The party found 240 gold pieces, 2 red garnets, 5 red spinels, a dwarven waraxe +1, medium chainmail +1, heavy steel shield +1, and a heavy crossbow +1.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Garbage Monster Kang for Mayor!
Hey folks,
Here's a wrap-up of the last game session, mostly for Earl's sake: We started the day off watching "The Gamers" by the Dead Gentlemen. Many laughs were had while we chowed down on sausages, mozzarella balls, cookies, bread, and ramen cakes. Once that was over and everyone was gathered we got our own game on.
Captain Grey sent the adventurers to the Pelor abbey library to seek out maps of Portyngton and environs in order to help plan the assault. On the way Lukana spotted the traitorous Alessandra spying on the group from a nearby alley before she turned and fled. An ill-timed baggage cart crossing the street slowed down pursuit enough so that Alessandra disappeared out of sight. The adventurers gave chase and had to split up into three groups to follow the branching alleyway.
Gignus and Digna followed one branch to a dead end and were attacked by what appeared to be six Yuan-ti sorcerers. The Dwarves hacked away at them until it became apparent that all but one were mirror images. The last one briefly paralyzed Gignus, then shocked and chilled Digna, before it was cut down.
Beornweynne and Hildagarde took the middle passage and ended up in the rear of a laundromat, filled with criss-crossing clothes-lines and soaking tubs. There they were ambushed by an Yuan-ti swordsman and a sneak. Hildagarde peppered the swordsman with arrows while Beornweynne stood toe-to-toe with the beast. Beornweynne was poisoned by the snakeman's bite before he was slain. Together the knocked-out and captured the Yuan-ti sneak soon after. All they found was an old washer-woman's corpse floating in one of the soapy tubs.
Lukana and Sir Andros followed the last path, leaving Elrothien to guard the passage behind them, and there they found an open courtyard behind a teamsters office with an outlet to the street crowded with many parked and empty wagons, shipping crates, and cages. Before they could thoroughly search the yard they were attacked by a hasted Yuan-ti monk and warrior. Lukana stunned and pummeled the monk to death before it could do too much damage, while the paladin subdued the warrior. When they'd finished dealing with their respective opponents they noticed a familiar looking cat slinking off behind a pile of crates. Not long after Alessandra bolted from her hiding spot and into the nearby office.
Sir Andros gave chase while Lukana ran back to gather the rest of the party. The paladin charged up a flight of stairs, stepping into the path of a burning hands spell, then kicked in a flimsy door only to by struck by a shocking hands spell delivered by Alessandra's stealthy familiar. The chase scene ended brutally after the burned and electrocuted paladin delivered a devastating bow-shot that drove the treacherous sorceress through a second-story window back down into the courtyard where the rest of the party waited to subdue her.
The Yuan-ti they'd captured and tied up previously had escaped by polymorphing into vipers and slinking away, but after threatening Alessandra's cat with harm they were able to extract more information about the Dragon's Fist cult from her. She admitted to knowing that Trogdor is being reincarnated through the efforts of the Dragon's Fist cult, who are led by the Yuan-ti monks and sorcerers, and that they seek the signet rings and the prince for use in some ritual sacrifice that will complete the curse that will restore Trogdor to full strength. Alessandra had made contact with the Dragon's Fist cult before meeting the rest of the group and had been promised power in return for her efforts as an informant.
After turning the sorceress over to the authorities and warning them of Yuan-ti agents running around the city, the party returned to the abbey, baring news of the death of Annocs and capture of prince Hadron. Oswald received the news stoically, and continued to offer his help to the party by providing healing, maps, and additional news from the war-front. Countess Vandra's forces are on the move again and have captured strategic portions of the Kingdom and are marching towards Aeronson Principality, and the seat of power. Meanwhile a significant force of Hobgoblins and other monstrous races have gathered at Higate and Blackpool. Dire news indeed.
With the help of the abbey librarian the party was able to locate old maps that detailed a network of convenient Orc warrens located beneath the spot that Portyngton now stands. The most recognizable features on the map indicated that the foundations of the poly-temple extend below the city and the location of a likely entrance to the warrens near an old broken stone bridge.
Captain Grey and his men, their ranks filled out with fresh enlistees from Halfwayton, finished their preparations for the assault and headed south, with the adventurers in tow. They all arrived outside the closed and garrisoned gates of Portyngton the next morning. Sir Grim came to the wall, a large raven perched on his shoulder, and exchanged pleasantries with Captain Grey, before summarily hanging the mayor of Portyngton from the top of the walls. Captain Grey conferred with the party who decided they would search the warrens for a way into the city from below, and attempt to open one of the four gates from the inside.
The adventurers found an entrance to the Orc warrens, blocked by rusty iron bars, which Hildagarde was able to squeeze past. She soon discovered a more accessible entrance and led the rest of the party to it. The group marched deep into the warrens, following their noses to a reeking pile of garbage, carrion, bones, and offal. Living in this mountain of filth was a hideous tentacled creature the party dubbed Kang, the garbage monster. Kang possessed a surprising amount of intellect, for someone who's meals consisted of trash and the occasional rat, and had managed to train a pair of wandering carrion crawlers and a rust monster as pets. There was a brief stand off between the party, Kang and his minions, but a diplomatic solution was hit upon. Kang would refrain from eating them, command his pets not to attack, and would lead the adventurers through the warrens to the underside of the poly-temple if they would slay the guardians that newly roamed that area of the warrens and would return with fresh carrion and ferrous treats for him and his pets after they'd defeated Grim and his flunkies above. Everyone left with the feeling that Kang would be an excellent candidate for mayor of Portyngton, now that the position had been vacated.
Following Kang's directions, the party delved deeper into the warrens and found an ancient system of catacombs built under the foundations of the poly-temple. The floor underfoot was covered in the bones of Orcs, Humans, and other humanoids slain and mass buried during the Orc wars. Sir Andros could easily detect the strong presence of evil coming from this area and from above. The rattling of bone against bone and metal alerted the party to the approach of a phalanx of animated skeletons, garbed in rusting armor and clutching broken and deteriorated weapons. Behind them followed the towering form of a two-headed skeletal Ettin wielding a support timber in one hand and giant's leg bone in the other.
Gignus and Sir Andros quickly turned and routed the foot-soldiers, despite them being bolstered by dark powers focused in this area. The Ettin proved too stubborn to be turned and waded into the party delivering crushing blows with both of it's clubs. The party soon surrounded and smashed the massive guardian to pieces.
We ended the game as the party located a door leading into the dark interior of a room directly beneath the poly-temple. Next time we'll see if the party can make it to the surface, fling open the city gates and then lead the Baron's forces in a final confrontation with Sir Mortimer Grim and his reavers.
Here's a wrap-up of the last game session, mostly for Earl's sake: We started the day off watching "The Gamers" by the Dead Gentlemen. Many laughs were had while we chowed down on sausages, mozzarella balls, cookies, bread, and ramen cakes. Once that was over and everyone was gathered we got our own game on.
Captain Grey sent the adventurers to the Pelor abbey library to seek out maps of Portyngton and environs in order to help plan the assault. On the way Lukana spotted the traitorous Alessandra spying on the group from a nearby alley before she turned and fled. An ill-timed baggage cart crossing the street slowed down pursuit enough so that Alessandra disappeared out of sight. The adventurers gave chase and had to split up into three groups to follow the branching alleyway.
Gignus and Digna followed one branch to a dead end and were attacked by what appeared to be six Yuan-ti sorcerers. The Dwarves hacked away at them until it became apparent that all but one were mirror images. The last one briefly paralyzed Gignus, then shocked and chilled Digna, before it was cut down.
Beornweynne and Hildagarde took the middle passage and ended up in the rear of a laundromat, filled with criss-crossing clothes-lines and soaking tubs. There they were ambushed by an Yuan-ti swordsman and a sneak. Hildagarde peppered the swordsman with arrows while Beornweynne stood toe-to-toe with the beast. Beornweynne was poisoned by the snakeman's bite before he was slain. Together the knocked-out and captured the Yuan-ti sneak soon after. All they found was an old washer-woman's corpse floating in one of the soapy tubs.
Lukana and Sir Andros followed the last path, leaving Elrothien to guard the passage behind them, and there they found an open courtyard behind a teamsters office with an outlet to the street crowded with many parked and empty wagons, shipping crates, and cages. Before they could thoroughly search the yard they were attacked by a hasted Yuan-ti monk and warrior. Lukana stunned and pummeled the monk to death before it could do too much damage, while the paladin subdued the warrior. When they'd finished dealing with their respective opponents they noticed a familiar looking cat slinking off behind a pile of crates. Not long after Alessandra bolted from her hiding spot and into the nearby office.
Sir Andros gave chase while Lukana ran back to gather the rest of the party. The paladin charged up a flight of stairs, stepping into the path of a burning hands spell, then kicked in a flimsy door only to by struck by a shocking hands spell delivered by Alessandra's stealthy familiar. The chase scene ended brutally after the burned and electrocuted paladin delivered a devastating bow-shot that drove the treacherous sorceress through a second-story window back down into the courtyard where the rest of the party waited to subdue her.
The Yuan-ti they'd captured and tied up previously had escaped by polymorphing into vipers and slinking away, but after threatening Alessandra's cat with harm they were able to extract more information about the Dragon's Fist cult from her. She admitted to knowing that Trogdor is being reincarnated through the efforts of the Dragon's Fist cult, who are led by the Yuan-ti monks and sorcerers, and that they seek the signet rings and the prince for use in some ritual sacrifice that will complete the curse that will restore Trogdor to full strength. Alessandra had made contact with the Dragon's Fist cult before meeting the rest of the group and had been promised power in return for her efforts as an informant.
After turning the sorceress over to the authorities and warning them of Yuan-ti agents running around the city, the party returned to the abbey, baring news of the death of Annocs and capture of prince Hadron. Oswald received the news stoically, and continued to offer his help to the party by providing healing, maps, and additional news from the war-front. Countess Vandra's forces are on the move again and have captured strategic portions of the Kingdom and are marching towards Aeronson Principality, and the seat of power. Meanwhile a significant force of Hobgoblins and other monstrous races have gathered at Higate and Blackpool. Dire news indeed.
With the help of the abbey librarian the party was able to locate old maps that detailed a network of convenient Orc warrens located beneath the spot that Portyngton now stands. The most recognizable features on the map indicated that the foundations of the poly-temple extend below the city and the location of a likely entrance to the warrens near an old broken stone bridge.
Captain Grey and his men, their ranks filled out with fresh enlistees from Halfwayton, finished their preparations for the assault and headed south, with the adventurers in tow. They all arrived outside the closed and garrisoned gates of Portyngton the next morning. Sir Grim came to the wall, a large raven perched on his shoulder, and exchanged pleasantries with Captain Grey, before summarily hanging the mayor of Portyngton from the top of the walls. Captain Grey conferred with the party who decided they would search the warrens for a way into the city from below, and attempt to open one of the four gates from the inside.
The adventurers found an entrance to the Orc warrens, blocked by rusty iron bars, which Hildagarde was able to squeeze past. She soon discovered a more accessible entrance and led the rest of the party to it. The group marched deep into the warrens, following their noses to a reeking pile of garbage, carrion, bones, and offal. Living in this mountain of filth was a hideous tentacled creature the party dubbed Kang, the garbage monster. Kang possessed a surprising amount of intellect, for someone who's meals consisted of trash and the occasional rat, and had managed to train a pair of wandering carrion crawlers and a rust monster as pets. There was a brief stand off between the party, Kang and his minions, but a diplomatic solution was hit upon. Kang would refrain from eating them, command his pets not to attack, and would lead the adventurers through the warrens to the underside of the poly-temple if they would slay the guardians that newly roamed that area of the warrens and would return with fresh carrion and ferrous treats for him and his pets after they'd defeated Grim and his flunkies above. Everyone left with the feeling that Kang would be an excellent candidate for mayor of Portyngton, now that the position had been vacated.
Following Kang's directions, the party delved deeper into the warrens and found an ancient system of catacombs built under the foundations of the poly-temple. The floor underfoot was covered in the bones of Orcs, Humans, and other humanoids slain and mass buried during the Orc wars. Sir Andros could easily detect the strong presence of evil coming from this area and from above. The rattling of bone against bone and metal alerted the party to the approach of a phalanx of animated skeletons, garbed in rusting armor and clutching broken and deteriorated weapons. Behind them followed the towering form of a two-headed skeletal Ettin wielding a support timber in one hand and giant's leg bone in the other.
Gignus and Sir Andros quickly turned and routed the foot-soldiers, despite them being bolstered by dark powers focused in this area. The Ettin proved too stubborn to be turned and waded into the party delivering crushing blows with both of it's clubs. The party soon surrounded and smashed the massive guardian to pieces.
We ended the game as the party located a door leading into the dark interior of a room directly beneath the poly-temple. Next time we'll see if the party can make it to the surface, fling open the city gates and then lead the Baron's forces in a final confrontation with Sir Mortimer Grim and his reavers.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Insufficient Postage!
Last time the party locked up all the bandit loot and headed back to the barn to pick up Annocs and Gregor. Unfortunately, there was no sign of them when everyone arrived.
A unit of Grim's men rode up to challenge the party and deliver a message, Annocs's severed head in a bag and a note stuffed in his mouth. In return for the recovered signet ring, Grim would let you live. The party refused the offer and proceeded to burn, crush, slaughter, and behead the messengers.
After beating information out of the survivors the party learned the following:
- either a suspicious looking raven or Alessandra the sorceress, who conspicuously disappeared before the fight, is an informant of Grim's.
- Grim is holding Gregor in the fortified city of Portyngton with the rest of his remaining forces, at least 18 men and 18 Duergar as well as the Duergar cleric Derros and the gnomish bard Tuddlebock.
- mysterious red robed riders were sent Northward to proclaim Grim's dominance of this territory and deliver additional messages to the cities north.
- an army of hobgoblins and other monstrous humanoids is amassed at Higate and appear to be under the command of the Dragon's Fist cult leaders.
- Grim and the cult of the Dragon's Fist seem bent on the destruction of Luptonia.
The party rode back to Halfwayton with their prisoners to collect the ransoms on the bandits, do some shopping, and catch up on the gossip before taking on Grim and rescuing Gregor. While in town a company of Baron Renford's soldiers rode into town, led by a Captain Grey who sought out the party. He discussed plans for the assault on Portyngton, in which the party will play a key part.
A unit of Grim's men rode up to challenge the party and deliver a message, Annocs's severed head in a bag and a note stuffed in his mouth. In return for the recovered signet ring, Grim would let you live. The party refused the offer and proceeded to burn, crush, slaughter, and behead the messengers.
After beating information out of the survivors the party learned the following:
- either a suspicious looking raven or Alessandra the sorceress, who conspicuously disappeared before the fight, is an informant of Grim's.
- Grim is holding Gregor in the fortified city of Portyngton with the rest of his remaining forces, at least 18 men and 18 Duergar as well as the Duergar cleric Derros and the gnomish bard Tuddlebock.
- mysterious red robed riders were sent Northward to proclaim Grim's dominance of this territory and deliver additional messages to the cities north.
- an army of hobgoblins and other monstrous humanoids is amassed at Higate and appear to be under the command of the Dragon's Fist cult leaders.
- Grim and the cult of the Dragon's Fist seem bent on the destruction of Luptonia.
The party rode back to Halfwayton with their prisoners to collect the ransoms on the bandits, do some shopping, and catch up on the gossip before taking on Grim and rescuing Gregor. While in town a company of Baron Renford's soldiers rode into town, led by a Captain Grey who sought out the party. He discussed plans for the assault on Portyngton, in which the party will play a key part.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Sigh, it's only a Hydra...
Congratulations to everyone for completing the bandit caves. Zebeedah and her ogre minions were defeated, the hidden chest with the final key located, the side caverns leading to the surface filled with magical fungus, giant centipedes and oozes explored and cleared, and the 6-headed hydra guarding the treasure room was slain with the help of judicious use of flame and monster summoning.
Many of you overcame your phobias including reptiles (Andros), giants (Gignus), oozes (Digna), & vermin (Lukana) gaining extra experience for that. Many magic and mundane items were collected, as well as plenty of trade goods, coins, and gems. The party has elected to rest briefly in the caverns in preparation for hunting down Sir Grim and his reavers who appear to be on the move again.
Elrothien, Gignus, Lukana, and Hildegarde reached gained enough experience to level up. We'll spend some time at the beginning of the session leveling up these characters.
Many of you overcame your phobias including reptiles (Andros), giants (Gignus), oozes (Digna), & vermin (Lukana) gaining extra experience for that. Many magic and mundane items were collected, as well as plenty of trade goods, coins, and gems. The party has elected to rest briefly in the caverns in preparation for hunting down Sir Grim and his reavers who appear to be on the move again.
Elrothien, Gignus, Lukana, and Hildegarde reached gained enough experience to level up. We'll spend some time at the beginning of the session leveling up these characters.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
The first thing we should do is kill all the bards
With the help of the gallons of healing potions donated by the monks of Pelor and purchased from your prosperous merchant benefactor the bugbear gang leader Relgore and the bandits of the upper level caves have been slain and stripped of their precious belongings.
The party has recovered 3 keys which apparently grant access to the bandit treasure trove, which still has not been located. Hadron's missing signet ring has not yet been found. Few clues as to what awaits the party in the lower levels of the caves have been uncovered, other than a brief glimpse of an ogre clearing away the corpses from the night before. What could be down there? Why have these bandits taken an interest in the missing prince? Where did the bandits come from? What the heck is the deal with that magical sponge? Too bad the kobold bard, a wealth of information, was killed before he could be questioned.
The party has recovered 3 keys which apparently grant access to the bandit treasure trove, which still has not been located. Hadron's missing signet ring has not yet been found. Few clues as to what awaits the party in the lower levels of the caves have been uncovered, other than a brief glimpse of an ogre clearing away the corpses from the night before. What could be down there? Why have these bandits taken an interest in the missing prince? Where did the bandits come from? What the heck is the deal with that magical sponge? Too bad the kobold bard, a wealth of information, was killed before he could be questioned.
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