The Gamer Dome - Recently Updated Pages

Aekos

rauthik — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:31:34 CST

Tiefling Rouge

A.K.A. - Aekos Crimson Eye

Although Aekos was born to a wealthy merchant family, he has never truly known luxary. At an early age Aekos was traveling with his parents on their merchant fleet when they were set upon the armada of the murderous pirate Red Wake. As the pirate was famous for, nearly every member of the merchant fleet, crew and passenger alike, were brutally slain. The rest were spared the blade, only to become slaves of the pirate and his lieutenants. Thus was Aekos's fate. One of Red Wake's captains, unable to execute such a young child, took Aekos on to his ship as a cabin boy.
Aekos spent the next seventeen years living as a pirate under Captain Thorbadin Ironkeel, on a ship crewed almost entirely by dwarves. Shortly after picking up Aekos, Ironkeel and his ship left Red Wake's fleet and privateered under its own flag. During this time the young tiefling grew up, learning the ways of the buccaneers and moving up the ship's ranks. He became a full fledged member of the crew, and was given the pirate nickname of 'Crimson Eye', alluding to the deep red of his orbs. Aekos lived almost entirely at sea, seeing cities such as Port Sirrus and other rouge dens as his only example of civilization.
Recently, Captain Ironkeel has decided to retire from his pirate life and the loyalty of his crew proved beyond measure as they chose to follow him into retirement. Ironkeel and his 'clan' of dwarven pirates scuttled their ships and set up residence in Port Sirrus, living off the spoils of their exploits. Aekos, however, was not ready for such a sedentary life. Not feeling right about heading out on the seas with another pirate crew, for Ironkeel really did treat his crew as if they were kin, but instead Aekos decided to see what the dry land had to offer. He had heard many a tale of adventurers exploring forgotten ruins and crypts, returning home with treasures beyond any pirate lord's cache. Perhaps he can find these places himself and have tales told of his exploits.....

Although Aekos was born to a wealthy merchant family, he has hardly known luxary in his life. As a child his wild streak caused him to be a terror for even the most hard nosed nannies, causing his parents to bring their unruly son with them on all there business trips. At the age of five, it was on one of these such trips that Aekos and his parent's merchant fleet was attacked by the Bloodhammer pirates.
These vicious and brutal marauders, comprised of a single clan of Dwarves, laid waste to all who crossed their path, rarely leaving anyone alive. Aekos's parents were put to the sword and when it came to the young Tiefling's turn, he slipped from his captor's grasp and attacked. Captain Theergurd Bloodhammer was impressed with the child's aggession and decided that Aekos would be his cabin boy (for as long as he could last among the pirates).

Laric's Gate

rauthik — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:05:30 CDT

Laric's Gate, a fledgling city, sits precariously on the Anoc Falls, where the Na-Duhr river drops nearly six hundred feet, before continuing its journey through the dense jungles of Yusan.

History

The true history of his exotic city is lost, outshined by legends and myths which are recognized as facts. However, many of these accepted myths contradict one another, so only the most powerful diviners can ever hope to uncover the truth.

The most widely believed legends say that the ancient primordials built a city over, so that its inhabitants could view the lush jungles below and marvel at their power. This is widely accepted to the majestic panoramo viewable from the crest of the falls, and it neatly explains the ancient and cryptic ruins upon which Laric's Gate is built.

As far as the newer city built upon these ruins, even the origin of its name is debated. Most commonly it is believe that Laric was the name of a great warrior, and it was upon this site that he made his last stand against a great horde of fiends from the depths of the Yusan jungles. With his last mighty battle, the falls become a veritable 'gate' through which he would let no evil pass. This story is lent a lot of credibility due to the immense and aged statue at the crest of the falls. Here, captured in stone and standing nearly fifty feet tall, is the depiction of a warrior in a commanding stance with his sword held high. Inscribed upon the base of this great edifice is simply the word "LARIC". Time has worn many of the distinguishing features from the stone warrior and now, not even his race can be said with great certainty.

The City

As far as cities go, Laric's Gate is truly unique in the known realms. Built upon ancient ruins that once spanned the falls and then climbling down the cliff face like ivy, the true beauty of the city's craftsmanship can only be viewed from the Yusan jungles below. The most notable feature when approaching from the North, is the great statue of Laric at the crest of the falls.

Laric's Gate serves as the Southern most civilized settlement before the seemingly endless Yusan jungles. At the top of the Anoc Falls, the Na-Duhr river widens and parts of Laric's Gate lie on both sides and on an enormous outcropping of rock in the middle of the falls itself. Each of these three pieces of the city then also continue nearly halfway down the Anoc Falls, with the breathtaking Anoc Basin below.

The three wards of Laric's Gate (Western, Eastern and Falls wards respectively) are connected by a series of great stone bridges at the top of the falls.

The Western Ward, also known as the Frontier Ward, offers travellers the safest route to the basin and jungles below. Because of this, most adventurers find themselves spending their time here. Exotic goods coming in from and supplies for surviving the jungles are most abundant here, as are those selling their services as guides, mercenaries, and the like. The lower one travels down the cliff face in this ward, the more frontier-like it becomes.

The Falls Ward, where the statue of Laric presides is mostly comprised of government buildings and public squares. The cliff face of this ward, being much shorter than the sections of the city on either side of the river, is comprised completely of the royal palace and gardens. The only land bound access to the royal palace is through a heavily guarded gatehouse at the the base of the statue of Laric.

Lastly, there is the Eastern Ward, which is most commonly referred to as 'The City'. It is here, protected by a fortified wall and the cliffs, that the residents of Laric's Gate truly live, work and play. Markets and shops, private residences, industry and even academia reside here in a compact version of any other city in the realms.

Government

Laric's Gate is ruled by Lady Tiba, the current matriarch of the royal family (of Dragonborn) who have ruled over Laric's Gate for as long as any can remember. Like nearly all of her predecessors, Lady Tiba governs with a very relaxed style. This is to say, law and order is kept with a law enforcement force, and there is a standing military. However the citizens are left to their day to day affairs with out much other guidance from Lady Tiba and royal family.

Mines of Pain

rauthik — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:59:53 CDT

In a shallow bowl of a valley lies the Mines of Pain. This cavern opens to a large natural void under ground that plunges in to bottomless depths. Here the goblin king Barrabas and his Gore Shroud tribe force numerous slaves to mine the different viens of metal with in.
Barrabas is a particularly cruel goblin, taking delight in torturing both his slaves and underlings. However malicious he may be, the rest of the Gore Shroud tribe fear him and the Dwarven sword he wields.
Before claiming leadership of the Gore Shroud tribe, Barrabas was nothing more than a common, backstabbing goblin. As all goblins, Barrabas sought to rule the tribe and when he saw the chance to assassinate the king, Nog Dreadfang, he took it. However, Nog was not so easily double crossed and Barrabas found himself on the wrong end of a blade. Nog had Barrabas tortured for a fort night as a source of entertainment. When this grew boring, the broken and mangled goblin was thrown in to a deep natural fissure and forgotten.
It was down there at the bottom of this dark crack in the earth that Barrabas was reborn. He returned to the Gore Shroud tribe two years later. Wielding a magical Dwarven blade, he slew Nog and his lieutenants. As one of his first acts as king, he lead the tribe to the place now known as the Mines of Pain. Barrabas claims that he was told by "The Unclean Maw with a Thousand Eyes" to bring his people here and strip the minerals from the rock.
The Goblins began gathering slaves to work the mines and the ore was transported to the great forges of Azgarrott where the Barrabas had set up a deal with the titan. In the first exchange Barrabas was given two mechanical dogs, forged by Azgarrott himself, to act as personal bodyguards to the Goblin King.

However, things were not meant to last for Barrabas and the Gore Shroud tribe. Shortly after picking up a new batch of slaves from a caravan, the goblins found themselves under attack from the brave adventurers of Greenvale. After several skirmishes and battles, the heroes attacked the Mines of Pain and finished off the Gore Shroud tribe. In the battle, Barrabas was slain and his body fell in to a deep dark pool. His guard dogs disabled and his followers either killed or scattered, the mines were now free of the goblin tyranny. In the following months the heroes set up a small camp outside the mines which quickly became a trading outpost and mining camp. Now called Deepwell, the mines are being explored once again by Dwarves and intrepid spellunkers who seek to make their fortune in this world through digging in the dark expanses that once were called the Mines of Pain.

Cleric of Juiblex

rauthik — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:54:10 CST

In my campaign I'm going to be introducing the 'Cult of Juiblex' (something I've done in previous editions). For those who do not know the name, Juiblex is a first edition demon lord/god who takes the shape of a massive pile of goo. It (he/she/whatever) is the demon lord of oozes, and I've always sort of incorporated plant creatures like shambling mounds in there too.
So, once again I will be bringing this disgusting motiff to my gaming table and see where it takes me. With 4e allowing for such easy changes in 'fluff' I want to create a set of cleric powers and feats that would be cool for a cleric of Juiblex and make them stand out a bit. Basically I am just rewording some of the 'fluff' and keywords for some powers to make them seem more Juiblex-y. Of course, I welcome any and all help in fleshing this out.

Feats

Channel Divinity: Parasitic Surge
You call upon the favor of Juiblex to leech vitality off others.
Encounter - Divine, Healing
Immediate Interrupt - Ranged 5
Trigger: Another creature (enemy or ally) within range uses a healing surge.
Effect: The target receives only half (round up) the number of hit points from their surge, while you regain hitpoints as if you have spent a healing surge yourself.
Special: Use must take Parasitic Surge feat to use this power (prerequisite: Channel Divinity Class feature, must worship Juiblex).

Suggested Feat(s): Burning Blizzard,

Level 1 Powers

Acid Lance (replaces Lace of Faith)
You spit a thin stream of caustic saliva which sears your foes, lingering on the target and lowering its defenses. At Will - Divine, Implement, Acid
At Will - Divine, Implement, Acid
Standard Action - Ranged 5
Target: one creature
Attack: Wisdom vs. Reflex
Hit: 1d8 + wisdom modifier acid damage. The next attack roll against the target, before the end of your next turn, gains a +2 bonus.
Increase the damage to 2d8+ wisdom modifer at 21st level.
Spore Cloud (replacing Divine Glow)
With a prayer to your unclean lord, you emit a cloud of mold spores from your person. Where it touches your enemies their skin burns, while your allies gain a symbiotic boost.
Encounter - Divine, Implement, Necrotic, Acid
Standard Action - Close Blast 3
Target: Each enemy in blast
Attack: Wisdom vs. Reflex
Hit: 1d8+wis modifier Acid damage
Effect: Allies in the blast gain +2 power bonus to attack rolls until the end of your next turn.

Paralytic Wrath
Powered by Juiblex, your weapon secrets a numbing slime which paralyzes your enemies.
Encounter - Divine, Weapon
Standard Action - Melee Weapon
Target: One Creature
Attack: Strength vs. AC
Hit: 2[W] and the target is stunned until the end of your next turn.

Summon Ooze (replaces Guardian of Faith)
You conjure a foul puddle of ooze to aid you in battle. It flails psuedopods maddly at any foes that move next to it.
Daily - Conjuration, Divine, Implement, Acid
Standard Action - Ranged 5
Effect: You conjure a guardian ooze that occupies 1 square within range. Every round, you can move the guardian 3 squares as a move action. The guardian lasts until the end of the encounter. Any creature that ends its turn next to the conjured guardian is ubject to a Wisdom vs. Fortitude attack. On a hit, the attack deals 1d8 damage + Wisdom modifier acid damage.

Slime Sphere
A large ball of foul jelly forms in your hand, which you hurl at your foes. The jelly coats the target, hampering their mobility.
Daily - Divine, Implement, Acid
Standard Action - Ranged 10
Target: One Creature
Attack: Wisdom vs. Reflex
Hit: 3d8 + wisdom modifier and the target is slowed (save ends)
Miss: Half damage and target is not slowed.
Special: If the target moves on their turn, they cannot attempt a saving throw.

Level 2 Utility Powers

Liquid Movement
Your body softens and you move with an unnatural fluidity.
Encounter - Divine
Move Action - Personal
Effect: You can shift a number of squares equal to your speed

Level 5 Attack Powers

Engulf
Calling upon the lord of oozes, you point and your foe is engulfed by a gelatinous blob the coalesces upon it body.
Daily - Divine, Implement, Acid
Standard Action - Ranged 10
Target: one creature
Attack: Wis vs. Reflex
Hit: 2d6 + wis modifier acid damage. The target is also dazed and takes ongoing 5 acid damage (save ends both).

Session 13

rauthik — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:30:44 CST

After our encounter with the Hobgoblins and their spider friend, we were very much in need of a rest, however, we were in the thick of their lair and could only take a few moments to recoup before moving on. We headed down the one of the hallways and after a few quick turns (and springing a portculus trap...) we came across a room with a large table. The notes and papers there

Session 12

rauthik — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:09:45 CST

After Quinn's death a few things happened. First off, he changed to his true form. It turns out our companion was in fact a doppleganger. If it were not for his comraderie and how well he fought along side us, I would be concerned that he was maybe working for the very villain we are looking for. Another thing that happened was that our mood turned somber. Death had taken one of us and while the others were not a friendly with Quinn as I was, I think they sensed their own mortality in his death. Lastly, our newest member, the Drow Elf Kel Vecchios, looted the corpse. No one seemed to care in the group, which I found odd for I have heard that Elves, Men and Dwarves are against such practices. Being Githyanki, I understand that the corpse laid out in that dank room is no longer my friend Quinn and frankly, his belongings would be more useful to us than being left behind.
With the creature vanquished we were able to search the island in the middle of the room. Here we found a skeleton and some interesting objects. There was a scroll tube with a few notes tucked inside and a few potions of health. We rested here and examined the notes. From what we gathered, the skeleton was an emmisary to this Kalarel person we've been looking for. In the note it said that if he was 'not receptive' to 'release the creature in the node by wetting the node' and running away very quickly. We can only assume that Kalarel released the creature on this poor soul and then had it sealed in here. In hindsight, the warning on the door should have been heeded.

After our long rest, we decided to head out and find Kalarel and put an end to this whole mess. The rest of this level proved to be a dead end, with all the other passages caved in and impassable. So, we returned to the entrance room (where the pit was) and took a corridor going to the other side of the keep. After some wandering, we found a set of stairs that descended in to darkness. Only the Drow can see in the dark, so he naturally went down to check it out. I lit a sun rod and waited for any signal..... literally any signal as Kel is mute and perhaps should not be sent alone in to the dark where we cannot help him. Regardless, we strained our ears while he crept in to the inky black. It was not long before we heard the twang of his hand crossbow and figured it was time to move. The hallways split in several directions and while we didn't find Kel immediately, we heard him ringing the bell he stole from the goblins while zombies converged on us from every direction. While they attacked from front, side and rear, we handled them easily enough.
With the zombies dispatched of, we decided to check out the room in which Kel first saw them. Also, the hallways all had strange magic runes inscribed in the floor and we figured on dealing with them later. Beyond the initial room (which was empty) there was a sarcophagus filled hall that led to a crypt with altars. Before even reaching the crypt, however, we noticed that some of the sarcophagi emitted the sounds of someone scratching with in. We tried to open a few, but found only solid stone and so moved on towards the altars. This is when the skeletons attacked. With a loud banging and clattering, the lids of all the sarcophagi opened and slammed shut repeatedly in a blur of movement. When the dust settled, we were surrounded by skeletons and the battle begun. We fought hard, as the skels were everywhere and deadly. Every so often the lids would clatter again and a few more skeletons would join their brethren in assaulting us. In fact, more than twice, as I tried to put some distance between myself and the bags of bones, so that I could fire my blasts without suffering blows, the stone coffins coughed up more of these wretched undead right next to me. At one point Kel even had to retreat out of the room, since he was cut off from the rest of us and quickly getting surrounded himself. Fargrim and I were close at first, but as I backed up to fire my blasts, they closed in upon him as well and he was fighting for his life. Korrick and Hanz also took heavy hits, nearly going down before we finally finished off the horrors.
It was an ugly battle and had we not been at our best we would have joined them in undeath.
After the battle we continued on into the actual crypt (the stone sarcophagi were really in a large hallway-type entry to the crypt itself). Here we found the final resting place of the hero who had built the keep long ago to keep the rift to the Shadowfell closed. Even in his ghostly form he exuded power, and questioned us intensely as to our purpose in his keep. After answering his questions, and satisfying his curiosity and proving that we not only are intent upon closing the rift but also have the skills, he granted us his longsword. The burning question in my mind, however, is after the beating we took from the skeletons... how capable are we really? After all, our ghostly friend was unable to keep the rift closed and he could have easily destroyed us. So, if he failed and now it's even more deadly than when he tried..... well, it just doesn't look too positive for us. That's all I'm saying.
Regardless, we left the halls of the undead and moved on, jumping over the glowing runes (which I had determined are set to explode when a living creature steps upon them, which would be why the undead were able to cross with out consequence). The corridors here snaked in seemingly random directions, even circling back to the crypt area, but there was one way that led out. Here the corridor ended in a long steep staircase heading down to a lit room.
This is where things started to get ugly for us. We entered the room as a group, like we were going to storm the place and found a large chamber with a pit in the middle. There were a few Hobgoblins here and a couple of exits as well, the most notable one being directly across from us where we could see a giant cage holding a large nasty looking spider. The particulars of the combat are hazy to me, perhaps due to the spider venom or maybe the just mix of adrenaline and fatique from the difficult experience. I'm not sure.

Player Designed Encounter

bishopkoko — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:25:07 CST

So I tried something new last night with our weekly crew that was a lot of fun and I recommend it for all of you. I designed the encounter ingredients and assigned a value to terrain objects, then i allowed the PC's to set up the combat encounter themselves. Here's how it played out specifically.

Enemies: 12 Hyenas and 1 Cacklefield Hyena. The PC's had no control over this element.
Setting: A 10x10 grid with a large fire placed in the center of the grid which took up 4 squares. This was also pre-placed.
Terrain objects:Fire, tents, bedroll & bedding for outdoor camping, shrubs & trees.

NPCs: 3 Goblin cutters

PCs: All 4th level...Wizard, Warlock, Warlord, Fighter & Cleric

I asked the PC's that when they were sleeping, would they use a tent if they had one, if they used a bedroll simply as a pillow, or if they slept on a bedroll with furs or other materials for comfort. I t hen asked if they would be near the fire, and specified that a tent had to be 3 squares or further away from the fire for safety. This places tents out of the grid potentially, but that's by no means a big deal. TheWizard PC placed a tent, which is size large, taking up 4 squares. TheWarlord declared bedroll & bedding which took up onesquare. He placed his mini on the grid, and I drew the sign for difficult terrain underneath him (A triangle with 3 smaller circles around it).The Warlock also made the same choice, and I did the same thing. At this point I had their attention, and I explained that the bedroll & bedding created difficult terrain. As well, I explained that the tent created concealment (-2 to attacks) and that it prevented line of effect.

As the fighter placed his tent on the map, I then asked if they would traditionally set up camp in an open clearing, in a partially wooded area, or in a densely wooded area. They answered partially wooded area, and I then explained to them what was going on, that they were in effect building their own battle map based on the specifications they laid out. I would let them know when the area fit my description of partially wooded, and until then, they could placetrees and shrubs however they liked. Whatever they would look for whenever they camped normally. They then placed shrubs which took up 1 square and when they had some placed, I told them they created difficult terrain. When they placed a few trees, I explained that they provided total cover and you could not pass thru a square with a tree. Lastly, the cleric placed his mini between a tent and a tree.

Now, story wise, they were travelling with 3 goblins as a sort of escort to a goblin hexer's lair. Essentially, they represented a goblin contingency that had taken power that is looking to open its doors to trade with the other humanoid races. The first thing they promised to do was to help the party get rid of the scourge of Hexer's plaguing their region, the Greater Island of Ulmerin. So in other words, these minions were on their side and their presrevation & protectiontook on a level of importance to the party. I them told that they need to be placed on the map, and they were also nestled next to a tent.

Finally, they chose the order for overnite watch, an easy decision, as the warlord chimed in that he would be perched in a tree with his thunder burst crossbow during his watch. I made sure that he was all set with precisely where he wanted to be and understood all the elements around him.

When that was done, I explained that they had a decision to makeregarding the minions. They could utilize the minions in any way they chose to. They could remain in camp, where they can fight along with the party, or they can be removed from the grid at the first sign of trouble and "Guard the horses." Or other. They agreed that two would come off the board. The last one was told by a PC to wake him at danger. I gave the PC a +5 to his roll to save vs unconscious and awaken. The minion was then directed to leave the battle area if allowed to.

At this point, I stopped the prep. The warlord heard howling all around the sleep area/battle map and the goblin woke up the warlock. Everyone else saved to gain consciousness except for the cleric and the battle was on. The 12 hyena's entered 3 to a corner and the Cacklefield entered from the far side of the map. All entrance points were pre-decided and the party caughta break there. The 1 goblin cutter lost his life, but caused an interesting moral dilemma when the warlord considered shooting him to target all the surrounding hyenas. He chose not to, and I add this part in for flavor more then anything else. The cleric was woken when he was attacked. The fighter struggled as he was inside a tent and took a -2 to all swings on the 3 hyenas attacking him. The wizard opened his tent flap, which I considered a hole in the wall*, and his terrain worked perfectly for him. The fire was utilized by 3 party members. The first time a hyena was pushed into the flames, they were rewarded with the news that the fire did 1d6 damage, plus any creature beginning or ending its move in the fire took an additional 1d6 damage. This was chosen over ongoing damage as it was obvious all creatures would leave the fire as quickly as possible and I felt it was a more fun element this way. And once they saw this, the PCs with push, pull, slide, slow, etc...took full advantage of this bonus.

The set up went well, the battle had its bottlenecks and its issues which I thought made it great as did they. It was a hard combat for them but a more than winnable one with a few deaths added in for drama. First deaths only, not final death. Not sure if I would do this again, but I wanted the PCs who hadn't yet peaked behind the curtain to see how the DMG has made it quite easy to build encounters and get them thinking more about terrain. I also wanted a few of the player's, who had shown interest in DM'ing, to be able to see what goes into combat setup and how a random set up can still be very fun.

That's it, more later when I have time to take from my work day to recount other battles & gaming tops I have set up for you all to utilize.

bishopkoko

* We have created a house rule that makes life very easy and works fairly for both mosters and the PCs. Any doorway is considered an open space or a hole in the wall. Rather then do the metrics onhow large the door is, how it blocks or doesn't block line of site and line of effect, etc...we just leave it wide open now and it allows both sides of the combat to target properly between their turns and on their turns without the math bogging them own. I suggest utilizing this same house rule if you haven't already. We have found that conbats take time and all elements that go into cutting this time down are highly recommended. Lastly here, I would love to take the credit on this call but the wizard PC came up with it and I want to publicly give him his props here.

Adventure Log

rauthik — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:23:23 CST

This is a log of the my 4e campaign, set in the Thousand Mountains region.

While I am posting everything I create for use by any and all viewers in their own campaigns/games, I am creating it for use in my gaming group. The pages that follow this are just a log of how the adventures I run progress, evolve, etc. The intent is to share my DMing experience with those interested.

I don't plan on writing the posts in a strict 'play-by-play' format, but rather a kind of 'stream of conciousness' type of style. If you want a more detailed version, just message me (Rauthik) and I'll answer any questions. Or create a thread at the bottom of the page and I'll answer that.

Still feel free to use any information I created in your own games as is or modified as you need.

Session 1 (June 22, 2008)
Session 2 (June 29, 2008)
Session 3 (July 6, 2008)
Session 4 (July 13, 2008)
Session 5 (July 20, 2008)
Session 6 (July 27, 2008)
Session 7 (August 17, 2008)
Session 8 (End of August sometime, 2008)
Session 9 (Mid September 2008)
Session 10 (October 12, 2008)
Session 11 (October 19,2008)
Session 12 (November 9, 2008)
Session 13 (November 23, 2008)
Session 14
Session 15
Session 16

Session 11

rauthik — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:20:51 CST

After we defeated the fat goblin master and his filthy troops, we did a quick search of the area (and the bodies of course). The big guy had two keys on him, which we found worked on two of the three doors in the hallway. One of these rooms was simply a storeroom of provisions, probably kept locked because the goblin swine couldn't be trusted not to binge on all available foodstuff. There was an unlocked room they were using as a barracks. This room was too disgusting to search properly, as goblins live in communal areas which serve as eating, sleeping chambers as well as their latrine. Truly four creatures. The third door, also requiring a key, led to the leader's room. Not quite as foul as the barracks, but not clean by any stretch of the imagination. Here we searched and found a secret door with stairs leading down, deeper into the ruined keep.
At the bottom of these steps we found a corridor going to the right and left. The way right led to other steps leading back up and presumably towards the entrance area of the keep. To the left the hallway had a side passage off of it and terminated in a room. We quickly recognized the sounds of goblins talking and metal on stone from the room. Our newly rescued drow rogue crept ahead to check it out (after we quickly had tried to work out some sort of hand signals so that he could communicate with us). Well, once he got to the room's entrance he signaled for Quinn to come join him, presumably because Quinn is the only one among us who can speak goblin.
Unfortunately, the goblins noticed something amiss when Quinn got there and we needed to act fast. This is where things got intriguing. Quinn changed shape to look like the torturer we fought upstairs and entered the room, while Kel Vekkios ducked down the dark side corridor. Hanz (having returned from his stomach issues) slipped up the hall and joined Kel in the dark passage. Meanwhile, Fargrim and Corrick stayed on the steps we came down and I positioned myself out of sight up the steps to our right. Now, the plan was to have them come down the hall towards us and while Hanz and Kel surprised them from the rear, but unfortunately our plan did not work as well as we would have liked. It seems that as their guard drakes got near the dark side passage, they noticed our companions and the battle ensued. Quinn, still in his uncanny disguise as the torturer, egged the creatures on to fight, whilst cutting them down from behind. The remainder of us rushed to the battle and we actually dealt with them pretty easily. Afterwards, Quinn offered no explanation of his clever trick and we explored the room the goblins were working in. It seems they were excavating an old room looking for treasure (and finding none) as the weeks had gone on. As a group we briefly debated continuing to dig, but decided it was not worth it and moved on to the dark corridor that descended in to natural caverns.
Here, we found a cold, dank space with stalagmites and stalagtites crowding the chamber. There were two ways out of this room, but before we could really make any real progress we were set upon by giant rats. The vermin wriggled between the stone spires and dropped off the ceiling onto us. Filthy and viscious as they were, we quickly recovered from the surprise attack and started to cut them down. However, before we could finish off the rodents the 'thing' arrived. I know not what else to call it, that which joined the fray. Considering it had no discernable anatomy, the dirty yellow (almost brownish) mass of sludge surged forward from the darkness. We assailed the creature as it lashed at us with is slimy psuedopods, which burned with its digestive juices. We watched as it consumed rat corpses by engulfing them as it moved and we continued to attack it. The thing recoiled from some of our attacks but otherwise we had no way of telling if we were even affecting it. Eventually we damaged the thing enough that it split in to two separate smaller.... things. At this point, despite being surprised by the split, we were able to destroy them and move on.
In moving on we found a set of mold covered bronze doors nearby. Scratched in to the mold was the message "Keep Out - Really!" We of course scoffed and this and opened the doors.
Inside we found a short flight of stairs going down to a chamber filled with dank, nasty water. There was a slip of dry ground along one side of the room at the bottom of the steps, and an island of fungus in the middle as well. Korrick tried to plumb the depths of the murky water with his great axe, sinking the weapon up to his wrists in the filth without finding the bottom. Shortly after that, we found out why the warning was inscribed upon the doors. The creature, an amorphous heap of bluish slime, surged from the depths. It lashed at us with psudopods and burned us with spouts of acidic fluids. More than once (and again when the creature was finally slain) it errupted in a huge shower that bathed all of us in its fluids. Not a space in the room seemed safe from these attacks. Sadly, it was during this encounter that we lost Quinn. He had been badly hurt by the creature's acidic attacks and jumped in to the water, in what I can only assume was to escape the burning that lingered after each strike. However, the creature errupted and he sank, unconscious into the murk. I quickly used my telekinetic powers to pull him from the depths and placed him on the strip of dry land where I was (only about 15 feet from the creature, but far enough that it could not easily lash out at me). Unfortunately, Quinn continued to lose vitality, as I was unable to asist him, and when the creature died it errupted again showering us all. This last splash of slime sealed his fate and we lost a good comrade.

Session 10

rauthik — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:16:30 CDT

Our time in town was short, as there was not too much to do other than restock our supplies. Of course, I was able to purchase myself a magic rod to aid in the use of my powers. The particular one I bought, from some old crone, bolsters my defenses when I cast my curses. We also received information about a keep not too far from Winterhaven that may be the source of some of what's going on with these Orcus artifacts we've found. It seems that many years ago this keep was built on a rift that connected to the Shadowfell itself. The building was meant to be a stopper of sorts to keep the undead and horrors from coming through. Well, now it seems that seal is either breaking down or someone (something) is trying to break it open. Undead have been reported in the area and things are not looking good. Of course, these warnings are widely dismissed and few can see what is happening, so it is up to us to investigate and fix said problem.
On the road to the Keep on the Shadowfell, we were waylaid by a band of hobgoblins. While they pressed us and did some damage, we overcame them and were able to move on, resting before finding the keep and entering it's foreboding confins. Once inside, we were set upon by goblins in a room that offered three avenues deeper into the keep's bowels. During this battle, we discovered (the hard way) a pit filled with rats in the center of the room. I quickly hoisted Corrick out with my telekinetic powers, lest our fighter be devoured by rats when he could be hewing down goblins. The battle was over quickly and we chose one of the three corridors pretty much at random. This passage snaked side to side as we continued and ended in two sets of doors. Instantly we noticed a bloody smear on the ground which told us that something with a lot of blood (or a lot of bloody things) were dragged from one room to the other. Choosing the room staight ahead of us, we entered a torture chamber. Here several goblins served a hobgoblin torturer in his gruesome work, and none of them were happy with the interruption. The torturer himself proved to be a tough advesary, lighting Quinn on fire a couple of times with his flaming brands and implements. Eventually, we dispatched with his assistants and I turned the tables on him by lighting him aflame instead with the Flames of Phlegathos. Little was left after the liquid fires we through with him. In exploring the room, I found an area with a few prison cells. In one of these dank pens we found a Drow Elf. I had never personally encountered one before, but I had heard enough stories. Being as he was a prisoner of the same creatures we've been fighting, I did not see a reason to outright fear him. Interestingly, I noticed that Quinn (being a surface elf) did not shun or immediately hate this dark cousin of his, as I'd heard his kind usually does. Also, this new elf is a mute. Through some hand gestures and eventually writing, we found out his name is Kel Vekkios and he was more than willing to join our rag tag group.
He turned out to be a useful addition, as no sooner did we decided to continue and follow the blood smear through the other doors (truly we must be seeking death, as our behavior defies all sens of self preservation), than Hanz began to feel ill. Some sort of stomach ailment took hold of him and he excused himself from us, heading back outside to 'answer nature's sudden and unrelenting call'. Perhaps he knew something we did not, as our next battle was not so easy.
Through the doors we saw a long corridor with a few side doors and passages. Kel Vekkios crept forward (he's quite stealthy, even more so than his kind are touted as being) and found some goblin guards sitting at a table. Being a mute, he was unable to communicate clearly his plan, but regardless I am sure he had good reason for his following actions. Quickly he leapt out and fired his hand crowsbow at the guards. And missed. Then, capitalizing on their surprise, he fired again (missing again), grabbed their warning bell and fled toward us. I can only assume that he planned on preventing them from using the bell, however, their shouts seemed to work just as well and soon there was a flood of the creatures coming after us. Corrick and Quinn waded in to cut them down, while Fargrim and Kel provided their support as well. I held back a bit, lobbing curses and eldritch blasts on to the creatures. Before we could really deplete their numbers, a large goblin joined the ranks. Quinn, who speaks goblin, later told us the foul bloated one was called Vargat the Fat (or something like that). He was powerful, hitting hard and took quite a beating before we put him down. Being as I did not really get too close to the fray, I suffered only a minor wound from which I quickly recovered afterwards.

Session 9

rauthik — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:57:08 CDT

The adventure log is taking a turn for the dramatic at this point. Our group is currently running the Keep on the Shadowfell module from Wizards of the Coast. Dumdragon (that's his username on this site) is running it and I (Rauthik) am playing a Githyanki Warlock - Infernal Pact, named Varrick. The log will be done as entries from Varrick's journal. So, without further ado... here we go.....

I have been in this realm for nearly two years now and it has not been easy. Aside from being seperated from my cadre, if any of them managed to survive on that fateful day, I find myself with an odd 'homesick' feeling for my native plane the Astral Sea. Regardless of this, I trudge on.
Recently I came across a small settlement called Greenvale. The local gathering place is actually located outside the town itself, making it easy to get food and not rouse the suspicious looks of the townsfolk. I roomed there for two days when a Dwarf came in and talked to the proprietor. He was asked to take a message to another settlement far to the West, named Winterhaven. It's a long road and he was advised to take on some help in case of trouble. The inn owner recommended me along with an albino Elf and a Dragonborn paladin. Should be interesting and my funds were running low so I took it.
The road to Winterhaven was mostly uneventful, however we did get attacked by several kobolds. The creatures were tougher than we expected and we did not fight as a well trained team, like I have been raised to. Still this was our first combat together and the Dwarf Cleric who leads us is a good companion. As is the Elf, with whom I've developed a rapport and even some strategy. I forget that the people of this plane are not in tuned with the powers of their minds so when I used my telekinetic powers to hurl the Elven swordsmith in to the fray he was at first quite alarmed. He quickly adjusted though and we beat the creatures who waylaid us. Once in Winterhaven, it seems the person we were to deliver the message to was not in town. It seems that even his friends and acquaintances think he's a bit strange and he recently claims to have discovered a dragon's grave. When we met his wife, however, she told us that she was worried. He had gone off to this supposed grave a few days ago and has not come back.
Of course Fargrim (the Dwarf) said that we would find him for her. Quinn (the Elf) and By-tor (the slightly touched Dragonborn Paladin) and I had no qualms about doing this either. It just seemed like the right thing to do. Also, Quinn and I felt that if a dragon was buried there might be a fair amount of treasure there as well. Before setting off we browsed the market for a bit and By-tor purchased a chicken, which he immediately let run off. He then insisted on buying more chickens and some sort of commotion broke out. I kept my distance and used the distraction to help myself to some fruit at a nearby vendor's stall. Later the Paladin claimed to have chased a giant talking chicken. Fargrim, Quinn and I fear our companion is not too tightly wrapped.

At last we left the town and headed up to find the dragon grave. Not far from the town we were attacked again by viscious kobolds. Their Dragonshield warriors and Wyrm Priest gave us a lot of grief, swarming around us while we were pelted with energy missles. Again I used my mind to hurl Quinn through the air, a tactic we are working on perfectly, so that he was able to close with the kobold mage and give him a taste of his twin broadswords. By-Tor, Fargrim and I held the rest of the creatures, but certainly took some hits. With the creatures dispatched we took a short rest and moved on to where the path we were following split. One way headed towards our destination, but the other was where the kobolds had come from. After little deliberation we decided to stick to our original destination and shortly found the excavation site.
We neared the site and found several humans digging up what appeared to be large bones (I guess there was a dragon buried here afterall...), but also with them were two small lizards creatures called drakes that guarded the dig site. Also, a halfling stood upon a ridge nearby and a gnome supervised the dig itself. Quinn strode toward the group and hailed them saying he was hired to bring a message to them, but they immediately turned hostile and a fight ensued.
Between By-tor's acid breath and Quinn's twin blades, the human rable fell quickly. However the gnome proved elusive for them while Fargrim and I contended with the drakes. After the drakes fell and the gnome was proving elusive, I decided to end his dance by calling upon my dark patron and dousing the gnome with the Flames of Phlegathos, incinerating the nuisance. During all this however, the halfling on his high vantage point rained sling stones down upon us and Quinn was his primary target. The little bastard's aim was deathly accurate and when we were able to turn our attention to him I "fast ball specialed" Quinn (threw him with my telekinetic will) to be face to face with the halfling. Then, while he sliced at our diminutive advesary I hurled bolts of eldritch power to soften up our foe.
After the battle we found the man we were looking for wrapped in a blanket and tied up next to a chest. Fargrim released him while Quinn and I checked the chest for anything that might prove useful (or valuable). It seems that the gnome was also wearing a the man's locket with a picture of his wife in it (I believe the man's name is Durvant, but to be honest I have not paid attention since I consider all of that Fargrim's responsibility. Quinn and I are just the hired help). Durvant took the picture out and gave us the locket as thanks for his rescue and then recounted his tale to us, while Quinn tried to convince Durvant that the gnome was sleeping with his wife and the locket was proof. Regardless, it seems that Durvant was digging up the bones and one night got attacked while he slept. He had been tied up for a few days now and his attackers had excavated quite a bit during that time. They had also uncovered a mirror set in carved obsidian that was designed to be used in rituals to Orcus, along with a dragon figurine with the same purpose. We took these figuring they would fetch a good price in the open market, but still wondered just who would need such items as they are obviously used for no good intent. I guess considering my patronage to my dark master, I am not one to talk. During these conversations we made camp and rested up, while Durvant headed home to his wife.
On our way back to town we decided go down the other path and find where the kobolds had come from. Well, it didn't take long before we found a waterfall with a cave next to it. Sure enough a dozen of the little creatures were scurrying about outside it and battle quickly ensued. This one was tough too. They came from all sides and while we engaged the main group of them others hurled clay pots of sticky goo that would cause you to be stuck in place. Worse yet, they scurried and scampered all over the place, sliding themselves in to flanking positions quicker than we could stop them. Eventually we did defeat them and headed in to the cave.
At this point, Quinn went in to the stream and entered the cave through the waterfall. He must have noticed that the waterfall covered another entrance and he used the cascading water as cover to sneak inside. Of course there were more of the beasts inside, mustering themselves for the attack, and we clashed quickly right inside the cave entrance. Once again they scurried in to advantageous positions and we quickly found ourselves in a heated close quarters battle with some of the tougher samples of kobold kind. Quinn, who came in behind them, went to circle around and found that more were coming from the back of the cave. This group included the clan's wyrmpriest, his body guards, and a particularly hideous goblin who went by the name of Iron Tooth (cleverly derived from his metallic dentistry) whose scarred face bore a large tattoo proclaiming his dedication to Orcus. The first wave had proven difficult, but just as the last one fell, this second group proved to be our undoing.
By-tor was the first one of us to drop. Soon after Quinn ducked in to the waterfall for cover again and to stablize his wounds. Fargrim and I held on as best we could but found we had to retreat from the cave in to the open ground of the outdoors. Unfortunately, we didn't quite make it. Fargrim fell beneath Iron Tooth's axe and shortly there after I too felt the blade and was plunged in to darkness.....

We awoke, bound and gagged in a side chamber of the stinking caves these kobolds inhabited. We could hear them talking but they were around a corner and so we knew we had to act quickly. We managed to slip and cut our bonds (as it seems they did not strip Quinn of his spare dagger (either they thought were would be out much longer than we were or they were really stupid). Just around the corner from where we were being stored, was the group of kobolds and their goblin leader discussing our fate and right next to our room was an alcove where they had deposited our gear. We tried to sneak over to our stuff, figuring on grabbing it and leaving, but they noticed us and we had only seconds to grab what we could before once again fighting for our lives.
This time around things seemed to go in our favor.... at first. We started out fighting like hellions, but quickly the tides turned and we were once again on the receiving end more than not. Fargrim, as tough and resilient as he is, fell first. At this point we were only left with the wicked Iron Tooth and the Kobold Wyrmpriest. Quinn the dropped the kobold and helped me focus on the goblin. I had already cursed Iron Tooth and laid into him with my Hellish Rebuke, where in for every wound I suffer he would share my pain in the form of fire from my Dark Master. As Quinn came to my aid, as I would not be able to stand against this foe much longer, I laid one more Hellish Rebuke upon the creature. He struck me down, fanning the flames upon himself with my pain, and my dual blade wielding friend was left to finish the job.
When I awoke, Quinn relayed how the two traded parries for a while and the dual nearly ended with Iron Tooth the victor. Wounded and weary, we rested before burying By-tor's remains and heading back to Winterhaven. We almost made it back with out any incidents when we came across a caravan that seemed to have been abandoned by the road. The animals were skittish and we instantly knew something was wrong. However, we threw caution to the wind and I approached the nearest cart. The kobolds (damnable creatures that they are) seemed to come from nowhere as they attacked. Some were hidden in or rumaging through the carts, while others were simply a few yards away behind some bushes. This battle went much smoother than our last few. As we are definitely learning to work together better. In addition, two allies joined us in the fray. It seems that two humans were part of this caravan which was attacked in the night. While they had slept, the kobolds snuck up and attacked them, binding their limbs instead of outright murdering the humans. After the battle started, they were able to slip their bonds and join us, which certainly added to the routing we gave the creatures.
These two new friends go by the names of Corrick and Hanz and I think they might be brothers they way argue. While I do not know if I have any siblings as I was raised to be part of the cadre, I understand human siblings fight a lot. Maybe when things are quiet I'll ask them if they are related. As of now, they are humans -Corrick and warrior and Hanz a huntsman- and thus look very much alike to me.

Session 8

rauthik — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 08:38:24 CDT

For the sake of brevity and to catch up to our current position in our games, I'll skip the who was there and all just get right down to the nitty gritty.....

The party went through the portal and found themselves in a wonderful forest. The sky was bluer than they'd ever seen and the flora strong and vibrant. Life abounded and they quickly determined that they had been transported to the Feywild. We tried a short skill challenge (which I kinda botched and it sucked for them) and then after wandering for a long time they stopped for a rest. That's when the lesser dryads attacked. Basically I just lowered the stats of a regular dryad to a 3rd level monster and let them duke it out, using black woods dryads minis (I got like a eleven of them cause I like the way they look and figured I should use them every now and then).
After their fight and rest, the PCs continued to a meadow where they found a large palace made entirely of crystal. A gnome sat on a rock out front and the skill challenge to get info from him was equally uninteresting as the 'lost in the forest' one. Yep, I'm not doing good on running these things. Once inside, they get to see the lord of the palace, an Eladrin prince who says he'll return them home in return for a favor. It seems a special gemstone was taken from the palace recently and the thieves escaped to the prime material plane (is it still called that in 4e?). So, they consulted the Great Old Tree, an ancient treant, and they were transported to the spot where the culprits had re-entered the prime plane. They PCs found themselves in a small cul de sac in the mountains, sheer cliffs rising up around them. They followed the only way out and after another (crappy) skill challenge managed to make their way out to the valley floor. It was here, as they exited the mountain pass, they saw a small campfire and a few figures. The PCs were still on higher ground, with the path they were on splitting to the left and right, each way sloping down to the valley floor.
Evan crept up to the edge and went prone to get a better look at the figures... an Elf, a wild looking shirtless guy, and a dire rat. He also noticed a small chest off to the side. As the other PCs go, the figures notice them and are on the move. The shirtless guy goes running up to the ledge on one side and out of the party's view. While the rat runs up the slope on the other side, stopping at a fallen log that blocks most of the path (simple rough terrain, nothing more). The Elf delays a bit. Ziggy, of course races forward and engages the rat in melee, meanwhile Ugnar moves forward towards Evan and Saurros fires a couple of arrows at the rat and misses. The Shirtless guy climbs up the ledge and engages Evan, only he's not some simple shirtless dude anymore. Nope, he's a full on werewolf. Evan is in trouble. Ziggy fights with the rat, which changes into a wererat and the Elf moves up to help it's brother. That's right, brother as he also changes into a wererat and attacks Ziggy. Ugnar engages the werewolf and Saurros' arrows are not hitting as well as normally (some poor rolls by the PCs through out this entire encounter. I mean REALLY poor rolls. The dice were not with them on this one). At this point three Orcs come out of the woods, with two charging up alongside the werewolf and one hanging back.
Long story short... Ungar drops the Orc Drudges easily enough, but the Werewolf is a serious foe. Everyone except Ziggy is focusing on him and Evan spends the entire encounter on the ground trying to keep away from him and controlling his flaming sphere. Ugnar tries to play the role of the defender and protect Evan, but pays the price with his life. Eventually the werewolf drops and while Evan tries to stop Ugnar from dying (failing death saves and taking on going damage) Saurros bails out Ziggy. Ziggy was having a hard time with the rats and even has to flee from them by jumping off the ledge and letting his magic boots slow his fall (he picked those up after fighting the dryads in the Feywild). Saurros, meanwhile, peppered the ratmen with arrows and at this point luck finally came back to the PCs as they started rolling better... except Ugnar who expired.
Now, I had mentioned a third Orc earlier. He never really engaged in the fight. I think he might have thrown a hand axe or two but then ran over to the chest, took something out and ran away. After the fight, the party went after him and eventually caught up to him and his friends. Only 3 PCs and a bunch of Orcs... this looked like it could have been a tough fight but instead they bulldozed through the brutes with ease. I'd like to think they were spurred on by their grief of losing Ugnar. Sure enough, the bundle the one Orc fled with earlier was the gemstone they were supposed to recover and then they broke the crystal rod that the Eladrin prince gave them to transport them back to the Feywild. PCs were rewarded and Ugnar was revived (I think that was a nice enough reward for him) and they eventually go back through the portal that originally used and back to the place beneath the Drowsy Arbor. All is quiet and we wrapped it up there.

Basically, I had gotten fairly burnt out with DMing for a bit there and just kind of tied everything up so that Dumdragon could take over and run Keep on the Shadowfell. I think largely my problem was stress with work and just not feeling like my adventures were pulling together the way I wanted. I was lack luster and it showed, which takes away from the fun for the players. So, I passed the torch, came to the other side of the table and that should give me time to rebuild my creativity and plan stuff. I think it's working already, as I have started posting here again as well. So, the next adventure log is going to be of our going through The Keep on the Shadowfell module as run by Dumdragon. I think I'm going to write the entries though as if they were my character's journal entries. Figure that should be a good twist and hopefully make for more interesting reading.

4e Classes

rauthik — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:25:54 CDT

Cleric of Juiblex

Session 7

rauthik — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 09:19:58 CDT

August 17, 2008

Players present:

Ugnar - Minotaur Cleric of Kord/Pelor (also played by xmanowarx)
Evan - Human Wizard (also played by dumdragon)
Saurros - Elven Ranger (played by Draxthis)
Ziggy - Dragonborn Fighters (played by Draxthis' brother)

Okay, to pick up where we left off with our intrepid quartet.... Oh, a quick correction, on the last report. It seems that I remembered incorrectly and that Ziggy did in fact fall during the last combat. He didn't die, but it was yet another combat where in the defender dropped and had to be healed. Good thing they have a cleric.....
Okay, so they decided to start searching the areas after the fight. There were two little side rooms where bodies were interred and among the remaining bones they found some gold (I forget how much really but nothing really notable). Then then found a large rooom with two throne like chairs on a dias. One was occupied by a tiefling skeleton with a long sword across its lap, while the other chair's occupant was splayed out on the floor in a mess of scattered bones. A small side alcove held a couple of sarcophagi. Sure enough they go to grab the longsword and the skeleton comes to life. More skels come out of sarcophagi and the battle ensues. The skel on the throne immolates and is another blazing skeleton. This one does not laugh maniacaly but rather just plain screams continuously (note that this did not bother the PCs as much as the laughing blazing skel..... oh well). The battle ranged around the room and the PCs triumphed.
So off they go down the hallway that led off of the first room they entered (and fought their first blazing skeleton). It turns and they find themselves in a corridor that has several side corridors branching off it. At this point xManowarx realizes that this set can only mean that they will get surrounded. Now if I was giving out prizes for correct guesses, he'd get it cause that is exactly what happened.
Sure enough they cautiously head down the hallway and the zombies attack. Here are our first 4e zombies and I think they did alright. They didn't have a particularly hard time with it but the zombies did put them on a bit of a defensive and did pull off one 'zombie grab' manuever. Ugnar's turn undead worked well and they put all the zombies down with out much pain. Not bad.
Next there are some off shoots from that hall that lead to two small rooms. First is one with a large trap door with a giant padlock on it. The lock draws the most attention as it is emblazoned with a large blue glowing rune of warding. Strong magic and they realize they are not in the position or power bracket to handle the lock, let alone what it is restraining. So, moving on they go to the other small room across the hall. This one has stairs leading down into the depths. The only problem is the depths are flooded and the steps descending into murky water does not entice them (frankly, I don't blame them). So, they continue down the zombie hall to a set of double doors. Which is barred. On their side. Peculiar. Instead of lifting the bar, Ziggy wails on it with his warhammer, destroying it and pushes open the doors.

Okay.... it's been a long time since I've logged in and there is much to write. Unfortunately everything happened so long ago that my memory is hazy. Not good. The rest of this entry and the few following will be brief so that I can catch up (and the fact that my adventure fizzled out a bit. We lost some steam and we switched gears to regroup with Dumdragon running a module as our current adventure).

So, the party smashed their way into the room where they found a large room with several statues placed through out. The most interesting feature was that of the table in the middle of the room where sat a mechanical man writing in a large book. The table and mechanical scholar were surrounded by glowing blue runes in the floor. Upon closer inspection they found the scholar was writing, but the ink pot in which it continued to dip its pen had long since dried up. This did not stop the appearantly sightless machine from continuing to scribble words and turn pages. When the book was taken (as we all knew they would do), the statues became animated (as we all figured they would) and the fight began. Now, I got the stats from the D&D compendium online since they were not in the monster manual. Someone had said online that the animated statues in an adventure (Free RPG day or Game Day probably) were really tough. Well, let me tell you... they are. They have an attack power -at will- that allows them to knock prone their target with a hit. Now, in 4e standing is a move action that does not provoke an oppurtunity attack.... UNLESS, you are next to say an animated statue who has the at will interrupt power called "Keep 'em Down". Then you get hit again and stay down. Needless to say with two quick hits (one a critical I think) Ugnar decided to stay prone and not present himself as a threat to the statues.
After a few rounds of combat, that entailed Saurros running and firing arrows (wisely keeping out of reach from the statues) the book was returned and everything went back to normal. The statues froze where they were and mechanical man went back to scribing. Then, as they searched the rest of the room the noticed two things. 1) The entire ceiling of the vast room was a mosaic map of the region and then some. 2) a shimmering blue portal opened up and the cleric walked through. This prompted the rest of the party to enter as well and we ended there.

Valley of Horrors

rauthik — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:25:57 CDT

Sites of Interest

Dark Oracle

High atop this mountain peak stands a small, solitary stone temple. Dedicated to some long lost and forgotten god, this temple houses an oracle. Few, however, visit due to the rumors of the oracle’s high price of blood for her prognostications. Tales tell of people visiting the oracle and never returning.

“The Boneyard”

The sandy stretch of shore, along a small lake, is literally blanketed with bones. The entire area, a few hundred square feet, is carpeted so thickly that the bones are over four feet deep in spots and the ground cannot be seen. How these bones all came to be here, no one is sure. One thing is certain though, while all the bones are picked clean, some are quite fresh.

“The Tower”

An ancient stone bell tower crowns this craggy peak. From its perch, the tower surveys the entire region and watches over the entrance to the Valley of Horrors. Who built this edifice and when, no one remembers, but sometimes the bell still tolls in the night…

Gargoyle Roost

From the valley floor one can see the various caves that mark the entrance to a gargoyle aerie.

Hag’s Lair

Discarded bones and the stench of some horrible brew are the first indications that you are nearing the hag’s lair. In a deep cave the hag lives, concocting potions and practicing her dark arts. Those who are very brave (or perhaps very foolish) have visited the hag and received her boon, though the ‘price’ for such favors can be expensive.

Hidden Glade

Tales tell of a hidden glade, accessible only through the caves in the Valley of Horrors. What lies in this secret glen depends on who is telling the tale, but the rumors range from magical beauty to the darkest evil.

Session 6

rauthik — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:08:48 CDT

July 27th, 2008

once again, our players are:

Aekos - Tiefling Rogue (played by rauthik)
Evan - Human Wizard (played by dumdragon)
Ziggy - Dragonborn Fighter (played by darxthis's brother)
Saurros - Elf Ranger (played by draxthis)
Sokoudjou Raincinder - Eladrin Cleric (played by rauthik)

ok, so the party has just been handed their ass again, and they are searching the area. the encampment had an old watch tower in it, so Saurros heads up there and finds a magic weapon with is keen elven senses. Evan searches through some of the documents left behind...and performs the Comprehend Languages ritual so that he can read the Goblin script. It seems that the Shining Talon Mercenary Corporation has been hired to kidnap the daughter and wife of the Exalted Warden of Greenvale and bring them to a point in the mountains northwest of Greenvale. there is a map with the appropriate area marked. seems that the Shining Talons are to deliver the women to an agent of someone called Kelvekius...Evan has heard of the Shining Talons, and informs the party that they are a hobgoblin mercenary group operating out of Karthos, the rumored hobgoblin city far to the east. no one Evan can recall has ever heard of them operating in this part of the world. Aekos, Ziggy and Raincinder are nursed back to health, and there is more loot discovered in the camp. the party is discussing the events of the past few days when both Evan and Saurros hear something strange...a bird call that they both can tell is not being made by a bird. seems like someone is signalling the camp from the wilderness. Saurros attempts to mimic the call back...

the party quickly jumps into action and takes up a defensive position around the camp. Saurros, Evan, and Raincinder take to the top of the watchtower, all crouched down behind the battlement. Ziggy and Aekos take up hiding spots in the ruined guardhouse, with Aekos peeking out from behind the door. on his signal, the group will attack.

Aekos detects movement in the bushes across from the tower...but doesnt see anyone as his line of sight is blocked by trees...he does, however, hear swearing in Common. thus begins a tense waiting game, with stealth checks and perception checks being rolled left and right.

suddenly, Grindol Silverbough emerges from the bushes and walks towards the guard house with his hands up. Aekos comes out skeptically wondering what the hell he is doing all the way out here, when a crossbow bolt slams into his shoulder. seems like some enemies snuck into the camp despite his watchful eye. Ziggy comes tearing out of the guard house making a bee line for the now revealed goblin sharpshooter, but he can't reach him. Grindol draws a short sword and stabs Ziggy, at which point Aekos moves in screaming for the rest of the party to attack. this also marks the first time Aekos was able to flank an enemy and gain combat advantage. there was celebration.

meanwhile, Raincinder hears movement on the stairs, and readies an action to blast when an enemy appears. sure enough, 2 hobgoblins come up the stairs, one of which is immediately blown off the roof by a Lance of Faith. Evan drops a Flaming Sphere into the melee below him, and Saurros starts trading fire with the sharpshooter. a human woman has come out of the bushes to joing Grindol, and together they are juking and jiving and gaining combat advantage on both Ziggy and Aekos. Raincinder dispatches the other hobgoblin with another Lance of Faith, and after a short but intense battle, they emerge victorious. Grindol and the girl are revealed to be dopplegangers, and on their persons the PC's find a ledger detailing the names of the mercenary warriors and the amount of gold they have all been paid, which adds up to all of the gold the PC's have found and a count of the names shows that the PC's have defeated the exact same number of living opponents.

TO BE CONCLUDED....

Okay, after xManowarx's stint as DM (which he assures me he will finish the log entry soon) I (Rauthik) came back to my familiar place behind the screen. For this session and story arc we paired down to only 4 PCs which were:

Saurros - 2nd level Elf Ranger (Draxthis)
Ziggy - 2nd level Dragonborn Fighter (Draxthis's Brother)
Evan - 3rd level (?) Human Wizard (Dumdragon)
Ugnar - 2nd level Minotaur Cleric (xManowarx)

a pretty well rounded party actually, covering all the roles.

So before starting this, we had a little bit of set up, foreshadowing, and whatnot.... First, we establish that Marinn, Gumba, and Auronn are visiting (re-visiting) the Mines of Pain area where they intend to setup a small base camp. So, that explains their absence. Then we jump into their leisurely day with a bit pulled directly from the adventure seeds page (see, there's a reason we are putting all those up there):

"On a bright, sunny day, the PCs are taking some time relaxing and enjoying the nice weather. While at a fairly private area along the river (swimming, fishing, sunbathing, etc.), something floats lazily downstream towards them. Almost immediately the flotsom is recognizable as that of a person, face down in the water. As he is pulled ashore, more details are ascertained: a human male, past middle age but not elderly, shirtless but still wearing scale mail leggins. His tunic, once fine, is tattered and stained. Lastly, his back has been terribly scourged, defacing the full back tattoo of Bahamut. His fore arms are also similarly flayed, leaving the tattooed prayers to Bahamut there barely legible."

The PCs of course do what they can to revive the man, but he seems to be suffering from some sort of disease and they rush him to the temple. Ugnar's father takes the man into his care and the PCs (with their day of relaxation interrupted) turn to the Drowsy Arbor for dinner and drinks. Before long the man they rescued from the river shows up, weak and requiring aid to move about, with Ugnar's father. He wanted to share his thanks to the PCs for saving him. It here that he recants his tale with some prodding by the PCs. *now, I'm changing his story slightly in order to flesh it out better and since we've had a few weeks off inbetween this will not really change anything in the actual adventure*
"I am Pagis Vildok" he tells them, "and I thank you for saving me." When asked about where he came from he says, "I was a priest of Bahamut -asked here why he wasn't anymore- Honestly, lately I do not know what to believe. I was a cardinal at the Temple of the Silver Breath far to the North for many years. In recent months a group of explorers found a small forgotten shrine to Bahamut in these mountains and a group of us took a pilgrimage to restore it. We arrived and began with my plans to re-dedicate the shrine almost immediately. However, a group of raiders attacked and everyone was slaughtered. The leader of the marauders was a priest who prays to 'the unclean maw with a thousand eyes'. I alone was left alive to be tortured daily. However, after about a week of this I managed to slip free and flee. I was weak and stumbled into a small stream which washed me away down the slopes. My body was dashed on rocks to and fro and I lost conciousness, only to awaken here under your care. Surely with out your timely help I would have perished." The PCs had some other questions, but at this point poor Vagis's strength was flagging and he needed to rest. Ugnar's father (we gotta name this guy soon, since he really is turning out to be an important NPC) took Pagis back to the temple where he is being tended to.
With this new information, the PCs figure they have their next adventure laid out before them..... Oh, but no they don't! The intrepid heros spend the rest of the night at 'The Arbor' and with there being few other patrons, good old Grindol decides to sit with them and enjoy some drinks. Once again, we turn to the adventure seeds, verbatim:

It is a quiet night at the Drowsy Arbor, and not many guests around. So quiet in fact, that Grindol Silverbough is enjoying a few ales instead of serving them. After joining him in a few drinks (on the house of course) he levels his gaze on you and says, "You know, since I got you here and it's all quiet, there is something I wanted to ask. A favor. I've got a little problem in the basement that I've been kind of ignoring for some time. Now, well, I'm a bit past my prime and figure it's best to let those more suited handle it." Grindol notices the puzzling looks he's receiving and continues. "I'm not talking the rooms downstairs where all the guests stay. Beneath that. Beneath the wine cellar. This old building has a lot of history and a lot of secrets still in her. When I first found this place though, there was a crypt down there that was, shall we say, 'active'. With out a cleric, since I was solo in those days, I just collapsed a passageway, blocked off the only way in and called it a day. But now? Well, the other day I noticed that some of those fallen blocks have been moved. A small hole has been made in that rubble. Not big enough for anything more than a hand right now, but.... well, it just doesn't bode well. You know what I mean?" Suddenly, the Arbor doesn't feel as safe and comforting as it used to.....

The players looked at each other and said, "We've been staying here? With this going on below us?" They were further unnerved when they went with Grindol (in the morning, as the inn keeper was tired with drink and bade them good night after they said they'd help him) and he showed them the passageway. In the back of the wine cellar was a small set of stairs descending into the the darkness. At the bottom of the stairs the corridor is filled with rubble, the timber supports clearly destroyed by blows from a great axe. Amongst the rubble it can be seen that there is a small hole, perhaps small enough for a small child to contort and wriggle through. Grindol points and sighs, "there it is. A few months ago I noticed that hole, ony back then it was barely big enough to stick an arm in it. Now, well, it seems to be getting bigger by the day." The PCs stared at one another again and Grindol took the pause to say good luck and good bye, locking the door at the top of the stairs "just as a precaution, you know?". So, they take up the shovels Grindol lent them (with the request of not breaking them) and begin digging. After some time they clear enough space for the smaller party members to climb through and see what's on the other side.
Now it's been a while so the direct order of events are a little hazy but here is the rough break down: Saurros and Evan crawl in and they are confronted by skeletons in a room where there are 3 sets of doors (plus the caved in hallway that they entered). Saurros starts a peppering with arrows and Evan sends some magic missles. The skels close quickly and more come in through one of the side doors. Ziggs and Ugnar start digging furiously to get in and aid their friends. More skels join the fray from a side door and the fight continues with Ziggs and Ugs eventually joining at the same time yet another small group of skels come in through the far doors. This group though has a skeleton immolated in flames though. The thing laughs maniacally whilst hurling balls of flame. His accuracy is lacking (poor rolls) but he keeps laughing wildly with his eerie spectral voice. Oh and retreating cause the heros are closing in on him. Eventually they silence Blaze, as we came to call him during the fight and we broke there. They party was a little battered, mainly Saurros as he took most of the heat (pun intended) and was the skels primary target for some reason. I rolled randomly most of the time to see who attacked where since some of them were armed with bows. Saurros appearantly drew the short straw but he stayed strong and no one dropped in the encounter. A rousing success and the PCs are left to stare at the bones of long dead tieflings who are obviously still moving in the corridors beneath their bedrooms......

No Crunch. No good, bad or meh. I'll do that after next session.

Adventure Seeds

draxthis — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:32:15 CDT

Various adventure seeds for the "Thousand Mountains" campaign project:

Life in Greenvale is quiet… most of the time. Every three months a caravan comes through from Laric's Gate. All the townsfolk greet the caravan merchants and hope to get a preview of their wares. This time, however, something is wrong. The caravan had been attacked just a few miles South of Greenvale. The caravan master and serval wounded merchants are all that arrive, leading a train of wagons wearily in to town. "It was at Paddon's Crossing, right before we got on the bridge." He explains. "Goblins. They came out of the woods and threw nets on us while some shot arrows from bushes. Those they ensnared were quickly dragged off in to the woods. When the rest of us managed to slay a few, they took off. They never even tried to take the wares! It was the people they were after!" Some one needs to save the merchants. The caravan master offers to pay 200 gold for the return of his people. "I know their lives are worth a hundred times more, but it is all I have to give. Please, someone rescue them!" The caravan master is obviously worried about his people and desperately needs your help.
Laric's Gate. In the Frontier ward, there are always would-be explorers who are looking to hire adventurers to serve as guides or bodyguards on their treks in to the Yusan jungles. How much they pay usually depends on how much they expect to gain from their expeditions. Some go in search of fabled cities of gold and offer shares of the countless riches as payment. Others go to study or trade with the savage tribes deep in the steamy jungles and offer a more realistic payment in return. Sometimes they just need help finding the last expedition…..
On a bright, sunny day, the PCs are taking some time relaxing and enjoying the nice weather. While at a fairly private area along the river (swimming, fishing, sunbathing, etc.), something floats lazily downstream towards them. Almost immediately the flotsom is recognizable as that of a person, face down in the water. As he is pulled ashore, more details are ascertained: a human male, past middle age but not elderly, shirtless but still wearing scale mail leggins. His tunic, once fine, is tattered and stained. Lastly, his back has been terribly scourged, defacing the full back tattoo of Bahamut. His fore arms are also similarly flayed, leaving the tattooed prayers to Bahamut there barely legible.
A week or so after a particularly strong storm, a local hunter seeks out the PCs in private (or in a quiet corner of the Drowsy Arbor). A good man, if somewhat laconic, he is a trusted member of Greenvale's community. "I know you folks have yer own worries and what not, but I'm not sure who else I can tell of this. Ya see, I was out in that storm the other day and, well, something happened. Something strange. I was taking shelter under a rock shelf, cause the rain was coming down hard. Well, lightning struck a tree not fifty feet from me and the force of it knocked me down and stunned me. But when I came to and the storm was passed, I saw what had happened. Beneath the charred wrecked of that old tree was stone steps spiralling down into I don't know what." He pauses a moment, looks around and scratches his neck before continuing. "Ya see, I was curious, so I went down the steps a bit and then's when it happened. The strange thing that is. I heard a whispering. Like a laughing even, but just barely there. Then a gust of wind shot up from the depths past me. Strong enough to push me back a bit. This was no normal breeze though. I heard the voices on it! In it! It was like a something not quite right was riding that wind out of the depths. I turned and ran home at that point. Now, when I'm in the woods, I sometimes think I hear those voices again, but I can never be certain. It's like they are almost there, but not. Now, I don't know what you can do about this, or even what it is, but it's creeping me out just right and you guys being adventuring types.... well, I figured you'd know better than me."
It is a quiet night at the Drowsy Arbor, and not many guests around. So quiet in fact, that Grindol Silverbough is enjoying a few ales instead of serving them. After joining him in a few drinks (on the house of course) he levels his gaze on you and says, "You know, since I got you here and it's all quiet, there is something I wanted to ask. A favor. I've got a little problem in the basement that I've been kind of ignoring for some time. Now, well, I'm a bit past my prime and figure it's best to let those more suited handle it." Grindol notices the puzzling looks he's receiving and continues. "I'm not talking the rooms downstairs where all the guests stay. Beneath that. Beneath the wine cellar. This old building has a lot of history and a lot of secrets still in her. When I first found this place though, there was a crypt down there that was, shall we say, 'active'. With out a cleric, since I was solo in those days, I just collapsed a passageway, blocked off the only way in and called it a day. But now? Well, the other day I noticed that some of those fallen blocks have been moved. A small hole has been made in that rubble. Not big enough for anything more than a hand right now, but.... well, it just doesn't bode well. You know what I mean?" Suddenly, the Arbor doesn't feel as safe and comforting as it used to.....
Harvest time is usually a festive time of year around Greenvale. This year, however, a sickly green fog has rolled during the Harvest Night Festival. At first people stop their revelling and are curious, but soon someone gets to close and then the screams begin. Not only does the fog seem to be poisonous, but dark figures move with in and undead claw at the townsfolk from the misty shroud!
One day, while strolling through Greenvale's open air market, you come across a merchant selling an assortment of odd trinkets and baubles. Normally such things would be passed over without so much as a glance, but this time something catches your eye. A small figurine made of some sort of semi-precious stone, badly in need of polishing. "Ah!" says the merchant as he notices what caught your eye. "That, my friend, I just got in from an adventurer. He said he found it in the Valley of Horrors! Yes, he did. According to my friend, there is an ancient ruined temple to a long forgotten deity and amongst those crumbling stones he found this little treasure. He also told me that there is much more there, but that was all he could grab at the time." When pressed for more details, the merchant explains that his adventurer friend was in the process of running for his life from a band of murderous Orcs and did not get a chance to properly loot the ruins. Unfortunately, the merchant informs, his adventurer friend is no longer available to return there and get the rest of the treasure. It seems he was headed back to the valley when the very same Orcs finally caught up to him by the river and took him away.
Port Sirrus is known for being a rough and tumble town. A place where visitors need to watch their purses and their necks. So, when a merchant offers a decent sum of money to escort him there safely who can resist? After all, it's basically a free ride to Port Sirrus with guaranteed spending money when you get there. What could go wrong?
Late one afternoon, Dillingham approaches the group and asks to talk them. "I know how this place can be a bit boring for people like you guys, so I have little task that I think you could help me with." The Halfling smiles knowing that the call for an adventure, no matter how small, would be irresistable for you. "The other day a friend of mine came by for a visit and told me about something strange he saw in his travels. It seems that in a valley just South of Devil Lake, he saw something unusual. Unfortunately, his business is urgent and he did not have time to investigate it and I told him I had just the right people here to check things out for him. If you're interested come by my place later for a late supper and the details." With that, Dillingham ambles off with his walking stick and whistling a little tune. The fact that he won't talk about it in the open only adds to the intrigue.. Later, after a sumptuous meal your host finallys gets down to business. "Now that we have full bellies we can get down to brass tacks. You see, my friend was on an important errand and needed to take a shortcut through this out of the way valley. When he was there he noticed a rather large sailing ship nestled amonst the foliage and rocks. Now, I don't need to tell you how far we are from the ocean, so I'm thinking that something not normal has happened. Basically, my friend's organization is prepared to pay you to investigate. What do you say?"
The lost tribes of the Yusan jungle have always managed to avoid the interest of most, save those looking to study these tribes for posterity. However, one researcher not interested the people of the tribes, has found something from the ancient texts…Enjoying your evening at the Drowsy Arbor and individual you have never seen before approaches you and says, “Hello, my name is Jhosen Forens and I need your help.” Sizing the man up, you find he is older with a lined face and gray hair, where he has hair remaining. “I am one of the associate researchers of Laric’s Gate. I have been researching one of the lost tribes of the Yusan, one that has been rumored to be extinct. However, after digging through many tomes, including some tomes that do not exist, so to say, I have found a discrepancy. The very historian that wrote about the extinction of this tribe in the public tomes also wrote about his interaction with them in great detail in the non-existent tomes. I do not believe this tribe is extinct and I need you to prove it by finding this tribe.”
You retire to your bed after a night of easy drinking. Sometime after you fall asleep you start to dream of a snowy land far to the north beyond the mountains and a ghostly female appears in your dream and says “Return the star and seal the gate; else the demon’s wrath will be your fate!” Immediately with her words the cold becomes unbearable and you wake startled trying to catch your breath and warm up. You are awake, yet you see your breath, you realize your room is cold, you immediately look around and see your fire blazing, yet you can’t feel its warmth and you suddenly realize your entire room and everything in it is covered with a one inch layer of snow. Slowly warmth returns to the room and the snow vanishes as it melts leaving no water behind. As you regain your composure and the feeling in your extremities return, your mind clearly echoes the words of the female and the snowy land to the north in which she dwelt. The meaning of her words unclear; however, no less frightful.

Session 4

xmanowarx — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 02:31:37 CDT

July 13, 2008

Players present:*

Auronn - Half Elf Warlock (played by xmanowarx)
Ugnar - Minotaur Cleric of Kord/Pelor (also played by xmanowarx)
Gumba - Dwarf Fighter (played by dumdragon)
Evan - Human Wizard (also played by dumdragon)
Saurros - Elven Ranger (played by Draxthis)
Marinn - Dragonborn Warlord (also played by Draxthis)
Ziggy - Dragonborn Fighters (played by Draxthis' brother)

*This session marks the end of our first story arc where I was the DM. It also marks the start of our second story arc where I get to be a PC and xManowarx is the DM (that his user name on this site, not his real name).

Okay, so our last session ended off with our intrepid heroes (all seven of them) had just finished fighting a gaggle of goblins in the Mines of Pain. The platform and scaffolding cleared, they searched the corpses and tried to see how deep the hollow went below them.... Evan cast light on a stone and dropped it, where it fell until they could no longer see it and now sound of impact was heard. So, it's deep. Very deep. Then they chose one of the doors (that were on opposite sides of the cavernous void). Inside they found some tunnels that looked like they were mined, swerving this way and that following the viens of iron in the rock. Gumba, using his Dwarven knowledge of things earthy, surmised that these viens of iron ore were in fact of a high quality type of iron often sought after in the creation of masterwork and magical items. Expensive stuff. At this the party briefly discussed whether the goblins had that kind of ability, to craft masterwork and magic items. Intriguing.....
Continuing on down the tunnels they find the slave pen. A battle ensues and while it is not exactly easy, it is far from difficult for our PCs. There was a dire rat and this time... not so scary or tough. This might be because they focused almost immediately on it and it couldn't stand against all the attacks they leveled on it. After pounding the goblin jailers in to goo, the PCs released the prisoners. Here they found Finnley, who was seriously wounded, and about a dozen other poor souls who the goblins had captured. Heal checks were done to administer first aid (this we did to allow them the help the people out) and Ugnar used his healing word power to help Finnley up to his feet. They rested themselves for about five minutes (a short rest to get themselves up to speed with hp and renew ye ole encounter powers) and then set off again. Oh, they told the newly freed slaves to stay there and wait for them to return to lead them out to safety.
The Mines are not too big so the PCs found that the other door in the big void with the scaffolding, was the only other way to go. Through this one, they found more mined out tunnels, these having been excavated before the other ones. After a while, they find the tunnel turns and they find a door. No sounds can be heard beyond and Saurros enters to see what's up. No surprise round or anything, we roll initiative and get to it. Why? Well, because this room has a bunch of goblins standing right there on the platform. Yes, another platform. This room is another large void in the earth (though nowhere nearly as big as the other one) and there is more scaffolding set up. Only a couple of levels are here, and below it the cavern is filled with murky water. The goblin guards engage the PCs, while on another platform is Barrabas the Goblin King! He has with him three Orcs (one 'representative' and his two minions) and two mechanical dogs.
Things got off to a quick start with the PCs moving in and the goblins engaging them immediately. Saurros took up a position to rain arrows on the enemy, while Auronn cursed and misty stepped his way into the fray. Gumba, Ziggy and Marinn charged in and held the line, while Evan cast spells from the doorway. Tactically sound process and it worked pretty well. The fire beetle proved to be fairly ineffective, the minions dropped quickly, and the Orcs put up a good fight. The drudges, being only minions went down fast (1 hp will do that to you) but they got a couple of hits in first. Meanwhile the Orc representative (an Orc Raider) proved to be a tough customer, though certainly not overly so. The Hexer tried some blinding hexes (only affecting Evan briefly, missing with the other ones on Gumba and Auronn) and his most valuable contribution was the vexing cloud to give his peeps cover while also invoking a minus 2 penalty to the fighters' attack rolls. The real tough part of the encounter seemed to be Barrabas the Goblin King (and his two Iron Defenders, a gift from Azgarrott the Fire Titan...). They started out referrring to him as the Goblin Cheif and Goblin Lieutenant, but he caused them enough grief that after about 3 rounds they were calling him the Goblin King and really looking to put an end to him as soon as possible. One way in which he earned some respect was through the use of one of the treasure parcels allotted to the fight. Rolling it into Barrabas's story, he weilded a Dwarven short sword (+1 with the lightning ability). So when he hit Gumba with that and bolts of electricity shot off the Dwarf to hit nearly the entire party -most of the action took place in a thick knot of clashing steel and falling foes- the players were not only impressed, but a bit concerned that this was going to happen again. Fortunately for them, it was only a daily power. Of course the defenders have a nice ability that allow them an attack on someone who attacks who they are guarding, so with the right positioning they were really causing the party some problems. Even better, as a Goblin Underboss Barrabas gets a defense boost when bloodied and well, when that kicked in and they were missing him AND gettting attacked for it, I think the PCs felt the pressure.
Overall, the party was triumphant, and killed Barrabas. With the final blow, he dropped his short sword and staggered backwards off the platform and into the water below. Thus died Barrabas the Goblin King........ The Iron Defenders were pounded into shutting down, ironically, they lasted longer than the person they were guarding, but not that much longer. All in all, it was a long battle going roughly ten rounds! Not bad. I think if we had one that long in 3.5 it would have been beyond tedious and certainly nowhere near as fun. Quick looting revealed some more treasure and the PCs collected the newly freed slaves and headed home.

Good Things

Again, multi-level terrain. Okay, so yeah, the battle stayed only on the one platform, but seriously, it's just cool to have out on the table. And it gave a space for Barrabas to fall after being dropped by the players.
Once again... combat is fast and fun. A nearly 10 round battle was enjoyable all the way through and didn't get tedious. There was constantly new things to be done and different ways one can affect the battle field (what with all the shifting that happens when people hit, don't hit, drop enemies, etc.). Wonderful stuff.
Okay, this one is tooting my own horn, but it's not an ego thing (see below)... The adventure/story line. The players had a great time, as did I, and that's what counts. One player even told me during the week that I did a great job. Nice.
The Monster Manual. As pointed out to me in a message from Bishopkoko: The MM is set up so nicely that you can't help but look like a good DM. The variations on the monsters are great and really make DMing easier. Used to be you had to add class levels and reasons why one particular goblin is tougher than his buddies or had a special ability (and "just to make you guys miserable" is not the excuse your players are looking for). Now, I just say "this one is some sort of shaman" (Hexer and the powers are built in with out trying to work class levels) and "these two are jacked for goblins and look wild and crazy" (skullcleavers with out having to add barbarian class levels and figuring out raging/non raging stats). And the players accept and love it. I mean, I know this stuff wasn't impossible before, but seriously you can now flip to a monster and have all the variation you need in seconds and it adds more depth to the fight than just goblins. Think about it. When was the last time you played four sessions and fought basically only goblins and had a good time? Exactly. I just proved it is now possible.

Meh Things (and basically, these are all my fault)

Skill challenges.... cause I didn't use them. I'm sure they are great, but I suck as a DM cause I didn't use any. So, I robbed my players of some fun (and they still liked the adventure...don't know if that speaks good of me or bad of them....). My next run will have to have skill challenges. Looking back there were spots where I could have added them but fell back on thinking from previous editions and didn't take the plunge. My fault on this.
Flavor.... or lack there of. Okay, each class has flavor text, just a line or two, with each power. USE IT. With out the flavor text combat can get a little mechanical, but the powers are so well crafted that you almost can't help but to use some flavor to describe the results. My advice to anyone reading this? Use the flavor as a baseline for redescribing what takes place, even if you feel like you are repeating yourself every other round. Also, use the PC power flavor text to create some for the monster powers. I kind of let this slide a lot after the first session and I realize that I (once again) robbed my players of some of the fun that is to be had. Again, my bad and I'll just have to try harder in the future.

4e Crunch

Slave Pens

2 Skullcleavers, 2 sharpshooters, 6 cutters, 1 dire rat. Total XP = 800 (125 per PC)

Barrabas

1 Goblin Underboss (Barrabas) with a magic shortsword 2 Iron Defenders 1 Dire Rat 1 Orc Raider 2 Orc Drudges 1 Goblin Hexer 6 Goblin Cutters 1 Goblin Skullcleaver (did I forget to mention that he came in behind Evan cause I'm mean like that? I think so..) Total XP = 1438 (205 per PC)

So, with that I (finally) conclude my session report and hand over the DMing to XManowarX. I learned a lot and really had a good time. However, now I get to be a player for a little while, whilst I plan my next adventure.

NEW STORY ARC - The Aftermath of the Mines of Pain...

ok, so i (xmanowarx) took the DM reins so that Rauthik could play for a bit and not always be the DM. i asked that the party be brought down to 4 members, as i felt that 7 was overkill...plus i like to role play a bit and i felt that controlling 2+ characters was a bit much. so, i told them to decide who was going to be on the adventure and they made the party as such:

Evan - Human Wizard (dumdragon)
Ziggy - Dragonborn Fighter (non registered wetpaint user)
Saurros - Elf Ranger (Draxthis)
Aekos - Tiefling Rogue (Rauthik)

ok, so as you can see there is no leader in the party. that proved to a problem right off the bat...but first things first. the adventure started about a week or so after the party had returned from the Mines of Pain with the rest of the captured caravan members, including Finnley. the people of Greenvale were excited and the whole town was buzzing with the story. right after the party returned with the first batch of rescued caravan members and went hunting for the the Mines, Aekos the Tiefling Rogue arrived in town. He had never actually been in a town that was not a pirate haven, so this dose of civilization was new to him. he took a room at the Drowsy Arbor and right away began hearing all about the captured caravan and the local heroes that went in search of the goblins who reportedly did it. Upon the heroes triumphant return to town, he met with a few of them and bought them a round of drinks in the Drowsy Arbor to congratulate them on a job well done.

Some members of the party (Auronn, Ugnar, Gumba, and Marrin) went back to the Mines to scout the area, kill or capture any goblins stragglers, and possibly set the mines up for either excavation or use as a headquarters. This left the 4 PC's who will make up the party for this leg of the adventure in Greenvale.

Dillingham came to the adventurers and told them that the Exalted Warden was planning on having a party to celebrate the heroes of Greenvale and the safe return of most of the caravan. the celebration was to be held at the Drowsy Arbor and most of the town was planning on turning up.

sure enough, there was a celebration at the Arbor. Evan, Ziggy, and Saurros were the only heroes still in town, so they were honored with medals. the Exalted Warden gave a stirring speech about how the town was blessed to have such hardy folk ready to defend it and how the people were very grateful and indebted to the heroes. anyway, the celebration eventually dwindled down to the heroes, Grindol the innkeeper, Aekos, and a few diehards drinking into the wee hours of the night. at one point, two very attractive women made their way of to Aekos and began coming on to him...mostly as a way to meet Ziggy, Evan and Saurros. Ziggy tripped all over himself tryingto talk to them, and Saurros was clearly not interested. that left Evan and Aekos to whisk the buxom lasses off their feet...until they noticed an elf and a human sitting in the corner giving them some evil looks.

just as this was occurring, Saurros saw a halfling lift Evan's money pouch (unbeknownst to Evan) and make for the door. Ziggy caught (literally) another halfling with his hand on his purse...and then the fun began. Ziggy came out swinging with his warhammer while everyone else moved around the room trying to get an angle on the halflings (and get around the few innocent townspeople still drinking)...the elf and human in the corner dropped their traveling cloaks and revealed that they were armed (one with a battle axe and the other with a longsword/shortsword combo) and charged into the fray. the PC's were pinned down by difficult terrain (tables and chairs), and were a little surprised when the two women they had just been courting jumped into it also, one swinging a club and the other a bottle of whiskey. the elf took down Ziggy (but not before he loosed a dragon breath) and the human went to work on Aekos...Saurros started sending arrows all over the common room while Evan brought his flaming sphere online and sent it all over the place. at one point a female patron took a whiskey bottle intended for Evan to the face and went down like a bag of hammers. Aekos was quickly spending his second wind as he ate a critical hit fromthe great axe. one of the buxom lasses was lit on fire by the flaming sphere, and crashed into a table starting a fire. Evan and Saurros managed to take down the elf and one of the halflings and both women, while Aekos held on for dear life against the human and the other halfling...Aekos took down the halfling and then backed out the door as everyone else concentrated fire on the human and took him down.

as the fight was nearing it's height the PC's heard a bell clanging from Greenvale (which is about a half mile from the Drowsy Arbor) and Evan realized it was the siege alarm. However, there was the small problem of Ziggy bleeding to death. everyone tried making heal checks and failed miserably, and it looked as if Zig was going down for the count until Grindol jumped out from behind the bar and managed to stop the bleeding. The heroes now turned their attention to Greenvale...

and we stopped the session. not having a leader sucks.

THE CRUNCH:

HIRED MERCS IN THE DROWSY ARBOR:
1 human berserker
1 elf scout
2 human rabble
2 halfling thieves

Session 5

xmanowarx — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 02:30:16 CDT

July 20, 2008

ok...so, the players decided to add a CLERIC to the mix today.

so we had:

Aekos - Tiefling Rogue (played by rauthik)
Evan - Human Wizard (played by dumdragon)
Ziggy - Dragonborn Fighter (played by darxthis's brother)
Saurros - Elf Ranger (played by draxthis)
Sokoudjou Raincinder - Eladrin Cleric (played by rauthik)

ok, so last time we left off with a barroom fight and the siege alarm for Greenvale going off. Ziggy was on the brink of death but was saved by Grindol. the PC's took a quick rest and searched the bodies of their attackers and discovered that they were all carrying a large amount of gold on them...almost too much. they rightly assumed that these people had been paid to attack them. upon closer inspection they realized that most of the gold coins their attackers were carrying were minted in the hobgoblin city of Karthos, which Evan knows was once the capitol city of a small hobgoblin state many, many years back. rumors persist that it still exists, somewhere far to the east, but no one he knows has heard anything of it. anyway, there is the matter of the city being attacked. the PC's give some of the gold to Grindol to compensate him for the damage the fight caused, and then they pick up Ziggy (who is bandaged and unconscious) and hustle off towards Greenvale.

upon arriving at the city's north gate, they see that the guards are in a state of panic. they manage to convince the gatekeeper to allow them entrance, and they immediately seek out an officer to see just what the heck is going on. Saurros heads up the battlements to see whats 's what and runs into the captain of the guard. it turns out that a catapult stone crashed into a part of the wall between the north and west gate, collapsing it. this prompted the watch to sound the siege alarm, and the militia was roused from their beds. seeing as how the city has never been attacked in its entire history, things got confused. one of the captains sent a sortie through the hole in the wall to see what was up. as the guards are explaining what happened, fireworks shoot up from the Exalted Warden's estate - not a good sign. not wanting to take men off the walls in case of attack, the PC's head over towards the estate.

Sokoudjou Raincinder had been in town for a few days, and was actually staying at the Drowsy Arbor. he had taken to wandering around the city at night, enjoying the quiet and solitude, so he was not in the inn when the others were attacked. upon seeing the fireworks coming from the Exalted Warden's estate, he runs there. upon arriving, he encounters the heroes as they arrive to a grisly scene at the mansion's gate. there are 5 dead guards with 5 more wounded attending to the deceased. Raincinder does what he can for the wounded (including Ziggy) and the guards explain that someone has kidnapped the Exalted Warden's daughter, Jezelle, and his wife Leona. the guards all speak at once, and claim that servants from the house appeared to have carried out the kidnapping AND killed scores of guards in one on one combat. the guards gave chase, but the kidnappers made for the hole blasted in the wall...there the guards came under intense arrow fire and had no choice but to pull back. when they recovered and made a charge, the kidnappers had vanished, so they returned to the estate to care for the wounded and dying, and to tell the Exalted Warden what had transpired. of course, the PC's head for the wall and vow to recover the Warden's wife and daughter...

so the PC's head through the hole in the wall. Saurros quickly picks up the trail of the guards and they set off. Sure enough, after about 5 minutes they come upon a catapult. Aekos realizes that there are no stones in the area...so this definitely was not a siege. Saurros sees that there are signs of a struggle, but no sign of the city guards. as if on cue, the party is ambushed by a crew of hobgoblins. a pair of hobgoblin archers open up on them from the treeline while some hobgoblin footsoldiers run in under the cover of arrows. everyone goes Ziggy, who charges out to meet the hobgoblin warriors. the archers use their ability to grant ranged attack bonues to each other by switching off on Saurros and Ziggy...and really start to pound on them. the hobgoblin grunt goes down, but not before doing some damage...and the hobgoblin soldier (with help from the archers) manages to fell Ziggy. Saurros moved up (taking heavy damage as he did so and took down one of the archers, but was driven back by the other archer. Some critical hits followed and the soldier went down, while the last archer surrendered as he was surrounded by the party. Saurros bashed him with the hilt of his sword, but Evan (being Good aligned) intervened and had Aekos tie the hobgoblin up. a quick rest brought Ziggy back, and a quick search led to the discovery of the city guards' corpses. the hobgoblins were carrying some gold (also minted at karthos) and not much else.

the PC's then decided to try and pick up the trail again...and thus they started off into the wilderness northwest of Greenvale (forgetting that they had a prisoner...didn't question him or anything...just tied him up and never addressed him again...suffice to say, that would cost them).

the trail is heading towards an ancient riverbed, and both Evan and Raincinder begin to notice something about the area. Evan remembers that the area northwest of town is supposedly haunted due to to some ancient curse or something having to do with the ancient Tiefling empire that was in the area. Raincinder notices that the area is devoid of wildlife and there is an aura of Negative energy permeating this part of the forest.

soon enough, the trail leads the PC's to an ancient bridge (the water has since dried up), where they lose the trail in the ancient riverbed. something bothers them about the bridge...so naturally Aekos steps on it. as soon as he does, the party becomes aware of a low, musical hum coming from the four posts of the bridge. Aekos runs across to the other side, where 6 skeletons erupt from the ground and surround him, viciously stabbing at him. the rest of the party moves to the center of the bridge, leaving Raincinder alone to fend for himself as 2 ghosts emerge from the mists and attack. Aekos is dropping fast, but Saurros starts twin strking and taking down the decrepit skeletons that have surrounded Aekos. 1 ghost attacks Raincinder while the other moves to the center of the bridge to attack Ziggy. Aekos falls, but not before thinning the herd of skeletons (with Saurros' help). Raincinder tries to turn the ghosts and then lets loose with his Lance of Faith, moving away from the bridge and melee. Ziggy is flanked by the ghosts (who grant each other bonuses while near each other) and brought down. it's then that the party realizes that they are not doing full damage to the ghosts and they begin to panic. after a grueling battle, the PC's prevail, all having been brought down to single digit hit points. as the ghosts have been driven away and the skeletons destroyed, the Negative Energy about the area is dissipated and the curse of the bridge is lifted. in the area where the ghosts first appeared there now lie some ancient Tiefling weapons and armor that the party divies up...then they start wondering why they are getting their asses kicked in every fight. here is what we discover:

the rogue has yet to flank or otherwise gain combat advantage on anyone. his first strike ability is useless with his low initiative score and the inability of the party to flank opponents.

the fighter has not bothered to use ANY of his powers. dailies, at wills, encounters...none of them.

the ranger is designed for dual wielding but is using a bow.

no one has bothered to use action points.

the party has a strategy meeting, where they discuss various tactics. they then try picking up the trail again, but it has grown cold. after about 6 hours of searching, the ranger finds the trail on the opposite side of the riverbed heading northwest. they decide on an extended rest before continuing.

after breaking camp and traveling for a few more hours, the PC's come upon an armed campsite - the mercenary base. what's worse, they are expected. they see a bugbear warrior, a hobgoblin warcaster, a few grunts and a familiar looking archer (the one they tied up and left...seems he escaped and warned his buddies that the PC's were coming).

Aekos and the bugbear exchange words, with the bugbear laughingly asking for the party's surrender. of course, they refuse and the fight is joined. the archer starts raining arrows down on the party, and the warcaster blasts Raincinder backwards. Aekos runs out to meet the bugbear and is promptly bloodied by one shot from the bugbears morningstar. the hobgoblin grunts form a phalanx line and Evan drops then all with a well placed Icy Terrain...but this is where things really get ugly. the warcaster runs up and uses his force pulse on the party...and scores a CRITICAL, hitting everyone except Ziggy (who switched places with Aekos taking on the bugbear)...this blasts the whole party backwards, knocks them all prone and drops both Aekos and Raincinder into negative hit points. now they have no cleric.

Ziggy finally uses his daily and scores his own critical on the bugbear, who is swinging wildly and suddenly not so tough. Saurros criticals the warcaster and brings him down, so now it's just the archer and the bugbear against Evan, Saurros, and Ziggy. the bugbear manages to take down Ziggy, but Evan and Saurros manage to kill him before he can do any more harm...the archer fights valiantly but eventually he loses the battle of missiles and dies as well.

the party searches the area and finds some more weapons, some more gold, and some notes among the camp. they also see that the camp has for the most part been taken down, indicating that the hobgoblins were finished and were probably going to be heading out soon.

thus endeth the session.

here is the crunch:

CATAPULT CREW:
1 hobgoblin soldier
2 hobgoblin archers
1 hobgoblin grunt

HAUNTED BRIDGE
2 phantom warriors
6 decrepit skeletons

ENCAMPMENT
1 bugbear warrior
1 hobgoblin warcaster
1 hobgoblin archer
3 hobgoblin grunts

The Elite Party

bishopkoko — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:16:25 CDT

There is no abstract available for this page revision.