Post/Author/DateTime	Post
themadlibrarian 05-04-07, 03:39 PM	Greetings from themadlibrarian, Here comes what I believe is the 10Th recap of the RHOD, between myself and my co gm we threw the best marauder ambush at the pcs that we could and we did pull out all the stops. Hopefully, this recap will be as in depth as the others on the board. First off I would like to thank Caligula for all the advice that has given and the various extra items sent my way along with Baron162 as well. Any and all input would be greatly appreciated as we have a larger then normal party and we would like to make the encounters more challenging then by simply adding more creatures. The party's back story along with the recap of the first encounter will be added in tonight but first here are some memorable one liners from the encounter. "The squirrels have betrayed us all!" After directions from a squirrel on how to get to the nearest town lead them into the ambush. "Well Sam, all the arrows that have impaled you seem to have given you a deflection bonus." After 4 consecutive misses after 8 hits. "What do you man hell hounds can find me, I riled a 28 on my hide!" Scent its a wonderful thing isn't it. "How the hell can you fortify a tree?" My response, "Its a tree fort." After realizing the scope of the ambush.
supercheetah 05-04-07, 07:27 PM	Although he survived, the Rogue/Ninja is still uneasy. Aye! He just realized he forgot his Elven rope! Well, hopefully there's some rope he can buy in the next town the group happens upon.
maybop 05-04-07, 09:17 PM	The scorcer is also alive barely but is really not happy and neither is the familiar. As long as everyone is alive she is content, for now.
eblis1234 05-04-07, 10:38 PM	Looking forward to the recap....I love the tree fort response!! As somone having played RHOD (finished it last year) it is probably the best single module I have played in terms of breadth of tactics required and mix of locations within a single storyline. Have fun!
NJKrosse 05-05-07, 01:37 AM	As my partner in crime, TheMadLibrarian stated, we do have a larger than normal party. Each player is of 6th level, and their make up is . . . Jillian "Jilly" Tealeaf - Halfing Bard 6 Samanther "Sam" Sumdall - Cleric 5/Ranger 1 Kythianna “Kyth” Shirelore - Ranger 4/Druid 2 Laurine "Lau" Anclime - Sorcerer 6 Mugen - Rogue 5/Ninja 1 Nauba - Monk 6 Each of the PCs was originally designed using 3.0 rules, as that was the more prevalently available PHB at the time (hence why they’re mostly standard classes). Each PC is played by a single player, therefore there are 8 of us in the group. TheMadLibrarian also has a part time PC that was for a long time a plot hook for the group's adventures before entering the RHoD. Lupin Du Bois - Bard 2/Ranger 5/Ghostwalker 2 Lupin has since been taken out of the mix to allow TheMadLibrarian to assist me better in planning out and better portraying the RHoD. Up until now, the PCs adventures have been in and around a trade town known as Denfurrow. Their adventures took them into the contested territory of kobolds and goblins, to the elven kingdom to the north, and finally underneath Denfurrow itself, into a buried city (much like Pompeii) where they had to fight a very well crafted pair of minor villains (a half-dragon Kobold Monk and an Orc Favored Soul) in an attempt to prevent them from gaining “the Heart”, an artifact prison of a very ancient evil. Unfortunately, a 3rd minor villain, a Hobgoblin Sorcerer/Mindbender (my new wyrmlord) managed to just barely escape with “the Heart” through a portal that the party subsequently went through, only to find themselves in Elsir Vale and at the onset of the RHoD. And now the story thus far . . . The PCs awoke from camping the night before amongst the circle of stones that they were dumped out into thanks to the magically malfunctioning portal. Kyth conversed with a squirrel while Sam conversed with a Dutch Elm on which way to the nearest town and to some semblance of a trail. Making their way down the trail and eventually SE towards the nearest road, Mugen decided to take point, about 60 feet ahead. Mugen was the first to feel the wrath of the Red Hand, as first one and than another arrow found their way home into his flesh. Running back to the party, the arrows lodged in his shoulder and back were enough to reveal that an ambush awaited. At this point, Jilly began singing her bardic music, Kyth readied her bow, and Sam distributed some necessary healing to Nauba. (A note on the combat that occurred. With two GMs, we rolled each Red Hand as a separate initiative, which made it more fun and at the same time more convoluted. A more condensed version of each side’s actions is as follows) Round 1 PCs Sam, Jilly, and Kyth fired arrows/bolts, Sam and Jilly missed, while Kyth hit a critical for only 6 dmg. Nauba moved to the tree where the closest Hobgoblin on the left side of the road was sniping and began to climb, meanwhile Mugen darted into the brush of the left side as well, hiding himself to sneak attack. Lastly Lau fired off a magic missile towards the closest hobgoblin on the right and dropped it from its treefort, dead. Red Hand Each Hobgoblin attacked with their bows from their sniping platforms, 1 striking Sam, 1 striking Mugen, and one striking Nauba, but was deflected. Lastly the Hellhound at the end of the road charged forward towards Sam. TheMadLibrarian: "The squirrels have betrayed us all!" Nauba: "How the hell can you fortify a tree?" TheMadLibrarian: "It’s a tree fort." Round 2 PCs Sam, Jilly, and Kyth again fired arrows/bolts, Sam hits while Jilly and Kyth miss. Nauba began to climb said tree while Mugen fired off his crossbow, hitting one of the Hobgoblins. Lau rounded things out with another magic missile, dropping a second Hobgoblin from his platform Red Hand The Hobgoblins each took their shots, two hitting Jilly while the rest all missed their targets. The Hellhound reached the PCs and breathed fire, Kyth took the brunt of the damage while Jilly, Sam, and Lau took minimum. Round 3 PCs Sam and Kyth fired arrows, Kyth hits while Sam misses. Jilly, in her opportunistic way, began searching the body of the Hobgoblin that Lau killed in round 1. Nauba continued to climb, gaining 10 more feet, putting him just under the sniping platform of the Hobgoblin. Mugen attempted to hide again, this time much more successfully. And Lau, rounding out the round, dropped another Hobgoblin with her patented Magic Missile. Red Hand The remaining Hobgoblins continued to snipe the party, two aiming for Lau, one hitting the mark while the third missed Kyth and the 4th shot at Nauba, causing him to lose his grip and slide 10 feet down the tree. The Hellhound attacked Sam, but missed, and at the end of the round, the Doom Hand Cleric, Zarr, summoned another Hellhound to the battle, within snapping distance of Jilly and Kyth. The Bladebearer, Uth-Lar, sauntered forward Round 4 PCs Sam, Kyth, Jilly and Mugen fire their arrows/bolts, Sam missing hellhound #1, Jilly missing Hellhound #3, Mugen scoring a sneak attack and killing a Hobgoblin sniper, and Kyth hitting Hellhound #3. Nauba scales 10 more feet, putting himself back underneath the platform of the Hobgoblin. Lastly Lau uses her Magic Missile to strike Hellhound #3, wounding it. Red Hand This round Uth-Lar taunted Sam, beckoning him to come and fight, “Come forth and let us see who’s faith is stronger.” Zarr summoned a Spiritual Weapon to engage Sam. The Hobgoblin snipers continue to rain death, this time only one lands a blow against Jilly. Hellhound #2 and 6 more hobgoblins charge up the road at the end of this round. Hellhound #1 missed biting Sam, and Hellhound #3, summoned the round before, breathed fire, Kyth again taking the brunt of the damage, while Lau and Jilly, took half, and also set the right side of the road ablaze. TheMadLibrarian: "Well Sam, all the arrows that have impaled you seem to have given you a deflection bonus." After 4 consecutive misses after 8 hits. Round 5 PCs Sam attempted to dispel the Spiritual Weapon, but failed. Nauba attacked the Hobgoblin on the platform, knocking him off the platform and killing him. Jilly moved away from the blaze, Kyth fired her bow against Hellhound #3, dropping it dead. Mugen, having taken much damage, downed a Cure Serious potion. Lau, seeing the advancing Hobgoblins in the distance, fired a Lightning Bolt, killing 3 of the Hobgoblins and wounding the other 3. Red Hand Uth-Lar continued to taunt Sam and advanced slowly. Zarr drank his Invisibility potion and disappeared from sight, while his Spiritual Weapon missed Sam just barely. The two remaining snipers continued to fire, one hitting Sam. Hellhound #1 bit Sam, while Hellhound #2 Breathed on Mugen, who was unable to dodge, and took full damage, and also set part of the left side of the road on fire. Mugen: “What do you mean hell hounds can find me, I rolled a 28 on my hide!” TheMadLibrarian: “Scent, it is a wonderful evil thing isn't it.” Lastly, the 3 remaining hobgoblins running up the road drank their cure light potions and continued to advance. Round 6 PCs Sam shot Uth-Lar with his bow, striking home. Nauba jumped down for the platform to land just next to Uth-Lar. Jilly shot Uth-Lar with her crossbow while Kyth shot at Hellhound #1. Mugen shot at Hellhound #2, and Lau used a blast from her Magic Missile Wand to strike Uth-Lar. But despite the incredible amount of damage, Uth-Lar was mocking them all as he readied his next strike. Red Hand Uth-Lar attacked Lau, striking a heavy blow. Zarr cast Hold Person on Jilly, who failed her will save and became held, meanwhile his Spiritual Weapon missed again. Hellhound #1 bit at Sam while Hellhound #2 bit at Mugen, taking a very large chunk out of his hide. The sole remaining Hobgoblin in the trees, hereafter known as Arrog took a shot at Nauba, striking true. Two of the advancing Hobgoblins engaged Nauba, both landing blows, while the third engaged Mugen, landing a near critical blow. Round 7 PCs Sam shot at Uth-Lar, hitting him while Kyth took a shot at the Hellhound engaging Sam and hit. Jilly remained held by Zarr’s spell, while Mugen attempted to evade Hellhound #2 and cut open his bag of caltrops to hopefully slow the hellhound down. Nauba struck the two Hobgoblins before him, killing one and injuring the other. Lau brought her magic wand to bear on Uth-Lar again, striking him for massive damage. Red Hand Uth-Lar swung twice at Lau, but missed both times. Zarr moved into position to aid Uth-Lar and commanded his Spiritual weapon to attack Sam, but missed yet again. Hellhound #1 breathed on Lau and Sam, but both managed to avoid the brunt of the damage. Hellhound #2 bit at Mugen and missed. Arrog shot his bow at Jilly, landing a mighty blow as she was frozen solid and proceeded to break out into a mockery of dancing. The two Hobgoblin on the road attacked Nauba, one managing a blow that knocked him unconscious. Round 8 PCs Sam shot again at Uth-Lar, doing minor damage and calling to Kyth to help stabilize Nauba. Nauba failed to stabilize, but was then healed by Kyth after she expended a cure minor spell. Jilly remained held while Mugen swung his improvised bolas at the Hellhound #2 and entangled it, causing it to fall prone. Lau, having been knocked unconscious by Uth-Lar, failed to stabilize. Red Hand Uth-Lar swung his swords at Lau, knocking her into negatives, joining Nauba on the ground. Zarr cast cure light on Uth-Lar, and dealt Sam a point of damage from his spiritual weapon. Hellhound #1 bit hard into Sam knocking him unconscious, while Hellhound #2 missed Mugen. Arrog shot at the held Jilly, but missed. The two hobgoblins formerly engaged with Nauba broke off, one swinging and missing Kyth while the other swung and missed Mugen. Round 9 PCs Sam, having been knocked unconscious by Uth-Lar, miraculously stabilized this round, while Nabua remained stabilized and Lau failed to stabilize. Jilly remained immobile while Kyth shot her bow at the Hobgoblin before her, dropping it where it stood. Mugen dropped his crossbow and drew his rapier, but ultimately missed the Hobgoblin before him. Red Hand Uth-Lar swung at Sam and dealt a sound blow, knocking him unconscious while Zarr held his action in anticipation of Uth-Lar’s wounding. Hellhound #1 bit at Kyth and missed while Hellhound #2 spent its time breaking free of Mugen’s bolas. Arrog shot at Mugen this time, wounding him. The sole remaining Hobgoblin on the road attacked Mugen, but missed. Round 10 PCs With both Sam and Nauba unconscious but stabilized, and Lau slowly drifting closer to death, and Jilly still held in her spot, things were looking grim for the party. Kyth shot the Bladebearer and scored a critical hit against him, dropping him low. Mugen continued to try and hit the Hobgoblin before him, but missed. Red Hand Uth-Lar proceeded to taunt the fallen body of Sam, while Zarr, confident in what was left of the battle, chose to swing at Mugen, but missed and became visible again. Hellhound #1 just barely nipped at Kyth while #2 missed Kyth. Arrog shot and struck Jilly, wounding her again. Jilly’s eyes were torn between the arrow that struck her and the unnatural hobgoblin dancing in the distance. Lastly, the remaining hobgoblin on the road swung and missed Mugen. Round 11 PCs Kyth rushed over and burned a cure minor spell to stabilize Lau, leaving half the party stabilized, but out of the fight. Mugen turned his attention to Zarr and found an opening let his rapier sink in. Lastly, Jilly, who realizing at the end of the last round that she could move again, moved to put herself in line with as many enemies as possible and one successful perform check later, a lightning bolt leapt from the end of her ukulele (yes, you heard right, a ukulele), killing the hobgoblin before Mugen and Hellhound #1, and wounding Hellhound #2, Zarr, and even Kyth. Red Hand With Uth-Lar dead, all but Arrog of the snipers dead, and only one hellhound left, Zarr knew he couldn’t get away. After the lightning bolt ripped through him, he formulated a desperate plan, reached into his robes, pulled out two potions (1 cure serious, 1 bull’s strength) and consumed both at once. Meanwhile Hellhound #1 nipped at Kyth before dying and Hellhound #2 also nipped at Kyth. Lastly Arrog shot at Mugen, but missed. The PCs: at the sight of Zarr drinking two potions at once “Aww! Oh! Crap!” NJKrosse: “Anyone ever heard of potion miscibility. Sam: “Oh geeze, everyone run, run away as fast as you can.” Round 12 As this final round of combat opened, the PCs realized that something was very very wrong with Zarr, though his wounds were closing and his muscles expanding, they appeared to be straining against the very skin of his body, as if he were filled with too much liquid. Jilly darted back down the road from whence the party came. Kyth ran into the forest towards the ruined farmhouse and Mugen ran into the forest away from the farmhouse. Arrog, seeing Zarr blowing up, jumped from his platform and began to run, for all his worth, away from the ensuing carnage. Hellhound #2, sensing this same problem, ran off into the woods. Sam, Nauba, and Lau, unconscious, could only lay there in abject horror at what was about to occur. With a mighty groan of protest and a sudden scream, no one saw, but all heard the sudden explosion as Zarr’s body burst like a bladder filled with too much water, showering the road and everything within 20 feet (including Lau, Nauba, and Sam) The Aftermath With only half the party unconscious, and with the remaining PCs having only a score of hitpoints between them, they began dragging the PCs to the ruined farmhouse, where they first healed Sam, who subsequently burned every spell he had to heal the part back from the brink. Nauba, feeling remorse for the bodies in the farmhouse, began digging a large grave with a sword from one of the bodies. The rest of the party felt it more like cremation and began moving the bodies to the still smoldering forest (lit a blaze by the hellhounds). Kyth, on her way back to the farmhouse after looking for her arrows, discovered the holy symbol of Zarr, but couldn't recognize it. Then reaching the farmhouse, Kyth conversed with yet another squirrel, this one cracking a nut on the head of one of the guards' bodies. She was able to discerning that Drellin's Ferry is a few hours away by squirrel hop. . . . And thus ended the first session in the Red Hand of Doom. As you can see, the single advantage of having the initial 6 hobgoblins in tree-fort-stands added to the level of difficulty of this encounter, but at the same time, the PCs aren’t the most coordinated in their combat effort, and this is supposed to be one of the 'easiest' encounters the party will face. What will become of the PCs? Will they make it to Drellin's Ferry? Has yet another squirrel betrayed the party? Will they have the time to loot the bodies? And just what is that awful smell coming from around the farmhouse? (Its the hobgoblin latrine)
Martyrthesheep 05-07-07, 12:12 AM	Sam is not happy with Hobgoblins right now, almost makes him wish he had picked them as a favored enemy as opposed to undead before he realized that it was useless.
jillybeenz 05-07-07, 05:22 PM	For as much fun as the group is having, playing a bard and taking detailed battle notes is pretty exciting in and of itself. With so many people, it's easy to get distracted - many of us have the serious disorder commonly referred to as... ooh, shiny thing. I'm really proud of our group for sitting (or jumping about and pacing) through twelve rounds of combat. I can't wait to see what happens next!
supercheetah 05-07-07, 10:03 PM	Well, whether or not the party decides to take a more unified and tactically stronger defense/offense, Mugen is going to be a lot more careful with his scouting. He may not be an actual scout, but he's the closest the groups got to having one. He's definitely going to torture himself for being so careless.
jillybeenz 05-09-07, 10:16 AM	He's definitely going to torture himself for being so careless. "Doby had to iron his hands for being so bad." I wouldn't encourage you to damage yourself, we're up against enough already.
maybop 05-09-07, 01:11 PM	"Doby had to iron his hands for being so bad." I wouldn't encourage you to damage yourself, we're up against enough already. I agree. After this encounter we need all the HP we can get! I do think we need to think as a group and less like a individual, but with most of us chaotic that could proove intresting.
themadlibrarian 05-09-07, 03:06 PM	Well if the fates are kind we may be playing this sunday so the latest recap will be up on monday in all its gory glory. There may be a mystery player arriving to take the place of kyth but it all depends on the where and the when.
NJKrosse 05-13-07, 04:36 PM	Our next adventure begins in 30 minutes. Join us tomorrow for the recap and the plans that themadlibrarian and I have set in motion. Update! Our last adventure was this past Sunday, lasted about 6 hours (minus chatter and food). Write-up should be posted later today. . . .stay tuned.
NJKrosse 05-18-07, 04:48 PM	The Heroes Jillian "Jilly" Tealeaf - Halfing Bard 6 Samanther "Sam" Sumdall – Elven Cleric 5/Ranger 1 Kythianna “Kyth” Shirelore – Elven Ranger 4/Druid 2 Laurine "Lau" Anclime – Elven Sorcerer 6 Mugen – Human Rogue 5/Ninja 1 Nauba of the Gulping Crane – Dwarven Monk 6 With the exception of the player for Kyth, everyone was in attendance, including myself and themadlibrarian. I chose to run Kyth myself than to have her sit out this game. Themadlibrarian and I took turns running NPCs, partially to keep the PCs going, part to keep my own sanity, and part because themadlibrarian portrays such memorable NPCs. As we resume, the PCs had just narrowly defeated the hobgoblin marauders. After healing up and searching the other corpses, the party makes the tough decision (made very easy, considering they let one of the hobgoblins escape) to head for the town. Mugen took the opportunity to dress in peasant garb and pretend to be a fisherman to sneak past the guards. But one failed disguise check, and a successful bluff check thereafter and he was telling the guards that he was a “crossbow fisherman”. They decided to give him a chance, they’d let him through if he could catch a fish with his crossbow. So Mugen wades out into the water, fires his crossbow and hits the fish. Guard: “Good shot! Now bring it ashore.” One swim check later (a 1) and Mugen was left flailing in the water. Guard calling to Mugen: “Ok, here’s what you do lad . . . . . . . . stand up!” Much to Mugen’s shame, he was only in about 4 feet of water. The guards listened as the PCs told them of the marauders they had killed and then sent them to the Old Toll House to speak with Norro Wiston, town speaker and Soranna, Captain of the guards. Two nearly unaided Diplomacy checks by Jilly and the indifferent Norro and Soranna were both on friendly terms with the PCs. They struck a deal that in exchange for clearing out the hobgoblin tribe in the Witchwood, the town would pay them half of what they were offering (250 of 500gp) in exchange for free room and board at The Old Bridge Inn. They also learned that they were several weeks journey west of where they had originally been. They split up from here, making their ways to Sertieren the Wise and Jarett’s Sundries just before closing. Jarett was a tad standoffish, while Sertieren was helpful, and asked them to call on him in the morning. Most of the night was spent gathering information and rumors around town. One rumor that came up was that there was a spy telling brigands in the woods of caravan departures. This had some of the PCs worried. In the morning the PCs went about town, meeting the locals, which included a “fire and brimstone” preaching priest with a decidedly Irish accent (Brother Derny), a “fire and spittle” dwarven blacksmith (Morlin Coalhewer) and the Einstein looking halfling (Sertieren). Sertieren spent much of the morning identifying items the party had collected, while Morlin was “shocked” to meet a dwarf choosing to not wear any armor, and Derby tried to convert the unbelievers in the party. As the party had lunch, Lau began tallying up what was in the party’s treasury. Nauba tossed a bag of 70 platinum onto the table, saying to add that to the treasury. The sight as the bag of platinum fell open on the table drew almost every eye in the place to the party’s table. A few excuses and a hastily dealt game of cards later and the PCs were now worried that there was indeed a spy in town and that they would be next. They chose to leave Drellin’s Ferry by separate means, meeting up later at the druid stones The Old Ones. Once rejoined, the party headed out, using a map of the Witchwood that Sam had drawn from a tapestry map that hung in the Old Toll House. They had been told about Jorr, a reclusive Ranger, as well as Vraath Keep, supposedly haunted by its former lord. As they approached the sight of the marauder encounter, they discovered a scavenger digging into one of the bugbear corpses. This was in fact, a dire boar. The boar only managed to land one blow, on Sam, before it was dispatched. Sometime later, the party came to the Blackwater Causeway. Two very good spot checks later and the party saw the head of something moving towards them, like that of an alligator. It was joined by 5 others that emerged from the water. They watched in horror as the heads emerged on necks, attached altogether to the single body of a Hydra! The PCs brought everything they had to bear on it, lightning from Lau, a flurry of blows from Nauba, bolts from Mugen, and sword slashes from Sam and Kyth (resulting in two head decapitations). With it down Sam was concerned that it was one that could regenerate heads, and so they burned decapitated the rest of the heads and burned the neck stumps. A search of the wreckage off the road brought the party an incredibly nice breast plate suit of armor. This along with the two separate encounters, and fueled by the fact that they didn’t know where to find Jorr, decided to return to Drellin’s Ferry and head out the next day, after asking around as to where the elusive ranger could be found. That night, in the cover of darkness, several hobgoblins crept into DF’s western edge, and began to terrorize the people there, setting fires as they went. Shouts and cries by several hung-over townsfolk of “Save the brewery” go out. Alerted to the threat, the guards of DF and the PCs went to stem the havoc being caused. As the PCs stepped off the dock, watching the guards and captain Soranna heading up the river towards the brewery, they were beset by goblins on worgs and their hellhound. For the next 30 seconds (5 rounds), the players fought for their lives against the goblins wearing sinister glee-filled smiles. The hellhound fell in the first round to a critical from Mugen and major pummeling from Nauba. By the 3rd round, two worgs and one rider are dead. Some of the players were beginning to feel the hurt, Sam takes the time to heal himself. By the 4th round, Mugen has backed towards the river to reload his crossbow and the final worg has died. In the final round, the last two goblins die from massive quantities of damage. Just as things are beginning to look up, a lightning bolt hits most of the party (except Mugen), knocking at least one person into the single digits as six hobgoblins charge down the road towards the PCs. What could possibly happen next? We’ll find out in 2 more weeks. Dun dun dun!!!
jillybeenz 05-21-07, 01:40 PM	Don't you just love the fact that the shortest member of the party usually ends up speaking for them? I can just imagine what it looked like to the guards and Norro and Soranna... all these tall adventurers looking down expectantly at their three foot companion, reassuring her that "just this once" it was okay to tell stories about the party. We got in trouble back in Denfurrow and traveling in that area when Jilly told tales of the group's adventures... quite well. Marauding bandits fought over the best places to ambush us on the trail, and we ended up taking on some tough foes as early characters. Thank goodness for NPCs.
maybop 06-16-07, 11:39 PM	There should be one more update fror last weekends meeting. right? :confused:
themadlibrarian 06-22-07, 11:49 AM	Sorry for the long delayed update as to what transpired, I was out of the gaming area and and thus our well laid plans to destroy the pcs did not suceed so much as I intended. Now that they face the wrath of 2 GMs their fates are sealed. (Insert fiendish laughter)
NJKrosse 06-22-07, 06:49 PM	To address maybop and themadlibrarian, the previous adventure within RHoD will be compiled with this upcoming adventure, taking place this Sunday the 24th at about 2pm. Stay tuned Monday for the long-overdue write up.:evillaugh
NJKrosse 07-07-07, 10:35 PM	The Heroes Jillian "Jilly" Tealeaf - Halfing Bard 7 Samanther "Sam" Sumdall – Elven Cleric 6/Ranger 1 Kythianna “Kyth” Shirelore – Elven Ranger 5/Druid 2 Laurine "Lau" Anclime – Elven Sorcerer 7 Mugen – Human Rogue 5/Ninja 2 Nauba of the Gulping Crane – Dwarven Monk 7 Thom Warson – Human Fighter 4/Cleric 1 This Recap is brought to you by TheMadLibrarian The First Battle for Vraath Keep After successfully fending off a large raid on the town of Drellin’s Ferry the group set off to avenge the damage done to the town by the hobgoblin tribe. Among the destroyed buildings were several warehouses and to the horror of the survivors, the brewery which exploded in a horrific fireball claiming several of the invaders in a pyrrhic victory of sorts. Alas due to the magic possessed by the invaders two escaped from the ensuing explosion, one by retreating with incredible haste and the other by vanishing in front of the parties very eyes. Now even more then ever the group steeled themselves to destroy the threat that the tribe posed to the town. The group set out that morning (Day 3 in the RHoD timeline, for those counting) for Jorr’s cabin after learning of its location from a friendly halfling at the Old Bridge Inn. After taking a winding path through the Witch Wood they arrived at an old cabin and bargained for the aid of the woodsman. The group then took a roundabout way to approach the abandoned keep. Along the way they saw a Manticore flying in the air, its purpose unknown to the party, but later learned it had landed and taken off from Vraath, and upon seeing signs of additional activity they prepared to attack. Sam suggested using decoys to draw out the garrison (just like in the movie “The Patriot”) and ambush them much in the same way that they had been ambushed three days ago on the road. After a quick discussion the group agreed and began combining spare clothes, twigs, and preparing magic spells to make it appear as though a traveling group was bedding down for the approaching night. However it was not to be as a worg rider on patrol was able to see through their attempts at concealment and had enough life to survive two excellent bow shots from Kyth and sprinted back to the keep. Their fate suddenly became even darker as one of Jorr’s hounds arrived and after a brief discussion which Kyth was able to understand, the group learned that a large raiding party was heading towards the keep. Jorr: “What’s that boy” Hound: “Woof woof.” Jorr: “Trouble at the old oak crossing?” Hound: “Woof woof woof.” Jorr: “Smelly goblins coming this way.” Hound: “Yip” [B]Jorr:[B] “Really ugly ones to?” Hound: “Ruff” Jorr: “How fast are they moving boy?” Hound: “Yip, bow, ruff.” Jorr: “Then there’s still time to slow em down.” (For those curious, this was our way of taking Jorr out of the equation for the fight for Vraath Keep) With the group securely hidden in the underbrush of the Witch Wood, Jorr immediately left to stall the oncoming group promising to buy as much time as was possible, hoping to give the group at least 3 hours as he went to give the group a warm welcome to his woods. Kyth, along with Jilly being carried on her back, skirted the edge of the clearing trying to find some weakness in the fortress to exploit. As they neared the end of their circuit they found a gapping hole in the wall that would be a perfect entry point as well catching sight of a glowing figure in the tower window and hearing a faint moaning sound on the wind. As the moaning died away, Kyth and Jilly were alerted to a hereto unknown presence nearby. After a bitter duel of spot/listen/hide/move silently checks they discovered a heavily armed and armored human keeping watch on the keep. Kyth silently whispered to him, “Your armor reflects the moonlight. You should try leather.” After an amazingly successful diplomacy check (via Jilly) they had learned that his name was Thom Warson, and that he was the lone survivor of a group that had been ambushed. This fighter had tracked his foes to Vraath Keep and was preparing to conduct his own one man assault. Kyth and Jilly convinced him to join their group in a mutual assault upon the keep. Meanwhile the PCs decided to hide and Mugen felt compelled to alert his companions to their own ineptness with an incredible Spot check, “You’re doing it wrong.” Through her use of druidic magic Kyth was able to make Thom walk unhindered through the brush and after one frantic hide check they were able to return to the other PCs and share what they had learned. Though at first hesitant to trust this human that had appeared on the very doorstep of their enemies, the group invited him into their short planning session. The group carefully made their way to the wall and set about preparing to charge into the breach. Before they charged across 300 feet of open terrain under moonlight Nauba set about creating a suitable distraction. With protective spells cast upon him by Lau the monk disappeared into the tree line and emerged far away from the group and made a zigzag route to the abandoned garden shack. The parting words from the party to him were, “As long as you make your reflex save you’ll do all right.” As the monk neared it he heaved a bottle of alchemist fire onto the dilapidated structure. A hobgoblin archer caught site of him but before he could draw a bead on the monk, Nauba lobbed a second container, this one full of a substance called grog. Unfortunately, instead of causing an explosion, the bottle merely flew through a weak section of burning wood. The flames still took the hobgoblin sentry by surprise, long enough for Nauba to disappear along the edge of the wall. The group charged the breach with Thom and Sam in the lead, while the rest of the PCs followed behind their shield wall. Kyth in the rear provided cover fire and kept the guards on the walls distracted while trying to investigate where the moaning was coming from. After spotting the bizarre glowing figure in the tower she kept an eye on it while firing shots at the Hobgoblins. As the PCs charged the wall, arrows flew at them but are unable to hit as Thom and Sam closed on the first hobgoblin. Sam immediately cast Bless upon the party and Jilly started her bardic music. As the only one to understand goblin, Kyth heard a war cry screamed out, “To glorious combat!!” Rounding out the order Nauba rejoin the group as they are about to reach the breach and Lau scored first blood with a barrage of magic missiles upon the still dazed hobgoblin archer at the southeast corner of the keep. Just as Sam, Thom, and Nauba (after pulling off a unexpected jump check) managed to surround a beleaguered hobgoblin, three things happened in rapid succession. Lau finished blasting the hobgoblin in the SE corner, a javelin slammed into Sam and a minotaur charged out and gored Nauba, nearly ripping him in half. Mugen, seeking not to get involved in the melee, used his ghost step ability to appear on the other side of the courtyard next to a large door and prepared to snipe at the enemy from the shadows. Jilly continued singing, safely hidden behind a boulder while Kyth tried to find out just what the hell that moaning thing was doing. By now the remainder of the guards on the walls were opening up on the PCs with their bows, but scored few hits. As Thom went one on one with the minotaur, Sam desperately tried to put Nauba back together again and to his utter horror watched as the minotaur grew in size before his very eyes and tore into Nauba and Thom. “It appears that my cure serious has healed you for a net loss of 2 hp.” Kyth abandoned watching the tower and began to climb the broken courtyard wall to aide her comrades. Still hurting from the minotaur’s swing Thom and Lau were nailed by arrows from the hobgoblin snipers. Nauba’s attempt to grapple the hobgoblin resulted in two missed attacks as the creature was able to avoid attacks from Sam and Thom as it climbed up from the ground and scrambled into the barracks. Thom and his blazing sword scored a magnificent hit on the minotaur but the beast still stood and Sam frantically poured healing magic into [B]Thom to keep him standing. Mugen had been bidding his time preparing his shot on either the minotaur or the hobgoblin that was dashing in and out of cover as it lobbed javelins at his comrades. His plans fell apart as the door he was hiding next to suddenly sprang open and he found himself caught between it and the wall. One listen check later he knew that something big was coming out and one frantic spot check later Mugen came face to face with a very angry manticore inches away from him. As snipers rained arrows down upon them, with all of them fortunately missing the PCs, Thom continued his assault on the minotaur and Sam kept pumping healing power into him. Jilly broke off her song to keep the sorely wounded Lau alive and she responded with magic missiles at the snipers. Mugen was frozen with fear at being caught between a rock and a hungry face and frantically sought a way to escape, desperately climbing up the wall until he was on top of the stables. Not content to watch his meal escape, the manitcore took to the air and began to pursue his snack. Suddenly magic missiles poured out of the tower window striking several of the party members as they immediately recognized the source of the magic, it was the hobgoblins War Adept that had raided Drellin’s Ferry. The minotaur finally fell to Thom’s blade and he prepared to push on into the barracks in pursuit of the hobgoblin that had escaped his blade earlier. Sam and Nauba followed suit while Kyth had finished climbing and was now counter sniping the hobgoblins from her position on the south wall. Meanwhile inside the barracks Thom spotted the hobgoblin and he, Sam, and Nauba rushed to attack the trio. Mugen was running for his life as the manticore swooped down after him. He jumped down into stables through the hole in the ceiling but not before the manticore swiftly sent a volley of spikes down after him, striking several times. Not to be outdone magic missiles again flew out of the tower window peppering the heroes. (DM’s Note: I, njkrosse, mixed up the locations of the manticore nest and worg barracks, hence any confusion should be cleared up) As Thom, Sam, and Nauba fought in the barracks, Mugen was frantically scrambling away from the landing manticore and promptly ran out the far door with the beast close behind. Kyth, unable to draw a bead on the monstrous beast continued to trade shots with the two remaining hobgoblin archers. Lau decided enough was enough and fired a lightening bolt at the figure in the window, only to have him fire one back at her in return. The group was getting desperate to turn the tide of the battle and could not get involved in a continual slugging match with reinforcements on the way. Suddenly the ground erupted between the barracks and the remainder of the party as a swarm of spiders began to bubble up out of the ground as if it were some vile geyser. Arrog made a triumphant return to battle pelting Lau with a javelin only to be blasted by a barrage of magic missiles. Meanwhile inside the barracks Thom was making headway against his hobgoblin eventually slaying him. Sam was unable to land the final blow against his hobgoblin and it lingered in this world by the tiniest of threads and fought on. Nauba finished off his as well and was preparing to charge into the tower when a lightening bolt shattered the tower door and hit Thom head on dropping him like a pile of heavily charred meat in a can. Nauba was spared the damage as he carefully ran like hell away from the doorway and the magic using figure. Sam was finally able to land the last blow upon the hideously wounded hobgoblin and smirked, “Where is your god now you wretched beast.” “My god is there.” The hobgoblin let out with his dying breath as he pointed to a rapidly disintegrating door revealing a screaming Mugen and a chimera a few paces behind him. Sam: “Oh Crap.” “It’s going to eat me.” screamed Mugen has he almost collided with Sam. With Thom down, and Nauba scrambling away from the stairway, Sam refused to engage until he was back at full health as Thom slipped closer to death. Fleeing from the lightening duel that was taking place outside Jilly and Lau fled into what had been the smithy of the keep away from spikes, spells, and other pointy things. With the manticore finally out in the open Kyth gleefully peppered it with arrows. Inside the barracks Nauba caught sight of smoke rising from a desk inside the tower doorway. With Sam backing him up the duo charged into the room with Sam moving to Thom and Nauba to the desk in hopes of putting out the fires. The room was surprisingly empty and with Mugen and Thom behind him Sam charged up the stairs. Seeing the tide turning against them, the remaining hobgoblins fled the keep for the tree line. The trio soon found the two remaining defenders as a victorious Elven war cry alerted them that Kyth had slain the manticore. Upon seeing the PCs enter, the Bugbear sorcerer (Koth) jumped out the window and began to fly away towards the north. Thom and Sam immediately closed with the remaining hobgoblin and tried to slay it before it could escape. Unfortunately they were not able to do enough damage as it too escaped through the window. Kyth and Jilly fired arrows and crossbow bolts at the fleeing bugbear but to no avail as he sped away. Sam was unwilling to admit defeat and was successfully able to dispel the fly spell keeping the other hobgoblin sorcerer afloat, causing him to drop the five feet to the barracks roof below. Not to be outdone Thom jumped out after him and beheaded him in one swift motion. He then lifted the severed head above him and screamed out, “Vengeance!!” But the elation of their victory soon turned to ash in their mouths, the group had not encountered any of the worg riders that they had seen earlier and with Koth’s escape they feared that they would soon be attacked by more then just the hobgoblins that Jorr was delaying. Thom and Sam quickly began praying to renew their spells as the rest of the group set off to explore the keep and try to prepare some type of defense. Thom chose to pray over the body of his slain foe while Sam choose the relative safety of the tower. The next leg of the adventure takes place in less than 24 hours. Hopefully this next recap will take much less time than this one did to post. I guess this is where I share the secrets that themadlibrarian and I have planned for the PCs. Essentially he and I have devised a two wave attack, the first wave is the same as the original ambush that the PCs faced, with a few adjustments, given Jorr's meddling. The second wave will be Koth and the hobgoblins he can raise from Skullgorge Bridge to retake Vraath Keep. We're playing Koth primarily as the kind of person who wants to prove himself in the eyes of the Red Hand and so isn't going to go and cry for help. He's going to retake the keep or die trying. The PCs will have at least 8 hours to rest between waves, as it will take that long to collect the Hobgoblins at the bridge and return. Think of the first wave as large numbers and unprepared for what awaits them. The second wave knows what's there, and is prepared for them, with Koth leading the charge and some well prepared hobgoblins, probably more than the typical "regulars" that show up so often, something to really make the PCs work for it. We'll see what they do afterwards, and what they decide to do with the scorched documents and map.
themadlibrarian 07-09-07, 06:06 PM	The second battle of Vraath Keep was very close to being a tpk, thankfully some well cast spells were able to save off destruction. A full recap will be posted by my codm in the coming days and things are just getting warmed up.
NJKrosse 07-18-07, 01:20 AM	The Heroes Jillian "Jilly" Tealeaf - Halfing Bard 7 Samanther "Sam" Sumdall – Elven Cleric 6/Ranger 1 Laurine "Lau" Anclime – Elven Sorcerer 7 Nauba of the Gulping Crane – Dwarven Monk 7 Thom Warson – Human Fighter 4/Cleric 1 Absent from this Adventure Kythianna “Kyth” Shirelore – Elven Ranger 5/Druid 2 Mugen – Human Rogue 5/Ninja 2 Night 3 & Day 4 As Sam and Thom began praying to regain their spells, Kyth’s status was looking grim. Despite the healing she was given after being impaled with several Manticore barbs, she remained unconscious and unresponsive. Jilly and Lau set about searching some of the remaining rooms in the keep while Mugen aided Nauba in some hasty fortifications. With the fortifications complete, Nauba turned his attention to the map and documents he had saved from being burned. With the help of a spell of Lau’s, they were able to decipher the map and several other documents, reports from other hobgoblins ambushers and their preparations, as well as a report from a spy in Drellin’s Ferry. Just as Sam and Thom came out of their prayers, the first arrow fell. Having taken up a position outside the keep, Nauba was nearly perforated by a hail of arrows falling on his location from a group of advancing Hobgoblins. He scrambled frantically backwards as the arrows fell around him and thanks to his amazing reflexes he emerged unscathed. Lau rushed out into the courtyard and fired a blast of lightning at the approaching hobgoblins, dropping half their numbers. Jilly and Sam remained up in the tower, using their ranged attacks; Thom charged down into the courtyard to take on the Hobgoblins first hand; and Nauba retreated back into one of the gate rooms. Nauba soon found himself in a deadly game of dwarf and hobgoblin as two of the un-charred hobgoblin regulars closed in on him and soon he found himself fending off arrows and blades. Despite his skill he was still hit several times and soon found himself in even more trouble. Meanwhile two other hobgoblins regulars that survived the lightning blast advanced on the now lone sorcerer. What the PCs didn’t know was that a flying and invisible force was heading for the keep, while a second force was preparing to breach the wall on their flank. The hobgoblin’s plans worked perfectly, as the Cleric of their group disappeared, a second foe appeared right behind Sam scoring a major hit. Sam quickly countered with a spiritual charger, but the spell failed to connect with the blade and the bladebearer bull rushed him out of the tower’s broken window, causing him to fall to the ground prone while the hobgoblin floated mockingly above the floor. As Sam fought and fell from the tower, two goblin worg riders, the ones who had abandoned Vraath in the earlier fight, and a second BladeBearer, charged into the courtyard, easily pushing aside the barricade made of boulders to engage Lau knocking her painfully unconscious. Thom came charging to the rescue and was able to bring her back into the positives, but he soon was being blasted by the unseen cleric. Nauba fought against his two hobgoblins, but knew fear when he faced down a goblin and his worg that attacked from behind trapping him in the ruined guardhouse. Luckily after a few rounds Lau was able to fire off a lightening bolt and both the warg and rider were left charred and twitching on the courtyard ground. While Sam was being knocked from the tower and to the ground, Jilly clambered onto the roof of the barracks to get better shots at the courtyard. Lau was taking damage as she let out magic missiles and ice knives at the enemy, hovering just above unconsciousness. With the tower his, the BladeBearer began to bark out orders that none of the PCs could understand (those present did not know Goblin!), then walked out (still flying) and took on Jilly who fired back with a lightning bolt from her ukulele and jumped off the roof to the courtyard below. The Bladebearer pursued and struck her hard, knocking her into negatives. All the while Thom was taking on one hobgoblin after another, eventually facing off against the cleric himself, and dispatching him, but falling unconscious after the second BladeBearer entered the fray. Sam in the meantime pulled himself up from the ground, healed, and pushed back into the keep, fighting the Bladebearer that had jumped down after Jilly, and then the second goblin and worg. Lau’s spells were in rare form that night as she brought the BladeBearer and the last worg and rider down with her magic missiles. As the clouds parted, revealing the moons shining down in their varying phases, the battle was over. Thom was unconscious and Jilly was dying, Lau’s spells were depleted as were most of her hp, Nauba and Sam were the only two that still had some fight in them, and neither wished to see any further bloodshed that evening. Sam set about healing Thom and Jilly to consciousness while Lau went to meditate and Nauba began to drag the bodies into the courtyard and loot them. Several hours passed as the PCs prepared for another fight, this time vowing to not bring the fight to the enemy, but let the enemy bring the fight. As Sam and Lau emerged from meditation and prayer, they were surprised to find Jorr in their midst, who felt he had best not wake the other PCs with his presence. The PCs were shocked and then overjoyed at his presence, sharing with him the harrowing accounts of taking the keep and then keeping said keep. Jorr was impressed, but after revealing his new hellhound skin cape, claimed that were it not for his stealthy tactics and precise shots, the PCs would have been overwhelmed. Nauba showed Jorr the map that he had saved from being burned by Koth and the PCs formulated a plan, sending Jorr back to Drellin’s Ferry with the map to worn the townsfolk of a possible attack, while the party would head for Skull Gorge Bridge and eventually to Cinder Hill, where a large hole had been burned in the map. Jorr went on ahead while the PCs continued to loot and heal up. Deciding to take down Koth’s ghostly diversion, the PCs brought the body down from the tower, only to let the head roll under the bed. To their surprise, when retrieving the head, they discovered a secret trapped door, leading down to Vraath Keep’s vault. Not sure of how to proceed the group cast light on a pebble and let it fall into the chute. After it struck the bottom Sam, Thom, and Nauba descended the rusty ladder. The group was amazed at what they found in the subterranean vault. Sam immediately found the skeleton of the former lord and more importantly the cold-to-the-touch scimitar that lay hidden amongst the bones. Thom was there a moment later claiming the surprisingly intact gauntlets, after shaking out the skeletal hands. Now the PCs attention fell upon the sealed containers in the vault and as one they cursed their fates that Mugen, the party’s rogue was in no condition to help them. It was Nauba that provided the perfect solution, and so with the slain minotaur’s axe they began to ruthlessly pound away at the various locks and bars till at last after much banging, cursing, screaming, and wailing the hidden wealth of the vaults was revealed to the party. It was Thom that found the ancient yet still valid deed for the keep, while Nauba and Sam joined in the opening of the coffers. They all suffered from a rare case of “gold fever” as they couldn’t stop themselves from opening coffer after coffer. It almost seemed they would break out into a victory dance but thankfully they did not. Turning their attention to the largest chest in the corner the trio eagerly began to break it open and were amazed at what they discovered. Thom immediately chose the black dragon skull in hopes of fashioning a helmet out of it, and Sam used one of his spells and was amazed at what radiated off of the ornate staff. But it was the massive spiked gauntlet that drew their attention the most, and all were disturbed by the grotesque nature of a necklace made from giants teeth. Nauba’s attention moved to the next alcove, locked again, but containing a desk, chair, and several piles of dust covered papers. Among them was found the journal of the original owner of Vraath Keep, revealing the mindset of that lord. Apparently he took great pleasure in striking his first servant for the slightest wrong. Now the PCs attention fell upon the sealed containers in the vault and as one they cursed their fates that Mugen, the party’s rogue was in no condition to help them. Nauba provided the perfect solution, and so with the slain minotaur’s axe they began to ruthlessly pound away at the various locks and bars till at last after much banging, cursing, screaming, and wailing the hidden wealth of the vaults was revealed to the party. It was Thom that found the ancient yet still valid deed for the keep, while Nauba and Sam joined in the opening of the coffers. They all suffered from a rare case of “gold fever” as they couldn’t stop themselves from opening coffer after coffer. It almost seemed they would break out into a victory dance but thankfully they did not. The remainder of the spoils were to be shared with the party, minus half of the coinage that was found. Thom was already full of dreams of rebuilding the keep while Nauba had delusions of discovering his parents and Sam’s ambitions of rebuilding his order were growing one step closer to fruition The group decided to take only what they could carry back to Drellin’s Ferry resupplying and trekking to the bridge and then ambush the gathering at Cinder Hill. Not wanting all of their hard won loot to be ‘looted’ while it was left in the keep, the group worked quickly to move the various weapons and armor to the hidden vault. With the dead left piled in an immense pile in the courtyard, their bodies stripped of all valuables, the group departed for Drellin’s Ferry flushed with success. What awaits the party when they return to Drellin's Ferry, and what will they find when they set out for Skull Gorge Bridge, and just where the heck is Koth in all this? Find out this and much much more next time, same Doom time, same Doom channel
NJKrosse 07-27-07, 02:31 AM	...Skull Gorge Bridge is Falling Down, My Fair Dragon Yes its once again that time of the week, time to relive the heroics of the intrepid band of PCs thrown into the Red Hand of Doom without so much as a "why?!" The Heroes Jillian "Jilly" Tealeaf - Halfing Bard 7 Samanther "Sam" Sumdall – Elven Cleric 6/Ranger 1 Kythianna “Kyth” Shirelore – Elven Ranger 5/Druid 2 Laurine "Lau" Anclime – Elven Sorcerer 7 Mugen – Human Rogue 5/Ninja 2 Nauba of the Gulping Crane – Dwarven Monk 7 Missing in Action Thom Warson – Human Fighter 4/Cleric 1 (Events spanning the end of Day 4 through the dawn hour of Day 7) As the PCs returned to Drellin’s Ferry, they were immediately directed to the Old Bridge Inn, who’s tap room had been cleared out and only Jorr, Norro Wiston, and Captain Soranna were present. Jorr was drinking heavily, one for every hobgoblin or goblin he killed. The PCs gave their report, explaining that a tribe of hobgoblins is planning an attack on the entire region (from Koth’s map) and that the hobgoblins were using Vraath Keep as a base of operations. The plan of attack was to head for the bridge and then to Cinder Hill, where a flag was pictured on the map. Norro cautioned that the bridge was vital to the survival of Drellin’s Ferry, and that the lack of trade from the west might be a result of its being compromised. The party needed to resupply before heading out to check on Skull Gorge Bridge to see if they could halt a larger force from using it. Norro urged speed in their journey, while Sam passed Captain Soranna the letter amongst Koth’s papers from a potential spy within Drellin’s Ferry. The PCs also got wind of a missing family from a hasty conversation between Soranna and one of her subordinates. Fragments of the conversation included “farmstead of the Varshield family” “only one body, a boy”, “parents missing” and “blood everywhere.” Soranna looked disturbed at this news, and took her leave of the gathering to go investigate. The PCs spent the remainder of the day and coming night to resupply, acquire some healing, and have their many magical items identified. Amongst the discovery were the Staff of Life of 7 charges, a Frost Scimitar named “Autumn’s Death” (claimed by Sam), as well as other miscellaneous minor magical items. As the PCs headed out into the Witchwood once again, they passed by an old, crudely constructed effigy of a giant, and wondered if there were still any in the Witchwood, or if they had been driven out completely after the fall of Vraath Keep. Turning their attention to the road ahead, the PCs made good time to the bridge, only to have the wind knocked out of them when they arrived to find it occupied by hobgoblins, hellhounds, and an enormous green dragon. The party got their bearings, but felt that they may not be able to take on the bridge and survive, especially with the encampment on the other side of the bridge, and the threat of the green dragon. It was Sam who came up with a solution, suggesting the party return to the effigy and seek out any giants that may still be in the woods. What they found down the lone northwestern trail was the giant Warklegnaw, sitting by an immense fire, roasting a dire boar and wishing it was owlbear instead. Instead of simply approaching the giant outright, Sam suggested hunting an owlbear (he had seen a pair just the other day in the woods). The party set off to hunt down an owlbear to bring as an offering to the giant. Sam was quickly able to find a set of owlbear tracks, leading the party to a pair of owlbears feasting over the carcass of a doe. The owlbears put up a good fight, one managing to grapple Nauba to the ground, clawing at him while pinning the dwarf under its great weight. As the owlbears fell, Nauba became trapped underneath the owlbear and would have surely suffocated were it not for the help of Sam, Mugen, and Lau. Meanwhile Kyth began gutting the other owlbear and proceeded to skewer it with her lance (kept in her quiver of ehlonna). Between Kyth, Sam, and Nauba carrying ends of the lance, they brought the owlbear back to the edge of Warklegnaw’s camp. It was Jilly’s turn to shine, as she and the rest of the party approached Warklegnaw’s camp. Putting on her greatest performance, a natural 32 for her diplomacy check, aided by the other PCs (+10 to check) brought her to a 42, and with the owlbear on a skewer already, Warklegnaw went from unfriendly to helpful (without even the use of the gauntlet, which they didn’t bring with them) in a matter of one short conversation. Warklegnaw took the owlbear and offered to share his campfire with the party. As the owlbear roasted, the PCs asked Warklegnaw about his tribe and what happened to him. A sad tail was shared, about a proud tribe of giants and the despicable tyrant who drove his people from their ancestral woods. As the owlbear finished cooking, the party turned their attention to how to assault the bridge, and approached the old giant about a possible alliance, to fight the hobgoblins and dragon. Warklegnaw would not budge, however, feeling his place was in the forest, and that the bridge was beyond the forest. Even the notion of throwing boulders was beyond him, simply because of his age. But when the PCs mentioned a certain gauntlet they found, his stance changed. Warklegnaw explained that the glove was taken when that punk, Vraath, slew the last chief. The gauntlet represents rulership, and with it he could recruit the giants that still followed the old ways to come to the aid of the Witchwood and the party. After some deliberations, the party agreed to bring [/B]Warklegnaw[/B] the gauntlet, and the giant agreed to bring those giants that would follow him back here in 3 days. As the night wore on, Warklegnaw was impressed with Jilly, such a small little folk, that he put her on his shoulder. She performed for him and with a 32, Warklegnaw felt the urge to dance around the fire, causing Jilly to hold on for dear life. With the meal finished, the party rested at ease, safe in the knowledge that no wandering creatures would attack the camp of a giant. As morning dawned, the party was awoken by the sound of sawing logs, and thinking that a group of gnomes had arrived with massive sawing contraptions. A quick scan of the camp revealed the source of the sound, a very content looking Warklegnaw. After a light breakfast, Warklegnaw set off for the mountains and his tribe while the PCs began to plan an attack on the bridge. (It should be noted here that the party spent well over an hour of time outside the game debating over what strategies to use, including a run for pizza, and was part of the reason why they went back and tried to get Warklegnaw’s help. They were very nervous to take on a dragon, and required coaxing from themadlibrarian, “Come on guys, you're 7th level characters, the world is your oyster for the cooking.” Their final course of action was only decided on once we reminded the players of what they could acquire from the halfling wizard in Drellin’s Ferry. Were it not for our encouragement, the PCs might have spent yet another hour outside of game just trying to decide what to do.) They finally decided to send half the party, Sam, Mugen, and Lau, back to Drellin’s Ferry to collect supplies while Nauba, Kyth, and Jilly would return to scout out the bridge further. The goal was to attack at dawn, to prevent the hobgoblins from utilizing their darkvision. As Jilly, Kyth, and Nauba returned to the bridge, Jilly and Kyth took up positions in the trees, while Nabua waited on the ground. At Drellin’s Ferry, Sam additional magical arrows, and Lau scrolls of invisibility and fly. Mugen too the time to share their discovery with Captain Soranna. Needless to say when he shared word that the party had recruited a giant and that more would be coming to the Witchwood, Soranna was livid, grabbing Mugen by the scruff of his collar, and telling him in no uncertain terms, that “when this is over, we will have many words, your party and I.” By dusk, the PCs had reunited at the edge of the woods, comfortably away from the bridge. Rest was uneasy, especially for Mugen, as his experiences with hellhounds kept him on edge all night. As dawn crept across the Skull Gorge, the PCs set their plan into motion. Everything relied on stealth and magic, so both Lau and Sam used the scrolls of fly and invisibility to creep out underneath the bridge and began their survey of the bridge. It was Sam who discovered the weak spot by the southeast tower. One quick casting of stone shape by Sam and a crack formed. The dragon, Ozyrrandion sensed something as amiss and clearly saw the crack in the bridge. He roared loudly to alert the camp, but was too late as the crack widened thanks to a second stone shape from Sam. The whole southeast tower began to collapse and as it did, the hobgoblin caught inside began to scramble out, but was unable to catch hold of anything and fell to its doom, crashing against the gorge wall. Ozyrrandion was in the air after roaring, but could only watch in abject surprise as the bridge collapsed, falling block after block down into the gorge below. With a single hobgoblin and hellhound on the southern edge of the gorge, the PCs breathed a sigh of relief, but prepared for the inevitable fight with the green dragon. As the bridge collapsed, Ozyrrandion searched for who or what caused its destruction and spotted Jilly in the trees. The hellhound, which has fled the collapse, was caught in a deadly pincer attack from both sides of the road, spelling its demise, but not before trying to set Nauba ablaze and the forest with him. Lau dropped her invisibility and pelted the dragon with magic missile and lightning bolt, while Sam did the same as he swung “Autumn’s Death,” only to have it glance off the dragon’s scales. Ozyrrandion retaliated on Sam with his acid breath, but seeing him shrug off the burst, retreated high into the sky. Kyth fired her bow at the dragon, but lost her balance and fell out of her tree and onto her bow, snapping the string. Mugen and Nauba raced towards the intact tower, Nauba taking the lead while Mugen fished out a grappling hook from his pack. As Nauba charged up the tower’s outer stairs, Ozyrrandion came down hard on Nauba, striking him and taking out a good portion of the stairs. Ozyrrandion then retreated to his roost on the northwestern tower. Nauba attempted to jump, but couldn’t clear the span, catching himself on a window ledge a floor below and climbing into the tower. Mugen encountered the same span of broken stairs, but used his grappling hook to successfully swing across (Errol Flynn style). Sam mended Kyth’s bow before casting detect magic to see where the hobgoblin in the tower had gone; he saw nothing. Mugen reached the top of the tower as did Lau only to find the lone hobgoblin crouched and waiting, swinging at Lau first. Ozyrrandion returned to the fight with four hobgoblin reinforcements, but all of them took the force of two lightning bolts, one from Lau, one from Jilly‘s ukulele. Sam and Kyth[/B] followed up with bow shots, each piercing the dragon’s scales. As the dragon took to the air again, Lau set upon him with yet another lightning bolt, Kyth and Mugen dispatched two of the three remaining hobgoblins, one in the tower, and one of the reinforcements. Ozyrrandion swung around to hit both Sam and Mugen with its acidic breath before simply vanishing into the hazy dawn sky, but not before Mugen and Lau hit him with crossbow bolt and lightning bolt. Jilly, who now was being chased up the tower’s stairs by the last surviving reinforcement, was bull rushed off the stairs by said reinforcement, causing her to fall. Jilly was fortunate enough to catch herself on a ledge some 20-30 feet below the gorge lip, near the foundations of the bridge. With Ozyrrandion invisible, Lau too turned to detect magic, but saw nothing. Sam and Kyth fought and killed Jilly’s attacker while Jilly called for help! from below. Nauba attempted to gain access to the roof to rejoin the fight, but after dislocating his shoulder (a roll of “1” for his strength check), gave up and descended the inside of the tower to loot a pack of rations left by a guard. Lau’s detection revealed all too late a dragon rematerializing, spewing acid directly at her, knocking her into single digits. Lau retaliated with her last lightning bolt, (the 5th one) but found it was not enough. Sam fired a brilliant shot at the dragon as well, but it served only to enrage Ozyrrandion further. Mugen meanwhile climbed down his grappling hook’s line to rescue Jilly and both were pulled to safety by Kyth. Ozyrrandion, in a desperate move attempted to grab hold of Lau and take her with him, but was unsuccessful as a magic missile pelted his underside, dropping him to single digits. Not to be outdone, Ozyrrandion raked Lau into the negatives as he flew by and off to the northwest, leaving Lau’s unconscious body hanging limply in midair. With the bridge destroyed, Ozyrrandion retreating, and the remaining encampment unable to do anything, Jilly rescued and Lau conscious again (thanks to Sam), the PCs believed they had struck a blow to the morale of the “tribe” of hobgoblins bent on attacking Elsir’s Vale. But now there was no bridge left to allow passage down the Dawn Way, and explaining this was going to be hard for the party, not to mention the word of giants coming back to the Witchwood that Mugen let slip. The party’s return to Drellin’s Ferry was going to be very eventful.
snakeheadfish33 07-27-07, 12:24 PM	Nice post. Another bridge down and another Ozzy has gotten away ... it rarely gets old.
NJKrosse 08-25-07, 05:47 PM	Just a quick note. The last installment of the campaign was on 8/5, with the write-up coming sometime later this afternoon. The next installment will take place tomorrow afternoon, with the write-up to follow much sooner than 3 weeks later.
NJKrosse 08-26-07, 03:19 AM	The Heroes Jillian "Jilly" Tealeaf - Halfing Bard 7 Mugen – Human Rogue 5/Ninja 2 Nauba of the Gulping Crane – Dwarven Monk 7 Thom Warson – Human Fighter 4/Cleric 1 Missing in Action Samanther "Sam" Sumdall – Elven Cleric 6/Ranger 1 Kythianna “Kyth” Shirelore – Elven Ranger 5/Druid 2 Laurine "Lau" Anclime – Elven Sorcerer 7 (Events spanning the entirety of Day 7 from dawn to dusk) With the bridge destroyed, the decision was made for the group to split up. Kyth would remain at the bridge while Lau and Sam, still able to fly, would survey the region known as Cinder Hill. In the meantime, Jilly, Mugen, and Nauba returned to town to inform them of the bridge’s destruction, and hopefully cool the tempers of the town council. The return trip was uneventful until they reached Vraath Keep in search of the gauntlet the PCs had agreed to give to Warklegnaw in exchange for his help. As the trio approached the keep, a hail of arrows descended upon them, revealing that the keep had a fresh crop of ‘squatters’. Thom would have to be informed of this development. Booking it, the PCs returned to Denfurrow before noon, and found a somber Captain Soronna while all around the town, people were getting ready for a wedding. Jarett Nurth had gone about procuring all the available alcohol from Kellin as well as what little stores were left from the old brewery, “This town needs this event to uplift their spirits in the midst of these attacks and ‘disappearances, and I shall not take no for an answer.” After her venting of the frustrations of having to guard tomorrow’s wedding, she warned the party, “either you bring good news, or one of you may not be walking out of here.” The PCs explained what had happened at the bridge, and Soronna’s spirits were lifted, until she pressed the PCs “but the bridge is fine, right?” She was livid at the news of the bridge’s destruction, and used every ounce of her self-control not to throttle someone. The PCs agreed to meet with her later that day to discuss the matter further as she had further plans to attend to for the upcoming wedding. The PCs went about gathering up what items they needed to ‘retake’ the keep. Jilly had Serterien handle some magical identification, and discovered that the party had a wand of cure light wounds (for almost a week and didn’t know about it). They found Thom in high spirits, having procured some potential labor to help rebuild ‘his’ keep. Hearing the news that there were squatters in “Warson” Keep, he and the rest of the party set out. As the PCs neared the keep, they decided to do some reconnaissance, cast invisibility on Mugen, and sent him in to scout undetected. He crept around to the southern breached wall and found them move heavily fortified with boulders and debris. Sneaking inside he found the signs of their battle had been mostly cleared up. Detecting movement in several places, Mugen moved to check each area. He entered the old barracks and discovered a hobgoblin and bugbear (Koth) arguing in goblin. Cursing his lack of linguistic understanding, he tried to sense what their conversation was about. A second hobgoblin came in to report something before darting back out into the keep, at which point the two moved to a cramped side room and paper strewn table. Worried that he might have been spotted, Mugen headed for the tower, climbing onto the western wall and circling around to the old stables. Spying through a hole in the ceiling, he discovered two more hobgoblins, prepping weapons as if expecting a fight soon. Sneaking back down the tower stairs, Mugen became bold and snuck inside the meeting room, but nearly gave himself away to Koth as the bugbear practically looked Mugen in the eye, but shrugged it off. On the table he saw two maps, one a complete version of the Vale (Koth’s original was partially burned when he abandoned the keep the first time) and a second of the Witchwood with a note in common near where the party had found Warklegnaw, “Kill Giant to appease the wrath of Kul.” Sneaking back out to the courtyard, Mugen found the hobgoblin messenger keeping watch by the main gate and another two—one bored and the other sharpening his axe—in the old smithy. With the keep surveyed, Mugen set about causing a distraction, returning to the wall and roof of the stables. Using several tindertwigs, Mugen set a fire inside the stable, startling one hobgoblin and sending the other running, as well as a second and third fire on the roof of the stables, but resulting in more smoke than fire. Feeling quite smug, Mugen hopped over the wall using a rope and returned to the party to report. Back at the party, Mugen reported what he learned, and the PCs decided to assault the keep from two sides, with the invisible Mugen and Jilly coming from the south while Thom and an invisible Nauba would come from the east. Both groups snuck up to the keep, Nauba and Thom to the old southern guard tower and. Mugen and Jilly slipped over the boulders, but Jilly made too much noise and was detected as a sergeant came at her. Nauba slipped in past a hobgoblin, but not before it attacked Thom, but missed as Thom ignited his sword and brought the hobgoblin low. As it fell, another snuck up behind Thom while two more sniped him from the stables. Mugen snuck up behind the sergeant in front of Jilly to sneak attack, then ghost step and sneak attack again, taking out the sergeant, but revealing himself to another hobgoblin who swung wide at Jilly. Seeing his sergeant fall, Koth let loose a lightning bolt, unconcerned with who it might hit, as long as it hit the PCs. All PCs were in the blast, but Mugen and a now visible Nauba escaped unscathed. Following this Jilly and Mugen slew the hobgoblin in front of them while Thom killed the hobgoblin that had snuck up from behind, but continued to be peppered by arrows from the stables. Jilly tried to hide while Nauba went in after Koth, who let loose with another lightning bolt, hurting some and missing others. Thom and Jilly followed up with some needed healing to themselves while Mugen reloaded and Nauba faced off against Koth, who used magic missile to pummel the pompous dwarf. After hiding, Jilly snuck into the side room off the barracks to collect the papers therein while Nauba and Mugen attacked Koth. Mugen misfired, hitting Nauba, as Koth pummeled the dwarf with another magic missile volley. Nauba backed away from the tower door in the barracks to tend to his wounds as Thom charged into the stables, taking out one of the snipers, but not without taking a blow from the other. Mugen ghost stepped up after a retreating Koth, returning some of the pain his magic had inflicted on the party. Koth responded with blindness/deafness, inflicting deafness onto Mugen as Jilly and Nauba healed themselves. Mugen, unable to comprehend what had happened to him, screamed out in rage and attacked Koth again, and in turn felt the sting of magic missile. Nauba saw an opening and attempted to grapple Koth, but Koth was quicker and struck him hard. Jilly came up the stairs as Koth swung his morningstar at Nauba but missed. Mugen continued to scream as he changed weapons while Thom moved to attack the last hobgoblin in the stables. Jilly healed Mugen as he and Nauba came at Koth, but only Mugen connected. Thom dispatched the last hobgoblin and immediately drew his bow and a bead on the tower while Koth hit Mugen with another magic missile. As Nauba pressed the attack, Koth hit Mugen again, knocking him down to negatives as he backed up out of the window and onto the wall, barely missing a smite-filled arrow from Thom. Seeing Mugen fall, Koth split his next two magic missile volleys between Nauba and Jilly, putting Nauba under with Mugen. Jilly healed Nauba to consciousness who then forced a potion down Mugen’s throat to revive him. Concerned with the arrows whizzing near his head, Koth set a magic missile at Thom who was forced to heal himself before landing an arrow in Koth. Jilly continued to heal the party, first herself, than Mugen while Nauba missed Koth and Koth blasted Jilly and Nauba once again with magic missile. Seeing that his rapier was failing him, Mugen switched to his daggers. Thom shot two more arrows, but without a hit, started running to the barracks. Koth split another magic missile volley between Jilly and Nauba, knocking Jilly unconscious and forcing Nauba to down another potion. Watching Jilly collapse, Mugen rushed to her, retrieving her cure wand and managed to heal Jilly to consciousness, who took the wand back and healed herself. Koth took the opportunity to drink a curative potion while fending off Nauba. As Koth and Nauba fought, unable to hit one another, Mugen let his dagger fly but hit nothing. Meanwhile Jilly cast Crescendo and Thom, having reached the base of the tower, cast Bless, reaching all the party. Mugen let loose another dagger, just grazing Koth, while Jilly and Nauba missed and Koth drew out his wand and sent magic missile at Jilly, Nauba, and Thom. The party all focused their efforts on Koth, but only Thom connected with a might blow, shattering some of Koth’s dwindling confidence. Koth retaliated withmagic missile right into Thom, knocking him unconscious. Nauba managed a glancing blow as Jilly put her wand to Thom and healed him to consciousness. Mugen landed a dagger in Koth’s leg, enraging him to let another volley loose from his wand, hitting the now conscious Thom and knocking him out again. This time Jilly required two uses of the wand to bring Thom back from the brink of death. Mugen continued to miss Koth as Nauba landed a blow. Getting desperate, Koth hit Mugen and the now conscious Thom with magic missile, but neither fell. With all the PCs conscious, Koth was beyond desperate. He could not return to Azarr Kul empty-handed, as he would surely become the next sacrifice to Tiamat. Cornered, out of all but his weak 0th level spells and with only his wand to save him, Koth roared unintelligibly, firing a last ditch magic missile volley at Mugen and Thom. Thom, sword in hand and itching to return Koth’s pain to him, brought his flaming sword down onto the bugbear sorcerer. The sensations of bone cracking, flesh tearing, hair burning, and blood boiling permeated the party’s senses as Koth fell from the wall, landing face down just outside the keep. With Koth dead, the PCs went about looting the bodies and healing the wounded. Mugen retreated down the keep’s wall using the same rope he had left behind to loot Koth’s corpse. He received a face full of magic missile as he rolled over the corpse, discovering a crack in the wand Koth had used. Lastly the PCs brought up the gauntlet that they intended to give the forest giant the following day in exchange for his services. The PCs departed the keep once again, with fresh documents penned by Koth, a certainty that the keep would remain empty until Thom claimed it later, and a desire to meet up with Sam, Kyth, and Lau and find out what they had discovered. An evening meal with a haggard-looking Captain Soranna awaited their return. No word or sign of the rest of the party had come yet, and so four told Soranna what happened at the keep. They showed her the documents that they had pilfered from Koth, and one old document they uncovered during their first taking of the keep, coded and indecipherable to the party. Soranna put the bartender—the halfling Kellin—to work on decoding it. As they discussed the implications of the map, glances back towards Kellin showed him pulling out a hidden bottle of wine, a beer stein, and proceeded to pour himself a deep mug and down it as quickly as he could. He came back over shortly, with a scribbled piece of paper, and in great detail the PCs learned all that was before them, troops, wyrmlords, and plans of attack. With the wedding happening the following day, it was Soranna that decided not to inform the town council until after the wedding. “I have another job in mind for you, one that will build your credibility in the town, and make the news you bear more acclimatable.” With this wedding my men are stretched as thin as can be, and so I need you to take over an investigation of mine. There have been a rash of murders/disappearances on outlying farms. No one knows what’s happened to the people, except in the most recent ‘attack’ in which the parents were both killed but the family’s son and daughter are both missing. Their safe return and the discovery of who was perpetrating these crimes would go a long way towards building that much needed credibility. What will the PCs do? Surely this investigation would greatly help them in reasoning with the town council, especially in light of Skull Gorge Bridge's destruction. On the other hand, there's still the matter of Warklegnaw and the gauntlet the PCs agreed to deliver to him on Day 8. Lastly, just where are Sam, Kyth, and Lau? And what news do they bring from scouting Cinder Hill?
Martyrthesheep 08-28-07, 07:40 PM	Brutality on both sides of the map this time around Sir, I only hope that our little scheme from this week can have some positive results
silvergamgee 09-04-07, 09:45 PM	(Rubs hands eagerly) Bring us more! However, given what happened next I think Drellins Ferry is doomed. :weep:
NJKrosse 10-03-07, 10:22 PM	The Heroes Samanther "Sam" Sumdall – Elven Cleric 6/Ranger 1 Mugen – Human Rogue 5/Ninja 2 Nauba of the Gulping Crane – Dwarven Monk 7 Thom Warson – Human Fighter 4/Cleric 1 Emerson – Human Duskblade 5 Arriving Late Kythianna “Kyth” Shirelore – Elven Ranger 5/Druid 2 Played as NPC Jillian "Jilly" Tealeaf - Halfing Bard 7 Missing in Action Laurine "Lau" Anclime – Elven Sorcerer 7 (Events spanning the entirety of Day 8, dawn to dusk) As day arrives, the PCs realize that they have two courses of action, the first to deliver the gauntlet to Warklegnaw and secure the help of the Forest Giants, the second being to investigate the murder/disappearance on one of the outlying farmsteads. As the PCs are deciding this, a new ‘character’ walks into the main room of the Inn, requesting a stiff drink. The PCs explain that there isn’t much left in the way of drink; all available stock was purchased for the wedding and that the brewery was destroyed during an attack by Hobgoblins a few days ago. Outraged at the lack of good drink by the Red Hand, Emerson offers his services to the party, who agree to take him on. The PCs decide to split up, with Mugen, Thom, and Emerson going to treat with Warklegnaw, and Nauba, Sam, and Jilly investigating the farmstead. (Here begins the side-adventure run by themadlibrarian, as told/dictated to me briefly) Battle of Giant Proportions Mugen, Thom, and Emerson departed Drellin’s Ferry and before noon had reached Warklegnaw’s encampment. They were both pleasantly and unpleasantly surprised to find that no only were there Forest Giants, but there were also Hill Giants as well. A brief conversation with Warklegnaw explained the situation: The Hill Giants worked for the Red Hand and had come here to take out Warklegnaw, but with W’s relatives all present, the Hill Giants were now challenging the Forest Giants to send out their ‘champion’ to fight to see who stayed and who went. The Hill Giants had already chosen their ‘champion’, and by the looks of him, he was barely an adult. Warklegnaw was about to choose his champion when the PCs arrived and issued that these “3” would represent the Forest Giant’s champion. The Hill Giants, feeling cocky and over-confident, eagerly agreed to this challenge. The PCs now faced the “Slayer of Man” and quickly drew weapons. Thom enlarged himself, growing 12 feet in height while Mugen took two shots, missing once. Emerson managed a critical hit with a Scorching Ray, dealing 23 dmg to the giant, but took the “Slayer of Man’s” retaliatory strike for 17 dmg. Thom dealt the Slayer 15 dmg while Mugen saw the Hill Giants moving around the arena and chose to hide. Emerson directs a True Strike through his weapon, causing enough damage from his blow alone to completely kill the so-called “Slayer of Man.” Thom then proceeded to throw the slain hill giant into the gathered crowd of hill giants. As if on cue, the Forest Giants began to literally tear the Hill Giants to pieces, drenching the encampment and arena in hill giant blood and viscera. Wargs in the Woods With Warklegnaw’s assurance that he and the other Forest Giants would harry the Horde filtering through the witchwood, the 3 PCs departed to hopefully catch up with the rest of the party, already engaged in the investigation. As they were returning to the Ferry, they were attacked by Goblins on Worgs. Only a pair really, but none the less a foe worthy of narration, or at least would be had not one creature died each round before only doing minimal damage to the PCs; Emerson taking 3 dmg, Mugen 6, and Thom a whopping 9. Wedding Crashers As Thom, Em, and Mugen returned to town, the wedding was in full swing, and they approached the town speaker and captain to give them the good news, but the simple act of conversation was harder than the fight with the giants. Apparently most of the wedding-goers were feeling very ‘happy’ and ‘relaxed’ and so when they began to pass out, no one cared. When a massive Forest Giant Skeleton erupted from the “Green” where the wedding ceremony had taken place, people when ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’. When additional skeletons started clambering out of the now sizeable hole in the ground, the only sound the townsfolk made was ‘urrggh’ as the skeletons set about killing the wedding-goers. Thankfully the guards raised an alarm while Em, Thom, and Mugen went toe-to-toe with the skeletons and their ‘giant’ problem. (Here begins the side-adventure run by NJKrosse) Bloody Signs and Dark Tunnels As Mugen, Thom, and Emerson departed, a guard arrived to take the remaining PCs to the scene of the latest attack/disappearance. The guard answered what questions the PCs had and said that this was the third such ‘attack’ in the past week, with both parents found murdered this time, and their son and daughter were missing, despite a thorough search of the surrounding land. The bodies had since been taken to the temple for burial. Once the guard left, the PCs examined the house, inside and out. The house smelt of dried blood with flies and other bugs buzzing around. Sam looked at the bloody graffiti on the walls and saw it indicated a religious cult affiliation with Erythnul while Nauba discovered that the point of entry was a window facing the east, towards a suspicious patch of corn. Sam backtracked the trail into the corn, almost falling into a concealed tunnel that went down and to the east for some distance. Plunging into the darkness, the PCs found themselves in an unstable tunnel that eventually met up with old dwarven tunnel construction, likely dating back to the time of the former dwarven bridge, and completely unknown to the entire populace of Drellin’s Ferry. As the PCs continued exploring, they discovered a room outfitted like a tannery. Ropes strung up across the room, wet and damp hides hanging, or being stretched on wooden frames. It was here that the PCs met the first sinister secret of the tunnels, as several of the frames with hides animated and attempted to grapple the PCs to the floor. Having none of that, they quickly dispatched the wet leather, but not before a pair of zombies crawled out of a boiling cauldron to harry Sam, Nauba, and Jilly. Moving further into the complex, they found a storage room with crates marked for destinations across the veil, including several within Drellin’s Ferry. Suspicion of who was using these tunnels grew, but before they could contemplate it further, Sam triggered a wall spear trap (see Raiders of the Lost Ark, “stay out of the light”), pinning himself while a small horde of skeletal animals jumped out of boxes and crannies. Sam put the fear of his god into them, but as it was overwhelming, shattered the skeletons. Nauba helped him to escape the trap and they continued onward, coming to a semi-flooded section and a dwarven ghost protecting some ‘defiled’ tombs. They learned that a kobold and his ‘mistress’ had scavenged here and that the kobold had deliberately thrown trash into the tomb. They helped to clear some of the debris from the flooded crypt and shared what news they had of dwarves in the world above (which wasn’t much). Traveling further, the PCs finally discovered the lair of the tunnel’s occupants, a room with a cot and a set of stairs leading to a trap door in the ceiling, and a second room containing a frankenstein’s workshop, complete with incomplete monster and a mysteriously vacant second table. Exploring further, they found a hidden room that held the missing children as well as some other less fortunate captives. Before they could free the children, the PCs were cut off by a flesh golem and a sinister kobold who entered the adjacent room. Shots were fired, and the kobold pulled a lever causing the room to close and flood. Before drowning, the PCs escaped, but the two adversaries had disappeared. Heading up the stairs, they discovered they were in the backroom of Jarett’s Sundries. Moments later, they heard a commotion and screams coming from the “Green” where the wedding was going and a glance through the shop windows revealed something ‘rising’ up from the hill. Thriller This is NOT! As each group arrived and squared off against the skeletons and their giant cousin, they divided their efforts: Thom and Emerson fought the giant while Nauba and Sam fought the individual skeletons, preventing them from killing the passed out wedding-goers. Meanwhile, Mugen snuck over to the edge of the gaping hole in the green and discovered an altar with a priestess praying over it, and several ‘shadows’ just beyond his visual range. He took several shots at her but the flesh golem emerged from the shadows and acted as a (meat) shield for the priestess. The kobold that attacked Nauba and Sam took the chance to fire at Mugen, who realized that this kobold was nearly, but not quite his equal. Thom, on the other hand, managed to get the giant skeleton to chase after him through one pavilion tent after another while Emerson[/B] pelted it with what spells he had remaining in his arsenal. Eventually their efforts paid off, dropping the skeleton and narrowly avoiding being buried under piles of bone debris. All the while Sam and Nauba made short work of the lesser skeletons, who after a few rounds of stabbing unconscious party-goers, began to stab at the ground (evidently the instructions from the priestess were oversimplified). The PCs attention then turned to the hole in the ground and the priestess and altar below. It was a novel invention that came next, with the plan of setting the ‘mobile brewery’ (i.e. a wagon containing the remaining barrels from Gausler’s Brewery) on fire and rolling it down the hole and onto the unsuspecting priestess. As the burning wagon began to roll up over the lip of the opening, the PCs prepared to make ranged strikes on what might survive. Emerson and Nauba stepped away at this point to see to any straggler skeletons and the wounded. With a thunderous crash, the wagon impacted with the flesh golem, and the PCs watched as the bulk of the golem’s body took the blow, held its ground, and began to reform itself. As the burning barrels crashed down around the altar, there was no decided explosion or mass engulfment of flames, as most of the brew had been drunk by the wedding-goers, resulting in less ‘kaboom’ and more ‘splash and bubble’. The altar room now had the distinct aroma of barley, hopps and honey while burning barrel bits floated in pools of, ale, mead, and lager. Their hopes had been dashed by the simply oversight of ‘tapping’ the barrels to see if anything was left. Realizing their plans had misfired, the PCs immediately took up ranged positions around the pit as Sam used a light spell to reveal the whole of the altar room. The PCs realized that there was not only a golem, its mistress, and the rat-bastard kobold, but ghouls, and ghasts as well. Their attempts to hit the priestess to disrupt whatever she was casting failed as the golem continued to shield her. Finally the golem relented and attacked, jumping up and grabbing hold of the lip of the pit and pulling down with all its weight to cause the PCs to fall. It took two tries, but it managed to knock Sam and Thom down into the temple where it could better hurt them. Meanwhile Kyth arrived on the scene, but was quickly pulled down by a ghoul that had prepared its own tunnel for emerging to ransack the wedding. With three down and one to go, the ghouls descended on Kyth, Sam, and Thom. Kyth was paralyzed while Sam peppered the ghouls and Thom went toe-to-toe with the golem. Mugen skirted the edge, avoiding the clawing hands of submerged ghasts, but was finally pulled down by two who managed to grab hold of his legs despite his impressive reflex save. Kyth regained use of her limbs after taking only minimal damage from ghoul scraps, drew swords, and cut a path through ghoul and ghast alike. With each blow Thom landed on the golem, it returned the blow with twice the force, forcing [B]Thom[B] to call upon his divine vigor several times to keep himself alive. Sam cursed that that profane place was stifling his turning abilities as he gave up his bow in favor of his scimitars. Mugen kept his back to the walls and used his crossbow against the approaching ghouls one at a time while Thom, staggering, finally managed to bring the flesh golem down, but only just in time to face off against Jarrett herself. With a wickedly engraved mace in both hands, Jarrett struck Thom with the full wroth of her god. The blow was only a glancing one; Thom’s neutral ways having saved him. Imposing and full of fire, he returned her blow with fire and brute strength. The Kobold, having remained unnoticed until now, began to take shots at Sam. Both the cleric and ranger had switched to swords now and were fairing only slightly better. Meanwhile Mugen took one ghast out with a well placed shot. The PCs were feeling the strain of combat as Mugen was paralyzed by a lucky ghoul’s blow. Kyth and Sam seemed only able to score minimal damage as [B]Thom continued to swap blows with Jarrett. Suddenly the battle shifted and the ghouls began to drop as Mugen shrugged off the paralysis and let loose, followed by another felled by Kyth as Sam moved into help Thom. Jarrett retreated to a passageway out of the shrine and took a quick shot, first at Thom, then at Sam. Thom’s divine vigor dissipated, causing him to collapse as Sam charged towards the passage only to find it empty—Jarrett and that cursed Kobold had escaped. With the battle won, the PCs licked their wounds and counted their blessings that Jarrett had escaped. Mugen and Kyth had minor scrapes, Sam was bleeding and Thom was levitating close to Death’s door. Sam set to work healing himself and Thom. Once all were healed, they climbed topside and began to help with the wounded and clearing away the dead. Em and Nauba rejoined the PCs as did Jilly and the now found/safe children. Captain Soranna was grateful for all the work the PCs had done, and once agreed that the town council would meet to decide the fate of Drellin’s Ferry. After arranging the meeting for the following day, the PCs returned to the Inn to eat, drink (non-alcoholic of course), and rest up.
silvergamgee 11-04-07, 12:53 PM	:invasion: Bump! :duel: I'd like to see what happens next.
silvergamgee 04-29-08, 10:30 PM	:dragon: This adventure is still rolling. Very eager to see a new write-up.
NJKrosse 04-29-08, 10:58 PM	Editing Note: See "RHoD, Day 8, Drellin's Ferry" entry, additional details were added prior to this post. GM Disclamier: This adventure that follows is not part of the traditional RHoD campaign. It was an opportunity for a fellow player Jilly to try her hand at GMing. Enjoy The Heroes Samanther "Sam" Sumdall – Elven Cleric 7/Ranger 1 Kythianna “Kyth” Shirelore – Elven Ranger 5/Druid 2 Mugen – Human Rogue 5/Ninja 3 Nauba of the Gulping Crane – Dwarven Monk 8 Adventure run by... Jillian "Jilly" Tealeaf - Halfing Bard 7 (Events spanning between the night of Day 8 and the morning of Day 9) As the PCs awoke in the early morning, they discovered their rooms filled with smoke and quickly realized that the Old Bridge Inn was on fire. The party quickly gathered up their respective gear and faced the question of how to get out of the Inn. Sam let himself out of the window while Nauba tumbled out his own window and Mugen deftly leapt out of his own window. Meanwhile inside Kyth made her own way down the stairs and out the main entrance. Each PC quickly joined a bucket brigade while Sam used his divine power to create water to help douse the flames. With the Inn finally put out, Sam found a quiet spot and began to pray to regain his lost spells. Meanwhile Mugen began to question those around about how the fire started and if it might have been Red Hand related. Milling around, Nauba is approached by a young lad in a bloodied apron who introduced himself as Chad, the butcher’s apprentice. He quickly told Nauba that their companion, Jilly, had been seen being taken into a nearby corn field. Nauba brought Chad over to meet with Sam and Mugen, where Chad related his tale and also shared that there was a temple beyond the corn stalks that he’s heard tell to have great riches in its inner sanctum. “Wait, there’s another temple, and we didn’t know about it?” Deciding that their missing companion was priority one, the PCs had Chad lead them to the field. “Whoa! This wasn’t here yesterday!” Sam and Kyth could clearly see fresh footprints leading into the corn field, to a maze of trodden paths only wide enough for one person to walk at a time. Trying to cut their way through the maze, the PCs quickly discovered that just beyond the first stalks of corn were unscalable, invisible walls of force, preventing them from circumnavigating the maze. Taking point, Mugen moved in first to scout ahead, while Nauba, Kyth, and Sam moved in slower in an attempt to track the footprints, but failing in their survival checks even when taking 20. “Did they have a sale on identical boots because these tracks go everywhere and they’re all the same? This makes no sense!” With their tracking useless, the PCs were left with only one course; attempt to navigate the maze without getting lost themselves. Still on point, Mugen took one path which lead him to a lumbering orc. Stepping back, Mugen drew and loaded his crossbow, snuck back to the orc, and fired two bolts at it. The orc, unaware that Mugen was literally on top of him, could only gurgle and collapse as a bolt skewered his throat and another punctured one of its lungs. In a different direction, Nauba caught a whiff of sulfur and discovered a resting hellhound in one of the dead-end corridors of the maze. His natural reflexes keen to be stretched, Nauba took on the hellhound single-handedly. Surprising and pummeling it furiously, the hellhound could only let loose a single burst of its fiery breath. Nauba deftly dodged the blaze which ignited a few corn stalks and caused the corn to eventually ‘pop’ and retaliated with a punch-kick combo which shattered the hound’s skull and several ribs. Still further inside, Sam, in the lead this time, discovered a troll hunkered down in yet another dead-end passage. Engaging the Troll, Sam knew that in such close quarters, his scimitars would see little support except the ranged attacks that Kyth, Nauba, and Mugen could land on it. With each mighty blow, Sam carved chunk after chunk out of it, but without fire, the troll continued to grow back whereas Sam grew weary from his own wounds. Finally, Sam could take no more and collapsed, bloodied and beaten. Faster than you can say “Bob’s Your Uncle,” Mugen had snatched the wand of cure light wounds and began poking Sam’s wounds with it, helping them to close up. In the meantime, Nauba had stepped in and began pummeling the Troll, effectively tenderizing several parts of its body. Sam rose shortly thereafter to land the killing blow, then severed the troll’s head from its shoulders and set about burning the corpse. Deeper into the maze, this time Mugen and Nauba discovered two hobgoblins lurking about. Mugen took his time, lined up his shots, and dropped both with a pair of well placed sneak attacks. Not wishing to be outdone, Nauba scouted ahead and found two dire rats. Rubbing his hands, Nauba leapt into the fray, and with a flurry of blows, turned both rats into oozing meat sacks. After many a twist and turn, the PCs finally came face to face with the temple in the corn field. The door to the temple stood ajar, and taking advantage of this, Sam approached, hoping to enter. A mere heartbeat away from passing through the open door, Sam blinked, and saw it, a gelatinous cube, wedged in the doorway. Regaining his composure after the shock of almost walking into the ooze, he, Mugen, and Nauba tore, sliced, and skewered the cube until the way was safe to pass. Inside the PCs found a long wide antechamber. Thin, worn tapestries covered the stone walls while empty vases sat on small tables in corners and along the walls under the tapestries. Their footsteps echoed for many moments, giving them the feeling of being followed. Scattered across the floor like a handful of corn to feed chickens, tiles of different colors enticed the party, beckoning them to investigate. Each of the tiles had a different face on it, like a theater mask depicting a different emotion. Investigating the gold glyph, Mugen touched one and felt the overwhelming compulsion to laugh. His shrill laughter echoed disturbingly across the antechamber walls. Unable to resist, Nauba touched one of the gold as well, but only felt the need to chuckle for a moment. Approaching the door on the far end of the room, Sam read the engraving there: Pride and Skill, So carefully Crafted, One Ability Point, Has been Drafted Placing his hands on the doors, he pushed, and felt a jarring pain course through his entire being, sapping away some of his health. The door swung open effortlessly now, and the party was greeted with a smaller chamber, just as decorated as the antechamber, but in a greater state of decay. The tapestries were discolored, the tables showed signs of warping, the vases were cracked and some were broken, and there were still tiles, but these too looked chipped, cracked, and damaged by the passage of time. Still laughing Mugen entered after Sam, Nauba, and Kyth, but this time no tiles were tampered with. The far set of doors had engravings as well, but as with all else in this room, they too were worn. Nauba read: None of You Will Come to Harm, Except the One Who Looses an Arm Understanding that in order to continue forward and find their lost bard, Nauba grasped the handles of the doors. Holding tightly, he watched in horror as his left arm began to turn from a ruddy hue to an ashen gray, and then just as quickly, his arm simply began to waste away, leaving a stump protruding from his shoulder. This door too opened effortlessly, into a third, even more decrepit room. Here there were only the tattered remains of tapestries, the tables and doors were simply piles of worn debris, and the tiles were fewer and many were missing. A heavy layer of dust covered the surfaces of the room, but on the far doors, barely perceptible with the dust cleared, were ominous words, Kyth read: Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust, It’s a Pain to Die, But One of You Must The PCs paused momentarily, unsure of what to do next. An arm could be regenerated, or otherwise healed. Raising a person from the dead would be much trickier, if possible at all. Without a second word, Kyth walked to the door and grasped the handle. Mugen, Nauba, and Sam listened, but heard no sound exit Kyth’s lips. The stared, incredulously, as her entire body turned first to stone, and once complete, cracked and crumbled into dust in a pile on the floor. Sam quietly collected Kyth’s remains and safely tucked them away in the hopes of finding a way to return her to life. The door itself creaked open before the still stunned PCs. The last room was still smaller than the one before, with its walls cracked and pitted. Tapestries were nothing more than thin threads still clinging to the walls like the withered strands of hair cling to a long dead skull. Tables and vases were nothing more than piles of sawdust and powder. On the far wall sat Jilly in one of two thrones. At her feet and around the two thrones were scattered wilted flower petals and torn, faded papers. An inscription on the empty throne read; How Much would You Give, To Save just One Life? You must Have a Seat To End Her Strife. Trusting in his faith to see him through, Sam took his place on the throne next to Jilly. Everything then seemed to dissolve. [B]“Was it all just a dream?!?”[B] The PCs awaken to find themselves back in their rooms at the Old Bridge Inn. Wounds and items used in the rescue of Jilly are still in the exact state they were left in when they went to bed the night before. However, new items seemed to have sprung up in certain PCs rooms. Nauba received a new ‘ring’, Sam a pink stone, a scroll and a shiny headband. Meanwhile Kyth discovered she now had a new ring, a fuzzy bag, a wand, a pair of iron rods, a scroll, and a new length of rope As the characters gathered for breakfast, Jilly came down late, beaming and happy. Very talkative, the PCs were surprised to find her so agreeable and she was at a loss to explain why herself. She listened intently as the PCs discussed their ‘strange dreams’ and the plans for the day.
NJKrosse 04-29-08, 11:05 PM	The Heroes Jillian "Jilly" Tealeaf - Halfing Bard 8 Samanther "Sam" Sumdall – Elven Cleric 7/Ranger 1 Mugen – Human Rogue 5/Ninja 3 Nauba of the Gulping Crane – Dwarven Monk 8 Emerson – Human Duskblade 5 Missing in Action Kythianna “Kyth” Shirelore – Elven Ranger 5/Druid 2 Thom Warson – Human Fighter 4/Cleric 2 (Events spanning Day 9) As the PCs finished breakfast, the first orders of business were to get their ‘new’ items identified and try to track down Jarrett and her kobold companion. Heading for Jarrett’s shop, the PCs found two soldiers outside by a wagon and several townsfolk loading supplies form the shop. “By order of Speaker Wiston, the goods herein have been seized in reparations to the town of Drellin’s Ferry” reported the guard. Looking inside, the PCs found most of the shop empty--only a handful of supplies remained. Taking what little that might help them, the PCs split up. Kyth, Jilly, and Emerson went to see Serterien while Nauba, [/B]Sam[/B], and Mugen investigated the altar and Jarrett’s escape. Serterien, though busy, was glad to help out Jilly and her companions, identifying nearly all the newly acquired items. Meanwhile Sam, Nauba, and Mugen met Captain Soranna and four guards standing watch over the hole in the ‘Green’. Descending into the altar room, Sam could feel the desecration in the shrine, but resisted the urge to consecrate it, that would wait until later. Moving into the unexplored passageway, the PCs turned one corner after another, through one empty room, until Nauba found a ladder on the wall just before another corner. Hearing the faintest sounds coming from above, Nauba climbed the ladder only to meet with a stone slab covering its top. The voices were louder now, and Nauba braced himself and pushed. To his horror, he was met by Morlin’s axe as he had just burst into the Old Toll House during a sparring match between Morlin and two off-duty guards. Apparently Nauba had neglected to clean up properly and thus looked somewhat zombie-like. GM’s note: I know that many of us take for granted the idea that the characters ‘wash up’ at the end of a hard day’s work (provided facilities are present); who really wants to micromanage a campaign like that. But sometimes it’s just more fun to play an encounter as if that PC still had all the stains and dirt from a dungeon crawl on them and see how things play out. Leaving the ladder behind, and realizing that Jarrett could have been spying on the PCs when they met with the captain and speaker on their first day in town, the idea that Jarrett could be the spy hinted at in Koth’s papers was seeming more and more plausible. Continuing down the passage, the PCs discovered it emerged by the river, within a pile of boulders on the east bank. It was now very clear that Jarrett had escaped. Realizing this, the PCs returned through the tunnels, and shared what they discovered with the captain. While Emerson and Nauba talked to the captain, Sam set about consecrating the shrine and altar. What he received for his effort was a backlash of energy that put him into a coma. Nauba and Emerson brought Sam back to the Inn and while they pondered what to do with him, Jilly, Mugen and Kyth returned, with wonderful news of their new found magical items. Hours passed until finally Sam awoke around dusk. He claimed to have had visions, three of them, but they made little sense to him, but plenty to Em, Mugen, and Jilly, all of whom had come from some part of the Vale itself. The visions included a darkness rising up from the swampy ruins of a lost city, and of a different darkness pouring forth from a stone lion. Finally the PCs were summoned to the house of Speaker Wiston, and there met with both the town council and the town’s elders (all notable npcs except Jarrett (on the run) and Delora (dead)). First they discussed the matter of Jarrett Nurth’s possible involvement with the Red Hand, which Iormel contested. This led to a comparison of the handwriting of lady dagger, Jarrett, and a supposed spy response to Koth. While Kellin examined the handwritings, the PCs revealed Koth’s map of the vale and the ‘plans’ written on it. The PCs shared their story of their fight with the manticore, their fight with the dragon guarding Skull Gorge Bridge and the bridge’s collapse. Sam revealed what he discovered from his scouting mission into the Cinder Hills, where he lost Lau while retreating. Lastly the PCs put forth the news that the giants had returned to the woods and would waylay the oncoming horde as best it could. At this point Kellin reported that they handwritings did link Lady Dagger to Jarrett, but that the spy’s handwriting was entirely different from the other samples. Iormel raised the idea that perhaps this horde Sam referred to was merely migrating through the witchwood and would in fact completely bypass Drellin’s Ferry. Sam smelled a rat, and asked Iormel to sign a sheet of paper. Iormel scoffed at the idea, but agreed. Kellin proposed the idea of negotiating with this horde for their safety. Sam, having heard enough, began to storm out of the room and right out of Drellin’s Ferry. He found Morlin sitting in a chair, his back to the only door out of the room. Sam then went into a tirade about the horde and its impossibility to beat, let alone fight at this most unsecured location. Morlin merely offered the advice of ‘cooler heads prevail’ and told Sam to sit down, going as far as to slide a chair at him so that he’d quit standing and acting all stubborn, after all, that’s a dwarf’s job. To put the final nail in the coffin, the PCs suggested asking the very source of this intel itself, Koth. But what had become of Koth’s head, that souvenir taken by Thom. No sooner had they begun to bicker over who’s responsibility it was to hang onto the head, then Thom arrived (we honestly rolled randomly to see if he did show up, and he did), bearing the very head they sought. One Speak with Dead spell later, and Koth had revealed that the Vale would burn, that Drellin’s Ferry was first, and that he knew about a spy in the town’s midst, but nothing of a lady dagger or a Jarrett whatever. Finally, the PC, having made their case, were asked to leave the room while the council and elders voted on what to do. It wasn’t long before each member left the room, silently. Lastly Norro and Soranna stepped out. The decision was made, the town was going to leave. The PCs then learned that the Speaker and Captain had already begun collecting supplies and necessary equipment, ever since their first return from Vraath Keep. Norro gave the PCs a letter to be delivered to Lord Jarmaath that would help as an introduction for the PCs, and to inform the Lord of what has transpired these past 9 days. Just as the PCs were about to return to their cozy rooms at the Old Bridge Inn for one more night, a guard arrived, exhausted, soaked, armorless, and out of breath. He reported that there were hobgoblins on the other side of the river, they were burning and slaughtering everything once more, and that they had just ‘appeared’ out of nothing. The PCs hurried to the ferry, cursing that there wasn’t a bridge. While on board, Sam blessed the party while Jilly bolstered the party’s spirits with some bardic music (some good fight music). At the crest of the hill leading down to the river, the PCs caught sight of their adversaries. Goblins indeed, four of them, two goblins on worgs and two hobgoblin bladebearers. As the fight began, Emerson and Nauba were the focus, with one Goblin/Worg tripping Nauba and both bladebearers attacking Emerson. Meanwhile the PCs were focused mostly on the bladebearers, having had plenty of experience knowing how hard they could hit. As the battle ensued, Emerson and Jilly made plenty of hard hits against the bladebearers, while Mugen and Nauba focused mostly on the goblins, with Sam picking his fights between both groups. Nauba, Em, and Sam kept most of the attention of the hob/goblins, with Em taking several blows and Nauba taking serious hits, knocking him down into single digits. As the last bladebearer went down, things didn’t look too dire, that is until the second wave entered the fray, three Hobgoblin Regulars and two Bloodghost Berserkers.