Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Uratoh 01-06-05, 12:31 PM	Ok...this adventure (short though it was) was kinda...insane...basic setup, the party, all level 2: Dwarven Fighter/Paragon (me, of the Dwarf house) Dwarven Rogue Human Wizard (House Orien) Human Cleric (of that hedonism/roguey goddess...forget name) We're on a lightning rail train, that's carrying a diplomat and a chest of Dragonshards, part of a trade agreement...my character had been hired to guard them for extra security, and I had dragged my cousin along to keep him out of trouble. The cleric was helping guard for a free ride, and the wizard was riding in luxury. The wizard and cleric were in the dining car for dinner, and my two dwarf team was patroling that room at the time (gotta love GM 'unite the party' conventions) when Emerald Claw soldiers burst through the windows...combat ensues, we quickly dispatch them (with some lucky criticals...the dice were hot tonight), and hear fighting and screaming from both the front part of the train and the back...I, being hired to guard the shards and diplomat, rush back to that end, the wizard following me, and my cousin and the cleric head for the engine. Through a hole in the side of the train about a cars length, covering two cars...I can see the chest with the dragonshards being slowly lifted into a rickey airship, and the diplomat is being carried off by two emerald claw soldiers...I charge, and kill one of them, the diplomat gets loose and runs back to the dining car, I swing at the other soldier and dont kill him, but I run anyway...he yelled out, so any moment Emerald Claw might be swarming the area...At that point, the Wizard shows up (he had been dropped to -2, so it took him a round for the cleric to get him back on his feet) and magic missiles the one chasing me, finishing him off (so close, I was...). I run past him and suggest he do so as well, on his next turn, he looks at the ship hovering close by, and magic missiles the pilot, for 5...knocking him down. The DM rolls a bit and declares the airship is going down...and its gonna crash into the train... Meanwhile. the other dwarf and the cleric...we ran me/wizard first, then dwarf/cleric. The dwarf gets to the engine car to discover the enginner, pilot, etc..e.veryones dead. There;s a hole in the side of the car, and a wizard and big burly guy are standing in it...the rogue uses an action point to roll over, grab a crossbow a guard had, and fire it at the mage...he gets a natural 20. then another natural 20. doesnt get a third, but it really hurts...enough to make the mage lose his concentration...he was trying to release the bound elemental. mage's round comes up, he lobs a fireball...the rogue evades, and the cleric, failing his save, takes 9...really wussy fireball, as the GM said. The rogue hefts his dwarven waraxe (took the feat for it...its just undwarfy NOT to have one) and charges the big guy...first hit doesnt do much, then the guy, mad, tries to strangle him...gets hit by the AoO and fails, then the rogue strikes again, critting...and rolling 30 points of damage. Downing the big guy, he rushes to the controls as the cleric tends to the wounded...he Uses Magic Device to get the train going again, just in time to move it out of the way of the crashing airship...we regroup, and stop the train, and go retrieve the dragonshards from the wreckage, took a little bit of searching, but we got em, and continued on to a heroes welcome... The GM basicly threw out the 'one level a session' after he calculated the exp rewards... 30 emerald claw soldiers, lv 3 each... 1 big guy, lv 6... 1 wizard, also lv 6...taken out by a party of 4, at second level...we got 8000 each. The GM said he was doing this cause we really did earn it, but also he was really going to stop holding back...makes me glad I rolled near max for HP gains @_@
jonthegm 01-06-05, 01:32 PM	Teehee... my encounter calculator just spit out "Obscene. Advice: Find a new DM" For the difficulty class.
Uratoh 01-06-05, 01:38 PM	this was ,technically ,the GM running us through a module he'd made to face his powergaming group...and they didnt do as well as we did @_@.
Golbez57 01-06-05, 01:53 PM	Sounds like a lot of fun! When the 5th level characters in the game I run decided to knock the door of a keep abandoned during the Last War and launch an attack against the two dozen hobgoblin warriors, one troll, and one bugbear fighter/rogue--rather than entering into negotiations or sneaking in--I thought they would be toast. They ended up soundly on top, and were richly rewarded with plenty of XP. Of course, like you, the biggest thrill for them was an "against all odds of inferior numbers" victory. You've got a generous DM. I assume that some/most of those 30 soldiers you mentioned were killed when the airship crashed. Sure, you did wisely take out the pilot, but at the same time, did not truly face (and overcame) the threat of those soldiers. Most guys behind the screen would, like me, give an ad hoc experience award for clever tactics, but only award XP for the fallen pilot. I'm not saying this to steal your thunder--instead, just be happy that you've got a DM who's not as stingy as most! Oh, and watch behind you. All those soldiers from the wreckage are coming back as servants of an Emerald Claw necromancer, and he's not happy that you crashed their ship. :smirk: