Sito Rotavele
First Post
One of the best Tao moments came when a thief named Rendic derided her about her dog naming convention. She immediately began referring to him as "Rendic-A".
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Defenders of Daybreak, The Early Years.
- Thread starter Sialia
- Start date
Sialia
First Post
Easy miss, Tao.
He was one of Alix’s most pathetically faceless hangers on.
Check the portrait of the Legerdemain’s opera of The Comet.
He’s the guy at the butt end of the parade, after all the thrikreen and the nomads and lizards and kam-els and orcs and dragons, in the drab I-am-a-generic-adventurer costume.
Actually, he almost stands out for just how ordinary he was.
He was one of Alix’s most pathetically faceless hangers on.
Check the portrait of the Legerdemain’s opera of The Comet.
He’s the guy at the butt end of the parade, after all the thrikreen and the nomads and lizards and kam-els and orcs and dragons, in the drab I-am-a-generic-adventurer costume.
Actually, he almost stands out for just how ordinary he was.
Bandeeto
First Post
My vague recollection is that Rendic was an NPC with the Defenders during the assault on Tovag Baragu, including some of the action around that period (Flickering Needle, Congenio Ioun, etc.) He was not with us on our trip to fetch the Damming Stone.
Although I was not present for most of his appearances I believe he was actually pretty helpful later when the Defenders took on a Deathgranter squad. I remember hearing that he drew fire and permitted Tao, Valdek and others to close on the baddies. Something about him diving into the lake to get away....
I also recall him meekly mentioning that maybe he ought to get a magic item from the latest haul, as he'd been completely overlooked during treasure distribution. Not one of P'Cat's most memorable NPCs for sure.
Although I was not present for most of his appearances I believe he was actually pretty helpful later when the Defenders took on a Deathgranter squad. I remember hearing that he drew fire and permitted Tao, Valdek and others to close on the baddies. Something about him diving into the lake to get away....
I also recall him meekly mentioning that maybe he ought to get a magic item from the latest haul, as he'd been completely overlooked during treasure distribution. Not one of P'Cat's most memorable NPCs for sure.
Bandeeto
First Post
Arcade’s Journal – Giant Hunt
...dropped off Erilyn at home. Her parents were overjoyed to see her. They had naturally feared the worst when she disappeared near Elzid’s tower....
...returned to the ruin. Tao believes that many goblins have been coming and going through the area. In fact, some were still there. Grundo was overjoyed. He does so love killing goblins. As the giant must already be some distance away, we decided to return to Rampart and get supplies for the trip. I still need some salve for my eyebrows, as they were burned off by an explosive rune trap on the map scroll. We believe that the giant is headed towards the Sunken Dell located on the map....
...returned to the Flaxen Manticore to find our headquarters being rifled by an incompetent group of thieves, headed by one Tephis Birdhouse. It appears that they were given a map to our headquarters by one “Arcade Deepleaf”, and then Charmed into going to ransack it! Nolin turned the tables by Charming them again himself. Tephis has been attached temporarily to Glimmer as a lackey. Cadrienne has decided to return to her temple and face the music. She keeps sneaking out to join us on these adventures, even though she is still only a Postulate of Morphat....
...traveled down the South Passage Road, following the giant’s tracks. Even Tao wasn’t incompetent enough at tracking to miss them. The tracks then moved west into the mountains. Found a campfire with the bones of a cooked horse. There were signs of a fight, and two sets of tracks. It seems the giant may have had a disagreement with the demi-human, and the giant was wounded mildly. The terrain has become hilly. Ever-resourceful Nyquil spotted signs that a large lizard (possibly a pet) is now with the giant. Have passed several elevated sites with stacked boulders for throwing, and have altered my memorized spells accordingly....
...came to a river below a hill with rough steps leading upwards. Grundo, Nolin, Tom-Tom and Tao climbed the stairs, while Alix, Glimmer and myself moved quietly around the hill. The climbers reached the top, and immediately were greeted by a hail of boulders from the opposite hill. The climbers charged the black-eyepatch wearing giant while we approached from the right. I sent a few Magic Missiles slamming into the giant, and managed to cast Mirror Image just in time. (A boulder passed through one of the images and the giant yelled something in broken Common about hating wizards.) Then the lead party reached the giant, and the melee began. The giant swung his tree-club, sweeping Grundo’s new spiked helmet off. Then Tao closed in and severed the giant’s ankle tendon as Grundo hamstrung his other leg. This led to a massacre. Tao seemed to be enjoying herself rather too much. Rather than stay to watch, I located the giant’s cave....
...giant was definitely a man-killer. He wore a necklace of human and demi-human ears. We found his gigantic pet lizard inside the cave, and dispatched him with Color Spray and sword. Found a green dragonskin bag within a stone pillar. It contained a large number of coins, many of which appear to be a type of foreign currency. The giant’s eyepatch is magical. Wearing it revealed a trapped secret door in the rear of the cave, which led to a small box canyon. We have found the Sunken Dell....
...as the map indicated, the entrance is a trapdoor beneath a moss-covered stone near a blasted oak. The trapdoor contained a Sleep gas pressure-plate trap. We were on high alert, as the map hinted at a “guardian most maleficient.” The stone was easily removed after I cast Grease beneath it. After descending down ropes to the lower level we faced off against a huge metallic figure in a 3-4 foot-wide corridor. It seemed programmed to come after and attack us, but not to climb after us. We decided to return to Rampart, train, and then return with the tools to bypass this killer construct. We disguised the cave entrance and departed....
...dropped off Erilyn at home. Her parents were overjoyed to see her. They had naturally feared the worst when she disappeared near Elzid’s tower....
...returned to the ruin. Tao believes that many goblins have been coming and going through the area. In fact, some were still there. Grundo was overjoyed. He does so love killing goblins. As the giant must already be some distance away, we decided to return to Rampart and get supplies for the trip. I still need some salve for my eyebrows, as they were burned off by an explosive rune trap on the map scroll. We believe that the giant is headed towards the Sunken Dell located on the map....
...returned to the Flaxen Manticore to find our headquarters being rifled by an incompetent group of thieves, headed by one Tephis Birdhouse. It appears that they were given a map to our headquarters by one “Arcade Deepleaf”, and then Charmed into going to ransack it! Nolin turned the tables by Charming them again himself. Tephis has been attached temporarily to Glimmer as a lackey. Cadrienne has decided to return to her temple and face the music. She keeps sneaking out to join us on these adventures, even though she is still only a Postulate of Morphat....
...traveled down the South Passage Road, following the giant’s tracks. Even Tao wasn’t incompetent enough at tracking to miss them. The tracks then moved west into the mountains. Found a campfire with the bones of a cooked horse. There were signs of a fight, and two sets of tracks. It seems the giant may have had a disagreement with the demi-human, and the giant was wounded mildly. The terrain has become hilly. Ever-resourceful Nyquil spotted signs that a large lizard (possibly a pet) is now with the giant. Have passed several elevated sites with stacked boulders for throwing, and have altered my memorized spells accordingly....
...came to a river below a hill with rough steps leading upwards. Grundo, Nolin, Tom-Tom and Tao climbed the stairs, while Alix, Glimmer and myself moved quietly around the hill. The climbers reached the top, and immediately were greeted by a hail of boulders from the opposite hill. The climbers charged the black-eyepatch wearing giant while we approached from the right. I sent a few Magic Missiles slamming into the giant, and managed to cast Mirror Image just in time. (A boulder passed through one of the images and the giant yelled something in broken Common about hating wizards.) Then the lead party reached the giant, and the melee began. The giant swung his tree-club, sweeping Grundo’s new spiked helmet off. Then Tao closed in and severed the giant’s ankle tendon as Grundo hamstrung his other leg. This led to a massacre. Tao seemed to be enjoying herself rather too much. Rather than stay to watch, I located the giant’s cave....
...giant was definitely a man-killer. He wore a necklace of human and demi-human ears. We found his gigantic pet lizard inside the cave, and dispatched him with Color Spray and sword. Found a green dragonskin bag within a stone pillar. It contained a large number of coins, many of which appear to be a type of foreign currency. The giant’s eyepatch is magical. Wearing it revealed a trapped secret door in the rear of the cave, which led to a small box canyon. We have found the Sunken Dell....
...as the map indicated, the entrance is a trapdoor beneath a moss-covered stone near a blasted oak. The trapdoor contained a Sleep gas pressure-plate trap. We were on high alert, as the map hinted at a “guardian most maleficient.” The stone was easily removed after I cast Grease beneath it. After descending down ropes to the lower level we faced off against a huge metallic figure in a 3-4 foot-wide corridor. It seemed programmed to come after and attack us, but not to climb after us. We decided to return to Rampart, train, and then return with the tools to bypass this killer construct. We disguised the cave entrance and departed....
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KidCthulhu
First Post
madriel said:
I belive Nolin tried it on. It was called the Eyepatch of Yondor (god of hidden ways). It showed hidden doors and such, and also allowed a person with one eye to see as if they had two. Nolin carried it for a while, and then gave it to Nyquil, for reasons we'll hear about later.
Sialia
First Post
Ok, Bandeeto's post left out the really good nasty sharp pointy DM bit (naturally, since he was writting from Arcade's point of view).
We found the scroll, and Piratecat handed it to Bandeeto--a handwritten note on a parchmenty paper stock. Bandeeto read it, and then looked at it carefully, and noticed a peculiar sigil scribed on the reverse.
"What's this?" he said.
"Here, hand it back to me," Piratecat said, as if he needed to examine the mark again to see what Bandeeto was pointing at.
And then he rolled some dice, which we expected, and lit the scroll on fire, which we did not.
"You take X points of damage from the explosive runes," he said."And your eyebrows are vaporized." Well, more or less, that's what he said.
We still have what's left of the original note, scorchmarks and all.
It really was a thing of beauty.
We found the scroll, and Piratecat handed it to Bandeeto--a handwritten note on a parchmenty paper stock. Bandeeto read it, and then looked at it carefully, and noticed a peculiar sigil scribed on the reverse.
"What's this?" he said.
"Here, hand it back to me," Piratecat said, as if he needed to examine the mark again to see what Bandeeto was pointing at.
And then he rolled some dice, which we expected, and lit the scroll on fire, which we did not.
"You take X points of damage from the explosive runes," he said."And your eyebrows are vaporized." Well, more or less, that's what he said.
We still have what's left of the original note, scorchmarks and all.
It really was a thing of beauty.
Bandeeto
First Post
Sialia wrote:
Highly painful. Luckily the map was still quite readable despite the burn marks from P'Cat's gas stove. Elzid loved Fire Traps, and we got nailed by many of them. It got to where we'd expect them, but we had no way to defuse them. So it was just a question of who was going to take the damage this time.
Highly painful. Luckily the map was still quite readable despite the burn marks from P'Cat's gas stove. Elzid loved Fire Traps, and we got nailed by many of them. It got to where we'd expect them, but we had no way to defuse them. So it was just a question of who was going to take the damage this time.
Bandeeto
First Post
Arcade’s Journal – The Sunken Dell, Enter Velendo
...returned to the Dell with picks and shovels. There was no sign of anyone disturbing the area since we left. We tunneled through a wall into a corridor next to the guardian. There we found a back entrance, a set of lever-operated sliding walls (presumably to avoid the guardian and for protection). We also found a cart hitched to a horse made entirely of stone. The stone horse appears to be magical, but we do not know how it works, nor how to get it out of the lower chambers....
...found a store room. It contains packed swords, arrows, and minotaur wine. This, coupled with the foreign currency found on the giant, has led us to believe that Elzid was involved in a major smuggling operation. We found a pair of double doors, apparently trapped. Alix thought to set off the trap while hiding behind a wooden shield. Of course it turned out to be a fire trap, and Alix was mildly scorched.
Opening the doors released green slime from an invisible hole in the ceiling. This began eating through Alix’s boots! We attacked the slime with oil and flame, and retreated until the fire burned itself out. Beyond the double doors was a second set of reinforced double doors, locked beyond Tom-Tom or Alix’s skill. While we thought about the problem, Grundo wandered off. He pulled a lever protruding from a wall in the next room (he was bored), activating another sliding wall and detonating another Fire Trap.
We managed to put out his beard, but Nolin spotted the metallic construct approaching down a side corridor. As our doom approached and engaged Grundo, I yelled “Look out! The Guardian Most Maleficient!” Thankfully, it turned out that this was the deactivation phrase for the automaton. It returned to the entrance corridor, leaving us all feeling rather foolish for not having tried the phrase before....
...behind the wall was a huge octagonal room with a 10 foot wide, by 10 foot long, by 15 foot high, box-like structure in its center. From the rear of the box protruded a metallic hand with some black powder. Tom-Tom identified it as crushed diamond dust. From the side of the box, a metal rod topped by a green crystalline orb protruded.
Nolin tried several times to Jump onto the top, succeeding in cracking his head several times upon the ceiling. When he finally made it and found a Levitating Alix waiting for him, Nolin’s oaths were ear-blistering.
The top was covered with runes and inscriptions, intersecting rings with Elzid’s sigil in the center. They pulled me up to study it. The box appeared to be a complex machine, designed to gather power and release it using Alteration magic. I guessed that we stood atop a Teleportation Chamber....
...Alix and Tom-Tom got the chamber open. The walls inside were mirrors, with an identical rod and orb. Glimmer became fascinated by all the mirrors, so we went back to check on the double doors. Suddenly a loud noise ripped through the complex, sounding like a huge rush of air. We rushed back to find a somewhat bedraggled, middle-aged cleric in robes coming out of the chamber and bitterly complaining. Glimmer was gone! We quickly learned the fellow’s name – Velendo, of the god Calphas the Wallbuilder. He had been kidnapped by pirates while traveling by ship from his home in Hunner’s Tide to Oursk. He was taken to the Citadel of War on the island of Sindara. There live the worshippers of Kord, the Wargod, largely consisting of minotaurs (which in one stroke explains the foreign currency, weapons, and wine.)
Velendo had been consigned to rid the Citadel dungeons of giant ants, a death sentence. He had been retreating from a horde of ants, backed into the chamber, and accidentally touched the orb, finding himself here. We quickly closed the chamber. Within moments, Glimmer was knocking to be let out. The chamber appears to consume the diamond dust for fuel....
...decided to try the double doors. I cast Knock, and we came face-to-face with a horrible skeletal snake with a human head. Although Velendo was reluctant to join in combat, he was actually quite effective. Alix again managed to step into one of my Color Sprays. Nolin was Charmed by the beast, and spent the combat in thrall. At last the fighters brought it down.
Place seems to be Elzid’s private living quarters. The door had been Wizard Locked, and it closed shut again behind us, unfortunately locking Nyquil outside with the rest of the party inside. I asked him to keep watch, and we searched the room. Found a few chests, metal bit for the stone horse, a paper with the deactivation phrase for the Fire Traps on the chests, a set of deep blue conjuring robes, a Citadel of War priest costume complete with a wooden identification card, and a 7-month-old receipt for coins being stored for someone named S_....
...mental warning next morning from Nyquil that our rope was being pulled up. I Knock’d the doors and we rushed for the entrance hole. I then had a brilliant idea, which was nearly fatal. I asked the staff to transport me to the surface. It asked why. I informed it that our supplies were up there being stolen, including it’s wood polish! With a green flash I found myself on the surface, facing eight hostile orcs and a nasty-looking half-orc. Our horses and Tao’s war dog were gone! I attempted to bluff them, gesturing dramatically.
“Depart, or face my wrath this day!” I bellowed.
The orcs froze, wavering and unsure. But the half-orc had other plans.
“I’m Stavros the Bandit Chief, I. And youse is outnumbered!”
The rest of the party began to ascend the hole, with Nolin yelling “Send in the dwarven legions!”
I managed to Sleep two of the orcs, but Stavros struck me with a thrown dagger and charged, longsword at the ready. He arrived in front of me just in time to catch my Color Spray in the face. He dropped, and the orcs fled. I killed two with Magic Missile, and Grundo and Tao finished off almost all of the rest. Unfortunately, one of them escaped. We tied up Stavros, and brought him down to Elzid’s chamber for questioning....
...searched the other chests and found diamonds and coins. Also, gauntlets that enlarge and shrink things, a Mortar and Pestle of Lovlorheim, and a golden rod that increases one’s attractiveness. Stavros was surly and uncooperative. He had been, apparently, Kronk the giant’s partner, and the recipient of arms for cash from Elzid. We decided to spend one more night in Elzid’s chambers before departing....
...returned to the Dell with picks and shovels. There was no sign of anyone disturbing the area since we left. We tunneled through a wall into a corridor next to the guardian. There we found a back entrance, a set of lever-operated sliding walls (presumably to avoid the guardian and for protection). We also found a cart hitched to a horse made entirely of stone. The stone horse appears to be magical, but we do not know how it works, nor how to get it out of the lower chambers....
...found a store room. It contains packed swords, arrows, and minotaur wine. This, coupled with the foreign currency found on the giant, has led us to believe that Elzid was involved in a major smuggling operation. We found a pair of double doors, apparently trapped. Alix thought to set off the trap while hiding behind a wooden shield. Of course it turned out to be a fire trap, and Alix was mildly scorched.
Opening the doors released green slime from an invisible hole in the ceiling. This began eating through Alix’s boots! We attacked the slime with oil and flame, and retreated until the fire burned itself out. Beyond the double doors was a second set of reinforced double doors, locked beyond Tom-Tom or Alix’s skill. While we thought about the problem, Grundo wandered off. He pulled a lever protruding from a wall in the next room (he was bored), activating another sliding wall and detonating another Fire Trap.
We managed to put out his beard, but Nolin spotted the metallic construct approaching down a side corridor. As our doom approached and engaged Grundo, I yelled “Look out! The Guardian Most Maleficient!” Thankfully, it turned out that this was the deactivation phrase for the automaton. It returned to the entrance corridor, leaving us all feeling rather foolish for not having tried the phrase before....
...behind the wall was a huge octagonal room with a 10 foot wide, by 10 foot long, by 15 foot high, box-like structure in its center. From the rear of the box protruded a metallic hand with some black powder. Tom-Tom identified it as crushed diamond dust. From the side of the box, a metal rod topped by a green crystalline orb protruded.
Nolin tried several times to Jump onto the top, succeeding in cracking his head several times upon the ceiling. When he finally made it and found a Levitating Alix waiting for him, Nolin’s oaths were ear-blistering.
The top was covered with runes and inscriptions, intersecting rings with Elzid’s sigil in the center. They pulled me up to study it. The box appeared to be a complex machine, designed to gather power and release it using Alteration magic. I guessed that we stood atop a Teleportation Chamber....
...Alix and Tom-Tom got the chamber open. The walls inside were mirrors, with an identical rod and orb. Glimmer became fascinated by all the mirrors, so we went back to check on the double doors. Suddenly a loud noise ripped through the complex, sounding like a huge rush of air. We rushed back to find a somewhat bedraggled, middle-aged cleric in robes coming out of the chamber and bitterly complaining. Glimmer was gone! We quickly learned the fellow’s name – Velendo, of the god Calphas the Wallbuilder. He had been kidnapped by pirates while traveling by ship from his home in Hunner’s Tide to Oursk. He was taken to the Citadel of War on the island of Sindara. There live the worshippers of Kord, the Wargod, largely consisting of minotaurs (which in one stroke explains the foreign currency, weapons, and wine.)
Velendo had been consigned to rid the Citadel dungeons of giant ants, a death sentence. He had been retreating from a horde of ants, backed into the chamber, and accidentally touched the orb, finding himself here. We quickly closed the chamber. Within moments, Glimmer was knocking to be let out. The chamber appears to consume the diamond dust for fuel....
...decided to try the double doors. I cast Knock, and we came face-to-face with a horrible skeletal snake with a human head. Although Velendo was reluctant to join in combat, he was actually quite effective. Alix again managed to step into one of my Color Sprays. Nolin was Charmed by the beast, and spent the combat in thrall. At last the fighters brought it down.
Place seems to be Elzid’s private living quarters. The door had been Wizard Locked, and it closed shut again behind us, unfortunately locking Nyquil outside with the rest of the party inside. I asked him to keep watch, and we searched the room. Found a few chests, metal bit for the stone horse, a paper with the deactivation phrase for the Fire Traps on the chests, a set of deep blue conjuring robes, a Citadel of War priest costume complete with a wooden identification card, and a 7-month-old receipt for coins being stored for someone named S_....
...mental warning next morning from Nyquil that our rope was being pulled up. I Knock’d the doors and we rushed for the entrance hole. I then had a brilliant idea, which was nearly fatal. I asked the staff to transport me to the surface. It asked why. I informed it that our supplies were up there being stolen, including it’s wood polish! With a green flash I found myself on the surface, facing eight hostile orcs and a nasty-looking half-orc. Our horses and Tao’s war dog were gone! I attempted to bluff them, gesturing dramatically.
“Depart, or face my wrath this day!” I bellowed.
The orcs froze, wavering and unsure. But the half-orc had other plans.
“I’m Stavros the Bandit Chief, I. And youse is outnumbered!”
The rest of the party began to ascend the hole, with Nolin yelling “Send in the dwarven legions!”
I managed to Sleep two of the orcs, but Stavros struck me with a thrown dagger and charged, longsword at the ready. He arrived in front of me just in time to catch my Color Spray in the face. He dropped, and the orcs fled. I killed two with Magic Missile, and Grundo and Tao finished off almost all of the rest. Unfortunately, one of them escaped. We tied up Stavros, and brought him down to Elzid’s chamber for questioning....
...searched the other chests and found diamonds and coins. Also, gauntlets that enlarge and shrink things, a Mortar and Pestle of Lovlorheim, and a golden rod that increases one’s attractiveness. Stavros was surly and uncooperative. He had been, apparently, Kronk the giant’s partner, and the recipient of arms for cash from Elzid. We decided to spend one more night in Elzid’s chambers before departing....
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