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Nebulous's Keep on the Shadowfell (FR)
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<blockquote data-quote="Nebulous" data-source="post: 4552905" data-attributes="member: 31465"><p><span style="font-size: 15px">Adventure #4: A Dismal Den of Dragon-Droppings</span></p><p></p><p><strong>PART ONE</strong></p><p></p><p>The PCs catch their breath after obliterating the kobolds outside the waterfall. They regroup at the bottom and consider their options: there are two entrances, so Ash and Helga tentatively peek into the southern hole while the others inspect the north. Erevan the wizard takes a closer look at the glowing circle of stones and suspects that this is an ancient remnant from a long lost kingdom, maybe as old as the days of Netheril. The circle might enhance his magical prowess if he stays within it.</p><p></p><p><img src="http://www.med.unc.edu/~saasha/keep/circle.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Ash finds the tunnel behind the waterfall musty and dirty, filled with three-toed footprints and a foul stink. He sticks to the shadows, hearing nothing over the roar of the water nearby. He edges along a wall, dagger out, and finally hears movement around a corner. Dim light flickers inside the den from mounted lanterns. Taking a breath, Ash whips around the corner and rams his dagger to the hilt beneath a kobold’s chin! Hot blood spurts on this fingers and the kobold crumples. He completely surprised them, but a second kobold is not so easily dispatched and chucks a javelin at the rogue. Ash backs away, even as more kobolds converge on his position, likewise throwing projectiles. Helga hears the commotion and storms into the cave, her deadly battleaxe cleaving the nearest kobold in twain. </p><p></p><p>At the other entrance, Brandis Padraig licks his lips and slowly steps inside. He doesn’t see anyone. Stark shadows encompass him. He moves in carefully, halberd extended and ready to skewer anything that moves. Irann the warlock steps in as well, but she can just barely make out the shape of a kobold in the distance. With a flick of her wrist, eldritch purple flames explode from the creature’s eyes, nostrils and mouth, and it collapses into a quivering heap. She takes up a position near Brandis.</p><p></p><p><img src="http://www.med.unc.edu/~saasha/keep/cave1.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, Ash and Helga are cutting a swath through the kobolds. They can’t withstand axe and dagger and fall beneath their foes, inflicting minimal damage to elf and dwarf. On the other side, Brandis and Irann spot more kobolds hiding behind a wall. The little dragon-droppings hurl javelins at the warlock, painfully hitting her. Erevan the Eladrin Wizard enters the fray, tossing a sparkling missile across the chamber. </p><p></p><p>Many, many foes begin to crowd the room, and the fight is split between the north and south quadrants. There are more hidden rooms, tunnels and chambers out of their sight, and then Helga spots what looks like a black curtain obscuring a particular passage, hiding gods-knows what.</p><p></p><p>“There! A curtain!” she cries, pointing with the bloody haft of her axe. Erevan tosses a light spell and illuminates the entire area, but it reveals nothing other than a black cloth draped across a narrow corridor. </p><p></p><p>Both groups move toward the center, but a surviving kobold disengages from the fray, screaming, “IRONTOOTH! IRONTOOTH! SAVE US!” Three kobolds retreat from the battle, hiding in another room, but their retreat instigates a new wave of enemies, and from around a corner surges a HUGE goblin, a single enormous tooth jutting from his jaw. He wields a brutal battleaxe in both hands that looks every bit as dangerous as Helga’s.</p><p></p><p><img src="http://www.med.unc.edu/~saasha/keep/Irontooth.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>The goblin, most certainly Irontooth, roars his anger at the interlopers, and then screams, “You will all DIE!”</p><p></p><p>It is not a threat to be taken lightly.</p><p></p><p>The goblin surges at Helga, crushing his axe against hers in a shower of steely sparks. Following hot on his heels, two Dragonshield Soldiers enter the battle, snarling in anger, and attempt to flank the dwarf, jabbing and stabbing at her with their vicious shortswords. From experience, the group knows that these guys are dangerous and will not easily fall like the other riffraff. </p><p></p><p><img src="http://www.med.unc.edu/~saasha/keep/cave2.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>To make matters worse, the black curtain whips aside and a robed goblin steps out, a hideous skull staff in hand bubbling liquid fire from the mouth. The wyrmpriest tosses a glob of burning magic at the dwarf, and then quickly slinks back into hiding. Wash, rinse, repeat. </p><p></p><p><img src="http://www.med.unc.edu/~saasha/keep/skull staff.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>From the time Irontooth arrives on the scene, he is marked by the Dwarf fighter, flanked between her and Ash the rogue, and their positions do not significantly change. Moving away from the fighter will cause pain, which the goblin boss quickly learns. </p><p></p><p>The fight grows more perilous. Irontooth is a heavy hitter, and his axe slams into Helga numerous times, enraging the dwarf. The dragonshields worm their way into more advantageous positions, shifting into and out of combat, forcing the enemy to move closer. Irann wastes no time cursing the kobolds, sucking up their life energy as they expire and teleporting short distances. Erevan conjures a flaming sphere and rolls the ball of fire into combat, annihilating the weaker enemies and severely burning the stronger ones. </p><p></p><p>Every round, the kobold wyrmpriest pops out from hiding and hurls a glob of fire, almost always targeting the dwarf fighter who is engaged toe-to-toe with Irontooth. Ash the elf rogue attempts to backstab Irontooth at every opportunity, but a crafty dragonshield distracts him, moving into a flanking position. Still, the dwarf’s battlefield control discourages shifting, and the fight in the middle remains fairly static while foes further away race for hiding and cover. The three kobolds that retreated earlier enter combat again, trying to bolster their allies.</p><p></p><p>“Think you can kill me?” Irontooth roars, clanging his axe off Helga’s breastplate. The dwarf is slammed to one knee, and a painful ball of sorcerous flame explodes across her forehead, even as a hissing dragonshield sinks a blade into her ribs. </p><p></p><p>She’s having her doubts now.</p><p></p><p>But Irontooth is horribly injured himself. He’s been beaten, stabbed and kicked and burned by a hovering sphere of magical flame. Skin charred and smoking, the goblin leader hunkers down, and then EXPLODES UP in a swinging maelstrom of fury, burning an Action Point and hacking left and right and left and right! </p><p></p><p>The first swipe rips through Ash’s chest, exposing bone. The elf staggers, his world growing dark. The next slash jars a chunk of Helga’s armor from her body, but the third blow against Ash, even as he swoons from the first strike, nearly severs his head.</p><p></p><p>The elf collapses backwards. </p><p></p><p>Slain. </p><p></p><p>Helga screams Ash’s name, but Irontooth grins evilly through bloodstained teeth and renews his attacks on her, hammering again and again and again. Another javelin flies at the dwarf, puncturing her thigh, and a hissing glob of flame spits from the concealed wyrmpriest [who luckily for the PCs missed most of his ranged attacks].</p><p></p><p>Regardless, Helga is down to 1 hit point. If the dwarf falls, then the battle will quickly become a massacre.</p><p></p><p>Her companions surge to the rescue. Brandis is able to boost her morale, and Helga chugs a healing potion, bringing her back from the brink of doom. The damnable dragonshield soldiers are still alive though, as are several other foes, and the battle could easily swing any direction. </p><p></p><p>The wizard’s flaming sphere rolls around, igniting a minion into a pillar of flame. </p><p></p><p>Choking on his own blood, Irontooth is FINALLY skewered by a charging attack from Brandis Padraig. The son of the Lord of Winterhaven levels his halberd and mercilessly [burning a daily power], thrusts the steel deep into the goblin’s gut. Metal explodes near his spine, showering the wall behind him with gore. Irontooth grabs the polearm with both hands, barely managing to pull himself off. Blood fills his mouth. He staggers over Ash’s cooling corpse beneath his feet. The goblin raises his arms and face to the ceiling.</p><p></p><p>“KALAREL! PREPARE MY WAY!”</p><p></p><p>And then falls to his knees, gurgling his last breaths, and dies. </p><p><span style="color: red"></span></p><p><span style="color: red">[GM Note: Adam believes they misheard what Irontooth said because of the loud waterfall; his actual words were, “CALGON, TAKE ME AWAY!”]</span></p><p></p><p>But the fight is hardly over. There are two injured dragonshields soldiers, a skirmisher, a wyrmpriest, and at least one minion still alive. The demise of their leader only infuriates them to new levels.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nebulous, post: 4552905, member: 31465"] [size=4]Adventure #4: A Dismal Den of Dragon-Droppings[/size] [B]PART ONE[/B] The PCs catch their breath after obliterating the kobolds outside the waterfall. They regroup at the bottom and consider their options: there are two entrances, so Ash and Helga tentatively peek into the southern hole while the others inspect the north. Erevan the wizard takes a closer look at the glowing circle of stones and suspects that this is an ancient remnant from a long lost kingdom, maybe as old as the days of Netheril. The circle might enhance his magical prowess if he stays within it. [img]http://www.med.unc.edu/~saasha/keep/circle.jpg[/img] Ash finds the tunnel behind the waterfall musty and dirty, filled with three-toed footprints and a foul stink. He sticks to the shadows, hearing nothing over the roar of the water nearby. He edges along a wall, dagger out, and finally hears movement around a corner. Dim light flickers inside the den from mounted lanterns. Taking a breath, Ash whips around the corner and rams his dagger to the hilt beneath a kobold’s chin! Hot blood spurts on this fingers and the kobold crumples. He completely surprised them, but a second kobold is not so easily dispatched and chucks a javelin at the rogue. Ash backs away, even as more kobolds converge on his position, likewise throwing projectiles. Helga hears the commotion and storms into the cave, her deadly battleaxe cleaving the nearest kobold in twain. At the other entrance, Brandis Padraig licks his lips and slowly steps inside. He doesn’t see anyone. Stark shadows encompass him. He moves in carefully, halberd extended and ready to skewer anything that moves. Irann the warlock steps in as well, but she can just barely make out the shape of a kobold in the distance. With a flick of her wrist, eldritch purple flames explode from the creature’s eyes, nostrils and mouth, and it collapses into a quivering heap. She takes up a position near Brandis. [img]http://www.med.unc.edu/~saasha/keep/cave1.jpg[/img] Meanwhile, Ash and Helga are cutting a swath through the kobolds. They can’t withstand axe and dagger and fall beneath their foes, inflicting minimal damage to elf and dwarf. On the other side, Brandis and Irann spot more kobolds hiding behind a wall. The little dragon-droppings hurl javelins at the warlock, painfully hitting her. Erevan the Eladrin Wizard enters the fray, tossing a sparkling missile across the chamber. Many, many foes begin to crowd the room, and the fight is split between the north and south quadrants. There are more hidden rooms, tunnels and chambers out of their sight, and then Helga spots what looks like a black curtain obscuring a particular passage, hiding gods-knows what. “There! A curtain!” she cries, pointing with the bloody haft of her axe. Erevan tosses a light spell and illuminates the entire area, but it reveals nothing other than a black cloth draped across a narrow corridor. Both groups move toward the center, but a surviving kobold disengages from the fray, screaming, “IRONTOOTH! IRONTOOTH! SAVE US!” Three kobolds retreat from the battle, hiding in another room, but their retreat instigates a new wave of enemies, and from around a corner surges a HUGE goblin, a single enormous tooth jutting from his jaw. He wields a brutal battleaxe in both hands that looks every bit as dangerous as Helga’s. [img]http://www.med.unc.edu/~saasha/keep/Irontooth.jpg[/img] The goblin, most certainly Irontooth, roars his anger at the interlopers, and then screams, “You will all DIE!” It is not a threat to be taken lightly. The goblin surges at Helga, crushing his axe against hers in a shower of steely sparks. Following hot on his heels, two Dragonshield Soldiers enter the battle, snarling in anger, and attempt to flank the dwarf, jabbing and stabbing at her with their vicious shortswords. From experience, the group knows that these guys are dangerous and will not easily fall like the other riffraff. [img]http://www.med.unc.edu/~saasha/keep/cave2.jpg[/img] To make matters worse, the black curtain whips aside and a robed goblin steps out, a hideous skull staff in hand bubbling liquid fire from the mouth. The wyrmpriest tosses a glob of burning magic at the dwarf, and then quickly slinks back into hiding. Wash, rinse, repeat. [img]http://www.med.unc.edu/~saasha/keep/skull staff.jpg[/img] From the time Irontooth arrives on the scene, he is marked by the Dwarf fighter, flanked between her and Ash the rogue, and their positions do not significantly change. Moving away from the fighter will cause pain, which the goblin boss quickly learns. The fight grows more perilous. Irontooth is a heavy hitter, and his axe slams into Helga numerous times, enraging the dwarf. The dragonshields worm their way into more advantageous positions, shifting into and out of combat, forcing the enemy to move closer. Irann wastes no time cursing the kobolds, sucking up their life energy as they expire and teleporting short distances. Erevan conjures a flaming sphere and rolls the ball of fire into combat, annihilating the weaker enemies and severely burning the stronger ones. Every round, the kobold wyrmpriest pops out from hiding and hurls a glob of fire, almost always targeting the dwarf fighter who is engaged toe-to-toe with Irontooth. Ash the elf rogue attempts to backstab Irontooth at every opportunity, but a crafty dragonshield distracts him, moving into a flanking position. Still, the dwarf’s battlefield control discourages shifting, and the fight in the middle remains fairly static while foes further away race for hiding and cover. The three kobolds that retreated earlier enter combat again, trying to bolster their allies. “Think you can kill me?” Irontooth roars, clanging his axe off Helga’s breastplate. The dwarf is slammed to one knee, and a painful ball of sorcerous flame explodes across her forehead, even as a hissing dragonshield sinks a blade into her ribs. She’s having her doubts now. But Irontooth is horribly injured himself. He’s been beaten, stabbed and kicked and burned by a hovering sphere of magical flame. Skin charred and smoking, the goblin leader hunkers down, and then EXPLODES UP in a swinging maelstrom of fury, burning an Action Point and hacking left and right and left and right! The first swipe rips through Ash’s chest, exposing bone. The elf staggers, his world growing dark. The next slash jars a chunk of Helga’s armor from her body, but the third blow against Ash, even as he swoons from the first strike, nearly severs his head. The elf collapses backwards. Slain. Helga screams Ash’s name, but Irontooth grins evilly through bloodstained teeth and renews his attacks on her, hammering again and again and again. Another javelin flies at the dwarf, puncturing her thigh, and a hissing glob of flame spits from the concealed wyrmpriest [who luckily for the PCs missed most of his ranged attacks]. Regardless, Helga is down to 1 hit point. If the dwarf falls, then the battle will quickly become a massacre. Her companions surge to the rescue. Brandis is able to boost her morale, and Helga chugs a healing potion, bringing her back from the brink of doom. The damnable dragonshield soldiers are still alive though, as are several other foes, and the battle could easily swing any direction. The wizard’s flaming sphere rolls around, igniting a minion into a pillar of flame. Choking on his own blood, Irontooth is FINALLY skewered by a charging attack from Brandis Padraig. The son of the Lord of Winterhaven levels his halberd and mercilessly [burning a daily power], thrusts the steel deep into the goblin’s gut. Metal explodes near his spine, showering the wall behind him with gore. Irontooth grabs the polearm with both hands, barely managing to pull himself off. Blood fills his mouth. He staggers over Ash’s cooling corpse beneath his feet. The goblin raises his arms and face to the ceiling. “KALAREL! PREPARE MY WAY!” And then falls to his knees, gurgling his last breaths, and dies. [color=red] [GM Note: Adam believes they misheard what Irontooth said because of the loud waterfall; his actual words were, “CALGON, TAKE ME AWAY!”][/color] But the fight is hardly over. There are two injured dragonshields soldiers, a skirmisher, a wyrmpriest, and at least one minion still alive. The demise of their leader only infuriates them to new levels. [/QUOTE]
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