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Rise Of The Snakemen [Forgotten Realms]
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<blockquote data-quote="Brakkart" data-source="post: 2829527" data-attributes="member: 19617"><p><strong>DM's Log of Session Forty Five</strong></p><p></p><p>Arriving back at the ruined tower a few hours after setting out to meet Esau, Ash encounters Masembe (lounging in snake form), but is surprised to find the rest of the party absent. The paladin explains his conversation with Esau to the druid, who is highly sceptical and thinks that the invitation is sure to be a trap. Shifting into wolf form, Masembe sets off after the others, following the scent trail of dried blood that clings to Jebodiah as when the others noticed that Ash was missing, they moved campsite.</p><p></p><p>On entering the partially overgrown ruin of a trade depot, Ash explains his absence of the part few hours to the others, who are just as wary of the plan as the druid, despite the paladin's conviction that this remains their best chance for completing their objectives and getting out of the city alive. Still, it being late, the group agrees to rest for the night and resume their deliberations in the morning.</p><p></p><p>It is in the early hours as the party sleep that Jebodiah and Masembe on watch notice three large winged shapes flying overhead and descending towards the ruin where they are camped. Ssvaklors! Recognising the threat, Masembe immediately wards himself against poison as Jeb draws his handaxe and bellows a warning which wakes Zamtap and Aeron, Ash having decided to sleep in a room a little distance from the rest of the party. The ground thuds as the three yuan-ti/dragon hybrids land in the rubble strewn streets fore and aft of the building.</p><p></p><p>Dashing back into the building, Masembe roughly wakes Chand, as the first Ssvaklor engulfs Jebodiah in it's poisonous breath, the spray weakening him. At the rear of the building the other two dragons push their way into the ruin, one heading for the bulk of the party, the other towards a still slumbering Ash! Waving his hands through a series of gestures, Aeron clads himself in Mage Armor as outside in the street Jeb roars and charges the dragon that breathed on him, though the snaky reptile twists out of the way of the blow. Zamtap casts a Neutralise Poison on himself, and Chand invokes a Shield of Faith to bolster his defenses.</p><p></p><p>At a few words and gestures, Masembe's skin thickens and hardens, becoming like bark as growls of pain can be heard from Jeb as the Ssvaklor tears into him with teeth and claws. Another of the dragons barrels into Zamtap, its teeth easily tearing into the priest, even as the beast ignores the Phantasmal Killer that Aeron sent its way, the genasi wizard gnashing his teeth in annoyance at his spells failure. Outside in the street, Jeb cheers as he scores a single blow on the dragon, it twisting out of the path of his other swings though. Backing away from the Ssvaklor that bit him, Zamtap channels his faith to empower a Cure Critical Wounds spell, patching himself up, as Chand casts Divine Favour on himself and steps into the fray.</p><p></p><p>From where he is stood, Masembe can see Jebodiah fighting alone and he begins summoning some help for the outmatched dwarf. The Ssvaklors lash out with their bites, sinking teeth into both Chand and Jeb, the dwarf also suffering a further injection of venom into his veins. Casting Telekinesis, Aeron attempts to grapple the Ssvaklor threatening the bulk of the party but fails to do so, while Jeb's handaxe scores another blow on the dragon he is fighting but barely doing enough damage to make the reptile notice the strike. Stepping to his possessions, Zamtap picks up his shield and his dragonbane warhammer and grimly moves back into melee to flank the beast fighting Chand, distracting the dragon long enough for Chand to hit it twice with his mace. Elsewhere in the ruined building, the third Ssvaklor grins as it finds the sleeping form of Ash, the paladins head vanishing in a spray of blood as jaws sever it from the body!</p><p></p><p>Out in the street a brown bear appears and attacks the Ssvaklor, but it cannot score a hit on the dragon. Still it draws the beasts attention long enough for Masembe to run up behind Jebodiah and cast Neutralise Poison on the dwarf. Unfortunately fro the druid, his chanting draws the Ssvaklor's attention to him and the dragon moves quickly and snaps its jaws shut on him. Back inside, Chand is raked with claws and bitten by the Ssvaklor there, as it again fights free of Aeron's attempt to pin it with telekinesis. Swinging wildly, Jebodiah misses twice and is then all but staggered as he feels a mental shout echo through him of "<strong>WIELD ME NOW!!</strong>" as Stormcleaver, so long slumbering is finally woken by the plight and bravado of his wielder, the axe's full powers emerging. Casting Divine Favour on himself, Zamtap moves into melee with the Ssvaklor, again flanking and distracting it for Chand to get in a couple good blows with his mace. Elsewhere, the third Ssvaklor gathers up the paladins corpse and backpack in its mouth and makes its exit, not wishing to share its meal and trophies with the other two dragons.</p><p></p><p>Seeing that his bear needs a boost, Masembe enchants it with Magic Fang, the magic allowing the bear to rip into the Ssvaklor with both claws and its bite. Jebodiah and Zamtap are both bitten and clawed badly. Aeron all but punches the air though, as he finally grabs hold and pins the Ssvaklor with his magic. Heeding his axe's advice, Jebodiah backs up a step, drops his handaxe and shield and draws Stormcleaver. Grinning at the dragon in front of him, he lets his fury spill over into a battle frenzy roaring "<strong>Come to my axe dragon!</strong>". Inside, with the Ssvaklor held down by Aeron's spell, both Chand and Zamtap rain a pair of brutal blows down on the trapped lizard.</p><p></p><p>Smiling, Masembe casts Cure Serious Wounds on Jebodiah and then backs away a few steps, as the bear rakes its claws twice into the dragon and grabs it in a bearhug, though it cannot hold it for long as both Ssvaklors break the holds on them, Aeron trying in vain to reestablish the grip his telekinesis briefly held on the reptile. Bellowing a war cry Jebodiah hews into the Ssvaklor in the street, hacking three gashes through its armoured hide and badly wounding the dragon. Focusing his concentration, Zamtap cast a Cure Critical Wounds on himself, even as Chand drew the Ssvaklor's attention by bashing it again with his mace.</p><p></p><p>As the bear clawed the Ssvaklor again, Masembe took another step back away from Jebodiah and began summoning anew. While Jeb suffers more rakes of the dragons claws and teeth as he battles it, Chand is dropped by the extent of his wounds. Aeron agai tries but narrowly fails to pin the Ssvaklor inside, though everyone is shaken then by the boom of a thunderclap, as Stormcleaver is used to brutally hack apart the Ssvaklor in the street, blood and entrails flying everywhere as the enraged barbarian disembowels the beast. Inside, Zamtap crouched and laid a hand on chand to deliver a Cure Serious Wounds spell to the Mystran priest, he then getting up and whacking the Ssvaklor looming over the pair of them again.</p><p></p><p>An ape appears then in the space between Masembe and Jebodiah, the druid summoning a living shield to protect him from the dwarf should he turn his killing rage towards the druid, though he watches as Jebodiah strides indoors towards the other Ssvaklor. Chand is clawed and Zamtap bitten, as the badly wounded dragon lashes out at its tormentors, wanting to put both down quickly so that it might get away. Any chance it had at doing so though is swiftly ended, as Aeron succeeds in regrappling the beast and Zamtap's warhammer finishes it off, caving in its head. Seeing Jebodiah advancing towards the party then with murderous intent and an axe dripping gore in hand, Chand hastily chants and casts a Calm Emotions on the dwarf to pacify him, his mind returning to normal.</p><p></p><p><strong><u>DM's Notes:</u></strong></p><p></p><p>This was a very fun session to run. Dan had decided that he no longer wished to be a part of the campaign (he kept his reasons to himself), so his character got munched which (I think) added to the drama of the battle. Ssvaklor's (from Monster Manual III) are great monsters and as you can see they gave the party a hell of a good fight.</p><p></p><p>When I created Stormcleaver I made it with 2 sets of stats. The regular set was that of a +1 thundering dwarven waraxe with an intelligence. That intelligence was asleep and would require something to awaken it. That something was met in this fight when Jebodiah attacked a foe more powerful than himself in single combat (he didn't know Masembe was going to come to aid him, the druid had just headed inside after all). Once awake, Stormcleaver is a +3 thundering dwarf waraxe with a couple powers granted by its intelligence (most notably a +10 bonus on Intimidate checks!).</p><p></p><p>One of the things I wanted to do in this campaign was to give each character a "signature weapon", basically a weapon that could be synonomous with the character themself and one that they would be far more likely to upgrade than to replace. I like the idea of a hero keeping with the same weapon throughout their career and wanted to see if I could get that to work. Stormcleaver is clearly Jebodiah's signature weapon, just as the Dragonbane Warhammer is Zamtap's.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Brakkart, post: 2829527, member: 19617"] [b]DM's Log of Session Forty Five[/b] Arriving back at the ruined tower a few hours after setting out to meet Esau, Ash encounters Masembe (lounging in snake form), but is surprised to find the rest of the party absent. The paladin explains his conversation with Esau to the druid, who is highly sceptical and thinks that the invitation is sure to be a trap. Shifting into wolf form, Masembe sets off after the others, following the scent trail of dried blood that clings to Jebodiah as when the others noticed that Ash was missing, they moved campsite. On entering the partially overgrown ruin of a trade depot, Ash explains his absence of the part few hours to the others, who are just as wary of the plan as the druid, despite the paladin's conviction that this remains their best chance for completing their objectives and getting out of the city alive. Still, it being late, the group agrees to rest for the night and resume their deliberations in the morning. It is in the early hours as the party sleep that Jebodiah and Masembe on watch notice three large winged shapes flying overhead and descending towards the ruin where they are camped. Ssvaklors! Recognising the threat, Masembe immediately wards himself against poison as Jeb draws his handaxe and bellows a warning which wakes Zamtap and Aeron, Ash having decided to sleep in a room a little distance from the rest of the party. The ground thuds as the three yuan-ti/dragon hybrids land in the rubble strewn streets fore and aft of the building. Dashing back into the building, Masembe roughly wakes Chand, as the first Ssvaklor engulfs Jebodiah in it's poisonous breath, the spray weakening him. At the rear of the building the other two dragons push their way into the ruin, one heading for the bulk of the party, the other towards a still slumbering Ash! Waving his hands through a series of gestures, Aeron clads himself in Mage Armor as outside in the street Jeb roars and charges the dragon that breathed on him, though the snaky reptile twists out of the way of the blow. Zamtap casts a Neutralise Poison on himself, and Chand invokes a Shield of Faith to bolster his defenses. At a few words and gestures, Masembe's skin thickens and hardens, becoming like bark as growls of pain can be heard from Jeb as the Ssvaklor tears into him with teeth and claws. Another of the dragons barrels into Zamtap, its teeth easily tearing into the priest, even as the beast ignores the Phantasmal Killer that Aeron sent its way, the genasi wizard gnashing his teeth in annoyance at his spells failure. Outside in the street, Jeb cheers as he scores a single blow on the dragon, it twisting out of the path of his other swings though. Backing away from the Ssvaklor that bit him, Zamtap channels his faith to empower a Cure Critical Wounds spell, patching himself up, as Chand casts Divine Favour on himself and steps into the fray. From where he is stood, Masembe can see Jebodiah fighting alone and he begins summoning some help for the outmatched dwarf. The Ssvaklors lash out with their bites, sinking teeth into both Chand and Jeb, the dwarf also suffering a further injection of venom into his veins. Casting Telekinesis, Aeron attempts to grapple the Ssvaklor threatening the bulk of the party but fails to do so, while Jeb's handaxe scores another blow on the dragon he is fighting but barely doing enough damage to make the reptile notice the strike. Stepping to his possessions, Zamtap picks up his shield and his dragonbane warhammer and grimly moves back into melee to flank the beast fighting Chand, distracting the dragon long enough for Chand to hit it twice with his mace. Elsewhere in the ruined building, the third Ssvaklor grins as it finds the sleeping form of Ash, the paladins head vanishing in a spray of blood as jaws sever it from the body! Out in the street a brown bear appears and attacks the Ssvaklor, but it cannot score a hit on the dragon. Still it draws the beasts attention long enough for Masembe to run up behind Jebodiah and cast Neutralise Poison on the dwarf. Unfortunately fro the druid, his chanting draws the Ssvaklor's attention to him and the dragon moves quickly and snaps its jaws shut on him. Back inside, Chand is raked with claws and bitten by the Ssvaklor there, as it again fights free of Aeron's attempt to pin it with telekinesis. Swinging wildly, Jebodiah misses twice and is then all but staggered as he feels a mental shout echo through him of "[B]WIELD ME NOW!![/B]" as Stormcleaver, so long slumbering is finally woken by the plight and bravado of his wielder, the axe's full powers emerging. Casting Divine Favour on himself, Zamtap moves into melee with the Ssvaklor, again flanking and distracting it for Chand to get in a couple good blows with his mace. Elsewhere, the third Ssvaklor gathers up the paladins corpse and backpack in its mouth and makes its exit, not wishing to share its meal and trophies with the other two dragons. Seeing that his bear needs a boost, Masembe enchants it with Magic Fang, the magic allowing the bear to rip into the Ssvaklor with both claws and its bite. Jebodiah and Zamtap are both bitten and clawed badly. Aeron all but punches the air though, as he finally grabs hold and pins the Ssvaklor with his magic. Heeding his axe's advice, Jebodiah backs up a step, drops his handaxe and shield and draws Stormcleaver. Grinning at the dragon in front of him, he lets his fury spill over into a battle frenzy roaring "[B]Come to my axe dragon![/B]". Inside, with the Ssvaklor held down by Aeron's spell, both Chand and Zamtap rain a pair of brutal blows down on the trapped lizard. Smiling, Masembe casts Cure Serious Wounds on Jebodiah and then backs away a few steps, as the bear rakes its claws twice into the dragon and grabs it in a bearhug, though it cannot hold it for long as both Ssvaklors break the holds on them, Aeron trying in vain to reestablish the grip his telekinesis briefly held on the reptile. Bellowing a war cry Jebodiah hews into the Ssvaklor in the street, hacking three gashes through its armoured hide and badly wounding the dragon. Focusing his concentration, Zamtap cast a Cure Critical Wounds on himself, even as Chand drew the Ssvaklor's attention by bashing it again with his mace. As the bear clawed the Ssvaklor again, Masembe took another step back away from Jebodiah and began summoning anew. While Jeb suffers more rakes of the dragons claws and teeth as he battles it, Chand is dropped by the extent of his wounds. Aeron agai tries but narrowly fails to pin the Ssvaklor inside, though everyone is shaken then by the boom of a thunderclap, as Stormcleaver is used to brutally hack apart the Ssvaklor in the street, blood and entrails flying everywhere as the enraged barbarian disembowels the beast. Inside, Zamtap crouched and laid a hand on chand to deliver a Cure Serious Wounds spell to the Mystran priest, he then getting up and whacking the Ssvaklor looming over the pair of them again. An ape appears then in the space between Masembe and Jebodiah, the druid summoning a living shield to protect him from the dwarf should he turn his killing rage towards the druid, though he watches as Jebodiah strides indoors towards the other Ssvaklor. Chand is clawed and Zamtap bitten, as the badly wounded dragon lashes out at its tormentors, wanting to put both down quickly so that it might get away. Any chance it had at doing so though is swiftly ended, as Aeron succeeds in regrappling the beast and Zamtap's warhammer finishes it off, caving in its head. Seeing Jebodiah advancing towards the party then with murderous intent and an axe dripping gore in hand, Chand hastily chants and casts a Calm Emotions on the dwarf to pacify him, his mind returning to normal. [B][U]DM's Notes:[/U][/B] This was a very fun session to run. Dan had decided that he no longer wished to be a part of the campaign (he kept his reasons to himself), so his character got munched which (I think) added to the drama of the battle. Ssvaklor's (from Monster Manual III) are great monsters and as you can see they gave the party a hell of a good fight. When I created Stormcleaver I made it with 2 sets of stats. The regular set was that of a +1 thundering dwarven waraxe with an intelligence. That intelligence was asleep and would require something to awaken it. That something was met in this fight when Jebodiah attacked a foe more powerful than himself in single combat (he didn't know Masembe was going to come to aid him, the druid had just headed inside after all). Once awake, Stormcleaver is a +3 thundering dwarf waraxe with a couple powers granted by its intelligence (most notably a +10 bonus on Intimidate checks!). One of the things I wanted to do in this campaign was to give each character a "signature weapon", basically a weapon that could be synonomous with the character themself and one that they would be far more likely to upgrade than to replace. I like the idea of a hero keeping with the same weapon throughout their career and wanted to see if I could get that to work. Stormcleaver is clearly Jebodiah's signature weapon, just as the Dragonbane Warhammer is Zamtap's. [/QUOTE]
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