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D&D 4E Running Commentary on Rel's 4e Campaign (Complete 8/2/10)
- Thread starter Rel
- Start date
Didn't realize that they were 5th level! 
Hooray sixth.
Do the PCs plan on returning to the River Gate to get more bones for Mist-resistant armor? Or do they just think that the bones they collected are enough?
Also, it looks like you glossed over Eshik killing the bugbears that beset him. Did you handwave that part in favor of focusing on the rest of the group/making them wonder how he was faring the whole time, or were you running his battle in addition? (I'm tempted to do handwaving in the future, in circumstances like that, for narrative purposes).
Hooray sixth. Do the PCs plan on returning to the River Gate to get more bones for Mist-resistant armor? Or do they just think that the bones they collected are enough?
Also, it looks like you glossed over Eshik killing the bugbears that beset him. Did you handwave that part in favor of focusing on the rest of the group/making them wonder how he was faring the whole time, or were you running his battle in addition? (I'm tempted to do handwaving in the future, in circumstances like that, for narrative purposes).
Hi, p/o Eshik here!
Figured I should stop all the lurking and maybe contribute...
First off, Rechan, while I appreciate the vote of confidence, I didn't kill the hobgoblins at that fight...they (more accurately, the archers) laid me quite low, although I consider 10-on-1 to be just North of a fair fight.
You may not have gathered this from all the narrative bits, but Eshik's got this...tendency...to run off either to run down fleeing foes or to pin down a second front before it plows into the casters. This time, though it wasn't his fault--I rolled so poorly into the initiative order that I couldn't make it to the hallway without picking up a bunch of OAs and ending up pretty much where I ended up.
I'm also VERY bad about not using some of my defensive abilities and/or saving my action points 'for a rainy day' when hurricane-force floods are already pouring down on us. I've cautioned more than once "it's a shame to die with action points and unused dailies", but I sheepishly count those when I'm rolling Death Saves. In this case, I could've and should've either AP'ed an extra move, and/or stunted to do something fancy and get to cover--my bad for the failure.
One other RP clarification...
Figured I should stop all the lurking and maybe contribute...
First off, Rechan, while I appreciate the vote of confidence, I didn't kill the hobgoblins at that fight...they (more accurately, the archers) laid me quite low, although I consider 10-on-1 to be just North of a fair fight.
You may not have gathered this from all the narrative bits, but Eshik's got this...tendency...to run off either to run down fleeing foes or to pin down a second front before it plows into the casters. This time, though it wasn't his fault--I rolled so poorly into the initiative order that I couldn't make it to the hallway without picking up a bunch of OAs and ending up pretty much where I ended up.
I'm also VERY bad about not using some of my defensive abilities and/or saving my action points 'for a rainy day' when hurricane-force floods are already pouring down on us. I've cautioned more than once "it's a shame to die with action points and unused dailies", but I sheepishly count those when I'm rolling Death Saves. In this case, I could've and should've either AP'ed an extra move, and/or stunted to do something fancy and get to cover--my bad for the failure.
One other RP clarification...
Eshik's primary concern was the latter, and he agreed with the former as a position-solidifying move. Fortunately, the trustworthy Zanne' was able to plan ahead and retroprevent the conflict, hehe...
I have little doubt that we would've lost MANY of our fights if we didn't have not only a primary healer (who also does some damage-dealing) but also a defender who can heal others--replace Mialain with a sorcerer and replace Astavian with a regular warrior, and we're burning out much faster.
Rel
Liquid Awesome
One by one Astavian and Eshik dragged the bodies of the slain minions of the Arcanon Confederacy to the edge of the cliff and cast them into the Misty abyss below. Meanwhile Zanne and Mialain took time to examine the glassy orb mounted to the deck of the broken ship. After some experimentation they determined that it could still be made to work to some degree by constantly channeling magical energy into it. It required concentration and was fairly exhausting but it would get them off this rock.
They gathered what treasure could be found from the battle including a couple more dwarven tablets that were stored on the ship as well as one of the Eladrin bows that Mialain felt was superior to the one she had already. Then, Zanne at the helm, the ship lifted slowly from the ground and began its slow, inelegant flight to the south.
At the end of the day Zanne and Mialain were both very tired and could tell that the ship was requiring more energy the longer they went. The crack ran a bit deeper into the orb than it had when they took off. But with some luck it would get them all the way back to New Karak Tor. Still they opted to fly fairly low over the ground in case the orb should suddenly fail.
One their second day they suddenly spotted shapes approachign them. It was a trio of Gryphons with riders. In the lead was the blue-skinned, white-eyed servant of Mayaheine, the "demi-goddess" that lived atop New Karak Tor to whom they had refused service upon leaving Opkhar.
Eshik: "Didn't we kill him?"
Astavian: "I guess it didn't take."
(or words to that effect)
TO BE CONTINUED...(hopefully in like...two hours)
They gathered what treasure could be found from the battle including a couple more dwarven tablets that were stored on the ship as well as one of the Eladrin bows that Mialain felt was superior to the one she had already. Then, Zanne at the helm, the ship lifted slowly from the ground and began its slow, inelegant flight to the south.
At the end of the day Zanne and Mialain were both very tired and could tell that the ship was requiring more energy the longer they went. The crack ran a bit deeper into the orb than it had when they took off. But with some luck it would get them all the way back to New Karak Tor. Still they opted to fly fairly low over the ground in case the orb should suddenly fail.
One their second day they suddenly spotted shapes approachign them. It was a trio of Gryphons with riders. In the lead was the blue-skinned, white-eyed servant of Mayaheine, the "demi-goddess" that lived atop New Karak Tor to whom they had refused service upon leaving Opkhar.
Eshik: "Didn't we kill him?"
Astavian: "I guess it didn't take."
(or words to that effect)
TO BE CONTINUED...(hopefully in like...two hours)
Rel
Liquid Awesome
Long two hours, eh? Ah well, stuff comes up.
Zanne was at the helm and lowered their altitude further but the incoming Gryphon riders didn't drop to meet them. Instead the lead rider hurled a javelin which struck the deck near none of the PC's. It trailed a ribbon.
Astavian dislodged it from the deck seeing that the head of the javelin had an emblem carved in it. The ribbon read, "Come before me or feel my relentless wrath."
The PC's had a sort conference that, condensed and paraphrased went something like this: "Do we want to come before her? No. Do we want to feel her relentless wrath? Even less."
Suddenly a Gryphon was on the bow of their ship, causing the already cracked keep to creak dangerously. The blue skinned servant of the White Queen addressed them: "I would have your answer."
Astavian approached him and said, "We will make our way to your mistress as soon as we are able." He offered back the elaborate javelin. "Keep it," said the Gryphon rider and took to the sky.
The next day they finally approached the border between the bulk of Hluroth Plateau and the land spit that connected it to the towering spire of New Karak Tor. They each breathed a sigh of relief, none more than Zanne who was struggling to keep the craft aloft through pure magical power.
As they passed over the guard towers on the Hlurothi side of the border, Eshik and Mialain, standing in the bow of the ship, spied sudden movement. Then a ball of flame rocketed skyward and exploded around them. They raced toward the rear of the ship as the bow was engulfed in flames. Another fireball followed the first as Zanne pushed the ship as hard as she could.
Suddenly a huge fist of ice appeared near the stern and attempted to snatch the Warlock away from the control orb. Astavian hacked at it with his greatsword, breaking one of the giant fingers. It was enough to allow Zanne to escape its grasp.
The Arcanon Confederacy Mage who had conjured it levatated above the towers below to remain in range and have it swipe at Zanne once again. But he was distracted by the arrows that Mialain was raining down upon him with her new bow. Eshik joined with his crossbow and forced the Wizard to retreat.
Mialain turned her attention to the flames at the front of the ship and reached out to her link with Melora. The clouds gathered in the chill mountain air and sent a brief but intense rainstorm down upon them, dousing the flames. Still, the damage was done.
"Hold on!" screamed Zanne. The ship continued to lose altitude and they landed just down the hill from the hostel they had stayed at during their previous trip to New Karak Tor. They were all thrown to the deck but none of them was seriously injured. They regained their feet in time to see an entire company of dwarven guards hurry downhill toward the border.
Gorom the dwarven Warden was suddenly beside the ship. "I think you'd best get inside!"
*****
So the bit with flying the Eladrin Winged Ship was done with Arcana checks to establish control over it and the expenditure of Healing Surges to keep it aloft. It started the trip needing one Surge per hour to keep it going and by the end it was up to 2 Surges per hour. So Zanne and Mialain were kind of worn out.
Amazingly they avoided combat with the Gryphon-riding servants of Mayaheine! I really didn't know how this was going to play out (keep an eye on that trend) so I had combat stats ready to go but the PC's decided to agree to their request. Wonders never cease.
The artillery barrage by the Arcanon Confederacy Wizards at the border crossing was not much of a direct danger to the PC's themselves. But it had the potential to cause catastrophic damage to their ship and crash them on the wrong side of the border. Fortunately Mialain pulled off a flawless stunt to conjure the rain shower that extinguished the fire on the ship (that was growing each round). I think she rolled above a 35 Nature check.
Up next they are received by the Dwarves and we find out how much of an international incident they caused. Also they get to meet yet another deity.
Zanne was at the helm and lowered their altitude further but the incoming Gryphon riders didn't drop to meet them. Instead the lead rider hurled a javelin which struck the deck near none of the PC's. It trailed a ribbon.
Astavian dislodged it from the deck seeing that the head of the javelin had an emblem carved in it. The ribbon read, "Come before me or feel my relentless wrath."
The PC's had a sort conference that, condensed and paraphrased went something like this: "Do we want to come before her? No. Do we want to feel her relentless wrath? Even less."
Suddenly a Gryphon was on the bow of their ship, causing the already cracked keep to creak dangerously. The blue skinned servant of the White Queen addressed them: "I would have your answer."
Astavian approached him and said, "We will make our way to your mistress as soon as we are able." He offered back the elaborate javelin. "Keep it," said the Gryphon rider and took to the sky.
The next day they finally approached the border between the bulk of Hluroth Plateau and the land spit that connected it to the towering spire of New Karak Tor. They each breathed a sigh of relief, none more than Zanne who was struggling to keep the craft aloft through pure magical power.
As they passed over the guard towers on the Hlurothi side of the border, Eshik and Mialain, standing in the bow of the ship, spied sudden movement. Then a ball of flame rocketed skyward and exploded around them. They raced toward the rear of the ship as the bow was engulfed in flames. Another fireball followed the first as Zanne pushed the ship as hard as she could.
Suddenly a huge fist of ice appeared near the stern and attempted to snatch the Warlock away from the control orb. Astavian hacked at it with his greatsword, breaking one of the giant fingers. It was enough to allow Zanne to escape its grasp.
The Arcanon Confederacy Mage who had conjured it levatated above the towers below to remain in range and have it swipe at Zanne once again. But he was distracted by the arrows that Mialain was raining down upon him with her new bow. Eshik joined with his crossbow and forced the Wizard to retreat.
Mialain turned her attention to the flames at the front of the ship and reached out to her link with Melora. The clouds gathered in the chill mountain air and sent a brief but intense rainstorm down upon them, dousing the flames. Still, the damage was done.
"Hold on!" screamed Zanne. The ship continued to lose altitude and they landed just down the hill from the hostel they had stayed at during their previous trip to New Karak Tor. They were all thrown to the deck but none of them was seriously injured. They regained their feet in time to see an entire company of dwarven guards hurry downhill toward the border.
Gorom the dwarven Warden was suddenly beside the ship. "I think you'd best get inside!"
*****
So the bit with flying the Eladrin Winged Ship was done with Arcana checks to establish control over it and the expenditure of Healing Surges to keep it aloft. It started the trip needing one Surge per hour to keep it going and by the end it was up to 2 Surges per hour. So Zanne and Mialain were kind of worn out.
Amazingly they avoided combat with the Gryphon-riding servants of Mayaheine! I really didn't know how this was going to play out (keep an eye on that trend) so I had combat stats ready to go but the PC's decided to agree to their request. Wonders never cease.
The artillery barrage by the Arcanon Confederacy Wizards at the border crossing was not much of a direct danger to the PC's themselves. But it had the potential to cause catastrophic damage to their ship and crash them on the wrong side of the border. Fortunately Mialain pulled off a flawless stunt to conjure the rain shower that extinguished the fire on the ship (that was growing each round). I think she rolled above a 35 Nature check.
Up next they are received by the Dwarves and we find out how much of an international incident they caused. Also they get to meet yet another deity.
Rel
Liquid Awesome
Actually I'm not quite to the end of that one. I'll try and finish it out today.
No, this isn't the Lamia. Her whereabouts is unknown.
What the PC's knew about Mayaheine at this point was that she was the primary force behind the Cult of the Dark Moon that they encountered in Opkhar. Supposedly she is the sister of The Dweller, the dark and mysterious deity that lives down inside the Opkhar Plateau. After the PC's destroyed at least one cell of the Dark Moon, she contacted them and told them that, because they had destroyed her minions, it was now their responsibility to take up the task of cleansing her brother of the corruption caused by the Mist. She indicated that they could find her "by the dark of the moon" and later the PC's spotted a faint glow coming from the very tip top of the spire of Karak Tor, up so high that even the dwarves don't venture there.
When the PC's refused to help her she sent some more Dark Moon Cultists, led by that guy with the blue skin and glowing eyes, to kill them as they flew from Opkhar to New Karak Tor aboard the Rat Bastard. Since the PC's defeated them, slaying Mr. Blue Guy in the process, they were a bit surprised to see him reappear.
Right. I recognized that (although I honestly thought the Lamia was the sister of the Dweller, and the one that contacted them in the big crystal).
But what I was asking, would you supply us with some background info on her. Not what the PCs know.
But, that might be unwise, given that your PCs come here. I'm just curious what she's the God of. Your deities are curious.
But what I was asking, would you supply us with some background info on her. Not what the PCs know.
But, that might be unwise, given that your PCs come here. I'm just curious what she's the God of. Your deities are curious.
