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The Adventures of the Endhome 6+1. Rebirth of Barakus! (9-27-06, 19 and 20 back up)
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<blockquote data-quote="Scorch" data-source="post: 3074999" data-attributes="member: 1502"><p><strong>Adventure 6 Summary</strong></p><p></p><p>One would expect that while playing a mega-module named “Lost City of Barakus” the adventurers would eventually reach said city. I had been reluctant to let them dive right into it since at first level they would be slaughtered. Instead their first level was spent familiarizing them with the city of Endhome and the surrounding countryside. This gave them a chance to get my feet wet as a DM and reacquaint them with first level game play.</p><p></p><p>After finishing the Green Tree Bandit story I knew it was time for them to go to Barakus. I had laid the groundwork with several hints and story hooks through the previous six adventures and want to see them come to fruition. Unfortunately the player who runs Micca was not able to make the adventure but no problem. I knew I could run him as an NPC and move the adventure towards where I wanted it to go. </p><p></p><p>Balancing the game between moving the players towards a goal and railroading them into it is a skill I have come to appreciate while watching the DM of one of our other games run an adventure. I had read enough horror stories on other forums to know that I did not want to run an adventure where the DM’s pet NPCs do all the heavy lifting. With Barakus I had a self-contained world that the others could mess around in and I only had to nudge them occasionally towards adventure. They were eager to get into trouble and I was eager to give it to them.</p><p></p><p>With that in mind the story for this session opened up with the party visiting the marketplace to sell their loot and purchase equipment. I found that some hand-waving was necessary at this point with some house rules on selling items rather than role playing every haggling merchant. During this I had them all make listen checks. Those who succeeded heard Micca talking to a distraught woman a few stalls down in the market. He was agreeing to help her with something. The player who ran Micca had done a fine job of playing the dwarfish cleric as a noble defender of the weak so it was not a stretch to have him readily agree to the woman’s request. The players around the table rolled their eyes and made jokes of the cleric getting them in trouble again.</p><p></p><p>The woman was Penelope Barmey and she had heard of the exploits of the “Endhome Six” as they were becoming known thanks to the bard, Curley. Those familiar with her character description know that she was the wife to the sorcerer Fenton who was trapped down on the second level of Barakus. Psychic visions of his plight had been haunting her the past year but the previous night she had a vision that the cleric, Micca, and his companions would be able to help her.</p><p></p><p>The party took her back to the King’s Inn for a midday meal and she told her story. Her husband had discovered some ancient manuscripts while researching in the Wizard’s Academy detailing a lost city of mages hidden in the hills to the north. Fenton was friends with the cleric, Kabbal Sharn, who suggested they put together a party of adventurers to investigate. They met a paladin named Vladoff and two half brother halflings, one a rogue and one a monk. They poured over ancient maps and notes and one year ago had set off for the hills north of the Fool’s Pass. The group had not been heard from since. Fenton had taken all his notes with him but had left a map which showed a general area where the entrance to Barakus could be found.</p><p></p><p>The players were ecstatic. A dungeon to delve into! What joy! They investigated the lead of Vladoff and found that he had been staying at the local temple of Kord before setting off for Barakus but that was all. They began pouring through the manuals and making shopping lists of equipment they would need for such an adventure. I made sure to keep track of who was where since one of their enemies was keeping track of them.</p><p></p><p>Then an opening: Ravenspur, the sorcerer, was eager to purchase some scrolls and potions that could not be found in the marketplace so he journeyed alone to the Wizards Academy. It was evening by the time his business was concluded and he made his way back to the inn. A good spot check on his part had him notice he was being followed by a suspicious man and a hulking humanoid hidden in a heavy cloak. A quick chase through the streets and a very good hide check on his part had Ravenspur duck out of site in the crowded streets behind a cart. There he was able to overhear Tousice, the were-rat in human form, and one of Pulanti’s ogres arguing over which way to go. The sorcerer waited until they had departed and then shakily made his way back to report what had happened. The party decided that a trip outside of the city was a good thing at this time.</p><p></p><p>The party headed out the next morning with their single horse. It was a three day journey to reach the general vicinity of Barakus. Due to the mixing up of the I and J on the map in the module I had place Barakus in the upper right hand corner of the map rather than the upper left hand corner. This worked out since it shortened the time it would take to reach there and I wanted the party to have easy access back to the city in case things went sour. I rolled encounters for the three days and nothing of note came up.</p><p></p><p>Successful wilderness rolls on Keldin’s part led them right up to southern face of the hill that Barakus laid under. They saw the old totems of the former orc tribe that had inhabited the caves and followed them to the broken doors leading up into the hill. They looked for an area to hide the horse and worked out a marching order. Absinthe, the rogue, would lead while the others followed fifteen feet behind. </p><p></p><p>She made her way slowly up the rubble strewn stairs. Around the midway point was when the two dire rats leapt out and attacked. Aislenn went charging up the stair to help, missed her balance check, and went tumbling back down again. Same with the cleric. Absinthe was able to ward off the rats until help slowly made its way up to her and defeated the rodents. A quick search revealed some treasure on the goblin body the rats had been gnawing on. “The goblin died eaten by rats?” asked the ranger “Good!”</p><p></p><p>They reached the top of the stairs and saw the large cavern stretch out before them with a strange red tile set in the floor that led off into a passageway to the north and east. The rogue then spotted the ghoul that charged out of its hiding spot at her. The others moved in and attacked, quickly defeating the undead threat. Investigation of the cavern revealed the ledges set high up and some of the more dexterous members climbed up to find the treasure hidden there.</p><p></p><p>A decision was made to head north. Absinthe led the way into another cavern that was dominated by a statue of Orcus looking down upon those entering the area. </p><p></p><p>“Well, we know where the orcs worshipped” quipped someone. </p><p></p><p>The orc barbarian and his two war dogs did not see the rogue but they heard the loud party coming up from behind and he moved in to attack. Absinthe saw them coming and warned the others then started positioning herself for the flank. Ravenspur rolled high on init and let loose with a sleep spell that dropped the orc and one of his dogs (a rules mistake on my part that would be pointed out at a later session). The second dog was killed and the poor orc and his remaining hound were put to the sword.</p><p></p><p>The group decided to continue going north. They entered another cave and the rogue descended down a cliff to investigate the bottom, discovering a secret door on the north wall. The rest of the party descended carefully on ropes. </p><p></p><p>Following the narrow passage behind the secret door the group came to a cavern with passageways leading out to the north and east. Absinthe accidentally set off a spike trap but narrowly avoided it. She found another one further in the cavern. Finding nothing else of note they decided to go north. </p><p></p><p>Just to give you an idea of where the party was, they were at the T section with a hole in the ceiling that lead up to a cave where some bandits were hiding. They made note of the hole but did not investigate it further. Instead they went west and came to a dead end cave with a large pile of sand on its southern wall. Spot checks were made and they noticed the slight rippling across its surface.</p><p></p><p>“Go ahead and throw a rock at it!” dared Absinthe “I bet you spiders or something are going to erupt out of it.” </p><p></p><p>Someone took her up on that dare and threw a rock onto the sand pile which promptly erupted as eight monstrous spiders attacked the party. Everyone gave the rogue a mean look as I yelled out “Surprise Round!”</p><p></p><p>The spiders swarmed over the party but the rolls were not with me that combat session as the party quickly squashed them. The combat was noisy though and someone had heard what was going on…</p><p></p><p>I decided to end the session there. </p><p></p><p>“So we are really in Barakus?” asked a player. </p><p></p><p>I saw no reason to hide the fact “Yes, you are.” </p><p></p><p>“No, really? This is Barakus? Not a trick or something.”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, really!”</p><p></p><p>“Wow, that was easy.”</p><p></p><p>I took that as a complement. I didn’t want them banging their heads in frustration trying to find the place. Now that they had arrived I hoped to make their stay there as exciting as possible.</p><p></p><p>Next Session: Annihilating Kobolds…</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Scorch, post: 3074999, member: 1502"] [b]Adventure 6 Summary[/b] One would expect that while playing a mega-module named “Lost City of Barakus” the adventurers would eventually reach said city. I had been reluctant to let them dive right into it since at first level they would be slaughtered. Instead their first level was spent familiarizing them with the city of Endhome and the surrounding countryside. This gave them a chance to get my feet wet as a DM and reacquaint them with first level game play. After finishing the Green Tree Bandit story I knew it was time for them to go to Barakus. I had laid the groundwork with several hints and story hooks through the previous six adventures and want to see them come to fruition. Unfortunately the player who runs Micca was not able to make the adventure but no problem. I knew I could run him as an NPC and move the adventure towards where I wanted it to go. Balancing the game between moving the players towards a goal and railroading them into it is a skill I have come to appreciate while watching the DM of one of our other games run an adventure. I had read enough horror stories on other forums to know that I did not want to run an adventure where the DM’s pet NPCs do all the heavy lifting. With Barakus I had a self-contained world that the others could mess around in and I only had to nudge them occasionally towards adventure. They were eager to get into trouble and I was eager to give it to them. With that in mind the story for this session opened up with the party visiting the marketplace to sell their loot and purchase equipment. I found that some hand-waving was necessary at this point with some house rules on selling items rather than role playing every haggling merchant. During this I had them all make listen checks. Those who succeeded heard Micca talking to a distraught woman a few stalls down in the market. He was agreeing to help her with something. The player who ran Micca had done a fine job of playing the dwarfish cleric as a noble defender of the weak so it was not a stretch to have him readily agree to the woman’s request. The players around the table rolled their eyes and made jokes of the cleric getting them in trouble again. The woman was Penelope Barmey and she had heard of the exploits of the “Endhome Six” as they were becoming known thanks to the bard, Curley. Those familiar with her character description know that she was the wife to the sorcerer Fenton who was trapped down on the second level of Barakus. Psychic visions of his plight had been haunting her the past year but the previous night she had a vision that the cleric, Micca, and his companions would be able to help her. The party took her back to the King’s Inn for a midday meal and she told her story. Her husband had discovered some ancient manuscripts while researching in the Wizard’s Academy detailing a lost city of mages hidden in the hills to the north. Fenton was friends with the cleric, Kabbal Sharn, who suggested they put together a party of adventurers to investigate. They met a paladin named Vladoff and two half brother halflings, one a rogue and one a monk. They poured over ancient maps and notes and one year ago had set off for the hills north of the Fool’s Pass. The group had not been heard from since. Fenton had taken all his notes with him but had left a map which showed a general area where the entrance to Barakus could be found. The players were ecstatic. A dungeon to delve into! What joy! They investigated the lead of Vladoff and found that he had been staying at the local temple of Kord before setting off for Barakus but that was all. They began pouring through the manuals and making shopping lists of equipment they would need for such an adventure. I made sure to keep track of who was where since one of their enemies was keeping track of them. Then an opening: Ravenspur, the sorcerer, was eager to purchase some scrolls and potions that could not be found in the marketplace so he journeyed alone to the Wizards Academy. It was evening by the time his business was concluded and he made his way back to the inn. A good spot check on his part had him notice he was being followed by a suspicious man and a hulking humanoid hidden in a heavy cloak. A quick chase through the streets and a very good hide check on his part had Ravenspur duck out of site in the crowded streets behind a cart. There he was able to overhear Tousice, the were-rat in human form, and one of Pulanti’s ogres arguing over which way to go. The sorcerer waited until they had departed and then shakily made his way back to report what had happened. The party decided that a trip outside of the city was a good thing at this time. The party headed out the next morning with their single horse. It was a three day journey to reach the general vicinity of Barakus. Due to the mixing up of the I and J on the map in the module I had place Barakus in the upper right hand corner of the map rather than the upper left hand corner. This worked out since it shortened the time it would take to reach there and I wanted the party to have easy access back to the city in case things went sour. I rolled encounters for the three days and nothing of note came up. Successful wilderness rolls on Keldin’s part led them right up to southern face of the hill that Barakus laid under. They saw the old totems of the former orc tribe that had inhabited the caves and followed them to the broken doors leading up into the hill. They looked for an area to hide the horse and worked out a marching order. Absinthe, the rogue, would lead while the others followed fifteen feet behind. She made her way slowly up the rubble strewn stairs. Around the midway point was when the two dire rats leapt out and attacked. Aislenn went charging up the stair to help, missed her balance check, and went tumbling back down again. Same with the cleric. Absinthe was able to ward off the rats until help slowly made its way up to her and defeated the rodents. A quick search revealed some treasure on the goblin body the rats had been gnawing on. “The goblin died eaten by rats?” asked the ranger “Good!” They reached the top of the stairs and saw the large cavern stretch out before them with a strange red tile set in the floor that led off into a passageway to the north and east. The rogue then spotted the ghoul that charged out of its hiding spot at her. The others moved in and attacked, quickly defeating the undead threat. Investigation of the cavern revealed the ledges set high up and some of the more dexterous members climbed up to find the treasure hidden there. A decision was made to head north. Absinthe led the way into another cavern that was dominated by a statue of Orcus looking down upon those entering the area. “Well, we know where the orcs worshipped” quipped someone. The orc barbarian and his two war dogs did not see the rogue but they heard the loud party coming up from behind and he moved in to attack. Absinthe saw them coming and warned the others then started positioning herself for the flank. Ravenspur rolled high on init and let loose with a sleep spell that dropped the orc and one of his dogs (a rules mistake on my part that would be pointed out at a later session). The second dog was killed and the poor orc and his remaining hound were put to the sword. The group decided to continue going north. They entered another cave and the rogue descended down a cliff to investigate the bottom, discovering a secret door on the north wall. The rest of the party descended carefully on ropes. Following the narrow passage behind the secret door the group came to a cavern with passageways leading out to the north and east. Absinthe accidentally set off a spike trap but narrowly avoided it. She found another one further in the cavern. Finding nothing else of note they decided to go north. Just to give you an idea of where the party was, they were at the T section with a hole in the ceiling that lead up to a cave where some bandits were hiding. They made note of the hole but did not investigate it further. Instead they went west and came to a dead end cave with a large pile of sand on its southern wall. Spot checks were made and they noticed the slight rippling across its surface. “Go ahead and throw a rock at it!” dared Absinthe “I bet you spiders or something are going to erupt out of it.” Someone took her up on that dare and threw a rock onto the sand pile which promptly erupted as eight monstrous spiders attacked the party. Everyone gave the rogue a mean look as I yelled out “Surprise Round!” The spiders swarmed over the party but the rolls were not with me that combat session as the party quickly squashed them. The combat was noisy though and someone had heard what was going on… I decided to end the session there. “So we are really in Barakus?” asked a player. I saw no reason to hide the fact “Yes, you are.” “No, really? This is Barakus? Not a trick or something.” “Yes, really!” “Wow, that was easy.” I took that as a complement. I didn’t want them banging their heads in frustration trying to find the place. Now that they had arrived I hoped to make their stay there as exciting as possible. Next Session: Annihilating Kobolds… [/QUOTE]
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