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The Blackgate Chronicles (Updated 11/15/21)
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<blockquote data-quote="Hjorimir" data-source="post: 8456085" data-attributes="member: 5745"><p><strong>The Blackgate Chronicles</strong></p><p><strong>Session 3, Part 2 – Call it in the air…Heads!</strong></p><p><strong>Sunday, 8th of Gozran, 817</strong></p><p></p><p>It was already late in the afternoon when the party spotted a group of men at the end of the trail standing guard in front of a wide cave. Lemarc quickly dashed over and jumped in a bush.</p><p></p><p>T’bidi chuckled quietly at the thief’s predictability.</p><p></p><p>The rest of the party walked up slowly with Thawn in the front, hands wide, looking for parlay. The men at the cave spread out some in response, but one of their number strode forward to meet the ranger. He was a large, blond man notable for his scars and the great, bearded axe he carried. The two of them stopped a short distance from each other. They were close enough to talk easily, but out of arm’s reach. The blond man leaned slightly upon his axe and smiled.</p><p></p><p>“What brings you here?” he asked of the party.</p><p></p><p>“We have come to look upon the people of Black Hollow,” Thawn started. “I am bound to minister to those who have lost their way.”</p><p></p><p>The blond man looked upon the shepherd. If he noted Thawn’s facial marks as a priest of Indua he didn’t say. “A noble endeavor, but none here are lost. We have found our rightful place…at the side of the queen who will come in the night.”</p><p></p><p>Rhynn rolled her eyes.</p><p></p><p>“Your thegn is sorrowful at your betrayal,” Thawn replied. “Your neighbors…your families…they weep for what they have lost. How fare those who’ve taken to the call of the Night Queen?”</p><p></p><p>The man’s smile widened. “Of course, She provides for all who have bent the knee. The thegn should not mourn for he may yet bend the knee as well…as may you.” With that, the man hefted the axe up and across his right shoulder.</p><p></p><p><em>Is he flexing? Yes, he’s actually flexing.</em> T’bidi noticed.</p><p></p><p>“I have no desire to harm you today,” Thawn said earnestly. “Please, reconsider what you are saying. Let us break bread together and speak of this Night Queen.”</p><p></p><p>The man frowned. “Cormac does not break bread with those about to die!”</p><p></p><p><em>Excellent!</em> Lemarc thought from the safety of the bushes. <em>Our first head!</em></p><p></p><p>Everybody tensed. One of the covenant guards, a man back to Cormac’s right was ready and let a crossbow bolt fly first. The bolt buried itself through the thick, meaty part of Thawn’s left thigh, the head protruding out the back of his leg. [I opened with a crit, to which Curtis shouted, “Coming in hot!” Good times.]</p><p></p><p>Thawn grimaced in pain but shook it off in the face of the fight. He glanced at the crossbowman and another man, also raising a crossbow in his direction nearby. He then brought up his hand, palm upward, his fingers and thumb pointing towards the sky and said a word of power as he cast <em>entangle </em>on the pair. Unfortunately, each man avoided the grasp of the grasses. [HAW!]</p><p></p><p>More bolts flew across the battlefield. None found purchase, though one managed to scrape off of T’bidi’s quickly risen shield. She had thrust the tip of her spear into the earth long enough to retrieve a pinch of fragrant powder from her belt pouch before tossing it into the air between her and húskarl. She then spit on the ground, recovered her spear, and moved forward to challenge the towering man as she set her weapon in anticipation of his attack. [As I mentioned at the start of this thread, this is a <em>heavily </em>houseruled game. One of those rules is that a spear can be set to attack with a reaction when an opponent enters its reach. If you hit, you deal twice weapon damage. T’bidi’s player, Valerie, does this often and to great effect.]</p><p></p><p>Rhynn tossed a <em>ray of frost</em> at the man before he could charge her friend, missed, and did her best impersonation of Lemarc by jumping into a nearby bush.</p><p></p><p>Cormac lunged forward, disdainful of T’bidi’s spear and was stabbed through the side for his arrogance. He sneered, knocked the spear aside, and thundered down upon her shield with his axe.</p><p></p><p>T’bidi winced under the attack noting its strength but was otherwise unharmed. [I’m not sure I’ve hit T’bidi once throughout our three sessions at this point.]</p><p></p><p>Lemarc, guarding the party’s right flank from his hidden position, sniped another of the cultists, his arrow passing clean through the man before ending its flight in the trunk of a distant tree. The man fell silently. Lemarc settled back into the brush, convinced he remained unseen. Then, another of the guards started charging in his direction. <em>Surely, it’s a coincidence that he is coming this way!</em></p><p></p><p>The thief shrugged and darted out of the bushes back towards the sanctity offered by his friends, turned and let loose another arrow that caught his pursuer in the sternum, sending the man to his knees before pitching forward, driving the length of the shaft through and out his back.</p><p></p><p>Lemarc looked around quickly to take measure of the fight. “Hi, Rhynn,” he said to the wizard in the bushes.</p><p></p><p>“Shhh! I’m hiding!” Rhynn hissed.</p><p></p><p>“Yes, that’s why I saw you instantly.”</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, the two men the ranger had attempted to entangle were out of the summoned thicket and pressing the ranger in melee. One struck him with a small cut to his shoulder before a thrust of the ranger’s staff drilled him in the forehead and sent him do the ground in a crumple.</p><p></p><p>As T’bidi and Cormac squared off against one another, Halloran slid up to Cormac’s back, swung, and cracked the back of the man’s skull. Torn skin and blood ran down the húskarl’s back, but he didn’t go down. [We use facing in this game and attacking somebody from the rear grants advantage on the attack roll. Cormac could have turned to face him or at least put Halloran in his flank, but as he was attacking T’bidi recklessly already the advantage was assured.]</p><p></p><p>Rhynn rose out from her place of (not) hiding, her robes aflutter. With a wave of her hand, she unleashed a trio of purple, swirling magic missiles at one guard who remained on his post at the front of the cave. He dropped like a rock. She remained standing in the center of the bush wrinkling her nose. <em>Maybe I should spread those missiles out.</em> [Again, houserules making their presence known here. HPs are halved – for the vast majority of creatures, including the PCs – which makes a spell like <em>magic missile</em> all the more powerful.]</p><p></p><p>T'bidi was not one to lose control of her emotions in a fight and looked oddly calm as she thrust her spear at Cormac again. The attack caught the man just under the left side of his clavicle, drawing forth a spurt of blood as she pulled her weapon back. The húskarl was shaking now, but remained on his feet, propped up by nothing more than adrenaline.</p><p></p><p>In response, Cormac again let loose with a might swing…and continued to drum upon T’bidi’s upraised shield. [Can’t touch this.]</p><p></p><p>Seeing the continuing struggle between her friends and the massive, axe-wielding berserker, Rhynn left the (non) safety of the bushes up to the man’s flank where she stretched her hands out before her, thumbs touching, like a fan and released a wave of fire from her <em>burning hands</em>. Umber red, yellow, and black flames spilt forth and ran down the Cormac’s body as he screamed in agony. Then he was dead and smoldering at the feet of the wizard. [Ode de Cormac!]</p><p></p><p>“Oh, hell,” Rhynn said as she looked upon the corpse. “We need his head!”</p><p></p><p>The rest of the cave’s guards were dispatched, save one who managed to escape to the south. [I like that my players don’t always feel the need to run every last opponent they find and kill them. Sure, that may come back to bite them at times, but they have a healthy attitude about it.]</p><p></p><p>T’bidi knelt down over Cormac’s burnt husk and pulled a vial containing oil from her pouch. She tipped out some of the oil upon her thumb and drew two lines down his face.</p><p></p><p>Rhynn, nearby, could hear her friend talking to the corpse in a hushed whisper. Most of the words she couldn’t make out, but it ended with “Niara Bakari.” She then watched as the fighter methodically removed the man’s head and rolled it into a burlap sack, which she then tied off in a knot.</p><p></p><p>The party took time to leave some of their possessions at the entrance of the cave. Notably, Halloran’s heavy pack and the bag containing the first of two heads that they needed.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Hjorimir, post: 8456085, member: 5745"] [B]The Blackgate Chronicles Session 3, Part 2 – Call it in the air…Heads! Sunday, 8th of Gozran, 817[/B] It was already late in the afternoon when the party spotted a group of men at the end of the trail standing guard in front of a wide cave. Lemarc quickly dashed over and jumped in a bush. T’bidi chuckled quietly at the thief’s predictability. The rest of the party walked up slowly with Thawn in the front, hands wide, looking for parlay. The men at the cave spread out some in response, but one of their number strode forward to meet the ranger. He was a large, blond man notable for his scars and the great, bearded axe he carried. The two of them stopped a short distance from each other. They were close enough to talk easily, but out of arm’s reach. The blond man leaned slightly upon his axe and smiled. “What brings you here?” he asked of the party. “We have come to look upon the people of Black Hollow,” Thawn started. “I am bound to minister to those who have lost their way.” The blond man looked upon the shepherd. If he noted Thawn’s facial marks as a priest of Indua he didn’t say. “A noble endeavor, but none here are lost. We have found our rightful place…at the side of the queen who will come in the night.” Rhynn rolled her eyes. “Your thegn is sorrowful at your betrayal,” Thawn replied. “Your neighbors…your families…they weep for what they have lost. How fare those who’ve taken to the call of the Night Queen?” The man’s smile widened. “Of course, She provides for all who have bent the knee. The thegn should not mourn for he may yet bend the knee as well…as may you.” With that, the man hefted the axe up and across his right shoulder. [I]Is he flexing? Yes, he’s actually flexing.[/I] T’bidi noticed. “I have no desire to harm you today,” Thawn said earnestly. “Please, reconsider what you are saying. Let us break bread together and speak of this Night Queen.” The man frowned. “Cormac does not break bread with those about to die!” [I]Excellent![/I] Lemarc thought from the safety of the bushes. [I]Our first head![/I] Everybody tensed. One of the covenant guards, a man back to Cormac’s right was ready and let a crossbow bolt fly first. The bolt buried itself through the thick, meaty part of Thawn’s left thigh, the head protruding out the back of his leg. [I opened with a crit, to which Curtis shouted, “Coming in hot!” Good times.] Thawn grimaced in pain but shook it off in the face of the fight. He glanced at the crossbowman and another man, also raising a crossbow in his direction nearby. He then brought up his hand, palm upward, his fingers and thumb pointing towards the sky and said a word of power as he cast [I]entangle [/I]on the pair. Unfortunately, each man avoided the grasp of the grasses. [HAW!] More bolts flew across the battlefield. None found purchase, though one managed to scrape off of T’bidi’s quickly risen shield. She had thrust the tip of her spear into the earth long enough to retrieve a pinch of fragrant powder from her belt pouch before tossing it into the air between her and húskarl. She then spit on the ground, recovered her spear, and moved forward to challenge the towering man as she set her weapon in anticipation of his attack. [As I mentioned at the start of this thread, this is a [I]heavily [/I]houseruled game. One of those rules is that a spear can be set to attack with a reaction when an opponent enters its reach. If you hit, you deal twice weapon damage. T’bidi’s player, Valerie, does this often and to great effect.] Rhynn tossed a [I]ray of frost[/I] at the man before he could charge her friend, missed, and did her best impersonation of Lemarc by jumping into a nearby bush. Cormac lunged forward, disdainful of T’bidi’s spear and was stabbed through the side for his arrogance. He sneered, knocked the spear aside, and thundered down upon her shield with his axe. T’bidi winced under the attack noting its strength but was otherwise unharmed. [I’m not sure I’ve hit T’bidi once throughout our three sessions at this point.] Lemarc, guarding the party’s right flank from his hidden position, sniped another of the cultists, his arrow passing clean through the man before ending its flight in the trunk of a distant tree. The man fell silently. Lemarc settled back into the brush, convinced he remained unseen. Then, another of the guards started charging in his direction. [I]Surely, it’s a coincidence that he is coming this way![/I] The thief shrugged and darted out of the bushes back towards the sanctity offered by his friends, turned and let loose another arrow that caught his pursuer in the sternum, sending the man to his knees before pitching forward, driving the length of the shaft through and out his back. Lemarc looked around quickly to take measure of the fight. “Hi, Rhynn,” he said to the wizard in the bushes. “Shhh! I’m hiding!” Rhynn hissed. “Yes, that’s why I saw you instantly.” Meanwhile, the two men the ranger had attempted to entangle were out of the summoned thicket and pressing the ranger in melee. One struck him with a small cut to his shoulder before a thrust of the ranger’s staff drilled him in the forehead and sent him do the ground in a crumple. As T’bidi and Cormac squared off against one another, Halloran slid up to Cormac’s back, swung, and cracked the back of the man’s skull. Torn skin and blood ran down the húskarl’s back, but he didn’t go down. [We use facing in this game and attacking somebody from the rear grants advantage on the attack roll. Cormac could have turned to face him or at least put Halloran in his flank, but as he was attacking T’bidi recklessly already the advantage was assured.] Rhynn rose out from her place of (not) hiding, her robes aflutter. With a wave of her hand, she unleashed a trio of purple, swirling magic missiles at one guard who remained on his post at the front of the cave. He dropped like a rock. She remained standing in the center of the bush wrinkling her nose. [I]Maybe I should spread those missiles out.[/I] [Again, houserules making their presence known here. HPs are halved – for the vast majority of creatures, including the PCs – which makes a spell like [I]magic missile[/I] all the more powerful.] T'bidi was not one to lose control of her emotions in a fight and looked oddly calm as she thrust her spear at Cormac again. The attack caught the man just under the left side of his clavicle, drawing forth a spurt of blood as she pulled her weapon back. The húskarl was shaking now, but remained on his feet, propped up by nothing more than adrenaline. In response, Cormac again let loose with a might swing…and continued to drum upon T’bidi’s upraised shield. [Can’t touch this.] Seeing the continuing struggle between her friends and the massive, axe-wielding berserker, Rhynn left the (non) safety of the bushes up to the man’s flank where she stretched her hands out before her, thumbs touching, like a fan and released a wave of fire from her [I]burning hands[/I]. Umber red, yellow, and black flames spilt forth and ran down the Cormac’s body as he screamed in agony. Then he was dead and smoldering at the feet of the wizard. [Ode de Cormac!] “Oh, hell,” Rhynn said as she looked upon the corpse. “We need his head!” The rest of the cave’s guards were dispatched, save one who managed to escape to the south. [I like that my players don’t always feel the need to run every last opponent they find and kill them. Sure, that may come back to bite them at times, but they have a healthy attitude about it.] T’bidi knelt down over Cormac’s burnt husk and pulled a vial containing oil from her pouch. She tipped out some of the oil upon her thumb and drew two lines down his face. Rhynn, nearby, could hear her friend talking to the corpse in a hushed whisper. Most of the words she couldn’t make out, but it ended with “Niara Bakari.” She then watched as the fighter methodically removed the man’s head and rolled it into a burlap sack, which she then tied off in a knot. The party took time to leave some of their possessions at the entrance of the cave. Notably, Halloran’s heavy pack and the bag containing the first of two heads that they needed. [/QUOTE]
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