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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 6050335" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 30 - CHALKAN'S QUEST</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster: <p style="margin-left: 20px">Chalkan, half-elf ranger/cleric of Corellon Larethian/sorcerer</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Delphyne Babelberi, human witch (wizard)</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Rale Bodkin, human rogue</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Telgrane, human conjurer</p><p></p><p>My notes show that at this point in the campaign, Mercutio Midas was no longer with the group. That means we've advanced to the point where Stuart, recently graduated from college, moved out on his own to the Portland, Oregon area. Furthermore, at this point Logan was now back with the group on a permanent basis. As an in-game explanation for these events, we decided that Wing Four, Telgrane's original posting, had several very good-looking young ladies on the team. Once he found this out, Mercutio was more than willing to "trade slots" with Telgrane, making the young conjurer a permanent resident of Wing Three while Mercutio became part of Wing Four. He didn't mind at all the fact that his new dwarven barbarian ring-partner was a glory-hound that insisted on going on all of his Wing's adventures, as that just meant more time in comfort with good vintages of wine and the ability to get better acquainted with the young, female members of his new Wing. (This also kept Mercutio close by, in the event that Stuart came back for a visit that coincided with an adventure session.)</p><p></p><p>"Chalkan's Quest" is something I wrote especially for Jacob, who wanted Chalkan to be an arcane archer even though he'd just found out that such a thing existed and thus had not "prepared" Chalkan for such a role (in the proper selection of feats and skill points). I began by writing up a dream for each of the PCs who would be running through this adventure. (And I should add that I was enjoying immensely the fact that for several adventures in a row I knew <u>exactly</u> which PCs would be in a given adventure, since half of the PCs were on board the <em>Starchaser</em> with Balama Theron, slowly sailing back to civilization.)</p><p></p><p>These are the dreams I emailed to each of the players before our next gaming session: - - -</p><p></p><p>Chalkan excitedly described his dream to the rest of the group over breakfast. He was convinced he was supposed to go to the cave in his dreams and fetch the magical bow that was left behind when the elven arcane archer had been slain. Delphyne then recounted her own dream, thinking perhaps it was a warning of a fierce creature guarding the cave. Telgrane merely mentioned that he, too, had dreamed of an elven village; perhaps it was the village of the arcane archer? Rale admitted to having no dreams the night before, but was in an especially good mood and had a crooked smile on his face as he ate his breakfast.</p><p></p><p>Soon afterwards, the group prepared for an excursion into the woods to the south of town, saddled up their horses, and were on their way. Old Clem rode one of the draft horses that carried the group's tents and provisions, and <strong>Toronaus</strong>, Chalkan's timber wolf companion, trotted happily alongside the others. Iggy the raven often flew on ahead, waiting for the others to catch up as he rested in a tree branch, then took wing again. At other times, he rested on his mistress's shoulder.</p><p></p><p>As they traveled along the forest path, a sudden bend around a corner found the group confronted by at least a half dozen orcs blocking their way, some brandishing crossbows, others ready to hurl javelins.</p><p></p><p>“Hold up right there,” said a burly half-orc, presumably their leader, in passable Common. “This here forest is orc territory, and we don’t take too kindly to folks trespassin’ through it without paying their fair share. Tell you what, though, me and my boys are feeling a might generous today, so you leave us the dainty, and the rest of you lot can be along your way. Best be on your guard, though, ‘cause us orcs ain’t the worst you’re likely to find ‘round these parts.”</p><p></p><p>At mention of "the dainty," Rale brought his horse protectively between Delphyne and the orc horde. "Just exactly who do you mean by 'the dainty'?" he asked.</p><p></p><p>At that, the half-orc licked his lips and looked directly at Chalkan. "That one there," he pointed, and belatedly, Rale recalled that a "dainty" was an orcish pejorative for an elf. "I figure me an' my boys can have hours of fun torturing the dainty. Rest of you folks clear out and leave the dainty with us, and we won't have any problems 'tween us."</p><p></p><p>Not surprisingly, that idea didn't really sit well with the group, and combat ensued. The two orcs armed with javelins started swinging orcish greataxes once their ranged weapons were used up, while the other five continued shooting crossbow bolts at range until the party moved in on them, at which point they dropped their crossbows and swung short swords instead. But they lacked spellpower, and with three spellcasters among the adventurers' members, the orcs were soon slain, stripped of any valuables, and lugged off to the side of the path. The group continued on.</p><p></p><p>Soon, however, the half-orc's warning that they weren't the most dangerous foes in the forest proved to be prophetic, for a large boulder came ripping through the undergrowth and into the path of the group. Only a quick reaction by Chalkan, riding in the front of the group (no doubt as he was the most eager to get to their location, which was stamped into his brain from his dream), who reared up his horse as the rock came flying past, prevented serious injury on the part of the adventurers. The sounds of growling soon followed the boulder's path, as a dire wolf came crashing through the undergrowth alongside the forest path, followed in turn by his two hill giant masters. These three were indeed much tougher foes than the orcs, but the eventual outcome was the same, as a barrage of spells slew both the giants and their megalupine pet.</p><p></p><p>Eventually, the group came to a cave that Chalkan knew with prophetic certainy was the cave from his dream. The group dismounted, and left Old Clem with the horses, accompanied by both Toronaus and Iggy. Torches were lit; Telgrane didn't bother, as his familiar gave off more light than a torch in any case and she generally didn't stray too far from her human master. The cave's opening was about 10 feet in diameter and capped with an overhang of jutting rock; the cave's interior consisted of a curving passage that sunk down deeper into the ground. The first area of any note was a pool of water that filled a side passage to the right; this area was filled with a variety of fungi, some of which waved small tentacles in the presence of the adventurers. They deemed these to be violet fungi, dangerous if touched but slow enough to easily avoid. They passed deeper into the tunnel, leaving the violet fungi alone. Rale, in his usual position at the back of the group, hung back long enough to ensure that they weren't following the group, and once he was sure they weren't he continued on and caught up.</p><p></p><p>The sloping passageway expanded to over twice its original width, and a series of natural steps brought the group even deeper under the earth. The steps were damp with moisture, forcing the group to watch their step to avoid slipping. At the bottom of the steps there were many bones scattered about, no doubt the remains of past kills by whatever manner of creature laired here. Sorting through the bones, Chalkan identified portions of the skeletons of humans, elves, orcs, deer, and one particularly unlucky horse. In the back of this section of cave, the group could make out the remains of two figures. One was a dead elf wearing torn leather armor; in his hands he still cradled a slightly glowing longbow of polished wood the color of bone, with a quiver visible on his back. The other looked to be the picked-clean bones of an enormous bear, which glistened moistly in the light. They faced each other, apparently enemies even in death.</p><p></p><p>Suddenly, a roar reverberated across the cave, and an enraged dire bear materialized in the middle of the den, making its way towards the closest party member - a horrified Delphyne, who was having sudden flashbacks to her dream of the night before - with bloodlust in its maddened eyes. It swung a massive paw which ripped through the young witch's side, and then just as quickly both Delphyne and the ghost-bear were gone.</p><p></p><p>Chalkan ran over to the elf's corpse and grabbed up the bow and quiver. A name entered his mind at the mere touch of the bow: <em>Rilisivae Athelgala</em>, the White-Wood Whisperbow. He was stripping the elf's bracers from his arms when Rale called out a warning: the pile of dire bear bones was moving, gathering itself erect and hobbling over to attack.</p><p></p><p>As Telgrane, Chalkan, and Rale fought off the creature, they wished once again for Cal's presence (or even Mercutio's); more powerful clerics than Chalkan would apparently be needed to turn this undead beast. After fighting it for a bit, though, its status as an undead being came into question, as its glistening was discovered to be the result of a nearly translucent blob of matter that coated the bones and was apparently using it as both a weapon and a means of rapid locomotion; the group was up against an ooze, not an undead. (Both of them immune to critical hits, lamented Rale.)</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, Delphyne was in a gray, misty world, alone with an undead dire bear that had her exactly where it wanted her. She was completely on her own, too, as the rest of her group couldn't even see her, although she was apparently in a near-replica of the cave that she'd been in. Belatedly, she realized that the ghost-bear's attack had shunted her to the Ethereal Plane, and she had no way of returning on her own. The great bear attacked her several time with its slashing claws, and Delphyne soon found herself spending her time trying to run from the bear while unstoppering her few healing potions.</p><p></p><p>Fortunately, help was soon to arrive. Chalkan felt a powerful urge emanating from his new bow, and realized that the spirit of the arcane archer (a name popped into his thoughts: <strong>Vlaegoroth</strong>) was tied to the spirit of the dire bear that had apparently slain him, and that by concentrating he could will himself to follow the ghost-bear. Doing precisely just that, Chalkan found himself in the Ethereal Plane alongside a severely wounded Delphyne. Together they fought off the bear, and if slaying a ghost is even possible, then that's exactly what they did. But regardless of the permanency of its death, the wounds <em>Rilisivae Athelgala</em> inflicted on it caused the bear considerable pain, and it eventually collapsed on its side. As it dissipated into nothingness, Chalkan and Delphyne slid back into the Material Plane. By that time, Rale, Telgrane, and Infernia had taken care of the ooze creature that had been "animating" the dire bear's skeleton. However, there was no time for rejoicing over the party's reunion, for Old Clem's voice came echoing down the passageway from above. "Uh, guys?" he called. "We've got problems up here!"</p><p></p><p>The group raced up to the cave opening and peered out. Arranged in a wide semicircle around the cave opening was a large group of orcs. They had apparently tracked the group here after discovering the slain (and looted) bodies of their tribesmen piled on the side of the forest path.</p><p></p><p>"I count eleven," remarked Rale. Four were apparently of the same barbarian class as the javelin-and-greataxe pair they had encountered earlier; six more looked to be rogues in leather armor and wielding crossbows; the eleventh was a shaman of unknown power. This last wore intricate patterns of painted symbols on his face and had feathers woven into his glossy black hair. All of the other orcs had their ranged weapons at the ready, aimed directly at the cave entrance.</p><p></p><p>"They obviously know we're in here," replied Telgrane, watching as a rat waddled up to the shaman from the direction of the cave and was picked up by its master and placed upon the orc's shoulder. "No doubt that was his familiar, spying us out."</p><p></p><p>"Plus, you know, darkvision," pointed out Rale. "The shadows of this cave aren't doing anything to hide us any."</p><p></p><p>"Why aren't they attacking?" asked Delphyne.</p><p></p><p>"Too smart," replied Chalkan. "If they come rushing in here, we can fight them one or two at a time. If they stay out there, we have to fight all of them at once." They decided that there was little chance that the orcs would allow the group to stay hidden in the cave for the duration of the night, and thus renew their spells. They were short on healing, having each gone through their limited supplies of potions after (and during) their battles with the ghost-bear and its animated skeleton. So they started preparing for battle, with the usual buffing spells. The orcs, not wanting to give them that advantage, replied with a barrage of crossbow bolts that forced the group to move deeper into the cavern to do their buffing.</p><p></p><p>Telgrane decided to try a strategy he'd never tried before: he cast <em>enlarge person</em> on himself to make him more menacing, little realizing that to the orcs, that merely made him a more appealing target. When the PCs rushed out en masse, most of the ranged attacks were aimed in his direction, and he fell almost immediately, bleeding into the dirt from half a dozen wounds. "Master!" cried out Infernia, but it was too late - Telgrane had been slain.</p><p></p><p>That did not put the fire elemental into a good mood, and she rushed the nearest orc, setting him ablaze with her burning touch. In the meantime, Delphyne and Chalkan concentrated their firepower (spells in her case, arrows in his) on the orc shaman, who quickly fell in battle. Rale leapt after Infernia, hoping to take advantage of her nearly berserker fury to get in some sneak attacks in her immediate vicinity. It was a tiresome battle, with the group already tired out from their previous encounters that day, but the lack of spellpower after the shaman's death made the end almost inevitable. None of the orcs ran off, even after it was apparent that they had no chance of winning.</p><p></p><p>After the orcs had been slain, Infernia ran from corpse to corpse trying to burn them all up in retaliation for their having slain Telgrane, while Rale raced to strip them of any valuables before they became small bonfires. Old Clem crept back out of the cave now that it was safe and helped gather up the horses that had scattered upon the orcs' arrival, and the group bundled Telgrane's body in some blankets for the trip back home.</p><p></p><p> - - - </p><p></p><p>Since Chalkan had not been aiming for the arcane archer prestige class from the beginning (almost a requirement in 3.5), I made it so that Vlaegoroth's spirit manifested in the <em>bracers of archery</em> that Chalkan recovered from his body; they provided him with "loaner" Point Blank Shot and Precise Shot feats that he needed as prerequisites, on the condition that those would be the next two feats that Chalkan chose as he progressed up the levels. In game, his spirit would be "guiding" Chalkan until such time as he felt his assistance was no longer needed. The quiver was a <em>quiver of Ehlonna</em>, and the White-Wood Whisperbow was a <em>+2 composite longbow</em> (+3 Strength). When the bowstring is pulled back without an arrow, an illusion of an arrow appears in its place; this illusory arrow can be “shot” at anyone within range, but it deals no damage – instead, the recipient receives the equivalent of a <em>message</em> spell. Unlike the <em>message</em> spell, however, the message recipient cannot respond back to the bow-wielder. In addition, once per day, the wielder can activate a <em>true strike</em> upon the bow as a free action, with the next arrow shot gaining a +20 bonus to hit.</p><p></p><p>Since it wasn't likely that I'd be having any of the other PCs wish to take levels in arcane archer, I beefed the prestige class up a bit by granting each level of arcane archer a full level of arcane spellcasting. That might make it too powerful as a generic rule, but since this was Chalkan, who was a Rgr4/Clr2/Sor1 and thus fairly sucky at ranger, cleric, and sorcerer abilities for a 7th-level character, I wasn't overly concerned.</p><p></p><p>Logan learned his lesson, and in future adventures with Telgrane he would opt to buff up his familiar rather than himself. Infernia now often leaps into combat as a Medium elemental, and he's also sure to buff her up with <em>mage armor</em> and <em>shield</em> spells before she wades into battle. In the meantime, Telgrane was <em>raised</em> after this adventure, with the subsequent lowering of his class level, which bummed Logan out a bit.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 6050335, member: 508"] [b]ADVENTURE 30 - CHALKAN'S QUEST[/b] PC Roster: [INDENT]Chalkan, half-elf ranger/cleric of Corellon Larethian/sorcerer Delphyne Babelberi, human witch (wizard) Rale Bodkin, human rogue Telgrane, human conjurer[/INDENT] My notes show that at this point in the campaign, Mercutio Midas was no longer with the group. That means we've advanced to the point where Stuart, recently graduated from college, moved out on his own to the Portland, Oregon area. Furthermore, at this point Logan was now back with the group on a permanent basis. As an in-game explanation for these events, we decided that Wing Four, Telgrane's original posting, had several very good-looking young ladies on the team. Once he found this out, Mercutio was more than willing to "trade slots" with Telgrane, making the young conjurer a permanent resident of Wing Three while Mercutio became part of Wing Four. He didn't mind at all the fact that his new dwarven barbarian ring-partner was a glory-hound that insisted on going on all of his Wing's adventures, as that just meant more time in comfort with good vintages of wine and the ability to get better acquainted with the young, female members of his new Wing. (This also kept Mercutio close by, in the event that Stuart came back for a visit that coincided with an adventure session.) "Chalkan's Quest" is something I wrote especially for Jacob, who wanted Chalkan to be an arcane archer even though he'd just found out that such a thing existed and thus had not "prepared" Chalkan for such a role (in the proper selection of feats and skill points). I began by writing up a dream for each of the PCs who would be running through this adventure. (And I should add that I was enjoying immensely the fact that for several adventures in a row I knew [u]exactly[/u] which PCs would be in a given adventure, since half of the PCs were on board the [i]Starchaser[/i] with Balama Theron, slowly sailing back to civilization.) These are the dreams I emailed to each of the players before our next gaming session: - - - Chalkan excitedly described his dream to the rest of the group over breakfast. He was convinced he was supposed to go to the cave in his dreams and fetch the magical bow that was left behind when the elven arcane archer had been slain. Delphyne then recounted her own dream, thinking perhaps it was a warning of a fierce creature guarding the cave. Telgrane merely mentioned that he, too, had dreamed of an elven village; perhaps it was the village of the arcane archer? Rale admitted to having no dreams the night before, but was in an especially good mood and had a crooked smile on his face as he ate his breakfast. Soon afterwards, the group prepared for an excursion into the woods to the south of town, saddled up their horses, and were on their way. Old Clem rode one of the draft horses that carried the group's tents and provisions, and [b]Toronaus[/b], Chalkan's timber wolf companion, trotted happily alongside the others. Iggy the raven often flew on ahead, waiting for the others to catch up as he rested in a tree branch, then took wing again. At other times, he rested on his mistress's shoulder. As they traveled along the forest path, a sudden bend around a corner found the group confronted by at least a half dozen orcs blocking their way, some brandishing crossbows, others ready to hurl javelins. “Hold up right there,” said a burly half-orc, presumably their leader, in passable Common. “This here forest is orc territory, and we don’t take too kindly to folks trespassin’ through it without paying their fair share. Tell you what, though, me and my boys are feeling a might generous today, so you leave us the dainty, and the rest of you lot can be along your way. Best be on your guard, though, ‘cause us orcs ain’t the worst you’re likely to find ‘round these parts.” At mention of "the dainty," Rale brought his horse protectively between Delphyne and the orc horde. "Just exactly who do you mean by 'the dainty'?" he asked. At that, the half-orc licked his lips and looked directly at Chalkan. "That one there," he pointed, and belatedly, Rale recalled that a "dainty" was an orcish pejorative for an elf. "I figure me an' my boys can have hours of fun torturing the dainty. Rest of you folks clear out and leave the dainty with us, and we won't have any problems 'tween us." Not surprisingly, that idea didn't really sit well with the group, and combat ensued. The two orcs armed with javelins started swinging orcish greataxes once their ranged weapons were used up, while the other five continued shooting crossbow bolts at range until the party moved in on them, at which point they dropped their crossbows and swung short swords instead. But they lacked spellpower, and with three spellcasters among the adventurers' members, the orcs were soon slain, stripped of any valuables, and lugged off to the side of the path. The group continued on. Soon, however, the half-orc's warning that they weren't the most dangerous foes in the forest proved to be prophetic, for a large boulder came ripping through the undergrowth and into the path of the group. Only a quick reaction by Chalkan, riding in the front of the group (no doubt as he was the most eager to get to their location, which was stamped into his brain from his dream), who reared up his horse as the rock came flying past, prevented serious injury on the part of the adventurers. The sounds of growling soon followed the boulder's path, as a dire wolf came crashing through the undergrowth alongside the forest path, followed in turn by his two hill giant masters. These three were indeed much tougher foes than the orcs, but the eventual outcome was the same, as a barrage of spells slew both the giants and their megalupine pet. Eventually, the group came to a cave that Chalkan knew with prophetic certainy was the cave from his dream. The group dismounted, and left Old Clem with the horses, accompanied by both Toronaus and Iggy. Torches were lit; Telgrane didn't bother, as his familiar gave off more light than a torch in any case and she generally didn't stray too far from her human master. The cave's opening was about 10 feet in diameter and capped with an overhang of jutting rock; the cave's interior consisted of a curving passage that sunk down deeper into the ground. The first area of any note was a pool of water that filled a side passage to the right; this area was filled with a variety of fungi, some of which waved small tentacles in the presence of the adventurers. They deemed these to be violet fungi, dangerous if touched but slow enough to easily avoid. They passed deeper into the tunnel, leaving the violet fungi alone. Rale, in his usual position at the back of the group, hung back long enough to ensure that they weren't following the group, and once he was sure they weren't he continued on and caught up. The sloping passageway expanded to over twice its original width, and a series of natural steps brought the group even deeper under the earth. The steps were damp with moisture, forcing the group to watch their step to avoid slipping. At the bottom of the steps there were many bones scattered about, no doubt the remains of past kills by whatever manner of creature laired here. Sorting through the bones, Chalkan identified portions of the skeletons of humans, elves, orcs, deer, and one particularly unlucky horse. In the back of this section of cave, the group could make out the remains of two figures. One was a dead elf wearing torn leather armor; in his hands he still cradled a slightly glowing longbow of polished wood the color of bone, with a quiver visible on his back. The other looked to be the picked-clean bones of an enormous bear, which glistened moistly in the light. They faced each other, apparently enemies even in death. Suddenly, a roar reverberated across the cave, and an enraged dire bear materialized in the middle of the den, making its way towards the closest party member - a horrified Delphyne, who was having sudden flashbacks to her dream of the night before - with bloodlust in its maddened eyes. It swung a massive paw which ripped through the young witch's side, and then just as quickly both Delphyne and the ghost-bear were gone. Chalkan ran over to the elf's corpse and grabbed up the bow and quiver. A name entered his mind at the mere touch of the bow: [i]Rilisivae Athelgala[/i], the White-Wood Whisperbow. He was stripping the elf's bracers from his arms when Rale called out a warning: the pile of dire bear bones was moving, gathering itself erect and hobbling over to attack. As Telgrane, Chalkan, and Rale fought off the creature, they wished once again for Cal's presence (or even Mercutio's); more powerful clerics than Chalkan would apparently be needed to turn this undead beast. After fighting it for a bit, though, its status as an undead being came into question, as its glistening was discovered to be the result of a nearly translucent blob of matter that coated the bones and was apparently using it as both a weapon and a means of rapid locomotion; the group was up against an ooze, not an undead. (Both of them immune to critical hits, lamented Rale.) Meanwhile, Delphyne was in a gray, misty world, alone with an undead dire bear that had her exactly where it wanted her. She was completely on her own, too, as the rest of her group couldn't even see her, although she was apparently in a near-replica of the cave that she'd been in. Belatedly, she realized that the ghost-bear's attack had shunted her to the Ethereal Plane, and she had no way of returning on her own. The great bear attacked her several time with its slashing claws, and Delphyne soon found herself spending her time trying to run from the bear while unstoppering her few healing potions. Fortunately, help was soon to arrive. Chalkan felt a powerful urge emanating from his new bow, and realized that the spirit of the arcane archer (a name popped into his thoughts: [b]Vlaegoroth[/b]) was tied to the spirit of the dire bear that had apparently slain him, and that by concentrating he could will himself to follow the ghost-bear. Doing precisely just that, Chalkan found himself in the Ethereal Plane alongside a severely wounded Delphyne. Together they fought off the bear, and if slaying a ghost is even possible, then that's exactly what they did. But regardless of the permanency of its death, the wounds [i]Rilisivae Athelgala[/i] inflicted on it caused the bear considerable pain, and it eventually collapsed on its side. As it dissipated into nothingness, Chalkan and Delphyne slid back into the Material Plane. By that time, Rale, Telgrane, and Infernia had taken care of the ooze creature that had been "animating" the dire bear's skeleton. However, there was no time for rejoicing over the party's reunion, for Old Clem's voice came echoing down the passageway from above. "Uh, guys?" he called. "We've got problems up here!" The group raced up to the cave opening and peered out. Arranged in a wide semicircle around the cave opening was a large group of orcs. They had apparently tracked the group here after discovering the slain (and looted) bodies of their tribesmen piled on the side of the forest path. "I count eleven," remarked Rale. Four were apparently of the same barbarian class as the javelin-and-greataxe pair they had encountered earlier; six more looked to be rogues in leather armor and wielding crossbows; the eleventh was a shaman of unknown power. This last wore intricate patterns of painted symbols on his face and had feathers woven into his glossy black hair. All of the other orcs had their ranged weapons at the ready, aimed directly at the cave entrance. "They obviously know we're in here," replied Telgrane, watching as a rat waddled up to the shaman from the direction of the cave and was picked up by its master and placed upon the orc's shoulder. "No doubt that was his familiar, spying us out." "Plus, you know, darkvision," pointed out Rale. "The shadows of this cave aren't doing anything to hide us any." "Why aren't they attacking?" asked Delphyne. "Too smart," replied Chalkan. "If they come rushing in here, we can fight them one or two at a time. If they stay out there, we have to fight all of them at once." They decided that there was little chance that the orcs would allow the group to stay hidden in the cave for the duration of the night, and thus renew their spells. They were short on healing, having each gone through their limited supplies of potions after (and during) their battles with the ghost-bear and its animated skeleton. So they started preparing for battle, with the usual buffing spells. The orcs, not wanting to give them that advantage, replied with a barrage of crossbow bolts that forced the group to move deeper into the cavern to do their buffing. Telgrane decided to try a strategy he'd never tried before: he cast [i]enlarge person[/i] on himself to make him more menacing, little realizing that to the orcs, that merely made him a more appealing target. When the PCs rushed out en masse, most of the ranged attacks were aimed in his direction, and he fell almost immediately, bleeding into the dirt from half a dozen wounds. "Master!" cried out Infernia, but it was too late - Telgrane had been slain. That did not put the fire elemental into a good mood, and she rushed the nearest orc, setting him ablaze with her burning touch. In the meantime, Delphyne and Chalkan concentrated their firepower (spells in her case, arrows in his) on the orc shaman, who quickly fell in battle. Rale leapt after Infernia, hoping to take advantage of her nearly berserker fury to get in some sneak attacks in her immediate vicinity. It was a tiresome battle, with the group already tired out from their previous encounters that day, but the lack of spellpower after the shaman's death made the end almost inevitable. None of the orcs ran off, even after it was apparent that they had no chance of winning. After the orcs had been slain, Infernia ran from corpse to corpse trying to burn them all up in retaliation for their having slain Telgrane, while Rale raced to strip them of any valuables before they became small bonfires. Old Clem crept back out of the cave now that it was safe and helped gather up the horses that had scattered upon the orcs' arrival, and the group bundled Telgrane's body in some blankets for the trip back home. - - - Since Chalkan had not been aiming for the arcane archer prestige class from the beginning (almost a requirement in 3.5), I made it so that Vlaegoroth's spirit manifested in the [i]bracers of archery[/i] that Chalkan recovered from his body; they provided him with "loaner" Point Blank Shot and Precise Shot feats that he needed as prerequisites, on the condition that those would be the next two feats that Chalkan chose as he progressed up the levels. In game, his spirit would be "guiding" Chalkan until such time as he felt his assistance was no longer needed. The quiver was a [i]quiver of Ehlonna[/i], and the White-Wood Whisperbow was a [i]+2 composite longbow[/i] (+3 Strength). When the bowstring is pulled back without an arrow, an illusion of an arrow appears in its place; this illusory arrow can be “shot” at anyone within range, but it deals no damage – instead, the recipient receives the equivalent of a [i]message[/i] spell. Unlike the [i]message[/i] spell, however, the message recipient cannot respond back to the bow-wielder. In addition, once per day, the wielder can activate a [i]true strike[/i] upon the bow as a free action, with the next arrow shot gaining a +20 bonus to hit. Since it wasn't likely that I'd be having any of the other PCs wish to take levels in arcane archer, I beefed the prestige class up a bit by granting each level of arcane archer a full level of arcane spellcasting. That might make it too powerful as a generic rule, but since this was Chalkan, who was a Rgr4/Clr2/Sor1 and thus fairly sucky at ranger, cleric, and sorcerer abilities for a 7th-level character, I wasn't overly concerned. Logan learned his lesson, and in future adventures with Telgrane he would opt to buff up his familiar rather than himself. Infernia now often leaps into combat as a Medium elemental, and he's also sure to buff her up with [i]mage armor[/i] and [i]shield[/i] spells before she wades into battle. In the meantime, Telgrane was [i]raised[/i] after this adventure, with the subsequent lowering of his class level, which bummed Logan out a bit. [/QUOTE]
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