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Campaign Commentary- Adventures in Fallcrest

HS1 The Slaying Stone
Session 8 Part 2

The PCs burst into the Kiris Mansion, or at least the first chamber of the same- Goblins within, wouldn't you know it.


In to the Mansion #1

The opening salvo from the PCs is magnificent, less so if you're a Goblin, the two Goblin Grunts are cut down and the first Goblin Warrior is bloodied and battered and on the way out.

The PCs continue to push on, Rogar screams for all of the adventurers to get in to the Mansion and for the door to be shut quickly- they don't want to have the Wolf Patrols know they are here.

Meanwhile the Goblins are falling quickly in the chamber, however reinforcements are not far away, more Goblins rush into the chamber, a mixture of Warriors and Grunts (Minions) via the inner door.

Just to say here, in-game, the players don't know which Goblins are Minions, apart from when they kill one, what I'm trying to say is on the Player screen the token just shows up labelled 'Goblin- Tomo' for instance, most of the pictures I post are in DM vision where much more detail can be seen (by me).

Resolute reacts instantly and rushes over to the inner door, crashes against it, taking opportunity attacks on the way, but the big man stems the tide and slams the door shut.

Drake and Neb are not quick enough however...

Within the chamber a Goblin gets over to a gong on the eastern wall and begins hammering at it, making a tremendous racket. Which triggers the next event.

The main door of the chamber suddenly crashes back open (the one to the outside) and wolves spill in to the chamber, the PCs are suddenly beset on all sides- Resolute struggles to keep the Goblins behind the door back, while behind him the rest of the adventurers contend with the the new invaders- chaos reigns.

Which is just how I like it- the players are perhaps less keen.


In to the Mansion #2- Busy, busy.

As Maldor (Bob) said on chat at the time-

':):):):)... wolves got in!'

Which about sums up the situation, particularly as a majority of the Packmate Wolves Move and then use 'Predator's Strafe' to mix it up with the PCs, the power allows them to Shift half their speed and make a Basic Attack anywhere en route.

For all the enemies, and remarkably, the PCs are barely suffering- a few Wolf Bites, the odd Goblin Spear here and there but none of them are bloodied, or even on the way to bloodied.

Rogar however soon evens things up- Daily, Masterful Spiral catches five of the bad guys, and even with poor rolls makes a mess of a number of them.

This is followed up by Neb's Scorching Burst and another two creatures bite the dust- the PCs are doing it.

Another round of fighting, and similarly poor rolls from me and the PCs are back on top, Resolute still has the inner door wedged shut- preventing any other Goblins from getting in to the fight. The outer door is still open, a few more Wolves have entered the fray but the first wave have been decimated, admittedly most of the bad guys are Minions but on screen, as the players are watching the action unfold there's plenty of swearing and cursing- they know they're in a fight here.

None of the PCs need healing still... as I said earlier, remarkable.

And so the nasty DM decides, having already added one Random Encounter to the fracas, to set the clock running- when the outer door is eventually cleared, and slammed shut and barred- Neb, who closes the door, sees outside a large force of Goblins moving towards the place.

And when I say a large force I mean a large force- at least 20, maybe 30+ Goblins heading in their direction, and more Wolves et al.

The others are informed of the predicament, the nasty DM states that the PCs need to 'cut the head off the army' quickly, certainly before the other Goblins get in to the building.

Resolute reacts, he lets the inner door slam open to reveal a gaggle of Goblins beyond, the huge man fights his way back through the PCs ranks and heads back to the outer door (not without incident, see below), which is now bending and bowing as the Goblin force outside tries to break in.

En route Resolute takes a number of attack, his reaction in chat-

'Rragh, I'm gonna takes those toys off you and ram them up your...'

Note Resolute has only made two or three attack rolls so far in this fight, he's spent the rest of the time rolling excellent strength checks (he has after all got excellent strength) to keep the door/s shut.

Meanwhile more Goblins spill in to the room, lead by a familiar face- Triflick is back, obviously still wounded, but incredibly pissed- he wants blood. Worse a trio of Goblin Sharpshooters are positioned behind the door- Resolute, before he gets away, goes from 42 hit points to 16 in, well- three attack rolls.


In to the Mansion #3- The clock is ticking.

Drake starts to take damage, which is inevitable really, he's been fortunate so far, with the other PCs getting their marks et al in the right places to protect the young Priest of Pelor.

The other PCs are as smart as plums, they react instantly and start to pile the damage on any creature that looks like it's going to damage Drake, even taking opportunity attacks to keep the Priest alive- such is their love for the young man (maybe).

As Maldor (Bob) said on chat-

'I'll protect you little one.'

Rogar goes kung-fu crazy again with his Steel Wind, taking out three Minions in one swift move, Drake gets Resolute healed and except for the two softies (Defence-wise) Neb and Drake, none of the PCs take any hits, at least for a moment...

And then the Goblin Sharpshooters in the corridor open up again and the PCs suddenly receive a new perspective, Maldor and Jeb take a chunk of damage and the in game audio goes up a notch as the players begin to shout back and forth (over each other- remember we're on Skype here) about what the hell they're going to do to get out of the way of the Goblins with Hand Crossbows- a Flaming Sphere is rejected (Neb hasn't memorised it), a Force Orb is tried (it misses), which makes Neb (Christer) unhappy-

'Bloody crap rolls...'

And...

Jeb rushes over and slams the inner door shut, again.

To recap we now have the PCs with a few Goblins and Wolves left in melee in the centre of the chamber, Resolute at the outer door keeping out a Goblin horde (30+ Goblins and Wolves, including several non-Minions, I make sure the PCs know this via their descriptions), and Jeb holding shut the inner door behind which are a trio of Goblin Sharpshooters, who are proving deadly accurate at times, and a few other Goblins.

Oh and all of the PCs are now hovering around the bloodied status, we're maybe seven or eight rounds into the combat, and...

Hu-Jat has not been seen as of yet, or his Drake, which I remind the PCs about.

Skype goes silent.

Somebody whispers 'TPK', which counts as foreplay on this end of the connection.

Maldor is quickly reduced to a handful of hit points and Drake has to spend his second Healing Word to get the Elf Avenger back up to above bloodied, the Wolves deliver a few bites here and there, and Triflick is finally cut down, by Maldor.

Then Rogar goes crazy again, the Monk dodges around the battle, avoiding opportunity attacks with judicious use of his movement powers, closes in on the last Wolf to get in to the chamber, a Bloodmonger Wolf, on full hit points. The Halfling unleashes Open The Gates of Battle and delivers 31 points of damage- the most damage in a single hit so far, and far more than the Wolf has- the creature is reduced from full hit points to dead in the blink of an eye.

And then follows with Ironsoul Flurry and takes down another Minion- he's been deadly in this fight so far.

Suddenly the chamber is very empty, only the PCs and a pair of Wolf Packmates left (Minions), the tide is turning back to the PCs.

Then the inner door is almost smashed in two, Jeb is forced to scurry back as Hu-Jat and his Rage Drake arrive on the scene.


In to the Mansion #4- Hu-Jat mit Raging Drake.

As Neb (Christer) said on chat-

'This is great, no more hide and seek.'

Followed by-

'Dont fear death my friends.'

Rogar goes again for his Steel Wind and strikes Hu-Jat, however the Hobgoblin transfers the damage to his Rage Drake. Jeb gets in to the mix, and does a little more damage on the Rage Drake, however the Goblin Sharpshooters once again prove their worth, the Githyanki (Jeb) is hit twice and is down to 6 hit points.

Neb is also struck again, while Resolute has to use his standard action to take a Second Wind, he just manages to keep the outer door closed, outside the Goblins are still attempting to smash their way in.

And then Neb pulls out the Daily- his favourite spell to date, Phantom Chasm, and hits... everything in it's burst, which leaves one of the Goblin Sharpshooters, the Rage Drake and Hu-Jat on the floor and imagining they are falling down an endless chasm- they each take 18 Psychic damage, which leaves the Sharpshooter bloodied.

Drake sets his Astral Seal on Hu-Jat, while Jeb unleashes his Dimensional Thunder on the Hobgoblin, who again- much to Jeb's annoyance, transfers the damage (Mounts Sacrifice) to the Rage Drake- which is now bloodied, and all the more dangerous for it. Jeb spends his Action Point and gets his Second Wind, he's back above bloodied.

Hu-Jat, the Rage Drake and the Goblin Sharpshooter scramble to their feet, and then proceed to miss with all of their attacks- to the sound of PC laughter.

The Hobgoblin is caught again by Rogar's Steel Wind, and is bloodied. Damn!

Then the other two Goblin Sharpshooters, firing from behind the chaos, both miss by one. The PCs are now much much happier.

Resolute abandons his position, moves and then charges the remaining distance to Hu-Jat and smashes in to the Hobgoblin, who is looking less than happy. Maldor steps up and crits with Overwhelming Strike, and then rolls max damage on his crit- 28 points of damage, and Hu-Jat is dead.

Neb follows up with a Scorching Burst which hits... everything in its reach, which is all three of the Goblin Sharpshooters, leaving one on only 6 hit points, another very bloodied, and the last nearly bloodied. The Rage Drake remember, the only other combatant left, is also very bloodied.

It's worth pointing out at this time that the PCs have taken down 24 enemies in this fight, admittedly 15 of the creatures were Minions, but that still leaves 9 non-Minions.

The Rage Drake doesn't know when to surrender however, or how, it bites at Resolute and rips a chunk out of the Human- 21 damage, reducing Resolute to 5 hit points.

Jeb steps in with a Sword Burst, followed by yet another Steel Wind from Rogar- the Rage Drake is down, and the Goblin Sharpshooters are all bloodied, two of them on less than half-a-dozen hit points each.

Victory is in sight.

The unguarded outer door explodes.

The players chorus rude words.

A mass of Goblins and Wolves are unleashed, and...

WHOOOSH!

A spray of flame surges into the chamber, incinerating all of the enemies, from outside comes the sound of battle chaos, another dead Goblin flies into the room and slams into the floor.

Neb backs up a little way to the door to witness Channoa in full fury, the Brass Dragon is holding off the Goblins and Wolves, or at least the dozen or so that are left after its initial attack. The Tiefling Wizard relays the news.

'The dragon is here!!!!'

The Goblin Sharpshooters attempt a fighting retreat, very briefly, one is killed and the other two throw down their weapons- the fight is won.

Maldor swiftly hacks off Hu-Jat's head and rushes over to the outer door- and screams at the Goblins outside, holding their leader's severed head aloft.

It has the desired affect, the remaining Goblins and Wolves flee the scene, with Channoa taking a few more of the creatures down for good measure.

I'll say it again- the fight is won.

The fracas took just short of two hours to play out, about twelve rounds of combat in total, but never suffered from grind, and was exciting throughout.

The PCs (and the players) are exhausted, a Short Rest is called for and XP is worked out for a monstrous encounter.

That was a Level 7 Encounter, that's Level +5, but I played it so that the enemies came in waves and the PCs obviously helped themselves by barring and blocking entry to the enemies. In total the PCs despatched the following- Goblin, Grunt (Level 1 Minion) x7; Wolf, Packmate (Level 1 Skirmisher Minion) x8; Triflik (Badly Wounded)- Goblin, Silverblade (Level 3 Skirmisher); Goblin Warrior (Level 1 Skirmisher) x5; Wolf, Bloodmonger (Level 1 Soldier) x2; Goblin, Sharpshooter (Level 2 Artillery) x3; Hu-Jat- Hobgoblin, Boss (Level 4 Soldier) & Drake, Rage (Level 5 Brute).

Which you've got to admit is quite a haul.

Some notes-

The entire fight went like a dream, at no stage were the PCs comfortable, even when they were doing well the threat of more enemies arriving kept them on their toes.

For approx 75% of the fight the PCs were on or around bloodied, at several points individuals were down to a handful of hit points, however none of them dropped- which is great.

The arrival of Hu-Jat and his Rage Drake coincided with the players all rolling well, particularly Neb who prior to this had not hit anything much (save with his Magic Missile), the Phantom Chasm worked a treat.

At the same time Rogar started hitting big and Maldor connected with a crit, and Jeb's Sword Burst stopped missing altogether. It didn't help that I had been rolling well much of the fight and then... when the big hitters arrived on the scene I started missing, and continued in the same vain for some considerable time.

Minions are just great, they look good on the map, particularly creatures like the Wolf Packmates which have the ability to Shift into the melee, the PCs until they finished one off thought they were much more hardy enemies- they were worried.

A disappointment that I didn't get to land any of my big attacks by Hu-Jat, and only got one hit in for the Rage Drake (for 21 damage), a few more hits from these guys and it would have been a much closer call.

After a good while the sounds of screaming and fighting and fleeing quietens outside, Channoa barges his way, dislodging masonry en route, in to the chamber.

The Dragon is grinning.

Next Time... a last farewell.
 

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This is bad for me

Visiting this thread, reading and replying to posts isn't doing me any good. Every Thursday I'm super excited because THE Thursday is finally here, I will get to see Maldor grow and progress.

Other days of the week I'm focused on other stuff. Thursday Knight's game is never far from my thoughts but I'm not all shaking with excitement. And then I come and read everything we did, and I relive all the great moments... and then I get all worked up, and finally, I realize... It's not Thursday, and I have to wait.

I wish there is something to add to your description of the fight with Hu-Jat, but there isn't you painted a quite vivid picture, and I'm still smiling just thinking about it.

Yes there were times when we were fearing TPK, but than again we are working as a team, and as long as we protect our young human cleric we will be just fine. However, I fear what might happen if he is cut down or taken from us.
 

HS1 The Slaying Stone
Session 8 Part 3

The PCs are straight in to Diplomacy (and other social skills) mode as Channoa steps in and asks each PC in turn to swear to defend the Slaying Stone with their lives.

The second, and final, part of the Skill Challenge to Impress the Guardian is complete and Channoa hands over the Slaying Stone, after a rather moving farewell, each of the PCs wishing the fantastic beast well, and hoping to meet with the creature again. Channoa exits the ruins and takes flight, Rogar has a tear in his eye.

That was a Level 2 Complexity 2 Skill Challenge, the PCs also receive the XP for the Staying Hidden in Kiris Dahn Skill Challenge, a Level 2 Complexity 5, suddenly the adventurers are well on the way to Level 3, over half way already on 1750 XP each.

The Kiris Mansion is thoroughly searched, plenty of gold found but nothing much else of interest, the PCs spend a good few hours recovering from the titanic fight, eat a hearty meal, and generally wait for the Goblins et al to get a good head start- they don't want to run in to any more of them.

I play the remainder of the session as quietly as I can, no surprises left- the PCs are victorious etc. I do this for a good reason (see below).

Eventually the group gather up their gear and head out, it's an eight or so hour journey back to Treona's tower, they set off whistling a happy tune.

All is well with the world, the sun is out, it's still not midday, the PCs are back out of the ruined town, and with Kiris Hoyt in tow. The Human/Wererat recounts the tale of the Goblins retaking the Temple of Sehanine and recovering Triflick, he fled from them and stayed hidden.

Hoyt is actually smiling, looking forward to the PCs keeping their promise to cure his terrible affliction.

And so with a happy heart the PCs head for Treona's tower.

And are swiftly ambushed (after a series of terrible Perception checks) by a group of Severed Eye Orcs only three or four miles outside of Kiris Dahn.

'Hand over the STONE!' Vohx the Severed Eye leader screams, the PCs are not having any of it. It gets nasty very quickly- the PCs thought the last fight was bad, hang on to your hats, Session 10 here we come. Oh and only one of the players rolls over 10 for their initiative.

As Maldor (Bob) said in chat at the time, which I think nicely sums things up-

'Damn.'

Next Time... Orcs are bad. Very bad. Bad Orc.
 

Session 8, Rogar's diary-

<session 08>

It was quiet after the fight, apart from the hagged breathing of our party and the muffled noise of the goblin. We where all waiting, listening intently for the sound of an approaching goblin horde. There could have been a goblin rearguard, they could have heard the fight and run, bringing the whole of Gorrizbad down on our heads... but there was no rearguard, we where safe... for now.

Ha, safe! In this place. How about ‘not doomed’? With the threat of doom gone for a moment, we search the bodies, disarm the survivors. Both Drake and the goblin make sufficent puppy dog-eyes to make us swear to leave the two goblins alive, so we tie them to the remains of the bed and ask them questions. In retrospect, it was good that the bed was already pretty broken as... we kinda forgot about them afterwards.

The goblins spoke plainly, and I don’t think they lied much, but still they had little to tell us.

Hu-jat knows of our presence and has sent many groups of goblins to search for us. When the goblins didn’t find us, he took his anger out of the Kobolds! Many where killed, most of the rest where driven out, the ones that remain... will be dead by dawn.

Hu-Jat and the goblins are bullies. This much is plain to see, but is there no limit to their empty violence? We fought and killed kobolds last night afternoon, but that was honest. That was them or us. That was their duty and our self-defence.

This ...was a slaughter; all we can do it return the favour to Hu-Jat.

Outside, we see the confirmation of what the goblins said; it’s approaching dawn (5am?) yet we see clearly, considering how much of the town is aflame! The kobold slums to the west are burnt out, but many other places still burn.

We head east, first to the temple (which we didn’t stop to check; could have learned something here) then to the road that seperates us from the temple and the stables. A strange display is happening at the stables, it appears that the building is on fire and live kobolds are being thrown inside and kept from fleeing. Bullies; this will not stand.

We skulk across the road for the last time and move through the crumbling baths. This place was a battlefield of a different sort; Bullywugs and goblins lie dead here. The bullywugs appeared to have been killed by goblins swords; and the goblins killed with bullywug spears and fire. Yes, fire, the hidden hatch down to Channona’s lair was open yet clogged with fire and smoke; at first we thought the worst, but Channona is a creature of fire, these flames whould not be enough to kill a creature like them.

The last sprint, the final run we took in Gorrizbad was a simple enough thing. The Kiris mansion, now Hu-Jat’s lair; it’s seen bad times in the occupation, with the front doors crumbled and one of it’s tower’s fallen. A group of wolves circled the building, either magically controlled or more intelligent than you would expect from wild dogs.

It’s a simple task to wait for the right time, then sprint or sneak to the back door of this dismal place. It’s even simpler to get inside: I just bang on the door and say “Oi, let me in!” (in goblintounge of course). What follows though, is far from easy...

Starts well, door opens and I knock the first one straight down the stairs before he can act, a slingstone over his head takes down the next one. I direct Resolute and Jeb towards the next-closest goblin, and they charge at my target. Maldor blasts enother goblin with a bolt of cutting radiance, then holds the rearguard for a moment as the others move in. Behind the only goblin that is currently putting up a fight, there are two cowardly-looking ones, standing confused and scared by an alarm-gong. I rush past the already beleaguered goblin and manage to drop both of the others to keep them from raising the alarm (at least for now).

It got... complicated after this. The outside door was closed, yet trained dogs and enslaved wolves burst through and attacked our back. The other door in the room opened to reveal another horde of goblins (... okay just 5 of them) with javelins and small crossbows. Resolute bravely stood at this portal, half holding it shut and half being shot by the goblins when it could not be held shut, he even got a few good hits inbetween. Once the wolves where beaten down, Resolute and Jeb swapped places and the Swordmage’s magical shielding stood well

Then came Hu-Jat, riding his horrible Rage Drake. A giant beast, scales like dirty blood, a snapping maw not quite large enough to swallow me whole. However between luck and skill, the beasts claws and teeth hardly touched our flesh before it fell to our our combined assault. Hu-Jat was also an impressive figure, until he mount fell from under him and he was surrounded in the thin corridor. In the confusion of melee, I’m not sure who took Hu-Jat down, but I do know Jeb set it up by using his magic to teleport past Hu-Jat and the drake to flank them, dispite how this left him flanked by the Goblins behind Hu-Jat!

Once Hu-Jat fell though, everything changed. Everything could have been different up to then, but afterwards the path was set. The door to outside burst open again, but this time it wasn’t dogs and wolves or even Goblin reinforcements, it was Channoa! The Dragon held the doorway form and breathed gouts of fire over the surprised Goblins and wolves outside, killing many and scattering the rest. Hu-Jat was dead, and Gorizzbad... Kirish Dahn was free (although still ruined and on-fire in places).

I see a lot of my teachers’s style and actions in Channoa; and, as with my teachers, I see it’s value yet worry for it’s cost.

Channoa wants to see is fight, see us pushed to the limit, see the point where Iron becomes Steel. I see the value in that, yet... our group, working with Channoa, side-by-side... we could have been so much stronger, so much safer.

Channoa sees great potential in us. Given our prowess in the fight and our stirring words afterwards, he gave up the last Slaying Stone to us (Drake carries it, as he has the least reason to use it), apparently furfilling whatever pact he was held to. I think he was also effected by our honest intent to help Hoyt with his wererat nature, and I think this is a good thing for us.

Oh yes, Hoyt. We found him in a cage, further into the mansion. Badly beaten, but his wererat-afflication does have some benefits and within the hour he was physically recovered! I wonder if this affliction could be... controlled instead of removed? Risky thoughts, but then I am an adventurer now... think of what could be gained! Regeneration of wounds, darkvision and great climbing ability. I must discuss this (carefully) with Hoyt and with the people we meet to cure him.

So, we bid farewell to Channoa, collect Hoyt (we loosely tie him up, considering his previous loss-of-control) and loot the mansion; Hu-Jat had a decent collection of coins, but nothing interesting. It’s all bagged up and for the 1st time, we walk freely through Gorizzbad/Kirish Dahn.

I want to say it looked and felt different to the place we have been creeping and scurrying through by night and through snow... but it doesn’t. It’s deathly quiet, but often when we traveled it was late at night or heavy with snow and the occupying forces where too lazy to act. Hopefully we can return to this place, when it is reclaimed, when it is another light in the darkness. I’ll still keep my sling to hand though.

Oh, and the Tavern of the Tallest Fir? Looks like the Goblins where just trying to run a still there and didn’t do well. Disappointing, but carries a good lesson: leave the brewing and distilling to those skilled with it.

We leave Gorizzbad/Kirish Dahn via the bridge where we fought Boon-tah. Again it feels the same as we have to clamber over spiked wooden baracades, nothing to me, but an issue for Drake and Neb.
 

HS1 The Slaying Stone
Session 9 Part 1

The Severed Eye Orcs press their point.


The real finale.

In the opening exchange Maldor is struck twice in quick succession and is reduced from full to just over ten hit points- Bob is not very happy. However his smile returns when he connects with a crit, badly bloodying one of the Orcs, and again rolling maximum on his crit damage- twice in two fights. Resolute is also struck but for minimum damage.

It's worth noting that on VTT I called this map 'Victory!', in an attempt to lull the players in to a false sense of security, Maldor (Bob) had this to say in chat-

'Why is this map called "Victory" again?'

As if to underline the above another Orc steps up and crits Resolute, he's bloodied and on 18 hit points already. That's two PCs bloodied and we're only part way through the first round of combat.

And so it continues, which is to say- badly.

Soon after the Orcs are all still standing, one or two bloodied, but Maldor is now down to 2 hit points remaining.

The following exchange takes place in chat, first up Neb (Christer)-

'Drake, pass me the stone, I will run away with it.'

To which Drake (Jack) replies-

'We made a promise!'

Don't you love it when it's only round two of the fight and already the PCs are looking for the exit.

Less than five minutes later (and in the same round of play), Neb is now also bloodied, while Drake has gone from full to 10 hit points, Drake changes his mind-

'Alright, who wants to use the stone?'

The PCs have been told how to use the Slaying Stone by Channoa, the Dragon, he impressed upon them how dangerous the item is- able to kill an individual dead in an instant, however the wondrous item is a one shot device- miss and... nothing.

And then Maldor connects twice in a row, courtesy of an Action Point, and an Orc dies- suddenly things don't look so bad.

Drake tells the rest of the adventurers to stay close, he has a plan.

Resolute connects with both attacks from his Funneling Fury and then Action Points and strikes both Orcs again with his Dual Strike, and suddenly of the seven Orc Warriors (actually three Bludgeoners and four Slashers) one is dead, and four are bloodied, two of the four are in fact very bloodied.

It's amazing how quickly things can turn around, although... the leader types have not got in to the fray yet, or at least have yet to hit anything.

And then Drake's Beacon of Hope washes over the PCs and they all get 10 hit points back, to make matters better three of the Orcs are also Weakened. Maldor is quickly healed up to near full with a Healing Word.

Neb quickly finds some space to get busy with his spells, courtesy of his Expeditious Retreat, and then tries again with Force Orb, he misses again- he has never hit with the spell yet.

Rogar continues in the same style, hitting only once with six attacks with his Steel Wind, but adding a little more damage with his Ironsoul Flurry, the leaders of the Severed Eye swing into action.

The Orc Wolf Shaman unleashes his Vengeful Wolf Spirit conjuring a ghostly lupine which charges through five of the PCs, clawing and biting as it goes, actually 4 PCs and Hoyt (who begins to gibber a little). I roll 6-1-4-4-5, and surprisingly hit once- the first '4' which is on Drake (AC 13), the Priest of Pelor is bloodied again.

Vohx unleashes his Entangling Chains and attempts to take down Maldor, I roll a '3', and thus the leader types continue to miss, which is what happened in the last encounter... Bugger!

Maldor (Bob) has this to say-

'There is no point in saving it, use it man.'

Screaming for Drake to make use of the Slaying Stone.

The fight rumbles on, Resolute soon after is also back down to bloodied status, Jeb having to activate his Repulsion Armour to keep the Orcs at bay (or away), and Kiris Hoyt drawing out his Rapier and getting in to the mix with his Waltzing Attack, he manages to damage another of the Orcs.

Alas soon after the Orcs Slashers and Bludgeoneers make it over to Drake, he's attacked twice in quick succession and is down (-3 HP), again it's Maldor (Bob) who is first to chat-

'TPK TPK TPK'

Which goes to his rolls, he misses with an Overwhelming Strike with a '2', selects his Elven Accuracy, and spills a '1'- things are going badly in Serbia, things are being thrown, we are treated to thirty seconds of Serbian swearing- very guttural.

Resolute manages to connect twice again, for very little damage however, with his Dual Strike, he bloodies another Orc who lashes straight back and crits for 18 hit points damage- Resolute is down (0 HP).

Even Rogar (Simon) is feeling it-

'… we came so far. This is good enough.'

Neb to the rescue, two Scorching Blasts, after an Action Point, with five hits from eight attacks, four of the Orc Warrior types are now very bloodied, each with just over 10 hit points.

Maldor (Bob) is back on a high, very emotional feller-

'NICE!!!!!'

Rogar takes opportunity attacks, scurries over to Drake and forces a Potion of Healing down the Priest of Pelor, he's alive.

The Wolf Shaman punctures the celebration by launching a Lightning Strike at Kiris Hoyt, it hits and fries the Human/Wererat- who the dastardly DM decides must now make saving throws to maintain his cool each turn- failure and Hoyt goes tonto in Wererat form.

The players applaud my efforts, actually there was very little applause, okay- none.

Rogar is then smashed by a Orc Morningstar, and goes for his Second Chance, the gods are against him and I roll a crit, the Halfling is suddenly bloodied.

Maldor is also caught by an Orc, he too is bloodied again, the Orc hit for 17 damage.

Jeb gets Drake out of trouble, exchanging places with his Dimensional Warp, then unleashes his Sword Burst, and rolls 3-1-2, more Serbian swearing followed by an Action Point. This time his Sword Burst connects with all three Orcs, but for not much damage- two of the three Orcs now have less than 10 hit points each.

Kiris springs to attack, kills one of the badly wounded Orcs with another Waltzing Attack but is caught by the Orcs Savage Demise, another crit for 22 hit points damage. Hoyt waltzes on, hits a second Orc and then makes his saving throw with ease '17', he screams for the adventurers to 'give all they've got for Kiris Dahn.'

Rogar yells back-

'Keep it together Hoyt!'

Neb and Jeb are both caught again by Orcs, with Neb bloodied again, more cursing follows- this time in Swedish, then Resolute opens his eyes, having just rolled a '20' on his Death Save, he spends a Healing Surge (he only had three left at the start of the fight) and gets ready to rejoin the fight.

Drake comes good again- Healer's Mercy, all bloodied PCs in Close Burst 5 can spend a Healing Surge and get an extra 10 hit points back (5 +5 for the Beacon of Hope). The players are yelling and squealing with delight, all of them except Jeb were bloodied, and all of them are within the burst.

Drake then spends his last Healing Word on himself (+15 HP on the heal) but not before handing over the Slaying Stone to Neb.

Maldor crits, again, third in two combat encounters, this time with his Daily- Aspect of Might, and a second Orc dies, but not before using its Savage Demise to attack and bloody Neb (again x2 or 3). Maldor, after an Action Point, bloodies the Orc Wolf Shaman with Radiant Vengeance, another big hit, alas the Shaman is not best pleased- he conjures his Vengeful Wolf Spirit again.

The ghostly wolf snarls and bites its way through Maldor, Kiris and Jeb, hitting the first two but bloodying neither of them.

Neb steps up and Magic Missiles the Orc Wolf Shaman- dead, then (to round things off) unleashes the full power of the Slaying Stone, and after one dice roll, Vohx, the Severed Eye Orc Leader, is dead also- having taken not one hit point of damage so far; from full to zero in an instant.

The Slaying Stone blackens and smokes a little.

The cheer goes up.

Kiris steps in and takes down another Orc Bludgeoneer, and again manages to keep his cool, he rolls a '20' on his saving throw- he's in his element, doing the right thing it seems has its reward.

The battlefield is clearing, there are only four Orc Warriors left and all of them are bloodied (to very bloodied), they also want to get away, their leaders are all dead.

Rogar is cut again by an Orc Slasher (but still not bloodied), Neb is hit again (and now below 10 hit points), the Wizard manages to get away from the Orc that struck him and sends in another Magic Missile, the players are out of Encounter & Daily Powers et al.

Neb is still on edge, it seems-

'KILL THEM ALL!!!!'

From Sweden via chat.

And yet another of the Orcs is taken down, a cumulation of blows for piddling amounts of damage from At Wills and a charge (from Jeb), although Jeb is again struck by the creatures Savage Demise attack.

Maldor steps up, and with his Overwhelming Strike, crits again (is this some kind of record?), another Orc falls, but not before criting back with its Morningstar on Savage Demise, the Elven Avenger is down to 5 hit points.

But it's too late, the remaining Severed Eye Orcs attempt to flee, the PCs are in the mood for a prisoner, and very soon after only one is left alive (but unconscious).

A titanic encounter, which played out exactly as I would have wanted it to... two PCs down, countless times players having to seriously think about their attacks, PCs taking hits to save each other- lots of time spent bloodied, something like six or seven criticals, the threat of Hoyt turning in to a Wererat, the fight had it all, and a bunch of Daily Powers and Action Points besides.

Although not as much XP for this encounter as the last, it was however a much tougher fight, for a myriad reasons, the encounter was Level 6, that's PC Level +4 and consisted of- Orc, Slasher (Level 3 Skirmisher) x3; Orc, Bludgeoner (Level 4 Brute) x4; Orc, Wolf Shaman (Level 4 Artillery) & Vohx- Orc, Leader (Level 5 Controller).

Some notes-

What a fight, I know I've said titanic before but... it fits the bill, moments when the players were certain that this was there last encounter, followed by moments when the PCs thought they had spotted a glimmer of hope, only to have hope extinguished with a series of Orc hits.

Savage Demise and for the Slasher's Bloodied Swing, the Orcs were just damage machines, even area effect spells delivered from a distance were not safe. Savage Demise and before they drop the Orcs charge, and the number of crits on their Triggered Actions. While the Orcs defences were low their hit points were high, and with good to hit bonuses. No wonder this encounter turned out to be much more difficult than the last.

I decided ahead of time to keep the two leader types out of the way for a while, with Vohx using his Eye of Leadership to keep his Orc followers hitting. I figured the death of both of the Severed Eye leaders would cause the rest to flee.

Crits- a lot of crits, from Maldor and from the Orcs with their Savage Demise attacks- big damage; and still the fight lasted nine or so rounds.

Next Time... Treasure, Treona & Daddy.
 

HS1 The Slaying Stone
Session 9 Part 2

The bodies of the Orcs are picked over, Vohx has a great sack of gold coins, a thorough search of the leader turns up a note, or else a scrap of paper- with one word written on it, 'Dreus.'

Which is enough, the Severed Eye were sent it seems by Dreus, the former worker in the magical repository with Treona and Tyristys. The PCs must report this to Treona.

The Orc Slasher prisoner is questioned, the creature is surly and uncommunicative, content to threaten the PCs at every opportunity, the creature knows little- a follower rather than a leader. After an extended discussion the PCs eventually bow to Drake's wisdom, the Orc is freed...

Neb however is having none of it, he wanders a little away from the group and takes down the fleeing Orc with a Magic Missile, Drake sees this- he looks, crestfallen.

The PCs decide that they are going no further, they head in to the woods and make camp and rest up- divide the gold, and generally ease their hurts. They even manage to hunt down a wild boar piglet for tea.

The next day, after a fairly miserable march through the drizzle, the PCs reach Treona's tower, they're back- victorious, of a sort, soon after the used Slaying Stone is handed over to the mistress of the tower, and the PCs story is told.

Treona interrupts at several points, confesses that the magical Staff of Earthen Might that had short circuited and opened a portal to the Elemental Chaos was all her fault, she figured it would be a simple matter to finish off the staff when Kiris Dahn, and the Nentir Valley, were beset by the Shadow. The staff was forgotten when she fled the town with the Goblins arrival, she will repair the staff to its full function, and then return it to Neb.

Treona also tells the PCs what she knows about Dreus, it seems the young man- an Elementalist, had indeed broken the rules of the group- he had been dabbling in a kind of Necromantic with Elemental mix of magic. Treona is obviously concerned that Dreus should be located and stopped (from doing whatever he is doing), she knows when the Shadow came he fled to Fallcrest.

As Maldor (Bob) states on chat-

'So now you want us to find Dreus...'

And Neb (Christer) adds-

'He is certainly up to something bad.'

Treona begs the PCs to continue the quest, to return to Fallcrest and find Dreus and put a stop to whatever foul plan he is brewing. The PCs of course agree.

Midway through the above conversation something beautiful and terrible happens- the Stirge eggs hatch, and two baby Stirges are born, one of them confuses the Githyanki Jeb for its mother...

Which causes confusion in the chat window-

Maldor- 'Jeb has a pet...'

Maldor- 'Squash it! Squash it now!'

Neb- 'It's hungry- feeeeed it.'

Jeb- 'Wha...'

Maldor writes- Maldor ask Treona if she can lend him a big-ass fly swatter.

Jeb- 'Charisma 8 just got new meaning.'

Drake- 'The days just get weirder and weirder...'

The result of which is Jeb has a baby Stirge about his person, which feeds on the Githyanki once a day, as in drains his blood. Treona is given the second Stirge to look after, she's not quite sure what to do with the creature.


Back in Treona's Tower.

The conversation goes back to the Thursday Knights adventures in Kiris Dahn.

Treona also asks a myriad questions at the mention of Channoa, the Brass Dragon, she knows nothing about the creature and is surprised that such a wondrous beast had been guarding the stone- clearly other forces are at work here.

Treona is also over-joyed to see Kiris Hoyt, alive... although terrified about his present predicament, the two clearly have a connection. She urges the PCs to keep their promise to head to Fallcrest and find the cure.

The Ritualist makes good her promise to the PCs, she has crafted for them a wondrous item which will help them on their journey, a Bag of Holding, she also opens her books to Drake and Neb who learn a few more rituals each. She also resizes the armour found by Resolute on Boontah the maniac, he know has a set of +1 Scalemail.

The PCs rest and plot, Treona fixes the Staff of Earthen Might, and two days latter- before the PCs head out for Fallcrest she hands over yet another gift, a set of Amulets she made back in Kiris Dahn. A commissioned item for a Dwarven group calling themselves the Shadowed Chain, the items were destined for Hammerfast, she figures the PCs should have them- they are +1 Amulets of Protection.

Treona waves them off, the PCs head for Fallcrest.

Next Time... Structure, a note about Films and Adventures.
 

Maldor finaly shines

I love reading your tales of our (mis)adventures. It feels almost like I'm there all over again.

One thing I didn't like in early posts was the fact that Maldor's actions were always underestimated in some way. I know Rogar kills 3 minions every round, he is very lethal, and you won't get any argument from me about Drake being the MVP. But it is Maldor, the elven avenger of the Raven Queen who always goes for the biggest ugliest bad-ass, so it is no wonder Maldor ends up on getting bloodied more than his fellows do. But I do deliver a lot of damage and I do take bad guys down, somehow that didn't come through in your post.

I didn't want to bitch about it because I know you're objective and I started doubting Maldor's effectiveness and value... until now.

I was awesome in that last fight. Just before that fight I switched from greatsword to greataxe (the one I took of dead Krayd the Butcher). And it did all the difference I rolled more crits than ever and twice i rolled for maximum damage on a crit (28 i believe).

I am still trying to figure out who Maldor is as person (roleplaying and that), but at least I know he is good when it comes to fighting.
 

I love reading your tales of our (mis)adventures. It feels almost like I'm there all over again.

One thing I didn't like in early posts was the fact that Maldor's actions were always underestimated in some way. I know Rogar kills 3 minions every round, he is very lethal, and you won't get any argument from me about Drake being the MVP. But it is Maldor, the elven avenger of the Raven Queen who always goes for the biggest ugliest bad-ass, so it is no wonder Maldor ends up on getting bloodied more than his fellows do. But I do deliver a lot of damage and I do take bad guys down, somehow that didn't come through in your post.

I didn't want to bitch about it because I know you're objective and I started doubting Maldor's effectiveness and value... until now.

I was awesome in that last fight. Just before that fight I switched from greatsword to greataxe (the one I took of dead Krayd the Butcher). And it did all the difference I rolled more crits than ever and twice i rolled for maximum damage on a crit (28 i believe).

I am still trying to figure out who Maldor is as person (roleplaying and that), but at least I know he is good when it comes to fighting.

Bob, Maldor is awesome... but remember it's not the size of your sword/axe etc. it's what you do with it.

Also, fighting is nowhere near as much fun as roleplaying anyway.

The truth is you're an ENWorld tart and you like seeing your name in print- that's it isn't it?

Cheers Goonalan
 

Also, fighting is nowhere near as much fun as roleplaying anyway.

The truth is you're an ENWorld tart and you like seeing your name in print- that's it isn't it?

Cheers Goonalan

Roleplaying is fun, that's why I got pissed when the two scary friends of mine ruined my chance to have a hot date. But that is coming later. You still didn't get that far with your posts.

And for the second thing... What can I say? You got me, I am an ENWorld tart, and I do like seeing Maldor's name in print.
 

This letter from Drake to his parents, written while resting in Treona's Tower.

Dearest Mother,

I hope this letter reaches you well, I am writing it back in Treona's tower. It has been a couple of days and a near-death experience since I last wrote.

After our stay in the library we set off towards the mansion with the aim of taking down Hu'Jat, the goblin leader. I would have preferred to open up diplomatic relations with him but my companions assured me that it's the only way to retrieve the slaying stone. Outside we were shocked to see a change in the town. There were countless goblin bodies everywhere while groups of other goblins were running around; we suspect they were looking for us. To be honest I was terrified but something urged me on.

We sneaked towards the back of the mansion, passing a burnt out dragon's den on the way. We successfully infiltrated the place but one of the goblins managed alert the others and then it looks so bleak for us; a flood of goblins were in front of us, all the wolves in the world were behind. Hu-Jat then appeared on top of his huge rage drake. Nerves must have got the better of me as I struggled to hit anyone and I made so many mistakes, but we finally managed to take Hu-Jat and his drake down!

To our delight, the dragon returned to finish off the remaining goblins and kobolds. He was also delighted with our good work, so much so that he traded the slaying stone to me for our promise to destroy it. After parting with the dragon and healing we headed back towards Treona's tower.

On the way we were ambushed by the Severed-Eye Orcs; such ugly things though they must have inner beauty under all of that horror, right Mum? Unfortunately, their strength seemed way beyond ours, out of desperation I passed the slaying stone to Nebrendil who used it on the leader. He died. Instantly. It was a horrible sight to behold, though the stone was destroyed. During the fight with the remaining Orcs I collapsed, as did Resolute. The next thing I remember, Rogar is emptying a healing potion into me.

After the fight we found a ripped piece of paper on the leader. It had one word; 'Dreus'. From one of the survivors we found out Dreus met with the Orcs 3 days ago, close to Fallcrest. We'd heard this name before; from the records in the library's basement.

We camped there for the night without incident then, in the morning, went on the long trek back to Treona's Tower

We got to the tower and told her everything including the encounter with the Severed-Eye Orcs. She expressed anguish when hearing about Kiris' were-rat problem (perhaps there is something going on there? I miss our gossiping). Treona was unable to cure Kiris but mentions that the churches in Fallcrest may be helpful. She also informed us that Dreus was a conjurer that enjoyed some elementalism and even a little necromancy. He was reporting directly to Kiris' father; crafting evil items and left the town on the first day of the shadow. If he is alive then he may be continuing the dark arts, so Treona has asked us to find Dreus.

In the morning we will head towards Fallcrest and try to find Dreus. Also, we need to find a way of curing Kiris Hoyt.

P.S. Jebediah collected a couple of stirge eggs during our encounter with them. They have just hatched.... I'm really not sure how I feel about that.Jack
 

Into the Woods

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