Company of the Random Encounter ('complete' 14 Nov 2004)
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Capellan
Explorer
"Good Friends & Fine Spirits" by Mystic Eye Games - Part 13
The Padre reacts first.
Spinning, he slams the door behind them. The barrier will at least temporarily hold back the flood of roaches, though the group's plan of leaving by the front door is now impossible.
The other adventurers are only a moment slower. Anastria and Ming Li combine to slay one of the closest roaches: the elf's rapier pins the creature to the floor, while the monk's staff stoves in its side. Sirdros and Macwood both also slay insects, the halfling unleashing his own war-cry in response to the roach queen's scream. Only Briar fails to land a blow, his blade glancing off the black shell of one of the creatures.
There is a sound like wet cloth being torn, and the roach queen tears herself free of her egg sac, her black, chitin-covered hind legs emerging from beneath the bloated white shape Her malformed mouth stretches open, distending unnaturally, and a globule of viscous green and white goo vomits forth, flying straight toward the Padre.
The cleric of St Cuthbert dives aside in the nick of time, the globule bursting on the wall behind him, spraying slime and inch-long maggots in all directions.
"Now that's just gross." Briar complains.
"A gross? But how do you know there are a hundred and forty four of them? Ow!" Macwood is too busy quipping to pay attention to the fight: one of the roaches bites into his calf, drawing blood.
It seems that all of the adventurers have been thrown off their rhythm by the roach queen's attack, for not a single one of them succeeds in landing a blow, even as the rest of the roaches in the room charge toward them, swarming in to bite at their legs. Fortunately, the insects' attacks are just as ineffectual, and the adventurers sustain no injuries of their own.
Sirdros steps away from the roaches that bite ineffectually at his armour, slamming his mace into the side of the queen. The blow does little damage, however: her skin seems to share some of the resilience of the roaches' shells. Nonetheless, she hisses in anger and turns toward the elven cleric, belching forth a cloud of green and brown gas. The entire room is filled with a foetid stench, causing most of the group to gag in disgust, but it is Sirdros who bears the full effects of the gas. He staggers back, clawing at his throat and choking on the noxious fumes.
Briar and the Padre both move forward, striking at the queen to drive her back from Sirdros. They manage to give the elf a little room, but neither succeeds in landing a blow, as the queen sinuously dodges aside. None of their companions fare any better, as the momentum of the combat swings in favour of the verminous horde. First Macwood is bitten again, then the queen lunges forward and claws at the Padre, gashing his shoulder badly.
The force of the blow staggers the cleric back a step, which proves a fortunate thing, as a barbed tail uncurls from the queen's back, then slashes through the air where he just stood. Barely able to remain standing, the Padre calls on St Cuthbert to cleanse his wounds, but the menacing proximity of the queen distracts him, and he stumbles over the words of the prayer, losing control of the magic.
The adventurers' blows continue to miss their targets, and the situation grows more dangerous by the second. Note only is the door now creaking under the weight of roaches trying to gnaw their way into the room, but the grubs crawling over the girl they are here to rescue have almost penetrated the cocoon that surrounds her.
The queen's barbed tail lashes at the Padre again, and this time the hooks bite into his flesh. The bulbous tip quivers as green fluid pumps out of it, seeping into the wound. The cleric feels a burning sensation spread through his flesh, but he grits his teeth and mutters an oath to St Cuthbert, fighting off the effects of the vile poison.
The door shudders again, one of the hinges tearing half-loose of the rotted wood. Only a single nail now holds it closed.
A roach scuttles toward Briar, and one of the group lands a blow against their enemies: the rogue's sword cuts the creature cleanly in two.
"The queen is the key." Ming Li abandons her fight with the roaches, moving to face the creature that spawned them, instead. One of the insects inflicts a deep bite on her leg as she does so, but the monk blocks out of the pain of the injury, hammering her fists into the queen's side.
The foul creature screams in anger and turns on the monk, but Ming Li stands her ground resolutely. She ducks beneath the slashing claws, then twists as the spiked tail whips through the air a moment later. For a moment, the queen feels a shock of impact, and hisses in satisfaction, but the tail's barbs have only hooked into Ming Li's jacket. The cloth is badly torn, but the flesh beneath is unscathed.
Inspired by the monk's courageous stand, the group redoubles their efforts. Macwood crushes one of the roaches, and Briar uses the moment of space that provides to duck in behind the queen, slashing at her legs with his sword. The queen's attention is still on Ming Li, and the blow lands true, cutting deep into the creature's flesh.
"Say hello to Kewpie doll!" Macwood lunges in alongside the rogue, ramming his sword like a spear into the queen's side.
The queen staggers, then falls, a keening cry bursting from her lips. Within moments, the sound reverberates from every roach in the room: indeed, from every roach in the entire house. The screech is deafening, almost painful in its intensity.
"Fire!" the Padre yells at Sirdros, struggling to be heard over the racket. The elf nods and begins preparing a torch as the Padre splashes oil around the room and over the queen's corpse.
Briar and Ming Li, meanwhile, cut the cook's daughter free of the cocoon, being careful to crush every grub they see in the process.
"There's a window here." Anastria points it out to the others, "Boarded up, but I'm sure we could force it."
The Padre swiftly proves the elven woman correct, shattering the boards with his mace.
"Everyone out!" he shouts, a worried eye on the still keening roaches. No-one feels a need to argue, and they all swiftly clamber through the opening. Ming Li goes first, carrying the girl, while Sirdros is the last of them to leave, passing his torch to the Padre as he does so. The cleric of St Cuthbert gives the armour-clad elf a boost to get out, then lights the torch and tosses it onto the oil. As flames begin to race across the dry wooden room, he slips out of the building and into the cool night air.
"How is she?" he asks Sirdros, who is already crouched beside the girl.
"She appears unharmed." The elf replies, "and there are no signs that any of the grubs reached her. I think we go there just in time."
Feeling very satisfied with themselves, most of the adventurers promptly collapse on the grass, enjoying the chance to rest. Only the Padre remains standing, watching the flames consume the building, a blank expression on his face.
The house is located on the edge of the village, and the sight of flames soon causes an alarm to be raised. Within minutes, Captain Jarrek is on the scene. Taking one look at the dirty, bloodied adventurers and the burning building, he reacts in the same way as any other militiaman would: he arrests them all.
The Padre reacts first.
Spinning, he slams the door behind them. The barrier will at least temporarily hold back the flood of roaches, though the group's plan of leaving by the front door is now impossible.
The other adventurers are only a moment slower. Anastria and Ming Li combine to slay one of the closest roaches: the elf's rapier pins the creature to the floor, while the monk's staff stoves in its side. Sirdros and Macwood both also slay insects, the halfling unleashing his own war-cry in response to the roach queen's scream. Only Briar fails to land a blow, his blade glancing off the black shell of one of the creatures.
There is a sound like wet cloth being torn, and the roach queen tears herself free of her egg sac, her black, chitin-covered hind legs emerging from beneath the bloated white shape Her malformed mouth stretches open, distending unnaturally, and a globule of viscous green and white goo vomits forth, flying straight toward the Padre.
The cleric of St Cuthbert dives aside in the nick of time, the globule bursting on the wall behind him, spraying slime and inch-long maggots in all directions.
"Now that's just gross." Briar complains.
"A gross? But how do you know there are a hundred and forty four of them? Ow!" Macwood is too busy quipping to pay attention to the fight: one of the roaches bites into his calf, drawing blood.
It seems that all of the adventurers have been thrown off their rhythm by the roach queen's attack, for not a single one of them succeeds in landing a blow, even as the rest of the roaches in the room charge toward them, swarming in to bite at their legs. Fortunately, the insects' attacks are just as ineffectual, and the adventurers sustain no injuries of their own.
Sirdros steps away from the roaches that bite ineffectually at his armour, slamming his mace into the side of the queen. The blow does little damage, however: her skin seems to share some of the resilience of the roaches' shells. Nonetheless, she hisses in anger and turns toward the elven cleric, belching forth a cloud of green and brown gas. The entire room is filled with a foetid stench, causing most of the group to gag in disgust, but it is Sirdros who bears the full effects of the gas. He staggers back, clawing at his throat and choking on the noxious fumes.
Briar and the Padre both move forward, striking at the queen to drive her back from Sirdros. They manage to give the elf a little room, but neither succeeds in landing a blow, as the queen sinuously dodges aside. None of their companions fare any better, as the momentum of the combat swings in favour of the verminous horde. First Macwood is bitten again, then the queen lunges forward and claws at the Padre, gashing his shoulder badly.
The force of the blow staggers the cleric back a step, which proves a fortunate thing, as a barbed tail uncurls from the queen's back, then slashes through the air where he just stood. Barely able to remain standing, the Padre calls on St Cuthbert to cleanse his wounds, but the menacing proximity of the queen distracts him, and he stumbles over the words of the prayer, losing control of the magic.
The adventurers' blows continue to miss their targets, and the situation grows more dangerous by the second. Note only is the door now creaking under the weight of roaches trying to gnaw their way into the room, but the grubs crawling over the girl they are here to rescue have almost penetrated the cocoon that surrounds her.
The queen's barbed tail lashes at the Padre again, and this time the hooks bite into his flesh. The bulbous tip quivers as green fluid pumps out of it, seeping into the wound. The cleric feels a burning sensation spread through his flesh, but he grits his teeth and mutters an oath to St Cuthbert, fighting off the effects of the vile poison.
The door shudders again, one of the hinges tearing half-loose of the rotted wood. Only a single nail now holds it closed.
A roach scuttles toward Briar, and one of the group lands a blow against their enemies: the rogue's sword cuts the creature cleanly in two.
"The queen is the key." Ming Li abandons her fight with the roaches, moving to face the creature that spawned them, instead. One of the insects inflicts a deep bite on her leg as she does so, but the monk blocks out of the pain of the injury, hammering her fists into the queen's side.
The foul creature screams in anger and turns on the monk, but Ming Li stands her ground resolutely. She ducks beneath the slashing claws, then twists as the spiked tail whips through the air a moment later. For a moment, the queen feels a shock of impact, and hisses in satisfaction, but the tail's barbs have only hooked into Ming Li's jacket. The cloth is badly torn, but the flesh beneath is unscathed.
Inspired by the monk's courageous stand, the group redoubles their efforts. Macwood crushes one of the roaches, and Briar uses the moment of space that provides to duck in behind the queen, slashing at her legs with his sword. The queen's attention is still on Ming Li, and the blow lands true, cutting deep into the creature's flesh.
"Say hello to Kewpie doll!" Macwood lunges in alongside the rogue, ramming his sword like a spear into the queen's side.
The queen staggers, then falls, a keening cry bursting from her lips. Within moments, the sound reverberates from every roach in the room: indeed, from every roach in the entire house. The screech is deafening, almost painful in its intensity.
"Fire!" the Padre yells at Sirdros, struggling to be heard over the racket. The elf nods and begins preparing a torch as the Padre splashes oil around the room and over the queen's corpse.
Briar and Ming Li, meanwhile, cut the cook's daughter free of the cocoon, being careful to crush every grub they see in the process.
"There's a window here." Anastria points it out to the others, "Boarded up, but I'm sure we could force it."
The Padre swiftly proves the elven woman correct, shattering the boards with his mace.
"Everyone out!" he shouts, a worried eye on the still keening roaches. No-one feels a need to argue, and they all swiftly clamber through the opening. Ming Li goes first, carrying the girl, while Sirdros is the last of them to leave, passing his torch to the Padre as he does so. The cleric of St Cuthbert gives the armour-clad elf a boost to get out, then lights the torch and tosses it onto the oil. As flames begin to race across the dry wooden room, he slips out of the building and into the cool night air.
"How is she?" he asks Sirdros, who is already crouched beside the girl.
"She appears unharmed." The elf replies, "and there are no signs that any of the grubs reached her. I think we go there just in time."
Feeling very satisfied with themselves, most of the adventurers promptly collapse on the grass, enjoying the chance to rest. Only the Padre remains standing, watching the flames consume the building, a blank expression on his face.
The house is located on the edge of the village, and the sight of flames soon causes an alarm to be raised. Within minutes, Captain Jarrek is on the scene. Taking one look at the dirty, bloodied adventurers and the burning building, he reacts in the same way as any other militiaman would: he arrests them all.
Thomas Hobbes
First Post
Woohoo! Two posts in as many days!
That made me, I'm ashamed to say, burst out in to uncontrolable giggles.
That made me, I'm ashamed to say, burst out in to uncontrolable giggles.
Capellan
Explorer
Thomas Hobbes said:
Let's make it three for three, shall we?
This will be the last for a few days, though - I'm spending the entire weekend at the BIG Weekend, so I won't have much time to write until next week.
The next post draws this session to an end. When I resume: session 6! And finally: Duvik's Pass ...
Capellan
Explorer
"Good Friends & Fine Spirits" by Mystic Eye Games - Part 14
After a few hours in the militia's cells, and several repetitions of their story, the Company members are begrudgingly released by Captain Jarrek.
"Yer story checks out with the innkeep 'n' his cook." He scowls, "Under the circumstances I'll let yer all off with a warnin'. But don't be makin' a habit of arson in Amberdale, or I'll have yer all back in 'ere as soon as look at you." He glances at Anastria and shudders, "Sooner, most like."
After insincerely thanking the Captain for his vigilance, the adventurers return to the inn for a heroes' welcome from the grateful staff. Macwood in particular smiles broadly at the innkeep's expansive offer of "free food whenever you stay here".
"Right." The Padre rubs his hands together as the group sits back down to their interrupted meal, "So tomorrow we can all set out for this place Sirdros was telling us about -"
"Actually, I can't go." The elven cleric interjects. The Padre stares,
"But it's a quest for your church."
Sirdros shrugs apologetically,
"Someone has to stay and look after the girl we rescued." He lowers his voice, "And make sure nothing ... untoward ... occurs with her. She seems fine, but one of us should stay to keep an eye on her." He raises his voice again, "You and I are the only ones with medical training, so I have to stay - unless you would like to volunteer?"
The Padre shakes his head, which surprises no-one.
Sirdros continues,
"I've managed to persuade Anastria to accompany you in my place." If the others notice that the elven woman appears less than eager to assist in the Church of Pelor's quest, they do not say so. Possibly because they are distracted by their own lack of eagerness to share her company. Eventually, the Padre shrugs,
"Well, that still leaves the five of us. I suggest we set out tomorrow -"
This time it is Macwood who interjects,
"I can't leave that early."
The Padre's left temple twitches slightly,
"And why is that?" he inquires, his voice suspiciously calm.
"That dagger we found in the sewers is magical."
"The dagger I found." Briar reminds them who took all the risks. Macwood ignores him,
"I think I've worked out a way to determine the exact enchantment, in much the same way as you've asked the wizard, what's-her-name, to do with the earrings. But it'll take me most of the day, I think. So I'll be busy tomorrow."
The Padre is obviously torn. A quest beckons, but on the other hand, this is treasure Macwood's talking about. And loot in the hand is worth two caves full of jewels.
"I'm staying too." Briar pipes up, "That's my dagger he'll be playing with."
"I don't have a dagger." One of the reasons Anastria struggled so much in the tunnel was her lack of a backup weapon.
"You can have my old one." Briar obviously doesn't intend to give up the blade.
The Padre sighs,
"That leaves us with only three people. It's not enough. We'll have to wait a day for Briar and Macwood, I suppose. A pity. The matter seemed urgent and I was hoping to leave tomorrow."
"Where are you going?" the speaker is Mantreus, who stands in the doorway, the door pushed open with one hand. He stamps the dirt off his boots as Twinkle ducks under his arm. The gnome carries a small, swaddled bundle of some kind.
"Yeah, where?" she pipes, glancing around at the still half-wrecked common room, "Hey, did I miss something exciting? That's not fair. I always miss the exciting stuff."
"Oh, don't worry about it." The Padre smiles. Or at least manages a fair approximation of one. "The excitement's just starting. How do the two of you feel about a trip into the mountains?"
After a few hours in the militia's cells, and several repetitions of their story, the Company members are begrudgingly released by Captain Jarrek.
"Yer story checks out with the innkeep 'n' his cook." He scowls, "Under the circumstances I'll let yer all off with a warnin'. But don't be makin' a habit of arson in Amberdale, or I'll have yer all back in 'ere as soon as look at you." He glances at Anastria and shudders, "Sooner, most like."
After insincerely thanking the Captain for his vigilance, the adventurers return to the inn for a heroes' welcome from the grateful staff. Macwood in particular smiles broadly at the innkeep's expansive offer of "free food whenever you stay here".
"Right." The Padre rubs his hands together as the group sits back down to their interrupted meal, "So tomorrow we can all set out for this place Sirdros was telling us about -"
"Actually, I can't go." The elven cleric interjects. The Padre stares,
"But it's a quest for your church."
Sirdros shrugs apologetically,
"Someone has to stay and look after the girl we rescued." He lowers his voice, "And make sure nothing ... untoward ... occurs with her. She seems fine, but one of us should stay to keep an eye on her." He raises his voice again, "You and I are the only ones with medical training, so I have to stay - unless you would like to volunteer?"
The Padre shakes his head, which surprises no-one.
Sirdros continues,
"I've managed to persuade Anastria to accompany you in my place." If the others notice that the elven woman appears less than eager to assist in the Church of Pelor's quest, they do not say so. Possibly because they are distracted by their own lack of eagerness to share her company. Eventually, the Padre shrugs,
"Well, that still leaves the five of us. I suggest we set out tomorrow -"
This time it is Macwood who interjects,
"I can't leave that early."
The Padre's left temple twitches slightly,
"And why is that?" he inquires, his voice suspiciously calm.
"That dagger we found in the sewers is magical."
"The dagger I found." Briar reminds them who took all the risks. Macwood ignores him,
"I think I've worked out a way to determine the exact enchantment, in much the same way as you've asked the wizard, what's-her-name, to do with the earrings. But it'll take me most of the day, I think. So I'll be busy tomorrow."
The Padre is obviously torn. A quest beckons, but on the other hand, this is treasure Macwood's talking about. And loot in the hand is worth two caves full of jewels.
"I'm staying too." Briar pipes up, "That's my dagger he'll be playing with."
"I don't have a dagger." One of the reasons Anastria struggled so much in the tunnel was her lack of a backup weapon.
"You can have my old one." Briar obviously doesn't intend to give up the blade.
The Padre sighs,
"That leaves us with only three people. It's not enough. We'll have to wait a day for Briar and Macwood, I suppose. A pity. The matter seemed urgent and I was hoping to leave tomorrow."
"Where are you going?" the speaker is Mantreus, who stands in the doorway, the door pushed open with one hand. He stamps the dirt off his boots as Twinkle ducks under his arm. The gnome carries a small, swaddled bundle of some kind.
"Yeah, where?" she pipes, glancing around at the still half-wrecked common room, "Hey, did I miss something exciting? That's not fair. I always miss the exciting stuff."
"Oh, don't worry about it." The Padre smiles. Or at least manages a fair approximation of one. "The excitement's just starting. How do the two of you feel about a trip into the mountains?"
Capellan
Explorer
dpdx said:
It's been my experience that dropping PCs in the WotC cliffhangers and free adventures is ridiculously easy. Whether this is a function of the adventure or the adventurers is something I'm not going to comment on
.I made some changes to Burning Plague (as I do to most modules) and while I won't say whether there were fatalities or not (gotta maintain the tension!) I can say that there were at least two points - actually, make that three - where a TPK was distinctly on the cards.
This with a party of six, four of whom were 2nd level.
As for levelling up ... at the point the story hour just reached, most of the characters were 2nd level. I need to catch up on posting to the Rogue's Gallery thread, it seems. Look for that to occur in the next 24 hours
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