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Story Hour
(Cydra) The Year 271 Campaign (Low Magic experiment)
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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 2853757" data-attributes="member: 1210"><p>It is just shy of two weeks before the new year when our heroes arrive at the Rise of Battle. It is south and east of the Dipper by a few miles, the site of several famous battles from the glorious past when the Barony of Kamenda was a part of the Kingdom of Pellinsia, before Pellinsia fragmented and fell apart. Now the tower that once proudly watched over the surrounding land is a half-collapsed ruined shell. Weather, siege and monsters having taken their toll on the place; time has not been kind to the Ghost Tower of the land once called Inverness. </p><p></p><p>As they approach, everyone keeps a wary eye out. Who knows whether the cult they are seeking might have someone here already, keeping a lookout! But there is no evidence of recent trespass- no tracks, no old camps, no smoke coming off of a cook fire. As the party gets closer they can see that the upper levels of the tower are gone, and broken stones and chunks of shattered masonry lie about the surrounding space. Clumps of weeds grow here and there, and a single withered oak tree hunches about thirty yards from the tower’s wreck.</p><p></p><p>There is a walled courtyard surrounding the square tower. As our heroes approach it, they note that there are many holes in the wall, and in places it looks like they could walk through. A rusted portcullis stands shut, but it is damaged and bent and looks easy to pass. Passage into the courtyard is easy, and when they enter the group sees large pile of rubble along the most-ruined edge of the wall that edges up almost to the tower itself. The tower was once whitewashed, but sun, rain and dirt have obfuscated almost all evidence of this. It is now obvious that only the ground floor has truly survived; pieces of the second floor still exist, but they appear to be buried in the rubble of the higher levels.</p><p></p><p>“Well,” says Sir Colder, “let’s move in and check it out.”</p><p></p><p>Dahlia agrees. “We should make sure it’s clear before we set up our ambush for the cult.”</p><p></p><p>The party begins moving towards the ruined tower, but suddenly a noise from the rubble pile catches their attention. Something growls, sounding almost like a big cat. There is the sound of rocks shifting and pebbles bouncing down the pile of rubble; and then a terrifying and unnatural <em>thing</em> creeps into view atop the mound.</p><p></p><p>For a moment, our heroes can only gape. It is hideous. </p><p></p><p>It has the body of a lion. Great bat-wings flex, and a tail bristling with spikes lashes the air behind it. It growls again, a weird mix of cat-yowl and man-sound, and it shakes its head. As it does so, its most terrible feature becomes clear: <em>it has the head of a man.</em> Then, with a bristling growl, the monstrosity launches itself into the air, its wings beating powerfully as it moves above the party.</p><p></p><p>Our heroes scatter, some seeking cover, some drawing bows. Otis gets a good angle and cackles wildly as he casts a <em>fireball</em> into the sky! The blast of flames roars around the monster, sizzling and burning its flesh. The creature gives another roar, this one full of pain and outrage. Then its tail snaps down, and a volley of spikes zings at Otis and Kyle! Each of them cries out in pain as long black spikes sink into their flesh. Kyle is nearly rendered unconscious, and immediately turns to flee to a safer location.*</p><p></p><p>“My apprentice!” cries Otis, and launches a volley of <em>magic missiles</em> back at the monster. Bolts of force zip back up at the creature, blasting three small wounds into it. Arrows, sling stones and crossbow bolts fly at the thing as our heroes rally, but they seem to be having a difficult time connecting...</p><p></p><p>The monster again screams in rage, and its tail snaps down again violently, releasing a barrage of spikes. Otis staggers back as one hits him, another, another. The others miss, as if by the intervention of fate.** Unfortunately for the creature, it flexes its tail so hard in doing so that it breaks it!*** Gritting his teeth, dizzy with pain, the wizard staggers away and flees towards Sir Cedric, who stands ready for the monster’s approach with his sword. </p><p></p><p>But it is still circling out of range. Arrows keep missing, until finally Colder lands a shaft in the things wing. Its flight becomes slightly erratic. Both Otis and Kyle launch more <em>magic missiles</em> at it. </p><p></p><p>“Thith varlet ith not coming any clother,” complains Sir Cedric. He drops his sword and draws out his bow, fits an arrow to the string, and fires true. His arrow strikes it in the eye, and it gives a loud, outraged bellow before plummeting to the ground. His arrow does not kill it- but the fall does. A cheer erupts from the rest of the party, albeit a rather ragged one in the cases of Kyle and Otis.</p><p></p><p>“Well done, my Lord!” cries Sir Colder.</p><p></p><p>The party checks out the rubble nest, where they find a few scraps of bone and some silver coins. Then they return their attentions to the tower itself. Entering the place, they find that the remaining floor is choked with rubble, and that there are few features remaining. However, each corner of the tower (for it is a square tower) holds a stairwell leading downwards. </p><p></p><p>“Let uth thtart at the thouthwetht,” suggests Sir Cedric.</p><p></p><p>“Stairs,” Me- that is, Sir Percival- expresses. He smiles dumbly, pointing.</p><p></p><p>“Yeth, of courthe,” Sir Cedric replies, taking a nip off the flask that Sir Fwaigo hands over to him. The party begins their descent.</p><p></p><p>Down they go, finding a passage that twists and turns beneath the earth for a couple of dozen feet before ending in a door. Sir Percival throws open the door and steps through out of sight of his friends. From beyond the threshold he yells, “Big thing, CRUSH!”</p><p></p><p>Even as our heroes surge forward into the room to help Sir Percival, the ‘big thing’- whatever it is- disappears. They catch just a glimpse of something fading into the air as they spill into the chamber. Sir Percival cries out in rage and strikes where it just was, and to his glee his hits! Something grunts, then chuckles. Then the ‘big thing’- some kind of 12’-tall, blue-skinned humanoid with little horns- appears out of nowhere as a <em>cone of cold</em> slaps over the party! </p><p></p><p>*Kyle is 6th level and has 13 hp at full.</p><p></p><p>**i.e. Otis burned Wyrd here. A Wyrd is kind of like a fate point in my game, though it also has other effects. </p><p></p><p>***Pretty bad fumble on one spike.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 2853757, member: 1210"] It is just shy of two weeks before the new year when our heroes arrive at the Rise of Battle. It is south and east of the Dipper by a few miles, the site of several famous battles from the glorious past when the Barony of Kamenda was a part of the Kingdom of Pellinsia, before Pellinsia fragmented and fell apart. Now the tower that once proudly watched over the surrounding land is a half-collapsed ruined shell. Weather, siege and monsters having taken their toll on the place; time has not been kind to the Ghost Tower of the land once called Inverness. As they approach, everyone keeps a wary eye out. Who knows whether the cult they are seeking might have someone here already, keeping a lookout! But there is no evidence of recent trespass- no tracks, no old camps, no smoke coming off of a cook fire. As the party gets closer they can see that the upper levels of the tower are gone, and broken stones and chunks of shattered masonry lie about the surrounding space. Clumps of weeds grow here and there, and a single withered oak tree hunches about thirty yards from the tower’s wreck. There is a walled courtyard surrounding the square tower. As our heroes approach it, they note that there are many holes in the wall, and in places it looks like they could walk through. A rusted portcullis stands shut, but it is damaged and bent and looks easy to pass. Passage into the courtyard is easy, and when they enter the group sees large pile of rubble along the most-ruined edge of the wall that edges up almost to the tower itself. The tower was once whitewashed, but sun, rain and dirt have obfuscated almost all evidence of this. It is now obvious that only the ground floor has truly survived; pieces of the second floor still exist, but they appear to be buried in the rubble of the higher levels. “Well,” says Sir Colder, “let’s move in and check it out.” Dahlia agrees. “We should make sure it’s clear before we set up our ambush for the cult.” The party begins moving towards the ruined tower, but suddenly a noise from the rubble pile catches their attention. Something growls, sounding almost like a big cat. There is the sound of rocks shifting and pebbles bouncing down the pile of rubble; and then a terrifying and unnatural [i]thing[/i] creeps into view atop the mound. For a moment, our heroes can only gape. It is hideous. It has the body of a lion. Great bat-wings flex, and a tail bristling with spikes lashes the air behind it. It growls again, a weird mix of cat-yowl and man-sound, and it shakes its head. As it does so, its most terrible feature becomes clear: [i]it has the head of a man.[/i] Then, with a bristling growl, the monstrosity launches itself into the air, its wings beating powerfully as it moves above the party. Our heroes scatter, some seeking cover, some drawing bows. Otis gets a good angle and cackles wildly as he casts a [i]fireball[/i] into the sky! The blast of flames roars around the monster, sizzling and burning its flesh. The creature gives another roar, this one full of pain and outrage. Then its tail snaps down, and a volley of spikes zings at Otis and Kyle! Each of them cries out in pain as long black spikes sink into their flesh. Kyle is nearly rendered unconscious, and immediately turns to flee to a safer location.* “My apprentice!” cries Otis, and launches a volley of [i]magic missiles[/i] back at the monster. Bolts of force zip back up at the creature, blasting three small wounds into it. Arrows, sling stones and crossbow bolts fly at the thing as our heroes rally, but they seem to be having a difficult time connecting... The monster again screams in rage, and its tail snaps down again violently, releasing a barrage of spikes. Otis staggers back as one hits him, another, another. The others miss, as if by the intervention of fate.** Unfortunately for the creature, it flexes its tail so hard in doing so that it breaks it!*** Gritting his teeth, dizzy with pain, the wizard staggers away and flees towards Sir Cedric, who stands ready for the monster’s approach with his sword. But it is still circling out of range. Arrows keep missing, until finally Colder lands a shaft in the things wing. Its flight becomes slightly erratic. Both Otis and Kyle launch more [i]magic missiles[/i] at it. “Thith varlet ith not coming any clother,” complains Sir Cedric. He drops his sword and draws out his bow, fits an arrow to the string, and fires true. His arrow strikes it in the eye, and it gives a loud, outraged bellow before plummeting to the ground. His arrow does not kill it- but the fall does. A cheer erupts from the rest of the party, albeit a rather ragged one in the cases of Kyle and Otis. “Well done, my Lord!” cries Sir Colder. The party checks out the rubble nest, where they find a few scraps of bone and some silver coins. Then they return their attentions to the tower itself. Entering the place, they find that the remaining floor is choked with rubble, and that there are few features remaining. However, each corner of the tower (for it is a square tower) holds a stairwell leading downwards. “Let uth thtart at the thouthwetht,” suggests Sir Cedric. “Stairs,” Me- that is, Sir Percival- expresses. He smiles dumbly, pointing. “Yeth, of courthe,” Sir Cedric replies, taking a nip off the flask that Sir Fwaigo hands over to him. The party begins their descent. Down they go, finding a passage that twists and turns beneath the earth for a couple of dozen feet before ending in a door. Sir Percival throws open the door and steps through out of sight of his friends. From beyond the threshold he yells, “Big thing, CRUSH!” Even as our heroes surge forward into the room to help Sir Percival, the ‘big thing’- whatever it is- disappears. They catch just a glimpse of something fading into the air as they spill into the chamber. Sir Percival cries out in rage and strikes where it just was, and to his glee his hits! Something grunts, then chuckles. Then the ‘big thing’- some kind of 12’-tall, blue-skinned humanoid with little horns- appears out of nowhere as a [i]cone of cold[/i] slaps over the party! *Kyle is 6th level and has 13 hp at full. **i.e. Otis burned Wyrd here. A Wyrd is kind of like a fate point in my game, though it also has other effects. ***Pretty bad fumble on one spike. [/QUOTE]
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