[D&D 5e] Not KotS 19b Killing Time.

[Goonalan]

Not KotS​

Session #019a: Not A Titanic Battle Part Deux. (Enc#26)

The Inspectors.
Chromium Malifax aka C-Fax (Rob), Male Silver Dragonborn (Noble) Paladin of Bahamut Level 2
Mavis Golightly aka Mave (Sandy), Female Half-Elf (Acolyte) Cleric of Chauntea Level 2
Arbuthnot McGow aka McGow (Al), Male Mountain Dwarf (Soldier) Fighter Level 2
Snakebite (Kenji), Female Half-Orc (Outlander) Monk Level 2
Travis Pickle (Yui), Male Lightfoot Halfling (Criminal) Rogue Level 2

Dead PCs
The Inspector aka Spek (Kenji), Male Rock Gnome (Charlatan) Sorcerer Level 1- Killed in Session #2 by Eggnog the Kobold Dragon Priest.

To-do list/Quests-
#001 Save Dicky Bird aka The Fat Pidgin, and bring him home safely to Edna Gingster, although Dicky is on his way to the Narthex, which is in the Labyrinth, which is near the Seven Pillared Hall- which is in the Underdark- Bugger. Reward: 2000 XP & 1000gp each.
#002 Find and investigate the ancient dragon burial site Dicky was looking for, he might be there. Reward: 250 XP. COMPLETE
#003 Destroy the kobold menace, including their leader- ‘Chopper.’ Reward: 250 XP & 75gp, with 1gp paid for every kobold tail handed in. COMPLETE
#004 Stop Orcus-worshipping Karl’s ritual to bring an undead army to Kirkgate. Basically, save the village, begs (eventually) Lord Crumble. Karl is in Kirkgate. 1000 XP & 500gp reward.
#005 Find/Save Cheggers. That's it really, the PCs just need to find/save Cheggers (he’s with Karl, if he’s still alive), for Fionulla (the spy). Reward 100 XP.
#006 Find and kill/capture the Bloody Heck- including any leaders. Recover any prisoners they have kidnapped. Reward: 400 XP & 100gp, with 1gp paid for every member of the Bloody Heck confirmed dead or captured.
#007 Find all five symbols of Kurgan Kurgan’s office to open the way below Kirkgate. 1000 XP reward (and the PCs get to keep the items of course). COMPLETE
#008 Save the Lowder’s and their farm from the Bloody Heck slavers. 250 XP reward. COMPLETE

The thing that is not a Titanic Battle continues…

Snakebite’s shouts alert her comrades, and yet…

Ghoul Hagrid rushes around the corner and attempts to claw McGow- and the dice say otherwise- McGow is caught unawares, the blurry deep gnome rolls a ‘3’ & a ‘2’ with advantage to hit- no cigar, and is seconds later blasted by three force beads fired from Mavis’ wand of magic missiles- at which point Fantasy Grounds automatically makes Hagrid’s concentration save and that’s a ‘1’.

3-2-1. Thanks, dice.

Hagrid’s blur is gone.

However, close observers of the above image will also note- the second corruption zombie, the guy flinging gobbets of himself from the ledge has got bored waiting for the PCs to come back into range. He’s flung himself off the ledge (taking a chunk of falling damage- which he’s now regenerating) and is now rushing (and he’s fast) up the stairs.

He’s coming.

There are also five more zombie rotters on the stairs heading up to meet the Inspectors.

This image is entitled- “Shut the door!” which was what every player/PC except Al/McGow was shouting at this point.

Here come more zombies et al.

“Nuts to that!” However, is McGow’s answer, followed by- “I’m going down swinging!”

The dwarf is all in.

McGow puts a big dent in Hagrid’s skull (with a Crit), C-Fax stabs the deep gnome ghoul, and Travis helps with a crossbow bolt to the face (yet another Crit) and then Mavis finishes my named guy off with another trio of magic missiles.

Hagrid started that turn with 40 HP (full) and his Blur running, the bastards.

Although, the Inspectors never even thought to take him alive in order to later try to figure out why Hagrid was so happy to see them. So, that helps.

But the zombies are still coming.

And so, C-Fax throws his hat into the ring for hero of the hour, he rushes out of the chamber- shouting and hollering to get the attention of the approaching undead and cutting a rotter down en route.

But then…

Snakebite debates for five minutes whether to launch herself into the melee- finally decides to go for it, rolls sub-five twice and then is swiftly battered unconscious by the nearest zombie rotter. The monk is down and dying. Moments later McGow takes a blob of rotten necrotic flesh to the head, and… I roll minimum damage- 2d6+3 = 5, and the bugger survives- on just one hit point. McGow also makes the follow up save.

There’s a lot of grrring, yelping, snarling and… the players are on edge.

Travis fires two crossbow bolts into the corruption zombie (he had been saving an IP), Mavis hits it with her sacred flames and then finally- C-Fax, with added radiant damage from his Bahamut blade- Aegis- kills the last rot-flinger.

It explodes, C-Fax avoids the rotten torrent of viscera, but not the unconscious and prone Snakebite- that’s one death save failed.

And then a second fail on the dice roll.

Some people are screaming at this point.

One of them was Kenji- it’s Snakebite again eating plenty of dirt.

One of the zombie rotters also manages to give C-Fax a hefty clump (a crit).

But…

The end (very nearly) is nigh.

Mavis gets to Snakebite with a healing potion, and then McGow & C-Fax combine to finish off the last zombie rotter.

The fight is won.

Only, Mavis thinks it is not yet won- there are a bunch more zombies that she turned and that was, well- probably about ten or so turns ago. She’s out by one (and a bit) rounds.

And so, the PCs are swiftly into action, and still moving fast, or as fast as they can go- some of them are roleplaying knackered and broken atm.

We very quickly get to here, with Travis mostly leading the way-

A trio of zombie rotters that need airing out. The Inspectors are on it, and it’s no contest because the zombies are targeted one by one, as instructed by Mavis, who is in charge atm.

You’ll note all the PCs save C-Fax are staying well back from the undead, many of them really can’t take another hit, and so its missile attacks all the way. Except for the paladin of course- “Charge! For Bahamut!” etc.

And then, to here, in a conga-line…

Mavis’ Turn Undead has now run its course, these guys were on their way out to see the Inspectors anyway.

And soon after, and with no new injuries accrued, the Inspectors are done, all enemies are dead.

Here’s the bad guys, right at the end-

Spoiler: The Bad Guys

Enc#26 Hagrid’s Zombie Army 2000 XP CR 11 Deadly.
2x Zombie Corruptors (200xp each) As per MM Zombie except AC 12; Str 16, Dex 13, Con 16, Wis 12; Speed: 40 (they’re fast); Vuln: radiant; Resist: necrotic; Regenerate 1d8/turn unless take radiant damage; Slam- +5 to hit, 1d6+3 bludgeoning; Mote of Corruption- fling rotten flesh up to 50 feet- DC 13 Dex save to avoid taking 2d6+3 necrotic and make DC 13 Con save or Poisoned (till save); Death Burst- DC 13 Con save or 2d6+3 necrotic damage all within 5 feet; 5HD = 5d8+15 HP.
1x Zombie Ogre (450xp) As per MM Zombie Ogre except Vuln: radiant; Resist: necrotic; 9HD = 9d10+36 HP (Con 18).
And when the Inspectors get up the stairs the following additional bad guys come out to play-
15 x Rotten Zombies (40xp each) As per MM Zombie except Con 12 and so HD 3d8+3; Vuln: radiant & Resist: necrotic. They’re falling apart. Note, five of these guys are positioned in a chamber at the bottom of the stairs- behind the PCs.
3 x Zombies (50xp each) As per MM Zombie except Vuln: radiant; Resist: necrotic & better HP spread 3d8+9 = 3d5+18.
1 x Hagrid, Ghoul Deep Gnome (400xp) As per MM Deep Gnome & Ghoul combined except AC 16 Chain shirt Str 15 Dex 14 Con 14 Int 12 Wis 11, Cha 11, Vuln: radiant; Resist: necrotic; Bite & Claws as per Ghoul, and spells as per Deep Gnome; 5 HD & MAX HP = 40.
Also-
1 x Humpydunk the Homunculus (10xp) but he’s going to get away (DM fiat).
Tactics- Kill! Kill! Kill! Mostly, Ogre fight, Corruptors fling and draw PCs up the stair, then unleash all Zombies and KILL! KILL! KILL! Humpydunk escapes (up the stairs) towards the end, while Ghoul Hagrid does a lot of grandstanding (and laughing) and then gets Blurry and goes in for the kill finale.

There is rejoicing, albeit only a modicum of joy allowed because now- the PCs are, at least some of them, out on their feet. Between the five of them they have two potions of healing left (Mavis & Travis) and that’s about it- until they get a long rest in most of them have no way to recover hit points, and McGow and Snakebite are on one hit point apiece.

Note, the next thing that happened, I seem to remember, was a short rest- just to get a few powers back, McGow got his second wind back- used it straight away and rolled a ‘1’. Not a happy dwarf.

But we’ll get to that in the next bit- which is odd, well- slightly odd.

Lots of XP- 400 for each PC, when I originally put this adventure together this was two encounters- the two rot flinging zombies and the ogre zombie, followed by the rest of the undead army upstairs (Hagrid and his zombie friends). The closer the PCs got to this one, the greater my desire to just fling the lot at them in one go.

I was genuinely surprised they all made it through. I didn’t pull any punches and… well, it didn’t help that my top guy-ish, ghoulish Hagrid, missed his attacks and lasted less than ten seconds (game time). Bugger.

Cheers goonalan and the Tokyo Massive.

 

[Goonalan]

Not KotS​

Session #019b: Killing Time.

The Inspectors.
Chromium Malifax aka C-Fax (Rob), Male Silver Dragonborn (Noble) Paladin of Bahamut Level 2
Mavis Golightly aka Mave (Sandy), Female Half-Elf (Acolyte) Cleric of Chauntea Level 2
Arbuthnot McGow aka McGow (Al), Male Mountain Dwarf (Soldier) Fighter Level 2
Snakebite (Kenji), Female Half-Orc (Outlander) Monk Level 2
Travis Pickle (Yui), Male Lightfoot Halfling (Criminal) Rogue Level 2

Dead PCs
The Inspector aka Spek (Kenji), Male Rock Gnome (Charlatan) Sorcerer Level 1- Killed in Session #2 by Eggnog the Kobold Dragon Priest.

To-do list/Quests-
#001 Save Dicky Bird aka The Fat Pidgin, and bring him home safely to Edna Gingster, although Dicky is on his way to the Narthex, which is in the Labyrinth, which is near the Seven Pillared Hall- which is in the Underdark- Bugger. Reward: 2000 XP & 1000gp each.
#002 Find and investigate the ancient dragon burial site Dicky was looking for, he might be there. Reward: 250 XP. COMPLETE
#003 Destroy the kobold menace, including their leader- ‘Chopper.’ Reward: 250 XP & 75gp, with 1gp paid for every kobold tail handed in. COMPLETE
#004 Stop Orcus-worshipping Karl’s ritual to bring an undead army to Kirkgate. Basically, save the village, begs (eventually) Lord Crumble. Karl is in Kirkgate. 1000 XP & 500gp reward.
#005 Find/Save Cheggers. That's it really, the PCs just need to find/save Cheggers (he’s with Karl, if he’s still alive), for Fionulla (the spy). Reward 100 XP.
#006 Find and kill/capture the Bloody Heck- including any leaders. Recover any prisoners they have kidnapped. Reward: 400 XP & 100gp, with 1gp paid for every member of the Bloody Heck confirmed dead or captured.
#007 Find all five symbols of Kurgan Kurgan’s office to open the way below Kirkgate. 1000 XP reward (and the PCs get to keep the items of course). COMPLETE
#008 Save the Lowder’s and their farm from the Bloody Heck slavers. 250 XP reward. COMPLETE

Well, this one was just plain odd for a while.

So, here’s the thing- the Inspectors are broken, or at least Snakebite & McGow are- after a short rest and a second wind for McGow the pair are on one hit point, and five hit points respectively. The PCs have two potions of healing between them- no spells, only short rest powers and… they just can’t go on.

They are definite about this. They need a long rest, and yet… they’re here, and the urge to do something is strong, or else the desire not to retreat is strong.

The Inspectors have also seen and heard Humpydunk, the Homunculus, flutter off up the stairs- to warn evil Karl, and so- the Inspectors also know that they’re expected, and that evil Karl is up the stairs.

So, the consensus therefore is- we’re not going up there. But there’s a reluctance to just head on up and out of here right now- to go back up to Kirkgate, at least not without exploring the area a little better.

This is particularly prevalent to Travis, the halfling rogue is massively disappointed to discover that the undead (dead) have nothing of worth on them, not even dead ghoul Hagrid. Travis gottsta get paid etc. Oh, and the smart money is on Hagrid’s treasure, or else ‘the’ treasure, being in the cavern with the ledge- former home to one of the zombie corruptors. The PCs figure there’s bound to be a back door into this place, and so for want of something better to do- they go looking for it.

Very cautiously.

And slow.

The crypt home of the last zombies to be slaughtered is cautiously investigated- it takes a good five to ten minutes to get this done, nobody is taking any risks. It’s empty, and no other exits- checks for secret or concealed doors are being made. Travis is just looking to get paid.

Note, in some of the pictures the PCs have been distributed in order to light up more of the map. The Inspectors- pretty much all of the time- are exploring this place using their patented ‘gaggle’ formation, i.e. they’re all bunched together- nobody is heading off solo.

Ten (slow) minutes more and we get to here-

And the cells here have been used, and recently, there have been prisoners stored here, although there are none now.

Although, there’s the ragged (and bloodied) remains of a shirt in one of the cells, mixed with rotten straw, and as soon as it is discovered… “CHEGGERS!”

The shirt- according to Fionulla- belonged to her sweet-sweet Cheggers, he wore it all the time.

We break for upset, and more chat- the story is- again, according to Fionulla- Cheggers is likely up the stairs, and… alive. Fionulla has hope- she has to have hope. The Inspectors, some of them with no subtlety at all, express different opinions. Travis is of the opinion that Cheggers is… let’s say- at peace, it’s much nicer than the phrase the halfling rogue actually used.

The upset- from Fionulla- goes on, she’s for heading up the stairs right now, and not retreating to get an extended rest. This opinion, Travis again, is madness. Laughable.

The DM/Fionulla pleads but…

We break for an extended chat, in the end it’s the LG folk that calm the love-lost ranger down, the task at hand needs to be completed, and then a decision needs to be made about what to do next. That decision does not need to be made yet, also there may be other enemies and/or dangers here.

We go on…

And here’s the route the zombie rotters took to get all the way down and behind the Inspectors.

But still, no treasure, and no way into the chamber with the ledge.

And so, all the way back upstairs and…

There’s someone, or else something, right at the top of the stairs- the way out of this place, or at least the route Humpydunk the Homunculus took.

But the Inspectors have been a good thirty minutes exploring so far, and whoever or whatever’s up there is not coming out to play.

Note, several of the PCs try to get a better look at who’s up there (without getting too close)- best guess is, it’s Kurgan Kurgan, but C-Fax (and Mavis) are adamant, the exploration phase continues, although with McGow now watching the Inspectors backs.

Still no treasure, and this was the chamber that Hagrid started in- Travis was certain there’d be something in here. The halfling is getting fractious, like he said earlier (in the opening sessions- and repeatedly since then) he’s not risking his life for the thrill of it all, he demands there be treasure.

And so, we get to here-

After a brief (and almost semi-fatal) attempt to leap from one crumbling sliver of ruined ledge to another (like Tomb Raider) made by Travis (because everyone else refused to even try) with a rope tied around his waist. The Inspectors descend the stairs again and discover that there are convenient crags and handholds running all the way up the wall to the ledge.

They should have checked here first, it would have saved the scrambled acrobatics, athletics and sleight of hand checks that resulted from Travis missing his second leap and leaving the pendulum swinging halfling only just shy of a hefty impact with either the cavern wall or floor.

There was screaming, or else- just one scream. Thanks Yui.

Anyway, Snakebite climbs up with no issues- and then belays a rope down and gets his comrades up.

Cautiously… oh, so cautiously.

Travis screams his delight- the treasure is found, and it’s a haul.

In the hardest to get to crypt there’s a miserable looking patched leather sack, which is later found to be a bag of holding- Travis rips this out of Mavis’ hands when this fact is discovered (and the nature of its magic explained)- “sorry, but this is mine”, is the halflings line- and the little lad’s eyes declare it to be so. The bag has nearly ninety gold in it, and a bunch of jewellery (four items) that looked to have once belonged to the Kurgan family, including a fine broach (which a short while later is also revealed as magical) the others are valuable.

The broach adds +1 to all saves and instigates a Featherfall spell should the wearer either a) drop more than ten feet, or b) whenever the wearer wills it. Once/short rest- I think. I don’t remember who snaffled this, but my money is on… McGow?

And then, after climbing back down and out of the treasure crypt.

The Inspectors head into their discussion- which is a very short event- the question before the committee- “Do we go on or do we rest?”

Rest gets five votes (the PCs), go on- just one, Fionulla.

The ranger screams and rages, but only for a short while, the Inspectors will be back.

Just for info there’s still an hour to go of this session, but…

Next time.

Not much XP for this one- Travis 50 (for never giving up- the little lad’s nose for a pay day is always a pleasure to experience), Snakebite 40, Mavis & McGow 30 & C-Fax 20.

Cheers goonalan and the Tokyo Massive.