carborundum
Adventurer
Oh, I like were-Ram 
The Dark Squad in the Secrets of Saltmarsh #133 Fellowyn's First Massacre.
- Thread starter Goonalan
- Start date
Dark Squad in the Secrets of Saltmarsh
Session #132: The Threat to Saltmarsh.
Dark Squad (in alphabetical order, no egos here).
Daktari/Dak (played by Haggis) Male Human Uthgardt Sky Pony Barbarian Lvl 9
Fellowyn Silverstream (played by George) Male Eladrin Wizard Bladesinger Lvl 9
New Tricks/Newt (played by Bear) Male Tabaxi Warlock Lvl 9
Ramshambo/Ram (played by Kev) Male Half-Elf Rogue/Fighter Lvl 7/2
Vincenzo/Vinnie (played by Haggis) Male Shifter (Wildhunt) Druid Lvl 9
DEAD PCs
NPCs
Ubdug (played by Goonalan) Supreme Being Lvl 2 (When we remember)
*Trapped in the Land of the Bad Dead Ancestors.
Servants/Familiars
Gerald (Bat/Giant Bat) servant/mount of New Tricks
Owly (Owl) Vinnie’s familiar
The Dark Squad’s to-do list-
- Find the other four Symbols of Ub, one was left in Deepbridge (Duergar fortress in the Underdark). The others need to be found, they belonged to- Rambles 'Shambles' Bowspirit (halfling killer from Lowhill), Antonio De La Crane (posh kid druid alchemist) & Giggles (crazy wood elf). All of these folk lived in the Saltmarsh region, the Dark Squad have found the De La Crane Manse (in the Dreadwood) and the De La Crane Crypt (in Saltmarsh Cemetery).
- Nightshade is in the Deep Dreadwood- except she's not there anymore, but a big red dragon is?
- Blackedge and the Goblin Stair?
- To join the Pact of the Wild Flame prepare the Witch's Tor for the coming of the starfall, the Witch's Tor is in the Drowned Forest, in the Mere of the Dead Men.
- To join the Pact of the Wild Flame track down the last member of the Pact, a wild elf adventurer called Giggles- and finally put her spirit to rest, and also recover her maze button. Location unknown. SEE 2. ABOVE.
Here we all are again- and the chatter starts right here, Newt (if you remember) has just managed to kill the Rot Grubs eating their way through his body towards his heart/brain. The hard way. With fire and flame.
Again.
Then- much more chatter, about how the PCs are going to get the ship- The Sea Ghost, back to Saltmarsh- Ram is the only one of the gang who knows how to crew a ship, but even he is no ship’s captain, he’s not an expert at this kind of thing. He used to be a bit of a smuggler and served with Captain Stonebeard (famous-ish Dwarven Smugger/Pirate) for a good while, but again- he’s going to have to re-learn the ropes, or else refresh his skills.
So, chatter.
And here’s the same image in a sort of 3D.
Yikes.
But then the Dark Squad remember that they discovered (last session) a locked away elven prisoner, in one of the secret hatches found in the bulkhead of the ship.
Vinnie is sent to do the talking this time- everyone else, the druid insists, should stay the heck away because, well… they’re all pretty unhinged and/or terrifying.
The elf, it turns out, is a sea elf, and a ranger of his tribe/community, sent to investigate The Sea Ghost, who- the sea elves believe, are arming a Lizardfolk colony (located in the Mere of Dead Men) for war.
Oceanus, the sea elf, goes on to explain that he was captured when he tried to sneak on board the Sea Ghost to ascertain what was going on. He had spotted the Lizardfolk aboard the ship earlier on his patrols.
Vinnie is magnificent, very friendly- informed (the Dark Squad remember have found weapons, maps, payment and a contract aboard the Sea Ghost). The druid and Oceanus get along just fine, soon after the fellow is released (and healed) and brought out to meet the rest of the Squad.
Who have promised to be on their best behaviour.
Here we all are some more.
And it is at this point, during the introductions that Oceanus (and Ram) discover that they know each other.
Oddly, and for flavour, back in Session 20-something one of the PCs was asking about Sea Elves, had any member of the Squad ever met one.
Ram had; he’d served with an aquatic elf back in his time with Captain Stonebeard. His name was…
Oceanus.
Alas, Were-Ram is a lot more sinister than Ramshambow, he’s more and at the same time less chatty than every day Ramshambow.
To explain-
Ramshambow is not the speaker of the group, when called upon to he chats, but otherwise- he doesn’t. Much. Unless he has something that really needs to get said. He’s very big on doing is Ram.
Were-Ram is much chattier, but… he only seems able to chat with himself. Example-
“Ram! RAM! It’s me- Oceanus…”
“It calls us Ram, tee-hee. We are not Ram, and yet we are Ram- we were Ram, now we are Were Ram! Tee hee!”
Which is nice. But it gets the conversation nowhere.
So, that kind of thing, multiplied by plenty.
With lots more chatter about Lizardfolk, and… well, any time they can the Dark Squad- and in particular Vinnie and Newt roll out their story again, or else some more.
So, nearly an hour later- real time, and after a much-needed night’s sleep for the Squad, Newt is sent back to Saltmarsh on his flying broom.
There, and remarkably quickly (money talks), he hires a fishing vessel (‘The Salty Squid’) to sail out to The Sea Ghost, and from their help to crew/pilot the boat into Saltmarsh harbour, and a safe berth.
This, of course, takes all day and some of the evening.
The Dark Squad however are in a rush.
Vinnie, or else Councilor De La Crane, manages to wangle an emergency meeting with Eda Oweland, the head of the Saltmarsh Council.
The cranky old biddy is, at the start of the chatter, more than a little scathing, the feeling is the Dark Squad have brought the present terror to Saltmarsh, before they turned up life was pretty good around here. Some folks had a few problems with the dwarves of Farhill Mine, and there was a bit of smuggling going on, but… other than that- Saltmarsh was a great place to live.
Since the Dark Squad got here, we’ve had stories of ancient prophecies, something called the “Time of Ash”, all sorts of dangerous humanoid activity in the region, then a Kraken turns up accompanied by a bunch of Storm Lord worshipping terrors, and now…
Vinnie patiently explains that a tribe of ferocious man-eating Lizardfolk are arming to invade Saltmarsh.
It’s all a bit too much for Eda.
Eda has a bit of a tirade, but…
Lots of chatter follows- every one of the PCs tries to convince Eda of the truth, and about the Dark Squad’s part in all of this.
Success after success follows, it’s only Fellowyn that fails this check- and while he was his usual random self, he was telling the truth throughout his heartfelt statement, shame he rolled a ‘1’.
Eda is assured, and suitably terrified at the prospect of an invasion.
She arranges for the Dark Squad to be paid for the various items of contraband secured when they captured the Sea Ghost, and then goes further- she pays them another 1,000gp (of her own money). To send the Dark Squad back to sea, to locate the Lizardfolk’s lair and to neutralise the tribe/army.
Eda wants the Lizardfolk menace destroyed.
The Dark Squad are officially rich-ish. The takings from the ship amount to nearly five thousand GP, that’s a thousand each. Some of these guys have not a thousand gold in their pockets for a very (very) long time.
That, although it’s hard to believe, took us to 10.30 PM, note the PCs in conversation with Eda Oweland did allow the PCs to go through their whole story (all the way from the beginning) again. It needs to be said- they like telling their story, now that it has started to make sense to them, now that they have refined it.
It goes a little like this-
We are stuck in some sort of recurring prophecy, seemingly working at the behest of an ancient primordial being- called Ub. Anyway, the prophecy overlaps many different races, species, peoples, places and/or tribes- it all started with the ancient elves’ war against the dragons, back then it was called the Pact of the Flame. Regardless, the prophecy plays out and eventually a great primordial serpent, or else a very big dragon, turns up and… probably eats the world. This is called the Time of Ash, or the Time of Shadow. We think.
The great serpent is called Dendrar, or else the great dragon is called Ashardalon. Regardless, it all started here- in the region of Saltmarsh, only way back when- in very ancient times when the elves lived here (the first people). This same prophecy has been played out every two hundred or so years for the last thirty millennia, give or take.
There are lots of bad guys in the mix- but mainly (so far) Talos worshipping beasts. They’re all coming here for some reason (see above).
So, here we are- the Dark Squad, trying to save Saltmarsh, trying to save the world.
Last bit, Vinnie casts a Divination spell, he's after info from the gods about the planned Lizardfolk invasion of Saltmarsh, this is the reply he receives-
“The Lizardfolk WILL come soon to Saltmarsh, with a familiar black shadow at their heels.
But only when all of your wrongs have been righted, the hands found, the beacon lit and the signal sent.
Respect your Elders and you could perhaps turn the tide.”
And that’s all we did, save to make a few more PCs for our other game in the last 20-30 minutes of the session.
Stay safe and well you lovely people.
Cheers the Dark Squad and goonalan.
carborundum
Adventurer
Nice spot of prophecy!
HalfOrc HalfBiscuit
Adventurer
I'm all caught up again after a rather long hiatus - and in truth it was great fun to have multiple sessions to read through all at once(ish). Loving Were-Ram; the party definitely needed another creepy psychopath .
I still have no idea where the story is going, but I can't wait to find out.
.I still have no idea where the story is going, but I can't wait to find out.
Dark Squad in the Secrets of Saltmarsh
Session #133: Fellowyn’s First Massacre.
Dark Squad (in alphabetical order, no egos here).
Daktari/Dak (played by Haggis) Male Human Uthgardt Sky Pony Barbarian Lvl 9
Fellowyn Silverstream (played by George) Male Eladrin Wizard Bladesinger Lvl 9
New Tricks/Newt (played by Bear) Male Tabaxi Warlock Lvl 9
Ramshambo/Ram (played by Kev) Male Half-Elf Rogue/Fighter Lvl 7/2
Vincenzo/Vinnie (played by Haggis) Male Shifter (Wildhunt) Druid Lvl 9
DEAD PCs
NPCs
Ubdug (played by Goonalan) Supreme Being Lvl 2 (When we remember)
*Trapped in the Land of the Bad Dead Ancestors.
Servants/Familiars
Gerald (Bat/Giant Bat) servant/mount of New Tricks
Owly (Owl) Vinnie’s familiar
The Dark Squad’s to-do list-
- Find the other four Symbols of Ub, one was left in Deepbridge (Duergar fortress in the Underdark). The others need to be found, they belonged to- Rambles 'Shambles' Bowspirit (halfling killer from Lowhill), Antonio De La Crane (posh kid druid alchemist) & Giggles (crazy wood elf). All of these folk lived in the Saltmarsh region, the Dark Squad have found the De La Crane Manse (in the Dreadwood) and the De La Crane Crypt (in Saltmarsh Cemetery).
- Nightshade is in the Deep Dreadwood- except she's not there anymore, but a big red dragon is?
- Blackedge and the Goblin Stair?
- To join the Pact of the Wild Flame prepare the Witch's Tor for the coming of the starfall, the Witch's Tor is in the Drowned Forest, in the Mere of the Dead Men.
- To join the Pact of the Wild Flame track down the last member of the Pact, a wild elf adventurer called Giggles- and finally put her spirit to rest, and also recover her maze button. Location unknown. SEE 2. ABOVE.
That said, we did get quite a bit done.
We’re getting there.
We got this done in the first half of the session.
My favourite (name) is Dreary Fallenleaf, I reckon s/he’s going to be a bundle of fun.
We’ll get to this. In a bit.
So, what did we do…
First off was a discussion about last session’s Divination-style prophecy (of sorts), thusly-
“The Lizardfolk WILL come soon to Saltmarsh, with a familiar black shadow at their heels.
But only when all of your wrongs have been righted, the hands found, the beacon lit- the signal sent.
Respect your Elders and you could turn the tide.”
So, here’s the Dark Squad interpretation of the above.
Newt thinks the ‘familiar black shadow’ is… “US! The Dark Squad!”
Ram likes the idea.
Alas Vinnie, Fellowyn (& Dak) think the ‘familiar black shadow’ is Ashardalon, or else the coming of the time of shadow/ash.
No-one has any clue as to what wrongs the Dark Squad need to right- they are, in their own words, just about perfect.
They do however very much want the ‘hands found’, that’s part of one of the earlier prophecies.
They also… maybe, remember something about having to light a beacon, or else send a signal.
But… it’s gone.
As to respecting their Elders, and turning the tide, well… that’s just a flowery GM, apaz.
Vinnie briefly goes off on one- extrapolating the Divination into some apocalyptic cosmic dream he had one lonely night, when he’d overdone the cheese. The DM allows him to ramble for a while before pointing out that the Divination spell only deals with events in the next seven-or-so days.
So, not Vinnie’s end of the world cheese dream then.
At least not yet.
We move on.
Here’s a bit of the area map, the Lizardfolk lair is just by the Hool River.
But first, the Sea Ghost needs a crew.
And so, four days are spent on and around the docks of Saltmarsh- interviewing and hiring. And keep in mind this activity took four days (the max amount of time I allotted for the activity) because the Dark Squad’s collective rolls were so bad/low.
Eventually we get the following crew on the roster-
Captain: Lionell Crabb, a portly old-ish geezer with a way with words.
First Mate: Bryan Ferry, he has a lovely singing voice, a great motivator.
Bosun: Reuben Malfoi, a good man but of sinister appearance.
Quartermaster: Ol’ Whale, a big fat good ol’ boy.
Cook: Chipper Goldheart, a chattering halfling gossip.
Crew (Hands):
Hector Pugwash, a local lad.
Short Dave Bronze- he loves his suntan.
Velma Four-Teeth Lynk, knows the local tides.
One-Eared Holt, a big strong lad- handy in a bust-up.
Lefty Hathershaw, has a hook in place of his left hand.
Little Al’ Fish, aka The Weatherman.
Handsy Dave, can get a bit fresh.
& Sinbad Smith, an ex-accountant.
Then, we set sail- the Sea Ghost is on its maiden voyage- this after an extended discussion between the newly hired Captain, Lionell Crabb and the Squad. It seems the Squad have not taken all they should into consideration. Captain Crabb points out that just pulling the Sea Ghost up to the shore next to the Lizardfolk’s lair, letting the Dark Squad off, and then buggering off may not be all of the plan.
So, what happens is this- the Sea Ghost sails to the area in question, although a good distance offshore, Newt- on his Flying Broom, and with Gerald (his pet Giant Bat/Bat) instigated, do the recon. In truth it’s mostly Gerald doing the dangerous stuff.
The lair is found, and over several hours, thoroughly investigated.
This concealed entrance has a large reinforced wooden door, which has been (unsuccessfully) hidden from casual observers.
That didn’t work.
Good work Gerald, and Newt.
Next comes a hurried discussion about what the Dark Squad know about Lizardfolk- the question is- are they blessed with Darkvision, if not the time for action is midnight tonight.
The Squad are certain that the Lizardfolk do not have Darkvision, therefore a message is sent (via fish messenger, courtesy of Vinnie) to Oceanus. The Sea Elves, as agreed previously, will make the diversionary attack on the Lizardfolk sea cave at midnight tonight.
The rest is the waiting and then towards ‘go-time’ the casting of a variety of power-ups and buffs.
It takes two castings of Water Walk and Pass Without A Trace but the Dark Squad make their way unspotted (they think) from the Sea Ghost to the shore, much easier for Newt of course, he’s flying.
Note, I roll for random encounters every time Newt goes off on his broom, or Gerald goes recon, or as now- when six strange looking folk (including Ubdug remember) go skipping across the waves to the shore. Not an everyday sight, but… it’s dark at night, and there’s only a fingernail of moon.
And with Pass Without A Trace… Sheesh. Ram’s Stealth check was over 40.
We swiftly (after lots more rolls-Stealth, Survival rolls etc.) get to here-
The (formerly) concealed entrance to the Lizardfolk’s lair.
En route Fellowyn has been toasted and welcomed proper to the Dark Squad, this is a big day for the ancient Eladrin Wizard- his first ever genocide/massacre, the Dark Squad are old hands at this kind of thing.
Newt even says a few words- they’re not pleasant, mostly imprecations of death, blood, fire and destruction, as pep talks go…
Oddly the big wooden door isn’t even locked, or barred- and there are no traps. Ram, very silently (Stealth 36), enters in.
There’s a guardroom, with Lizardfolk (Draconic) chatter within.
Ram signals his companions to the ready, and then…
Let the massacre begin.
Ram shoots the nearest Lizardfolk in the back, killing it in an instant.
Daktari dodges in and unleashes a Fireball, he has a Necklace of the same, although with only a couple of beads left now.
Lizardfolk scream and/or explode into flame.
The barbarian notes there’s a robed Lizardfolk over the far side of the chamber.
Fellowyn shoots a couple of the buggers, Vinnie drops a Spike Growth a little further into the lair- because the rest of the tribe are going to be rushing here very soon.
There’s just two of the poor buggers left standing, both of them screaming in pain from the Fireball.
Surprise round over.
End of the session.
Stay safe and well you lovely people.
Cheers the Dark Squad and goonalan.
carborundum
Adventurer
It'll be nice for them to fight stuff with less than several hundred hit points for a change
... until the LIZARD-SWAT team arrives then
... until the LIZARD-SWAT team arrives then
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