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Message: <blockquote data-quote="prabe" data-source="post: 8147008" data-attributes="member: 7016699">Session 23: Evils Along the Way; Also, a New Traveling CompanionDramatis Personae:Mo - Goliath Bard (College of Lore)Orryk - Forest Gnome Monk (Way of the Four Elements, variant)Fiona - Half-Elf Wizard (Evoker)/Cleric (Knowledge)Taman - Human (variant) Rogue (Inquisitive)/RangerJoybell - Forest Gnome Paladin (Oath of the Ancients)Thneed - Wood Elf Ranger (Hunter Conclave)GM - Everyone Else20 Sicklin 748 (Campaign day 51) (immediately after)We resumed proceeding toward the next town, with Taman scouting ahead as he had been. The rest of the day passed uneventfully.The next town, Namolla, was quite small -- it had only one inn, the Green Stone. Mo didn’t feel like playing in the evening -- even bards need the day off once in a while.In the common area of the tavern, we saw a wood elf in studded leather armor who looked like she’d been on the road for a while. Joybell went over to talk to her.Joybell: Hi! Have you been travelling on the road?Thneed: No. I came through the mountains.Joybell: Oh. Well have you seen any big people wearing masks?Thneed: Nothing like that.We learned that she was trying to find information about (and perhaps find) the hobgoblins who had destroyed her village. Joybell told him we were going after the people who had destroyed her village. We eventually learned that her name is Thneed and she’s a ranger. She noted Taman’s longbow and commented on both of them being archers.Taman: I used to hit things with my sword until they started hitting back.We talked for a bit and all introduced ourselves. Thneed offered to come with us to fight the things we’re fighting (the Masks, which we explained a bit to him about) and we said we’d help her with the hobgoblins after the Masks were killed -- but we feel a bit of time-pressure there. We talked and ate dinner and relaxed together.As it got toward time to rest, Joybell went to talk to Orryk, quietly.Joybell: Do we want to invite her into our tiny hut? I mean she seems nice and all but we just met her.Orryk: She probably has her own room.Joybell, to Thneed: Do you have a room?Thneed: I’ll get one…Joybell followed her over to the innkeeper so she could ask if he’d seen any Masks lately. The answer was in line with those she’d gotten elsewhere -- they came in a few weeks ago for breakfast of oatmeal and black coffee, but didn’t stay in the inn, and were super creepy.We rested for the night -- with the party in one of the three rooms we took in Fiona’s tiny hut with an alarm spell and Thneed in her own room.The night passed without incident.21 Sicklin 748 (Campaign day 52)We found Thneed at breakfast the next morning and we all headed out together. Taman scouted ahead without us discussing it, going ahead at about the range of the Cape of the Mountebank, as he had been.The first half of the day passed uneventfully. As we walked, we told Thneed about some of what we’d encountered and done. She told us about the hobgoblins that attacked her village -- and about hobgoblins in general.Joybell: Are they always bad people? We’ve met some orcs that were lovely.After we stopped for lunch, Taman returned from scouting ahead to report that there were 9 bugbears and 2 ogres guarding a bridge ahead of us.We talked for a bit about going around them, fording the stream, but that violates the “don’t leave bad guys to come back and fight us later when it will only be worse” rule.Orryk: If they just want a toll, we can pay them.Joybell: That’s true.Mo: Hey, New Girl! You could go talk to them…We prepared for combat but continued right up the road, with Joybell front and center. We stopped when they were within shouting range.Joybell: Hello there!Bugbear: Hello, Rider of Wolf.Joybell: Oh, I like that!Joybell talked with them a bit and established that they wanted a 2gp per entity crossing the bridge (including Scooby) toll. They also said that this was the realm of the Red Bone Tribe, a tribe of hobgoblins, which was at least unexpected -- this part of the continent is all city-states and very loosely organized, but something that called itself a tribe controlling a road like this seemed unlikely. And something was making Joybell think that this might have to do with the destruction of Thneed’s village.Joybell, to the bugbear: Moment while I consult with my friends.She turned back to the party and we caucused.Joybell: We could pay and just cross and move along.Mo: It would violate our one and only rule…In order to get more information, Joybell turned back to the bugbear:Joybell: So if we pay you we can cross with no difficulties and continue on our way.Bugbear: You, probably. The Red Bones are gonna eat your partner <<indicating Thneed>> alive, though.Joybell: They eat elves?Bugbear: That was what you might call a metaphor.Joybell: Oh. Are y’all all hired hands? We don’t necessarily have a beef with you, though we might with them.Bugbear: The big guys are hired hands. We’re more what you’d call kin. Cousins.Joybell: Oh. Then if we have a beef with them, we do have a beef with you. Moment.She went back to the others and explained the situation.Orryk: What’s rule #1?While Joybell was explaining things to the party, Taman cast hail of thorns and fired his longbow at the ogre on this side of the bridge (Ogre 1).Joybell, to the bugbear: Sorry! I think we’re not going to pay.Taman hit with his spell but did a miniscule amount of damage.Thneed put a hunter’s mark on the bugbear Joybell spoke to (henceforth the “Chief”) and shot at him. She also got to shoot at the guy next to the Chief as well (because Hunter Conclave rangers get an awesome ability called Horde Breaker). So cool! Then she took her second attack and also shot at the Chief and the guy next to him, getting two critical hits with her four arrows.Orryk shot two arrows at the Chief and got two hits. Then he moved off the road into the forest where he’d be in with a chance of finding a bit of cover. Mo pulled out the wand of web and dropped the web so that it was on Bugbears #6 and #8 and Ogre 1 -- it made the end of the bridge and some of the road difficult terrain.Mo: Good job shooting, New Girl!Then he inspired Thneed. He also considered moving forward.Joybell, as Mo was about to pass her: Forward the bard? Bold choice.Mo decided to stay behind her.The Chief then moved up, well ahead of the rest of his forces, and attacked Joybell twice, getting one hit.In response, Joybell attacked him twice getting a hit and calling down the power of nature into her sword. Despite seeing that he was pretty thoroughly injured, she used a powerful divine smite (2nd level), because she hoped it would be demoralizing to the other bugbears and maybe the ogres to have their leader dropped easily and quickly.The other bugbears, at this point, hadn’t even had a chance to react to Taman’s hail of thorns.Fiona moved up only as far as necessary and cast Toll the Dead on Ogre 1, then she moved off into the forest to find some cover. Taman put his hunter’s mark on Ogre 1 and took a shot at it, but missed.The bugbears from the near side of the bridge (#3, #6, #7, #8) got out of the web and its difficult terrain and moved up the road as far as they could before throwing javelins at Joybell -- fortunately most of them missed. The bugbears from the back of the bridge (#1, #2, #5, #4) jumped over the side of the bridge at the edge of the webbing and splashed up the banks of the river and through the wood, advancing as far as they could. Ogre 1 ran as fast as it could to get in front of Joybell. Ogre 2 moved into and part way through the webbed area.Thneed moved her hunter’s mark to #3 and shot at him and Ogre 1, hitting both, because of Mo’s inspiration. She dropped #3 and did a lot of damage to the ogre, but doesn’t have as much knowledge of them as she has of bugbears, hobgoblins and other humanoids.Orryk put his bow away and moved up to punch #4 twice, doing a lot of damage. Then he settled into his defensive stance.Mo puffed on his pipe for a bit and then played a little song -- the smoke swirled up into the air and lit up with bright colors, like fireworks in a fog, and cast hypnotic pattern, catching everyone but #4 and #5 in the area. Both ogres began staring at the pretty lights. #6 and #1 both saved. #7, #8 and #1 were all incapacitated by the spell.Joybell carefully rode around Ogre 1, so she wouldn’t snap him out of his daze, and attacked #6, intending to take down the able bodied (or able minded) so they wouldn’t shake their incapacitated friends out of the spell’s hold. She hit him pretty well, but didn’t drop him.Fiona cast scorching ray and got one hit on #1. Taman took a shot at #5 which didn’t look like it was in with a chance, but there was some sort of lucky break and it hit after all and hit a particularly sensitive spot because the bugbear was off guard.#1 moved to attack Orryk and missed. Which was brilliant for our side, because it meant he was not spending his action shaking one of the others out of looking at the lights. #4 attacked Orryk as well and also missed. #5 attacked Joybell and missed.#6 didn’t attack Joybell, who was right in front of him, but instead went to go after Taman. Joybell took a swing at him as he moved away, hitting him but not enough to drop him or stop him moving. Its swing at Taman hit a critical spot and was going to do a huge amount of damage, until Mo said some cutting words and blew a puff of smoke into his face.The ogres spent their turn dazed by Mo’s lights.Thneed put her hunter’s mark on #1 then took advantage of him and #4 standing next to each other to shoot both of them, hitting both and dropping #4. Then she shot #1 again with her second attack and dropped it. Nice shooting again, New Girl!Orryk ran over to help Joybell with #6, throwing a couple of daggers at it off his belt. Then he missed with both of his flurry of blows punches.Orryk: Joybell, go help Taman.Before she could do that, though, Mo used three charges from the wand of magic missiles on #6 on Taman’s and dropped it.Taman: Thanks, Mo!Then Mo moved up so he was in range to use his cutting words on anything that attacked Joybell.Since Taman didn’t need assistance anymore, Joybell took a swing at #6, dropping it. She used the power of the sword of the medic to heal Taman some of the damage he’d taken. Then she took a swing at #2, who was incapacitated by Mo’s spell, but missed him. Sadly.At that point, all that were left were incapacitated opponents thanks to Mo’s hypnotic pattern. #8 was knocked out of his trance by a shot from Thneed and then the first thing he saw was a gnome running toward him throwing daggers. This was also the last thing he saw because Orryk dropped him.Orryk then took a swing at the next incapacitated guy along, #7, and missed.Mo moved up and, trying to look cool for the new girl, took a shot at #7 with his crossbow and missed wildly. Joybell rode over to #7 on Scooby and missed with her first swing -- fortunately her second hit and we all had our next target. Everyone dogpiled on #7 until Taman dropped it with a bowshot that hit caught it unawares.Thneed moved her hunter’s mark to Ogre 1 and hit with both shots, giving us our next target. Orryk dropped him. Then Orryk moved over to Ogre 2 and punched him in the back of the knee -- target acquired.Mo took another shot with his crossbow and missed again. Joybell rode Scooby over to Ogre 2 and hit with both of her attacks. Then Fiona cast shadowbolt on it, causing it to moan in pain and hold its head (psychic damage) as it fell to the ground, dropping everything it was holding. Taman moved up and stabbed it with his rapier in a great sneak attack, but didn’t manage to drop it.The ogre then stood up and grabbed his club, the first of the ones incapacitated by Mo’s hypnotic pattern to survive long enough to do anything. He swung his massive club at Orryk and missed.Thneed fired an arrow at it and finally dropped it.We took a short rest there at the bridge, just to gather ourselves. We also looted the bodies and found 110 gp among them, Thneed went around and carved her name on the heads of all of the dead, making her mark on entities that had called themselves kin to hobgoblins.We talked about possibly pursuing the Red Bones while we were here -- since they seem to be connected at least to the destruction of Thneed’s village by hobgoblins. But we still have this hot lead on the Masks -- and we have the sense that the longer we wait the more of them will be -- so we decided to continue on our way to the Forge of Masks and deal with the Red Bones on the way back to Pelsoreen.Taman and Thneed did look for tracks. Taman spotted that there had been a lot of movement on this road, and even some repairs to the bridge, recently. The tracks were going the way we’re headed. Which worked out well all around.Before we continued on our way, Mo used the flute of scribing to leave a message in glowing letters on the ground:We were here. If you’re looking for us, ask for Thneed.We then headed back on our way, with Taman doing his his scouting ahead thing.We were talking as we walked, learning a little bit about our new companion.Thneed: I’ve already gotten to kill things associated with hobgoblins. This is good!Mo: So you have your reward and don’t need a share of the treasure…Joybell: Mo W. Kang!About an hour and a half later, Taman blundered out of the woods and onto the road only to spot, about 300 feet away, a group of eight hobgoblins marching down the road in two regimented columns behind an ogre. They all spotted him immediately.Taman turned around and used the cape of the mountebank to bamf away, leaving a puff of smoke behind.He reappeared among the party, smoke swirling off the cape.Taman: So there’s a bunch of guys up there and they saw me. They had really good eyes.We decided to stand where we were and wait for them to arrive. There was forest on either side of the road, thinner in a border along the roadside, then thicker and more difficult further away. (Note: It was difficult terrain, but it did give advantage on stealth checks.)Joybell stayed in the middle of the road on Scooby waiting for them. The rest of the party moved off the road and hid.A little bit later the group showed up - spread out more than they had been when Taman initially spotted them, but still marching in two columns with the ogre in the middle in the front and the two “special” ones in the back. Very regimented.The hobgoblins’ armor was very well cared for and very clean. There were six in chainmail with shields (all with the same emblem on them), one in half plate armor (made of smaller plates that strapped together), and one in studded leather. The ogre’s crude hide armor (like skins tied on with sinew) was, on the other hand, not well-maintained and had no emblem. (6 hobgoblins, 1 hobgoblin captain (half-plate), 1 hobgoblin devastator (studded leather), 1 ogre)As they approached it didn’t appear that they had spotted any of the folks who were hiding. Which was good.Orryk and Taman started firing arrows at the ogre, because he was the one in range--softening him up but also revealing their location, at least in a general sense.Mo cast hypnotic pattern, because it’s amazing, on the ogre and the front two hobgoblins -- the glowing sparkling smoke captivated and incapacitated all three of them.The hobgoblin captain had a good sense of what he needed to do to get his forces functional again, so he moved up as far as he could, then grabbed some rocks off the road and threw them at his men. That shook the two hobgoblins out of their stupor almost immediately.Instead of shooting at the ogre, Thneed took advantage of two of the hobgoblins having moved closer together to use her horde breaker ability to drop both of them. Nicely done.The hobgoblin in the studded leather armor, the devastator, surprised everyone by casting a spell that shot a point of green light over the road to where Orryk, Thneed and Mo were in the underbrush off to the side. The point of light exploded into a spray of acid that covered all three of them. Orryk managed to dance out of the spray, but Mo and Thneed were both injured. Fortunately, Mo was able to keep up the hypnotic pattern on the ogre.Joybell, still trying to internalize the concept of letting the enemy come to her rather than charging into the battle, waited while the hobgoblins ran toward her, closing part of the distance on Scooby, but not rushing into the thick of them. Unable to restrain herself from doing anything, she threw a javelin at one of the hobgoblins.With the ogre incapacitated, thanks to Mo and his spell, Taman and Orryk turned to shooting at the hobgoblins. Taman focused on the spellcasting devastator, but wasn’t able to take out the otherwise uninjured opponent. Orryk dropped one of the regular ones, which helped thin the opposition.The captain, having succeeded in waking his own hobgoblins with the thrown rocks, threw one at the ogre, rousing him from Mo’s hypnotic spell as well. Dammit.Mo tried to slow them down or tie them up with the wand of web -- blocking part of the road with the mass of webbing. Or trying to -- the ogre waded right into it, and was bogged down by it even though he didn’t get totally stuck.Thneed, seeing the same danger from the spellcaster that Taman did, shot twice at the devastator, but unfortunately didn’t do enough damage to drop it.It was especially unfortunate, because the devastator then cast a fireball right on top of Joybell and Scooby, causing Scooby to disappear back to wherever celestial wolves go and doing Joybell a lot of damage. Also causing Joybell to be really really angry because they killed her wolf.Fiona, having flown up into the air, shot magic missiles at the devastator, and took out the biggest threat (or at least the most annoying one). Excellent!The remaining hobgoblins ran around the web, to avoid getting stuck, but it kept them from being able to attack Joybell. Which suited her fine. She attacked one of them and focused the power of divine nature on it which dropped it.With the spellcaster gone, Taman turned his focus to the captain of this squad hoping to cut off the head. The captain, looking at the situation, decided against running up to Orryk (the closest of us to him) and being unable to attack. He may also have decided that with all of his men (except the ogre) dropped and a clearly dangerous force (us) on the road, that he needed to go back to whatever base he had and report this situation. In any case, he turned and ran.Mo: Now we have to kill this guy.Taking that cue, Thneed shot the captain twice and dropped him.GM: Shot in the back while running away.But with her hatred of hobgoblins, Thneed was fine with that.The ogre, who thrashed around trying to get free and wound out getting thoroughly stuck in the web, was finally dispatched by one of Fiona’s firebolts -- it ignited the webbing and killed him at the same time so he went up in a big immolating fire.Joybell started casting find steed so she could get Scooby back before the fire had burned itself out. We wound out taking a short rest so people could gather themselves and recover a bit. Mo played us a nice song of rest on his flute then went off to look at the armor.The regular troops in the unit were wearing chainmail and carrying shields. Their shields were decorated with a red femur-like bone. The captain and the devastator had the same logo on epaulettes.Mo, to Thneed: I have three charges on the flute of scribing. Is there any particular threatening message you’d like to send?They talked for a bit and settled on:Suicidal hobgoblins, look for Thneed.We also looted the bodies, finding 90 electrum pieces and 70 gold.Less than an hour of travel after we got going again, we realized we were approaching the next town along the road.Orryk: ... which is filled with Red Bones.GM: As it turns out, yes.Taman, scouting ahead, could see that the hobgoblins had started building fortifications, but hadn’t gotten too far along. It looked as though the Red Bone hobgoblins (and their associated bugbear cousins, and maybe more ogre hirelings) had just moved into the town. It was a bit ominous that one of the first things they put, prominently, in the town was a headsman’s block in a public place.We decided to make camp outside of town, well off the road, in Fiona’s tiny hut. We decided on a new “standard watch order”: gnomes first, then Mo and Thneed, then Taman and Fiona.During the third watch, Fiona spotted seven bugbears circling around the hut curiously -- two of them were right outside, the others were a little further away.Treasure170 gp (28 each with 2 left to restock the party kitty)90 ep (15 each)Party Kitty update:2gp, 3 sp, and 14 cp.</blockquote>

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