Forrester's Against the Elves Campaign

[Morrow]

One will fall.

I'm strong (very stong for my weight): anyone want to worship me?

Unfortunately most of the party is spoken for. You might try Atarax, he doesn't seem to be tied down to any particular philosophy or god. He might be interested in incognito-ism.

We spent the entire session last night in combat with Garyark (or Gariarch, if you prefer) and his lackeys. We fought hard, but our tactics left something to be desired. And one party member paid the ultimate price!

Morrow

 

[Forrester]

Yeah, that was one long battle.

Suspense? You want suspense?

Hmph. Fine.

*goes back to work in a huff*

 

[Morrow]

Well, there goes the suspense.

Morrow

 

[Morrow]

Against the Elves session 5

Rhuun, seeing the skeletons mobbing one of Gariarch’s lieutenants ineffectually moved to take advantage of the chaos. She ran, leaping over a firepit and tumbling between the skeletons to get in position for a lethal double strike with axe and dagger. She was able to use the distraction caused by the skeletons to strike at the lieutenant's vitals. However, he struck back viciously with his spiked chain.

Thar, still invisible, moved behind Rhuun to heal her. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Gariarch and his other lieutenants skillfully plucking Foleful’s summoned stirges off of Gariarch’s neck and shoulders and smashing them. Atarax, too stepped behind Rhuun, liberally using his healing wand and protection from evil spell to keep her in the fight.

Kriggle charged Gariarch, doing considerable damage. Unfortunately, the skillful bugbear was able to disarm Kriggle and the kobald paladin was temporarily distracted as he scrambled for his lance.

While the battle raged Foleful moved to further neutralize Gariarch’s bugbear followers. A pair of stinking clouds at either end of the cavern incapacitated most of the bugbears. No one seemed to notice that the vile clouds were also effecting the goblin slaves chained to the walls. The center of the cavern, the only part relatively clear of confused, nauseated bugbears became a killing field. Foleful cast a grease spell beneath Gariarch’s feet, but the bugbear nimbly leapt aside.

Krikara left off firing at the bugbear minions to fire an arrow enchanted with a darkness spell at Gariarch. As he disappeared in a globe of darkness she scampered across the ceiling, looking for a new hiding place. It was not lost on the darkcreeper that with his spiked chain Gariarch, if he got close enough, could pluck her off the ceiling and send her tumbling into the cavern below.

Kriggle, having retrieved his lance, charged the lieutenant who had been helping Gariarch while Mikek stepped up to assist Rhuun. Thar left Rhuun in Atarax’s care to heal Kriggle as he prepared for another attack.

At the same moment Gariarch appeared. Clearly healed, he flew out of the stinking cloud sailing over the party’s heads. The lieutenants turned their full attention to Kriggle and Mikek, but it was for not. Bolstered by Atarax’s singing, a devastating series of blows from Kriggle’s lance and an arrow from Krikara’s bow brought down the two formidable adversaries, and the party turned their attention toward Gariarch.

 

[Morrow]

Unfortunately the tide of battle had separated the group. Mikek, Bloody Pulp, Rhuun, and most of the skeletons were engaged by a group of bugbears while the rest of the party engaged Gariarch. Foleful cast an ice knife and the chill weapon noticeably slowed the massive bugbear’s movements, but not enough as he engaged Kriggle. The kobald paladin attempted another series of blows with his lance, only to see them turned aside and to receive a devistating blow from Gariarch’s spiked chain.

Thar seized the opportunity and stepped behind the bugbear leader, casting inflict critical wounds. The goblin cleric felt dismay as his opponent resisted much of the potent spell. Thar saw Rhuun cut down another bugbear in a desperate rush to get to him. However, Gariarch ignored to goblin to turn his attention on Kriggle, a massive blow sent the kobald’s shattered body flying from his steed to land in an unceremonious heap on the ground. Gariarch did not pause an instant before striking down another cloud of Foleful’s summoned stirges.

And thus the tide of battle turned. Rhuun and Kriggle’s steed both suffered terrible wounds. Foleful and Thar attempted to keep the pressure on Gariarch with an ice knife and another inflict critical wounds, but they could not stop the bugbear. Thar noticed Mikek, across the cavern, drink a potion and disappear as Thar himself turned to run from Gariarch. Thar felt the bugbear’s wicked spiked chain brush by his ankles, but avoided the attempt to trip him.

Gariarch observed his foes, and then considered his own wounds and flew back to drink a potion. The enraged Mighty Steed attempted to follow, and Foleful sent another ice knife after him so Gariarch called his remaining followers around him. The party immediately dropped another stinking cloud and darkness around the bugbears, and Krikara and Bloody Pulp cut down the bugbears who could not return to the group. Foleful noticed the disapearence of Mikek and started cursing, “I told you we couldn’t trust him! I’m going to kill him!”

Igor and Bloody Pulp set to work finishing off bugbears incapacitated by the earlier stinking clouds while the party dropped back toward the exit. Thar arranged the remaining skeletons in a line at the edge of the darkness and he and Atarax turned their attention to healing Rhuun’s wounds. When the healing was complete the party prepared their missile weapons and prepared for the inevitable charge.

And it came. The skeletons stopped the charging bugbears momentarily, but were no barrier to the flying Gariach. Thar’s dispel magic brought Gariarch to the ground. Krikara struck a telling blow with her bow, as Rhuun’s handcrossbow, and Thar’s sling also inflicted minor wounds. Foleful’s ice knife missed Gariarch and exploded, showering him in icy shards.

Many of the skeletons were destroyed and the bugbears charged the party’s line, but a couple skeletons engaged bugbears in the magical darkness. The party battled the bugbears while Atarax blew his horn of good, protecting the party.

[Game note: At this point I commented that if the skeletons lasted any longer, I’d have to give them names. Although the skeletons could inflict very little damage on the well armored bugbears, they did serve as a useful distraction, and the bugbears just couldn’t get through their impressive 13 armor class.]

Gariarch charged into the fray, striking Foleful with his chain and disrupting the xvart’s spell. Foleful attempted to flee, but Gariarch’s chain flicked out, knocking the xvart from his perch atop his flying elemental familiar.

Inside the darkness, a single skeleton fought with its bugbear opponent.

Thar attempted to strike back, casting contagion on Gariarch, but ducking and weaving under the bugbear’s lethal chain he was unable to concentrate on the spell. Thar attempted to flee only to be tripped and struck by the ever present chain. Rhuun landed a blow on Gariarch, momentarily distracting him while Atarax threw a vial of alchemist fire on the bugbear and Krikara fired struck their formidable opponent with several arrows. At that moment Mighty Steed, almost forgotten with the death of his master charged Gariarch from behind, buying precious seconds for the withdrawing party. Thar, closely followed by Rhuun, lead the charge to the rear.

Gariarch yelled threats at the retreating humanoids as he struck Krikara. Another stirge summoned by Foleful was only a momentary distraction to the advancing bugbear. The party ignored Gariarch’s threats and questions until Thar yelled that Zorn had sent them, hoping to get some information from his opponent. In a sense he succeeded, when Gariarch asked, “What’s a Zorn?”

And inside the darkness, the single remaining skeleton fought on.

Krikara tumbled past Gariarch’s chain and ran after the fleeing humanoids. None of them spared a thought for Bloody Pulp and Igor, still engaged with Gariarch’s last few followers. The only thoughts spared for Mikek involved cursing and promises of vengeance on the double crossing goblin.

Thar and Rhuun slipped through the secret door and prepared to slam the door closed. Gariarch was momentarily distracted by Mighty Steed's attacks, but he quickly crushed the life out of the valiant reptile.

Foleful cast a glue spell on the ground, but Gariarch merely leaped over it. Foleful, Krikara, and Atarax dove for the door only moments ahead of the charging bugbear. As the trio slipped through the door Thar slammed it home and Foleful sealed it with glue. Immediately Gariarch began pounding on the door. It would not slow him down long. The party took to their heels, fleeing into the warren of caverns around Gariarch’s lair.

And the one remaining skeleton fought on.

They fled for over an hour, at first pursued by Gariarch, and later merely searching for a likely place to go to ground well off the beaten path. Eventually they found a likely looking cave and spent a cold, nervous night resting and recovering their strength.


5th of Charder


In the morning the party healed, and after a short conference returned to Gariarch’s cave. Surely the four of them, without the distraction of dozens of Gariarch’s followers, could defeat the formidable bugbear. Surely he would not expect another strike so soon.

Indeed he did not. The party entered the camp and discovered Gariarch’s body, dead and stripped. All of the goblin and kobold slaves were also dead, slain where they stood chained to the walls. Gariarch’s private quarters were also stripped of valuables. Signs of Mikek, Blood Pulp, and Igor were conspicuously absent. The party stood, looking at each other in despair. They had fought hard, losing a valuable companion in the process, and had been robbed of any reward for their efforts.

 

[Morrow]

An updated

Cast of Characters

Thar (Goblin) Cleric of Maglibuyet 8
Rhuun (Goblin) Rogue 2, Fighter 4– Thar’s cohort
Atarax (Goblin) Bard 7
Krikara (Darkcreeper) Rogue 6, Scout 1
Foleful (Xvart) Sorcerer 8

And appearing next session:

Moroku (Orc) Sorcerer 7

 

[Ev]

Krikara's World View

This is Krikara's Poem on the death of Ugluck (written in the original Dark Creeper naturally) The rogue deserves to be heard to.



Oh my dark lord, for orcs being quick to entering battle
Oh my great one, for orcs being bold to facing, confronting, meeting fighting, their enemies from the front
Oh my silent everything, for orcs being forthright, upfront, plain
Oh my fabulous everywhere, for orcs being not beloved
Oh subtle flowing silence, for ugluck having being a true member of his kind

Oh my dark Lord, for kobolds being small, little, of diminutive tiny size
Oh my great one, for kobolds having appearing seeming intelligent smart quick wise
Oh my silent everything, for kobolds being not boisterous
Oh my fabulous everywhere, for kobolds not being disliked, hated being shown contempt for
Oh sly obscuring grace, for Ive being a true member of his kind

Oh my dark lord, for your people being silent, quiet blessed
Oh my great one, for your people being subtle, crafty clever blessed
Oh my silent everything, for your people being talented, gifted chosen referred
Oh my fabulous everywhere, for your people being beloved
Oh all encompassing omnipresent obfuscation for Krikara ir Keul Kakat Krush being hoping to being a true member of her kind

Now wise trickster I being telling tell the tale of Ugluk’s shame and destruction and the practices of art leading to its reparation, cleaning, fixing, mitigating

On this night the eye having being shut
The clouds swirling, swishing, moving across the sky
The elves being in their camp having chanting
Chorusing and reciting elven trash, songs, tripe, nonsense, filth

Now Krikara having being with a party
Whose bent having being on revenge, killing, slaughter
So they haiving tracking, following, tracing
Hunted down that cheeaty trash, elven, mongrel, scum, filth

They having finding them near the mountainside
Close to the hill, knoll, cliffface
Elven camp being ringing with bright blights
Lights hooded lanterns having ringing all around

Now Krikara having leavin the party, group, unit, clan, tribe, force
Sneaking, scouting, approaching, stealing information
She having being moving with silence, talent, grace
Moving with the darkness all around

The elves having being remaining oblivious
Unaware, uninformed, they having being sleeping
Their scouts having remaining within,
Close to beside and near illumination

The party having then approaching
Positioning, moving to attacking
They hiaving broking, dividing, moving apart
Separating beyond the light, pollution, poison, illumination

But the elves having learning and realizing
Having being appraising of the attacking
They having being knowing and having being aware of
Expecting, anticipating, battle

Hedkrakk having standing up then
Raising himself above the hillock, mound, upwelling of the ground
He having being seeing the elves, and they having seeing him
And off he having running from battle

Krikara having seeing the impending doom
Having expecting light, death and destruction
So she having calling upon the night
And having being making the darkness, night, blessings in the battle

Thar the goblin having seeing the fight
The ambush in the confrontation
And he having becoming invisible, hidden, secreted
Illusioned, gone, he having running from battle

The elves having being better prepared then Ugluck
Having being having more speed, more readiness, more skill
So they having calling then on their spells
Creating summoning sleep in battle

Ugluck’s will being Ugluck’s will
His wisdom being his wisdom, his wits having being scattered
Ugluck being tiered, overused and weak
He having falling asleep in battle

Ive being smarter by far than Ugluck
Intelligent and wise not to sleeping in combat
The kobold having running and hiding then
Sneaking moving, fleeing from conflict, combat, confrontation, battle

The elves having chasing and pursuing the party
Carrying, bringing, dragging the light along
Giving up the cleric they having bing running for Hedkrakk
Keeping Ugluck’s body to fuel their fiendish plotting

Thar and Hedkrakk having escaping the lights
Ugluck being quickly, carelessly having being killing on the field
Ive and Krikara having uniting in flight, hidden and sneaking
Finding each other, then pausing for plotting

The heroes having knowing the danger
Having being aware of and having anticipating elven plans
The necromancer having having the mastery of a spell
Krikara having slipping them close enough for the desecration

And the elves having being stupid elves
They having shooting idiotic, stupid, unknowingly into the darkness
They having staying within their lighted, cursed, horrid place
Being ignorant of plotted desecration

Ugluck’s corpse having having the potential, ability, skill to having talking
Revealing, leaking, sharing, betraying information
But instead he having loosing his head
Burning, blazing rosting off in roaring desecration

Krikara having being wise and careful, crafty clever and sly
Embodying the holy virtues of sneaking
Ive having being quiet, silent, sneaky, smart in flight
And they having escaping victorious, successful, silent, hidden

For oh my dark god so having happening
For oh my dark god so I practicing the art
For oh my dark god so I ensuring silence

 

[Gez]

Krikara is Kool. Although chatting with her should probably be tiresome on the long run.

 

[Forrester]

Krikara is Kool. Although chatting with her should probably be tiresome on the long run.

You might think so, but not really - chatting with the damn philosopher/sorcerer is much more trying on the nerves .

I remember that during my first month of interpreting Dark Creeper, I was only able to translate about 60% of it. I'm a master at this point, of course.

But for those of you new to it, let me provide a quick overview of the story she's telling:

The party (Ive the kobold wizard, Hedkarakk the orcish Barbarian/Ranger/Fighter, Thar the goblin cleric, Ugluck the orcish psychic warrior, and, of course, Krikara the dark creeper) was sneaking around some hills in the wilderness. They had caused a great deal of trouble in the area as of late, and the elves had formed large patrols to hunt them down. As elves are both smart and cheaty, they were making sure that the patrols were large enough that they could take care of a group of the party's level without overwhelming difficulty.

(A more polite DM would have made the patrols equal or weaker than the party, of course, but at this point in the campaign the elves would have been moronic to do that, and I'm a big fan of realism.)

So anyway, the party is wandering and hears some elves encamped, though they're not sure how many there are.

They all creep creep creep up on the elves. The elves were smart, though, and put down Alarm spells; the spells triggered, and the elves were ready. As the party pops their heads up, expecting a surprise round, they find a bunch o' elves shooting at them with readied actions and spells!

There was no big weapon damage but a Sleep spell did go off; Hedkarakk saved, but Ugluck failed. On their initiatives, Thar went invisible, Ive hid, Krikara hid, and Hedkarakk . . . well, he had a choice: wake up Ugluck and stand and fight and probably die, taking a bunch of elves with him, or run like a kobold.

Hedkarakk ran. And Ugluck was killed next round.

Here's the rub: earlier in the campaign, the party had left a couple of dead lackeys behind after an ambush. The elves, being cheaty, grabbed the bodies, cast Speak with Dead on them, and learned where the party's secondary allies were living. One week later, there were 60 dead orcs!

Well obviously, I don't have to tell you how many problems could be caused if the elves cast that spell on a dead party member. And Krikara knew that as well. So in the bushes, she and Ive conspired . . . and a couple rounds after the Ugluck fell and was CDG'd, his head BURST into flame! Ive cast a Flaming Sphere on Ugluck's head, making sure it wouldn't be communicating ever again.

Krikara's version is cooler, of course .

 

[Forrester]

Coming soon: The Chronicles of Team Zorn!

Zorn Zorn Zorn Zorn
Zorn Zorn Zorn Zorn
Zorn Zorn Zorn Zorn
ZORN Zorn Zorn Zorn . . .

eeeeeverybody likes ZORN!