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Iron DM 2016 (The Complete Game Thread!)
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<blockquote data-quote="Deuce Traveler" data-source="post: 6912853" data-attributes="member: 34958"><p><strong>Iron DM 2016, Round 2, Match 1, Deuce Traveler Submission (Get Ye to the Underdark)</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Title:</strong> Get Ye to the Underdark</p><p></p><p><strong>Ruleset:</strong> D&D with familiar Underdark lore as the backdrop</p><p></p><p><strong>Ingredients:</strong></p><p></p><p>Heir to Nothing</p><p>Silken Wallpaper</p><p>Useless Glue</p><p>Headless Hunter</p><p>Gutted Machine</p><p>Star crossed book</p><p>Lazy Eye</p><p></p><p><strong>Synopsis:</strong></p><p></p><p>D'roal was a great disappointment to his drow family for he had exceeded their expectations and somehow survived into adulthood. When he was born into his matriarchal society he was already an embarrassment, as the fourth male child in a minor noble house, he could expect to inherit no aristocratic title, no military rank, and no religious function. So he was sent out again and again in the hopes he would die in some glorious battle, but he always returned victorious and without recognition for his valor; thus a continued source of embarassment to his house.</p><p></p><p>S'zann was an older, married matriarch of a strong noble house, and D'roal's lover. The two had a magnetic attraction to one another, causing controversial whispers about their co-dependency towards one another. When S'zann needed a hitman, or thief in the night, D'roal was always there. When D'roal was in political trouble, S'zann would pull just the right strings to help. But now S'zann was vulnerable, as she was greatly injured and lost her spellbook during a raid on the druegar forces of Eyz'la the Beholder. The spellbook is beyond valuable, having been passed down through the generations of house matrons. In happier times, she had even taught D'roal some minor magics from it when the two were able to have rare moments of elongated privacy. Rumors are now flying about the loss, and S'zann's enemies, including her husband, are calling her unfit and seeking ways to unseat her.</p><p></p><p>Always brash, D'roal gathered a force of fellow drow outcasts and raided Eyz'la's fortress, succeeding in reaching its center and his lover's spellbook. While there, his men slew several duergar and destroyed much of the fortress' defenses. Yet they were outmatched once Eyz'la's vehicle, an enormous headless iron golem wielding a weapon in each hand, was commanded by the beholder to attack them. With several of his friends now dead, D'roal was desperate to escape and found a device the beholder's servants helped create: a machine that created short-lived, but stabilized teleportation portals. D'roal's forces figured out how to create a portal, but lacked the time to learn how to set the location. They had the portal created to a random place, pulled the main portions of the machine from its encasement, and retreated through into the unknown. Eyz'la ordered his golem to pursue, and it had crossed the portal behind the fleeing drow just as the portal collapsed.</p><p></p><p>A day later, Eyz'la and his duergar caught up with the drow and golem, who had been teleported to the world's surface. The drow fled into a surface fortress, killed or captured the inhabitants, and sealed its great door to the pursuing golem. The golem was quite damaged from drow sorties when Eyz'la caught up, and it had to have its hunt stopped. The golem was ordered back to camp and repaired before receiving a new set of instructions: patrol around the fortress looking for drow scouts to fight, and to return to Eyz'la's camp for repairs when injured. The drow have thus far been unable to get out and flee, while Eyz'la's men have been unable to create a breach in the walls, though the golem gives an occassional scare when it hammers a side wall or pursues pointy-eared scouts.</p><p></p><p><strong>Adventure Hook:</strong></p><p></p><p>The local lord wants these invaders out as soon as possible, which is where the heroes come in. The heroes discover that each force is at an equal strength to their own, so taking out one force would be difficult, while both would be very tough without preparation, external resources, and planning. Luckily, both Underdark forces are quite ready to go home and are more than willing to negotiate with surface dwellers.</p><p></p><p>Eyz'la's camp might not be as well defended, but his forces are formidable with duergar warriors and casters, the iron golem, and Eyz'la himself. In fact they might have been victorious already if Eyz'la wasn't such a horrible leader. The eye tyrant hates travel, which is why he had constructed his headless golem in the first place, along with his newest invention, the portal-creating teleportation device that can fit him on his golem and entourage wherever they want to go for short and easy trips. Eyz'la hates being away from his comfortable home, and hates the surface, the weather, and the smell of the place. He wants the portal-making machine back that was gutted from its housing since it took much wealth and time to build, and he wants the drow punished for what they have done to him and his home. As a bonus, the eye tyrant would also like the drow spellbook back, as he found the little he was able to study in it quite fascinating. The duergar feel that if Eyz'la leads the attack from his cockpit at the top of his iron golem, they can win an assault on the front gates, but the miserable beholder complains constantly instead and won't come out of his enormous tent.</p><p></p><p>The drow are less trusting, but want safe passage home, which is why they are delaying while trying to figure out Eyz'la's device. If they can return with both S'zann's spellbook and the device, D'roal believes he can return to a hero's welcome and a seat in his lover's court, bringing great honor to himself, his family, and getting closer to being officially recognized as S'zann's paramour. He constantly carries around S'zann's book, gripping it unconsciously as he talks about her situation. All he needs are those beholder's forces wiped out or scattered. He is in a great position to defend himself, as his drider's have secretly coated the tall courtyard columns and walls with finely layered spidersilk so that it looks part of the artistry of the place. D'roal is ready to 'accidentally' let the front walls be opened so he can lead Eyz'la's forces into a trap, while his men press the enemy into the spider-webbed walls. The driders in this force walk across these treated walls with ease, firing ranged attacks into any battle. The one missing piece of the plan is how to trap the iron golem, who can rip through the webbing easily and has been so deadly. Using drider bile, the drow have created large vats of glue to pour down upon the golem, but so far it has proven useless as the golem rips through it with ease before it can harden.</p><p></p><p>The party can decide to help one side against the other, either after convincing Eyz'la to get motivated enough to join the battle or helping D'roal come up with an alternate formula for his thus-far useless glue or otherwise finding a way to neutralize the golem. Or the party can help the drow jerry-rig the stolen machine to create a portal back home, leaving Eyz'la to pursue them into the Underdark. The victorious side will thank the party and willingly return home once their objectives are met. The party can also try to pit the overly cautious forces into a final confrontation and pick off the survivors, but the drow and duergar are quite familiar with games of treachery and may have plans of their own to meet with such possibilities. Still, it might be better to take the risk than allow either side to get away with a device that can create stable teleportation portals to the surface, as well as to avoid retribution for their actions.</p><p></p><p>On the other hand, the party might find much to admire between the two opponents, as D'roal is quite courageous and Eyz'la focused on intellectual pursuits. They can help both sides come non-violently to an agreement, with D'roal giving up the stolen part of the portal machine and promising some financial restitution if his plan to save S'zann political future works, while Eyz'la promises to allow their safe return and give back any killed or captured allies of D'roal. D'roal might be a drow, but he has become a leader by taking care of his outcasts.</p><p></p><p>Good-aligned parties that help one or both sides can expect a single favor should they need it in the future, such as safe passage through the Underdark, martial aid, or intellectual investigation. Evil-aligned parties might find this as a potential opening to a future alliance. The surface lord will be pleased with the Underdark forces being dealt with and will reward the party depending on the final state of the liege's fortress and nearby people.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Deuce Traveler, post: 6912853, member: 34958"] [b]Iron DM 2016, Round 2, Match 1, Deuce Traveler Submission (Get Ye to the Underdark)[/b] [b]Title:[/b] Get Ye to the Underdark [b]Ruleset:[/b] D&D with familiar Underdark lore as the backdrop [b]Ingredients:[/b] Heir to Nothing Silken Wallpaper Useless Glue Headless Hunter Gutted Machine Star crossed book Lazy Eye [b]Synopsis:[/b] D'roal was a great disappointment to his drow family for he had exceeded their expectations and somehow survived into adulthood. When he was born into his matriarchal society he was already an embarrassment, as the fourth male child in a minor noble house, he could expect to inherit no aristocratic title, no military rank, and no religious function. So he was sent out again and again in the hopes he would die in some glorious battle, but he always returned victorious and without recognition for his valor; thus a continued source of embarassment to his house. S'zann was an older, married matriarch of a strong noble house, and D'roal's lover. The two had a magnetic attraction to one another, causing controversial whispers about their co-dependency towards one another. When S'zann needed a hitman, or thief in the night, D'roal was always there. When D'roal was in political trouble, S'zann would pull just the right strings to help. But now S'zann was vulnerable, as she was greatly injured and lost her spellbook during a raid on the druegar forces of Eyz'la the Beholder. The spellbook is beyond valuable, having been passed down through the generations of house matrons. In happier times, she had even taught D'roal some minor magics from it when the two were able to have rare moments of elongated privacy. Rumors are now flying about the loss, and S'zann's enemies, including her husband, are calling her unfit and seeking ways to unseat her. Always brash, D'roal gathered a force of fellow drow outcasts and raided Eyz'la's fortress, succeeding in reaching its center and his lover's spellbook. While there, his men slew several duergar and destroyed much of the fortress' defenses. Yet they were outmatched once Eyz'la's vehicle, an enormous headless iron golem wielding a weapon in each hand, was commanded by the beholder to attack them. With several of his friends now dead, D'roal was desperate to escape and found a device the beholder's servants helped create: a machine that created short-lived, but stabilized teleportation portals. D'roal's forces figured out how to create a portal, but lacked the time to learn how to set the location. They had the portal created to a random place, pulled the main portions of the machine from its encasement, and retreated through into the unknown. Eyz'la ordered his golem to pursue, and it had crossed the portal behind the fleeing drow just as the portal collapsed. A day later, Eyz'la and his duergar caught up with the drow and golem, who had been teleported to the world's surface. The drow fled into a surface fortress, killed or captured the inhabitants, and sealed its great door to the pursuing golem. The golem was quite damaged from drow sorties when Eyz'la caught up, and it had to have its hunt stopped. The golem was ordered back to camp and repaired before receiving a new set of instructions: patrol around the fortress looking for drow scouts to fight, and to return to Eyz'la's camp for repairs when injured. The drow have thus far been unable to get out and flee, while Eyz'la's men have been unable to create a breach in the walls, though the golem gives an occassional scare when it hammers a side wall or pursues pointy-eared scouts. [b]Adventure Hook:[/b] The local lord wants these invaders out as soon as possible, which is where the heroes come in. The heroes discover that each force is at an equal strength to their own, so taking out one force would be difficult, while both would be very tough without preparation, external resources, and planning. Luckily, both Underdark forces are quite ready to go home and are more than willing to negotiate with surface dwellers. Eyz'la's camp might not be as well defended, but his forces are formidable with duergar warriors and casters, the iron golem, and Eyz'la himself. In fact they might have been victorious already if Eyz'la wasn't such a horrible leader. The eye tyrant hates travel, which is why he had constructed his headless golem in the first place, along with his newest invention, the portal-creating teleportation device that can fit him on his golem and entourage wherever they want to go for short and easy trips. Eyz'la hates being away from his comfortable home, and hates the surface, the weather, and the smell of the place. He wants the portal-making machine back that was gutted from its housing since it took much wealth and time to build, and he wants the drow punished for what they have done to him and his home. As a bonus, the eye tyrant would also like the drow spellbook back, as he found the little he was able to study in it quite fascinating. The duergar feel that if Eyz'la leads the attack from his cockpit at the top of his iron golem, they can win an assault on the front gates, but the miserable beholder complains constantly instead and won't come out of his enormous tent. The drow are less trusting, but want safe passage home, which is why they are delaying while trying to figure out Eyz'la's device. If they can return with both S'zann's spellbook and the device, D'roal believes he can return to a hero's welcome and a seat in his lover's court, bringing great honor to himself, his family, and getting closer to being officially recognized as S'zann's paramour. He constantly carries around S'zann's book, gripping it unconsciously as he talks about her situation. All he needs are those beholder's forces wiped out or scattered. He is in a great position to defend himself, as his drider's have secretly coated the tall courtyard columns and walls with finely layered spidersilk so that it looks part of the artistry of the place. D'roal is ready to 'accidentally' let the front walls be opened so he can lead Eyz'la's forces into a trap, while his men press the enemy into the spider-webbed walls. The driders in this force walk across these treated walls with ease, firing ranged attacks into any battle. The one missing piece of the plan is how to trap the iron golem, who can rip through the webbing easily and has been so deadly. Using drider bile, the drow have created large vats of glue to pour down upon the golem, but so far it has proven useless as the golem rips through it with ease before it can harden. The party can decide to help one side against the other, either after convincing Eyz'la to get motivated enough to join the battle or helping D'roal come up with an alternate formula for his thus-far useless glue or otherwise finding a way to neutralize the golem. Or the party can help the drow jerry-rig the stolen machine to create a portal back home, leaving Eyz'la to pursue them into the Underdark. The victorious side will thank the party and willingly return home once their objectives are met. The party can also try to pit the overly cautious forces into a final confrontation and pick off the survivors, but the drow and duergar are quite familiar with games of treachery and may have plans of their own to meet with such possibilities. Still, it might be better to take the risk than allow either side to get away with a device that can create stable teleportation portals to the surface, as well as to avoid retribution for their actions. On the other hand, the party might find much to admire between the two opponents, as D'roal is quite courageous and Eyz'la focused on intellectual pursuits. They can help both sides come non-violently to an agreement, with D'roal giving up the stolen part of the portal machine and promising some financial restitution if his plan to save S'zann political future works, while Eyz'la promises to allow their safe return and give back any killed or captured allies of D'roal. D'roal might be a drow, but he has become a leader by taking care of his outcasts. Good-aligned parties that help one or both sides can expect a single favor should they need it in the future, such as safe passage through the Underdark, martial aid, or intellectual investigation. Evil-aligned parties might find this as a potential opening to a future alliance. The surface lord will be pleased with the Underdark forces being dealt with and will reward the party depending on the final state of the liege's fortress and nearby people. [/QUOTE]
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