Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="JamesonCourage" data-source="post: 6297032" data-attributes="member: 6668292">Alright, I had another session this past Saturday, but due to a new friendship, my time has been whittled down. So, writing up the session late (we played for about five hours). Sorry![sblock]Alrighty. We left off with the PCs in the dwarven city, after having delivered the prince's body to the king and then the dwarf working himself into Kord Clan. As of this point, I've weaned the players are off having a minor quest each session, as I've finally gotten to the point where there are a lot of hooks established in play (as well as at character creation). On top of that, the players have been groomed to cooperate when I offer these hooks (which I pick carefully based on their interests), so I don't need to dangle the mechanical carrot anymore. I've trained my players well; mwa ha ha ha!So, on to the session! The PCs took a few days to wait for the king of the dwarves (of the Hammerheart clan) to consult with his treasurer so that he could lowball them. In the meantime, the PCs engaged in different activities: The dwarven Fighter did a lot of drinking and talking with other dwarves who now treated him as one of them. The mul (surface dwarf in my campaign) Warpriest spent some time drinking, but also a lot of time studying the strange mark on his skeletal warhorse (he determined that the mark was just as natural as life and death, and somehow tied to the cycle, but wasn't sure of anything more than that). He also spent some time meditating and praying (which is normal for him) to the Raven Queen, and he gained some new power (multi-class Invoker at level 8). The wilden Scout wanted to check out the entire city (this was the second city he'd ever seen, and it was much different from the festival-filled Ashenport from the session before). He picked up some trinkets, poked around, etc. The half-elf Sorceress mostly kept to herself, waiting for the king.Eventually, they were called to the throne room. The king announced that he had chosen three different prices to offer, but wanted to know their capabilities before making his decision. As it turns out, it is tradition in Kord Clan to have new members challenged by those that initiate them. Gortha, the female dwarf that brought the Fighter into the clan, offered to fight the four of them. The PCs expressed surprise that she would fight all four of them, and she said that she could handle all four of them at once. They agreed (after establishing that they could rest before being sent out), deciding that they could go all out against her and prove their worth (and get the best offer from the king).The combat took place in the throne room, which was mostly even save for some very large pillars that didn't come into play into late in the fight. Gortha was a level 7 solo soldier (vs the four level 8 PCs). The biggest factor in the fight was her aura, which started at 1 and grew by 1 each round (and she increased it a couple of times with a power during the fight). Each creature that started its turn in the aura took X damage and was slid X squares, where X = the aura's value minus 1 for each square out they were. (Basically, a creature 1 square took 6 damage and slid 6 squares when the aura was 6, and a creature 3 squares away only took 4 damage and slid 4 squares.)The PCs started out unloading on her pretty heavily, but the fight dragged on, with her pushing the Fighter farther away each round (she also had a push attack as a move action, where she pushed equal to her current aura number). She quickly took out the Scout's owlbear companion (Fey Beast Tamer theme), and the Warpriest had to send his skeletal warhorse away. The Fighter definitely fared the best, though this was in large part due to his new artifact armor (the Invulnerable Coat of Arnd), which allowed him to reduce her lightning and thunder damage by 5. By the end of the fight, her aura had reached 11 (a few rounds from reaching the king), multiple PCs had dropped (two gained a death strike), and her aura had almost reached the point where it would all but eliminate the Fighter from combat (by pushing him away and behind some pillars).But, luckily for the PCs, they dropped her, knocking her unconscious. The aura immediately collapsed in on her in a loud thunderclap, and she gasped as she woke up. Warpriest used a Cure Light Wounds spell on her to help heal her (he'd already used both Healing Words and a Cure Serious Wounds during the fight), and she thanked him. The party moved to face the king, and the Warpriest and Fighter removed their helmets. The Fighter had a new symbol shining through his beard, which was identified as a Mark of Storm (the player just took the feat for his PC between sessions), which is a blessing given out by the storm deities (most notably Kord or Melora). The Fighter took this as a sign of approval from Kord.The king acknowledged the party's ferociousness, and offered the middle amount. He offered them a "not insignificant" 1,000 gold pieces (the Warpriest was not happy that this was a "total" and not a "per PC" offer). However, the king also offered to send two Runepriests to their stronghold across the sea, where they would craft a permanent teleportation circle. He also offered to teach the Sorceress the Linked Portal ritual, as well as give the party access to the dwarven city's teleportation circle. The PCs knew this was worth another 4,000 gold pieces (the teleportation circle to be built was 2x2 squares). They thought this was a good deal (teleportation back to base, instant transportation across the sea), but they wanted the 3x3 teleportation circle, though, and knew that this would be the time to ask about it. They decided to have the Sorceress to ask the king (with her Diplomacy), offering to pay for half the difference themselves. One natural 20 later, and the king agreed. The party was happy, and was now determined to complete his task and win this reward.The PCs took an extended rest, excited to leave to find the mind flayers in the morning. The Scout woke up in the middle of the night to his owlbear (which he had summoned back before sleeping) waking him up by shaking him. Its eyes were glowing green, and a Nature check revealed that it was being possessed. He asked it what was happening, and the owlbear used telepathy to communicate. It told the Scout not to worry who it was, but that its master, Corellon, wanted it to make contact. Corellon had many enemies nearby (who the Scout identified as drow), and it wanted him to deal with them. Corellon also knew that the Scout had been blessed by Melora (Melora's Storm Blessing, Alternative Reward), but the god wanted the Scout's full devotion. The owlbear blessed the Scout's belt as a sign from Corellon, and then the presence left the owlbear (which was then very confused). The belt was a Healer's Sash, which the player of the Scout was very happy with. (He has expressed hope that the gods, along with the other gods he worships, will get in a sort of "bidding war" to win his devotion.)The PCs set off deeper into the caverns, with the Scout guiding them via Dungeoneering. They were only about a day out from the dwarves when the Scout spotted a humanoid hiding ahead (at a bend in the cramped rock hallway). They stopped to discuss things, and the voice called out, calling for the Warpriest. It offered to reward him beyond his imagination if he turned his allegiance over to the "Keeper of Secrets", who wanted the First Truth. The Warpriest declared his undying loyalty to the Raven Queen. The Scout projected his vision (psionic ability he gained with a feat), getting a better look at the creature, identifying it as a vampire (the players cursed). The creature called for help, and we rolled initiative.The four level 8 PCs fought two level 9 elite vampires (one a skirmisher, one a brute), and a level 12 hill giant (standard monster). The skirmisher liked dominating PCs and getting into flanking positions, and the hill giant opened up with two rock throws in a row that damaged the closely-clustered PCs (and dazed them). The brute moved about, dealing a lot of damage quickly, but he was mostly ignored. The PCs took down the hill giant after about four rounds, and the skirmisher a couple rounds later. (The skirmisher tried turning into a mist to run away, but a Smite Undead and then the Fighter's Power Strike both immobilized him, and they finished him off.) The brute took a while, and he kept applying a bleeding power (10 ongoing damage), taking down the Scout and the Fighter multiple times each (the Scout only lived due to the Sorceress' daily healing power from Bard multi-class), as well as the Warpriest once. Eventually, he was put down, too, though not before most dailies and encounter powers had been used.They searched the bodies, and found an amulet (of Deferred Death), with an inscription for the Warpriest saying that this was just a token of what he might gain if he swapped sides. The Warpriest debated whether or not he should use it, but since it wasn't directly divine, he opted to take it (for pragmatic reasons). The PCs risked taking an extended rest, and I rolled d% to see if anything happened... and got a 99! After rolling again (to see if it was positive or negative), I told the Warpriest that he awoke to his own chain belt falling off. He immediately thought this was a bad omen from his goddess, but a Religion (and inspection) revealed this not to be the case. The belt was now magical (a Girdle of Skulls), with an inscription saying simply "for loyalty" on it. The Warpriest was very happy, and looks forward to summoning skeletons to do his bidding in battle. (All the players were pretty awed with the stats of the skeleton.)With that, we called the session.[/sblock]All told, a really solid session, though not as fast-paced as some of the last few. More time was spent talking to NPCs or one another, thinking about what they could do with the teleportation circle (or other ways to improve their stronghold), etc.(Also, I don't have time now, but I wanted to ask a question. I'll get to that later, but for now, I must gym!)</blockquote>

Verification