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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 6241357" data-attributes="member: 16069">Let's Play #9 Goodman Games DCC55 Isle of the Sea Drake (Level 1)Session 4.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40504969@N08/10385226104/" target="_blank"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5499/10385226104_863c21275a_b.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /></a>Encounter #9 The Watch Tower (Area C-2)[sblock=The Map]<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40504969@N08/9162515532/" target="_blank"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7377/9162515532_ef0518cb54_c.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /></a> The Map- obviously the guys don’t get to see this. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40504969@N08/9160300907/" target="_blank"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7385/9160300907_dc6ea9cf00_c.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /></a>[/sblock]The adventurers continue through the jungle- this time they’re left in peace, they duly arrive at the Watch Tower, which is situated in a clearing. The tower is around forty feet tall, and twenty five feet wide- it looks ancient, although there are signs that it has been repaired of late, clearly this building is one of the stone constructions Snake Sister spoke about.The adventurers, and the Coyomi men, remain hidden in the jungle, they observe the scene.There’s a skull-faced Coyomi atop the tower, a male- Arannis thinks the fellow has a conch shell hung around his neck.“Shell-Blower, he could sound the alarm!” The Eladrin states.“We need to get to him quickly.” Heian confirms.“I’ll go.” Lia replies, her words are lost however.SCREEEEEE! SCREEEEEEE!The adventurers look up, way up, high in the sky above are two flying creatures, it’s difficult to tell their size and shape however.“The eagle-cats?” Arannis asks, to grunts and murmurs- the adventurers are uncertain.They watch a little while longer, the next thing they see however takes them totally by surprise.It’s Lia, the Elf Princess has made her way unseen to the base of the tower, and is even now climbing the construct.“What the…” Arannis starts up.Brevill moves forward, in to the clearing, and is duly grabbed and dragged back in to the jungle by Arannis and Heian.The Warforged fumes, silently, and watches on- as do the other adventurers.Very quickly, and without any false steps, Lia is at the top of the tower. She looks back at her companions; they look tiny way down below, then creeps silently over the edge and to Shell-Blower, a massive Comiqui male.Bad Guys 200 XP Level 1 EncounterHuman Comiqui Shell-Blower Level 5 Brute[sblock=The Monster Manual]<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40504969@N08/9162444694/" target="_blank"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3739/9162444694_880a106844_o.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /></a>[/sblock]Lia plunges her magical short sword into the Shell-Blower’s back, immediately the Comiqui Brute’s armour glows emitting a protective shield- it takes all of Lia’s effort to cut through it, but she succeeds and digs her blade in deep.Shell-Blower screams in agony, attempts to turn to see...And is slashed again, a Torturous Strike which leaves the Comiqui staggering- clutching at his wounds (Lia’s first hit did 21 damage, her second 29- that’s brutal, the kids are cheering).Shell-Blower grabs out his nasty-looking stone-hewn axe and slashes at Lia, the Elf is much too quick, the Comiqui’s eyes flash red with rage- he gabbles in his strange tongue.Then grabs the conch shell hung around his neck, and blows.ARRRRRROOOOGAH!For good measure he cuts again with his axe again, but Lia is still far too quick.The flying creatures overhead have clearly heard the call; they’re descending at speed, one is closer than the other- it swoops towards the tower- set to smash in to Lia.Bad Guys 600 XP Level 1 EncounterHuman Comiqui Shell-Blower Level 5 BruteGriffon Level 5 Brute x2[sblock=The Monster Manual]<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40504969@N08/9162450946/" target="_blank"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2876/9162450946_c599f92a4a_o.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /></a>[/sblock]Lia sees this, the Princess screams, as Shell-Blower grins wickedly.At the last moment the eagle-cat, actually a Griffon, is blasted by fire and radiant burns, and knocked off course.Shuva and Heian stood just beyond the shadows of the jungle share a grin.“NOW!” The pair scream in unison.Brevill steps out in to the clearing.“Fight Me eagle-cat!” The metal man declares.The Griffon banks and comes in SCREEEECHING, a Thunder Charge, it smashes in to Brevill, who in the collision skewers the Brute with his blade (another critical hit, as was Heian’s Lance of Faith earlier). In the very next moment Arannis charges from the jungle and spears the Griffon, the thing squawks in terrible pain, flaps its great wings to try to lift off again.Beneath it Brevill is battered, bloodied and bruised (from almost full to 8 hit points).Heian engulfs the Griffon again in Sacred Flame, the flying beast is struggling to take to the air.“Fight on Brevill! Fight on!” The Cleric of Sehanine declares, and the Warforged is up again and in to action.  Back atop the tower Lia and the Shell-Blower continue their fight to the death.“Don’t fail me now.” Lia whispers to her magical blade, which seems to glint in the sunlight in acknowledgement- the Elf Princess dodges left, and then instantly hard right, the Shell-Blower follows her first move and then lunges.But Lia’s not there, the Comiqui Brute overbalances, Lia skewers him (using her Duelist’s Blade Daily she gets CA).The Shell-Blower’s breath comes in ragged bursts, the man is soaked in blood- his own, none of it Lia’s.Lia grins- too soon, Shell-Blower leaps and slashes with his terrible axe and…Lia skewers him (with her Riposte Strike, and another critical hit, clever girl).Shell-Blower staggers to the edge of the tower, clutching at his wounds, he stops for a short moment- glances up at Lia and then plummets off the edge.To his death.The Elf Princess is quickly to the ladder, her friends are fighting for their lives below, she ducks and descends just in time, the second Griffon clears the tower and circles round to join the fray.Down below Arannis shouts.“To the right!” Brevill dances, the pair are now either side of the bloodied and battered Griffon, which is still trying to take flight, they slash and skewer and the eagle-cat is done for.No time for congratulations, Brevill rushes forward, waving his longsword above his head.“Here! Here! Fight me!” He yells at the second Griffon, which SCREECHES long and loud, and then banks and dives to attack.Shuva’s Eldritch Blast catches the creature by surprise, and yet does not alter its course- it smashes in to Brevill, who skewers it in the clash, this time the force of the Griffon’s is not enough to knock the Warforged down.Heian’s Sacred Flame ignites the Griffon’s tail feathers; it hops and dances trying desperately to extinguish the flame.Lia is only a third of the way down the ladder, and yet… something is not quite right, as she watches a section of the tower above peels away and cascades down, smashing in to the clearing below.Which makes all of the adventurers stop and stare, even if only for a second.“It’s collapsing!” Lia screams and redoubles her efforts to descend the ladder as fast as she can.Arannis and Brevill are quickly back in harness, working together to flank and circle the second Griffon- the Eladrin skewers the great winged beast, driving his greatspear all the way through the creature’s body (Daily- Lead the Attack for 20 points of damage).“Power of Erathis!” Brevill shouts and slashes the beast empowered by his Divine Strength, the last Griffon is very quickly bloodied, it tries to flee- flaps furiously to gain height, but is caught in Shuva’s Witchfire.The Griffon is forced down on to the ground again.It SCREECHES in frustration, Claws at Brevill- but the Warforged is too quick, it tries again to take to the air, but it’s going nowhere.Heain’s Sacred Flame comes again, the second eagle-cat is all but broken.Victory it seems is close at hand.At which point screaming and gesticulating wildly come a pair of Comiqui- rushing in to the melee from the jungle, a third skull-faced native- in the shadow of the trees, draws a bow and targets the great metal man fighting the Griffon.Bad Guys 762 XP Level 3 EncounterHuman Comiqui Shell-Blower Level 5 BruteHuman Comiqui Villager Level 2 Minion x2Human Comiqui Hunter Level 1 ArtilleryGriffon Level 5 Brute x2[sblock=The Monster Manual]<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40504969@N08/9160220363/" target="_blank"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3820/9160220363_5a8713bec8_o.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /></a> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40504969@N08/9160223207/" target="_blank"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2880/9160223207_257c4a93a1_o.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /></a>[/sblock]Lia continues down the ladder, leaps the last ten feet as yet another section of the edifice smashes down beside her- the Elf Princess is off, at speed.Shuva, swathed in shadows, suddenly appears beside Arannis.“Go!” The Half-Elf states, the Eladrin shares a look with Brevill and then sprints off to meet the newly arrived Comiqui. He spears the first of the attackers, but is clubbed by the second.Brevill draws back a way, drops his sword and grabs out a javelin- the Griffon is at last gaining altitude, he flings the missile- spears it, and yet the last eagle-cat continues to gain height.A moment later two arrows THUNK in to the Warforged’s chest, the metal man staggers as sparks fly, he THUMPS hard in to a tree at the jungle’s edge and thereby manages to stay on his feet (Brevill is on 1 hit point- Spider isn’t happy).Heian is quickly to him, moments later the metal man has got his Second Wind.At the same moment the escaping Griffon is engulfed in Shuva’s Eldritch Blast, it plummets from the sky and smashes in to the middle section of the already unsteady tower, which staggers, sways and then topples.Thankfully it collapses away from the adventurers.Lia spins a dagger out and catches the Comiqui Hunter hidden in the tree-line, Arannis skewers the last Comiqui Villager and then calls out to Brevill.“Join me my metal brother!” The Warforged is Inspired by the Eladrin’s words, his wounds forgotten, he races forward- towards the last enemy; smashes in to the Hunter (another critical hit) and sends the man sprawling.The skull-faced Comiqui drops its bow, holds its empty hands up in the air, and babbles in its strange tongue.“Don’t kill it!” Arannis shouts, at a rush, and then swiftly disarms the Comiqui Hunter.“We have a prisoner.” The Eladrin declares.Encounter #9 CompleteBad Guys 762 XP Level 3 EncounterHuman Comiqui Shell-Blower Level 5 BruteHuman Comiqui Villager Level 2 Minion x2Human Comiqui Hunter Level 1 ArtilleryGriffon Level 5 Brute x2The prisoner is tied up, given over to the Coyomi men to take care of. The wreck and ruin of the tower is thoroughly searched, Shell-Blower’s body eventually located and extracted from the rubble.The Brute is stripped of his armour, its magical- a suit of +1 Darkleaf Armour which Arannis lays claim to.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/40504969@N08/10256238986/" target="_blank"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8265/10256238986_fa3b53ec83_o.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /></a>The Comiqui Hunter is dragged off in to the jungle, tied to a tree and made to talk- I improvise a Skill Challenge, although with no XP on offer, only clues to be had. I play the Comiqui, the kids play themselves, with Heian having to do the translating. It’s uproariously funny, the Comiqui is eventually tickled in to submission, which is a twist on the usual bloody frenzy more ‘mature’ players often resort to in these situations.The Comiqui eventually tells the kids, in answer to their various questions, that his people inhabit the ruins of a stone city to the north of the island; the Coyomi men confirm this information. Also present in the city are a bunch of Pirates, working with his people at the behest of the Pirate leader who is capable of great magic.Last, and most important, they learn that the Pirates have a ship.After the roleplaying the kids move to a discussion, basically where next- do they retreat from the island, or else… several of the guys are low on Healing Surges, in particular Brevill and Lia- they’re both down to two left.Eventually a decision is made, to the Pool of Life next, respite and healing- a place to rest and recover, the guys also have enough XP for level 2, a most attractive prospect, they’ve never played a level 2 PC.Comment: The kids plan was to go on from here to accomplish their various quests, the amount of fighting they have had to do on the Island of the Dead has put paid to their original idea, particularly the last fight which turned in to a cinematic treat.The kids seem to have a knack of making 4e feel like an older addition, they don’t really take in to account the range of their powers. The example would be Brevill rushing out in to the open to challenge the Griffon- which was still at a considerable distance, at the time it just felt right- so, as usual, I played along. They’re playing the film, or the video game, of the game- it’s not something on paper, it’s more visceral, more cinema than that.</blockquote>

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