Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="mikeawmids" data-source="post: 6333453" data-attributes="member: 6776411">Rise of the Runelords (Season 3 / Episode 7) – 17/04/2014 Poisonous green smoke fills the Kaijitsu mansion as the volatile contents of Rast’s laboratory are consumed by the flames. Rast is unconcerned by this development, he is a dwarf with a plan. Breaking another bead off his bracelet, he summons an air elemental and commands it to clear the air. The elemental complies, sucking the poisonous fumes out of the house and dissipating them into the air over the bay (where they will likely do untold damage to the local ecosystem, but hey!). The water elemental continues to douse the flames as Rast searches the house for his beloved Ameiko. Meanwhile, Ben Kotek stands between the sheriff’s men and the road back into town. “You shall not pass!” he intones, standing his ground. Two thugs raise their crossbows and shoot him in the chest. Seeing the ranger is grievously wounded, they switch to their long-swords and move in for the kill. Ben curses his own stubborn bravery. Solaris notices that Sheriff Cubbin is making a run for it, leaving his men to cover his cowardly ass. Benefiting from the Quick power, Solaris effortlessly speeds ahead of the fleeing villain and readies his bow. When Cubbin comes puffing into view, Solaris double-shots him in the face. “What happened to Cubbin?” Asha asks. “I shot the sheriff,” Solaris sings, “But I did not shoot the deputy.” “Yes you did. You shot him earlier. His body is over there.” “Oh, yes. Yes I did.” Karrack and Solaris run into the burning mansion to find Rast and Ameiko. Solaris moves from room to room in a blur of motion (maintained Quick power), he swiftly finds Ameiko’s body and drags her onto the lawn for healing. Karrack emerges with a choking servant draped over each of his scaly shoulders; then runs back into the burning house to ensure nobody has been left behind. Ameiko has inhaled a lot of smoke, but Asha is able to restore her breathing with the blessing of Sarenrae. With the sheriff’s demise, the rest of his men throw down their weapons and beg for mercy. “We were only following orders!” they wail, "It was nothing personal.” “It feels personal.” Rast growls menacingly. “We might still be able to reach an understanding…” Solaris suggests. Suddenly, Grogg buries his axe into the guard’s skull. “Gah!! What the hell?!” Solaris yells, wiping blood off his shirt, “I was talking to that guy” “Roc chick hungry!” Grogg explains at length, “Need meat!” As the half-orc dismembers the corpse into bite-sized morsels, Solaris turns to the next man in the row of prisoners. “Sorry for the interruption, where was I? Oh, yes. We might still be able to - ” “Yes! We’ll do whatever you say! Just don’t let that mad bastard feed us to his bird!” Having secured the prisoner’s cooperation, Solaris returns to loot the sheriff’s body. He is surprised to find someone else has beaten him to the punch. Examining the body, he notices that the dead man is also missing his eyeballs. “Ben!!!” Once he becomes aware that his plans have gone awry, Haldeem Grobaras barricades himself inside the town hall, hoping the heroes will leave him alone. Surprisingly, this is exactly what they do – for the time being at least. Sergeant Krogg and the former guardsman still loyal to Belor Hemlock surround the building, preventing the mayor from doing a runner (or waddler, considering how grossly obese he is). Asha, Karrack and Solaris commandeer a boat to Magnimar and report directly to Mayor Nivlandis. A bounty is placed upon the fat head of Haldeem Grobaras for his role in the unlawful attacks on the Stinkpoint goblins and the Kaijitsu estate. The heroes return to Sandpoint to apprehend the mayor, but he isn’t coming quietly. Ben casts Blast and demolishes the front wall of the town hall in a fiery explosion. “You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!” Rast chides the overzealous ranger. Karrack moves through the flaming wreckage into the council chamber beyond. Two of the mayor’s goons spot him emerging from the smoke and raise their crossbows. The lizardman reaches them first and incapacitates both men in a flurry of blows. A third thug lunges at Karrack with his sword, the Saurian monk grabs his extended arm – breaks it in three separate places – then flips him over onto his back. “Don’t get back up,” Karrack suggests, stalking off. Two guards on the balcony spot the lizardman approaching the stairs and take aim. Karrack snatches both crossbolts out of the air and starts up the steps two at a time. “Leave some for us!” Ben complains. Radiating righteous anger, Asha follows Karrack into the hall (GM Notes: Andy was dealt a Joker during initiative. Several weeks ago, he picked up a magic ring that gives him +2d6 additional power points every time this happens). The door to the mayor’s office bursts open and Grobaras emerges onto the landing, flanked by two armed bodyguards. He chucks a flask of alchemist’s fire at the heroes, Karrack bats it back with his tail. Grobaras retreats into his office and locks the door. Ben casts Blast, reducing the mayor’s refuge to a smoking crater. They find Grobaras curled up beneath the scorched remnants of his desk; a lobster-red, twitching wreck. His hair and clothes have been burnt away by the explosion. Asha stabilizes the fat villain and Grogg rolls him outside and into the custody of the waiting Justice. He is returned to the City of Monuments to stand trial for his transgressions. The citizens of Sandpoint reinstate Kendra Deverin as mayor, although the town hall will need to be rebuilt before she resumes that office. Ben bankrolls the renovation work (GM Notes: the Rich edge may be a tad unbalanced, 150,000g every twelve months?!). Titus Scarnetti and Cyrus Drokken lose their seats on the town council; they are replaced by Karrack and Ameiko. The heroes enjoy a period of well deserved downtime, but it is not to last. Rumours abound of giants raiding along the Lost Coast. The heroes remember what Barl Breakbones told them about his master Mokmorian and his plans to conquer Varisia. Steps are taken to ensure Sandpoint is prepared to repel the giants should they come calling – which they most certainly will… in a future rotation! <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> (GM Notes; Thanks again to my players for bearing with me during my mid-campaign crisis).</blockquote>

Verification