The party
Galion – Elf ranger lvl. 8
Shaith – Fire elf fire domain wizard lvl. 5 / Incantatrix 3
Killian – Human priest of Heironious lvl. 3 / Church Inquisitor 1 / Ordained champion 4
NPC
Faquaniel
April 5
After a couple of days of building defenses and fortifying positions, the enemy army arrives. During this time the party has time to think about things that has happened.
DM Note: The many days with travelling and talking was to me a good point to have them think about some of the conclusions they had drawn, especially regarding Lee and their conclusion of him being a Ragesian agent. I had them think back towards all encounters with Ragesians they had seen or heard of. In every one of them the inquisitor had been in charge, but in Seaquen he wasn’t according to Faquaniel, or at least only partly. Second of all, when Lee died he shouted out to his master, but if he was a Ragesian, wouldn’t it have been his mistress? I gave them some hints pointing in the direction that Ragesia were not the only bad guy in chapter 3.
The evening of April 5 Duke Gallo calls for a meeting of the commanders. He tells them the battle plans for the following day. He then says that he will call the commander up for individual orders, and recommends that they afterwards discuss how to handle situations that cross over their individual charges on the battlefield. The players having had quite a skillful hand in getting the reinforcements are called up among the first. They are rewarded by being given a choice, would they prefer a cavalry unit or a heavy infantry. They chose the latter.
DM note: The campaign gives these two options, and I thought it would be more fun for the players if they were the ones choosing. I also made Duke Gallos speech include the fact that even though each commander is given an area to hold, there would naturally be instances, where enemies would cross over the “borders” (at least in a more realistic world), so they would need to discuss how to handle these issues.
After having gone over the battle plans, Duke Gallo dismisses most of the commanders, asking only the best of the Special Forces to stay, including the players. He tells them that standard army policy in Dassen is to attack at dawn, and it would be a good idea to get some sleep to be ready for the morning. However, it would also be a good idea to deal a blow to the enemy during the night. Any group undertaking one of the two missions he had in mind might not be able to get enough sleep to be ready for the coming morning. If their attack was successful, it might postpone the attack for some hours, but only time would tell.
Also, any team volunteering to take on both tasks would surely not be able to regain all spells for the coming conflict.
DM note: This is related to the mistake with the siege engines. By setting it up this way I basically made sure that they couldn’t get a major victory. It was not my intention, and in retrospect I should have found a way to give them more victory points – but in the heat of the coming battle, which took a long time to resolve, I did not have that focus. It annoys me a bit, even if it worked out quite well in the end.
Anyway, back to the forced choice I gave them. The party is pretty strong, so by forcing them to either let the enemies be stronger in the coming fight, or not having a full complement of spells, it would even the odds a bit. They did not like it very much I gave them a 1 in 4 (actually a 4, symbolizing a 4 hour delay) chance for the army to be delayed enough in case of their success for them to regain spells. The dice were with them – they got to make the roll, and the roll was a 4.
The party volunteered to take out the siege engines, based on a knowledge history on war related efforts. In Shaith’s opinion based on history, it would potentially be a lot more devastating blow to the army to lose the siege engines, than the wizard.
DM Note: They were torn between the options, leaning mostly towards the wizard. I had consulted the VP list, and based on that, there were more points to gain from the destruction of the siege engines. I let them have a knowledge check and told them, that based on history siege engines killed more soldiers than wizards, based on the numbers they faced. I also allowed Shaith to calculate that they would have to take out at least 4 engines to match the value of the wizard.
The mission went quite straight forward. They snuck out of the tunnel, and noticed how the engines were arrayed. Shaith then led the assault with walls of fire, through 5 engines. The party quickly felt overwhelmed, especially with flying dragon, and soon retreated down the tunnel. The mission was still a success, despite the hasty retreat. The walls of fire burned down the engines to cinders, and eliminated 5 engines for the coming battle.
The chaos following the assault, and the logistical problems that the army faced, ended up delaying Steppengard’s army by 4 hours. It also meant that by the time the battle commenced, the party was ready and prepared.
April 6
The day of the battle of Gallo’s Fend. The first big battle the players have participated in, in this campaign. The party set up their soldiers and got ready to receive the attacking forces.
DM note: I had scripted the movement of the enemy army beforehand to smoothen out the flow of the beginning of the battle.
As I have mentioned before, we play at a table that is a little over 2 meters long (about 7 feet for those of you disliking the metric system), with a wax table cloth with squares. We cleared the table and set up the battlefield. The entire table gave us an area that resembles 550 feet long and 170 feet wide, not quite enough for the entire battlefield, but enough for handling the action. It also gave the battle a different feel from the normal combats as we all had to stand up moving around the table.
The first many rounds were preparation as the enemy came running closer. When they were within range the wizards from Lady Timor and Shaith fired off fireballs, basically eliminating the first wave 500 feet out.
DM note: I don’t know if it was the idea in the campaign, or if it was an oversight, but the enemies of the first wave basically could not survive the fireball barrage – except for the priest and the minotaur. They of course went to ground behind cover and waited for the second wave, which I started earlier than scripted.
The second wave came running towards them. When they were within 400 feet the enemy wizard rode by some 800 feet out. He threw a fireball at the party and moved on. Like the player’s fireballs, this fireball also killed quite a few soldiers. As the party was getting ready to receive the enemies, still some 200 feet out, they were suddenly blasted by the roar of an invisible androsphinx. The androsphinx blasted them from behind, forcing the soldiers to run in fear towards the enemy. This messed up the entire line and their battle plans. A messy skirmish followed with soldiers running all over the place.
Killian, being a war priest, was in his element and he strode confidently through the battle field dealing death wherever he went. Having had time to buff himself up during the assault the enemies could hardly touch him. The minotaur got in a good swing or two, but it was more a matter of time than anything else before the battle was over. The party did suffer one casualty. Faquaniel missed her will safe and ran all she could. She managed to all but one enemy on the battlefield, but the priest managed to incapacitate her and killed her with a Coup de Grace. He then fled the battlefield as he clearly saw that the battle was lost.
DM Note: Poor Faquaniel – she had a tough and short adventuring life ![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
Steppengard’s army retreats from the battle and the next day is spent waiting. Duke Gallo calls in his commanders and brief them that he is sure that battle is over, and that they have achieved a minor victory, but not a decisive one.
April 8
Duke Gallo is approached by an envoy that confirms his assessment of the situation. He is invited to the capital for peace talks. He accepts, as he feels he has no other choice. He does not expect much to come of these talks, and fears attempts on his life. For that reason he asks the players to join him as part of his entourage and his bodyguards. If they accept he will knight them naming them Knights of Gallo’s Fend. He offers this both as a reward and to ensure that they are welcome at the castle among the other entourages.
The party accepts. Galion is very pleased and Shaith is pleased as well. Killian is more reserved as he feels that there might be a catch to the offer later on.
April 9 – 12
Steppengard’s army departs the area, and Duke Gallos entourage follows half a day behind. The journey towards Bresk is uneventful.
April 13
The party arrived in Bresk late afternoon and was part of the military parade through the town. The parade had a somewhat strangely muted feel to it, as no one really knew who or what to really cheer.
The parade ended at the castle, where King Steppengard stood in the courtyard ready to receive Duke Gallo. The remaining Lords and Ladies of the land were present as well, as was the ambassador and inquisitor from Ragesia. The latter two however were not given an honorable placing, but were situated in a corner observing the proceedings.
DM Note: The first thing they asked about was where the Ragesians were. I made sure to underline that they were there, but clearly out of favor. That much had definitely changed.
The king held a very good speech that had the players feeling that things were taking a turn for the right course. They were still wary about the Ragesians and what they would be plotting now.
After the speech, the Duke and his entourage retired to a mansion in town where they spent the evening and night. They were joined in the by Lord Dashgoban and Lady Timor and together they celebrated their victory and the change of the political scene.
The players were told a bit about what to expect the following day during the festivities and that they would be required to purchase fitting suits of clothes for the evening banquet.
April 14
This is the day of the festival celebrating the new peace.
The party spent most of the day wandering around town, watching the spectacles and the different games. Spell casting duels is not their thing and neither is jousting. Galion signed up for the archery contest later in the day.
DM Note: I had planned it so that they would spend the day walking around the town, encountering most of the different persons and things mentioned in the campaign. Some of it was paraphrased and some of it was more interactive, based on what they wanted to dwell on.
The first noteworthy encounter, according to the party, was the food stand with the King’s chef. They witnessed him shouting at a customer and decided to try the food. They were amazed at how good it was and told the chef. He instantly liked the party and they talked a bit. They moved on, feeling a bit suspicious based on what he had told them. Shortly after their conversation ends, the party sees some city guards shutting down his stand. Before they can move in to help, they are contacted by a dwarf who informs them of another suspicious thing, this time related to the sewer entrance to the prison. The dwarf is clearly scared and moves away quickly after a short conversation.
After this they wander around for a while, a bit more wary than before. They pass a horseshoe throwing competition that Shaith decides to try his hand in. Not with much luck. A short while later they pass a group of people standing around a pole with a bell on top. The current strong man champion is one of Lady Namin’s lackeys and he taunts the players into taking up the challenge. Galion decides to give it a go, but is decisively beaten, much to the enjoyment of the lackey. He tells the gathering crowd that this is the stuff that Duke Gallo’s men are made of.
With that defeat fresh in mind it is time for the archery contest. Galion felt quite confident and started of strongly. In the semifinal he went up against the elven archer hired by Lord Megadon. The gods were not with Galion and much to his own chagrin; he lost the bout in the first round of extra arrows.
The winner of the archery contest was the contestant representing Lady Namin
DM Note: Of course it was her contestant that won; they hated her, and saw her as part of the conspiracy of bad guy’s in this adventure.
The jousting was not something that really held their interest despite being the highpoint of the festival. The best thing according to the players was that Lady Namin’s champion did not win this contest; the winner was the contestant representing Lord Megadon.
As the festivities come to an end the party and Duke Gallo have a short meeting, where the party tells him what they have learned. Duke Gallo promises to be as well prepared as possible. He tells them of an old tradition where people would exchange plates and glasses to ensure that no one was poisoned. He ought to be safe from the poison because of the Book of the Eight lands, but his chaplain will provide him with a slow poison and protect him as well during the dinner. The party received slow poison spells as well.
Duke Gallo and the party agree that the strange situation around the sewer entrance warranted more examination, so the party would try to find out what happened there. The plan is for them to meet up with Duke Gallo at the banquet.
They hurry to the secret entrance, and after fighting a couple of tragedies they found tracks outside the entrance and decide to enter the prison through the sewer. Knowing that it would be full of zombies, they protected themselves with invisibility to undead and entered the prison without any problems.
Something must have alerted the people in the guard room, according to Galion it was Killian and his big rusty metal bucket of an armor, because he was shot with four crossbow bolts as he opened the door.
Inside they found four soldies, the Ragesian ambassador and the inquisitor. The fight was a tough one, as both parties used walls of fire, and the inquisitor managed to pull off a tactically well placed silence spell. Galion manged to miss a save versus the ambassador’s charm person, was dispelled of it, and missed once more.
DM Note: I had not improved either the ambassador or the inquisitor, Galion just rolled poorly. In the last campaign we played, Killian had played a necromancer. He absolutely loved the detail with the soldiers with black pearls in their mouths.
After the combat was over they searched the bodies and found two drafts for letters, detailing how the Ragesians knew of the poisoning about to happen. It also told of a new venue into the country, since the fiery forest had stopped burning.
DM note: one has to love the faces of PC’s that know they have done a good deed by saving the forest, and then having it hit them in their faces later on. Yeah, I know… I am evil… it comes with the job
The party was now left with the dilemma of what to do; examine the book or hurry to the banquet. They decide to go check on the book, but on the way realizing that they had a tiny challenge ahead of them. The only human or dwarf in the party was Killian and he did not speak a word of Dwarf. Shaith tried teaching him the ceremonial words on the way and they managed to talk their way into the vault ,
DM note: It was a small thing, but it was quite fun, as Killian took the challenge to heart and made a quite funny scene out of trying to speak a language he had no clue about.
Everything seems to be in order, but just as they are about to leave, Shaith decides to touch the book just to be certain, and realizes that it is an illusion. They hurry out and run towards the banquet.
DM Note: I took a short break here asking them if they would run into the banquet in full gear, or if they would change and arrive in their noble’s outfit. I also told them that it would decide when they would arrive, as the next part would be run as a cinematic/cut scene. They decided to arrive in full gear, which meant that they would arrive late to the banquet. They had obviously spent a lot more time getting there than they planned on.
I had prepared it so that if the players arrived dressed for dinner, then they would be present for dinner; otherwise they would arrive later just as the King was giving his speech. Either way they would experience the cut scene, either from their own perspective or from a third-person perspective. The banquet plays out more or less as the book stated, I just filled in some more details a few more about the food and about the old tradition. I left a few questions for the players as to who exchanged plates with who and when.
I had also made the entourages of equal size for all lords, three for each, except for Gallo and the king. The king only had his bodyguard and Gallo had his chaplain as his bodyguard. This meant that I made the room a little larger and it was extremely crowded for the ensuing fight.
The party arrived at the banquet hall while the king was speaking. The king was noticeably upset about being interrupted.
DM note: The party did not notice that the door closed behind them.
Just as they are about to explain why they arrived late chaos erupted. Lady Timor started giggling poking her fork into the eye of Lord Dashgoban while similar things happened all around them stealing their attention for a short while. The King then got their attention again with his short speech about treason and that he would now bury the land, blaming Gallo for his treason and killing his family. And blaming Lady Namin for thinking she could take the place of his wife so soon after her death, that her body was hardly cold. He finished his speech by bashing in Lady Namin’s head with his flail.
DM Note: Another jaw dropping moment Lady Namin was a bad guy in their eyes, and part of the big conspiracy. To have her head smashed in like that was something they never saw coming. I can only recommend adding that little twist to the banquet.
Madness then revealed herself and a big fight broke out. The fight was not as bad as it could have been, as Shaith managed to capture King Steppengard in a Resilient sphere effectively taking him out of the equation.
During the fight both Lady Timor and Lord Dashgoban are killed, Dashgoban by the confused Lady Timor and she is in turn killed by the bodyguard. In the Madness is put down as well, but without the song of forms she just fades away and is gone for now.
DM Note: I let them know that Madness was not dead, since they did not receive a boon, and that she got away because no one was singing song of forms.
After this chapter they would be level 9. I allowed them to take extra song as a feat, based on the suggestions here on this forum, even if they were not bards. They could only use this feat to sing song of forms, when they needed it. Shaith ended up using his 9th level feat on just that.
With Madness gone, the King regains his own mind, free of madness, but full of sadness and very conscious of what he has done. He steps down from the throne, and the party does not stop him. Duke Gallo and the rest of the surviving lords decided to appoint Lord Iz as the new King, much to the surprise of the party who had expected Duke Gallo as the new king.
The new King and his lords decide to join the fight on the side of Seaquen as they learn that Ragesia had a hand in planning the poisoning.
End of chapter
End of chapter musings
This chapter was my personal least favorite of the first four chapters. It wasn’t a bad chapter, but the roleplaying elements were reduced in the second act, which was a bit sad and made it less enjoyable for me. Especially the part where they were just riding around and basically told where to go and just more or less had to arrive were a bit subpar. I probably ought to have made more out of it, maybe burrowing the idea of skill challenges from 4th edition or something, just to make it a bit more challenging.
The big battle was a nice change of scenery, but in effect it didn’t end up being quite as fun as I had hoped – the players enjoyed it well enough, though. I am not sure what “went wrong” with it, I just think it was a bit too static, and that might just as easily have been my way of handling it. Also, the mistake I made with the VP calculation was another annoyance, even if the game effect was negligible.
One of the good things about the chapter is that the players once again stumble around trying to figure out what is going on, and constantly realize that they have missed something or were just plainly wrong.
The first and last acts were quite fun. Both the setup with getting to the audience, realizing something is wrong and then being caught all worked well. Their focus on the problem was quite fun, but the second act forced it into the background. The third act brought it out again, and the final part with the fight in the prison, finding that the book was an illusion and the banquet itself was quite good. My cinematic approach to the Kings speech and the build up to the final fight worked well, and it made it possible to set the players up for another jaw dropping moment, which is always a hit.
My players know me by now, and they expect to face Madness again at some future point in the story, since she got away. And they will I still haven’t decided where yet, either chapter 9 or 11.
Anyway they are off towards Seaquen and then the Monastary of the two winds, and we are catching up on real life. We just finished chapter 5 (almost that is – they decided to wait until the orb is done to confront the brothers, and we left it at that. Maybe I will get to use Stream’s little encounter after all)
Comments like that and all the views are what keeps me motivated to keep on going. I will be the first to admit that writing this up takes a lot more time, and takes up a lot more space than I thought it would.
Anyway, back to the story.
