Of Sound Mind the Halfling Way
- Thread starter the Jester
- Start date
omrob
First Post
Edits from the Jester PC
Just a few notes about the sea devil fight.
Before Federico got clobbered by the big guy, the trident weilding bastard fumbled some kind of magic necklace thing. Federico spent his next turn grabbing it and tossing it in the drink. That really enraged it : )
Then he managed to get back and heal himself w/o dropping out.
He also peppered the Water Elemental with some good ole Ray of Frosts!
As you can tell he's the master of 0 and 1 st lvl spells at this point.
Just a few notes about the sea devil fight.
Before Federico got clobbered by the big guy, the trident weilding bastard fumbled some kind of magic necklace thing. Federico spent his next turn grabbing it and tossing it in the drink. That really enraged it : )
Then he managed to get back and heal himself w/o dropping out.
He also peppered the Water Elemental with some good ole Ray of Frosts!
As you can tell he's the master of 0 and 1 st lvl spells at this point.
the Jester
Legend
The Mermaid Rescue!
Our heroes swim on through the coral caves of the sahuagin. One of the three prisoners they are seeking remains unaccounted for: the mermaid (and Erasmuz seems possessed with a strange fixation on her). For the sake of their whale friend Weeweerinwee, our heroes push through the fear of destruction, the fear of becoming a shark’s meal or eaten alive (perhaps like the one elven prisoner who was already dead). They must find and rescue the mermaid- they must!
Departing the chamber with the turtle and the elemental in it- there are no other exits from it- the halflings return to the last intersection, which had four passages, one of which they came from originally and one of which they have just explored. That leaves two passages- and one of them ends in a door made from some sort of huge sand dollar shell. Naturally, they choose that one.
Throwing the door open, they find- a long hallway. They begin swimming down it, but gradually a stench enters the water. Our heroes falter, and then fall back. “If she’s in here, she’s probably already dead,” Ari remarks, wrinkling his nose.
“We can come back here if we need to,” Erasmuz points out.
They retreat to the intersection and go the only way they have not explored. This quickly opens onto a terrible scene- over a half-dozen sahuagin, clustered around the mermaid they seek! She squirms in her chains, clutching herself against the wall. They are badgering her in some deliquescent tongue.
H.A.M., the Halfling Action Militia, goes into action.
The sahuagin are many, but Ari evens the odds with his summonings. Nara summons a fiendish shark to join the fun before wading in with her morningstar, and Erasmuz throws caution to the winds and enlarges himself to match their size!
Though most of the sahuagin seem to be the usual brand of devil man of the deep, one of their number reveals that he has more formidable talents as he begins casting spells at our heroes, starting with a chill metal that all of our heroes resist. They are mighty little halflings (well, Erasmuz is big right now, but in general...) and will not easily fall! In fact, soon, with the aid of the mass of summoned sharks and squid, the battle crescendos, and the sea devils are thrown down!
“Oh thank the Queen!” the mermaid cries, speaking in Strogassian. “Please, will you release me? You have saved me from a terrible fate!”
“Of course we’ll release you,” exclaims Nara. Erasmuz can’t stop staring at the mermaid.
Soon they have released her from bondage, and they hurriedly swim out. Weeweerinwee is overjoyed to see his friend, Pelrose, swimming alive and unmaimed! They communicate for a few long moments in the strange-sounding songs of the whales, and then Pelrose calls up to our heroes.
“I would like to reward you, if I can,” she tells them. Her offer is tempting, especially to Erasmuz: if they can come to her underwater city she can give them a few items salvaged from a shipwreck.
“An underwater city!” Ari’s eyes are as big as saucers.
“Is this a city of mermaids?” asks Erasmuz, and Pelrose admits that it is. “We should do it,” he insists. “How often do you get a chance to hang out with a city of mermaids?”
“That is true,” Ari admits. “We’re agreed that we are done here, then?” There is a general murmur of assent.
“Well, how far away is it?” Nara asks. “And it’s not towards Dyshim, is it? We don’t want to go backwards.”
Pelrose and Grey Jorn discuss this, as they use rather different navigational markers. Eventually, the grizzled first mate decides that the detour would cost about two days. “It’s west by northwest,” he announces, “while Zacradose is more or less south by southwest.”
Digesting this, our heroes mull whether to change course. “I think the problem may be convincing the captain,” Nara remarks. Even now the sailors are doing all the sailor things they do, unfurling and such, while they prepare to set sail. Sandy probably would have understood some of it- but none of the present party do. To them, it is background noise, but with meaning: if they mean to take a side trip, they must decide.
After a few moments of debate, they approach Grey Jorn with their proposed diversion. In turn, he discusses the matter with the captain and then makes the party an offer. “We’ll do it for half of the reward,” he declares. Our heroes grumble but give in; after all, half a reward is better than none.
***
11/26/369 O.L.G., 4 p.m., the mermaid village
The mermaid village (whatever Pelrose may think, her people do not make up a city) is a fascinating place with small houses made of rock, shell and wood taken from shipwrecks. There are fifteen mermaids- and one merman, who is sullen and sulky while the halflings are present- in the village. Our heroes learn a few very interesting things about mermaids (and mermen) from conversing to all of the ‘sisters.’
First of all, mermaids outnumber mermen significantly- the village is a fairly representative group.* Far more interesting, it becomes apparent that there are different breeds of merfolk. Of the mermaids, 8 have human upper bodies, but the rest do not. Five of them are of elven blood and one each are of halfling and orcish stock.
“Orcish!” exclaims Nara in surprise. The mermaid, despite her heritage, is actually kind of attractive.
“Halfling!” exclaims Erasmuz, rubbing his hands together in pleasure.**
“How did that happen?” Ari inquires.
“Oh, it was after the shipwreck- my mother was with one of the halflings.”
“A halfling shipwreck?” he blinks.
“Yes,” Pelrose interjects. “That’s part of the reward.”
***
The shipwreck, past the Dolorous Rift (which gives forth intoxicating vapors; supposedly David, the merman, spends a lot of time out there, as the ladies prefer other humanoids), is old and covered in sea-scum. When our heroes go within its hulk to seek any loot they might find, they find a terrible creature with four long, whipping tails. It begins advancing towards them and an aura of slow comes before it! It bites at Nara, who makes a futile attempt to bestow curse on it, and then switches to channeling inflict serious wounds. This proves more efficacious, and soon the creature falls back with a loud cry. Ari, as he usually does, plays the summoning card, and soon the terrible monster is beset by a pair of sharks.
Erasmuz, attempting a flurry of blows at the monster, lands several hits that do no damage. Realizing it has damage reduction, he falls back and casts a spiritual weapon torn from the bosom of Fensor, which proves able to damage the thing as well. He then begins initiating defensive abilities as the horrid monster darts forward, lashing him with its four tails! Blood clouds the water as the melee continues.
The sharks tear into the beast, continuing to damage it, and our heroes fall back for a moment to heal and regroup. Then, in a stunning act of teamwork, Erasmuz manages to stun it and Nara finishes it off with another inflict moderate wounds.
***
The loot proves interesting but, at least for the moment, stymieing. There is some sort of sealed barrel and a box that they cannot seem to open.
“Maybe when we get to Zacradose,” suggests Nara, “we will find someone who can open it for us.”
Indeed, once they reach Zacradose they do indeed. The barrel holds a substance that proves to be a sealant that is completely waterproof (and obviously, given the nature of the barrel itself’s treatment, permanent) when applied. It does not seem suitable for thinner things (such as paper), but rather for thicker objects. The party ascertains that it must be heated to become thin enough to apply.
They also find a wizard for hire. He both knocks open the tenacious chest and identifies the items that the party has acquired that are magical. They split a few things up and try to get a feel for the local culture.
One thing that they learn very quickly is that they must change their coins for the local currency (and pay a surcharge of 6%***). Failure to do so renders their money liable to confiscation. Grumbling, our heroes exchange a few coins for ‘Stacklers’.
“Gold Stacklers.” Ari shakes his head mournfully.
Next Time: The Ruined Keep of the Small Folk!
*For the record, mermaids outnumber mermen 16:1 in Cydra.
** He tries hard during their visit, but he fails to get into her, er, fins.
***This actually answers one of the nagging questions the halfling party has had.
Our heroes swim on through the coral caves of the sahuagin. One of the three prisoners they are seeking remains unaccounted for: the mermaid (and Erasmuz seems possessed with a strange fixation on her). For the sake of their whale friend Weeweerinwee, our heroes push through the fear of destruction, the fear of becoming a shark’s meal or eaten alive (perhaps like the one elven prisoner who was already dead). They must find and rescue the mermaid- they must!
Departing the chamber with the turtle and the elemental in it- there are no other exits from it- the halflings return to the last intersection, which had four passages, one of which they came from originally and one of which they have just explored. That leaves two passages- and one of them ends in a door made from some sort of huge sand dollar shell. Naturally, they choose that one.
Throwing the door open, they find- a long hallway. They begin swimming down it, but gradually a stench enters the water. Our heroes falter, and then fall back. “If she’s in here, she’s probably already dead,” Ari remarks, wrinkling his nose.
“We can come back here if we need to,” Erasmuz points out.
They retreat to the intersection and go the only way they have not explored. This quickly opens onto a terrible scene- over a half-dozen sahuagin, clustered around the mermaid they seek! She squirms in her chains, clutching herself against the wall. They are badgering her in some deliquescent tongue.
H.A.M., the Halfling Action Militia, goes into action.
The sahuagin are many, but Ari evens the odds with his summonings. Nara summons a fiendish shark to join the fun before wading in with her morningstar, and Erasmuz throws caution to the winds and enlarges himself to match their size!
Though most of the sahuagin seem to be the usual brand of devil man of the deep, one of their number reveals that he has more formidable talents as he begins casting spells at our heroes, starting with a chill metal that all of our heroes resist. They are mighty little halflings (well, Erasmuz is big right now, but in general...) and will not easily fall! In fact, soon, with the aid of the mass of summoned sharks and squid, the battle crescendos, and the sea devils are thrown down!
“Oh thank the Queen!” the mermaid cries, speaking in Strogassian. “Please, will you release me? You have saved me from a terrible fate!”
“Of course we’ll release you,” exclaims Nara. Erasmuz can’t stop staring at the mermaid.
Soon they have released her from bondage, and they hurriedly swim out. Weeweerinwee is overjoyed to see his friend, Pelrose, swimming alive and unmaimed! They communicate for a few long moments in the strange-sounding songs of the whales, and then Pelrose calls up to our heroes.
“I would like to reward you, if I can,” she tells them. Her offer is tempting, especially to Erasmuz: if they can come to her underwater city she can give them a few items salvaged from a shipwreck.
“An underwater city!” Ari’s eyes are as big as saucers.
“Is this a city of mermaids?” asks Erasmuz, and Pelrose admits that it is. “We should do it,” he insists. “How often do you get a chance to hang out with a city of mermaids?”
“That is true,” Ari admits. “We’re agreed that we are done here, then?” There is a general murmur of assent.
“Well, how far away is it?” Nara asks. “And it’s not towards Dyshim, is it? We don’t want to go backwards.”
Pelrose and Grey Jorn discuss this, as they use rather different navigational markers. Eventually, the grizzled first mate decides that the detour would cost about two days. “It’s west by northwest,” he announces, “while Zacradose is more or less south by southwest.”
Digesting this, our heroes mull whether to change course. “I think the problem may be convincing the captain,” Nara remarks. Even now the sailors are doing all the sailor things they do, unfurling and such, while they prepare to set sail. Sandy probably would have understood some of it- but none of the present party do. To them, it is background noise, but with meaning: if they mean to take a side trip, they must decide.
After a few moments of debate, they approach Grey Jorn with their proposed diversion. In turn, he discusses the matter with the captain and then makes the party an offer. “We’ll do it for half of the reward,” he declares. Our heroes grumble but give in; after all, half a reward is better than none.
***
11/26/369 O.L.G., 4 p.m., the mermaid village
The mermaid village (whatever Pelrose may think, her people do not make up a city) is a fascinating place with small houses made of rock, shell and wood taken from shipwrecks. There are fifteen mermaids- and one merman, who is sullen and sulky while the halflings are present- in the village. Our heroes learn a few very interesting things about mermaids (and mermen) from conversing to all of the ‘sisters.’
First of all, mermaids outnumber mermen significantly- the village is a fairly representative group.* Far more interesting, it becomes apparent that there are different breeds of merfolk. Of the mermaids, 8 have human upper bodies, but the rest do not. Five of them are of elven blood and one each are of halfling and orcish stock.
“Orcish!” exclaims Nara in surprise. The mermaid, despite her heritage, is actually kind of attractive.
“Halfling!” exclaims Erasmuz, rubbing his hands together in pleasure.**
“How did that happen?” Ari inquires.
“Oh, it was after the shipwreck- my mother was with one of the halflings.”
“A halfling shipwreck?” he blinks.
“Yes,” Pelrose interjects. “That’s part of the reward.”
***
The shipwreck, past the Dolorous Rift (which gives forth intoxicating vapors; supposedly David, the merman, spends a lot of time out there, as the ladies prefer other humanoids), is old and covered in sea-scum. When our heroes go within its hulk to seek any loot they might find, they find a terrible creature with four long, whipping tails. It begins advancing towards them and an aura of slow comes before it! It bites at Nara, who makes a futile attempt to bestow curse on it, and then switches to channeling inflict serious wounds. This proves more efficacious, and soon the creature falls back with a loud cry. Ari, as he usually does, plays the summoning card, and soon the terrible monster is beset by a pair of sharks.
Erasmuz, attempting a flurry of blows at the monster, lands several hits that do no damage. Realizing it has damage reduction, he falls back and casts a spiritual weapon torn from the bosom of Fensor, which proves able to damage the thing as well. He then begins initiating defensive abilities as the horrid monster darts forward, lashing him with its four tails! Blood clouds the water as the melee continues.
The sharks tear into the beast, continuing to damage it, and our heroes fall back for a moment to heal and regroup. Then, in a stunning act of teamwork, Erasmuz manages to stun it and Nara finishes it off with another inflict moderate wounds.
***
The loot proves interesting but, at least for the moment, stymieing. There is some sort of sealed barrel and a box that they cannot seem to open.
“Maybe when we get to Zacradose,” suggests Nara, “we will find someone who can open it for us.”
Indeed, once they reach Zacradose they do indeed. The barrel holds a substance that proves to be a sealant that is completely waterproof (and obviously, given the nature of the barrel itself’s treatment, permanent) when applied. It does not seem suitable for thinner things (such as paper), but rather for thicker objects. The party ascertains that it must be heated to become thin enough to apply.
They also find a wizard for hire. He both knocks open the tenacious chest and identifies the items that the party has acquired that are magical. They split a few things up and try to get a feel for the local culture.
One thing that they learn very quickly is that they must change their coins for the local currency (and pay a surcharge of 6%***). Failure to do so renders their money liable to confiscation. Grumbling, our heroes exchange a few coins for ‘Stacklers’.
“Gold Stacklers.” Ari shakes his head mournfully.
Next Time: The Ruined Keep of the Small Folk!
*For the record, mermaids outnumber mermen 16:1 in Cydra.
** He tries hard during their visit, but he fails to get into her, er, fins.
***This actually answers one of the nagging questions the halfling party has had.
OaxacanWarrior
First Post
Great end to the Sahuagin cave adventure. And who can fault Ari for going after a mermaid? Those mermaids are hot! 
the Jester
Legend
OaxacanWarrior said:Great end to the Sahuagin cave adventure. And who can fault Ari for going after a mermaid? Those mermaids are hot!
In my campaign, as a race, they are nicknamed 'slutfish.'
(This is largely due to their reproductive habits, hinted at in the preceding update.)
OaxacanWarrior
First Post
the Jester said:
Gotta love those nicknames!
Brain
First Post
Erasmuz was the one who went after a mermaid. Although it doesn't show in the story hour, I had trouble convincing Ari to stick around for the underwater stuff. He kept wanting to leave for Zacradose.OaxacanWarrior said:Great end to the Sahuagin cave adventure. And who can fault Ari for going after a mermaid? Those mermaids are hot!
hippiejedi2
First Post
Nara detected poison on the barrel containing the sealant. The substance turned out to be not poisonous, so she gave it a little taste. It did not taste very good, in fact she had to double down on meals just to get the resinous taste out of her mouth.
OaxacanWarrior
First Post
hippiejedi2 said:
Good thing it didn't seal her mouth shut! That could have been somewhat entertaining though...a halfling that can't eat because her mouth is glued shut. Hahaha!
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