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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MortalPlague" data-source="post: 6072600" data-attributes="member: 62721">Thanks guys.  Now, I'll type up what happened in Session Seven.Home For A RestOur noble heroes, worn down by the fight in the Hall of Bells (and nursing their unconscious, mummy-rot afflicted NPC rogue) swam the river and emerged outside the dungeon.  True to form, they had also carried the statue of Queen Teera from the statue room in the halls, and they dragged it through the tunnel behind them.  Because they'd brought a statue out last time, they simply couldn't disappoint their adoring public.The session saw them spend some time in town.  First off, they went to the Church of Tiamat and claimed their second bracelet, putting them firmly in the upper echelon of heroes in Fortune.  Few manage to claim two bracelets!  Zarchus (the NPC warrior) took Myrielle (the NPC rogue) back to the Grey Company, so that they could fix her affliction.  The Ivory Lady, meanwhile, brought the PCs back to her camp where she paid them the five hundred gold pieces she owed.  She gave them a bonus for going above and beyond the call of duty; the hall had proven more dangerous than even she had expected!  An extra twenty platinum coins was doled out to each participant, and each PC was given a silver ring set with an ivory mask on a black field; the symbol of her house.  An honor, naming them as agents of her house.In town, the various characters found themselves the center of attention.  Particularly Brelf and Vell; many would-be adventurers challenged them to brawls and wrestling matches, or in Vell's case, archery competitions.  We ran a brief 'combat' for each, just to give the PCs a chance to show off.  Other adventurers were trying to hit on Estel, who was instead trying to manipulate them to serve her goals.  Meriele followed the others, healing those who Brelf injured in his fights.Estel had a job to do; the elf wizard was also an assassin in the service of House Trelayen, an elf crime family.  The last time they were in town, she'd received word through her contact Maya (one of the Mourning Girls) that Princess Rethella, the heir to the Trelayen family was coming to Fortune to personally oversee operations.  She had left two instructions for Estel; the first, that the Emperor Suite would be available to her when she arrived.  The second, that the cleric Roevus was no longer in Fortune.  The first, she was keeping an eye on.  As for the second, Estel had been hard at work planting the seeds in the minds of adventurers to go after a treasure on the third level called the Golden Fleece.  Every time she spoke of it, she suggested that Roevus would be a fine cleric to take along.  The last week's efforts had come to naught; Roevus remained above.  But while suitors were hitting on her, Estel deftly suggested that they might want to go after such a prize, and that she'd be inclined (maybe, possibly, perhaps) to join with their venture if Roevus were along.It bears mentioning that Estel had hatched another plot earlier; just prior to going after the Hall of Bells, she had talked to Maya about the possibility of delaying Pohtep.  Drugging him would be tough, they decided, but Estel came up with a plan to kidnap Daria, Pohtep's girl.  Sure enough, Maya put the plan into action; she enlisted another of the Mourning Girls named Prea to kidnap the girl, so that Pohtep would spend the morning trying to find her and miss the opening to enter the dungeon.Alas, all did not end well.  Pohtep showed up with Daria on the morning in a foul mood, and Prea turned up dead.In any case, the first day back was without major events.  The PCs were rewarded, they heard some of the news, and they found out that Daria had actually survived to make it back to town.A Message Signed In BloodThe following morning was the start of four full days in town.  The dungeon would be opened on the morning of the fifth day.That morning, there was a buzz in town.  Vallanor the Bold had arrived!  A noble, charismatic hero rode into town with his retinue; a butler, a cook, four men-at-arms, and six ladies.  He began to boast about his feats, spreading his gold around, and he loudly announced his intention to enter the dungeon on the next Parade Day.Each of the PCs was invited to a celebration of their second bracelet in the town square at noon.  Wary, they prepared some anti-toxin, and as they collected in the square, they imbibed it.  Estel made an excellent spot check, and noticed that all the Mourning Girls were in attendance except for her contact, Maya.  And she also spotted what looked like a headsman's block up on the platform.  But she didn't try anything rash, and minutes later, the Exarch appeared.It was the first time any of the PCs had met Exarch Anaiya Draco, the Commander of the Red.  She was an unassuming woman, actually, with plain features, brown hair, a little under six feet, and splendid red plate armor.  The only thing unremarkable about her was her stance, which suggested a strong martial tradition.  But otherwise, she was unremarkable.She spoke about how the PCs demonstrated the qualities that the town of Fortune was built upon.  "Bravery, skill, and a desire for more and greater wealth," she said.  "For they were not content with merely one bracelet, but when back in for more."  She finished with a toast, a fine fire brandy, which servants gave to the PCs.  All drank, but the goblets were not poisoned.Following that, she brought forth Maya in chains, and put her down on the block, her neck outstretched.  "In Fortune, we do not tolerate those who murder their fellows," the Exarch said.  And with eyes on the PCs, she commanded her headsman to take off Maya's head.It was clearly a message aimed at the PCs.  They had slain Pohtep in the dungeon, who the Exarch was fond of.  Cross me again, and you could be up here too.Finally, she announced that Pohtep's funeral would be two days hence.The WagerThe crowd was congratulating the PCs on their accomplishments as they dispersed.  One of the last to reach them was Vallanor the Bold himself.  He congratulated them warmly, and then challenged them to a wager.  "There are griffons who live at the top of the mountain," he said, gesturing to the mountain that loomed over Fortune.  The very same mountain that housed the dungeon itself.  "Join me in my hunt tomorrow, and we shall see who bags more griffons!"The PCs agreed.  To make things more interesting, Vallanor proposed a wager; five hundred gold pieces to the ones who slayed more griffons!  To this, the PCs also agreed.  They were hoping to hire on more and better mercenaries for their return to the dungeon.The rest of the day was largely uneventful.  But not entirely.  Many of the characters had received letters the last time they were in town, and Brelf was no exception!  Except that his wasn't for him.  It had been for Brolf, his deceased, stupid brother.  It read:There was no doubt that Cousin Sacks would be going to his death, and that it would be difficult to persuade him not to go into the dungeon.  So Brelf had taken some advance steps; he gave Drekkis (one of their earlier mercenaries) 30 gold pieces for the express purpose of getting Sacks well and truly drunk, so he wouldn't be able to get into the dungeon.  After that, they'd see what happened.Well, Brelf was in the tavern when Sacks showed up.  Big, fat, and dumb, Sacks waddled into the tavern and immediately froze when he saw Brelf.  He had been spotted.  He tried to pretend he hadn't, and turned around, trying to subtly waddle back out.  Brelf walked over and put a hand on his shoulder."What are you doing here Sacks?""Oh hi, uh, Brelf.""What are you doing here?""Oh, nothing.""I saw your letter."Sacks went pale.  Brelf told Sacks that Brolf was dead; Sacks laughed, convinced that Brelf was kidding him until Brelf brought out Brolf's skull.  Drekkis arrived, and Brelf handed him three extra platinum coins and nodded for him to grab drink.  Sacks took the news of Brolf's death in stride; he vowed to make sure that both he and Brolf were good and drunk by the end of the night.  The thought that Drekkis was paying made things even better!  He turned Brolf's skull upside-down so it would hold more beer (neglecting to consider the eye sockets), and prepared for some partying.Brelf prepared to do some Sacks-avoiding.The next morning, the group went hunting.  They met up with Vallanor, who was planning to take the trip with his four men-at-arms, and he suggested that they could pick the path up the mountain they wanted to take.  Brelf, being a guide (by background) chose what he surmised to be the quicker path up the mountain, so they split up and began the ascent.The first obstacle they came across was a small lake, which due to the rocks around it, they'd have to go through.  They were ambushed by a witch, who cackled and commanded her pets to feast!  Five giant frogs hopped up from the water, and began to attack the PCs.  One frog managed to snag Vell, while another grabbed Estel.  The others were less successful, though one pulled Brelf over with its tongue.  Then the witch cast a spell of silence, which prevented Meriele and Estel from casting spells!The lack of casting would prove to be a serious problem.  Vell was fighting in close, where he took disadvantage on his ranged attacks.  One of the frogs had him grabbed, so he couldn't get away.  We ruled that Estel could use her wand in the silence (still not sure if this is correct or not, I suspect not, but I wanted to make her wand useful), so she picked off a couple of the more injured frogs with magic missiles.  Then things got real interesting.  One of the frogs swallowed Estel whole!  The witch closed with Brelf and inflicted moderate wounds upon him!  But Vell was able to kill Estel's frog, which allowed her to clamber out, and Brelf took down the witch.  The other frogs had died in the fight, and the green slime which clung to one of the trees hadn't had a chance to attack.Under the hood: This encounter clocked in at 620 xp (some of which didn't even come into play, with the green slime).  The witch was a re-flavored Dark Priest.  An average encounter for four 4th level PCs is 840 xp.  So this should've been an easy encounter, by the encounter guidelines.  It proved to be quite difficult, actually, in large part thanks to the witch's silence.  Shutting down the cleric and the wizard was a really potent trick.  Combined with the terrain, it meant that Brelf couldn't easily reach the witch.  I was impressed with how challenging the frogs were, being level 1 monsters in a 4th level fight.The party looted the witch, then proceeded up the mountain.  The terrain gave way to alpine meadows, with plenty of jutting rocks.  As they neared the peak, where the final leg of the journey would require a climb, they saw the other group, a little ways back.  They had the advantage of time, it seemed!  They also found some ettin tracks, which led to a large cave towards the base of the peak section.  It would take too long to slip around, and it would be hard to sneak up on the ettin (what with the two heads and all), so they decided to lure it out and fight it.Cleverly, Brelf suggested that Estel use her illusionary magic to call out to the ettin, mimicing a female giant looking for a mate.  She did so, and rolled a considerable bluff check in the mid-twenties.  However, she didn't speak giant, which imposed disadvantage.  She rolled the same result on her d20, however, making it a moot point.The ettin would've been harder to fool, since it had noticed (on a critical spot check) the approaching people.  But he was completely fooled by the check.  He emerged, with his saber-toothed tiger on a chain, and bellowed out to the fictional giantess, "Why you come up with little people?"The surprise round ensued.  The saber-toothed tiger was cut down quickly, while the ettin was savagely wounded.  Brelf engaged it in melee, and the ettin had a turn or two to try and pummel him.  The first time, it landed a crit with one club and a hit with the other.  The second time, only one hit, which was fully (and impressively) parried by Brelf.  The ettin was wailing around the whole fight, calling out to the giantess he imagined was lurking somewhere, asking her for help.  But by the third round, the ettin ran out of hit points.Under the hood: This encounter was worth 1090 xp, which puts it somewhere just above average difficulty.  However, the surprise round made it an exercise in futility to measure it.  Surprise rounds are really, really deadly in this edition; they trivialize encounters, and ought to be handled judiciously.  I'll often allow PCs to have advantage on their first round as a 'partial surprise' before I'll hand out a full-on surprise round.The PCs were still ahead of Vallanor the Bold and his group, but the others were making good time up the meadow.  The PCs quickly looted the Ettin, and dragged the saber-toothed tiger corpse into the cave (so Brelf could skin it later), then they began to climb the rocky cliffs up to the griffon nests.  Only Brelf had a climber's kit, so he was setting ropes and pitons for everyone, which slowed them a little.  Vallanor the Bold reached the base, and all of his men had kits; they climbed much faster.  But the initial lead led the PCs to the summit first.Battle On The PeakI drew the battlefield.  The summit was a rough circle, with open cliffs on most sides.  There were smaller ledges below the cliffs, forty feet down.  If someone was knocked off the edge, they'd get a dexterity save to catch themselves, and if they failed that, they'd fall to the lower platform.  If they were knocked off the platform below, they'd fall down the mountain and likely die.  The summit was littered with rocky upcrops, each one a twenty foot tall pillar of stone.  On top of one, the griffons made their nest.I allowed the PCs to choose where they came up.  Vell opted to have climbed ahead a little, and perched up on top of one of the upcrops, for a commanding view of the battlefield.  Estel climbed up at the base of Vell's outcrop.  Brelf and Meriele climbed up a little further along.  And the griffons, all perched atop the rocky upcrops, shrieked and began their attack.The griffons won the initiative, and swooped in with deadly purpose.  The first attack was on Vell; one of the griffons plowed into him with a single claw attack, and pushed him off the edge.  He took 2d6 and 4 from the claw, then failed his dexterity save and spilled over the cliff.  While most would only take 40 feet of falling damage, he had climbed onto the upcrop, and took 60 feet worth.  Fortunately, Vell had tumbling dodge, which I allowed him to use to mitigate some of the damage.  But he was still sorely wounded.  Another griffon pounced on the mage, Estel, and tore into her with its claws and beak.  Still a third flew around and attacked Meriele from behind, savaging her with claws and beak.  The first initiative count had left the party reeling.Desperately, the PCs focused on the griffon attacking Meriele, since it could also be shot by Vell on the cliff below.  The griffon was bloodied in one turn, while Estel blasted the two near her with thunderwave, knocking one close to Brelf and Meriele.  Unfortunately, she was still separated from the others.  When the griffons acted again, they tore into Estel and took her down hard.  The wounded one disengaged, and used its impressive movement to sweep around to the far side of the peak, while the unhurt one Estel had thrown their way began its attack on Brelf with an attempt to push him off, which missed.The PCs managed to bloody the second griffon, while it flew off and around, and the third one emerged.  The first one returned, joining the fight to take down Meriele and Brelf.  Meriele fell, leaving Brelf to fight it himself.  Vell managed to kill one of the griffons, while a second one circled around and took him down.  Only Brelf was left standing, fighting two badly-wounded griffons.  He killed one, but the other was up on a rocky upcrop, out of range.  He decided to throw his axe as part of his cleave, but sadly, he missed.  The remaining griffon swept down at him, and they fought back and forth for a round, but the griffon's damage was really high, and he took down Brelf.TPK.Under the hood: Wow.  This one got out of control fast.  There were a number of factors in play here.  First off, the encounter was worth 1590 xp.  A tough encounter for a 4th level party of four PCs weighs in at 1680 xp.  So by the numbers, this should have been tough, but not overwhelming.  Secondly, the PCs weren't down any significant resources.  They had needed a bit of healing on the first fight, but the second was a breeze, and nobody had gone nova.So what went wrong?  A few things.  The griffons won the initiative, and had a very, very strong first round.  Vell's fall from the top made him unable to really move around the battlefield, since he'd have to spend a full round climbing back up to reach the battlefield.  Estel climbing up away from the others made her a vulnerable target, and her going down in the second round meant there were no acid arrows flying about, which would've been significant ranged damage (and automatic, to boot; half on a miss is still damage).  Finally, dice luck played a huge role.  My dice were hot.  I can't count the number of times I rolled 15+ on a d20 that fight, or max on a damage die.  And my players all, with no exceptions, had poor dice luck.  They missed all fight long, and rolled below average on almost every damage roll.  Brelf especially suffered from that.What would I do differently?  Not much.  I would probably split up the griffons, so they'd act on separate initiative counts.  Most of the rest was bad dice luck and poor placement on the part of the PCs.  The encounter was designed to be challenging, but not overbearing; just a few poor decisions compounded by some bad luck led to things spiralling out of control.It wasn't a glorious TPK; it was a side quest, meant to be entertainment between delves into the dungeon.  But you never plan for a TPK, do you?  In any case, I told the players that Vallanor was scaling the cliffs, and was pretty close to the top.  So if they wanted to continue playing their characters, it would be quite possible for him to enact a rescue (and slay the last, badly-wounded griffon).  One of the players suggested we roll to see who stabilized and let that determine who gets rescued, so we did.  Everybody stabilized, save for Handmaiden Meriele, who bled to death on the summit.At that point, we called the session.  Next week, we'll see Meriele's replacement.  And the player of our dwarf monk is returning, at long last free from his December work schedule, and he'll be bringing in a new character.  It should be exciting to see how things go.  I look forward to seeing how Brelf, Estel, and Vell cope with the Handmaiden's death, and how the new characters work out.  Additionally, Meriele had purchased a funeral, complete with the 'Ceremony of Fading Light' (a ceremony for Clerics of Pelor), so we'll finally get to see a PC funeral!Till next time!</blockquote>

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