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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Klaus" data-source="post: 6076275" data-attributes="member: 607">Plot summary: the princess of Keoland was travelling incognito to Celene, where she's to marry the prince of that realm. She was travelling in a merchant caravan, accompanied by a bodyguard, and was supposed to cross the Lortmil Mountains, but avalanches closed off the intended mountain pass and forced the caravan to head to the Keep on the Borderlands (in the Duchy of Urnst). But the caravan never reached the Keep. Soldiers found signs of the caravan being attacked, and the attackers most likely came from the valley where the Caves of Chaos, an ancient remnant of Vecna's Occuluded Empire, lie. So the Duke of Urnst assembled the PCs to locate the princess and bring her safely to the Keep.Session summary: I spent about one hour going through the character sheets and explaining them to the players, and after another hour of roleplaying, the PCs arrived at the Caves just before dawn. Both the PCs and kobolds outside cave A succeeded on Stealth checks, but failed Wisdom checks to notice the other group, so it was a mutual surprise. The elf fighter managed to kill one kobold, and the wizard missed another with ray of frost. Then the kobolds acted, pulling out slings and letting stones fly. I used the fixed damage from the Bestiary, and the fighter was hit three times, dropping from 11 to 2 hp. The wizard got hit once, dropping from 7 to 4hp. Then the cleric arrived, and spent his action Channeling Positive Energy to heal the fighter back to maximum. On the second round, the elf missed the kobold, and the wizard decided to use magic missile, taking out two kobolds automatically (four kobolds down, five still standing). The kobolds retaliated with more sling stones, hitting the fighter (back down to 5 hp) and the cleric (down to 6 hp). The cleric missed with lance of faith. The wizard then cast burning hands, taking down three kobolds. The elf managed to hit another kobold that was about to run away, the proceeded to pursue the final kobold before it could flee. The last kobold hustled away, and the cleric and wizard both missed with lance of faith and ray of frost. The fighter managed to hit and kill the kobold before it could escape. The PCs then rested and spent uses of the healer's kit to use their Hit Dice, which brought them back to full hp.After this fight, I allowed the fighter to switch Precise Shot (a far too conditional maneuver) for Rapid Shot. That was a wise move.Following the tracks of the caravan wagons, the PCs opted not to enter cave A, and followed the tracks to cave F (hobgoblin cave). Lacking a rogue, I allowed the dwarf's knowledge of dungeons to locate a lever to open the cave door. Once inside, they managed to suprise four hobgoblins. Between the elf and the dwarf, two hobgoblins were wounded in the surprise round, and the wizard cast burning hands to take them out. The PCs then acted again, with the fighter switching to sword and board and wounding another hobgoblin, while the cleric missed with his battleaxe. The wizard used ray of frost to kill the wounded hobgoblin, leaving only one standing. The hobgoblin decided to make his stand, and wounded the cleric (down to 1 hp) and shout the alarm. The elf wounded the hobgoblin, while the cleric used Cure Light Wounds on himself. The wizard hit the hobgoblin with ray of frost, the hobgoblin responded by wounding the fighter (down to 6 hp), and the elf finished the fight. By then, they heard creatures approaching from the corridor to the west, so the elf readied an action to use Rapid Shot when the creatures appeared. He managed to wound two of them, who then retreated back the corner. The elf and cleric then rushed the hobgoblins, killing both, since they were already wounded, and found the door the creatures came through. In a hurry to find the princess, they decided to press on, and found another hobgoblin who went to fetch reinforcements. they dispatched the hobgoblin, thanks to a good shot by the fighter, and the cleric decided to bottle the hobgoblins at the door that led out of this room. This proved effective, as the hobgoblins could only engage the cleric one at a time, and those at the back had a hard time using bows (the hobgoblin in melee with the cleric provided cover).The first hobgoblin on the line died from lance of faith, but the one on the back managed to push the cleric out of the way and entered the room. The hobgoblin archer in the back gave way for their leader to head into the room as well, where he wounded the cleric (down to 1 hp). The elf killed the first hobgoblin and wounded the leader (Rapid Shot FTW), while the wizard hit the leader with ray of frost. The cleric used lance of faith on the leader, and the hobgoblin archer hit the fighter (down to 4 hp). The elf then switched to sword again and took down the leader. The wizard used cure minor wounds on the cleric (2 hp), and the hobgoblin archer ran deeper into the dungeon. The elf tried to pursue, but the sight of seven more hobgoblins made him turn and flee. The PCs reluctantly fled out of the dungeon, and the session ended.</blockquote>

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