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Liquid Awesome
I'd like to thank Speaks' and Raven's players from dropping in to provide a bit more "player perspective" of late. I think it helps give much better insight to how they percieve the events in the campaign than I can provide in my write ups. Thanks guys.
As promised, here is the continuation. I'll also mention with regards to Darklone's observation about Mr.'s Hack and Slash that the next several updates will follow a similar theme. You may have noticed that when we Roleplay, we Roleplay hard, sometimes foregoing combat for several sessions at a time. Likewise, when whe get heavy into combat, it tends to stay that way for a pretty good stretch. The Temple is one of those. Hope you like it.
The Temple - Continued
As Speaks stepped forward to go to the aid of Scrubs, he noticed out of the corner of his eye, one of the statues flanking the archway moved slightly. Speaks groaned inwardly but held his course of action, boldly striding forward to engage the Ghouls who attacked Scrubs.
(Actually, I think that right here is where we really ended the session. If I've got to stop a session in mid-combat, I like to do it at the point of maximum "screwedness". Things were looking very, very bad for the party at this moment, so I called it there.)
Scar continued to defend his alcove from the seemingly endless stream of Ghouls who plowed forward to attack him. He dodged furiously to stay out of the way of their claws and teeth. He had seen what happened to Scrubs and knew that he was doomed if he became paralyzed inside the alcove. He was able to fight off the effects from the few attacks that found their way past his armor. (As you might imagine, Scar has a great Fortitude save.)
Raven used the respite afforded him by the Sanctuary to Summon one of Moradin's chosen creatures into the battle. A badger appeared behind one of the Ghouls attacking Scrubs and tore into the rotting flank of the creature. Raven felt a brief sense of relief when he saw Speaks come charging through the archway with his spear held at the ready. But this relief parted when he saw the pair of statues step into the archway behind the Druid. Raven moved a short distance toward the alcove and called for Moradin to sanctify the ground around him. The power of the magic could not establish holy ground in this most unholy of places, but it did at least lessen the taint of evil that hung about the temple.
Speaks braved attacks by a pair of the Ghouls and used some healing magic on Scrubs to bring him back from the brink of death. He could see panic in the bear's eyes as he stood next to him. Seeking to buy some more space for the helpless bear, Speaks called forth a Flaming Sphere and rammed it into one of the Ghouls. The hideous creature was plowed under by the ball of fire and the other Ghouls moved to give it a wide berth.
The stream of Ghouls moving into the alcove to attack Scar seemed to stop as they found more ready targets near the archway. Scar laid about with his hammer, smashing the unlife out of those remaining. As he thinned their numbers he could more easily see the events unfolding near the archway and knew that he would be needed there soon if disaster was to be averted.
The statues moved into the courtyard and attacked those closest to the entranceway: Speaks and Scrubs. Speaks took a glancing blow from the stone mace wielded by the statue. The other statue brought his mace down on the defenseless Scrubs. Speaks could hear the sound of ribs cracking and it was clear that the end was near for the bear barring a miracle.
Perhaps not quite a miracle, but in the circumstances, the next best thing, Raven held aloft his hammer bearing the symbol of Moradin and sent forth a wave of holy energy to turn away his foes. Several of the Ghouls closest to him exploded into dust. Seeing that Speaks and Scrubs were hard pressed with the Statues, Raven moved closer and attempted to put himself between Scrubs and his attacker.
The remaining Ghouls had plenty to contend with including the Celestial Badger and Speaks' Flaming Sphere. But a pair of them pursued the Dwarf, eager to attack him now that the Sanctuary was cancelled. One of them managed to get a claw past the Dwarf's considerable armor but Raven fought off the paralysis that threatened to take over his body.
Speaks rolled over another Ghoul with the Flaming Sphere and stabbed the Fang of Arc at the closest statue. The damage was clearly not devastating but a few chips of stone did part from the statue.
Scar downed the last of the Ghouls in the alcove and then charged back out into the courtyard to aid his companions. Unfortunately, the destruction of most of the Ghouls had opened up clear lanes of fire for the skeletal archers. Scar was struck with a pair of arrows as he moved across the courtyard. He shrugged off the pain for the moment, knowing that the Ghouls and statues were the greater threat.
The statues attacked those threatening them. Speaks' attacker missed him with a pair of swings of its stone mace. Raven took a sound blow from the one that he fought and staggered under the attack. The Dwarf responded by swinging not at the statue, but at one of the Ghouls. The creature was struck in the chest and knocked to the ground out of the fight. Raven followed through with a smite from his hammer to the statue that sent chips of stone flying.
Speaks sent the Flaming Sphere hurtling into the last of the Ghouls and burned him from his tortured existence. He then struck again with the Fang of Arc and was rewarded with seeing a large crack form in the statue he faced. Scar charged in and swung his hammer in a mighty overhand blow that sent pieces of the statue crumbling to the ground.
The remaining statue swung again at Raven but the Cleric turned the blows aside with his shield. Simultaneously, a second volley of arrows shot from the balcony. Most went wide but Raven was struck once for a minor wound. Ignoring the pain from the arrow, the Dwarf swung his hammer and shattered the last statue where it stood.
Speaks With Stone assumed the form of an eagle once more and took to the air to gain a better vantage on the skeletons. Meanwhile, dodging arrows left and right, Scar and Raven both drew their own bows. Although the arrows found little purchase on the bare bones of their targets, the sheer power imparted to them from the mighty bows of Scar and Raven were enough to assure at least some damage. Once Speaks got into the action by Producing balls of Flame to hurl down from above, the skeletons were quickly mopped up with only a couple more minor wounds being taken in the process.
The party regrouped and decided that they were too wounded to continue pressing forward for now and their magic too depleted. But none wished to have to fight any of these foes again. They quickly gathered the bodies into a pile within the area Consecrated by Raven and burned the lot of them using several oil flasks and the quivers and arrows of the skeletons as fuel.
By the time this was done, Scrubs was free from his paralysis and given some additional healing. Speaks conveyed to Raven via one of the Amulets of Communication that he felt it best if he stayed in eagle form and flew outside the "dead zone" to camp. He felt that if he stayed here much longer, he would be unable to regain his spells and they would surely be necessary if they were to broach the Temple and reveal its secrets. He took flight and alighted in the forest outside the dead zone to the southeast of the Temple.
Scar, Raven and Scrubs meanwhile trekked in the same direction for just a couple of hours walk from the Temple until they found a small area in which to spend the night. Given that some of Speaks' magic (most notably Entangle) had been ineffective in the dead zone, they hoped to remain unmolested by the Dark Druids who seemed to possess similar powers.
It was agreed that Speaks would keep wearing his amulet in case Raven needed to contact him during the night and vice-versa.
NEXT: Visions of Fire
As promised, here is the continuation. I'll also mention with regards to Darklone's observation about Mr.'s Hack and Slash that the next several updates will follow a similar theme. You may have noticed that when we Roleplay, we Roleplay hard, sometimes foregoing combat for several sessions at a time. Likewise, when whe get heavy into combat, it tends to stay that way for a pretty good stretch. The Temple is one of those. Hope you like it.
The Temple - Continued
As Speaks stepped forward to go to the aid of Scrubs, he noticed out of the corner of his eye, one of the statues flanking the archway moved slightly. Speaks groaned inwardly but held his course of action, boldly striding forward to engage the Ghouls who attacked Scrubs.
(Actually, I think that right here is where we really ended the session. If I've got to stop a session in mid-combat, I like to do it at the point of maximum "screwedness". Things were looking very, very bad for the party at this moment, so I called it there.)
Scar continued to defend his alcove from the seemingly endless stream of Ghouls who plowed forward to attack him. He dodged furiously to stay out of the way of their claws and teeth. He had seen what happened to Scrubs and knew that he was doomed if he became paralyzed inside the alcove. He was able to fight off the effects from the few attacks that found their way past his armor. (As you might imagine, Scar has a great Fortitude save.)
Raven used the respite afforded him by the Sanctuary to Summon one of Moradin's chosen creatures into the battle. A badger appeared behind one of the Ghouls attacking Scrubs and tore into the rotting flank of the creature. Raven felt a brief sense of relief when he saw Speaks come charging through the archway with his spear held at the ready. But this relief parted when he saw the pair of statues step into the archway behind the Druid. Raven moved a short distance toward the alcove and called for Moradin to sanctify the ground around him. The power of the magic could not establish holy ground in this most unholy of places, but it did at least lessen the taint of evil that hung about the temple.
Speaks braved attacks by a pair of the Ghouls and used some healing magic on Scrubs to bring him back from the brink of death. He could see panic in the bear's eyes as he stood next to him. Seeking to buy some more space for the helpless bear, Speaks called forth a Flaming Sphere and rammed it into one of the Ghouls. The hideous creature was plowed under by the ball of fire and the other Ghouls moved to give it a wide berth.
The stream of Ghouls moving into the alcove to attack Scar seemed to stop as they found more ready targets near the archway. Scar laid about with his hammer, smashing the unlife out of those remaining. As he thinned their numbers he could more easily see the events unfolding near the archway and knew that he would be needed there soon if disaster was to be averted.
The statues moved into the courtyard and attacked those closest to the entranceway: Speaks and Scrubs. Speaks took a glancing blow from the stone mace wielded by the statue. The other statue brought his mace down on the defenseless Scrubs. Speaks could hear the sound of ribs cracking and it was clear that the end was near for the bear barring a miracle.
Perhaps not quite a miracle, but in the circumstances, the next best thing, Raven held aloft his hammer bearing the symbol of Moradin and sent forth a wave of holy energy to turn away his foes. Several of the Ghouls closest to him exploded into dust. Seeing that Speaks and Scrubs were hard pressed with the Statues, Raven moved closer and attempted to put himself between Scrubs and his attacker.
The remaining Ghouls had plenty to contend with including the Celestial Badger and Speaks' Flaming Sphere. But a pair of them pursued the Dwarf, eager to attack him now that the Sanctuary was cancelled. One of them managed to get a claw past the Dwarf's considerable armor but Raven fought off the paralysis that threatened to take over his body.
Speaks rolled over another Ghoul with the Flaming Sphere and stabbed the Fang of Arc at the closest statue. The damage was clearly not devastating but a few chips of stone did part from the statue.
Scar downed the last of the Ghouls in the alcove and then charged back out into the courtyard to aid his companions. Unfortunately, the destruction of most of the Ghouls had opened up clear lanes of fire for the skeletal archers. Scar was struck with a pair of arrows as he moved across the courtyard. He shrugged off the pain for the moment, knowing that the Ghouls and statues were the greater threat.
The statues attacked those threatening them. Speaks' attacker missed him with a pair of swings of its stone mace. Raven took a sound blow from the one that he fought and staggered under the attack. The Dwarf responded by swinging not at the statue, but at one of the Ghouls. The creature was struck in the chest and knocked to the ground out of the fight. Raven followed through with a smite from his hammer to the statue that sent chips of stone flying.
Speaks sent the Flaming Sphere hurtling into the last of the Ghouls and burned him from his tortured existence. He then struck again with the Fang of Arc and was rewarded with seeing a large crack form in the statue he faced. Scar charged in and swung his hammer in a mighty overhand blow that sent pieces of the statue crumbling to the ground.
The remaining statue swung again at Raven but the Cleric turned the blows aside with his shield. Simultaneously, a second volley of arrows shot from the balcony. Most went wide but Raven was struck once for a minor wound. Ignoring the pain from the arrow, the Dwarf swung his hammer and shattered the last statue where it stood.
Speaks With Stone assumed the form of an eagle once more and took to the air to gain a better vantage on the skeletons. Meanwhile, dodging arrows left and right, Scar and Raven both drew their own bows. Although the arrows found little purchase on the bare bones of their targets, the sheer power imparted to them from the mighty bows of Scar and Raven were enough to assure at least some damage. Once Speaks got into the action by Producing balls of Flame to hurl down from above, the skeletons were quickly mopped up with only a couple more minor wounds being taken in the process.
The party regrouped and decided that they were too wounded to continue pressing forward for now and their magic too depleted. But none wished to have to fight any of these foes again. They quickly gathered the bodies into a pile within the area Consecrated by Raven and burned the lot of them using several oil flasks and the quivers and arrows of the skeletons as fuel.
By the time this was done, Scrubs was free from his paralysis and given some additional healing. Speaks conveyed to Raven via one of the Amulets of Communication that he felt it best if he stayed in eagle form and flew outside the "dead zone" to camp. He felt that if he stayed here much longer, he would be unable to regain his spells and they would surely be necessary if they were to broach the Temple and reveal its secrets. He took flight and alighted in the forest outside the dead zone to the southeast of the Temple.
Scar, Raven and Scrubs meanwhile trekked in the same direction for just a couple of hours walk from the Temple until they found a small area in which to spend the night. Given that some of Speaks' magic (most notably Entangle) had been ineffective in the dead zone, they hoped to remain unmolested by the Dark Druids who seemed to possess similar powers.
It was agreed that Speaks would keep wearing his amulet in case Raven needed to contact him during the night and vice-versa.
NEXT: Visions of Fire
hehe. 
) but the other 2, Scar and Raven are both very compelling as well. I find myself rooting for all 3 of them equally now. Also the addition of Scrubs is cool 
). At this point, a TPK would likely mean the end of my current campaign. This is simply because we tend to rotate GMing duties and I've already told them that the Faded Glory campaign is headed into the home stretch. After that, it sounds like Raven or Scar's player will be "behind the screen" for a while.
