Rhenny
Adventurer
It has been a number of weeks since I've been able to run this campaign. Finally, we get back to it.
Session 12
Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle Campaign (WARNING: Mega Spoilers!!!)
Cast of Characters (5th Level)
Eyeta – Female Human Fighter
Kat – Female Human Wizard (Not present)
Vale – Male High Elven Rogue
Erebus – Male Human War Cleric
Ivan – Human Monk sent by Isteval as reinforcement, left and returned again.
Alagarthas – Wood Elven Fighter, Prince NPC in adventure played by a player in the game
We played for about 2 1/2 hours (nearly 3 hours with a 20 minute break)
After dispatching about 18 Orcs, the party had a few moments of quiet, yet they knew that two half orcs ran away to the north. Alagarthas felt uneasy knowing that the party left their horses tied up outside. He told the others that he would go out there and find a better hiding place for the noble creatures. With that, the Elf prince left.
As the others were discussing plans to leave Ironaxe Hall to rest, Valemon felt two arrows stick into his side, nearly knocking him down. Ivan realized that they were fired from a south east corridor, so he ran to the edge of the room to look. He saw a number of orc archers and a shaman. Vale, nearly unconscious, staggered to an area of fallen rubble to the south east and tried to hide behind the rocks. The others shot at orcs from range. Unfortunately, a number of orcs and half orcs came from the north and saw Valemon. Ivan stood against an orc wielding a great axe and the orc hacked the monk badly (max damage attack). Katka fired bolt of flame and Eyeta charged with her magic long spear to mortally wound an orc that closed on Valemon. Erebus healed Ivan and ran to put himself between the orcs and Valemon to protect the nearly unconscious rogue. The battle continued as the group was split and fighting at the north and the south. After a few orc archers either charged up to fight, the shaman and another orc ran away. Ivan was able to bat one arrow aside, yet he was hit by another. Then Ivan heard the thumping of heavy footsteps and the ground started to shake slightly. Soon he was face to face with an Ettin and the beast slashed him badly with a huge battle axe. The monster’s club missed however so Ivan stayed on his feet.
The Ettin screamed out, threatening the group. It was upset that the adventurers had decimated its clan, and it vowed to show why it was the leader of the group. Its anger was palpable. Ivan attacked it and then disengaged. In the meanwhile, Vale had managed to disengage the orc and half orcs that were near him, and he ran to hide behind the wizard, Kat in the north west corner of the hall. Erebus told everyone to retreat to the west corridor and block the choke point. He made it there with Ivan and eventually the others. Eyeta was unable to get there at first, but she used her specially trained maneuver to dodge and run evading a number of enemy attacks. Soon, the Ettin, Harglevargle, pushed the other orcs aside and attacked Erebus. Erebus stood firmly and blocked the attacks with his shield. Then, Ivan, Valemon, Kat and Eyeta took down the Ettin. The other foes looked at them with awe and almost respect.
One of the half orcs, named Gromla, came forth and told the party that they were only fighting for Harglevargle. They didn’t really like him and Gromla admitted that Harglevargle ruled them through fear. The other orcs and half-orcs agreed. When it seemed as if the party would stand down and even go against the Red Wizards who were in the upper level of Ironaxe Hall, Gromla called to the children who had hidden in the western rooms. One of the little urchins asked if the adventurers could fix her dolly. Another little sheepish orc boy looked as if he was hiding something in his hands. The party spoke with both Gromla and the little orc children. Erebus promised to fix the girl’s dolly, and Ivan eventually found out that the little boy was palming a huge ruby that he had taken from Harglevargle. The boy offered to give Ivan the ruby if Ivan could give him something fun to play with. Ivan said he’d give him the dart that he used to slay Harglevargle. (This was a lie. It was actually Vale who slew Harglevargle, but the little boy wasn’t there so he believed it). The boy asked Ivan to teach him how to throw it and Ivan told him about becoming a monk. He even drew a map for the little boy showing him where his monastery was. Somehow, Ivan had gotten into some alcohol so he was starting to get drunk again. He did a flawless double back flip to impress the boy, but when the boy asked him to do another one, he couldn’t replicate his feat. Instead, he told Valemon to fire an arrow at him. The arrow was wide of the mark, but Ivan tried to snatch it out of the air. He failed. The boy laughed. But he was so amused, and he really liked the dart, so he gave Ivan the ruby (a 500 gp gemstone).
At this point, the party was able to gain parlay with Gromla and the others, but the shaman entered the hall with another orc. Gromla told the party that she, the shaman, thought that they were trying to trick them. As the party tried to convince the shaman that they were on their side, Vale could tell that the shaman wasn’t buying it. Erebus decided to make a show. He told the others to come near as he went to a nearby orc who had fallen. He asked the shaman to raise him from death. The shaman said it was impossible. Then Erebus called upon divine power to revivify the orc. The rest of the orcs were putty in his hands at that point. Erebus made the orcs and half orcs promise to keep their presence a secret so that they could help rid them of the Red Wizards. The orcs eagerly accepted.
Gromla took the party on a tour of the first level of the Ironaxe Halls. They found the Ettin’s treasure (a bunch of gems some electrum pieces and a lapis lazuli figurine of Moradin bringing a hammer down upon an anvil shaped alter). Then they met some other fierce orcs training. They also found out that the Red Wizards had inscribed magic runes to help fortify the crumbling areas of the structure. In one room they saw three statues. One of an Dwarf mother holding an Dwarf baby. When Ivan took the baby from the mother’s arms it started to cry out. He quickly put it back. Vale inspected another statue of an Orc giving a big “thumb’s up” sign, but nothing special. They also saw a statue of a leaping Dwarf with a hammer smashing downward. Vale tried to take the hammer from the statue, but couldn’t. Erebus applied his might and the hammer pulled free. Kat did not think that the hammer was magical, but they saved it for later nonetheless.
Exiting that area, the others heard some deep sobbing. When they went into that room, they saw a huge monster in a bath tub. Crying, “Scratches…why scratches.” This was the half-ogre, Lump who had taken the Earth Key back to Mount Illefarn. The group spoke with him and remembered that they had seen a rat turned to stone in the alter room from their last adventure. They told Lump about it and they were able to get him to calm down by telling him how the rat could be turned back in that very dungeon. When Erebus added that the rat was nearly invulnerable as a stone statue, Lump stood up, completely naked, stepped out of the bath tub and hugged Erebus. Then the party asked about the Earth Key and Lump said that he had given it to the leader of the Red Wizards upstairs. With Lump pacified, the group took an hour rest and bandaged their wounds. They also found out that Lump and Gromla had only seen 3 specific Red Wizards, but all the Dwarves and the Orcs feared them greatly.
Gromla showed the party the stairs going up to the 2nd level, where the Dwarves lived, and he mentioned that King Korin was up there, but he seems as if he has gone insane. Finally, Gromla showed the party one last room that seemed to be a shrine. Inside the shrine, the group saw an anvil shaped alter and some magical runes etched on the walls. Katka and Erebus studied the place. Erebus saw a message engraved on the floor before the alter, “Praise to Moradin” and Katka could tell that the runes on the wall were some sort of protection or ward, and a few of them were scratched away. The group decided to spend more time studying the runes and when Katka realized that these runes would prevent anything from teleporting into or out of this room, and they would resist any attempt at scrying, they realized that this room must have been pretty special to the Dwarves. The party spent another hour restoring the scratched away runes and then they took time to decide their next steps.
End.
Comments
Fun battle on two fronts and great roleplaying interaction too.
A number of times, PCs were 1 hit away from going down and the Cleric player said that he was really scared for the group.
Oh...also, it was most likely more than 1 minute past when Erebus decided to use Revivify on the dead orc, but it was such a good idea, and he'd be blowing a 3rd level spell slot, I decided to let it work.
The party has been in the Ironaxe Hall for nearly 4 hours now. They have gained a lot of important information and they have formed a loose alliance with the orcs. Although the orcs will not go up to the next level they have helped the party and they have promised to keep everything quiet so that the Red Wizards won’t know that the party is there.
Session 12
Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle Campaign (WARNING: Mega Spoilers!!!)
Cast of Characters (5th Level)
Eyeta – Female Human Fighter
Kat – Female Human Wizard (Not present)
Vale – Male High Elven Rogue
Erebus – Male Human War Cleric
Ivan – Human Monk sent by Isteval as reinforcement, left and returned again.
Alagarthas – Wood Elven Fighter, Prince NPC in adventure played by a player in the game
We played for about 2 1/2 hours (nearly 3 hours with a 20 minute break)
After dispatching about 18 Orcs, the party had a few moments of quiet, yet they knew that two half orcs ran away to the north. Alagarthas felt uneasy knowing that the party left their horses tied up outside. He told the others that he would go out there and find a better hiding place for the noble creatures. With that, the Elf prince left.
As the others were discussing plans to leave Ironaxe Hall to rest, Valemon felt two arrows stick into his side, nearly knocking him down. Ivan realized that they were fired from a south east corridor, so he ran to the edge of the room to look. He saw a number of orc archers and a shaman. Vale, nearly unconscious, staggered to an area of fallen rubble to the south east and tried to hide behind the rocks. The others shot at orcs from range. Unfortunately, a number of orcs and half orcs came from the north and saw Valemon. Ivan stood against an orc wielding a great axe and the orc hacked the monk badly (max damage attack). Katka fired bolt of flame and Eyeta charged with her magic long spear to mortally wound an orc that closed on Valemon. Erebus healed Ivan and ran to put himself between the orcs and Valemon to protect the nearly unconscious rogue. The battle continued as the group was split and fighting at the north and the south. After a few orc archers either charged up to fight, the shaman and another orc ran away. Ivan was able to bat one arrow aside, yet he was hit by another. Then Ivan heard the thumping of heavy footsteps and the ground started to shake slightly. Soon he was face to face with an Ettin and the beast slashed him badly with a huge battle axe. The monster’s club missed however so Ivan stayed on his feet.
The Ettin screamed out, threatening the group. It was upset that the adventurers had decimated its clan, and it vowed to show why it was the leader of the group. Its anger was palpable. Ivan attacked it and then disengaged. In the meanwhile, Vale had managed to disengage the orc and half orcs that were near him, and he ran to hide behind the wizard, Kat in the north west corner of the hall. Erebus told everyone to retreat to the west corridor and block the choke point. He made it there with Ivan and eventually the others. Eyeta was unable to get there at first, but she used her specially trained maneuver to dodge and run evading a number of enemy attacks. Soon, the Ettin, Harglevargle, pushed the other orcs aside and attacked Erebus. Erebus stood firmly and blocked the attacks with his shield. Then, Ivan, Valemon, Kat and Eyeta took down the Ettin. The other foes looked at them with awe and almost respect.
One of the half orcs, named Gromla, came forth and told the party that they were only fighting for Harglevargle. They didn’t really like him and Gromla admitted that Harglevargle ruled them through fear. The other orcs and half-orcs agreed. When it seemed as if the party would stand down and even go against the Red Wizards who were in the upper level of Ironaxe Hall, Gromla called to the children who had hidden in the western rooms. One of the little urchins asked if the adventurers could fix her dolly. Another little sheepish orc boy looked as if he was hiding something in his hands. The party spoke with both Gromla and the little orc children. Erebus promised to fix the girl’s dolly, and Ivan eventually found out that the little boy was palming a huge ruby that he had taken from Harglevargle. The boy offered to give Ivan the ruby if Ivan could give him something fun to play with. Ivan said he’d give him the dart that he used to slay Harglevargle. (This was a lie. It was actually Vale who slew Harglevargle, but the little boy wasn’t there so he believed it). The boy asked Ivan to teach him how to throw it and Ivan told him about becoming a monk. He even drew a map for the little boy showing him where his monastery was. Somehow, Ivan had gotten into some alcohol so he was starting to get drunk again. He did a flawless double back flip to impress the boy, but when the boy asked him to do another one, he couldn’t replicate his feat. Instead, he told Valemon to fire an arrow at him. The arrow was wide of the mark, but Ivan tried to snatch it out of the air. He failed. The boy laughed. But he was so amused, and he really liked the dart, so he gave Ivan the ruby (a 500 gp gemstone).
At this point, the party was able to gain parlay with Gromla and the others, but the shaman entered the hall with another orc. Gromla told the party that she, the shaman, thought that they were trying to trick them. As the party tried to convince the shaman that they were on their side, Vale could tell that the shaman wasn’t buying it. Erebus decided to make a show. He told the others to come near as he went to a nearby orc who had fallen. He asked the shaman to raise him from death. The shaman said it was impossible. Then Erebus called upon divine power to revivify the orc. The rest of the orcs were putty in his hands at that point. Erebus made the orcs and half orcs promise to keep their presence a secret so that they could help rid them of the Red Wizards. The orcs eagerly accepted.
Gromla took the party on a tour of the first level of the Ironaxe Halls. They found the Ettin’s treasure (a bunch of gems some electrum pieces and a lapis lazuli figurine of Moradin bringing a hammer down upon an anvil shaped alter). Then they met some other fierce orcs training. They also found out that the Red Wizards had inscribed magic runes to help fortify the crumbling areas of the structure. In one room they saw three statues. One of an Dwarf mother holding an Dwarf baby. When Ivan took the baby from the mother’s arms it started to cry out. He quickly put it back. Vale inspected another statue of an Orc giving a big “thumb’s up” sign, but nothing special. They also saw a statue of a leaping Dwarf with a hammer smashing downward. Vale tried to take the hammer from the statue, but couldn’t. Erebus applied his might and the hammer pulled free. Kat did not think that the hammer was magical, but they saved it for later nonetheless.
Exiting that area, the others heard some deep sobbing. When they went into that room, they saw a huge monster in a bath tub. Crying, “Scratches…why scratches.” This was the half-ogre, Lump who had taken the Earth Key back to Mount Illefarn. The group spoke with him and remembered that they had seen a rat turned to stone in the alter room from their last adventure. They told Lump about it and they were able to get him to calm down by telling him how the rat could be turned back in that very dungeon. When Erebus added that the rat was nearly invulnerable as a stone statue, Lump stood up, completely naked, stepped out of the bath tub and hugged Erebus. Then the party asked about the Earth Key and Lump said that he had given it to the leader of the Red Wizards upstairs. With Lump pacified, the group took an hour rest and bandaged their wounds. They also found out that Lump and Gromla had only seen 3 specific Red Wizards, but all the Dwarves and the Orcs feared them greatly.
Gromla showed the party the stairs going up to the 2nd level, where the Dwarves lived, and he mentioned that King Korin was up there, but he seems as if he has gone insane. Finally, Gromla showed the party one last room that seemed to be a shrine. Inside the shrine, the group saw an anvil shaped alter and some magical runes etched on the walls. Katka and Erebus studied the place. Erebus saw a message engraved on the floor before the alter, “Praise to Moradin” and Katka could tell that the runes on the wall were some sort of protection or ward, and a few of them were scratched away. The group decided to spend more time studying the runes and when Katka realized that these runes would prevent anything from teleporting into or out of this room, and they would resist any attempt at scrying, they realized that this room must have been pretty special to the Dwarves. The party spent another hour restoring the scratched away runes and then they took time to decide their next steps.
End.
Comments
Fun battle on two fronts and great roleplaying interaction too.
A number of times, PCs were 1 hit away from going down and the Cleric player said that he was really scared for the group.
Oh...also, it was most likely more than 1 minute past when Erebus decided to use Revivify on the dead orc, but it was such a good idea, and he'd be blowing a 3rd level spell slot, I decided to let it work.
The party has been in the Ironaxe Hall for nearly 4 hours now. They have gained a lot of important information and they have formed a loose alliance with the orcs. Although the orcs will not go up to the next level they have helped the party and they have promised to keep everything quiet so that the Red Wizards won’t know that the party is there.
