Rhenny
Adventurer
Travensburg Campaign – Part 13 – 2/15/2014
We played for 2 hours…2 players – 2 DM Controlled PCs– 5th level PCs – Continuing our Campaign
T’rissril Eilsndar the Drow Bard
Fid (the Dwarven Fighter who transformed into a Warforge Fighter)
Fawnsworth the Gnome Illusionist ex-jester
Nalcon the Noble Cleric of Pelor
The party was recovering from the assassination attempt only moments before. After they checked the bodies of the Skulls (a gang of thugs in the city of Freehold) who quietly ambushed them in their room at Brek’s Inn, they discussed their next move. Obviously, they had drawn the attention of the Skulls, and they realized it might be safer if they found another place to stay while in Freehold. Fawnsworth and Fid were both very angry, discussing the need for revenge, and Fawnsworth even went so far as to cut off the head of the dead Skull Cleric who led the other two Skull rogues in their silent attack against the party. He wrapped it in a sheet so that they could take it with them and leave it as a sign to the other Skulls when the time was right.
To deceive or make it difficult for other Skull who might be watching, the group decided to send Tris ahead to find another inn to rest at. Tris had the skills to blend in with the darkness and sneak undetected through the quiet night streets. Nalcon went down to the door and looked out to see if he could see any sign of Skulls, and then he closed the door and went back in. That’s when Tris snuck out. The plan was to meet at The Mead Hound, an inn only 10 blocks away in a seedy section of Freehold. After Tris went ahead, Nalcon went off to find his family home in Freehold. He certainly did not want to spend nights in the low-rent district. Besides, he felt as if he could gather more information about the Skulls and Duke Porter from his father.
Eventually, Fawnsworth (invisibly) and Fid strolled toward The Mead Hound. Luckily they did not encounter any trouble on the way, and when they got to the new inn, Tris had already woken the innkeeper and had bargained for a room. The group, asked for a room without any windows in case they had been followed, so the innkeeper told them they could sleep in the basement. That was enough to provide some respite for the night so the party could recover from their injuries. Fid powered down facing the only door into the basement and the group was safe for the night.
The next day, the party went to their appointment at the Duke’s Palace. Tris and Fawnsworth purchased a large box and a wheelbarrow so they could put Fid the The Amazing Automaton into it. Their plan was to pretend they were a traveling show – the musician, the jester and the Amazing Automaton. They spoke with Sy Paldor the Duke’s Regent and while they were talking, 6 of the Duke’s guards came to get the adventurers. They said the Duke knew who they were and he wanted to see them. Fawnsworth spoke with the guards and tried to get them to say something about the Skulls. The guards were pretty tight lipped. After a bit of walking the group noticed that they were being ushered into the lower levels of the palace. Tris noticed that they were walking into the dungeons and she gave Fawnsworth a puzzled look. Soon the group approached a double doorway and when they walked inside, they realized it was a large prison area. At first they were alarmed, but then, when they looked into the distance through another doorway at the other end of the prison section, Tris could see a well-dressed, middle aged man pacing back and forth.
The guards led the adventurers into the room and the Duke introduced himself. He told the guards to leave them. Then he shut the door. He told the group he knew of them, and he told them to let the metal Dwarf out of the box. When Fid emerged, the group spoke and found that the Duke was distracted and quite worried. He eventually revealed that 3 weeks ago, his daughter, Lucinda, went missing. 2 weeks ago he got a note from the Skulls signed by Spiro Vangar. They had abducted her, and they told the Duke not to interfere in any of their business or she would be killed, or worse. The Duke told the party that his hands were tied. He could not do anything openly to oppose the Skulls. Just then, there was a knock on the door and a few of the guards came back to the room with weapons drawn. They told the Duke that the adventurers could not leave this room.
A battle with 8 guards ensued (4 elite guards and 4 normal guards). 6 attacked first, while 2 waited down the hall to try to catch the party unaware. Tris, Fid and Fawnsworth pushed the Duke behind them and took up arms. Each was wounded in turn, but only Fawnsworth and Tris were in danger of suffering serious wounds. Tris sung her song to bolster the group and then she used her rapier to defend herself. Fawnsworth unleashed a fireball that devastated the guards. Fid stood menacingly and hacked away with his axe, cutting down guard after guard. One of the elite guards realized that the fireball meant Fawnsworth was a threat, so he moved to the corner of the room, dropped his shield and took up his longbow. He fired through a chair to hit Fawnsworth in the shoulder (a crit that really hurt the Gnome). Fawnsworth turned invisible and moved outside the room to look down the hallway for other guards. After about 20 seconds, the two guards in reserve came to the doorway, where invisible Fawnsworth stood watching. Slipping back inside the room, Fawnsworth placed conjured grease in the doorway to catch both of the guards and send them tumbling to the ground. Over the next few rounds, the guards had a tough time standing in the grease, and Fid and Tris attacked with glee. Tris was hit a few times, but eventually the group downed all but 1 guard. That guard tried to run for it, but Fawnsworth placed another grease patch at his feet, and then Tris moved up and used her magical music to stop the guard dead in his tracks (Hold person). Fawnworth began to tie up the guard and Fid moved up to grapple the guard and help Fawnsworth finish the job.
The party dragged the guard into a prison cell and locked him in. Then they checked all the guards and found that each one had the Skull tattoo on their right necklines. Duke Porter was shocked. He hadn’t realized that the Skulls had infiltrated so deeply into the palace itself. The party interrogated the guard and ultimately found that they were to be eliminated because they had become a thorn in The Skull’s plan. The Duke pleaded with the party to help him find his daughter before it was too late, and the adventurers came up with a new plan. They decided that the Duke should send word out that the visitors had been killed in his own palace after a huge fight with his guards – what a disgrace. Then the party began discussions to determine how they could find the Skull lair and the Duke’s daughter. The Duke promised that he would reward them for their efforts.
Commentary
Since only 2 players played tonight, I did a little improvisation and changed plans as we played. We did a lot of interaction/RP and the one big battle made the bard and illusionist sweat, but not the fighter.
The players came up with a lot of ideas that I probably forgot to mention in the summary too.
Wow…grease was powerful for a 1st level spell. I rolled horribly and the guards kept slipping and going prone.
The guards were 3rd level fighters, and the elite guards were more like 4th level fighters, but I didn’t give them 2 attacks until they used their action surges. Looking back, I should have just made them attack twice normally. That would have made the encounter more deadly (That will teach me to hold back).
This session built the story and the players really became part of the story. I’m hoping to get the rest of the group together for the next time we play.
We played for 2 hours…2 players – 2 DM Controlled PCs– 5th level PCs – Continuing our Campaign
T’rissril Eilsndar the Drow Bard
Fid (the Dwarven Fighter who transformed into a Warforge Fighter)
Fawnsworth the Gnome Illusionist ex-jester
Nalcon the Noble Cleric of Pelor
The party was recovering from the assassination attempt only moments before. After they checked the bodies of the Skulls (a gang of thugs in the city of Freehold) who quietly ambushed them in their room at Brek’s Inn, they discussed their next move. Obviously, they had drawn the attention of the Skulls, and they realized it might be safer if they found another place to stay while in Freehold. Fawnsworth and Fid were both very angry, discussing the need for revenge, and Fawnsworth even went so far as to cut off the head of the dead Skull Cleric who led the other two Skull rogues in their silent attack against the party. He wrapped it in a sheet so that they could take it with them and leave it as a sign to the other Skulls when the time was right.
To deceive or make it difficult for other Skull who might be watching, the group decided to send Tris ahead to find another inn to rest at. Tris had the skills to blend in with the darkness and sneak undetected through the quiet night streets. Nalcon went down to the door and looked out to see if he could see any sign of Skulls, and then he closed the door and went back in. That’s when Tris snuck out. The plan was to meet at The Mead Hound, an inn only 10 blocks away in a seedy section of Freehold. After Tris went ahead, Nalcon went off to find his family home in Freehold. He certainly did not want to spend nights in the low-rent district. Besides, he felt as if he could gather more information about the Skulls and Duke Porter from his father.
Eventually, Fawnsworth (invisibly) and Fid strolled toward The Mead Hound. Luckily they did not encounter any trouble on the way, and when they got to the new inn, Tris had already woken the innkeeper and had bargained for a room. The group, asked for a room without any windows in case they had been followed, so the innkeeper told them they could sleep in the basement. That was enough to provide some respite for the night so the party could recover from their injuries. Fid powered down facing the only door into the basement and the group was safe for the night.
The next day, the party went to their appointment at the Duke’s Palace. Tris and Fawnsworth purchased a large box and a wheelbarrow so they could put Fid the The Amazing Automaton into it. Their plan was to pretend they were a traveling show – the musician, the jester and the Amazing Automaton. They spoke with Sy Paldor the Duke’s Regent and while they were talking, 6 of the Duke’s guards came to get the adventurers. They said the Duke knew who they were and he wanted to see them. Fawnsworth spoke with the guards and tried to get them to say something about the Skulls. The guards were pretty tight lipped. After a bit of walking the group noticed that they were being ushered into the lower levels of the palace. Tris noticed that they were walking into the dungeons and she gave Fawnsworth a puzzled look. Soon the group approached a double doorway and when they walked inside, they realized it was a large prison area. At first they were alarmed, but then, when they looked into the distance through another doorway at the other end of the prison section, Tris could see a well-dressed, middle aged man pacing back and forth.
The guards led the adventurers into the room and the Duke introduced himself. He told the guards to leave them. Then he shut the door. He told the group he knew of them, and he told them to let the metal Dwarf out of the box. When Fid emerged, the group spoke and found that the Duke was distracted and quite worried. He eventually revealed that 3 weeks ago, his daughter, Lucinda, went missing. 2 weeks ago he got a note from the Skulls signed by Spiro Vangar. They had abducted her, and they told the Duke not to interfere in any of their business or she would be killed, or worse. The Duke told the party that his hands were tied. He could not do anything openly to oppose the Skulls. Just then, there was a knock on the door and a few of the guards came back to the room with weapons drawn. They told the Duke that the adventurers could not leave this room.
A battle with 8 guards ensued (4 elite guards and 4 normal guards). 6 attacked first, while 2 waited down the hall to try to catch the party unaware. Tris, Fid and Fawnsworth pushed the Duke behind them and took up arms. Each was wounded in turn, but only Fawnsworth and Tris were in danger of suffering serious wounds. Tris sung her song to bolster the group and then she used her rapier to defend herself. Fawnsworth unleashed a fireball that devastated the guards. Fid stood menacingly and hacked away with his axe, cutting down guard after guard. One of the elite guards realized that the fireball meant Fawnsworth was a threat, so he moved to the corner of the room, dropped his shield and took up his longbow. He fired through a chair to hit Fawnsworth in the shoulder (a crit that really hurt the Gnome). Fawnsworth turned invisible and moved outside the room to look down the hallway for other guards. After about 20 seconds, the two guards in reserve came to the doorway, where invisible Fawnsworth stood watching. Slipping back inside the room, Fawnsworth placed conjured grease in the doorway to catch both of the guards and send them tumbling to the ground. Over the next few rounds, the guards had a tough time standing in the grease, and Fid and Tris attacked with glee. Tris was hit a few times, but eventually the group downed all but 1 guard. That guard tried to run for it, but Fawnsworth placed another grease patch at his feet, and then Tris moved up and used her magical music to stop the guard dead in his tracks (Hold person). Fawnworth began to tie up the guard and Fid moved up to grapple the guard and help Fawnsworth finish the job.
The party dragged the guard into a prison cell and locked him in. Then they checked all the guards and found that each one had the Skull tattoo on their right necklines. Duke Porter was shocked. He hadn’t realized that the Skulls had infiltrated so deeply into the palace itself. The party interrogated the guard and ultimately found that they were to be eliminated because they had become a thorn in The Skull’s plan. The Duke pleaded with the party to help him find his daughter before it was too late, and the adventurers came up with a new plan. They decided that the Duke should send word out that the visitors had been killed in his own palace after a huge fight with his guards – what a disgrace. Then the party began discussions to determine how they could find the Skull lair and the Duke’s daughter. The Duke promised that he would reward them for their efforts.
Commentary
Since only 2 players played tonight, I did a little improvisation and changed plans as we played. We did a lot of interaction/RP and the one big battle made the bard and illusionist sweat, but not the fighter.
The players came up with a lot of ideas that I probably forgot to mention in the summary too.
Wow…grease was powerful for a 1st level spell. I rolled horribly and the guards kept slipping and going prone.
The guards were 3rd level fighters, and the elite guards were more like 4th level fighters, but I didn’t give them 2 attacks until they used their action surges. Looking back, I should have just made them attack twice normally. That would have made the encounter more deadly (That will teach me to hold back).
This session built the story and the players really became part of the story. I’m hoping to get the rest of the group together for the next time we play.
