Rhenny
Adventurer
Travensburg Campaign – Part 12 – 1/25/2014
We played for 1 ¾ hours…3 players– 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
Darhgel the Tiefling Evoker (new player)
At mid day, the party approached the gates of Freehold and two guards interceded. They questioned the group and made them sign into a ledger. Tris sung a little and played a few bars on her lyre, and Fawnsworth juggled a bit, although he ended up dropping a few balls because he was nervous, but still it was enough to convince the guards that they were just a group of traveling performers entering Freehold for the first time. They asked the guards a little about Freehold and found the names of some inns before they entered the city. The guards also told them that the northern part of the city was the merchant and royal district while the south part was more common. The group decided to go to one of the inns in the common area, Brek’s Inn. As they walked the main road, which seemed quite populated, they turned north and continued toward the inn. Every once in a while they would see small patrols (3 or 4) of Royal Guards walking the main roads, but the side roads and smaller ally ways seemed more desolate of patrols and other citizenry.
The party entered Brek’s Inn and found the owner and others working in the common room. Fid boldly stepped forth and gave Brek two gold pieces and asked him if he knew anything about the Skulls (the gang that the party heard about when they were spending the last night with exiles from Freehold who were burning an effigy of Duke Porter, the ruler of the city). Brek put on a congenial face and told them that they had no worries about the Skulls, but Tris could tell that Brek was hiding something. The group decided to pay for 1 week of lodging and Brek showed them to their room. Then the adventurers decided to walk the city a bit to orient themselves. They were able to find a few shops and eventually they found an armorer to maintain their armor. Finding nothing else of great value, the group headed north to go to the castle to try to gain audience with the Duke. At that point, Darhgel told the rest of the group that he had business to attend to and he’d meet up with the others later. With that, Darhgel, moved off into the crowd.
On their way north toward the castle, Tris, Fid and Fawnsworth were accosted by a small gang of thugs in one back ally courtyard. The thugs demanded money from the party. Fid walked up to one and gave him 2 electrum pieces. Then they asked for more. When the party refused to pay, one of the gang members told them that it wasn’t healthy to refuse the Skulls. Before the fight could begin, Tris walked up to one of the thugs and “suggested” that he should recognize who they were and that he should pay them tribute. With that, the thug emptied his pockets and gave Tris 22 gp. Then he tried to tell the others in his gang that they all should give them money and leave them alone because this party was notorious. The other thugs looked at their companion as if he had three heads. Then another yelled, “get them.”
The fight began and Fid found himself flanked by a Skull rogue who sneaked out from behind some boxes. The rogue’s dagger pierced Fid’s armor and did some damage (sneak attack), but the other thug could not score a hit. Tris walked past the thug she had enspelled, and that Thug continued to try to tell the others to let the party go. The others would hear none of it. In the scuffle, Fid downed a number of thugs. Fawnsworth used flaming sphere to burn a few, and Tris took a blow from a warrior’s blade and then cut into the warrior. Before the battle was over, two of the thugs ran and were able to disappear down other alley ways. When it was over, Fid checked the bodies of the fallen thugs and found more gold and he also found that each of them had a skull tattoo on their right neckline just above their armor. To check out the claims that the exiles made (in the last adventure) Fawnsworth came up with a plan. He told the others to walk ahead. Then, he used his minor image to change himself into a human boy. He ran to find Royal Guards, and told them there was a terrible fight. As the guards ran to see the scene, Fawnsworth followed and watched them to see how they reacted. The guards turned over and inspected the bodies. They looked at them and noticed they had no coin, and they were in fact members of the Skulls. They called for a wagon to haul the dead bodies off, and then Fawnsworth ran to catch up with his comrades. He could not tell if the guards were just doing their jobs or if they were upset or looking for anything in particular.
When the party got to the castle, they found that they could sign up to speak with the Regent the next day, and then possibly gain audience with the Duke himself. That done, they turned back and saw commotion in a town square. It seemed as if there was a festival just outside the castle to the west. There were many kids and adults dancing, singing, playing different games. They saw a drinking competition that Fid decided to enter. Fawnsworth used his minor illusion to make Fid look like a real dwarf (not the metal version that he actually was) and then he drank a competitor under the table. Winning the contest, Fid was awarded a ribbon with a medal. Then two portly gentlemen asked him to taste their products and tell them which was better, the Hammersmith Brew or the Alarn Meade. Fid chose the Hammersmith Brew. One of the gentlemen cheered and the other cursed. Then the two started arguing. Before the argument could turn into a fight, the party moved on. Fawnsworth and Tris took a turn dancing and playing music. Tris was able to gain a following, playing better than one of the other minstrels that was currently entertaining the crowd. After a few hours of festivities as darkness began to set on the city, the companions made their way back to Brek’s Inn. They had a wonderful meal and Fawnsworth was able to talk to one of the local drunks to find out a little more about the Skulls. The drunk told him to keep it quiet. They didn’t want any trouble from the Skulls.
That night, in their room, Fid faced the door as he powered down while Fawnsworth and Tris slept in beds. 2 hours into the night, Fid saw the door to the room open, but the door itself made no noise whatsoever. Before he could warn the others, two Skull rogues snuck into the room and hovered over the sleeping adventurers. Then a Skull cleric dressed in dragonskin studded leather armor moved into the room. All the while there was no sound. Tris was able to bolt up before the rogue could attack, but Fawnsworth was caught in bed. The rogue slashed down hitting Fawnsworth with shortsword and dagger, and Fawnsworth immediately turned invisible. Then Tris caused darkness to enshroud the room which helped them thwart a number of attacks. Fid swung his axe in darkness but was able to connect once with a Skull rogue. The other rogue, pulled back to the door to try to get out of the darkness. Fawnsworth, unable to cast in the silence, moved across the dark room and was able to find an area that was not subject to the silence. Standing on a bed, he let loose a fireball towards where the Skull cleric was. That blast hit all three of the foes, but also engulfed Tris in flames. Lucky for Tris, she was able to dodge much of the burning flames, but the others were not as lucky. The Skulls were seriously injured. Fawnsworth ran through the room again and tried to make it back to his companions, but when the Skull rogue moved, he stepped out of the darkness and attacked Fawnsworth doing more damage to the already injured Gnome. Nearly cut down, Fawnsworth staggered back. Fid cut down the Skull Rogue and then Tris moved the darkness to engulf the two at the door. The Cleric ran through the darkness and tried to cast hold person on Fid, but Fid resisted. Then the rogue ran through and attacked Tris. Eventually, Fid and the others prevailed, finding some gold and the exquisite armor. Tris immediately tried on the armor and found that she could make it fit. The group finished their night’s rest, and tried to decide what they would do next, and how they would explain the mess to Brek.
Comments
This game, I used foes that had class abilities and levels. That made them a bit more challenging. In the right situation, sneak attack and assassinate work well, and of course, spellcasting makes an encounter much more dangerous.
In the first fight, two of the Thugs had action surge and second wind. Tris’ suggestion neutralized one of the fighters (the one that ended up running away), and the other one was cut down before I even used either of his abilities. The rogue did get to use sneak attack though.
In the night attack, the group was fortunate because Fid was still watchful even while powered down. If he were not watching, the rogues with silence cast on them by the cleric were going to go in and assassinate Fawnsworth and Tris. They would have most likely done 22 points of damage each (or a coup-de-grace dropping both of those PCs to 0 hp). Tris’ darkness spell made it tough to fight, but it also prevented the rogues from hitting at least 3 or 4 times so it helped a lot. It also prevented the Cleric from casting Cause Moderate Wounds when he had a chance because he could not see a target. That battle was definitely more dangerous than the first one.
One concern I do have is that the Fighter (Fid) with AC 21 and 57 hit points is very hard to threaten unless I use magic or traps. In this session, he lucked out against the Cleric’s hold person spell (a DC 14 wis save, which was one of Fid’s lowest saves).
Also....Happy Birthday D&D!!!!
We played for 1 ¾ hours…3 players– 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
Darhgel the Tiefling Evoker (new player)
At mid day, the party approached the gates of Freehold and two guards interceded. They questioned the group and made them sign into a ledger. Tris sung a little and played a few bars on her lyre, and Fawnsworth juggled a bit, although he ended up dropping a few balls because he was nervous, but still it was enough to convince the guards that they were just a group of traveling performers entering Freehold for the first time. They asked the guards a little about Freehold and found the names of some inns before they entered the city. The guards also told them that the northern part of the city was the merchant and royal district while the south part was more common. The group decided to go to one of the inns in the common area, Brek’s Inn. As they walked the main road, which seemed quite populated, they turned north and continued toward the inn. Every once in a while they would see small patrols (3 or 4) of Royal Guards walking the main roads, but the side roads and smaller ally ways seemed more desolate of patrols and other citizenry.
The party entered Brek’s Inn and found the owner and others working in the common room. Fid boldly stepped forth and gave Brek two gold pieces and asked him if he knew anything about the Skulls (the gang that the party heard about when they were spending the last night with exiles from Freehold who were burning an effigy of Duke Porter, the ruler of the city). Brek put on a congenial face and told them that they had no worries about the Skulls, but Tris could tell that Brek was hiding something. The group decided to pay for 1 week of lodging and Brek showed them to their room. Then the adventurers decided to walk the city a bit to orient themselves. They were able to find a few shops and eventually they found an armorer to maintain their armor. Finding nothing else of great value, the group headed north to go to the castle to try to gain audience with the Duke. At that point, Darhgel told the rest of the group that he had business to attend to and he’d meet up with the others later. With that, Darhgel, moved off into the crowd.
On their way north toward the castle, Tris, Fid and Fawnsworth were accosted by a small gang of thugs in one back ally courtyard. The thugs demanded money from the party. Fid walked up to one and gave him 2 electrum pieces. Then they asked for more. When the party refused to pay, one of the gang members told them that it wasn’t healthy to refuse the Skulls. Before the fight could begin, Tris walked up to one of the thugs and “suggested” that he should recognize who they were and that he should pay them tribute. With that, the thug emptied his pockets and gave Tris 22 gp. Then he tried to tell the others in his gang that they all should give them money and leave them alone because this party was notorious. The other thugs looked at their companion as if he had three heads. Then another yelled, “get them.”
The fight began and Fid found himself flanked by a Skull rogue who sneaked out from behind some boxes. The rogue’s dagger pierced Fid’s armor and did some damage (sneak attack), but the other thug could not score a hit. Tris walked past the thug she had enspelled, and that Thug continued to try to tell the others to let the party go. The others would hear none of it. In the scuffle, Fid downed a number of thugs. Fawnsworth used flaming sphere to burn a few, and Tris took a blow from a warrior’s blade and then cut into the warrior. Before the battle was over, two of the thugs ran and were able to disappear down other alley ways. When it was over, Fid checked the bodies of the fallen thugs and found more gold and he also found that each of them had a skull tattoo on their right neckline just above their armor. To check out the claims that the exiles made (in the last adventure) Fawnsworth came up with a plan. He told the others to walk ahead. Then, he used his minor image to change himself into a human boy. He ran to find Royal Guards, and told them there was a terrible fight. As the guards ran to see the scene, Fawnsworth followed and watched them to see how they reacted. The guards turned over and inspected the bodies. They looked at them and noticed they had no coin, and they were in fact members of the Skulls. They called for a wagon to haul the dead bodies off, and then Fawnsworth ran to catch up with his comrades. He could not tell if the guards were just doing their jobs or if they were upset or looking for anything in particular.
When the party got to the castle, they found that they could sign up to speak with the Regent the next day, and then possibly gain audience with the Duke himself. That done, they turned back and saw commotion in a town square. It seemed as if there was a festival just outside the castle to the west. There were many kids and adults dancing, singing, playing different games. They saw a drinking competition that Fid decided to enter. Fawnsworth used his minor illusion to make Fid look like a real dwarf (not the metal version that he actually was) and then he drank a competitor under the table. Winning the contest, Fid was awarded a ribbon with a medal. Then two portly gentlemen asked him to taste their products and tell them which was better, the Hammersmith Brew or the Alarn Meade. Fid chose the Hammersmith Brew. One of the gentlemen cheered and the other cursed. Then the two started arguing. Before the argument could turn into a fight, the party moved on. Fawnsworth and Tris took a turn dancing and playing music. Tris was able to gain a following, playing better than one of the other minstrels that was currently entertaining the crowd. After a few hours of festivities as darkness began to set on the city, the companions made their way back to Brek’s Inn. They had a wonderful meal and Fawnsworth was able to talk to one of the local drunks to find out a little more about the Skulls. The drunk told him to keep it quiet. They didn’t want any trouble from the Skulls.
That night, in their room, Fid faced the door as he powered down while Fawnsworth and Tris slept in beds. 2 hours into the night, Fid saw the door to the room open, but the door itself made no noise whatsoever. Before he could warn the others, two Skull rogues snuck into the room and hovered over the sleeping adventurers. Then a Skull cleric dressed in dragonskin studded leather armor moved into the room. All the while there was no sound. Tris was able to bolt up before the rogue could attack, but Fawnsworth was caught in bed. The rogue slashed down hitting Fawnsworth with shortsword and dagger, and Fawnsworth immediately turned invisible. Then Tris caused darkness to enshroud the room which helped them thwart a number of attacks. Fid swung his axe in darkness but was able to connect once with a Skull rogue. The other rogue, pulled back to the door to try to get out of the darkness. Fawnsworth, unable to cast in the silence, moved across the dark room and was able to find an area that was not subject to the silence. Standing on a bed, he let loose a fireball towards where the Skull cleric was. That blast hit all three of the foes, but also engulfed Tris in flames. Lucky for Tris, she was able to dodge much of the burning flames, but the others were not as lucky. The Skulls were seriously injured. Fawnsworth ran through the room again and tried to make it back to his companions, but when the Skull rogue moved, he stepped out of the darkness and attacked Fawnsworth doing more damage to the already injured Gnome. Nearly cut down, Fawnsworth staggered back. Fid cut down the Skull Rogue and then Tris moved the darkness to engulf the two at the door. The Cleric ran through the darkness and tried to cast hold person on Fid, but Fid resisted. Then the rogue ran through and attacked Tris. Eventually, Fid and the others prevailed, finding some gold and the exquisite armor. Tris immediately tried on the armor and found that she could make it fit. The group finished their night’s rest, and tried to decide what they would do next, and how they would explain the mess to Brek.
Comments
This game, I used foes that had class abilities and levels. That made them a bit more challenging. In the right situation, sneak attack and assassinate work well, and of course, spellcasting makes an encounter much more dangerous.
In the first fight, two of the Thugs had action surge and second wind. Tris’ suggestion neutralized one of the fighters (the one that ended up running away), and the other one was cut down before I even used either of his abilities. The rogue did get to use sneak attack though.
In the night attack, the group was fortunate because Fid was still watchful even while powered down. If he were not watching, the rogues with silence cast on them by the cleric were going to go in and assassinate Fawnsworth and Tris. They would have most likely done 22 points of damage each (or a coup-de-grace dropping both of those PCs to 0 hp). Tris’ darkness spell made it tough to fight, but it also prevented the rogues from hitting at least 3 or 4 times so it helped a lot. It also prevented the Cleric from casting Cause Moderate Wounds when he had a chance because he could not see a target. That battle was definitely more dangerous than the first one.
One concern I do have is that the Fighter (Fid) with AC 21 and 57 hit points is very hard to threaten unless I use magic or traps. In this session, he lucked out against the Cleric’s hold person spell (a DC 14 wis save, which was one of Fid’s lowest saves).
Also....Happy Birthday D&D!!!!
