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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Brakkart" data-source="post: 2475259" data-attributes="member: 19617">DM's Log of Session Thirty SixAt around noon on Nightal 14th the party arrived at the south gatehouse of Dowinn's Lode,  and several of the group immediately cast spells to ward themselves for the inevitable battle they were about to walk into. Aeron wrapped himself in spells to protect him from arrows, the elements and also to gird himself in magical armour, whilst Gylippus cast Endure Elements also, and Zamtap made do with a Magic Vestment which he placed on his shield.Settling back into a familiar routine, the party advanced with Ash and Gylippus in the lead, they checking out a small room and finding it empty apart from a couple of large winches. Opening the next room along the corridor though brought the group face to face with 3 burly lizardlike humanoids (Trens), they snatching up greatswords and charging the doorway, attacking Gylippus and Ash. While they easily cut into the rogue, the paladins armour deflected the sword aimed at him, even as Zamtap stepped up behind Ash and boosted him with a casting of Bull's Strength. the groups counter attack didn't really happen, Ash tripping and missing his blow, but managing to stay on his feet, and Gylipus concentrated and put a Shield spell on himself.Moving up towards the fight, Ki activated his Shield of Faith brooch, as the Trens failed to hit Ash and Gyllipus. While Aeron drew his wand of monster summoning and began weaving it through the passes needed to activate the device, Gyllipus was struck as he tried to get out of melee, his Scorching Ray spell missing his target as a result. Smiting the Tren who hit the rogue, Ash cut him twice but was surprised not to drop his foe. And at the back of the group, Jebodiah advanced to a corner and peeked around it, his dwarven eyes seeing far up the connecting corridor and spotting a giant of a lizardman, nine feet tall with black scales and a skull-like face, as well as a pair of Troglodytes.Moving up beside Ash, Ki struck twice at the injured Tren but failed to hit him. While the Tren at the back of the trio swigged back a potion of Bear's Endurance, the other two hit Ki and missed Ash. Behind the frontline of the fight, Zamtap saw to Gylippus's wounds. Unfortunately, the sound of the fighting had drifted up the corridor, and hearing it the giant black scaled lizardfolk strode down to investigate, running straight into Jebodiah, the dwarf trading blows with his large foe and swiftly slaying it, advancing over its body into view of the Troglodytes as he slipped into the primal frenzy of his battle rage, bellowing a challenge at them, no longer caring about any pretense of stealth. Both of the smelly creatures charged him then, one spearing him. giving up on summoning a creature, Aeron simply dropped a Gedlee's Electric Loop on the three hapless Trens, hurting all of them and stunning two. Moving back into the room with the winches, Gyllipus turned one, and dropped a portcullis from the ceiling in the corridor outside, seperating Jebodiah and the Trogs from the rest of the party. As Ash slew the lead Tren, so Tik Tok missed the one it had moved up to fight.Ki rolled and ducked into the room then, getting around behind a Tren to flank it, and missing, the monk finding out again that while he can get anywhere and dodge anything, he can't hit for toffee.On the other side of the portcullis Jebodiah was doing well, slaughtering one Trog and injuring the other as a below further up the corridor announced the arrival of another of the huge lizardmen, he giving warning to the tribe of the intruders. As the wounded Trog stabbed the dwarf with his spear, so more of them and Trens too started appearing from chambers further down the corridor, moving with purpose towards the blood drenched dwarf. moving into the winch room as Gyllipus left it, Aeron turned the other winch, and succeeded only in sealing off the corridor that they had arrived by. Gyllipus blasted a volley of Magic Missiles into a Tren, wounding one enough that Ash could quickly cut it down and the one beside it.Moving up to behind the portcullis, Ki reached through it with his wand and tapped Jebodiah, healing the dwarf of a few of his smaller wounds. The black scaled lizardman then charged down the corridor, raging as it ran and badly bludgeoned Jebodiah with its greatclub made from jungle hardwood. Reaching an arm through the portcullis also, Zamtap saw to healing the dwarf, who then massacred the lizardman and greviously wounded the nearby Troglodyte, which retaliated by spearing and biting him, two more of the stinky creatures running into the fray, one of them spearing the berserker too. Aeron turned the crank and hauled the portcullis back up, freeing the rest of the party to come to Jebodiah's aid as more and more scaled humanoids headed towards the ongoing battle. Attempting to lend a hand, Gyllipus got distracted as he tried tumbling past a Troglodyte, the creatures tail tripping him a little and he got a spear shoved in his side, the pain causing him to miss his stab. Casting Divine Favour on himself, Ash headed towards the fight.Stepping into the melee beside Jebodiah, Ki ran the injured Trog through with his dagger, as Zamtap again saw to keeping the barbarian on his feet, pouring more healing energy into him, as the dwarf's axe claimed another Trog, he moving forwards to get at the next, which speared and bit him. Seeking to aid Ki in the fight, Aeron boosted him with a Bull's Strength, while Gyllipus took the more direct approach and sent a fireball rocketing down the corridor into a group of Trens and Trogs that were closing in, burning all of them but to his susprise, dropping not a single one of them! Moving up to fight beside Jebodiah, Ash's blade cut into a Trog.Tumbling around and into melee Ki again missed his strike at a Trog, though his nimbleness served him well as he ducked and dodged the greatswords that a pair of Trens swung at him as they closed in around him, as yet another of the huge lizardmen rounded a corner and headed towards the fracas. Sticking with a strategy that was working Zamtap followed behind Jebodiah, concentrating on keeping the dwarf standing, so that dwarf could keep butchering his way up the passage, chanting prayers of healing to close the dwarfs wounds, almost as fast as their scaly foes were causing them, Stormcleaver slicing through another Trog, the dwarfs axe decorating walls and ceiling in reptilian blood as the floor grew increasingly slick with gore and body parts in his wake. Seeing how slow the groups advance was becoming, Aeron grinned and cast a Haste on the party to speed things up a bit, while Gyllipus unleashed another volley of Magic Missiles into one of the Trens threatening Ki. Ash muttered under his breath in his frustration as he just couldn't seem to score a telling blow.A Tren and Ki exchanged blows, the scaly brute still unable to hit the monk, and he only lightly wounding it, as the other Tren cut into Jebodiah with its greatsword, and the dwarf was hammered and savagely bitten by the club and teeth of the looming black scaled lizardman. Growling "Ohh no you don't!" Zamtap kept at it, pouring spell after spell into Jebodiah, as the dwarf continued to cut a bloody swathe through their foes, hacking apart the pair of Trens and starting on the giant lizardman, as Aeron lent hs aid by sending a burst of Magic missiles into the towering brute. Continuing to attack those that were closing in on the group, Gyllipus sent another fireball from his wand soaring into their midst, injuring a trio of Troglodytes. Focusing himself, Ash drew on the power of his goddess to smite the black scaled lizarman, killing it, as Zamtap directed Tik Tok to open fire on the foes closing on them, the construct firing a dart from its built-in launcher, but missing the Tren it aimed at.Running up to attack that Tren, Ki stabbed and raked the creature with dagger and claw, it returning the attack and hurting the monk, who was sufficiently staggered from that blow to be unable to avoid the club that another giant lizardman swung at him, the pair of them greviously injuring Ki between them. Healing Jebodiah again, Zamtap remained behind the dwarf until Jebodiah set off up the corridor to kill the wounded Tren, he getting clubbed by the giant lizardman on the way, but succeeding in killing his target. Another Tren charged into the dwarf then, cutting him as the trio of singed Troglodytes advanced towards the party. Seeing the dwarf about to get swarmed, Aeron blasted the Trogs with a Scintillating Sphere and Gyllipus sent a fireball into their midst also, but the pair of blasts only dropped one of them and a Tren too. As the battle raged at the T-junction the group had reached, Ash walked up behind Ki and laid hands on the monk to heal most of the wounds he had suffered.DM's Notes:As you can probably tell, I love Monster Manual III, and the party have thus far encountered a few creatures from that book (Dracotaurs, Poison Dusk & Black Scale Lizardfolk). This is quite a hard battle for the group, all the Trens, Trogs and Black Scales have character levels. I wanted to end Dowinn's Lode with a good bloodbath and I'm getting just that. Interesting to note how Zamtap who at the start of the campaign was very much a loner really, is working a lot more as a team player these days, not wading into battle himself, but staying behind Jebodiah and keeping the dwarf on his feet, knowing that the dwarf is far more effective in a fight than he is.I think the only character who doesn't work so well right now is Ki, as due to his class selections he is overly specialised towards evasion and such, and has a quite poor BAB as a result, which means while he can get anywhere to hit something, more often than not he fails to actually hit, even when flanking. He could do with taking a couple more Ranger levels really and when he gets to a town/city, spending a goodly sum on upgrading his weapons.</blockquote>

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