Wik
First Post
Until they see that they can get "all seven of them" with a well-placed fireball... "well-placed" actually meaning "some friendly casualties are acceptable in this situation".
-
The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
D&D 4E Running Commentary on Rel's 4e Campaign (Complete 8/2/10)
- Thread starter Rel
- Start date
Until they see that they can get "all seven of them" with a well-placed fireball... "well-placed" actually meaning "some friendly casualties are acceptable in this situation".
Rel
Liquid Awesome
The last week I've been sick and so haven't done much beyond prepping the session that we had last night. What I can say for sure is that there is some intensely cool stuff forthcoming and I've got a lighter work schedule the next week so I'll try and get some of it written out.
Rel
Liquid Awesome
...They arrived back on the Feywild side of the gate just in time to see one of the Arcanon Confederacy wizards plunge a knife into the chest of the unconscious Mistress Naivara. But there was little time to avenge her as the thin flank was collapsing to the assault by a group of Mist Demons. The very same Mist Demons in fact that had offered their help to Zanne and the rest of the party when they were crossing the Mistvale.
They all currently wore their Bugbear form and were laying about with huge greatswords. The last of the Eladrin Cloudrender Knights were barely standing. Astavian, never one to trust a Mist Demon in the first place, plunged into their midst. Eshik charged to his aid. Zanne meanwhile moved to threaten the AC Wizards accompanied by Lord Hadarai. Mialain used her healing powers to aid those who had already fallen to this treachery.
In turn, the Confederacy mages focused their attacks on Galiban the Gnome, who still stood and was hurling every spell he could think of at them. The strategy of these Wizards quickly became apparent: They were trying to first kill those who might perform the ritual to close the Mist Gate. That also explained why they were in an alliance with the Mist Demons.
Mialain channeled her powers to keep the valliant Gnome alive while Zanne and Eshik delivered deadly damage to the Wizards. Astavian and Eshik had slain one of the Mist Demons by this point. But soon the Wizards were dead and Zanne and Hadarai turned their full attention upon the shape-shifting Mist Demons who were quickly vanquished.
They had won the fight but the cost was considerable. Mistress Naivara was dead as were several of the Cloudrenders. Galiban was wounded but not severely, thanks to Mialain's aid. The Wizards who had betrayed them were both dead as well as their Mist Demon allies.
The Cloudrenders barely had the manpower to crew their ship and Galiban was the only one left alive who could possibly perform the ritual to close the Mist Gate. This left the primary goal of the mission in considerable jeopardy. Those familiar with the ritual knew that it was complex and powerful. Attempting it alone would be difficult and dangerous for the Gnome Wizard but he did not shy away from the challenge.
"I'll help him," said Selerian.
All eyes turned to the Elf. Especially those of Mialain who immediately countered, "You'll be stuck here in the Feywild!"
That was true Selerian admitted. But he felt that he still had much to do to spread the word of Melora among the people of the Feywild. And there was still a gate in Skyreach if he ever needed to return home. "A gate that leads right into the heart of the Arcanon Confederacy," Mialain exclaimed. Despite her protestations however, it was obvious that this was a solution to the problem at hand. However this did not obviate the fact that Selerian and his female followers had been sentenced to banishment as an alternative to imprisonment or death. As the leader of the expedition, they looked to Lord Hadarai.
"I have within my grasp the chance to end the influx of this damnable Mist that has plagued my people for thirty years! If Leshanna wishes to take issue with the fact that I didn't send you home rather than make you help close this Gate then to the Hells with her! Now get to work before any more of those Mist Demons return!"
The PC's said their goodbyes to Hadarai, Galiban and of course Selerian. Mialain was missing her brother already and knew that her parents would be furious that she hadn't brought him home when she had the chance. But she could tell that he was at peace with this decision. In fact, watching the way he smiled as he and the Sisters prepared to enact the ritual, she wasn't so sure that he hadn't planned to stay all along.
The party gave a final nod to Galiban and Selerian, who stood ready to begin the ritual in just a few moments, and stepped back through the Mist Gate one last time.
DISCONTINUITY...
...And once again they were on the island at the base of the waterfall. Zanne and Mialain wasted no time in getting to work on the ritual while Astavian and Eshik stood ready to protect them should anyone try and stop them.
Zanne, more experienced in matters of the Arcane, took the lead with Mialain lending her support and power. For Zanne, despite the complexity of the ritual, it was all very clear. She could see the strands of power that held open this hole to the Place Between Places and, one by one, she manipulated them, forming them back into their natural form. In just a few minutes the last strand was back in place and the Gate was sealed as the last bits of Mist whistled through the closing gap and suddenly there was only the sound of the waterfall. Compared to the roiling and swirling wind of the Mist being drawn into the Feywild, it was very quiet.
This peace was broken by a sudden roar of frustration and a towering form some twenty feet tall strode out of the settling Mist and siezed Zanne by the throat. He cried a few words of Primordial, that only Zanne could understand as yelling, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" before he vanished entirely, taking Zanne with him.
**********
Ok so in this part we cover the journey from Skyreach to the Mist Gate and the fights on both sides of the gate, plus the ritual.
I didn't formally make the trip plus the diplomacy with the Gnomes/Firbolg a Skill Challenge but it probably would have made a good one. Instead this was mostly resolved through roleplaying and a few skill rolls, mostly by Astavian who is the acknowledged Diplomat of the party, especially thanks to Astral Speech. Regardless it helped to paint the complex state of affairs that existed wherein these different factions needed to cooperate in order to deal with the Mist Crisis but also show that the Gnomes didn't fully trust the Eladrin (with good reason). Meanwhile the Arcanon Confederacy Wizards were doing whatever they could to make sure that they didn't let anybody with knowledge about how to open or close a Gate/Linked Portal go back to Skyreach.
Obviously that's because they wanted them to be within reach when the time came for them to betray the group. Maintaining control over the Teleportation "technology" is a paramount motivator for these guys. Furthermore, keeping the Mist Gate open helps them because it keeps the Eladrin dependant upon the AC for a way to try and close it. And obviously the Mist Demons make good allies given their vested interest in keeping it open.
The PC's got to go back and fight the Gibbering Mouthers again, which make really fun Controller monsters to run. But the fight was much easier for the PC's when they were trying to get TO the Mouthers than when they were trying to get away from them.
Then we shifted gears to the fight back in the Feywild side of the Gate. This was fairly standard with the Barghest Battle Lords being the heavy hitters while the Arcanon Confederacy Wizards provided the artillery/controll. Also of note in this fight was the fact that the PC's were desperately trying to keep the AC Wizards from killing Galiban (I'd made Mistress Naivara's death a fait accompli and the PC's had no chance to save her). It reminded me that fights are sometimes best when the enemy has a tangible goal apart from "reduce the PC's HP to zero". So fun stuff.
The ritual came down to just a skill roll and Zanne knocked it out of the park. As a reminder, we use exploding d6's for skill rolls rather than the normal 4e system and Zanne got several of them. I think the total skill roll was somewhere around 40 when it was all tallied up.
At this point in the campaign, I think the PC's had almost reached 10th level. I should also note that the closing of the Mist Gate is a "big deal" in terms of changing the campaign world. Granted, they won't see much direct impact in the immediate area because nobody was coming through that Gate on a regular basis anyway. BUT, this is obviously going to have a considerable impact on relations between the Arcanon Confederacy and the Eladrin. And that's to say nothing of how it effects thing in the Feywild.
I bring this up because it kind of sets the tone from here on out for the remainder of the campaign. The PC's are going to be major actors in the world, doing big things with broad reaching consequences. This is just the kind of "High Fantasy" feel that I wanted for this campaign and it is noteworthy because I don't tend to run games like this all that often. I'm usually a more "grim n gritty" type of GM. But this game has been a ton of fun and it's already one of the best campaigns I've ever run.
Stay tuned for more!
They all currently wore their Bugbear form and were laying about with huge greatswords. The last of the Eladrin Cloudrender Knights were barely standing. Astavian, never one to trust a Mist Demon in the first place, plunged into their midst. Eshik charged to his aid. Zanne meanwhile moved to threaten the AC Wizards accompanied by Lord Hadarai. Mialain used her healing powers to aid those who had already fallen to this treachery.
In turn, the Confederacy mages focused their attacks on Galiban the Gnome, who still stood and was hurling every spell he could think of at them. The strategy of these Wizards quickly became apparent: They were trying to first kill those who might perform the ritual to close the Mist Gate. That also explained why they were in an alliance with the Mist Demons.
Mialain channeled her powers to keep the valliant Gnome alive while Zanne and Eshik delivered deadly damage to the Wizards. Astavian and Eshik had slain one of the Mist Demons by this point. But soon the Wizards were dead and Zanne and Hadarai turned their full attention upon the shape-shifting Mist Demons who were quickly vanquished.
They had won the fight but the cost was considerable. Mistress Naivara was dead as were several of the Cloudrenders. Galiban was wounded but not severely, thanks to Mialain's aid. The Wizards who had betrayed them were both dead as well as their Mist Demon allies.
The Cloudrenders barely had the manpower to crew their ship and Galiban was the only one left alive who could possibly perform the ritual to close the Mist Gate. This left the primary goal of the mission in considerable jeopardy. Those familiar with the ritual knew that it was complex and powerful. Attempting it alone would be difficult and dangerous for the Gnome Wizard but he did not shy away from the challenge.
"I'll help him," said Selerian.
All eyes turned to the Elf. Especially those of Mialain who immediately countered, "You'll be stuck here in the Feywild!"
That was true Selerian admitted. But he felt that he still had much to do to spread the word of Melora among the people of the Feywild. And there was still a gate in Skyreach if he ever needed to return home. "A gate that leads right into the heart of the Arcanon Confederacy," Mialain exclaimed. Despite her protestations however, it was obvious that this was a solution to the problem at hand. However this did not obviate the fact that Selerian and his female followers had been sentenced to banishment as an alternative to imprisonment or death. As the leader of the expedition, they looked to Lord Hadarai.
"I have within my grasp the chance to end the influx of this damnable Mist that has plagued my people for thirty years! If Leshanna wishes to take issue with the fact that I didn't send you home rather than make you help close this Gate then to the Hells with her! Now get to work before any more of those Mist Demons return!"
The PC's said their goodbyes to Hadarai, Galiban and of course Selerian. Mialain was missing her brother already and knew that her parents would be furious that she hadn't brought him home when she had the chance. But she could tell that he was at peace with this decision. In fact, watching the way he smiled as he and the Sisters prepared to enact the ritual, she wasn't so sure that he hadn't planned to stay all along.
The party gave a final nod to Galiban and Selerian, who stood ready to begin the ritual in just a few moments, and stepped back through the Mist Gate one last time.
DISCONTINUITY...
...And once again they were on the island at the base of the waterfall. Zanne and Mialain wasted no time in getting to work on the ritual while Astavian and Eshik stood ready to protect them should anyone try and stop them.
Zanne, more experienced in matters of the Arcane, took the lead with Mialain lending her support and power. For Zanne, despite the complexity of the ritual, it was all very clear. She could see the strands of power that held open this hole to the Place Between Places and, one by one, she manipulated them, forming them back into their natural form. In just a few minutes the last strand was back in place and the Gate was sealed as the last bits of Mist whistled through the closing gap and suddenly there was only the sound of the waterfall. Compared to the roiling and swirling wind of the Mist being drawn into the Feywild, it was very quiet.
This peace was broken by a sudden roar of frustration and a towering form some twenty feet tall strode out of the settling Mist and siezed Zanne by the throat. He cried a few words of Primordial, that only Zanne could understand as yelling, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" before he vanished entirely, taking Zanne with him.
**********
Ok so in this part we cover the journey from Skyreach to the Mist Gate and the fights on both sides of the gate, plus the ritual.
I didn't formally make the trip plus the diplomacy with the Gnomes/Firbolg a Skill Challenge but it probably would have made a good one. Instead this was mostly resolved through roleplaying and a few skill rolls, mostly by Astavian who is the acknowledged Diplomat of the party, especially thanks to Astral Speech. Regardless it helped to paint the complex state of affairs that existed wherein these different factions needed to cooperate in order to deal with the Mist Crisis but also show that the Gnomes didn't fully trust the Eladrin (with good reason). Meanwhile the Arcanon Confederacy Wizards were doing whatever they could to make sure that they didn't let anybody with knowledge about how to open or close a Gate/Linked Portal go back to Skyreach.
Obviously that's because they wanted them to be within reach when the time came for them to betray the group. Maintaining control over the Teleportation "technology" is a paramount motivator for these guys. Furthermore, keeping the Mist Gate open helps them because it keeps the Eladrin dependant upon the AC for a way to try and close it. And obviously the Mist Demons make good allies given their vested interest in keeping it open.
The PC's got to go back and fight the Gibbering Mouthers again, which make really fun Controller monsters to run. But the fight was much easier for the PC's when they were trying to get TO the Mouthers than when they were trying to get away from them.
Then we shifted gears to the fight back in the Feywild side of the Gate. This was fairly standard with the Barghest Battle Lords being the heavy hitters while the Arcanon Confederacy Wizards provided the artillery/controll. Also of note in this fight was the fact that the PC's were desperately trying to keep the AC Wizards from killing Galiban (I'd made Mistress Naivara's death a fait accompli and the PC's had no chance to save her). It reminded me that fights are sometimes best when the enemy has a tangible goal apart from "reduce the PC's HP to zero". So fun stuff.
The ritual came down to just a skill roll and Zanne knocked it out of the park. As a reminder, we use exploding d6's for skill rolls rather than the normal 4e system and Zanne got several of them. I think the total skill roll was somewhere around 40 when it was all tallied up.
At this point in the campaign, I think the PC's had almost reached 10th level. I should also note that the closing of the Mist Gate is a "big deal" in terms of changing the campaign world. Granted, they won't see much direct impact in the immediate area because nobody was coming through that Gate on a regular basis anyway. BUT, this is obviously going to have a considerable impact on relations between the Arcanon Confederacy and the Eladrin. And that's to say nothing of how it effects thing in the Feywild.
I bring this up because it kind of sets the tone from here on out for the remainder of the campaign. The PC's are going to be major actors in the world, doing big things with broad reaching consequences. This is just the kind of "High Fantasy" feel that I wanted for this campaign and it is noteworthy because I don't tend to run games like this all that often. I'm usually a more "grim n gritty" type of GM. But this game has been a ton of fun and it's already one of the best campaigns I've ever run.
Stay tuned for more!
Rel
Liquid Awesome
Somewhere, in the deepest depths of the Mist, her Demon Lord held Zanne by the throat. She couldn't speak. She could barely breathe.
The Beseiger rectified this situation by hurling her to the ground with enough force that she needed several moments to work past the pain and recover her breath. The Beseiger filled this time with an angry diatribe:
"WHAT could you possibly have been thinking?! You must have known that Gate served my purposes! And yet you closed it anyway! Know this, bitch: I OWN your soul! And I'll have it out of you sooner than you think if you aren't very careful.
There is an artifact. The Nexus. You know of it?"
By this point Zanne had recovered such that she could nod her head.
The Besieger continued, "Well you're going to get it for me. You have a year and a day. A moment beyond that and I'll have your life as well as your soul! Understood?!" Again, Zanne nodded.
He grabbed her again in his massive hand and they were suddenly back near the, now defunct, Mist Gate. He tossed her on the ground, a bit less forcibly this time. "A year and a day..." He was gone again.
"What was that all about!?" asked Astavian.
"I...had a little talk with my patron," replied Zanne.
Astavian let it be known, in no uncertain terms, what he thought about trafficking with Mist Demons.
Zanne let it be known, in no uncertain terms, that she was starting to agree with him.
They had a brief conversation in which Zanne told the rest of the group the task that she'd been assigned by her Demon Lord. Given what they knew of the Nexus, that it gave the wielder control over the various planar gates, it was generally agreed that handing it over to a Demon Lord would be a "very bad thing". But for now their next step was obvious: They needed to get out of this swamp and back to civilization.
They crossed the river rushing around the island and rather furtively explored the huge cave where they had slain Balethrax. The dracolich that he had become was nowhere in sight. Neither was the substantial pile of dragon bones that had been stacked near the back of the cave. However they did discover a ritual, carved upon the wall in Draconic, and apparently written and revised multiple times over a long period. It was a multi-part ritual for the creation of the "dracotaur" creatures that they had fought here and in the swamps.
The first part of the ritual required the animation of some dragon bones into a sort of construct. This was then imbued with flesh and magic using a large amount of blood combined with the enchanted blood of a dragon. That of course explained the blood-tithe that Balethrax had imposed upon the Lizardfolk, which had eventually driven them into conflict with the Elves. The experimental nature of the ritual also explained the misshapen dracotaurs they had encountered in the swamps.
Zanne copied the ritual into her book but they also made efforts to deface the writing on the cave wall such that the ritual would be useless to others who might find it. That done, they left the vile cave, already full of millions of flies buzzing and drinking from the drying bood-vats. They ascended the pathway that circled around the sinkhole and made their way back into the swamps headed East toward Enmur.
The Beseiger rectified this situation by hurling her to the ground with enough force that she needed several moments to work past the pain and recover her breath. The Beseiger filled this time with an angry diatribe:
"WHAT could you possibly have been thinking?! You must have known that Gate served my purposes! And yet you closed it anyway! Know this, bitch: I OWN your soul! And I'll have it out of you sooner than you think if you aren't very careful.
There is an artifact. The Nexus. You know of it?"
By this point Zanne had recovered such that she could nod her head.
The Besieger continued, "Well you're going to get it for me. You have a year and a day. A moment beyond that and I'll have your life as well as your soul! Understood?!" Again, Zanne nodded.
He grabbed her again in his massive hand and they were suddenly back near the, now defunct, Mist Gate. He tossed her on the ground, a bit less forcibly this time. "A year and a day..." He was gone again.
"What was that all about!?" asked Astavian.
"I...had a little talk with my patron," replied Zanne.
Astavian let it be known, in no uncertain terms, what he thought about trafficking with Mist Demons.
Zanne let it be known, in no uncertain terms, that she was starting to agree with him.
They had a brief conversation in which Zanne told the rest of the group the task that she'd been assigned by her Demon Lord. Given what they knew of the Nexus, that it gave the wielder control over the various planar gates, it was generally agreed that handing it over to a Demon Lord would be a "very bad thing". But for now their next step was obvious: They needed to get out of this swamp and back to civilization.
They crossed the river rushing around the island and rather furtively explored the huge cave where they had slain Balethrax. The dracolich that he had become was nowhere in sight. Neither was the substantial pile of dragon bones that had been stacked near the back of the cave. However they did discover a ritual, carved upon the wall in Draconic, and apparently written and revised multiple times over a long period. It was a multi-part ritual for the creation of the "dracotaur" creatures that they had fought here and in the swamps.
The first part of the ritual required the animation of some dragon bones into a sort of construct. This was then imbued with flesh and magic using a large amount of blood combined with the enchanted blood of a dragon. That of course explained the blood-tithe that Balethrax had imposed upon the Lizardfolk, which had eventually driven them into conflict with the Elves. The experimental nature of the ritual also explained the misshapen dracotaurs they had encountered in the swamps.
Zanne copied the ritual into her book but they also made efforts to deface the writing on the cave wall such that the ritual would be useless to others who might find it. That done, they left the vile cave, already full of millions of flies buzzing and drinking from the drying bood-vats. They ascended the pathway that circled around the sinkhole and made their way back into the swamps headed East toward Enmur.
Rel
Liquid Awesome
I kind of hate to do this but I feel like I'm going to have to alter the format of my updates to this thread. At this point I'm at least a half dozen sessions behind where the action is. This is causing problems in that I'm able to recall less and less details of the combats from two months ago. Since this thread is trying to comment on the 4e mechanics, those details are important. Also I think that the player commentary has fallen off to almost nothing because they too are having a tough time remembering those details.
So I'm going to shift gears into a much more summary, less narrative approach in an effort to get things caught up. I will probably leave out a lot of details, some of them no doubt important, so if you have questions about anything please ask and I'll try to fill in the blanks. And hopefully the players will chime in more too with any observations they had about the events that transpired in the game which I leave out.
Look for the first of these summary style updates very soon.
So I'm going to shift gears into a much more summary, less narrative approach in an effort to get things caught up. I will probably leave out a lot of details, some of them no doubt important, so if you have questions about anything please ask and I'll try to fill in the blanks. And hopefully the players will chime in more too with any observations they had about the events that transpired in the game which I leave out.
Look for the first of these summary style updates very soon.
Rel
Liquid Awesome
The PC's began to trek across the swamp that stood between them and civilization. Zanne noticed that they were surrounded by some kind of greenish magical aura, similar to the type of magic used by the Lizardfolk. It turned out to be a curse upon them such that they'd be easily located should they ever venture into the swamp again.
Two days later it also led a gigantic crocodile to find them. It was nearly the size of the Blue Dragon they had fought and it managed to swallow Astavian during the fight. Zanne pulled a creative stunt by using her Fey Switch power to exchange places with Astavian after she had called for the Armor of Agathys and after that it was only a matter of time.
The beast was clearly not natural and Zanne and Mialain collectively decided that its teeth might make good ritual components. It took some effort but they managed to pry out a few of them. The largest was over a foot long.
They continued through the swamp toward Enmur. The next day they came to a sizeable clearing of weedy marsh and saw what looked to be an entire army of Lizardmen facing them. If it came to a fight, it wouldn't be pretty.
A small group of Lizardmen came forward, apparently to parlay. One of them introduced himself as Black Egg and was apparently a shaman of some sort. The other was clearly a decorated warrior by the name of Sawscale. Black Egg told them that he had gathered the tribes here because of a message from their god, the Great Crocodile or "Kal-Saurok". Kal-Saurok had foreseen his own death at the hands of "those who slew the stealers of blood". He had indicated that a new god would arise to replace him.
The PC's showed Black Egg the huge teeth they had taken as proof of the death of Kal-Saurok but said that they knew nothing of the prophecy about a new god for the Lizardfolk. Black Egg indicated that they were free to pass through the tribal lands and asked that they deliver word to the Elves that the Lizardfolk wanted only peace now after the time of conflict that had resulted from them having to pay the blood-tithe to Baelthrax.
Sawscale was not so forgiving. He could not believe that such unassuming mortals could have slain the mighty Kal-Saurok. He demanded that "their best warrior" fight him. Astavian could not refuse such a challenge and they did battle there in the marshy clearing as the gathered Lizardfolk watched. Astavian was victorious but when he struck down Sawscale, the Lizardman transformed into a cluster of writhing snakes. These were a greater threat than Astavian could face alone and the other PC's jumped to his aid.
Black Egg too helped to defeat this abomination and explained afterwards that it showed that Sawscale was a secret devotee of the Snake Cult heretics. He apologized to the PC's and told them that, had he known, Sawscale's challenge would never have been allowed. Black Egg blessed them as a show of good faith and wherever they walked in the swamp the ground dried up to offer them easy passage. This sped their journey to Enmur and they made the rest of the trip in only a couple of days.
********
I used the stats for a Feymire Crocodile for Kal-Saurok. He was a pretty nasty customer and I thought things were going to be tough for them when Astavian got swallowed. Zanne's stunting to Fey Switch was a stroke of genius, particularly since the Armor of Agathys was killing it from the inside out.
The diplomacy + single combat + party combat with the Lizardfolk was a really great scene all the way around as far as I was concerned. It started off with the "Oh crap! An army!" scene. Then there was the diplomacy where the PC's made good progress with Black Egg but invoked the ire of Sawscale.
The single combat was a fun departure from normal. I wanted to make sure that the rest of the players didn't get bored so I'd be careful not to use this trick too often. But they seemed to have a lot of fun cheering Astavian on from the sidelines. I really like how my players all take pleasure in the fun of each member of the group. The stats for Sawscale were actually those of a Minotaur Warrior. The cluster of snakes that he became upon death were a re-skinned Shambling Mound.
Two days later it also led a gigantic crocodile to find them. It was nearly the size of the Blue Dragon they had fought and it managed to swallow Astavian during the fight. Zanne pulled a creative stunt by using her Fey Switch power to exchange places with Astavian after she had called for the Armor of Agathys and after that it was only a matter of time.
The beast was clearly not natural and Zanne and Mialain collectively decided that its teeth might make good ritual components. It took some effort but they managed to pry out a few of them. The largest was over a foot long.
They continued through the swamp toward Enmur. The next day they came to a sizeable clearing of weedy marsh and saw what looked to be an entire army of Lizardmen facing them. If it came to a fight, it wouldn't be pretty.
A small group of Lizardmen came forward, apparently to parlay. One of them introduced himself as Black Egg and was apparently a shaman of some sort. The other was clearly a decorated warrior by the name of Sawscale. Black Egg told them that he had gathered the tribes here because of a message from their god, the Great Crocodile or "Kal-Saurok". Kal-Saurok had foreseen his own death at the hands of "those who slew the stealers of blood". He had indicated that a new god would arise to replace him.
The PC's showed Black Egg the huge teeth they had taken as proof of the death of Kal-Saurok but said that they knew nothing of the prophecy about a new god for the Lizardfolk. Black Egg indicated that they were free to pass through the tribal lands and asked that they deliver word to the Elves that the Lizardfolk wanted only peace now after the time of conflict that had resulted from them having to pay the blood-tithe to Baelthrax.
Sawscale was not so forgiving. He could not believe that such unassuming mortals could have slain the mighty Kal-Saurok. He demanded that "their best warrior" fight him. Astavian could not refuse such a challenge and they did battle there in the marshy clearing as the gathered Lizardfolk watched. Astavian was victorious but when he struck down Sawscale, the Lizardman transformed into a cluster of writhing snakes. These were a greater threat than Astavian could face alone and the other PC's jumped to his aid.
Black Egg too helped to defeat this abomination and explained afterwards that it showed that Sawscale was a secret devotee of the Snake Cult heretics. He apologized to the PC's and told them that, had he known, Sawscale's challenge would never have been allowed. Black Egg blessed them as a show of good faith and wherever they walked in the swamp the ground dried up to offer them easy passage. This sped their journey to Enmur and they made the rest of the trip in only a couple of days.
********
I used the stats for a Feymire Crocodile for Kal-Saurok. He was a pretty nasty customer and I thought things were going to be tough for them when Astavian got swallowed. Zanne's stunting to Fey Switch was a stroke of genius, particularly since the Armor of Agathys was killing it from the inside out.
The diplomacy + single combat + party combat with the Lizardfolk was a really great scene all the way around as far as I was concerned. It started off with the "Oh crap! An army!" scene. Then there was the diplomacy where the PC's made good progress with Black Egg but invoked the ire of Sawscale.
The single combat was a fun departure from normal. I wanted to make sure that the rest of the players didn't get bored so I'd be careful not to use this trick too often. But they seemed to have a lot of fun cheering Astavian on from the sidelines. I really like how my players all take pleasure in the fun of each member of the group. The stats for Sawscale were actually those of a Minotaur Warrior. The cluster of snakes that he became upon death were a re-skinned Shambling Mound.
Dr_Ruminahui
First Post
I'm surprised you didn't use something more snake related - which just shows that you are better at this whole reskinning thing than I am. 
Anyway, I have to say I have greatly enjoyed your thread and that it is probably the most useful that I have read - I've gotten a lot of great ideas from you on what to do in my own campaign when it starts again in the new year.
Anyway, I have to say I have greatly enjoyed your thread and that it is probably the most useful that I have read - I've gotten a lot of great ideas from you on what to do in my own campaign when it starts again in the new year.
