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Running Commentary on Rel's 4e Campaign (Complete 8/2/10)
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<blockquote data-quote="Rel" data-source="post: 5243885" data-attributes="member: 99"><p>From the deck of their airship they could see the smoke rising from the gates of New Karak Tor. Airships marked with the insignia of the Arcanon Confederacy hovered above and they could see flashes of fire and lightning stab downward telling them that the battle still raged.</p><p></p><p>"We've got to get in there and help them defend the gate to the city! And fast!" proclaimed Astavian. Mialain gave orders to Llyra, "We can't risk the ship against that fleet so you've got to just put us down inside the walls and then get out of there. Circle Karak Tor at a distance and I'll signal you when you need to come pick us up." Eshik likewise instructed Steelslicer, "Stay with the ship and protect her. If those other ships get close, shred the gas bags. Understand?" Steelslicer hissed her assent.</p><p></p><p>Llyra expertly guided the ship in close to the ground where the PC's were able to slide down ropes into the midst of what was clearly a full on retreat by the Dwarves. Another Fireball streaked down from one of the Confederacy airships and exploded in the distance. But the ships were holding back for the moment, kept at bay by ballista fire from the narrow defensive towers that dotted the inner fortifications. A few of the Dwarves stopped and brandished weapons at the party until they saw them wearing the medals they'd been awarded by the Council of Seven that allowed them passage inside Karak Tor. With no further explanation they continued their retreat. Knowing the Dwarves as stalwart warriors the party wondered what had them on the run. A moment later that question was answered. </p><p></p><p>A stone wall, at least three feet thick, burst open before the onslaught of a huge, horned creature. It seized a chunk of the rubble and hurled it at the top of one of the defense towers sending the ballista and lifeless bodies of those arming it falling to the ground. With a triumphant roar the demon bounded forward with a screaming horde of bugbears following just behind it.</p><p></p><p>The PC's began to hurl steel and magic at the beast to slow its advance. Astavian called down the Wrath of Ryukaar while Eshik wielded his blades like the Claws of the Griffon. Zanne hoped to halt the creature with her Infernal Moon Curse but it was too mighty to fall victim to her magic. Mialain erected a Blade Barrier hoping to hold the creature at bay.</p><p></p><p>Heedless of the shredding blades, the Demon rushed forward and grabbed Astavian and simply hurled him against a nearby building with a bone crunching thud, leaving the Paladin prone. It then stomped the ground sending cracks through the stone and knocking everybody within 50 feet to ground, friend and foe alike. It followed this by charging at Eshik and slamming a massive claw into him.</p><p></p><p>The Blade Barrier did give pause to the bugbears who gave it a wide berth before rejoining the advance of the Demon. This allowed the party to focus all of their attacks on it for a moment but even those that found a way through its formidable defenses seemed only to fuel its rage and fury, causing it to strike back viciously.</p><p></p><p>Help did come from above as a massive steel spear slammed into the Demon. Glancing back from whence it came the party saw that Gorom the Warden was helping to man one of the defense tower ballistae.</p><p></p><p>The Demon continued to push forward toward the final gate that led inside the mountain and it seemed that there was nothing that would stop it. It paused and ripped a massive chunk of stone from the base of one of Gorom's defense tower and hurled it at Mialain, missing her by the smallest of margins. Then it did the same to Zanne, this time connecting and knocking her to the ground. A loud *CRACK* sounded from the base of the tower and then the entire thing began to topple over. Eshik leaped into the air and grabbed Gorom and the other Dwarf. The weight of them dragged them all back to the ground but it was enough to save them from being killed by the fall and crashing stone.</p><p></p><p>Just ahead of them the party could now see the gates into the mountain. A couple of them noticed that these gates now had a purple hue to them, indicating that they had been plated with adamantite. There was a grinding noise and the massive stone gates began to slowly open to admit them. But they all knew that while the gates might be indestructible that the stone around them seemed like mere clay in the claws of that Demon. Once breached the might of the horde of the Arcanon Confederacy would come pouring through and the city would be lost.</p><p></p><p>They turned their attention back to the Demon and renewed their assault upon it, knowing that it MUST be defeated if the city were to survive. Zanne donned her Armor of Agathys and prepared to get in close using her Shadow Form as protection. Astavian invoked his Crown of Glory and did his best to remain close to the Demon hoping to slow its progress. But this was a struggle because the Demon kept grabbing and hurling him to some distance. Eshik lay about with both blades and bursts of icy breath dealing death to the bugbear minions that swarmed around them as well as landing strikes upon the Demon. Mialain was simply calling upon every healing spell she could summon in a desperate attempt to stem the horrible damage the Demon was inflicting upon her friends.</p><p></p><p>A shadow passed over them for a moment. It was accompanied by a stony, leonine roar and tremendous crash as the Guardian of Old Karak Tor launched itself from within the gate and locked its stone jaws onto the Demon. A host of Dwarven defenders rushed forth as well and began hacking at the bugbears with axe and hammer. Astavian hurled himself into the Demon with a Radiant Charge compounded by his hatred of (and bonuses against) Mist Demons and finished the creature.</p><p></p><p>Their champion dead and now facing the massive stone form of the Guardian, the bugbears halted their assault long enough for the party, the Dwarves and the Guardian to all withdraw inside the adamantite gates and close them. Karak Tor was besieged. But it still stood.</p><p></p><p>********</p><p></p><p>Another tremendous fight here. I included the use of specific powers since I had notes on a couple things (I specifically jotted down where Eshik stunted to interrupt the Demon's turn to save Gorom and the other Dwarf from falling to their deaths) and had a bit better recall of this battle.</p><p></p><p>The Demon was a Havoc Goristro and it was big and nasty. It "only" had 310 hit points (due to my 60% HP house rule) but it was dealing out massive damage (due to the 1/2 level +3 extra damage rule that went hand in hand with the HP reduction). And every attack against it seemed to trigger some sort of retributive ability or other.</p><p></p><p>The slowing effect of Astavian's Crown of Glory was a big factor in this one as was Zanne's Armor of Agathys/Shadow Form combo and I probably didn't quite do them justice in the above narrative. Also they'd never have survived this if Mialain hadn't been pouring out enough healing to partly counter the incredible damage this thing was doing. And Eshik was making a point to take out swaths of minions with his dragonbreath so that they didn't get overwhelmed by Enlarged Bugbears.</p><p></p><p>Of course my cool moment as the GM in all this had to be the charge of the Guardian. It was one of those times when the players all lit up, knowing that by releasing him earlier in the campaign that they had made possible his appearance in the battle. It was very cinematic and awesome, which is exactly what I was going for.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Rel, post: 5243885, member: 99"] From the deck of their airship they could see the smoke rising from the gates of New Karak Tor. Airships marked with the insignia of the Arcanon Confederacy hovered above and they could see flashes of fire and lightning stab downward telling them that the battle still raged. "We've got to get in there and help them defend the gate to the city! And fast!" proclaimed Astavian. Mialain gave orders to Llyra, "We can't risk the ship against that fleet so you've got to just put us down inside the walls and then get out of there. Circle Karak Tor at a distance and I'll signal you when you need to come pick us up." Eshik likewise instructed Steelslicer, "Stay with the ship and protect her. If those other ships get close, shred the gas bags. Understand?" Steelslicer hissed her assent. Llyra expertly guided the ship in close to the ground where the PC's were able to slide down ropes into the midst of what was clearly a full on retreat by the Dwarves. Another Fireball streaked down from one of the Confederacy airships and exploded in the distance. But the ships were holding back for the moment, kept at bay by ballista fire from the narrow defensive towers that dotted the inner fortifications. A few of the Dwarves stopped and brandished weapons at the party until they saw them wearing the medals they'd been awarded by the Council of Seven that allowed them passage inside Karak Tor. With no further explanation they continued their retreat. Knowing the Dwarves as stalwart warriors the party wondered what had them on the run. A moment later that question was answered. A stone wall, at least three feet thick, burst open before the onslaught of a huge, horned creature. It seized a chunk of the rubble and hurled it at the top of one of the defense towers sending the ballista and lifeless bodies of those arming it falling to the ground. With a triumphant roar the demon bounded forward with a screaming horde of bugbears following just behind it. The PC's began to hurl steel and magic at the beast to slow its advance. Astavian called down the Wrath of Ryukaar while Eshik wielded his blades like the Claws of the Griffon. Zanne hoped to halt the creature with her Infernal Moon Curse but it was too mighty to fall victim to her magic. Mialain erected a Blade Barrier hoping to hold the creature at bay. Heedless of the shredding blades, the Demon rushed forward and grabbed Astavian and simply hurled him against a nearby building with a bone crunching thud, leaving the Paladin prone. It then stomped the ground sending cracks through the stone and knocking everybody within 50 feet to ground, friend and foe alike. It followed this by charging at Eshik and slamming a massive claw into him. The Blade Barrier did give pause to the bugbears who gave it a wide berth before rejoining the advance of the Demon. This allowed the party to focus all of their attacks on it for a moment but even those that found a way through its formidable defenses seemed only to fuel its rage and fury, causing it to strike back viciously. Help did come from above as a massive steel spear slammed into the Demon. Glancing back from whence it came the party saw that Gorom the Warden was helping to man one of the defense tower ballistae. The Demon continued to push forward toward the final gate that led inside the mountain and it seemed that there was nothing that would stop it. It paused and ripped a massive chunk of stone from the base of one of Gorom's defense tower and hurled it at Mialain, missing her by the smallest of margins. Then it did the same to Zanne, this time connecting and knocking her to the ground. A loud *CRACK* sounded from the base of the tower and then the entire thing began to topple over. Eshik leaped into the air and grabbed Gorom and the other Dwarf. The weight of them dragged them all back to the ground but it was enough to save them from being killed by the fall and crashing stone. Just ahead of them the party could now see the gates into the mountain. A couple of them noticed that these gates now had a purple hue to them, indicating that they had been plated with adamantite. There was a grinding noise and the massive stone gates began to slowly open to admit them. But they all knew that while the gates might be indestructible that the stone around them seemed like mere clay in the claws of that Demon. Once breached the might of the horde of the Arcanon Confederacy would come pouring through and the city would be lost. They turned their attention back to the Demon and renewed their assault upon it, knowing that it MUST be defeated if the city were to survive. Zanne donned her Armor of Agathys and prepared to get in close using her Shadow Form as protection. Astavian invoked his Crown of Glory and did his best to remain close to the Demon hoping to slow its progress. But this was a struggle because the Demon kept grabbing and hurling him to some distance. Eshik lay about with both blades and bursts of icy breath dealing death to the bugbear minions that swarmed around them as well as landing strikes upon the Demon. Mialain was simply calling upon every healing spell she could summon in a desperate attempt to stem the horrible damage the Demon was inflicting upon her friends. A shadow passed over them for a moment. It was accompanied by a stony, leonine roar and tremendous crash as the Guardian of Old Karak Tor launched itself from within the gate and locked its stone jaws onto the Demon. A host of Dwarven defenders rushed forth as well and began hacking at the bugbears with axe and hammer. Astavian hurled himself into the Demon with a Radiant Charge compounded by his hatred of (and bonuses against) Mist Demons and finished the creature. Their champion dead and now facing the massive stone form of the Guardian, the bugbears halted their assault long enough for the party, the Dwarves and the Guardian to all withdraw inside the adamantite gates and close them. Karak Tor was besieged. But it still stood. ******** Another tremendous fight here. I included the use of specific powers since I had notes on a couple things (I specifically jotted down where Eshik stunted to interrupt the Demon's turn to save Gorom and the other Dwarf from falling to their deaths) and had a bit better recall of this battle. The Demon was a Havoc Goristro and it was big and nasty. It "only" had 310 hit points (due to my 60% HP house rule) but it was dealing out massive damage (due to the 1/2 level +3 extra damage rule that went hand in hand with the HP reduction). And every attack against it seemed to trigger some sort of retributive ability or other. The slowing effect of Astavian's Crown of Glory was a big factor in this one as was Zanne's Armor of Agathys/Shadow Form combo and I probably didn't quite do them justice in the above narrative. Also they'd never have survived this if Mialain hadn't been pouring out enough healing to partly counter the incredible damage this thing was doing. And Eshik was making a point to take out swaths of minions with his dragonbreath so that they didn't get overwhelmed by Enlarged Bugbears. Of course my cool moment as the GM in all this had to be the charge of the Guardian. It was one of those times when the players all lit up, knowing that by releasing him earlier in the campaign that they had made possible his appearance in the battle. It was very cinematic and awesome, which is exactly what I was going for. [/QUOTE]
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