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Running player commentary on PCat's 4E Campaign - Heroic tier (finished)
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<blockquote data-quote="Sagiro" data-source="post: 5453824" data-attributes="member: 726"><p>Run #51 was this past week. The previous session ended with the party attempting a short-cut through the huge city of Capria. Said short cut involved two uses of the Tree Stride ritual; we spotted trees on a large “floating island” high above the city, and figured we could pop up to it, then spy a second tree at ground level closer to our destination and pop back down.</p><p></p><p>The first part went just fine. The floating island was a well-tended garden with trees, streams, a small pond, and even some waterfalls that poured down upon the city below. We walked across to a tree on the far side so that Bramble could cast the second ritual.</p><p></p><p>That’s when the undead attacked! It seems that once upon a time, the Emperor had this patch of garden magically scooped up from somewhere and set to float above his capital city, only discovering afterward that it was actually a well-tended graveyard. We had no idea that in the decades since, the Emperor has come to use this place as a killing ground for prisoners, since the undead invariably rise up and kill anyone who walks there.</p><p></p><p>As for the fight:</p><p></p><p>- It started with a Son of Kyuss (Level 13 Brute) and about a half-dozen Wretches of Kyuss (Level 13 Minions) burrowing up out of the earth to attack.</p><p>- A second, similar wave showed up a round or two later. I <em>think</em> that all told we faced two of the Sons, and about a dozen wretches. Piratecat will have the exact numbers.</p><p>- If you’re not familiar with these creatures: The Sons of Kyuss have a “Burrowing Worm” attack that causes Ongoing 10 Necrotic. If you fail a save, the damage increases to 15. Fail another save, and it goes up to 20 and you’re stunned. Fortunately, only one character (Logan) was hit, and he saved on the first try, thanks to his Heroic Action racial (human) ability.</p><p>- The minions were – well, they were minions, but with a slight twist. When killed, they exploded, damaging all adjacent enemies. That lesson was hardest learned by the Sorcerer Gilran, when he used Spark Form to kill at least three of the minions. Each one exploded on him, and he took some serious damage from that.</p><p>- …But not as serious as it might have been, since he used a different power earlier to switch his natural resistance to “necrotic.” Good call!</p><p>- Also, the minions had excellent hit rolls, and did 13 points on a hit (10 more on explosion), and the damage added up quite quickly on several PC’s. Wolfram (formerly Doc Caldwell, but he’s traveling incognito) was knocked unconscious at one point, and we didn’t want to kill the minions surrounding him until he was somewhat healed.</p><p>- Speaking of the consequences of killing these undead: I personally considered trying to throw them off the island, thus raining undead down upon the city below. I nixed that plan when we realized they explode in a shower of deadly worms upon death!</p><p>- Thanks to the Invigorating Spirit feat, Bramble the shaman does (Healing Surge + 9) with each use of Healing Spirit, plus an additional 2d6 to a second character, plus (and we forgot this) 5 Temp HP to allies adjacent to her Spirit Companion. It’s pretty sweet. </p><p>- The wizard Strontium (a.k.a. Inquisitor Zacris) has some power or ability that lets him cast Magic Missile as a minor action. Combined with the auto-hit nature of that spell, that’s 2 minions killed per round, guaranteed! (In fact, there were continuing waves of minions after the first two, but Piratecat declared by fiat that with Stron mowing them down, we didn’t have to play out the ongoing combat.)</p><p>- Now that Logan has changed from a ranged-attacking Rogue to a melee-oriented Avenger, my melee-Rogue has a flanking buddy again! Yay! That’s allowed me to make more use of my utility powers that let me shift my move.</p><p>- Relatedly, you may be wondering why the rapier-wielding ranger isn’t a flanking buddy. The answer is: Wolfram has powers that let him dart in, attack, and dart away again. When my turn rolls around, he’s disengaged. However, we discovered a good synergy this game with Bramble’s Capturing Jaws power, which lets us flank with her Spirit Companion. Wolfram can move, use the SC for a flank, and then move out, so that Cobalt can then do the same. </p><p>- We could have retreated from this battle any time we wanted to, by dashing back to our original “gateway tree.” Wolfram and Strontium were certainly in favor of that when things were looking grim early on, but the fight never got <em>quite</em> out of hand enough to make us seriously want to flee. (And then Wolfram went unconscious, which made fleeing an even less enticing choice.)</p><p></p><p>So, after we finished the second Tree Stride ritual, we finished our shortcut and reported in to the local Grey Guard tower. Afterward, Strontium/Zacris went looking in a library for information about himself (from long ago) and his tower, which we still want access to. Piratecat ran this as a mini-skill challenge, to determine how many of his prepared print-outs he was going to give Stron’s player. (We got two – I don’t know if PC had any more.) They’re cool and puzzling and apparently contain all the information we need to gain access to the tower. </p><p></p><p>Next game: figure out those clues, and try again to gain access to the Strontium’s old abode!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Sagiro, post: 5453824, member: 726"] Run #51 was this past week. The previous session ended with the party attempting a short-cut through the huge city of Capria. Said short cut involved two uses of the Tree Stride ritual; we spotted trees on a large “floating island” high above the city, and figured we could pop up to it, then spy a second tree at ground level closer to our destination and pop back down. The first part went just fine. The floating island was a well-tended garden with trees, streams, a small pond, and even some waterfalls that poured down upon the city below. We walked across to a tree on the far side so that Bramble could cast the second ritual. That’s when the undead attacked! It seems that once upon a time, the Emperor had this patch of garden magically scooped up from somewhere and set to float above his capital city, only discovering afterward that it was actually a well-tended graveyard. We had no idea that in the decades since, the Emperor has come to use this place as a killing ground for prisoners, since the undead invariably rise up and kill anyone who walks there. As for the fight: - It started with a Son of Kyuss (Level 13 Brute) and about a half-dozen Wretches of Kyuss (Level 13 Minions) burrowing up out of the earth to attack. - A second, similar wave showed up a round or two later. I [i]think[/i] that all told we faced two of the Sons, and about a dozen wretches. Piratecat will have the exact numbers. - If you’re not familiar with these creatures: The Sons of Kyuss have a “Burrowing Worm” attack that causes Ongoing 10 Necrotic. If you fail a save, the damage increases to 15. Fail another save, and it goes up to 20 and you’re stunned. Fortunately, only one character (Logan) was hit, and he saved on the first try, thanks to his Heroic Action racial (human) ability. - The minions were – well, they were minions, but with a slight twist. When killed, they exploded, damaging all adjacent enemies. That lesson was hardest learned by the Sorcerer Gilran, when he used Spark Form to kill at least three of the minions. Each one exploded on him, and he took some serious damage from that. - …But not as serious as it might have been, since he used a different power earlier to switch his natural resistance to “necrotic.” Good call! - Also, the minions had excellent hit rolls, and did 13 points on a hit (10 more on explosion), and the damage added up quite quickly on several PC’s. Wolfram (formerly Doc Caldwell, but he’s traveling incognito) was knocked unconscious at one point, and we didn’t want to kill the minions surrounding him until he was somewhat healed. - Speaking of the consequences of killing these undead: I personally considered trying to throw them off the island, thus raining undead down upon the city below. I nixed that plan when we realized they explode in a shower of deadly worms upon death! - Thanks to the Invigorating Spirit feat, Bramble the shaman does (Healing Surge + 9) with each use of Healing Spirit, plus an additional 2d6 to a second character, plus (and we forgot this) 5 Temp HP to allies adjacent to her Spirit Companion. It’s pretty sweet. - The wizard Strontium (a.k.a. Inquisitor Zacris) has some power or ability that lets him cast Magic Missile as a minor action. Combined with the auto-hit nature of that spell, that’s 2 minions killed per round, guaranteed! (In fact, there were continuing waves of minions after the first two, but Piratecat declared by fiat that with Stron mowing them down, we didn’t have to play out the ongoing combat.) - Now that Logan has changed from a ranged-attacking Rogue to a melee-oriented Avenger, my melee-Rogue has a flanking buddy again! Yay! That’s allowed me to make more use of my utility powers that let me shift my move. - Relatedly, you may be wondering why the rapier-wielding ranger isn’t a flanking buddy. The answer is: Wolfram has powers that let him dart in, attack, and dart away again. When my turn rolls around, he’s disengaged. However, we discovered a good synergy this game with Bramble’s Capturing Jaws power, which lets us flank with her Spirit Companion. Wolfram can move, use the SC for a flank, and then move out, so that Cobalt can then do the same. - We could have retreated from this battle any time we wanted to, by dashing back to our original “gateway tree.” Wolfram and Strontium were certainly in favor of that when things were looking grim early on, but the fight never got [i]quite[/i] out of hand enough to make us seriously want to flee. (And then Wolfram went unconscious, which made fleeing an even less enticing choice.) So, after we finished the second Tree Stride ritual, we finished our shortcut and reported in to the local Grey Guard tower. Afterward, Strontium/Zacris went looking in a library for information about himself (from long ago) and his tower, which we still want access to. Piratecat ran this as a mini-skill challenge, to determine how many of his prepared print-outs he was going to give Stron’s player. (We got two – I don’t know if PC had any more.) They’re cool and puzzling and apparently contain all the information we need to gain access to the tower. Next game: figure out those clues, and try again to gain access to the Strontium’s old abode! [/QUOTE]
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Running player commentary on PCat's 4E Campaign - Heroic tier (finished)
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