Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
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!
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Shilsen's Eberron SH (Finished - The Last Word : 9/20/15)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="shilsen" data-source="post: 2856410" data-attributes="member: 198"><p><strong>Enter the Gninja (or "Korm critted WHO?!")</strong></p><p></p><p>The enemies Six sees are all goblinoids. In the lead is a burly-looking bugbear with a gleaming greatsword. Next to the bugbear is an armored hobgoblin with a tower shield, whom Six recognizes as the one that was with Ras at the Lava Pit. The goblin who was with them is also present, along with four <em>mirror image</em>s that mimic his movements. A small glowing magical hand floats at his side. A second unarmored goblin walks beside him. The fifth member of the group is another hobgoblin in full plate, though this one carries a heavy steel shield and has no drawn weapon. A holy symbol hangs at his throat. </p><p></p><p>Even as Six shouts a warning, the first goblin makes a gesture and speaks a string of arcane syllables, causing an invisible burst of force to explode among the Angels. The spell is still in the process of being cast as the second goblin races forward, diving past Six before he can react and coming up on the opposite side. Even as the goblin rises, it disappears from sight. A shuriken leaps from the point where it was last seen, crackling through the air to embed itself in Nameless' chest. </p><p></p><p>Nameless staggers back and gasps, "Sharaat'khesh!", identifying it as one of the infamous goblin ninja. Shaking off the pain, the alienist does what he does best, <em>summon</em>ing three pseudonatural bison, two within the tunnel to block the goblinoids' egress and one next to the invisible ninja. The leading bison hurls forward, driving the hastily raised tower shield into the helmet of its wielder. The one near the ninja butts at an empty space and bellows its frustration as it misses.</p><p></p><p>"Keep them bottled in there!" advises Gareth as he hurries up to the tunnel, placing himself behind the bison filling it. As Korm follows, the hobgoblin in the rear drops a <em>dispel magic</em> in the area. Not only do many of the adventurers feel a spell being stripped off them, but the three bison promptly disappear.</p><p></p><p>As soon as a space is created, the goblinoids move forward, with the tower shield-user in the lead. Gareth slices at him and is surprised as he smoothly pivots, letting Kizmet slide off his shield, and wraps his flail around the paladin's foot, almost pulling him off balance. Without pausing, the hobgoblin continues by, placing himself before Korm. The large bugbear roars a battle-cry and stops to cut at Gareth and land a deep cut on his shoulder, while the wizard and the cleric (whose symbol is now seen to be the curved blue dagger of the Keeper) also move closer.</p><p></p><p>Both Six and Luna are temporarily dazed by the effects of the goblin's first spell and this lets the enemy focus on the others. The wizard sends his <em>spectral hand</em> shooting forward to strike Nameless in the chest. A powerful shock rocks the wounded alienist and he collapses. The cleric drops a <em>sound burst</em> between Korm, Six and Gareth, further wounding all three.</p><p></p><p>Korm, shaking off the spell's effects, moves closer, his newly manifested ability to scent enemies letting him pinpoint the invisible ninja. The big orc quickly drops a <em>faerie fire</em> in the area, illumining the goblin with insubstantial purple flames. </p><p></p><p>The momentary success is one of very few for the adventurers. The attackers display an eerie combination of excellent tactics, teamwork, unexpected abilities and not inconsiderable luck. The ninja dives through the Angels to come up on the far side, snapping, "Get this off me!" to his allies. To the disgust of Korm and the others, the cleric promptly does so, allowing the ninja to disappear again and strike Luna with a shuriken she cannot dodge.</p><p></p><p>The druid in bear form growls at the pain and focuses on casting a <em>summon</em> spell of her own. Since it takes longer than Nameless' ones do, she is a target of opportunity while casting and suffers an attack from the wizard, his <em>spectral hand</em> now draining some of her health with a <em>vampiric touch</em>. Despite the distraction, she retains her focus.</p><p></p><p>Korm, Six and Gareth, meanwhile, are fighting the bugbear and the hobgoblin warrior. The bugbear swings powerful blows with equal force to Korm, while the hobgoblin focuses on hampering their enemies, constantly threatening to twirl their weapons out of their hands. His most deadly attack, however, is not even launched by him. Korm, just having pulled his greatsword from the clutches of his flail, sets his feet and swings back with all his strength. As the blow comes in, the hobgoblin pivots out of the way, letting Korm's unusual greatsword slide along the surface of his shield and striking Korm lightly on the shoulder to add to his momentum. Off-balance, Korm has no way to stop himself. Gareth's eyes go wide in first surprise and then pain as Korm's sword slams into his side, cracking a rib.* </p><p></p><p>"Aaargh! What the hell?!" cries Gareth, even as Korm mutters a hurried, "Sorry!" </p><p></p><p>The sight is almost more of a shock for Luna than the spells and shuriken hitting her, but she manages to retain her concentration and end her spell. A unicorn appears next to Nameless' recumbent form, looking around expectantly. <em><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />!</em> thinks Luna, realizing that she cannot speak in bear form, <em>I can't order it to heal Nameless!</em> Luckily, Six, Korm and Gareth all shout, "Heal him!" The bear nods vigorously to show its assent and the unicorn nods in return**, touching Nameless with its horn. Some of his wounds close immediately and his eyes open.</p><p></p><p>"Yes!" exults Korm, as Luna now comes roaring into the fight to claw and grab the bugbear, "Now summon some more of those bison and let's kill these idiots!"</p><p></p><p>The moment of hope is unfortunately short-lived. Even as he speaks, the ninja pops in and out of sight, this time sending four shuriken flying through the air. A couple knock Nameless back into unconscious before he can recover enough to cast a spell, while the others embed themselves in Luna's sides. To add injury to insult, the bugbear seizes the moment to break free as she winces as the pain.</p><p></p><p>Unable to wound the hobgoblin behind his tower shield, Six focuses on the shield itself and attacks it. Though he puts a couple of large cracks in it, the shield remains whole. Korm, however, ignoring the wizard's attempt to <em>grease</em> his sword (which he has already had to pick up once after being disarmed by the hobgoblin), does manage to wound the hobgoblin grievously. The warrior backs away and cries to his cleric ally, "Heal me!" Even in the middle of a fight, Korm can't help commenting to Gareth, "Hey - he sounds like you!" </p><p></p><p>Luna, already badly wounded and realizing that they need to drop the enemy spellcasters, charges the enemy wizard. Her sense of smell lets her pick him out from his <em>mirror image</em>s, but in her hurry she stumbles as she strikes at him***. Before she can recover, the ninja buries a volley of shuriken in her side and she collapses. The clearly relieved wizard steps away from her and fires three <em>magic missile</em>s past her. Nameless, having once more regained consciousness due to the unicorn's healing, slumps to the ground again!**** </p><p></p><p>Korm shouts an orcish oath and hurls his greatsword, its enchantment sending it flying through the air at first the cleric and then the wizard. To his disgust and disappointment, both targets dodge out of the way*****. Grabbing the sword as it flies back to him, Korm rejoins Six and Gareth in their struggle, but it's a losing battle. Six is the first to go down, the fact that he hadn't been within range of the <em>mass lesser vigor</em> making a substantial difference. A second after Six drops, Gareth manages to <em>smite</em> the hobgoblin warrior to the ground. And then collapses on his fallen enemy as the bugbear drives his sword into the paladin's side. Before the bugbear can recover, Korm decapitates him.</p><p></p><p>Which leaves the badly wounded orc alone facing the cleric, the wizard and the now visible ninja (who has just slain the summoned unicorn). Only for a couple of seconds. The cleric raises an armored fist, which begins to glow with a dark, coruscating energy. He steps in with an anticipatory smile and touches Korm's chest. The latter immediately feels a coldness surround his heart and contract painfully, as if the cleric were physically squeezing it. Though he tries to resist, Korm is too badly wounded already and everything goes black for him.******</p><p></p><p>***</p><p>All of the adventurers other than Six open their eyes to find themselves still in the chamber. They are still badly wounded and their hands are tied behind them. Above them stand the three remaining goblinoids, the dead hobgoblin and bugbear still lying in the middle of the floor. </p><p></p><p>Not very surprisingly, among the goblinoids stands Ras and, besides him, the blue-eyed and bearded man that the Angels had seen with him before. <em>I knew there was something strange going on!</em> thinks Luna. <em>There's no way he should have stayed unconscious after I healed him.</em></p><p></p><p>Ras, satisfaction evident on his face, steps forward to place a sword at Nameless' throat. "So tell me," he asks, "Who paid you to spy on me?" There is a long moment of silence and then Luna says, "I'll explain." She looks at the others and says, "Leave it to me." Despite their situation, all three of her companions turn to stare at her, Nameless nearly cutting his throat in the process. <em>What?!</em></p><p></p><p>Luckily for them, Luna never does get to try out her diplomatic abilities. As Ras turns to look at her, there is the twang of a bowstring and the sound of metal hitting flesh. Ras screams as the head of a crossbow bolt erupts from his shoulder and spins around, as do his allies.</p><p></p><p>Standing at the same entrance that the goblinoids had used is Talleon, a crossbow in his hands. Beside and behind him are six people, three of them wearing Citadel uniforms (as Talleon does), two pointing wands at the goblinoids. "I did," says Talleon conversationally, before adding to his companions, "Take them."</p><p></p><p>What follows isn't a fight so much as a massacre. The three goblinoids have used all their resources in taking down the Angels and neither Ras nor the bearded man are expecting trouble. Within seconds, the wizard and the cleric are dead, the ninja is fleeing invisibly, and Ras and the bearded man are rendered insensible.</p><p></p><p>The attackers then move up to ensure that the goblinoids are dead, to restrain the two unconscious men, and to free and heal the Angels enough that they can take care of themselves. Talleon comes up to the Angels and says, "Good work. We'll take care of things from here on out. I'll see you at the Park early tomorrow."</p><p></p><p>Since it's clear that their presence is no longer needed or desired, the Angels tend to their remaining wounds and then head back to the surface.</p><p></p><p>***</p><p>Next morning, Talleon shows up to Carosten Park. He thanks the group again for their work. Naturally, none of the Angels seems as satisfied as he does.</p><p></p><p>"So you were expecting us to get attacked there?" asks Gareth. </p><p></p><p>"Yes," admits Talleon without the least sign of embarrassment or deception. "I counted on Raskalorn realizing that you were following him and wanting to find out who was getting you to do so. It wasn't too much of a stretch, considering what you," he indicates Nameless, "Said about your lack of stealthiness."</p><p></p><p>Nameless doesn't reply and Talleon continues, "The Cogs were a place where he'd risk an open attack as he couldn't - or wouldn't - in Sharn. Those people who attacked you were a crack mercenary group who'd recently come to Sharn from Darguun. When Ras set up the ambush one of my ... contacts informed me. I figured you'd either defeat them or at least weaken them enough for us to be able to drop them and grab Ras. He has some influential contacts so I needed to catch him red-handed. And we did."</p><p></p><p>Korm glowers at him and says, "So if we died that would be ... what? An acceptable loss?"</p><p></p><p>Talleon snorts, though it's unclear whether that's because Korm's comment is incorrect or because it goes without saying. "You risk your lives daily and I told you it would be dangerous." He shrugs and adds, "Anyway, you survived. So everybody - except Ras - wins."</p><p></p><p>"Can we get a note of thanks or some token of the work we did?" asks Gareth.</p><p></p><p>"Hah!" laughs Talleon. "I told you - the Citadel doesn't pay for services rendered. But if I can put in a good word for you in the future I will. If you do ever need to contact me for some reason, tell Warden Balan Cord." He looks at Korm and adds, "Don't fly up to the Citadel again." </p><p></p><p>"I'll remember that." <em>And I'm in no hurry to meet you again.</em></p><p></p><p>"Then," says Talleon, "This is goodbye. For now. I'm quite impressed with your abilities and I may contact you again regarding any work I think you're especially suited for. If nothing else, you may find it helpful when you're trying to do things like identify a certain gnome."</p><p></p><p>Nobody replies and Talleon leaves. Once he is out of sight, Nameless looks around at the others. "Another job for the Citadel? Anyone for Yarkuun Draal?"</p><p></p><p>"Yes!"</p><p></p><p>* Elusive Target is a beautiful, beautiful feat. Esp. when your player is nice enough to roll and confirm a critical on his ally <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p>** The caster has to be the one able to command a summoned creature to do something other than fight, but I figured I'd cut the group some slack. As you can see, they needed it!</p><p>*** One of a few 1s the players rolled at crucial times</p><p>**** Strangely, though Nameless went down thrice, he never went below -10 hit pts (as Luna, Gareth and Korm did)</p><p>***** I think he rolled something like a 2 and 3 to hit, and when using an action pt, again rolled 2 and 3 on the two d6 (needed a 4). Which mimicked Six's previous use of an action pt.</p><p>****** Death Touch is a very nasty domain power</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="shilsen, post: 2856410, member: 198"] [B]Enter the Gninja (or "Korm critted WHO?!")[/B] The enemies Six sees are all goblinoids. In the lead is a burly-looking bugbear with a gleaming greatsword. Next to the bugbear is an armored hobgoblin with a tower shield, whom Six recognizes as the one that was with Ras at the Lava Pit. The goblin who was with them is also present, along with four [I]mirror image[/I]s that mimic his movements. A small glowing magical hand floats at his side. A second unarmored goblin walks beside him. The fifth member of the group is another hobgoblin in full plate, though this one carries a heavy steel shield and has no drawn weapon. A holy symbol hangs at his throat. Even as Six shouts a warning, the first goblin makes a gesture and speaks a string of arcane syllables, causing an invisible burst of force to explode among the Angels. The spell is still in the process of being cast as the second goblin races forward, diving past Six before he can react and coming up on the opposite side. Even as the goblin rises, it disappears from sight. A shuriken leaps from the point where it was last seen, crackling through the air to embed itself in Nameless' chest. Nameless staggers back and gasps, "Sharaat'khesh!", identifying it as one of the infamous goblin ninja. Shaking off the pain, the alienist does what he does best, [I]summon[/I]ing three pseudonatural bison, two within the tunnel to block the goblinoids' egress and one next to the invisible ninja. The leading bison hurls forward, driving the hastily raised tower shield into the helmet of its wielder. The one near the ninja butts at an empty space and bellows its frustration as it misses. "Keep them bottled in there!" advises Gareth as he hurries up to the tunnel, placing himself behind the bison filling it. As Korm follows, the hobgoblin in the rear drops a [I]dispel magic[/I] in the area. Not only do many of the adventurers feel a spell being stripped off them, but the three bison promptly disappear. As soon as a space is created, the goblinoids move forward, with the tower shield-user in the lead. Gareth slices at him and is surprised as he smoothly pivots, letting Kizmet slide off his shield, and wraps his flail around the paladin's foot, almost pulling him off balance. Without pausing, the hobgoblin continues by, placing himself before Korm. The large bugbear roars a battle-cry and stops to cut at Gareth and land a deep cut on his shoulder, while the wizard and the cleric (whose symbol is now seen to be the curved blue dagger of the Keeper) also move closer. Both Six and Luna are temporarily dazed by the effects of the goblin's first spell and this lets the enemy focus on the others. The wizard sends his [I]spectral hand[/I] shooting forward to strike Nameless in the chest. A powerful shock rocks the wounded alienist and he collapses. The cleric drops a [I]sound burst[/I] between Korm, Six and Gareth, further wounding all three. Korm, shaking off the spell's effects, moves closer, his newly manifested ability to scent enemies letting him pinpoint the invisible ninja. The big orc quickly drops a [I]faerie fire[/I] in the area, illumining the goblin with insubstantial purple flames. The momentary success is one of very few for the adventurers. The attackers display an eerie combination of excellent tactics, teamwork, unexpected abilities and not inconsiderable luck. The ninja dives through the Angels to come up on the far side, snapping, "Get this off me!" to his allies. To the disgust of Korm and the others, the cleric promptly does so, allowing the ninja to disappear again and strike Luna with a shuriken she cannot dodge. The druid in bear form growls at the pain and focuses on casting a [I]summon[/I] spell of her own. Since it takes longer than Nameless' ones do, she is a target of opportunity while casting and suffers an attack from the wizard, his [I]spectral hand[/I] now draining some of her health with a [I]vampiric touch[/I]. Despite the distraction, she retains her focus. Korm, Six and Gareth, meanwhile, are fighting the bugbear and the hobgoblin warrior. The bugbear swings powerful blows with equal force to Korm, while the hobgoblin focuses on hampering their enemies, constantly threatening to twirl their weapons out of their hands. His most deadly attack, however, is not even launched by him. Korm, just having pulled his greatsword from the clutches of his flail, sets his feet and swings back with all his strength. As the blow comes in, the hobgoblin pivots out of the way, letting Korm's unusual greatsword slide along the surface of his shield and striking Korm lightly on the shoulder to add to his momentum. Off-balance, Korm has no way to stop himself. Gareth's eyes go wide in first surprise and then pain as Korm's sword slams into his side, cracking a rib.* "Aaargh! What the hell?!" cries Gareth, even as Korm mutters a hurried, "Sorry!" The sight is almost more of a shock for Luna than the spells and shuriken hitting her, but she manages to retain her concentration and end her spell. A unicorn appears next to Nameless' recumbent form, looking around expectantly. [I]:):):):)![/I] thinks Luna, realizing that she cannot speak in bear form, [I]I can't order it to heal Nameless![/I] Luckily, Six, Korm and Gareth all shout, "Heal him!" The bear nods vigorously to show its assent and the unicorn nods in return**, touching Nameless with its horn. Some of his wounds close immediately and his eyes open. "Yes!" exults Korm, as Luna now comes roaring into the fight to claw and grab the bugbear, "Now summon some more of those bison and let's kill these idiots!" The moment of hope is unfortunately short-lived. Even as he speaks, the ninja pops in and out of sight, this time sending four shuriken flying through the air. A couple knock Nameless back into unconscious before he can recover enough to cast a spell, while the others embed themselves in Luna's sides. To add injury to insult, the bugbear seizes the moment to break free as she winces as the pain. Unable to wound the hobgoblin behind his tower shield, Six focuses on the shield itself and attacks it. Though he puts a couple of large cracks in it, the shield remains whole. Korm, however, ignoring the wizard's attempt to [I]grease[/I] his sword (which he has already had to pick up once after being disarmed by the hobgoblin), does manage to wound the hobgoblin grievously. The warrior backs away and cries to his cleric ally, "Heal me!" Even in the middle of a fight, Korm can't help commenting to Gareth, "Hey - he sounds like you!" Luna, already badly wounded and realizing that they need to drop the enemy spellcasters, charges the enemy wizard. Her sense of smell lets her pick him out from his [I]mirror image[/I]s, but in her hurry she stumbles as she strikes at him***. Before she can recover, the ninja buries a volley of shuriken in her side and she collapses. The clearly relieved wizard steps away from her and fires three [I]magic missile[/I]s past her. Nameless, having once more regained consciousness due to the unicorn's healing, slumps to the ground again!**** Korm shouts an orcish oath and hurls his greatsword, its enchantment sending it flying through the air at first the cleric and then the wizard. To his disgust and disappointment, both targets dodge out of the way*****. Grabbing the sword as it flies back to him, Korm rejoins Six and Gareth in their struggle, but it's a losing battle. Six is the first to go down, the fact that he hadn't been within range of the [I]mass lesser vigor[/I] making a substantial difference. A second after Six drops, Gareth manages to [I]smite[/I] the hobgoblin warrior to the ground. And then collapses on his fallen enemy as the bugbear drives his sword into the paladin's side. Before the bugbear can recover, Korm decapitates him. Which leaves the badly wounded orc alone facing the cleric, the wizard and the now visible ninja (who has just slain the summoned unicorn). Only for a couple of seconds. The cleric raises an armored fist, which begins to glow with a dark, coruscating energy. He steps in with an anticipatory smile and touches Korm's chest. The latter immediately feels a coldness surround his heart and contract painfully, as if the cleric were physically squeezing it. Though he tries to resist, Korm is too badly wounded already and everything goes black for him.****** *** All of the adventurers other than Six open their eyes to find themselves still in the chamber. They are still badly wounded and their hands are tied behind them. Above them stand the three remaining goblinoids, the dead hobgoblin and bugbear still lying in the middle of the floor. Not very surprisingly, among the goblinoids stands Ras and, besides him, the blue-eyed and bearded man that the Angels had seen with him before. [I]I knew there was something strange going on![/I] thinks Luna. [I]There's no way he should have stayed unconscious after I healed him.[/I] Ras, satisfaction evident on his face, steps forward to place a sword at Nameless' throat. "So tell me," he asks, "Who paid you to spy on me?" There is a long moment of silence and then Luna says, "I'll explain." She looks at the others and says, "Leave it to me." Despite their situation, all three of her companions turn to stare at her, Nameless nearly cutting his throat in the process. [I]What?![/I] Luckily for them, Luna never does get to try out her diplomatic abilities. As Ras turns to look at her, there is the twang of a bowstring and the sound of metal hitting flesh. Ras screams as the head of a crossbow bolt erupts from his shoulder and spins around, as do his allies. Standing at the same entrance that the goblinoids had used is Talleon, a crossbow in his hands. Beside and behind him are six people, three of them wearing Citadel uniforms (as Talleon does), two pointing wands at the goblinoids. "I did," says Talleon conversationally, before adding to his companions, "Take them." What follows isn't a fight so much as a massacre. The three goblinoids have used all their resources in taking down the Angels and neither Ras nor the bearded man are expecting trouble. Within seconds, the wizard and the cleric are dead, the ninja is fleeing invisibly, and Ras and the bearded man are rendered insensible. The attackers then move up to ensure that the goblinoids are dead, to restrain the two unconscious men, and to free and heal the Angels enough that they can take care of themselves. Talleon comes up to the Angels and says, "Good work. We'll take care of things from here on out. I'll see you at the Park early tomorrow." Since it's clear that their presence is no longer needed or desired, the Angels tend to their remaining wounds and then head back to the surface. *** Next morning, Talleon shows up to Carosten Park. He thanks the group again for their work. Naturally, none of the Angels seems as satisfied as he does. "So you were expecting us to get attacked there?" asks Gareth. "Yes," admits Talleon without the least sign of embarrassment or deception. "I counted on Raskalorn realizing that you were following him and wanting to find out who was getting you to do so. It wasn't too much of a stretch, considering what you," he indicates Nameless, "Said about your lack of stealthiness." Nameless doesn't reply and Talleon continues, "The Cogs were a place where he'd risk an open attack as he couldn't - or wouldn't - in Sharn. Those people who attacked you were a crack mercenary group who'd recently come to Sharn from Darguun. When Ras set up the ambush one of my ... contacts informed me. I figured you'd either defeat them or at least weaken them enough for us to be able to drop them and grab Ras. He has some influential contacts so I needed to catch him red-handed. And we did." Korm glowers at him and says, "So if we died that would be ... what? An acceptable loss?" Talleon snorts, though it's unclear whether that's because Korm's comment is incorrect or because it goes without saying. "You risk your lives daily and I told you it would be dangerous." He shrugs and adds, "Anyway, you survived. So everybody - except Ras - wins." "Can we get a note of thanks or some token of the work we did?" asks Gareth. "Hah!" laughs Talleon. "I told you - the Citadel doesn't pay for services rendered. But if I can put in a good word for you in the future I will. If you do ever need to contact me for some reason, tell Warden Balan Cord." He looks at Korm and adds, "Don't fly up to the Citadel again." "I'll remember that." [I]And I'm in no hurry to meet you again.[/I] "Then," says Talleon, "This is goodbye. For now. I'm quite impressed with your abilities and I may contact you again regarding any work I think you're especially suited for. If nothing else, you may find it helpful when you're trying to do things like identify a certain gnome." Nobody replies and Talleon leaves. Once he is out of sight, Nameless looks around at the others. "Another job for the Citadel? Anyone for Yarkuun Draal?" "Yes!" * Elusive Target is a beautiful, beautiful feat. Esp. when your player is nice enough to roll and confirm a critical on his ally :) ** The caster has to be the one able to command a summoned creature to do something other than fight, but I figured I'd cut the group some slack. As you can see, they needed it! *** One of a few 1s the players rolled at crucial times **** Strangely, though Nameless went down thrice, he never went below -10 hit pts (as Luna, Gareth and Korm did) ***** I think he rolled something like a 2 and 3 to hit, and when using an action pt, again rolled 2 and 3 on the two d6 (needed a 4). Which mimicked Six's previous use of an action pt. ****** Death Touch is a very nasty domain power [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Shilsen's Eberron SH (Finished - The Last Word : 9/20/15)
Top