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Story Hour
The Dark Squad in the Secrets of Saltmarsh #135 Sorry For The (Attempted) Genocide.
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<blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 8113791" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p style="text-align: center"><strong>Dark Squad in the Forge of Fury</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Session #020 The Duergar and the Ghost.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Dark Squad (in alphabetical order, no egos here).</strong></p><p><strong>Buggles (played by Stu) Male Wood Elf Fighter Lvl 1/Rogue Lvl 3</strong></p><p><strong>New Tricks (played by Bear) Male Tabaxi Warlock Lvl 4</strong></p><p><strong>Ramshambo (played by Kev) Male Half-Elf Rogue Lvl 4</strong></p><p><strong>Vincenzo (played by Haggis) Male Shifter (Wildhunt) Druid Lvl 4</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>NPCs</strong></p><p><strong>Garumn Male Mountain Dwarf Paladin of Moradin Lvl 4</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>NPCs, rescued prisoners of the Orcs- hiding in a cave beyond the mountain.</strong></p><p><strong>Geradil the “Inconceivable”, aging trapper (Male Human)</strong></p><p><strong>“Screaming” Courana, lady’s maid (Female Human)</strong></p><p><strong>Spandwick the Magic Gnome, ex-stage mesmerist (Male Gnome)</strong></p><p><strong>Bel, the beautiful and lovely wife of Spandwick (Female Gnome)</strong></p><p></p><p>This is session 20, and I’m getting as tired of writing this as you are of reading it, probably, but… yet another cracker, and nearly two hours of hot-fun action to start off with.</p><p></p><p>The Dark Squad have entered the halls of Durgeddin the Black (they presume, correctly) and have been told to clear off by a surly (hidden) dwarf, or at least someone or something with a dwarven accent (Scottish for the roleplay).</p><p></p><p>The PCs (actually players) don’t know, but very quickly begin to suspect (they’ve played this game for a while, remember) that they’re chatting to duergar, the evil grey dwarves. Point of fact there are four duergar in the chamber- all invisible, including Ghared- a low level leader type who is doing the chatting for his kin.</p><p></p><p>There’s a bit of back and forth- Vinnie attempts to say some nice things, to explain the situation, and in the process to list all of the Dark Squad’s victories to date- subtext, we’re tough buggers (nice passive aggressive Jim).</p><p></p><p>But Ghared doesn’t give a stuff- he’s not buying whatever it is the druid’s trying to sell- he wants the PC intruders to depart, tout suite.</p><p></p><p>However, negotiations come to a sudden hiatus when Newt dashes into the chamber- dims the torchlight (nearby- check the area of effect for Control Flames) and then goes on a rant.</p><p></p><p>Basically, the cat-man’s patience wears thin…</p><p></p><p>The duergar (obviously) take exception to this, they’re that way inclined- and a trio of the grey dwarves, initially invisible, fling javelins at the tabaxi- and that’s a crit and two hits, Newt is critically wounded in an instant.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]127883[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Duergar, giving a bad name to Dwarves everywhere.</strong></p><p></p><p>Newt Hellish Rebukes one of his now visible attackers, and then…</p><p></p><p>Vinnie starts up again- “Wait! Wait! Mes amis, we are not ear to bring violents!”</p><p></p><p>So, we’re back to chatting for a while, but it’s only a short while because even though the silver-tongued druid is making nice, and rolling high with his various social skill checks… the PCs have just about figured out what’s going on here. The duergar are producing fake Durgeddin the Black hand axes and selling them on.</p><p></p><p>[Vinnie stops the violence, albeit briefly 200 XP]</p><p></p><p>Obviously Ghared is less than impressed that the PCs have figured out their scheme, also the druid is still doing his passive aggressive- still making sure the duergar know just how tough the Dark Squad are.</p><p></p><p>Newt in the meantime has glugged a healing potion or two, which is fortunate because the duergar are getting tired of the chatter- they soon start throwing javelins again, several of them rushing forth in their enlarged forms.</p><p></p><p>Bring on the ultra-violence.</p><p></p><p>Garumn takes a javelin hit as he stomps forward, however the dwarven paladin manages to bloody the nearest grey dwarf with Shatterspike. Ram rushes over and finishes it off- he cuts the first enemy down.</p><p></p><p>See, not so tough the duergar.</p><p></p><p>But that was the one already burnt by Newt.</p><p></p><p>Garumn takes another hit- this from an enlarged war pick wielding grey dwarf, and now he’s bloodied- yep, already.</p><p></p><p>Newt with his magic and Buggles with his scimitars are both way off target, the tabaxi spends an inspiration point to try again- and then rolls lower still.</p><p></p><p>Vinnie lets loose his faerie fire- “let uz light zees buggers up!”</p><p></p><p>Alas both of the duergar targeted make their saves, so- the Dark Squad are going to have to do this the hard way.</p><p></p><p>Garumn swings heartily and misses, and then repeats Newt’s feat- he spends an inspiration point and rolls lower still.</p><p></p><p>There is much wailing and gnashing of teeth around the VTT.</p><p></p><p>Buggles slashes one of the enlarged duergar, while Ram stabs Ghared (the duergar leader) with his magical rapier- the leader-type immediately orders one of the other duergar warriors to go and get some help.</p><p></p><p>Garumn slashes and cuts the third enemy- all three duergar are injured now, but none of them yet bloodied.</p><p></p><p>It doesn’t last, Newt’s fires a (Crit) eldritch blast into the enlarged duergar heading for the door behind the throne, to go and fetch reinforcements- the grey dwarf falls short of his destination. Killed in an instant.</p><p></p><p>Vinnie locks eyes on Ghared, shakes his head and then… hold person, and the duergar leader is frozen in position- paralysed.</p><p></p><p>Buggles stabs and heavily wounds the last duergar in the fight (atm), who is also attempting a tactical retreat while screaming for his comrades, the grey dwarf is desperate to get the message out. Garumn rushes forward and cuts the grey dwarf enemy down (with yet another crit).</p><p></p><p>Ram, soon after joined by Buggles, finishes off the still paralysed Ghared- they’re all heart the bloody rogues.</p><p></p><p>[Ghared and the duergar warriors are despatched 1050 XP]</p><p></p><p>The PCs relax (a little)- the fight is over, but they don’t have long- the DM is keen to move this on swiftly. The Dark Squad quickly search the fallen duergar and snaffle a bit more gold coin, and a potion of healing. Which is also quickly quaffed by Newt.</p><p></p><p>The adventurers also figure out that the forge is through the doors to the south east- they can hear more duergar at work in there, they think- again, correctly.</p><p></p><p>However, seconds later the door behind the throne opens and… yet another duergar warrior is revealed. The grey dwarf starts shouting and is swiftly stabbed by Ram, and then eldritch blasted by Newt. Then, just as swiftly, the now bloodied duergar warrior disappears- invisible.</p><p></p><p>The alarm has been raised.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]127884[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Duergar, now you see 'em- now you don't.</strong></p><p></p><p>The Dark Squad spot another duergar in the newly revealed chamber ahead which is some kind of meeting room complete with massive stone table, and with another door exiting over the far side.</p><p></p><p>Then, the second duergar disappears from sight too.</p><p></p><p>There follows three turns or so of the PCs trying to figure out where the two new (invisible) enemies are.</p><p></p><p>Vinnie takes a risk and conjures an entangle spell in the doorway to the newly revealed chamber, effectively blocking(-ish) the route. Alas at this point one of the two invisible duergar has already escaped the meeting room and is stood pretty much in the Dark Squad’s midst. The second duergar however is caught within the compass of the entangle spell, restrained but still invisible, helpfully the warrior is also out of sight of the adventurers (around a corner).</p><p></p><p>They still can’t see/target it.</p><p></p><p>Newt, in a panic, swigs down his potion of invisibility, he too disappears.</p><p></p><p>The duergar hunt continues for a short while, that is until one of the invisible buggers’ flings open the doors to the forge and starts yelling for his comrade’s attention (which, of course, does not affect the grey dwarf’s ongoing invisibility). There are another four duergar in the forge at their work- although now the PCs have their attention. One of the new enemies revealed is Snurrevin, another leader type, who has a few wizard spells at his disposal- although the PCs are not aware of this, yet.</p><p></p><p>It gets to fighting again.</p><p></p><p>Vinnie stops a javelin, and his concentration is broken- the entangle spell fades and the entangled invisible duergar is now freed up to alert Nimira, the warrior leader type of the grey dwarves.</p><p></p><p>Meantime the duergar warriors in the forge begin to move out- either invisible or enlarged, and start to mix it with the Dark Squad.</p><p></p><p>Just to say that in game, and ahead of (but during) what follows, one of the players stated (something like)- “I don’t think we’re going to make it…”. After the game two other players also messaged me to say that they were surprised (and gladdened) that they got through the following fracas.</p><p></p><p>It took a while, maybe ninety more minutes from here to the end of the fight- it was a close one.</p><p></p><p>Ready…</p><p></p><p>Ramshambow stops a javelin, and the rogue is bloodied in an instant.</p><p></p><p>Seconds later Nimira the two-handed sword wielding, and heavily armoured female duergar tyrant rushes into battle, Buggles holds the her up- slashing and cutting the enlarged and enraged grey dwarf.</p><p></p><p>Vinnie has seen enough, Vincen-Tiger makes his first appearance, the great beast rushes over to claw at Nimira.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]127885[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Vincen Tiger, he's GRRReaaat!</strong></p><p></p><p>An enlarged duergar warrior meantime rushes out of the forge screaming, and straight into Garum who guts the warrior in an instant- dead (with a little extra divine smite, and a Crit).</p><p></p><p>There is joy in the hearts of the players.</p><p></p><p>Seconds later a second (formerly invisible) duergar swings into action and buries its war pick in the dwarf paladin’s back, Garumn is now heavily wounded.</p><p></p><p>Ram takes an already wounded duergar down with his magical rapier, however the rogue also finds another invisible enemy the hard way- the duergar buries its war pick in the rogue’s leg. Ram is now also heavily wounded.</p><p></p><p>Nimira meantime slashes and bloodies Vincen-Tiger with a single hit.</p><p></p><p>Buggles continues to try to keep Nimira at bay but misses three times in a row- needing to spend an inspiration point to get in that final all important miss.</p><p></p><p>There is consternation and fretting within the ranks. I think at some point one of the players said something like “We just need to start hitting!” Slightly irate, and somewhat dismayed his colleagues were perhaps just not trying hard enough to roll high.</p><p></p><p>Oh, and keep in mind I’m mostly only reporting the hits here, the misses (mostly) go unreported.</p><p></p><p>Snurrevin, the duergar wizard, launches a shatter spell, a crack of thunder and Ram and Garumn are left staggering, both are now critically wounded (on approx. 6 HP each).</p><p></p><p>Vincen-Tiger gets hit by another war pick wielding duergar warrior, who suddenly just appears in the midst of the PCs.</p><p></p><p>This kind of treachery from the (cruel) DM leads to hissing and cursing from the players around the VTT.</p><p></p><p>Newt hits a duergar (for 8 fire damage) using his new spell- Belphegor’s Fiery Blast (a reskinned eldritch blast) and that’s his potion of invisibility spent.</p><p></p><p>Vincen-Tiger bites Nimira, and at last the two-handed sword wielding duergar warrior is bloodied.</p><p></p><p>Garumn takes another war pick hit- the paladin is still standing, but woozy (and now on 1 HP), seconds later the dwarf suddenly convulses- as if electrocuted, and collapses onto the floor and sprawls into unconsciousness.</p><p></p><p>Browngnaw, Snurrevin’s rat familiar, sneakily delivering that last shocking grasp attack.</p><p></p><p>Ram keeps stabbing at the enlarged duergar swatting at him, but he can’t kill it- Newt tries to help out with another Belphegor’s fiery blast- but still the grey dwarf survives.</p><p></p><p>Note there are still five duergar (including Snurrevin and Nimira) in the fight.</p><p></p><p>Nimira guts Vincen-Tiger with her greatsword, and then snarls threats at the newly revealed (and already wounded) Vincenzo. The duergar leader pays the price for her grandstanding- Buggles Crits her with his magical scimitar, and now she too is critically wounded (on 7 HP).</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]127886[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Garumn has taken a proper beating, as has Ram- and he's running away as fast as he can. Newt is hiding- Buggles is in action while Vinnie is no longer wearing the cat's pyjamas.</strong></p><p></p><p>The druid however is thwarted some more- Snurrevin exits the forge and paralyses him with a hold person spell, and then immediately orders the nearest duergar warrior to head over and slay the shifter. The duergar warrior complies and buries its war pick in the druid, bloodying him in an instant.</p><p></p><p>It’s at this point that another one of the players cautions his co-players for not rolling hard enough, or something similar.</p><p></p><p>The tension is mounting, although… perhaps the above caution does the job.</p><p></p><p>Seconds later Vinnie shakes off the paralysis, although needing an inspiration point to make the save.</p><p></p><p>In the next moment Garumn makes his first death save, and… ‘20’ the paladin is back on his feet- having first spent all of his lay on hands, and now shouting the odds at the semi-startled duergar.</p><p></p><p>“COME ON! I’ll tek tha lot of yers!”</p><p></p><p>Ram meantime has taken to his heels- the rogue is mid-run away, he’s desperately trying to get some healing (a potion), however he is being chased- all the way out of the chamber and back down the stairs, by an enlarged duergar.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]127887[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Run Ram! Run! And sure enough, Ram ran.</strong></p><p></p><p>At which point the rogue gets enough distance between himself and his pursuer to chug a healing potion- that tastes nice.</p><p></p><p>Belphegor’s fiery blast comes again- and, at last, another of the enlarged duergar falls.</p><p></p><p>Nimira (on 7 HP) has seen enough, the duergar warrior leader disappears from sight and attempts to find somewhere safe to hide (actually she initially flees back to her room).</p><p></p><p>Buggles, freed up now that Nimira has turned invisible and departed, launches himself at Snurrevin- the duergar smith’s shield spell fails to keep the wood elf’s magical scimitar- MONGOOSE! at bay, and now the smith is bloodied. Snurrevin fights back- he enlarges and then sticks his over-sized war pick in the elf- honours even.</p><p></p><p>But not for long, the revived druid- Vinnie, conjures a moonbeam from his ring of spell storing- the last remaining duergar warrior in the chamber, and Snurrevin, are both caught in the radiant blaze.</p><p></p><p>The pair are burnt some more (at the start of their turns) as the druid continues to concentrate on the spells fiery spotlight.</p><p></p><p>The now badly wounded enlarged duergar warrior escapes the blaze- and then buries its war pick in Garumn- the paladin is now also back to being critically wounded (and back on 7 HP).</p><p></p><p>However the formerly fleeing Ram is now heading back into the chamber, after healing the rogue goes toe-to-toe with the enlarged duergar warrior chasing him, and swiftly takes the brute down.</p><p></p><p>The Dark Squad are getting there…</p><p></p><p>Another Belphegor’s fiery blast and Snurrevin (even with another shield spell) feels the pain.</p><p></p><p>Buggles slices the last enlarged duergar warrior, and now it too is critically wounded (on 5 HP) but the wood elf can’t finish the terror off, nor can Vinnie who repositions his moonbeam to illuminate the tough enemy (now on 1 HP).</p><p></p><p>Snurrevin meantime takes another hit, this one from Shatterspike and the snarling Garumn, the grey dwarf has seen enough. Snurrevin disappears and in one headlong dash flees the forge, and the halls of Durgeddin the Black.</p><p></p><p>Garumn, meantime- after an entire turn of misses from all of the other PCs, finally takes down the last duergar warrior, this enemy (starting the fight with only 30 or so HP) has managed to survive over half-a-dozen (low damage roll) hits and for the entire fracas (he was the duergar that opened the door and spotted the PCs in the great hall).</p><p></p><p>[Death to the duergar some more, although both leaders escape 1000 XP]</p><p></p><p>Then ten seconds of silence, as the Dark Squad hold their various poses and wait to see if any more grey dwarves are going to suddenly appear. Followed by ten minutes of run around paranoia, including Ram firing arrows into dark empty spaces which could/might contain invisible enemies. Then a sudden dash (by the entire group) to get to the front door to the halls (which they left open) and there to lock the portal.</p><p></p><p>[Searching and fretting about the missing duergar 150 XP]</p><p></p><p>This in order to seal the leader type duergar enemies within the forge, to make sure none of them get away.</p><p></p><p>Too late.</p><p></p><p>Then ten minutes more of random creeping about including the opening and closing of various doors… it was great to watch on the VTT, unbridled paranoia.</p><p></p><p>Oh, and in the midst of the rushing about the chugging of healing potions, Vinnie’s ring of spell storing is also just about on empty and Garumn has nothing (lay on hands, spells) left to use.</p><p></p><p>No duergar are found, of course.</p><p></p><p>The Dark Squad are convinced that there are two enemies still in the halls with them, but if they read this then the secret’s out- Snurrevin has already exited the place.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]127888[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Spot the invisible Duergar.</strong></p><p></p><p>Where’s Nimira, well- for a good while she was stood in the same hall as the PCs were massed- while they were expending their healing and bickering about what doors to open/close, and where to check next…</p><p></p><p>But then the duergar warrior saw her opportunity and took it… let’s leave it at that, except to say- she’s not gone away.</p><p></p><p>Although the Dark Squad, after a little more chatter (and associated monster knowledge checks) have figured out that the duergar’s invisibility only lasts about an hour.</p><p></p><p>The adventurers poke around the revealed chambers for a good while longer, including snooping around the rooms from which Nimira emerged- a smashed up bedroom, a storeroom and a toilet cubicle (the only location not searched- and the location, of course, of the secret door). Then a very brief examination of the forge chamber nearby- the duergar were indeed making Durgeddin the Black style fake hand axes, there the Dark Squad settle down for a well-earned rest.</p><p></p><p>[More duergar hunting, including locking the outer door 150 XP]</p><p></p><p>Rest done the bodies of the fallen are searched, and a little more coin found.</p><p></p><p>Then, a plan- of sorts. Vinnie discerns that Snurrevin- and the other duergar previously working in the forge have effectively left sooty trails- this after a 20+ survival check, with lots of help from Buggles. Another three or four checks later and the Dark Squad are convinced that Snurrevin has already exited the halls and has therefore been locked out.</p><p></p><p>Alas the trail of Nimira is much more difficult to find.</p><p></p><p>[Concerted hunting for the missing duergar leaders 200 XP]</p><p></p><p>The adventurers continue to nose around the opened-up chambers, the rogues sneaking ahead as always. The pair discover that the stream that runs through the forge plunges into a deep hollow. The rest of the Dark Squad catch up, and there’s more chatter- they’re now convinced that the duergar entered the forge from this direction, somehow.</p><p></p><p>Then Ram spots through the dark and mist that there’s a hard to get to ledge with a rope ladder heading down from it- down into the dark watery chasm.</p><p></p><p>[Searching and finding the ledge 100 XP]</p><p></p><p>After a brief chat the decision is made- they need to investigate the hard to get to ledge- cue Vincen G. Spider, the giant arachnid scuttles over to the ledge which has a very small door/passage leading north from it, a crawlspace. Vincen G. Spider has a rope tied around its abdomen. Ten minutes later and the giant spider is gone, and Vinnie has secured the rope, and with a variety of pitons employed by Ram to anchor the other end, and to make the crossing easier.</p><p></p><p>The Dark Squad safely traverse the dangerous drop-off.</p><p></p><p>[Safely traverse to the ledge 200 XP]</p><p></p><p>Ram, and then Buggles, are sent ahead into the crawlspace- the pair discover that a spur of the passage exits into the bathroom (in Nimira’s chambers) they decided not to search earlier.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]127889[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>It very quickly becomes obvious that the secret passage leads into the ancient bathroom- the only chamber the Dark Squad pointedly declared they were not searching. That's a learning moment.</strong></p><p></p><p>The crawlspace continues on north, eventually exiting into a much larger chamber- with a well, a gathering space of some sort- the floor of the chamber however is littered with the ancient armoured skeletal remains of over twenty individuals. Mostly orcs, but also half-a-dozen long dead dwarves.</p><p></p><p>“This was a massacre”, Buggles states.</p><p>“And we didn’t do it!” Vinnie adds.</p><p></p><p>Then, suddenly, the ghostly form of an elaborately robed dwarf steps out of the nearest wall and begins talking at the nearest PCs.</p><p></p><p>What follows is a precis, not the whole shebang- I’d written up the ghost dwarf’s speech(es) previously and practised them beforehand.</p><p></p><p>“The orcs that came for us- they followed us, from the north. We travelled for hundreds of miles through secret ways, known to few- and yet still they followed us!”</p><p></p><p>“We came to settle here, he brought us here- to watch and wait he said.”</p><p></p><p>“Still they found us!”</p><p></p><p>“They were sent after us, don’t you see!”</p><p></p><p>“No! Not after us- they were sent after him- to kill him, that’s it.”</p><p></p><p>“Don’t you see! DON’T YOU SEE!”</p><p></p><p>The dwarven ghost is hectoring, and spluttering in fury as it ends its speech.</p><p></p><p>Note several of the PCs have been asking questions while the ghost is about its tirade.</p><p></p><p>“Are you talking about Durgeddin the Black?”</p><p></p><p>“Were you here with Durgeddin?”</p><p></p><p>That kind of thing, but the ghost is not here for a Q&A.</p><p></p><p>The ghost’s tirade ends spectrally spluttering in Buggles’ face, remarkably the wood elf makes the decision to chat and play nicely with the screaming strange entity, even more remarkably he succeeds.</p><p></p><p>The dwarf ghost drifts off, down a corridor to the east- the Dark Squad after a brief chat- mostly speculation and shrugs, follow after the haunted dwarf.</p><p></p><p>All the way into another larger communal space, with another well- although this area without the remains of slaughtered dwarves and orcs.</p><p></p><p>The ghost suddenly turns and spies the adventurers following after him.</p><p></p><p>“Ah, there you are- do you remember the story he told us about the man and the crocodile?” and we move into the ghostly dwarf’s second speech, again a precis follows-</p><p></p><p>“Man was sad because he had to cross the river which was full of crocodiles. Crocodile saw this and offered to safely transport man to the other side of his river kingdom.”</p><p></p><p>Long story short… Crocodile takes man safely to the far bank, although before ferrying him across he makes man promise to pay back the favour.</p><p></p><p>On the far bank crocodile immediately cashes in his favour, asking the man to reciprocate and carry him on his back across the kingdom of man.</p><p></p><p>Man tries to worm out of his obligation but caught in his promise has to return the favour.</p><p></p><p>Man puts crocodile on his back and carries him across the kingdom of man…</p><p></p><p>At which point the ghostly dwarf asks the Dark Squad about the story- what does it mean?</p><p></p><p>Of the offered answers Buggles’ is the most convincing, confidently stating the story of crocodile and man is all about having to keep your promise.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]127890[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Buggles' new BF, the wood elf has a thing for the undead it seems...</strong></p><p></p><p>The ghostly dwarf nods sagely, and then lets the PCs know that “he said something similar, but he had a another answer…”</p><p></p><p>The ghost then, as suddenly, calls for silence with a shush, and then states- “they’re in here…” and walks through the nearest stone door.</p><p></p><p>But that’s the end of the session.</p><p></p><p>[The dwarf ghost 500 XP]</p><p></p><p>And I swear at least two of the players said “Ohhhrrr!” in an effort to get me to go on… that was three-and-a-half hours of D&D with only one five-minute break. We usually have three breaks in a session.</p><p></p><p>Got ‘em, a bit.</p><p></p><p>More next time.</p><p></p><p>Stay safe and well.</p><p></p><p>Cheers the Dark Squad and goonalan.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 8113791, member: 16069"] [CENTER][B]Dark Squad in the Forge of Fury[/B][/CENTER] [B]Session #020 The Duergar and the Ghost. Dark Squad (in alphabetical order, no egos here). Buggles (played by Stu) Male Wood Elf Fighter Lvl 1/Rogue Lvl 3 New Tricks (played by Bear) Male Tabaxi Warlock Lvl 4 Ramshambo (played by Kev) Male Half-Elf Rogue Lvl 4 Vincenzo (played by Haggis) Male Shifter (Wildhunt) Druid Lvl 4 NPCs Garumn Male Mountain Dwarf Paladin of Moradin Lvl 4 NPCs, rescued prisoners of the Orcs- hiding in a cave beyond the mountain. Geradil the “Inconceivable”, aging trapper (Male Human) “Screaming” Courana, lady’s maid (Female Human) Spandwick the Magic Gnome, ex-stage mesmerist (Male Gnome) Bel, the beautiful and lovely wife of Spandwick (Female Gnome)[/B] This is session 20, and I’m getting as tired of writing this as you are of reading it, probably, but… yet another cracker, and nearly two hours of hot-fun action to start off with. The Dark Squad have entered the halls of Durgeddin the Black (they presume, correctly) and have been told to clear off by a surly (hidden) dwarf, or at least someone or something with a dwarven accent (Scottish for the roleplay). The PCs (actually players) don’t know, but very quickly begin to suspect (they’ve played this game for a while, remember) that they’re chatting to duergar, the evil grey dwarves. Point of fact there are four duergar in the chamber- all invisible, including Ghared- a low level leader type who is doing the chatting for his kin. There’s a bit of back and forth- Vinnie attempts to say some nice things, to explain the situation, and in the process to list all of the Dark Squad’s victories to date- subtext, we’re tough buggers (nice passive aggressive Jim). But Ghared doesn’t give a stuff- he’s not buying whatever it is the druid’s trying to sell- he wants the PC intruders to depart, tout suite. However, negotiations come to a sudden hiatus when Newt dashes into the chamber- dims the torchlight (nearby- check the area of effect for Control Flames) and then goes on a rant. Basically, the cat-man’s patience wears thin… The duergar (obviously) take exception to this, they’re that way inclined- and a trio of the grey dwarves, initially invisible, fling javelins at the tabaxi- and that’s a crit and two hits, Newt is critically wounded in an instant. [ATTACH type="full" alt="20.1.jpg"]127883[/ATTACH] [B]Duergar, giving a bad name to Dwarves everywhere.[/B] Newt Hellish Rebukes one of his now visible attackers, and then… Vinnie starts up again- “Wait! Wait! Mes amis, we are not ear to bring violents!” So, we’re back to chatting for a while, but it’s only a short while because even though the silver-tongued druid is making nice, and rolling high with his various social skill checks… the PCs have just about figured out what’s going on here. The duergar are producing fake Durgeddin the Black hand axes and selling them on. [Vinnie stops the violence, albeit briefly 200 XP] Obviously Ghared is less than impressed that the PCs have figured out their scheme, also the druid is still doing his passive aggressive- still making sure the duergar know just how tough the Dark Squad are. Newt in the meantime has glugged a healing potion or two, which is fortunate because the duergar are getting tired of the chatter- they soon start throwing javelins again, several of them rushing forth in their enlarged forms. Bring on the ultra-violence. Garumn takes a javelin hit as he stomps forward, however the dwarven paladin manages to bloody the nearest grey dwarf with Shatterspike. Ram rushes over and finishes it off- he cuts the first enemy down. See, not so tough the duergar. But that was the one already burnt by Newt. Garumn takes another hit- this from an enlarged war pick wielding grey dwarf, and now he’s bloodied- yep, already. Newt with his magic and Buggles with his scimitars are both way off target, the tabaxi spends an inspiration point to try again- and then rolls lower still. Vinnie lets loose his faerie fire- “let uz light zees buggers up!” Alas both of the duergar targeted make their saves, so- the Dark Squad are going to have to do this the hard way. Garumn swings heartily and misses, and then repeats Newt’s feat- he spends an inspiration point and rolls lower still. There is much wailing and gnashing of teeth around the VTT. Buggles slashes one of the enlarged duergar, while Ram stabs Ghared (the duergar leader) with his magical rapier- the leader-type immediately orders one of the other duergar warriors to go and get some help. Garumn slashes and cuts the third enemy- all three duergar are injured now, but none of them yet bloodied. It doesn’t last, Newt’s fires a (Crit) eldritch blast into the enlarged duergar heading for the door behind the throne, to go and fetch reinforcements- the grey dwarf falls short of his destination. Killed in an instant. Vinnie locks eyes on Ghared, shakes his head and then… hold person, and the duergar leader is frozen in position- paralysed. Buggles stabs and heavily wounds the last duergar in the fight (atm), who is also attempting a tactical retreat while screaming for his comrades, the grey dwarf is desperate to get the message out. Garumn rushes forward and cuts the grey dwarf enemy down (with yet another crit). Ram, soon after joined by Buggles, finishes off the still paralysed Ghared- they’re all heart the bloody rogues. [Ghared and the duergar warriors are despatched 1050 XP] The PCs relax (a little)- the fight is over, but they don’t have long- the DM is keen to move this on swiftly. The Dark Squad quickly search the fallen duergar and snaffle a bit more gold coin, and a potion of healing. Which is also quickly quaffed by Newt. The adventurers also figure out that the forge is through the doors to the south east- they can hear more duergar at work in there, they think- again, correctly. However, seconds later the door behind the throne opens and… yet another duergar warrior is revealed. The grey dwarf starts shouting and is swiftly stabbed by Ram, and then eldritch blasted by Newt. Then, just as swiftly, the now bloodied duergar warrior disappears- invisible. The alarm has been raised. [ATTACH type="full" alt="20.2.jpg"]127884[/ATTACH] [B]Duergar, now you see 'em- now you don't.[/B] The Dark Squad spot another duergar in the newly revealed chamber ahead which is some kind of meeting room complete with massive stone table, and with another door exiting over the far side. Then, the second duergar disappears from sight too. There follows three turns or so of the PCs trying to figure out where the two new (invisible) enemies are. Vinnie takes a risk and conjures an entangle spell in the doorway to the newly revealed chamber, effectively blocking(-ish) the route. Alas at this point one of the two invisible duergar has already escaped the meeting room and is stood pretty much in the Dark Squad’s midst. The second duergar however is caught within the compass of the entangle spell, restrained but still invisible, helpfully the warrior is also out of sight of the adventurers (around a corner). They still can’t see/target it. Newt, in a panic, swigs down his potion of invisibility, he too disappears. The duergar hunt continues for a short while, that is until one of the invisible buggers’ flings open the doors to the forge and starts yelling for his comrade’s attention (which, of course, does not affect the grey dwarf’s ongoing invisibility). There are another four duergar in the forge at their work- although now the PCs have their attention. One of the new enemies revealed is Snurrevin, another leader type, who has a few wizard spells at his disposal- although the PCs are not aware of this, yet. It gets to fighting again. Vinnie stops a javelin, and his concentration is broken- the entangle spell fades and the entangled invisible duergar is now freed up to alert Nimira, the warrior leader type of the grey dwarves. Meantime the duergar warriors in the forge begin to move out- either invisible or enlarged, and start to mix it with the Dark Squad. Just to say that in game, and ahead of (but during) what follows, one of the players stated (something like)- “I don’t think we’re going to make it…”. After the game two other players also messaged me to say that they were surprised (and gladdened) that they got through the following fracas. It took a while, maybe ninety more minutes from here to the end of the fight- it was a close one. Ready… Ramshambow stops a javelin, and the rogue is bloodied in an instant. Seconds later Nimira the two-handed sword wielding, and heavily armoured female duergar tyrant rushes into battle, Buggles holds the her up- slashing and cutting the enlarged and enraged grey dwarf. Vinnie has seen enough, Vincen-Tiger makes his first appearance, the great beast rushes over to claw at Nimira. [ATTACH type="full" alt="20.3.jpg"]127885[/ATTACH] [B]Vincen Tiger, he's GRRReaaat![/B] An enlarged duergar warrior meantime rushes out of the forge screaming, and straight into Garum who guts the warrior in an instant- dead (with a little extra divine smite, and a Crit). There is joy in the hearts of the players. Seconds later a second (formerly invisible) duergar swings into action and buries its war pick in the dwarf paladin’s back, Garumn is now heavily wounded. Ram takes an already wounded duergar down with his magical rapier, however the rogue also finds another invisible enemy the hard way- the duergar buries its war pick in the rogue’s leg. Ram is now also heavily wounded. Nimira meantime slashes and bloodies Vincen-Tiger with a single hit. Buggles continues to try to keep Nimira at bay but misses three times in a row- needing to spend an inspiration point to get in that final all important miss. There is consternation and fretting within the ranks. I think at some point one of the players said something like “We just need to start hitting!” Slightly irate, and somewhat dismayed his colleagues were perhaps just not trying hard enough to roll high. Oh, and keep in mind I’m mostly only reporting the hits here, the misses (mostly) go unreported. Snurrevin, the duergar wizard, launches a shatter spell, a crack of thunder and Ram and Garumn are left staggering, both are now critically wounded (on approx. 6 HP each). Vincen-Tiger gets hit by another war pick wielding duergar warrior, who suddenly just appears in the midst of the PCs. This kind of treachery from the (cruel) DM leads to hissing and cursing from the players around the VTT. Newt hits a duergar (for 8 fire damage) using his new spell- Belphegor’s Fiery Blast (a reskinned eldritch blast) and that’s his potion of invisibility spent. Vincen-Tiger bites Nimira, and at last the two-handed sword wielding duergar warrior is bloodied. Garumn takes another war pick hit- the paladin is still standing, but woozy (and now on 1 HP), seconds later the dwarf suddenly convulses- as if electrocuted, and collapses onto the floor and sprawls into unconsciousness. Browngnaw, Snurrevin’s rat familiar, sneakily delivering that last shocking grasp attack. Ram keeps stabbing at the enlarged duergar swatting at him, but he can’t kill it- Newt tries to help out with another Belphegor’s fiery blast- but still the grey dwarf survives. Note there are still five duergar (including Snurrevin and Nimira) in the fight. Nimira guts Vincen-Tiger with her greatsword, and then snarls threats at the newly revealed (and already wounded) Vincenzo. The duergar leader pays the price for her grandstanding- Buggles Crits her with his magical scimitar, and now she too is critically wounded (on 7 HP). [ATTACH type="full" alt="20.4.jpg"]127886[/ATTACH] [B]Garumn has taken a proper beating, as has Ram- and he's running away as fast as he can. Newt is hiding- Buggles is in action while Vinnie is no longer wearing the cat's pyjamas.[/B] The druid however is thwarted some more- Snurrevin exits the forge and paralyses him with a hold person spell, and then immediately orders the nearest duergar warrior to head over and slay the shifter. The duergar warrior complies and buries its war pick in the druid, bloodying him in an instant. It’s at this point that another one of the players cautions his co-players for not rolling hard enough, or something similar. The tension is mounting, although… perhaps the above caution does the job. Seconds later Vinnie shakes off the paralysis, although needing an inspiration point to make the save. In the next moment Garumn makes his first death save, and… ‘20’ the paladin is back on his feet- having first spent all of his lay on hands, and now shouting the odds at the semi-startled duergar. “COME ON! I’ll tek tha lot of yers!” Ram meantime has taken to his heels- the rogue is mid-run away, he’s desperately trying to get some healing (a potion), however he is being chased- all the way out of the chamber and back down the stairs, by an enlarged duergar. [ATTACH type="full" alt="20.5.jpg"]127887[/ATTACH] [B]Run Ram! Run! And sure enough, Ram ran.[/B] At which point the rogue gets enough distance between himself and his pursuer to chug a healing potion- that tastes nice. Belphegor’s fiery blast comes again- and, at last, another of the enlarged duergar falls. Nimira (on 7 HP) has seen enough, the duergar warrior leader disappears from sight and attempts to find somewhere safe to hide (actually she initially flees back to her room). Buggles, freed up now that Nimira has turned invisible and departed, launches himself at Snurrevin- the duergar smith’s shield spell fails to keep the wood elf’s magical scimitar- MONGOOSE! at bay, and now the smith is bloodied. Snurrevin fights back- he enlarges and then sticks his over-sized war pick in the elf- honours even. But not for long, the revived druid- Vinnie, conjures a moonbeam from his ring of spell storing- the last remaining duergar warrior in the chamber, and Snurrevin, are both caught in the radiant blaze. The pair are burnt some more (at the start of their turns) as the druid continues to concentrate on the spells fiery spotlight. The now badly wounded enlarged duergar warrior escapes the blaze- and then buries its war pick in Garumn- the paladin is now also back to being critically wounded (and back on 7 HP). However the formerly fleeing Ram is now heading back into the chamber, after healing the rogue goes toe-to-toe with the enlarged duergar warrior chasing him, and swiftly takes the brute down. The Dark Squad are getting there… Another Belphegor’s fiery blast and Snurrevin (even with another shield spell) feels the pain. Buggles slices the last enlarged duergar warrior, and now it too is critically wounded (on 5 HP) but the wood elf can’t finish the terror off, nor can Vinnie who repositions his moonbeam to illuminate the tough enemy (now on 1 HP). Snurrevin meantime takes another hit, this one from Shatterspike and the snarling Garumn, the grey dwarf has seen enough. Snurrevin disappears and in one headlong dash flees the forge, and the halls of Durgeddin the Black. Garumn, meantime- after an entire turn of misses from all of the other PCs, finally takes down the last duergar warrior, this enemy (starting the fight with only 30 or so HP) has managed to survive over half-a-dozen (low damage roll) hits and for the entire fracas (he was the duergar that opened the door and spotted the PCs in the great hall). [Death to the duergar some more, although both leaders escape 1000 XP] Then ten seconds of silence, as the Dark Squad hold their various poses and wait to see if any more grey dwarves are going to suddenly appear. Followed by ten minutes of run around paranoia, including Ram firing arrows into dark empty spaces which could/might contain invisible enemies. Then a sudden dash (by the entire group) to get to the front door to the halls (which they left open) and there to lock the portal. [Searching and fretting about the missing duergar 150 XP] This in order to seal the leader type duergar enemies within the forge, to make sure none of them get away. Too late. Then ten minutes more of random creeping about including the opening and closing of various doors… it was great to watch on the VTT, unbridled paranoia. Oh, and in the midst of the rushing about the chugging of healing potions, Vinnie’s ring of spell storing is also just about on empty and Garumn has nothing (lay on hands, spells) left to use. No duergar are found, of course. The Dark Squad are convinced that there are two enemies still in the halls with them, but if they read this then the secret’s out- Snurrevin has already exited the place. [ATTACH type="full" alt="20.6.jpg"]127888[/ATTACH] [B]Spot the invisible Duergar.[/B] Where’s Nimira, well- for a good while she was stood in the same hall as the PCs were massed- while they were expending their healing and bickering about what doors to open/close, and where to check next… But then the duergar warrior saw her opportunity and took it… let’s leave it at that, except to say- she’s not gone away. Although the Dark Squad, after a little more chatter (and associated monster knowledge checks) have figured out that the duergar’s invisibility only lasts about an hour. The adventurers poke around the revealed chambers for a good while longer, including snooping around the rooms from which Nimira emerged- a smashed up bedroom, a storeroom and a toilet cubicle (the only location not searched- and the location, of course, of the secret door). Then a very brief examination of the forge chamber nearby- the duergar were indeed making Durgeddin the Black style fake hand axes, there the Dark Squad settle down for a well-earned rest. [More duergar hunting, including locking the outer door 150 XP] Rest done the bodies of the fallen are searched, and a little more coin found. Then, a plan- of sorts. Vinnie discerns that Snurrevin- and the other duergar previously working in the forge have effectively left sooty trails- this after a 20+ survival check, with lots of help from Buggles. Another three or four checks later and the Dark Squad are convinced that Snurrevin has already exited the halls and has therefore been locked out. Alas the trail of Nimira is much more difficult to find. [Concerted hunting for the missing duergar leaders 200 XP] The adventurers continue to nose around the opened-up chambers, the rogues sneaking ahead as always. The pair discover that the stream that runs through the forge plunges into a deep hollow. The rest of the Dark Squad catch up, and there’s more chatter- they’re now convinced that the duergar entered the forge from this direction, somehow. Then Ram spots through the dark and mist that there’s a hard to get to ledge with a rope ladder heading down from it- down into the dark watery chasm. [Searching and finding the ledge 100 XP] After a brief chat the decision is made- they need to investigate the hard to get to ledge- cue Vincen G. Spider, the giant arachnid scuttles over to the ledge which has a very small door/passage leading north from it, a crawlspace. Vincen G. Spider has a rope tied around its abdomen. Ten minutes later and the giant spider is gone, and Vinnie has secured the rope, and with a variety of pitons employed by Ram to anchor the other end, and to make the crossing easier. The Dark Squad safely traverse the dangerous drop-off. [Safely traverse to the ledge 200 XP] Ram, and then Buggles, are sent ahead into the crawlspace- the pair discover that a spur of the passage exits into the bathroom (in Nimira’s chambers) they decided not to search earlier. [ATTACH type="full" alt="20.7.jpg"]127889[/ATTACH] [B]It very quickly becomes obvious that the secret passage leads into the ancient bathroom- the only chamber the Dark Squad pointedly declared they were not searching. That's a learning moment.[/B] The crawlspace continues on north, eventually exiting into a much larger chamber- with a well, a gathering space of some sort- the floor of the chamber however is littered with the ancient armoured skeletal remains of over twenty individuals. Mostly orcs, but also half-a-dozen long dead dwarves. “This was a massacre”, Buggles states. “And we didn’t do it!” Vinnie adds. Then, suddenly, the ghostly form of an elaborately robed dwarf steps out of the nearest wall and begins talking at the nearest PCs. What follows is a precis, not the whole shebang- I’d written up the ghost dwarf’s speech(es) previously and practised them beforehand. “The orcs that came for us- they followed us, from the north. We travelled for hundreds of miles through secret ways, known to few- and yet still they followed us!” “We came to settle here, he brought us here- to watch and wait he said.” “Still they found us!” “They were sent after us, don’t you see!” “No! Not after us- they were sent after him- to kill him, that’s it.” “Don’t you see! DON’T YOU SEE!” The dwarven ghost is hectoring, and spluttering in fury as it ends its speech. Note several of the PCs have been asking questions while the ghost is about its tirade. “Are you talking about Durgeddin the Black?” “Were you here with Durgeddin?” That kind of thing, but the ghost is not here for a Q&A. The ghost’s tirade ends spectrally spluttering in Buggles’ face, remarkably the wood elf makes the decision to chat and play nicely with the screaming strange entity, even more remarkably he succeeds. The dwarf ghost drifts off, down a corridor to the east- the Dark Squad after a brief chat- mostly speculation and shrugs, follow after the haunted dwarf. All the way into another larger communal space, with another well- although this area without the remains of slaughtered dwarves and orcs. The ghost suddenly turns and spies the adventurers following after him. “Ah, there you are- do you remember the story he told us about the man and the crocodile?” and we move into the ghostly dwarf’s second speech, again a precis follows- “Man was sad because he had to cross the river which was full of crocodiles. Crocodile saw this and offered to safely transport man to the other side of his river kingdom.” Long story short… Crocodile takes man safely to the far bank, although before ferrying him across he makes man promise to pay back the favour. On the far bank crocodile immediately cashes in his favour, asking the man to reciprocate and carry him on his back across the kingdom of man. Man tries to worm out of his obligation but caught in his promise has to return the favour. Man puts crocodile on his back and carries him across the kingdom of man… At which point the ghostly dwarf asks the Dark Squad about the story- what does it mean? Of the offered answers Buggles’ is the most convincing, confidently stating the story of crocodile and man is all about having to keep your promise. [ATTACH type="full" alt="20.8.jpg"]127890[/ATTACH] [B]Buggles' new BF, the wood elf has a thing for the undead it seems...[/B] The ghostly dwarf nods sagely, and then lets the PCs know that “he said something similar, but he had a another answer…” The ghost then, as suddenly, calls for silence with a shush, and then states- “they’re in here…” and walks through the nearest stone door. But that’s the end of the session. [The dwarf ghost 500 XP] And I swear at least two of the players said “Ohhhrrr!” in an effort to get me to go on… that was three-and-a-half hours of D&D with only one five-minute break. We usually have three breaks in a session. Got ‘em, a bit. More next time. Stay safe and well. Cheers the Dark Squad and goonalan. [/QUOTE]
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The Dark Squad in the Secrets of Saltmarsh #135 Sorry For The (Attempted) Genocide.
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