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Story Hour
The Dark Squad in the Secrets of Saltmarsh #136 Into the Mere of the Dead Men.
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<blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 8807069" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p style="text-align: center"><strong>Dark Squad in the Secrets of Saltmarsh</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Session #104: To the Lighthouse.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Dark Squad (in alphabetical order, no egos here).</strong></p><p><strong>Daktari/Dak (played by Haggis) Male Human Uthgardt Sky Pony Barbarian Lvl 8</strong></p><p><strong>Fellowyn Silverstream (played by George) Male Eladrin Wizard Bladesinger Lvl 8</strong></p><p><strong>New Tricks/Newt (played by Bear) Male Tabaxi Warlock Lvl 8</strong></p><p><strong>Ramshambo/Ram (played by Kev) Male Half-Elf Rogue/Fighter Lvl 7/1</strong></p><p><strong>Vincenzo/Vinnie (played by Haggis) Male Shifter (Wildhunt) Druid Lvl 8</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>DEAD PCs</strong></p><p><strong><s>Nicholai Barbaros Kostyiev/Nicky (played by George) Male Dhampir Cleric of Twilight Lvl 8 </s>RIP</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>NPCs</strong></p><p><strong><s>Inverna Nightbreeze (played by George) Female Wood Elf Fighter Lvl 8 (Sidekick) </s>RETIRED</strong></p><p><strong><s>Garumn Male Mountain Dwarf Paladin of Moradin Lvl 5 </s>RIP*</strong></p><p><strong><s>Tarbin Tul (played by goonalan) Male Human Bard </s>RETIRED</strong></p><p><strong>Ubmo (played by Goonalan) Supreme Being Lvl 1 (When we remember) </strong></p><p><strong>*Trapped in the Land of the Bad Dead Ancestors.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Servants/Familiars</strong></p><p><strong>Gerald (Bat/Giant Bat) servant/mount of New Tricks</strong></p><p><strong>Owly (Owl) Vinnie’s familiar</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>The Dark Squad’s to-do list-</strong></p><ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">The De La Crane Manse is on The Leap, and Anders Solmor would like the Squad to check it out, it's also the ancestral home of the De La Crane family, and the Squad are looking for Antonio De La Crane- see below.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Bonnie Bowspirit, grand-daughter of Rambles, will show the Squad to the missing halfling killer's tomb, on the 6th of Flamerule- see below.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Find the other four Symbols of Ub, one was left in Deepbridge (Duergar fortress in the Underdark). The others need to be found, they belonged to- Rambles 'Shambles' Bowspirit (halfling killer from Lowhill), Antonio De La Crane (posh kid druid alchemist) & Giggles (crazy wood elf). All of these folk lived in the Saltmarsh region, the Dark Squad have found the De La Crane Manse (in the Dreadwood) and the De La Crane Crypt (in Saltmarsh Cemetary).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Nightshade is in the Deep Dreadwood- except she's not there any more, but a big red dragon is?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Blackedge and the Goblin Stair?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">To join the Pact of the Wild Flame prepare the Witch's Tor for the coming of the starfall, the Witch's Tor is in the Drowned Forest, in the Mere of the Dead Men.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">To join the Pact of the Wild Flame track down the last member of the Pact, a wild elf adventurer called Giggles- and finally put her spirit to rest, and also recover her maze button. Location unknown. SEE 2. ABOVE.</li> </ol><p>This is session 104, and we are (as usual) fighting again.</p><p></p><p>Last we left the Dark Squad they were in a spooky dwarven (evil?) temple style area about two levels (approx 100 feet) below the surface of the well, which is in the backyard of the ruined De La Crane Manse up on the cliffs.</p><p></p><p>Remember-</p><p></p><p>Ancestor #2-</p><p>“<strong>I am Larkoz, the warden.</strong></p><p><strong>Check the ancient alchemist’s well.”</strong></p><p></p><p>So, that's what they're doing, only now they're fighting a skeletal minotaur (and guess what, this fellow is a tough bugger!) this after Newt started cheeking (writing in CAPS LOCK, and leery with it, and adding emojis to his replies).</p><p></p><p>To make clear, the Dark Squad have been communicating with whoever it is down here in the well, by writing and receiving written replies in Newt's Book of Shadows.</p><p></p><p>Note, I get the feeling that Newt's Book of Shadows is actually a spiral bound note book with “SECRETS KEEP OUT” written on the front cover, and slathered in “I [heart] Belphegor” stickers.</p><p></p><p>Anyway, fighting-</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]264600[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>The skeletal minotaur hits hard and hits plenty.</strong></p><p></p><p>And very briefly my dice are on fire, I seldom miss through what follows.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]264601[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>And then the second skeletal minotaur (200+ HPs each) suddely charges into existence and smashes into Daktari.</strong></p><p></p><p>The Sky Pony barbarian has still got one level of exhaustion on him and he's pretty much out of healing hit dice, and it's not much past 10 AM.</p><p></p><p>Have a nice day!</p><p></p><p>But here's the thing, this is the Dark Squad, and all the skeleton minotaurs do, once they get locked down- which happens remarkably quickly, is hit hard.</p><p></p><p>So, the Moonboar and a (raging) Daktari just soak up the hurt while the rest of the gang do their stuff.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]264602[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>And soon enough we get to here.</strong></p><p></p><p>It was inevitable.</p><p></p><p>You'll note both Daktari and the Moonboar are beyond bloodied, it should also be noted- at this point, that a few of the PCs (but not Ram) are also getting low on healing potions and the like.</p><p></p><p>And so, after a bit more chat, and another attempt or two to communicate (via the Book of Shadows) with the well's author/alchemist- no luck, and... the Dark Squad head back up and out of the well, safely ascending to the surface.</p><p></p><p>They need to do some work to get further down the well shaft, they need to kill a few more members of the previous adventuring party- the Eyes in the Night, or else they need to locate the maze buttons that each of these long dead adventurers possessed.</p><p></p><p>Then- back in-game, a short rest and another (much longer- see below) chat, and then... Fantasy Grounds Unity flips out while trying to send the map that follows in the next image to the Players. We spend nearly forty-five minutes fixing this error, or else installing a new update and making it work.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]264603[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>The map that crashed Fantasy Grounds Unity, for a while, actually it was much bigger than this- but all of equal quality.</strong></p><p></p><p>So, during the rest stop/chat the Dark Squad are trying to figure out what comes next, they need to be on the track from Gedge to meet Bonnie Bowspirit (halfling granddaughter of Rambles 'Shambles' Bowspirit) on the evening of the 6th of Flamerule but it's only the 3rd today.</p><p></p><p>So, what next?</p><p></p><p>Well, the Dark Squad- while exploring the De La Crane manse, briefly saw a light, a big light- as if from a lighthouse, the source of this illumination must, they figure, be situated somewhere down in The Choke. The Choke being the delta of islands in the bay of the Dunwater River, that separates civilisation (sorta) from the Mere of the Dead Men.</p><p></p><p>Therefore the Squad decide to grab the rowing boat they saw down in the smuggler's caves below the manse, and then drag it through the marshy/watery region here, trying to find the source of the light. Note, Ram has already determined that high tide will be at 6 bells (PM) this evening, and so while they have a few hours to search they don't want to get stranded, hence Dak gets to drag the boat.</p><p></p><p>Further note, Daktari is a little under the weather at present, or else he's starting to feel his age, and so do the following lines in his cod-Russian accent, but mumble it, as the barbarian narrates his pain-</p><p></p><p>“Yes! Daktari bring boat. Yes! Daktari kill skelli-bobs. Yes! Daktari spider-stance down well. Daktari tired now. Daktari taken for granted. Daktari no feel value- is not love, is service...”</p><p></p><p>And on the Dark Squad ramble, for hours- no, really- hours.</p><p></p><p>It takes an hour in the mist and fog, and with the squelching stinking mud, and the sudden deep sections of running water to search just one square of the map above.</p><p></p><p>And so after two or three hours of wandering through the stink the Dark Squad are almost pleasantly surprised when someone starts shouting at them through the mist, at this point the gang are wading from one islet to another.</p><p></p><p>Eventually half-a-dozen rough (& wild = hairy) looking (human) fellows are spotted in the mist ahead, all of them are armed with crossbows, and soon after- after a little back and forth with whoever is shouting at the guys, the crossbows get put to good use.</p><p></p><p>But here's the thing, these are bandits (stat-wise) with about ten hit points each (save for the leader type) and so this is a massacre. The various members of the Dark Squad are soon in pursuit of their now terrified attackers, although some of the slower members of the group- including Daktari still dragging the boat, are soon so far behind the action that they're out of the fight.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]264604[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>The initial encounter, the 'bandits' have crossbows.</strong></p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]264605[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>The Dark Squad press forward leaving a trail of destruction behind them, well... apart from Dak who is still trudging forward through waist deep water and knee deep mud.</strong></p><p></p><p>Still dragging the row boat.</p><p></p><p>At this point the Squad have already figured out that the enemy they are facing is very weak, they're dropping like flies, and Newt is obviously capering with delight as he screams obscenities at the fleeing humans, stopping only briefly to blow the screaming wild-men apart.</p><p></p><p>Newt's is sending the souls of these fellows to Belphegor, and he's keeping count- his fiery master set him to this task at the warlock's last Personal Development Review (PDR).</p><p></p><p>There were over a dozen 'bandits', plus the leader type, in this encounter.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]264606[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Only three of them (and the leader) escape the encounter (map).</strong></p><p></p><p>But some of the Dark Squad- Ram, Newt & Fellowyn, are happy to pursue.</p><p></p><p>We move into a chase sequence, with the dirty hairy guys getting blasted apart, or shot in the back, by Newt and Fellowyn, but that's not Ram's style. The rogue is after the leader type, who started out with the threats at the beginning of this encounter.</p><p></p><p>Ram, as it turns out, is very hard to shake off. The rogue eventually catches up with, and then quickly subdues the mid 50's disheveled human leader of the enemy group while swimming (and wrestling/fighting) in a (formerly) hidden deep channel that seems to snake through the marshy hummocks and stony eyots that constitute The Choke.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]264607[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>About twenty minutes later, Ram gets turned around for a short while- he gets lost, the rogue makes his way back to his comrades with a very badly wounded (but still fairly surly) leader of the 'bandits'.</strong></p><p></p><p>Time for a chat.</p><p></p><p>The rough fellow, he's very hairy and disheveled (think wild man), is a bit strange to talk to- he sometimes makes sense, sometimes, less so.</p><p></p><p>The Dark Squad, employ a combination of overt threat and honeyed words- Ram's going to cut the guy's fingers off- one by one (Ram's a troubled soul at heart, not all toothpaste smiles and action hero); while Vinnie is happy to play good cop, offering to let the fellow go unharmed, and being reasonable about it.</p><p></p><p>The Dark Squad eventually learn that the 'bandits' (the dirty fellow's job title is never discussed) here work for the mad lightning summoning half-orc priest, and his pet harpies, that inhabit the nearby lighthouse. The Squad, of course, secure directions to the aforementioned lighthouse.</p><p></p><p>Then, after the wild man prisoner is released, the Dark Squad get in their row boat, because the tide is really turning now- it's coming in quickly, and off they row to the lighthouse, which takes another hour or so (the tide is coming in, remember) and keep in mind the entire area is swathed in thick mist and fog.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]264608[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>A trio of docks are spotted ahead.</strong></p><p></p><p>But that's all we had time for this session, a short one- you'd think, but keep in mind that we had at least forty five minutes out when FGU dropped, and the Squad spent a similar amount of time discussing what comes next after their visit to the well. Most of this in character.</p><p></p><p>To further explain- Dark Squad consensus is the alchemist down the well is indeed Antonio De La Crane, in whatever form he presently exists. The Squad have obviously already met (and killed) Randall the Black (the mad gnome warlock from the Eyes in the Night). They're next venture will be to go after Rambles 'Shambles' Bowspirit, the rogue of the previous party. The only one they've not located is Giggles, the mad elf.</p><p></p><p>Oh, and Ub, the dwarf.</p><p></p><p>But they've still only got one of the maze buttons, and all of the adventurers above had one of these each, probably/maybe. They figure that Randall the Black left his maze button with the duergar that captured him two hundred or so years ago, in Deepbridge, in the Underdark, and the PCs have already been there, they're plotting now to go back.</p><p></p><p>The Dark Squad need more maze buttons, they're definite about this now- they need these to descend deeper into the well, and to join the Pact of the Flame.</p><p></p><p>Note, during the chatter here it becomes obvious that Fellowyn spent plenty of time with Antonio De La Crane, the ancient (and yet sprightly) bladesinger knows about the splitting of the previous party- when the various members of the Eyes in the Night went their own separate ways.</p><p></p><p>The unfortunate thing, of course, is that Fellowyn is a bit old and daft- the friendly DM has gifted him a series of nuggets of information, which he has been instructed to distribute as and when he sees fit, but only one nugget per session- max.</p><p></p><p>So, the tap that is Fellowyn is dripping.</p><p></p><p>Oh, and last thing- in the previous session, or the one before- I forget, Newt found a Luckstone; as it turns out this item is cursed, Newt discovers this the hard way- he wants to attune something new but, he can't 'put down' the Luckstone. Nor can he lose it, even when he throws it away it comes back, reappearing in his pocket. The warlock is cursed, although the nature of the curse has yet to reveal itself...</p><p></p><p>But that's you/our lot- more of this kind of thing next time.</p><p></p><p>Stay safe and well you lovely people.</p><p></p><p>Cheers the Dark Squad and goonalan.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 8807069, member: 16069"] [CENTER][B]Dark Squad in the Secrets of Saltmarsh[/B][/CENTER] [B]Session #104: To the Lighthouse. Dark Squad (in alphabetical order, no egos here). Daktari/Dak (played by Haggis) Male Human Uthgardt Sky Pony Barbarian Lvl 8 Fellowyn Silverstream (played by George) Male Eladrin Wizard Bladesinger Lvl 8 New Tricks/Newt (played by Bear) Male Tabaxi Warlock Lvl 8 Ramshambo/Ram (played by Kev) Male Half-Elf Rogue/Fighter Lvl 7/1 Vincenzo/Vinnie (played by Haggis) Male Shifter (Wildhunt) Druid Lvl 8 DEAD PCs [S]Nicholai Barbaros Kostyiev/Nicky (played by George) Male Dhampir Cleric of Twilight Lvl 8 [/S]RIP NPCs [S]Inverna Nightbreeze (played by George) Female Wood Elf Fighter Lvl 8 (Sidekick) [/S]RETIRED [S]Garumn Male Mountain Dwarf Paladin of Moradin Lvl 5 [/S]RIP* [S]Tarbin Tul (played by goonalan) Male Human Bard [/S]RETIRED Ubmo (played by Goonalan) Supreme Being Lvl 1 (When we remember) *Trapped in the Land of the Bad Dead Ancestors. Servants/Familiars Gerald (Bat/Giant Bat) servant/mount of New Tricks Owly (Owl) Vinnie’s familiar The Dark Squad’s to-do list-[/B] [LIST=1] [*]The De La Crane Manse is on The Leap, and Anders Solmor would like the Squad to check it out, it's also the ancestral home of the De La Crane family, and the Squad are looking for Antonio De La Crane- see below. [*]Bonnie Bowspirit, grand-daughter of Rambles, will show the Squad to the missing halfling killer's tomb, on the 6th of Flamerule- see below. [*]Find the other four Symbols of Ub, one was left in Deepbridge (Duergar fortress in the Underdark). The others need to be found, they belonged to- Rambles 'Shambles' Bowspirit (halfling killer from Lowhill), Antonio De La Crane (posh kid druid alchemist) & Giggles (crazy wood elf). All of these folk lived in the Saltmarsh region, the Dark Squad have found the De La Crane Manse (in the Dreadwood) and the De La Crane Crypt (in Saltmarsh Cemetary). [*]Nightshade is in the Deep Dreadwood- except she's not there any more, but a big red dragon is? [*]Blackedge and the Goblin Stair? [*]To join the Pact of the Wild Flame prepare the Witch's Tor for the coming of the starfall, the Witch's Tor is in the Drowned Forest, in the Mere of the Dead Men. [*]To join the Pact of the Wild Flame track down the last member of the Pact, a wild elf adventurer called Giggles- and finally put her spirit to rest, and also recover her maze button. Location unknown. SEE 2. ABOVE. [/LIST] This is session 104, and we are (as usual) fighting again. Last we left the Dark Squad they were in a spooky dwarven (evil?) temple style area about two levels (approx 100 feet) below the surface of the well, which is in the backyard of the ruined De La Crane Manse up on the cliffs. Remember- Ancestor #2- “[B]I am Larkoz, the warden. Check the ancient alchemist’s well.”[/B] So, that's what they're doing, only now they're fighting a skeletal minotaur (and guess what, this fellow is a tough bugger!) this after Newt started cheeking (writing in CAPS LOCK, and leery with it, and adding emojis to his replies). To make clear, the Dark Squad have been communicating with whoever it is down here in the well, by writing and receiving written replies in Newt's Book of Shadows. Note, I get the feeling that Newt's Book of Shadows is actually a spiral bound note book with “SECRETS KEEP OUT” written on the front cover, and slathered in “I [heart] Belphegor” stickers. Anyway, fighting- [ATTACH type="full" alt="10400.jpg"]264600[/ATTACH] [B]The skeletal minotaur hits hard and hits plenty.[/B] And very briefly my dice are on fire, I seldom miss through what follows. [ATTACH type="full" alt="10401.jpg"]264601[/ATTACH] [B]And then the second skeletal minotaur (200+ HPs each) suddely charges into existence and smashes into Daktari.[/B] The Sky Pony barbarian has still got one level of exhaustion on him and he's pretty much out of healing hit dice, and it's not much past 10 AM. Have a nice day! But here's the thing, this is the Dark Squad, and all the skeleton minotaurs do, once they get locked down- which happens remarkably quickly, is hit hard. So, the Moonboar and a (raging) Daktari just soak up the hurt while the rest of the gang do their stuff. [ATTACH type="full" alt="10402.jpg"]264602[/ATTACH] [B]And soon enough we get to here.[/B] It was inevitable. You'll note both Daktari and the Moonboar are beyond bloodied, it should also be noted- at this point, that a few of the PCs (but not Ram) are also getting low on healing potions and the like. And so, after a bit more chat, and another attempt or two to communicate (via the Book of Shadows) with the well's author/alchemist- no luck, and... the Dark Squad head back up and out of the well, safely ascending to the surface. They need to do some work to get further down the well shaft, they need to kill a few more members of the previous adventuring party- the Eyes in the Night, or else they need to locate the maze buttons that each of these long dead adventurers possessed. Then- back in-game, a short rest and another (much longer- see below) chat, and then... Fantasy Grounds Unity flips out while trying to send the map that follows in the next image to the Players. We spend nearly forty-five minutes fixing this error, or else installing a new update and making it work. [ATTACH type="full" alt="10403.jpg"]264603[/ATTACH] [B]The map that crashed Fantasy Grounds Unity, for a while, actually it was much bigger than this- but all of equal quality.[/B] So, during the rest stop/chat the Dark Squad are trying to figure out what comes next, they need to be on the track from Gedge to meet Bonnie Bowspirit (halfling granddaughter of Rambles 'Shambles' Bowspirit) on the evening of the 6th of Flamerule but it's only the 3rd today. So, what next? Well, the Dark Squad- while exploring the De La Crane manse, briefly saw a light, a big light- as if from a lighthouse, the source of this illumination must, they figure, be situated somewhere down in The Choke. The Choke being the delta of islands in the bay of the Dunwater River, that separates civilisation (sorta) from the Mere of the Dead Men. Therefore the Squad decide to grab the rowing boat they saw down in the smuggler's caves below the manse, and then drag it through the marshy/watery region here, trying to find the source of the light. Note, Ram has already determined that high tide will be at 6 bells (PM) this evening, and so while they have a few hours to search they don't want to get stranded, hence Dak gets to drag the boat. Further note, Daktari is a little under the weather at present, or else he's starting to feel his age, and so do the following lines in his cod-Russian accent, but mumble it, as the barbarian narrates his pain- “Yes! Daktari bring boat. Yes! Daktari kill skelli-bobs. Yes! Daktari spider-stance down well. Daktari tired now. Daktari taken for granted. Daktari no feel value- is not love, is service...” And on the Dark Squad ramble, for hours- no, really- hours. It takes an hour in the mist and fog, and with the squelching stinking mud, and the sudden deep sections of running water to search just one square of the map above. And so after two or three hours of wandering through the stink the Dark Squad are almost pleasantly surprised when someone starts shouting at them through the mist, at this point the gang are wading from one islet to another. Eventually half-a-dozen rough (& wild = hairy) looking (human) fellows are spotted in the mist ahead, all of them are armed with crossbows, and soon after- after a little back and forth with whoever is shouting at the guys, the crossbows get put to good use. But here's the thing, these are bandits (stat-wise) with about ten hit points each (save for the leader type) and so this is a massacre. The various members of the Dark Squad are soon in pursuit of their now terrified attackers, although some of the slower members of the group- including Daktari still dragging the boat, are soon so far behind the action that they're out of the fight. [ATTACH type="full" alt="10404.jpg"]264604[/ATTACH] [B]The initial encounter, the 'bandits' have crossbows.[/B] [ATTACH type="full" alt="10405.jpg"]264605[/ATTACH] [B]The Dark Squad press forward leaving a trail of destruction behind them, well... apart from Dak who is still trudging forward through waist deep water and knee deep mud.[/B] Still dragging the row boat. At this point the Squad have already figured out that the enemy they are facing is very weak, they're dropping like flies, and Newt is obviously capering with delight as he screams obscenities at the fleeing humans, stopping only briefly to blow the screaming wild-men apart. Newt's is sending the souls of these fellows to Belphegor, and he's keeping count- his fiery master set him to this task at the warlock's last Personal Development Review (PDR). There were over a dozen 'bandits', plus the leader type, in this encounter. [ATTACH type="full" alt="10406.jpg"]264606[/ATTACH] [B]Only three of them (and the leader) escape the encounter (map).[/B] But some of the Dark Squad- Ram, Newt & Fellowyn, are happy to pursue. We move into a chase sequence, with the dirty hairy guys getting blasted apart, or shot in the back, by Newt and Fellowyn, but that's not Ram's style. The rogue is after the leader type, who started out with the threats at the beginning of this encounter. Ram, as it turns out, is very hard to shake off. The rogue eventually catches up with, and then quickly subdues the mid 50's disheveled human leader of the enemy group while swimming (and wrestling/fighting) in a (formerly) hidden deep channel that seems to snake through the marshy hummocks and stony eyots that constitute The Choke. [ATTACH type="full" alt="10407.jpg"]264607[/ATTACH] [B]About twenty minutes later, Ram gets turned around for a short while- he gets lost, the rogue makes his way back to his comrades with a very badly wounded (but still fairly surly) leader of the 'bandits'.[/B] Time for a chat. The rough fellow, he's very hairy and disheveled (think wild man), is a bit strange to talk to- he sometimes makes sense, sometimes, less so. The Dark Squad, employ a combination of overt threat and honeyed words- Ram's going to cut the guy's fingers off- one by one (Ram's a troubled soul at heart, not all toothpaste smiles and action hero); while Vinnie is happy to play good cop, offering to let the fellow go unharmed, and being reasonable about it. The Dark Squad eventually learn that the 'bandits' (the dirty fellow's job title is never discussed) here work for the mad lightning summoning half-orc priest, and his pet harpies, that inhabit the nearby lighthouse. The Squad, of course, secure directions to the aforementioned lighthouse. Then, after the wild man prisoner is released, the Dark Squad get in their row boat, because the tide is really turning now- it's coming in quickly, and off they row to the lighthouse, which takes another hour or so (the tide is coming in, remember) and keep in mind the entire area is swathed in thick mist and fog. [ATTACH type="full" alt="10408.jpg"]264608[/ATTACH] [B]A trio of docks are spotted ahead.[/B] But that's all we had time for this session, a short one- you'd think, but keep in mind that we had at least forty five minutes out when FGU dropped, and the Squad spent a similar amount of time discussing what comes next after their visit to the well. Most of this in character. To further explain- Dark Squad consensus is the alchemist down the well is indeed Antonio De La Crane, in whatever form he presently exists. The Squad have obviously already met (and killed) Randall the Black (the mad gnome warlock from the Eyes in the Night). They're next venture will be to go after Rambles 'Shambles' Bowspirit, the rogue of the previous party. The only one they've not located is Giggles, the mad elf. Oh, and Ub, the dwarf. But they've still only got one of the maze buttons, and all of the adventurers above had one of these each, probably/maybe. They figure that Randall the Black left his maze button with the duergar that captured him two hundred or so years ago, in Deepbridge, in the Underdark, and the PCs have already been there, they're plotting now to go back. The Dark Squad need more maze buttons, they're definite about this now- they need these to descend deeper into the well, and to join the Pact of the Flame. Note, during the chatter here it becomes obvious that Fellowyn spent plenty of time with Antonio De La Crane, the ancient (and yet sprightly) bladesinger knows about the splitting of the previous party- when the various members of the Eyes in the Night went their own separate ways. The unfortunate thing, of course, is that Fellowyn is a bit old and daft- the friendly DM has gifted him a series of nuggets of information, which he has been instructed to distribute as and when he sees fit, but only one nugget per session- max. So, the tap that is Fellowyn is dripping. Oh, and last thing- in the previous session, or the one before- I forget, Newt found a Luckstone; as it turns out this item is cursed, Newt discovers this the hard way- he wants to attune something new but, he can't 'put down' the Luckstone. Nor can he lose it, even when he throws it away it comes back, reappearing in his pocket. The warlock is cursed, although the nature of the curse has yet to reveal itself... But that's you/our lot- more of this kind of thing next time. Stay safe and well you lovely people. Cheers the Dark Squad and goonalan. [/QUOTE]
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The Dark Squad in the Secrets of Saltmarsh #136 Into the Mere of the Dead Men.
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