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The Dark Squad in the Secrets of Saltmarsh #137 Into the Mere of the Dead Men Part 2.
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<blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 8183797" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p style="text-align: center"><strong>Dark Squad in the Secrets of Saltmarsh</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Session #033a The Leader of the Pack.</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 2/Rogue Lvl 3</strong></p><p><strong>New Tricks (played by Bear) Male Tabaxi Warlock Lvl 5</strong></p><p><strong>Ramshambo (played by Kev) Male Half-Elf Rogue Lvl 5</strong></p><p><strong>Vincenzo (played by Haggis) Male Shifter (Wildhunt) Druid Lvl 5</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>NPCs</strong></p><p><strong>Daktari Male Human Uthgardt Sky Pony Barbarian Lvl 5</strong></p><p><strong><s>Garumn Male Mountain Dwarf Paladin of Moradin Lvl 5 </s>RIP*</strong></p><p><strong>*Trapped in the Land of the Bad Dead Ancestors.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Buggles’ undead servitor</strong></p><p><strong>Gwen Female Duergar Skeleton, in full-face helm and armour </strong></p><p></p><p>This is session 33, or at least the first part of it. It was a good ‘un, but we start as usual with Prophecy Corner, see <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/dark-squad-in-the-secrets-of-saltmarsh-32-vinnie-corner-stone-of-the-dark-squad.672536/post-8157571" target="_blank">here</a> for the results of this week’s speculation and chatter.</p><p></p><p>The Dark Squad are done with the ruined temple/crypt of Abbathor- they’ve robbed it of everything it held, and bested every enemy there, including the terrifying stone cursed dwarves and their spectral cousins. So, now time to get Bang & Olafsson- the would-be explorers, back to Farhill Mine and the matronly embrace (I’m sure) of their boss, Manistrad Copperlocks.</p><p></p><p>The issue however is the 400+lb statue version of Vinnie, that’s right the druid has been petrified- although the adventurers with a bit of back and forth have figured out the stone-faced druid’s present condition will only last for 24 hours. Vinnie will be back. And so, the issue is how to get the very heavy/awkward statue safe and sound back to Farhill.</p><p></p><p>Newt suggests to Buggles and company (i.e. everyone that’s not him) that they just somehow ‘knock up some sort of cart’, eventually a stretcher or drag of some sort is decided upon, however the situation very quickly evolves. The wood elf heads out into Farrow Wood to look for suitable materials and hears, well- the sound of yapping dogs (he thinks) approaching, and lots of ‘em.</p><p></p><p>Buggles retreats back to the ruin interior to tell his colleagues, the Dark Squad make ready for an assault by… well, dogs! Just in case, they’re not quite sure what’s going on here.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]131936[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Daktari laughs in the face of danger!</strong></p><p></p><p>But it’s not dogs, it’s hyenas- a pack of the ferocious feral mutts (I know they’re not really mutts/dogs) that snarling rush to savage the Dark Squad. Then things get really weird when the hyena are joined by a number of hunched skeletal (and yet hyena-like) humanoid undead. These foul creatures are quickly identified as being skeletal gnolls, actually gnoll witherlings.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]131938[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Witherlings- not as pleasant as they look.</strong></p><p></p><p>Note there are over a dozen hyenas and witherlings combined- it gets busy, particularly for Daktari, being played atm by Jim, who usually mentors Vinnie.</p><p></p><p>Note, Jim is still better at the barbarian’s cod Russian accent than me.</p><p></p><p>The fight then is a hold the line special, with two waves of hyenas and witherlings rushing to the assault- note the frontline of the Dark Squad is mostly raging Daktari-shaped, the barbarian takes repeated beatings. However, brave dwarven mining engineer, Ragbark Olafsson (who is also a priest of Dumathoin) stands behind the barbarian, constantly healing his wounds. This while Garvast Bang, engineer- but also former guard captain, sings Dumathoin hymns (like a Bless spell) and holds the line also.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]131939[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Turn two of the combat and Daktari has gone from pretty much full HP to bloodied, been healed back up- back to bloodied again... and repeat, he's also managed to stop four Crits with his face. It's been a rollercoaster, and you're welcome to him Jim, this is what Daktari is for.</strong></p><p></p><p>The bad guys founder, and then flounder, and then are swept away almost entirely by a well-placed fireball, thanks Newt.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]131940[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Apres le Fireball. </strong></p><p></p><p>But at this point the gnolls have also made it to the fight, and there are over half-a-dozen of them. Most of the frenzied hyena-like humanoids just plunge into the maul and melee, but a pair stay a little way back and chose instead to repeatedly fire arrows into Daktari. The barbarian goes from not bloodied to bloodied, and then back again- maybe four to five times during the course of this fracas.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]131941[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Gnolls. No respecters of other people's property, or lives.</strong></p><p></p><p>Worse still at the back of the pack, mostly keeping out of sight- but spotted once or twice, is a seven-and-a-half foot tall more elaborately dressed gnoll, with all manner of totems and symbols about its attire. The calm in comparison pack leader (Lord) barks orders and co-ordinates the savagery. It’s gargled howls and growls also cause the pack to rampage- and tear and bite some more at Daktari- the barbarian takes a ton of damage in this fight. If it wasn’t for his rage he’d be down and dying- I had four Crits against him in the opening two turns of the melee, although keep in mind I made nearly 30 attacks on the hefty barbarian.</p><p></p><p>My dice- on fire, again.</p><p></p><p>Just to say while all this is going on Newt, the crazy tabaxi, is hollering and hooting- offering up repeatedly the fallen souls of the pack to his latest fiendish squeeze/patron, Lord Far-Fer-Nar. His colleagues are however pointing out, repeatedly (yes, you Buggles) that the warlock is continuing to send his new master ‘empty boxes’, a large number of Newt’s victims are either undead, or else scabby hyenas…</p><p></p><p>Lord Far-Fer-Nar demanded ten fresh souls (at least) from Newt before his next visitation (scheduled for session 39, maybe). Just to say Newt/Bear you are only halfway there, you need another five victims (with souls) to make the count. You may have to kill a few more townsfolk…</p><p></p><p>But, here’s the thing- the rest of the PCs (and NPCs) take a few hits here and there, but the pack is dwindling pretty fast, six turns into the fracas and the two gnolls with bows fire their last volley and then rush back into Farrow Woods, the pack Lord gnoll having already departed the scene.</p><p></p><p>So, it’s another win- and all of the PCs (and NPCs) make a kill or two, but the Dark Squad have had their feathers ruffled- both fleeing gnoll hunters (the ones with bows) are chased down and slaughtered. Daktari, still raging, turns the one he catches up to into paste.</p><p></p><p>Buggles leads the gang on again, plunging through Farrow Wood now in pursuit of the pack Lord, and for a while the wood elf manages to keep to the trail, but the gnoll seems to know where it’s going, and what it’s doing. The beast eventually gets away.</p><p></p><p>[The gnoll pack slaughtered 1800 XP]</p><p></p><p>Note it’s at this point the PCs make the connection between this attack and the mystery sniper with accompanying giant hyenas they encountered earlier in the woods, on their inbound journey to find Bang & Olafsson.</p><p></p><p>Should they meet this gnoll again, it is going to die a terrible death, that’s guaranteed.</p><p></p><p>So, back to the ruins- and after a short debate it’s already mid-afternoon. Daktari is still wounded (as are many of the other PCs & NPCs) he’s also exhausted after an earlier rage/frenzy, Vinnie is a statue (still), while Newt and Ram are also still down on their HP max after the spectre attacks last session.</p><p></p><p>The decision is therefore made, we’re staying here- in the Leomund’s Tiny Hut (hereafter referred to as the LTH), but in the meantime the Dark Squad get up to a host of activities. First off Buggles and Ram set themselves up as the hidden watchers and take turns keeping their friends safe. Meantime Newt and Daktari give Bang & Olafsson an expansive tour of the crypts below.</p><p></p><p>[Defensive positions, and guided tour for B&O 250 XP]</p><p></p><p>Then, later still, the Dark Squad even take the time to chat with B&O, and once again they’re digging for answers- just what is wrong here? What problems need to be solved in the Saltmarsh region?</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]131942[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>The Dark Squad and associates kick-back and widdle-some in the LTH. </strong></p><p></p><p>I’ll not go into too much detail here with regard to the answers that B&O give, but… I will make mention of the cumulative effect at the end of this session’s write up, because this session the Dark Squad ask a variety of dwarves lots and lots of pointed questions.</p><p></p><p>Good to great detective work guys.</p><p></p><p>[Chatting with B&O, lots of questions and good insights 600 XP]</p><p></p><p>So, the next day- after a fitful sleep in the LTH the Dark Squad rise and shine, and are all better again- and Vinnie’s no-longer a statue, the PCs are also level 6 now- hurrah, although it took us thirty or so minutes to make the needed changes (and to discuss).</p><p></p><p>But the rest of it, and there’s plenty more, will come in the second part of this write up, I’ll see you there.</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: 8183797, member: 16069"] [CENTER][B]Dark Squad in the Secrets of Saltmarsh[/B][/CENTER] [B]Session #033a The Leader of the Pack. Dark Squad (in alphabetical order, no egos here). Buggles (played by Stu) Male Wood Elf Fighter Lvl 2/Rogue Lvl 3 New Tricks (played by Bear) Male Tabaxi Warlock Lvl 5 Ramshambo (played by Kev) Male Half-Elf Rogue Lvl 5 Vincenzo (played by Haggis) Male Shifter (Wildhunt) Druid Lvl 5 NPCs Daktari Male Human Uthgardt Sky Pony Barbarian Lvl 5 [S]Garumn Male Mountain Dwarf Paladin of Moradin Lvl 5 [/S]RIP* *Trapped in the Land of the Bad Dead Ancestors. Buggles’ undead servitor Gwen Female Duergar Skeleton, in full-face helm and armour [/B] This is session 33, or at least the first part of it. It was a good ‘un, but we start as usual with Prophecy Corner, see [URL='https://www.enworld.org/threads/dark-squad-in-the-secrets-of-saltmarsh-32-vinnie-corner-stone-of-the-dark-squad.672536/post-8157571']here[/URL] for the results of this week’s speculation and chatter. The Dark Squad are done with the ruined temple/crypt of Abbathor- they’ve robbed it of everything it held, and bested every enemy there, including the terrifying stone cursed dwarves and their spectral cousins. So, now time to get Bang & Olafsson- the would-be explorers, back to Farhill Mine and the matronly embrace (I’m sure) of their boss, Manistrad Copperlocks. The issue however is the 400+lb statue version of Vinnie, that’s right the druid has been petrified- although the adventurers with a bit of back and forth have figured out the stone-faced druid’s present condition will only last for 24 hours. Vinnie will be back. And so, the issue is how to get the very heavy/awkward statue safe and sound back to Farhill. Newt suggests to Buggles and company (i.e. everyone that’s not him) that they just somehow ‘knock up some sort of cart’, eventually a stretcher or drag of some sort is decided upon, however the situation very quickly evolves. The wood elf heads out into Farrow Wood to look for suitable materials and hears, well- the sound of yapping dogs (he thinks) approaching, and lots of ‘em. Buggles retreats back to the ruin interior to tell his colleagues, the Dark Squad make ready for an assault by… well, dogs! Just in case, they’re not quite sure what’s going on here. [ATTACH type="full"]131936[/ATTACH] [B]Daktari laughs in the face of danger![/B] But it’s not dogs, it’s hyenas- a pack of the ferocious feral mutts (I know they’re not really mutts/dogs) that snarling rush to savage the Dark Squad. Then things get really weird when the hyena are joined by a number of hunched skeletal (and yet hyena-like) humanoid undead. These foul creatures are quickly identified as being skeletal gnolls, actually gnoll witherlings. [ATTACH type="full"]131938[/ATTACH] [B]Witherlings- not as pleasant as they look.[/B] Note there are over a dozen hyenas and witherlings combined- it gets busy, particularly for Daktari, being played atm by Jim, who usually mentors Vinnie. Note, Jim is still better at the barbarian’s cod Russian accent than me. The fight then is a hold the line special, with two waves of hyenas and witherlings rushing to the assault- note the frontline of the Dark Squad is mostly raging Daktari-shaped, the barbarian takes repeated beatings. However, brave dwarven mining engineer, Ragbark Olafsson (who is also a priest of Dumathoin) stands behind the barbarian, constantly healing his wounds. This while Garvast Bang, engineer- but also former guard captain, sings Dumathoin hymns (like a Bless spell) and holds the line also. [ATTACH type="full"]131939[/ATTACH] [B]Turn two of the combat and Daktari has gone from pretty much full HP to bloodied, been healed back up- back to bloodied again... and repeat, he's also managed to stop four Crits with his face. It's been a rollercoaster, and you're welcome to him Jim, this is what Daktari is for.[/B] The bad guys founder, and then flounder, and then are swept away almost entirely by a well-placed fireball, thanks Newt. [ATTACH type="full"]131940[/ATTACH] [B]Apres le Fireball. [/B] But at this point the gnolls have also made it to the fight, and there are over half-a-dozen of them. Most of the frenzied hyena-like humanoids just plunge into the maul and melee, but a pair stay a little way back and chose instead to repeatedly fire arrows into Daktari. The barbarian goes from not bloodied to bloodied, and then back again- maybe four to five times during the course of this fracas. [ATTACH type="full"]131941[/ATTACH] [B]Gnolls. No respecters of other people's property, or lives.[/B] Worse still at the back of the pack, mostly keeping out of sight- but spotted once or twice, is a seven-and-a-half foot tall more elaborately dressed gnoll, with all manner of totems and symbols about its attire. The calm in comparison pack leader (Lord) barks orders and co-ordinates the savagery. It’s gargled howls and growls also cause the pack to rampage- and tear and bite some more at Daktari- the barbarian takes a ton of damage in this fight. If it wasn’t for his rage he’d be down and dying- I had four Crits against him in the opening two turns of the melee, although keep in mind I made nearly 30 attacks on the hefty barbarian. My dice- on fire, again. Just to say while all this is going on Newt, the crazy tabaxi, is hollering and hooting- offering up repeatedly the fallen souls of the pack to his latest fiendish squeeze/patron, Lord Far-Fer-Nar. His colleagues are however pointing out, repeatedly (yes, you Buggles) that the warlock is continuing to send his new master ‘empty boxes’, a large number of Newt’s victims are either undead, or else scabby hyenas… Lord Far-Fer-Nar demanded ten fresh souls (at least) from Newt before his next visitation (scheduled for session 39, maybe). Just to say Newt/Bear you are only halfway there, you need another five victims (with souls) to make the count. You may have to kill a few more townsfolk… But, here’s the thing- the rest of the PCs (and NPCs) take a few hits here and there, but the pack is dwindling pretty fast, six turns into the fracas and the two gnolls with bows fire their last volley and then rush back into Farrow Woods, the pack Lord gnoll having already departed the scene. So, it’s another win- and all of the PCs (and NPCs) make a kill or two, but the Dark Squad have had their feathers ruffled- both fleeing gnoll hunters (the ones with bows) are chased down and slaughtered. Daktari, still raging, turns the one he catches up to into paste. Buggles leads the gang on again, plunging through Farrow Wood now in pursuit of the pack Lord, and for a while the wood elf manages to keep to the trail, but the gnoll seems to know where it’s going, and what it’s doing. The beast eventually gets away. [The gnoll pack slaughtered 1800 XP] Note it’s at this point the PCs make the connection between this attack and the mystery sniper with accompanying giant hyenas they encountered earlier in the woods, on their inbound journey to find Bang & Olafsson. Should they meet this gnoll again, it is going to die a terrible death, that’s guaranteed. So, back to the ruins- and after a short debate it’s already mid-afternoon. Daktari is still wounded (as are many of the other PCs & NPCs) he’s also exhausted after an earlier rage/frenzy, Vinnie is a statue (still), while Newt and Ram are also still down on their HP max after the spectre attacks last session. The decision is therefore made, we’re staying here- in the Leomund’s Tiny Hut (hereafter referred to as the LTH), but in the meantime the Dark Squad get up to a host of activities. First off Buggles and Ram set themselves up as the hidden watchers and take turns keeping their friends safe. Meantime Newt and Daktari give Bang & Olafsson an expansive tour of the crypts below. [Defensive positions, and guided tour for B&O 250 XP] Then, later still, the Dark Squad even take the time to chat with B&O, and once again they’re digging for answers- just what is wrong here? What problems need to be solved in the Saltmarsh region? [ATTACH type="full"]131942[/ATTACH] [B]The Dark Squad and associates kick-back and widdle-some in the LTH. [/B] I’ll not go into too much detail here with regard to the answers that B&O give, but… I will make mention of the cumulative effect at the end of this session’s write up, because this session the Dark Squad ask a variety of dwarves lots and lots of pointed questions. Good to great detective work guys. [Chatting with B&O, lots of questions and good insights 600 XP] So, the next day- after a fitful sleep in the LTH the Dark Squad rise and shine, and are all better again- and Vinnie’s no-longer a statue, the PCs are also level 6 now- hurrah, although it took us thirty or so minutes to make the needed changes (and to discuss). But the rest of it, and there’s plenty more, will come in the second part of this write up, I’ll see you there. Stay safe and well. Cheers the Dark Squad and goonalan. [/QUOTE]
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