Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 8528682" data-attributes="member: 16069">Dark Squad in the Secrets of SaltmarshSession #077: Here We Goat Again & Bedtime For Ubmo.Dark Squad (in alphabetical order, no egos here).Daktari (played by Haggis) Male Human Uthgardt Sky Pony Barbarian Lvl 8New Tricks (played by Bear) Male Tabaxi Warlock Lvl 8Ramshambo (played by Kev) Male Half-Elf Rogue/Fighter Lvl 7/1Vincenzo (played by Haggis) Male Shifter (Wildhunt) Druid Lvl 8NPCsInverna Nightbreeze (played by Goonalan) Female Wood Elf Fighter Lvl 8 (Sidekick)<s>Garumn Male Mountain Dwarf Paladin of Moradin Lvl 5 </s>RIP*<s>Tarbin Tul (played by goonalan) Male Human Bard </s>RETIREDUbmo (played by Goonalan) Supreme Being Lvl 1 *Trapped in the Land of the Bad Dead Ancestors.Servants/FamiliarsGerald (Bat/Giant Bat) servant/mount of New TricksOwly (Owl) Vinnie’s familiarThis is session 77, and another cracker, although... really normal.Jim/Vinnie shuffled up to me at work the day after and had this to say about the session- “That was... remarkably normal, it was... just like D&D!”He was grinning, so I figure a bit of normal every now and then is a good thing.This then is a particularly short session, because... well, we just did stuff.So, the Dark Squad are in a massive ruined dwarven shrine/crypt dedicated to Moradin (and Ub/Durgeddin the Black), the PCs however are more than a little beaten up, so...[ATTACH=full]150908[/ATTACH]Newt's Tiny Hut gets put up, and everyone has a nice sit down and a cup of tea.Then, twenty minutes (real-time, believe me) of cautious searching the giant cavern- but there's nothing in the way of treasure, or anything else of interest to be found.Then, all the way back to Squabblepot, but I'm not playing through all of that again, we've been this way three times already- and so several skill checks suffice to tell the story, all the way back to the very friendly (but secretive) gnomes in just about four hours.Then...[ATTACH=full]150909[/ATTACH]A long explanation of events below, to the assembled gnome dignitaries (and friends) of the Dark Squad.The Dark Squad tell almost all of their story, it seems there's an unspoken consensus, none of them mention Tao, or anything about great serpents/dragons et al, and the fact that they have the Supreme Being accompanying them atm (Ubmo).So, not quite all of the story.Eventually a deal is done with regard to the Dark Squad's future dealings with the Squabblepot gnomes. Furthermore, it is agreed, the gnomes will seal (but not permanently) the chambers below their settlement, this after investigating the place a little for themselves, and trying to find/secure the adamantium that the Dark Squad found/left down there.Note the adamantium sheets they found were too big to get out through the rat tunnels, and they didn't fold or break, so... a bit of a conundrum getting them out.Then, more rest- although Arty Swell has been busy, remember the PCs have money to spend on alchemical products with the gnome potion-maker, this after they saved his life in just 24 hours. Well, all of that gets spent, and now the Dark Squad's potion-cupboard is back to being full.Rise and shine the day after, and early doors, as the Dark Squad have accepted another job from the Squabblepot gnomes, to race a gaggle of giant goats over to the Falcon's Nest near Burle.They need to be heading in this direction anyway, so why not. The next thing on their to-do list is the Moon Pool, see way below.[ATTACH=full]150910[/ATTACH]Accompanying them on this trip is the Gnome Ranger, he's pictured here leading the line-up, and mounted on his sturdy giant goat- Trenloe the Magnificent.Trenloe truly is Magnificent, he's the Harley of giant goats.I'm not a biker so forgive me if the Harley isn't the king or queen of bikes, substitute with your premium bike of choice.So, seven AM finds the Dark Squad racing their pack of goats through the countryside hereabouts, and en route to the Falcon's Nest. Note, the Gnome Ranger (a surly bugger), knows the best route. Also note, this is a secret mission, keep in mind the Squabblepot gnomes are a closed community, they don't want anyone finding out that they exist (et al) so stealth (and alacrity) are key.This then is an extended Skill Test/Check, the Dark Squad need twenty six success' to get the goats safely to their destination, primary skills employed- Survival & Goat Control (I made that last one up, you may have noticed). The PCs can score a maximum of four success' per hour, they have to get to the Falcon's Nest in ten hours, or at least after this time they'll also need to start making exhaustion checks.The Dark Squad are learning to hate making exhaustion checks, actually some of them have already learned this lesson.But while nothing too much is going wrong with their journey, they're slow to the half-way point, after five-and-a-half hours in the saddle (actually the goats don't have saddles, just a blanket thrown over them) they're only just half way to the Falcon's Nest.That's when a pair of wyverns turn up, and start buzzing the pack looking for their lunch.[ATTACH=full]150911[/ATTACH]Here's the start of the wyvern run- it's obviously a lot longer than can be seen here, If the wyvern takes X amount of damage it breaks off its attack, if it takes Y amount of damage it clears off for good and finds something easier to eat elsewhere. Otherwise when all N/PCs and goats exit the right edge of the map and the encounter is done.Chaos ensues...[ATTACH=full]150912[/ATTACH]The first wyvern swoops in, to not much effect, no goat grabbed.But...[ATTACH=full]150913[/ATTACH]Then the second wyvern shows up, silently gliding in, and plunges its poisoned stinger in Newt's back, and then goes on to rake (but fail to grab) Daktari, and his goat.But it's a close call.Note, Ram has already negotiated with the gnomes to buy his giant goat- it's called Spartacus, and he's damned if he's going to get it dinged up by these flying bastards, more on this later.Also note, on the last goat ride Newt had a hissy-fit and Belphegor Fiery Blasted his goat (named Belphegoat) to pieces, and so all eyes are on the tabaxi, and folk are trying constantly to keep him calm.That said, the Dark Squad have the option on their turn to spend their PCs actions urging their mount to put on an extra burst of speed (a triple move). At the start of the fight/chase several of them took this opportunity, and so the goat pack quickly disintegrates and becomes a strung out gaggle.Then, however, the PCs figure it out, and start either readying actions to defend themselves and their mounts, or else they just unleash whatever they've got missile wise and keep their heads down.Ram, eventually, just parks up Spartacus and has at the big flying bastards with his bow. He's tough is Ram, and keep in mind this while the rest of the gang are racing off towards the finishing line.When this encounter comes to an end Ram is still stood with Spartacus firing arrows at the flying foe. This while all of his companions and the rest of the goats have sprinted off the map.[ATTACH=full]150914[/ATTACH]A little further along the trail, and with the wagons (sorry, goats) back in line.Soon after this happens however we have a moment...Ubmo decides to make a stand, the Supreme Being calls out one of the wyverns (in binary) and attempts to go one-to-one against the great winged beast, Ubmo is armed with what looks to be a very small fruit knife.He stabs the lesser wyrm, who in retaliation rips the Supreme Being apart, in fact so badly wounded is Ubmo that, he explodes, shatters- disintegrates.All gone.There's a lot of 'but... but...' from some of the players- Vinnie, even an attempt (albeit briefly, they're in a rush remember) by the druid to look for any shattered remains of the modron.But Ubmo is gone- destroyed completely.And now Vinnie is swearing, “Sacre naughty word! I don't sink zat shud av 'appen!”But then less than ten seconds later Ubmo reappears, flying just to the other side of the goat racing druid.“Do not worry Vinnie, as I said to you earlier- I exist outside of time, like lunch time, or bedtime, I will protect you always.”Ubmo states, only in binary (which sounds a lot like a Spectrum 48k loading a game).The fretting druid's fears are assuaged, seconds later Ubmo goes after the second wyvern, this time armed with a javelin.He's a brave little Supreme Being.Although, odds are, you would be too, if you were the Supreme Being.But the Dark Squad get there- one wyvern fled, the other dead- a couple of the PCs have taken some big hits, one goat has got clawed (a bit) but everyone else has survived the ordeal in good order.Onwards.Hurrah!To the Falcon's Nest...And after nine-and-a-half hours of rapid goat riding, at last, their destination is in sight, or else the Gnome Ranger tells them- just over the next hill.That's when the ogre Bastard's attack...[ATTACH=full]150915[/ATTACH]The Gnome Ranger and Trenloe the Magnificent pull up short, there's a tree felled across the trail, then the ogres get into action.And while there are some regular ogre folk, there's also an undead ogre, and an armoured chain-wielding ogre, and another atop the bluffs that is firing a great big bad crossbow (3d10+ damage, not nice).[ATTACH=full]150916[/ATTACH]It's getting busy, again (as usual).Ramshambo's Sparticus takes a monster hit, his poor goat is suffering.[ATTACH=full]150917[/ATTACH]The Moonboar is back, and with Ubmo and Newt providing artillery fire in an attempt to drive off/destroy the undead ogre.However at the front of the queue things are getting very nasty.[ATTACH=full]150918[/ATTACH]The chain wielding ogre brute more or less sits all of its attackers down with its salt 'n' pepper skip-rope/chain stylings.Spartacus is down to just one hit point, and the goat was well on the way to becoming Ram's one (and only) friend in the world, and so the dangerous rogue isn't happy.But, oh, where is the rogue? The ballsy fellow has just climbed up the western cliff/ridge and has stuck his blade in the big ogre with crossbow up there, he's one-on-one.But that's where we end it, and we were nearly thirty minutes over time.Except to say two things-Why did the Dark Squad have to make 26 succesful skill checks to get to the Falcon's Nest? It's a very odd/specific number, well... there's a reason, and it's connected to the second thing- see below.Here's what I really thought was odd, I had all sorts of back-up plans to try to make it hard for the PCs to work out where Squabblepot is- I figured they'd try to find out. So, the adventurers were blindfolded when they were lead to their goats, who were waiting for them with the gnome ranger in a wooded glade. But the gnomes leading the PCs to their rendezvous couldn't have travelled too far away from their secret cavern home. If at any point, any of the PCs had said something like-“I want to make a check to see if I can figure out where we are on the big map.”Well, I would have had to let them, and the same goes if at any point on the journey they'd wished to have done the same.But, the question was never asked.So, no ret-con, Squabblepot remains hidden, although it is of course exactly 26 squares (on the map) away from the Falcon's Nest, obviously.The Dark Squad’s to-do list-<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Get the Squabblepot giant goats to the Falcon's Nest, we're nearly there.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Go to the Moon Pool, need to climb to the top of Silverhill and be inside the stone circle there before midnight, and then stay within it until dawn's first light. Then journey down the hill and into the centre of the Silverstand (forest). Meet Wildroot there, and enter the Moon Pool, and then the Treant will set the Dark Squad to their task, that's what Belphegor said.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Remember, we've got to 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), 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">Return to Fallowstone Holy, church of Oghma, pick up info (Witch's Tor & Pact of the Flame, although the Dark Squad probably know all about this stuff already). What else do you need to find out about? See above, and below.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Warn Ashby- the Soggy's (Sahuagin) are coming!</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Vinnie needs to be back for the next Saltmarsh Council meeting on the 1st Kythorn (June).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Nightshade in the Dreadwood?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Blackedge and the Goblin Stair? </li> </ol>Stay safe and well you lovely people.Cheers the Dark Squad and goonalan.</blockquote>

Verification