The Exploits of Javelin Company, RHC Flint Chapter [Starting Cauldron Born!]

[al_fredo]

We continue:

Joined by another character this time, so we are 5 PCs...and immediately heading into the Battle at Cauldron Hill.

I was a good battle. All the monsters got hits, and PCs were down to a few hit points with 2nd winds, healing, and other resources really spent. The Wraith dominated someone, the lion got their attacks in, the Crawler was really tough, and the Vestige got the shrouds on and connected. Our fighter, took a 39 point hit off that and went down. I don't really like the "Negative bloodied value = perma-death" rule, but I made sure to mention that his character SHOULD be dead! He rolled a 20 on his death save (never seen it before)!

DM Notes:
- The party stayed in the Circle the entire time, and did not throw the sunrod away. The figured the monster would keep attacking anyway. I had the minion spookers all over the mountain, which didn't really matter too much. You should put MOST of them around the ring, I think.

- Vestige: The fighter didn't think too hard when he got his shrouds. I should have communicated it more, but he basically ignored it until he got killed by it. By this point in the combat, only the Vestige remained (with the minions)...and I quickly realized that it would be a weird end game. No one could see the Vestige. He would shroud someone, they would miss. He would shroud again, they might hit (1/2 damage). 3rd time, PC would hopefully hit. Then bone scythe death. All the while, the other PCs can do NOTHING. The Vestige is likely to be the last guy...so I'm not sure how you want to handle this. After He killed the fighter, I just said he vanished away, accomplishing his mission and ended combat. I didn't want to get in the weird situation of only one guy fighting this thing at a time, while everyone else looks on and die one by one.
- Also...I have a bad habit of letting PCs retrieve a potion and drink it for 1 minor action (instead of 2). I need to tighten up that mechanic. They used a bunch of potions from what they raided at Danisca's shop.

OK...so, down from the mountain, the run into the military and McBannin. They are happy to see him, and get purified. They all kept their amulets on. They basically ignore the military dudes and decide they should hustle on over to Heward factory. They get there and see the arson in progress.

The fighter immediately charges the people in the alley, the next thing the dragonborn wizard uses his Wall 8 thing to hit all PCs (15dmg when the start their turn) OUCHIE! That shocked the PCs again. 3 PCs get a rope out to start scaling the front of the building, while the fighter is mixing it up with the arsonists in the alley. Unfortunately, fire overcomes him...and the fighter goes down again! The other 3 PCs reach the room of the factory, and knock over the water tower. Though the magic fire still remains, the combustibles on the wagon go out, and it seems like any threat to burning down the factories is over.

Though they are on the roof, no one is there. Little did they know the Valando (or Eberrano?) climbed down from the roof, and they ran down the docks for their escape after setting the fires. Cursing at the constables for ruining their plans. They flee down the dock - the other constables stuck on the roof unable to give chase. They wake up Heward, and he's thankful for saving his factory. As a gift, he gives them each a vial of Alchemist's Acid. [Note sure what level I give them. I find low level alchemicals to suck, because you'd probably use an at will over it...so it should be special. But maybe I'll give the lvl6 ones out here, and the lvl11 when they discover Nilasa's killer. Lvl6: Level 6: +9 vs. Reflex; 1d10 acid damage and ongoing 5 acid damage (save ends). miss, half dmg, no ongoing.]

I'm glad they didn't press this too much. They were taxed from Cauldron hill, and seeing the fighter go down again didn't give them too much optimism. The dragonborn barely used their attacks...and not even their action points.

They decide to rest up and report back to RHC in the morning. It's now 11am, Summer 4...and level up! Delft's first words are congratulating them on averting the factory fire....they've earned a commendation (their stipend!). I have another thread I started about getting equipment which is a bit awkward here mid-mission, so I'd love to here your thoughts.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?337313-Prestige-Favors-and-Magic-Items

Party is still on track with the overall timeline. They have Gale to meet and the smuggling encounter in the night. I may sprinkle in Kell or Kindleton as more leads on the doctor.

 

[Ajar]

I couldn't recover/recreate my Dying Skyseer maps, but here are my Digging for Lies maps so far (through act 2).

 

[al_fredo]

Ajar...I'll take a look at that stuff when I'm closer. Thanks.

Ok...after a few weeks off, we got back for a short session. No combat...and I think I messed up! We've leveled up to level 3 now.

Party has survived the attack at Cauldron hill. It is now noon on 4th Summer, and they get a briefing from Delft. A small tremor hits. They are planning how to handle the smuggling op, and a LOT of discussion is happening on this. One of the PCs contacts happens to be an old sailor, so they'd like to recruit him. On the way, Gale's wind gets in touch with them. They decide to meet her right away.

A very amicable meeting follows, however, our Yerasol Vet really wants to take her in to RHC HQ. The party is wary of Gale...since they've been convinced that she is public enemy#1. However, our spirit medium was able to talk to a charred corpse from the factory battle...and they put names to the Dragonborn brothers. They figured out it was them who were setting all the fires, not Gale, so now they don't know know what's going on. The info about the Bleak Gate has them confused for sure. Our Vekeshi speaks with her, privately. The group freaks out a bit. This PC has turned his back on the Vekesh, but pays them lip service for now. However, he ADVOCATED violence when Gale asked what the message meant! I have to ask him what his character is thinking these days!

Advance to smuggling op. The plan is that the Eladrin and 'burnt elf' (drow) will go to the wharf and pose as the Gale contact. Rest of party will shadow in the boat. AHHH...don't split the party! Some good bluff checks, and I thought that Deorn just wanted the deal to get done, so they get on board and get to other ship. Some tense moments at the exchange....(The signal was to be a magic missle in the air)...but Capt. Amba got her money and offloaded the crates. Deorn and the PCs push off. A PC finally realizes that maybe he should have tested the wands to see if they work. He opens the crate and fires one. Random roll....magic missile!

This is the attack signal...the other members of the group close in, but the Crysillir ship is now long gone. Deorn is asking what is going on...and it's this point I think I made a mistake! I thought ALL the wands where going to Gale, so Deorn didn't mind that cargo was being transferred to another ship (PCs didn't identify as RHC). I figured Deorn gets paid no matter what, and his job is done. So I let whole thing go by without a combat encounter. PCs take the wands back to HQ....and debrief. Delft is of course furious that they didn't bring Gale in...and they let the Crysilli ship AND Deorn get away. At they very least, at least the wands are off the street. We ended here.


So...i kinda blew it. I didn't get the naval battle in with the wands, mostly because Deorn didn't care. Reading back now, I see that only one crate was supposed to go to Gale, the rest the Family would distribute to their allies. Deorn messed up! (Well...I messed up!) Obviously, Morgan has to be mad as well...so that will be worked in. Any advice on the predicament I've created here? I thought their plans were good...and I made sure to tell them after the session that their decisions and rolls really mattered and what they roleplayed counted. This will make them feel like it wasn't scripted. I hinted there was a naval battle planned and they got sad that they missed it. I said...there are lots of encounter you might not see depending on your choices (to keep the mystery up!!!)

My group still really liked the session, though. We've been away for a month, so there was a lot of recapping anyway, and this got the story fresh in their minds.

 

[al_fredo]

Another session:

Morning of the 5th, another chew-out session from Delft to remind them how badly they screwed up. They get the letters from Cippiano asking them to meet. They also get informed via contacts that there is a strange vibe in Bosum Strand. They are working security for that later in the day, but they'll have breakfast with Morgan now.

A polite conversation ensues. Morgan is obviously upset for loss of the wands, but none of his men got captured or arrested, and the Waryeyes were already granted pardons. He knows he can't get the wands back, but as an act of good faith, he mentioned he knows about their investigation and might have some info for them, in exchange for favors later on. He gives one piece of information for free - Wolfgang has hired Kell thugs for protection. Going through him will probably get you to the Doctor.
[At this point, the PCs are completely cold on Wolfgang. They know he's in a church somewhere, but can't find it. Barnaby Camp was a dead end...and they haven't met or know about Lynn Kindleton.]

The PCs didn't know what to make of that, are are wary of Morgan. They'll see if the info pays offs.

Next, they go to Bosum Strand, and with the use of Gale's ritual, pinpoint the warehouse. Some kids said they notices jaguars in crates being loaded at night. They pick the lock, but somehow know that they've alerted whoever was in there. Charging in, they are confronted with the Bleak Golem. Some PCs take to the catwalks, a few stay low to engage...and get pummeled. Fight went down multiple times, and on one late stage move, the golem took out the fight and the cleric. Luckily, with some ranged attacks, the golem finally died. The PCs noticed some technicians on the north end, but were too busy dealing with the golem. By the time they healed their fallen fighters, they rushed to the fence only to see the last technician fade into the portal.

They jumped in the portal after them...but no effect! Searching the place, they found empty animal cages, but only vague documents (They got there at round 8) . Disturbed they move outside. They check in with Delft, because now they are not sure what is going on, only that Gale's warning was ringing true. Delft said the person that has the most experience with this kind of stuff is Macbannin. So...they go to see him! A quick convo with Macbannin yielded nothing. Reed acted concerned. Noted that generally, bleak energy doesn't make it past his wards...and not sure what he could do for protection outside of the defenses he's set up at Cauldron Hill. He doesn't know why anyone would try to use that energy. [No questions were asked of why...and enough though my PC rolled a high insight check, no way was I going to have him caught lying at this point yet. They didn't like that Reed couldn't offer them help. I didn't want to put Reed at Dawn Square either. ]

Back to Dawn Square...and they are prepping for security. We stopped here. My group is questioning how this investigation turned from murder investigation to Bleak Golems - and how it's connected. That encounter is really the first 'weird' one that doesn't make sense. Right now, they only thread is the witchoil (burnt engine grease smell), which they know they smelled on Cauldron Hill and heard Heward talking about.


I'm concerned about the Dawn Square encounter. They are here early (I pushed the rally back a few hours)...and will likely noticed wagons and robed people near the stage pretty easily. I don't want to NOT mention them, so maybe I'll just have the skeletons mingle in the crowd. Any Ideas?

 

[RangerWickett]

Maybe have a distraction at the edge of the square? I mean, Macbannin knows they're aware of the jaguars and such, so perhaps he sends Creed to cause a disturbance -- shoot some bystander in the leg, then fade into the crowd. That gives the procession of skeletons time to get into position.

And perhaps have an actual person leading the skeletons in, so the party can grab him and interrogate him. What info he should have depends on what else the party knows. Maybe he's just a Kell guild flunky.

 

[al_fredo]

Wow...it's been awhile - tough to bring the group together, but we cranked out another session.

The party just dealt with the Bleak Golem, and man they are hurting. They got almost zero evidence out of the encounter (round 8), so McBannin is still looking pretty clean. On to Dawn Square!

I only had 3 PC, so I paired the encounter down to 3 Jaguars and 8 Skeletons. The skeletons could NOT knock over the large pillars, and barely entered combat. I kept rolling lower than 5 on every attempt! HA...well, that was ok, cause the Jaguars were really hurting the party. They made a choke point on each of the stairs, and got some good hits in. It's a bit bad after hitting someone once, they announce "Well I'm bloodied!", so I had to fudge a roll or two, or it would have quickly become 2 vs. 10. I passed up a crit that might have outright killed the thief. Mid way through, she finally remembers he resist necrotic potion she stole from Blander! Ah....this is what 6 weeks away does!

Anyway, enemies defeated, and Nevard dies. I didn't read the whole vision to them - as it is multiple mission foreshadowing, so I didn't think it was relevant.

Next, with the party banged up, they move to Parity Lake to track down Lorcan Kell. First, the agent appears...they see through his first lie...and don't want to be bothered, so they keep walking. Then the 'accident' scene, they see through that as well...finally, they get to the theater (I pull up the battlemap - which is earlier in the thread if you want to borrow! - to make them think it's a fight!). Anyways, Kell does his spiel, and asked for the 1000 gold. The party has a 20min discussion on what they should do....which is funny, cause Kell is sitting right there. My party likes to strategize like this, and I wonder when they are "in conversation" with an NPC, if I should allow them to formulate "Hey say this...no no, say this! No, Intimidate him!" The cleric gives up some Gloves of Agility (exactly 1000gp), and they get the info to the Doctor.

They don't want a fight, so they decide to rest up and go to the church tomorrow. It will be the morning of the 6th. We stopped there.

So...they'll have the Creed encounter, then the interaction with Quital. The docs are key...and depending on what happens, I see it if they hold on to them, they get the link to MacBannin. If they only look at them, they get some circumstantial evidence, but not close enough. At that point, I'm not sure what else is out there. Talking to LaBrix again might given them enough (for the warrrant)...or arranging another encounter with the Dragonborn might do it too.

 

[al_fredo]

We continue!

So after they got extorted for the Doctor's whereabouts, the party decided to go to sleep! HA! They were pretty beat up. Anyway, I awake them on the morning of the 6th with a few developments.

1) At tremor, stronger than the last few, wakes you out of bed.
2) Delft updates you on a factory accident, that has the mark of Gale. Danoran foremen, 3 critically injured, 1 dead. [This is because the Vekeshi Mystic advocated violence]
3) The note from Cippiano: He has a lead on the dragonborn brothers (who escaped) and will set them up, in exchnage for a crate of wands that were confiscated during the Smuggler's Wharf encounter. [That sequence I handled poorly. PCs totally avoided the ship battle, and got all the wands...and Morgan wasn't that mad. I figured I had a chance to add in a "help the case, but do something shady" event here. Morgan's help is good, he gave the PC's a freebie already.]
4) Casual convo from Sven working on a forgery case for Lady Inspectress Margret Saxby. [Sven is a contact of a PC, another RHC officer. I wanted to get Saxby more involved before next mission...and also give a shout out to possible handwriting experts, if they need them].


They go to the Church first, and find the Doctor there...and the Kell guards leave. Though suspcious at first, they buy his story. They look at the documents, and learn about the financial irregularities and possible large construction project...and LeBrix's investigation into witch oil. I told them that more research back at HQ could probably uncover more. Then the assassins strike! I've got 4 PCs, and ran the encounter as written. Creed is a bad ass...and he dropped my fighter multiple times. In fact, he failed his 2nd death save, so he almost 'died'. The party retreated to the back corner of the church, and really the fighter was the only target out in front. Wolfgang was at full strength, and they healed him, so Creed couldn't get him. Finally, someone hit him with radiant damage, and he got bloodied and fled.

[Great fight...but it's usually a challenge for me running combat in 'Darkness'. Sure, it's easy to apply the -5...but the "targeting what you can't see" is a tough and clunky rule. We have a Darkvision person in the party, so the Normal vision people knew where targets where....but their characters didn't. How do you handle this? Perception to target...and if miss, wasted attack?]

So, then Leone arrives. [Does the party know anything about him??] They also have the 4 henchmen in the church with them, so they'll likely question them (which goes no where)...or some how use them in negotiation. [Which I don't know how to handle. Leone wants the Doctor/Documents, and he offers the life of a hostage (if it gets the far)...how should I work in the 4 henchmen? Is the deal the hostage for Doctor+documents+4 henchmen? Big ask! Maybe I should bring in more than one hostage. Ideas?]

They hear Creed and Leone discuss that Kell set them up. They see that shadow guy = Officer Porter. But at this point in time, my party has Zero clue to Macbannin, so the docs are key (or capturing the arsonists). Leone's presence further clouds the issue as to who is behind this all.

We stopped there, before the parlay! Whew! Action points and a few dailes were burnt. Also, I should have had one of the players play Wolfgang...bouncing between sheets and stats while managing the map was too much. I recommend printing it out and handing it off. My players assumed at the start, that he was useless like Nevard, then I started kicking some butt with him.

 

[al_fredo]

Next session, no combat:

So they are stuck in the church, about to be extorted again for the doctor and the documents. They start looking for a way out, and find the chimney. One of my characters has obscenely high perception (playing as an investigator)...so spots are pretty easy. They climb out of the chimney and avoid the whole Leone hostage situation. I felt bad about this, since I felt it was a key moment for interaction. But at the same time, the party had failed to tie everything to Macbannin, and getting the documents was key for that. Also, Leone is so tangential in this adventure...that already my characters are trying to follow up on him, and come back with nothing.

The drop off the docs to get processed, and follow up on some red herring leads I gave them. A factory accident that was really Gale sabotage resulted in a few injuries and a death. This because of my Vekeshi advice for more violence! Finally...after MONTHS...he spilled the beans on his talk with Gale. The group was pretty shocked...2 of my group are VERY loyal to procedure, so this wasn't cool with them. They didn't go back to Lebrix either, thinking that he provided everything already.

Anyways...it was confirmed that Gale did the sabotage, but nothing else was there to follow up on. They wanted to confront Gale about this, but replies from the Messenger Wind were cryptic, and she did not want to meet up. They persuaded a constable at the evidence room to check out a case of the wands (without signing) and they gave them to Cippiano...who would then set up the dragonborn for them. However, I made a bit of a timing mistake here, and the documents came back that day to point to Macbannin as the financier of the factory/smuggling ops. So, they decided to bring Reed in for questioning, and deal with the dragonborn later that night. The also informed Gale that they were taking in Macbannin, and were pretty sure he was involved in Nilasa murder.


Of course, they get to the manor, and he refuses to come with them. They go to make the arrest...and earthquake! We stopped there.

So, once again my group avoided a cool set piece. Now they have an encounter AFTER the climax of the adventure, which is weird. They put Wolfgang in protective custody, and he gave up his sword as a gift (the adventure doesn't say this, but it sounds like the sword gets in the PCs hand every other outcome). No one wants to wear the canary pendant, since it doesn't provide NAD bonus, and everyone is wearing a neckslot item.

I might have given them Macbannin a bit too easy, but they we're really out of leads. I should have required the dragonborn sting before the accounts were discovered, but I got a bit lost with my timelines. Now I have this useless encounter after the main fight...might just let the Flint PD intercept and move on to Adventure 3.

I might make another thread about help/suggestions I need, since these updates tend to get lost!

 

[RangerWickett]

Maybe it was a formatting error, but the Canary in a Coalmine pendant most definitely adds to Fortitude, Reflex, and Will. I guess I just cut out the line that explicitly states that it gives a bonus to those because EVERY neck slot item grants that bonus. And it has 6 different costs for the different enhancement bonuses, from +1 to +6.

We just didn't include the line that says "Enhancement Bonus: Fort, Ref, Will," just like we don't include for weapons "Enhancement Bonus: attack and damage rolls." It seemed to me like it was obvious and not necessary to mention. Apparently we should have included it.

 

[al_fredo]

Ah...makes more sense. But it's just a +1 right? Why even list values for +2-+6? (enchanting maybe)?