Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Michael Morris" data-source="post: 2883611" data-attributes="member: 87">After an eight hour marathon session the players found that camping can be dangerous and orcs aren't the only thing that can kill you...I opened session two 5 game days later after the cleric had been chastised for allowing the torture and after the kidnapping of the oyasini child.  The innkeeper, the PC rogue's adopted mother gave her a short short +1 that I ruled was effectively a dagger +1 for her (note that I don't entirely buy into the weapon sizes rule of 3.5 - some weapons are "functionally" equivalent after size changes - Medium Daggers & Small Short Swords are one example because it is a classic from LotR).The party sets off for Maldanca as the weather switches from snow to rain.  They purchase a cart and I ask them point blank "why" but they insist - less than 4 hours later it's hopelessly mired in the mud so they abandon it.Party gets to the end of their first days journey and they decide to camp *on the trail* - so the goblins have no trouble finding them and ambush 1 occurs.  They don't have much trouble with this and press on.Having not learned their lesson they camp on the road again, this time a detachment of 4 orcs.  Party blows their spot checks and after a crit and a hit the sorcerer is cut into the abdomen and beheaded.  The party barely gets out of this without further losses.(House rule note - IMC when you are awoken from sleep you are only able to take partial actions for 1d4 rounds unless you have the light sleeper feat or are an elf).Party takes a break while the sorcerer's PC rolls up a new character - a half orc monk with some seriously high stats(House rule note - my rolling system is 4d6 12 times, take 6 rolls of your choice.  For each level your prior character had you gain a +1 to any one score to the max of 18 normally possible, so he turned 2 17's into 2 18's).They press on and come across a hidden monk enclave.  The player of the other monk shows up so I put them into an immediate combat with 20 orcs and 3 NPC monks on their side (Those monks soaked up the damage so I wouldn't kill the newly generated character and the other PC).  They see Glinki, Kenshar and a new NPC - a huge orc almost as big as an ogre they guess (rightly) is the 'big boss' the goblins aluded too in session one.  Kenshar ko's the lead monk with 3 magic missiles to which a metagaming player at the table said "hey he only threw 2 last time." to which I smugly replied "NPC's advance in level over time too bub."  After the volley the three major NPC's walk away to deal with lackeys unaware of the PC's joining in the battle.  The PC fighter tries to pursue but Kenshar web's him up for his trouble.They press on now furious with their enemy but camp on the road AGAIN so again they get hit - luckily this time it's the NPC's that blow a move silently check but not before another party member - the druid's animal companion, a wolf, gets dropped by Glinki who is now leading his 3 best apprentices.  It was at this point that the party realizes that camping on the road where the goblins can readily find you for attack is a BAD idea.Now during all this it's been raining heavily on and off and the snow has been melted.  The players have reached the first day of spring, a holiday in the setting - and I pointed out to them that if they where home they'd be laughing things up right now a partying hard.  Such is life that they where in the middle of gods knows where.The party comes up on a stream in full flood stage.  After some discussion they figure the best plan is to shoot an arrow across the raging torrent with a rope and use that to work across. Without looking for another fording point they choose the spot where the road crosses.  The druid goes first (though he's no better at swimming than anyone else). working the rope hand over hand.Now, consider this precarious position for a moment and realize the party HAS to know they are being shadowed...The druid makes his way to the center and the water gets over his head.  The water in the center is moving roughly 40 MPH, so I call for a strength check DC 10. Druid blows it but not by 5 so his movement is halted rather than being swept away.  At that moment though Glinki comes out from behind a tree and....Yes, he cuts the rope.Away the druid goes and the rope goes taunt and druid rolls a 1 on the strength check.  Fun with raging streams time.House rules - Rapids, streams or what have you in flood stages tend to drag swimmers under and bash their victims on the rocks.  To represent this each round the druid needed to roll a DC 20 swim check to surface to catch breath.  To make ANY headway towards the shore was a DC 25 check.  On any round the druid didn't surface the stream made an attack roll with no bonus agains the druid's flat footed AC since armor might cushion the blow (which didn't have any so it didn't matter). Each hit was 1d6 subdual damage and yes the stream could and did critically hit.  Every four rounds I rolled a d6 to check for a change in the stream's condition 1 - favorable (a calm spot dropping DC's by 5) 2-5 no change 6 - unfavorable rising DC's by 5 or if they'd be rose to DC 30 the character hit a waterfall.The druid was bashed around and all the players were getting panicky, scarred and meanwhile I'm thinking to myself why doesn't he just try summon nature's ally for a water elemental when he surfaces?  This doesn't occur to the druid's player so I let him get drubbed down awhile for the drama of it, then I finally prompt him at 1 hit point remaing before the stream bashes him to unconsciousness when he manages to surface to roll an intelligence check for his character.  He rolls a 12 (I would have let anything but a 1 work) and I point out the above.  Concentration check DC 15 - he makes it, get's off the spell and his pulled to safety by the elemental.(Old DM's adage - it's much more fun and interesting to scare a PC than to kill him outright. Also, by letting the player escape this situation on his character's merits and not via an NPC gives the PC a sense of accomplishment).I do announce to the PC that had he thought up the plan on his own without my prompting he'd have gotten a bonus XP reward in addition to his hide. As it was he was happy to be alive.Party revises their plan and crosses using a more thoroughly roping system.  By evening the same day they gain sight of their goal - Castle Maldanca.That night I let the party cleric show off his bad assness against undead. Maldanca is known for undead and fighting undead is what his character is twinked to do and he'd not been to active most of the night. Party mauls the undead (not hard to do with two extra turning feats, a charisma of 16 and the rest domain from Dusk which grants an extra 1d6 turning damage in addition to a +1 to all turning attempts).(Another point - try to get everyone a moment to shine.)The next day they reach the castle - the climax, though a bit anticlimatic. Party yells out for Glinki. After a few moments he shows up, taunts them, and when they demand the child he throws it's corpse over the wall. "Here's an object lesson for you" he yelled, "If you're going to torture with acid, full immersion works best. Her screams where quite delightful for the two hours they lasted).Party goes ballistic then they take a good look at the walls - 20 kobolds, 20 goblins, Kenshar and that's just what they see.  Despite their rage they back down. They're allowed to collect the corpse and as they walk away the goblins sik four worgs on them so they get some fustration vented and the evening get's it's climatic battle as the goblins and kobolds at the walls cheered and then booed as the worgs where cut down.  A morale victory, but a hollow one.As they settle down for the evening though they hear the approach of drums. And here I ended the session leaving the party to wonder what happens next.-------------NEXT WEEK'S PLANThe players are visibly pissed at Glinki. The druid has lost his wolf, the rogue has lost her sister and her boyfriend's character the sorcerer (who was her boyfriend in character as well). The monks have lost their village - they are out for blood - so motivation is no longer a problem.The drums they will learn are Dalsundrian military.  They will espy the head of a column of forces being led to Maldanca, a column some 200 hopolites. They are lead by Lord Viscount Travis Triel who is under orders from Prince Valsil to re-establish a hold over the abandoned castle as Valsil, long term, anticipates a civil war with his brother (plots within plots beside plots outside of plots contained within plots). Triel for his own part is a schemer and will, eventually, become a hated enemy of the PC's if things turn out as normal in the campaign but, for now, he will be their friend.Triel is a cautious studious man by nature (and secretly a blue mage of considerable power though he rarely brings it to bear openly). Rather than assault the castle (a foolhardy endevour with just 200 men - the castle has withstood assaults by garrisons ten times his size when manned by only a hundred men and Triel knows this) he knows that there are catacombs beneath the castle, and how to get into them. His own men aren't trained in the subterfuge necessary to explore them, besides why risk his own men when, as we'll soon see, he'll have six rather bloodthirsty volunteers for the job.  If they are killed, no loss from his POV. If they survive they will have proven themselves an asset that can be drawn into his plots, plots that will shape the very face of Telzoa for generations to come.And so this should point out why the title of the campaign is "Pawns of the Prince" And soon the players are about to get in well over their heads - but I think they are ready for it and I can tailor the experience.Now, to the floor - any ideas for encounters in the catacombs beneath the castle? This is a party 2nd & 3rd levels with 6 members.</blockquote>

Verification