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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Truename" data-source="post: 5115228" data-attributes="member: 78255">Session 6 (Scenes 3-X, 3-3i, 3-4)No big surprises this session. It was paced very well and ended right on time. There was a nail-biting combat sequence that the players seemed to particularly enjoy.We picked up with the end of Scene 3-1 (Bad News). The players had decided to use the Capt. Herremen route Erdan Menash offered them in Session 4.As they left the temple, I had Kathor waiting for them. He felt a sense of obligation for how they treated him and his men last time, so he warned them of the Black Horse ambush. This was also an opportunity for the PCs to befriend Kathor. I dropped several hints that something was unusual about Kathor--the druid picked up that his raven was unnatural; the arcane users recognized it as a familiar; the goliaths who had been in Ragesia recognized his accent as Ragesian--but they didn't take the bait. They asked Kathor to reveal when and where the ambush would be, but refused to betray his comrades. So they made vague threats and that was that.A little disappointing, but overall it's good my players don't pick up on every clue. It makes me feel that there's the right mix of easy and hard clues.The Interlude scene (3-3i) went smoothly. I used this as an opportunity for them to get the Dianoem they missed when they first talked to Menash. They didn't think of pushing for the patrol to leave earlier, despite knowing an ambush was planned, so they won't have a chance to get the drop on the Black Horse.Finally, the bulk of the session was taken up with the Scene 3-4 (Magic Mayhem) fight. This was a real nail-biter; the monsters seemed way overpowered for their level. Level 3 skirmishers with a 2d6+2 damage attack, 1d6+2 on miss, recharge 4, plus 1d6 for combat advantage? Multiple daze (save ends) powers? Yikes.I played it as written, though, not having had time to review the combat before-hand. My players loved it. Three of the six characters were below 0 hp during the fight. The barbarian went down twice. Feris recognized them, and shouted to the others to do non-lethal damage, so that eased the tension somewhat. Also, Torrent was there and her healing made a big difference, although she was dazed most of the time and couldn't do much else.Overall, although the fights have been much harder than their level indicates, that seems to be compensated for by the presence of Torrent and the "Do Something Awesome" bonus encounter power I provide, as well as the easy access to fate/action points that I provide. The druid tagged his 'loyal' trait with a Fate point so he could use the Heal skill on two characters with one standard action, for example.Once they took down Feris, the surviving highwayman stood down and the storm mages tried to escape. I played them as impressionable young women, students of Feris. The players blocked the exits and the students surrendered. They begged not the 'guards' (the party) not to turn them over to the Inquisition. I played them as a bit naive: "Feris has us come with him as he goes around to various shops, where the shopkeepers give him money." The players took pity on them to the Resistance safe-house with the shop owner.The interrogation of Feris went well, too. He was fierce in his opposition to the Ragesians, contemptuous of the Gate Pass citizens that wished to throw magic users to the wolves (as so clearly illustrated by the mob previously outside the shop), and disgusted with the PC's cowardice. I think he impressed the PCs. They agreed to let him go in exchange for a promise not to harm or steal from Gate Pass. They even gave him back the Staff of Storms I had included as treasure!I liked the way the roleplaying and combat combined in this scene. My players loved the dangerous combat (Scales of War was getting a little easy for them) and the segue from combat to post-combat roleplaying was nice and smooth. The scene with the angry mob outside was a nice little touch--I particularly liked that it wasn't a full-blown skill challenge, just a bit of flavor. That combined with the students' fear of being turned over to the Inquisition and Feris' fierce desire to go down fighting to provide some great war flavor and remind the players how dire the situation was.A good session.</blockquote>

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