Yes, but I don't think I'll post these ideas. Needless to say, I try make sure that the actions of the party has consequences of some kind, and most of my prep for this adventure revolves around considering the PCs actions and what the appropriate response/consequences to them will be.
Then I'll just look forward to the unfolding story! :)
Session #21, Part #1, Fortress of the Stone Giants (killing giants and meeting with Grimfrost)
Characters: Evelyn (aasimar, paladin/sorcerer/dragon disciple 10), Ronak (dwarf, monk 10), Rho (elf, rogue 10), Kovak (half orc, cleric/holy vindicator 10), Tonzay (gnome, bard 10), Corvo (human, swashbuckler 10).
The heroes decide to take the gems they claimed from Longtooth’s horde and deliver them to Grimfrost- the white dragon they had previously made a deal with in exchange for him sparing their lives (session #18). In order to avoid giant patrols they travel by night along the river valley, sticking to the mountain slopes as much as possible. With no trail to follow and deep snow the journey is slow and takes them longer than anticipated. On their second night out, they hear noises up ahead. Rho and Ronak scout and discover a long hill giant gleefully beating on the corpse of recently killed deer with his big, wooden club. They decide to ambush the giant, and after easily killing it they follow its trail back to a camp. Here they find another half dozen hill giants and a dire bear camped in a clearing near the frozen river. The giants appear to be in the process of making their way along the river towards stone giant Fortress, possibly to join the army. Currently, five of the giants are sleeping around the fire pit, while one is sitting on a fallen log beside the fire poking at it with a big stick.
As Ronak and Rho watch the giants from the trees, the dire bear suddenly raises its head and sniffs the air. It then gets to its feet, lets out a low growl and lumbers in Ronak and Rho’s direction. The giant monitoring the fire sees the bear has noticed something and gets to his feet. He takes up his club and kicks the giant closest to him to wake him up. The two giants then follow the bear. Ronak and Rho wait in hiding, spoiling for a fight. The bear spots Rho in the trees and charges forward. As it comes in at the elf Ronak leaps out from behind a tree and pummels it in the flank with a flurry of blows, drawing the beast’s attention away from the elven archer. The bear howls in rage and pain. It stands up on its back legs, so that it towers over the dwarf. It sweeps a massive, clawed paw across the Ronak and pulls him into a bear hug. Rho fills the thing with three arrows, but the tough beast takes the arrows and becomes even more enraged. Evelynn swoops in from the sky and claws the bear across its backside. She hovers just in front of Rho to put herself between him and the approaching giants.
The two giants start shouting, and their kin wake up, rise to their feet and snatch up their clubs. They come in at Evelynn swinging. She responds by blasting them with her frost breath weapon. Rho and Ronak bring down the bear just as the rest of the giants join the battle. Three of the giants encircle Ronak, but the agile dwarf monk repeatedly dodges their club swings and only a couple of blows actually connect. The other three giants close on Evelynn. She is not as well trained at dodging giant clubs and takes a number of hits that leave her badly wounded. She is forced to withdraw to the sky, but before she does she takes down the two most injured giants with a magic missile spell. As she flies up into the air two of the giants closest to her thump her with their clubs, nearly bringing her down (1 hp left). With Evelyn out of reach one of the giants that had been engaged with her moves to aid in the dwarf clubbing, and the other one goes after Rho.
Rho is a highly mobile archer, and he withdraws away from the giant while putting arrows into its chest. The giant lands a couple of grazing club blows on the elf before he falling dead from his wounds. Ronak continues to weave and dodge giant clubs, and holds his own against three giants. Evelynn helps him from up in the air by blasting the giants with scorching ray spells, while administering lay on hands to herself. One of the giants takes a break from trying to kill the dwarf and attempts to bring her down with a rock, but she easily dodges the incoming stone. After this, it doesn’t take long for the heroes to finish the remaining few giants. They have all sustained their share of injuries, but all three have survived. Rho spends some time recovering arrows, which are starting to run low. They camp the remainder of the night, and the next day they travel to the steep, narrow path that leads up to the high pass. It is here that they are to wait for Grimfrost, so it is here that they set up a camp.
Another day and another night pass uneventfully as they wait patiently for the dragon to make his appearance. Finally Grimfrost arrives. He swoops down out of the mountains and lands before Ronak and Kovak who are waiting out in the open by a small campfire. Rho, Evelynn, Tonzay and Corvo hide in nearby trees.
The dragon flaps its wings and bellows. He asks Ronak about the success of their “mission.” Ronak tells him how they found Longtooth’s lair empty and were able to take the gems unopposed. He throws Grimfrost the bag of gems they looted, and the dragon examines them. He then looks at Ronak and points out that the dwarf is wearing a new belt and different bracers. Grimfrost asks where Ronak got the items, and the dwarf inadvertently lies (player forgot he got them from the dragon horde) telling the dragon that he got them off a dead giant. The dragon doesn’t believe him, snarls and looks like he might attack. Evelynn sees negotiations going south and steps out from the trees to work some emergency diplomacy. She manages to calm the dragon, and they work out an agreement that the dragon can have all the coins that remain in Longtooth’s horde, and they will do their best to find out what has happened to Longtooth and if possible kill him or die trying. Grimfrost is appeased for the moment, and flies off with its sack of gems.
After this the heroes travel back to the valley of the stone giants. They again travel by night to avoid giant patrols. They return to the secret back entrance to Longtooth’s mountain and again make camp in the small tunnels behind the dragon’s cave. They stay near the mouth of the tunnel that has the concealed opening into the same cliff face as the main entrance to Longtooth’s lair. From here they have a clear view of the valley and can monitor the giants. The next day they see that things in the valley are pretty much the same as they were when they left. However that changes soon after when Longtooth, the red dragon, suddenly returns to the valley.
GMs Notes: We had a bit of an attendance issue this session. For the first part of the session I only had Ronak, Evelyn and Rho's players at the table. They wanted to go meet with Grimfrost and drop off the gems, which I really didn't want them to do with only three players. I ended up doing some random encounter check type stuff to kill some time, hoping for a fourth player to arrive, who was coming late from work.
Unfortunately, I had stalled as long as I could and the player still hadn't shown up, so I just ran the encounter. Ronak wasn't a good diplomat and it was looking like the dragon was about to turn hostile and go into combat with the characters (TPK potential with only 3 players) when Evelynn stepped in and threw out a 31 on a diplomacy check, which I ruled would salvage the negotiations.
That being said the dragon is still out there and still thinking greedily of all the valuable items the characters are walking around with, so we'll see if they've seen the last of him.
That fourth player arrived shortly after this and made possible the events of the final part of this session.
Session #21, part #2, Fortress of the Stone Giants (Heroes versus Longtooth)
Longtooth flies into its lair and bursts back out again a few minutes later. It soars high into the sky, lets out an angry roar and unleashes a blast of fire. It then flies several circles around the valley, seething with rage. Finally it swoops down and dowses the largest giant camp with a blast of flame before flying back into its cave. There is panic in the giant camps and horns are blown.
The heroes decide to take advantage of the situation by making an attack on Longtooth while it is still in its lair. Kovak, Rho, Ronak and Evelynn make their way through the narrow tunnels and approach Longtooth’s horde from the back. They cast resist energy spells to protect them from fire, and then enter his lair.
He is waiting on his horde, and as soon as he sees them coming he snarls and attacks. Rho gets off a well-placed shot with his bow that sinks an arrow into his neck. The dragon is shocked that the arrow penetrated his hide, and he responds by casting a shield spell and closing in on the elf. The rest of the group moves in. Evelynn gets to him first with flight magic, and she is smacked by his tail as she closes. Ronak follows after her and slams a fist into its scaly hide. Kovak is moving slower due to his heavy armor, and casts a bull strength spell as he approaches. Rho acrobatically rolls away from the dragon’s reach and comes up to fire another arrow. With the shield spell active, he finds the dragon’s defenses much more difficult to penetrate, and the arrow deflects off the magical ward. Longtooth then lets loose a cone of flame that engulfs Ronak, Kovak and Rho. Ronak’s monk training allows him to nearly escape all the damage (improved evasion + 20 fire resistance), but Kovak and Rho aren’t so lucky. Their fire resistance spares them the worst of the flames, but they are still scorched (30+ damage each).
Kovak casts a mass cure spell, which helps to heal their wounds, while Ronak and Evelynn engage it in melee. They find it very difficult to penetrate the thing’s defenses, and despite their flanking advantage they land only a couple of hits. Rho fires more arrows, but continues to be thwarted by its shield. Kovak then charges the dragon and joins Ronak and Evelynn in melee. While waiting for its breath weapon to recharge, Longtooth tears at Ronak, Kovak and Evelynn with its natural attacks. It wounds Ronak quite seriously, and inflicts injuries on Evelyn and Kovak as well.
Evelynn gives up on trying to claw through its armor, and casts an acid touch spell that melts away some of its scales and makes it howl in pain. This gets its full attention, and it attempts to bring her down with a single flurry of attacks. Fortunately Evelynn is smiting the dragon, and Imodea protects her from much of its wrath allowing her to survive the onslaught. Kovak then takes advantage of Evelyn’s distraction to cast a slay living spell. He reaches out and touches the dragon. Negative energy surges through its reptilian body. It starts to convulse and suddenly its chest explodes, spraying the half orc with molten hot dragon blood (which his resist fire protects him from). It then falls dead to the ground (rolled a 3 on its Fort save).
The heroes cheer as they slay their first dragon, and they set about taking hide, teeth and claws for trophies.
Session #21, GM's Notes continued
Sadly, I have to confess that I allowed a character to survive without expending hero chips. During the encounter with the hill giant camp, Evelynn had three hill giants around her. She had already taken a couple of hits, and she decided that she didn't want to be on the receiving end of full attacks from 3 giants, so she decided that she would flee and then try a magic missile spell to take down 2 giants that were really badly hurt. One of them was fighting Ronak and the other was one of three engaged with her. Instead of casting the spell first she moved first and took three attacks of opportunity from the giants. I rolled high on all three attacks and did enough damage to kill her. She didn't have two hero points to spend, so technically her character was dead. However, I didn't really want her to die during a random of encounter that I was basically only running to kill some time while we waited for another player to arrive. Consequently, I let her mulligan the order of her actions, so that she cast the magic missile spell first. This killed one of the giants on her, which allowed her to only get hit by two AoO. She got away with 1 hp left.
Which I was very grateful for and am starting to learn the merits of combat casting over straight retreat.
I thought I would post Evlynne's journal for her fall (Session 19) and a picture of Evlynne. The start of it is mine; the last paragraph is PH's.
Evlynne's Post Session #19 Journal
Shhnnnk.
Shhhnnk.
Shhhhnk.
“You’ve fallen Angel, took a little tumble but you’re alright…might as well stop your napping and get up; pain is a teacher, and you won’t learn anything lying down in the mud.”
I keep my eyes closed. I can feel the cold mud at my back as the comforting fog of unconsciousness slowly draws out of my body, replacing it with pain. I want to cry out but I stifle it, it doesn’t seem like something a warrior would do. I take in slow, deliberate breaths. My memories and thoughts form slowly. Someone is sharpening a sword behind me. Someone I know. Someone I trust.
“Get up”, the familiar voice repeats.
I open my eyes and push myself to my feet. I am greeted with the familiar sight of the Training Pit back at the Temple of Iomadae. I am in my armor and my brand new greatsword lies at the ground at my feet. It is early dawn, the sun just cresting over the horizon and I can see my breath as I fight to calm my racing heart. The cold doesn’t bother me, it never has; a gift of both my draconic and angelic heritage. I look down at myself and find that I am filthy. Unconsciously I start using my magic to clean myself…it doesn’t work.
I try again. Nothing.
I stare dumbly at the dirt.
“You’ll find that those stains will be a lot harder to remove than you think”, says the voice behind me.
Slowly I turn to face voice talking to me; he is a large man sitting on a stone in battered but well-kept armor. I recognize him immediately, Martin Greystone, master of arms of the Temple of Iomadea. He is human, but it was rumoured that he was also half-giant. His helmet lay at his side and he holds his massive broadsword in front of him, sharpening it while looking at me with calculating grey eyes. His long hair is pulled back in a pony-tail and his well-kept beard is similarly tied back to make it easier to put on his helmet.
He had been the one whose job it was to teach new recruits how to fight and care for their weapons. Even though Paladins of Iomadea favour longswords he liked a broadsword, taking advantage of his strength. He was a stern but fair teacher; he had been one of my few friends at the temple, and his face had the wrinkles of a man who laughs a lot. He was not laughing now.
I also remembered one more important fact.
He was dead.
“That dirt isn’t on your body, it’s on your soul; do you know where you are?”
I struggle to think, the first answer would obviously be the temple…but since it’s so obvious and I’m talking to my dead mentor I re-evaluate and quickly answer.
“A dream. This place looks like the Temple, and this particular time seems to be the first time I trained with you to learn to use my new sword, you knocked me down when we were sparring and I briefly fell unconscious.”
Long ago I had started to train as a paladin of Iomadea, but it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. It took me ten years to get to even a modest level of power. My ‘comrades’ were surpassing me in ability and it had been frustrating. Then after one fateful encounter everything changed. We had been on a routine mission to guard a caravan and had been ambushed. A half-orc had charged into us, he used his massive greatsword to sunder our weapons and shields and then let his band come in in his wake and slaughter the now defenseless warriors. He had just taken out my sword and shield and had knocked me to the ground when it happened.
My sorceress abilities manifested themselves. When his minions came in to kill me I raised my arm and a shield of magical energy came into existence deflecting their blows. My hands lashed out and ran across their chests, leaving a crimson path. Their surprise had been enough for us to recover and grab victory. No one had seen how I had overcome my enemy and everyone had a negative stigma against magic so I learned to use my powers in secret, and I found out that magic was something I excelled at. I had finally found something that I could learn at a regular pace; I was finally starting to be less of a liability. People eventually found out what I was anyway, and if they had avoided me before they really avoided me now. Martin Greystone had been the only one who still treated me as a friend, and we would train in the early hours before everyone woke up, and I would learn to use the greatsword. He was a good friend and I was saddened to receive a letter a few years ago informing me that he had been killed in the line of duty.
“Aye. A dream.” he replied standing and sheathing his sword, “We need to talk. The Lady is not pleased with you. First a question. It is one we have asked many times before but we need to hear your answer again before we can continue. Why did you desire to be one of Iomadea’s Paladin?”
I lowered my head and thought before answering. It was a question I had been asked many times. Although divine blood runs through my veins it is not hers or one of her emissaries, she already gave me that answer a long time ago. The practical reasons? It was a temple far away from my family and their constant feuding. It was a place I could be safe from them for a time, so my answer had always been that I was seeking her protection. That however had been when I was a child, and although the answer was true it was starting to dawn on me that it wasn’t the full answer to that question. Iomadea had been human and a noble soldier. She had risen to divinity. In a way with my bloodlines I had felt I was like her, and I wanted to emulate her. To be a strong warrior who could protect herself and others.
I looked around again and I realized why I was here, being brought back to this particular time in my life. It had been a turning point for me. It had been the time I had decided to turn my back on being a paladin and start training in being a dragon disciple. At first in small ways, the fact that I could create a magical shield meant that I could use a sword in both hands. Later, and as I kept practicing using my magic it yielded fantastic results, I finally became a great warrior, I finally became strong, I finally got what I always wanted…
“Power”, I answered in a flat voice, and I knew it to be the true answer and regretted it immediately.
The man before me nodded.
“You’ve wondered why you never really excelled at being a paladin, Angel. I think you’re finally starting to realize why. You’re a good person, trying to use your strength to shield those not as blessed as yourself. However, that strength was something that you desired more than watching others. We slowed your progress until, given enough time, and opportunity you could learn that for yourself. Unfortunately, you found another path to what you desired and turned from us."
I turn my eyes away from him, shamed.
“However, you are still one of us, even though you fight like a demon…”
“Dragon”, I interrupt quietly, my pride overriding my shame momentarily.
“…dragon and although you lack much of the training you are still a Paladin. You may never return to us, but that does not mean you can turn your back on everything we are. The Lady has protected you thus far and has accepted you as her representative, if you wish you remain under her hand then behaviour such as what we saw today has to stop.”
“The blood of noble dragons and angels runs strong in you; but there is a taint on your soul that can never be lifted. A darkness and temptation that whispers within you. We see it when you fight. You are not temperate, or moderate but feral…”
“My claws and teeth are a part of me”, I interrupt, “and a more effective weapon then any sword. “
“Aye, that they are. We do not disagree with your choice of weapon Dragon (though others might); but in how and when you use it. You must watch yourself more carefully than most or your own bloodlust may consume you.”
“Those giants you mercilessly attacked were just out doing a menial chore and initially meant you no harm. You didn’t even check if they were evil. We want you to know that they were not evil, they were not shining examples of good, but still, did not deserve to be slaughtered outright.”
“We are only a small band again an army of hundreds”, I answer hotly, “what would you have had me do instead?”
“You should have stepped out and offered them the opportunity to leave the army. True most like…”
"Stepped out?! If I had stepped out I would have presented myself as a target and risked them escaping and then through my actions brought an entire army on the heads of my companions. They weren’t just lumberjacks, they were soldiers…they did their jobs.”
“Nobody said being a paladin was easy Angel. Aye, they were soldiers and if you had come out they would have attacked and you would be free to act. If they had been evil, you would have perhaps been justified in how you acted. They were not evil. That is why we give you the tools; so that you can judge; but a tool is useless if it is not used. Evil beings are the only ones who deserve no quarter from us; everyone else gets a chance”
My resolve falters. He’s right of course. Even if they are soldiers and even if it would not have changed anything I should have checked if they were evil before attacking. I had had the time. Maybe my demonic half was getting stronger.
“We realize that you are surrounded by an army and without one of your own. Although a frontal assault would be preferable we know it would not be wise. Still you are our representative and as such you must be an example to not only those around you, but especially to your enemies. In the tower you killed a defenseless man in his sleep. Can I ask why?”
“What else would you have expected of me? Had he woken up; me and my allies would have been facing two angry giants in an enclosed space, either could have escaped and alerted the army. We had to maintain control of the situation otherwise we would not have gotten the information we needed.”
“Was he evil?”
I avert my eyes, and I feel face flushing a second time. When I answer it’s in a whisper, “I didn’t check.”
“I can tell you that he was, however a paladin does not murder an enemy in his sleep. A paladin watches her friends’ backs. It should not have been your hand that did the deed. You must hold yourself to a higher standard.”
To that statement I raise my eyes again, “And what else would you have me do?”, I reply anger heating my words, “I will not condone an action that I would not do myself. Any other option would have endangered lives.”
“Aye, angel. I know better than most that being honourable isn’t always the soundest tactical decision but that is the burden that we must carry. We are just saying that you have to watch yourself more carefully than most. Only fight in defense or against those who are evil and let it not be your hands that commit dishonourable acts. Do your best to find other more honourable ways to solve your problems. It’s all we ask and we ask in concern for your welfare.”
I hang my head in thought, and then finally nod my head.
“Good. Good. We will let this lay heavily upon you for the next few days. Think upon what you have done and what you can do better. Have faith in the Inheritor , channel her strength through your body and shine in her legion. Now pick up your sword, it needs a good cleaning.”
I turn to get my sword and face the sun, it fills my eyes with light and my body with warmth.
The dream then shifts. Now I am flying above the giant fortress. Down below I see scores of stone giants gathered around the great central pit. Their attention is focused on their leader. He too is a stone giant, but for a stone giant he is a runt, barely more than nine feet tall. Beside him is a pair of “monsters.” They look like attractive human females from the waist up, but their lower bodies are not human at all. They each have the lower body of lion. Their faces, which would otherwise be considered beautiful, are marred by expressions of hatred and cruelty, and they chant profane versus to some dark god. Before them standing at the edge of the pit is another stone giant. His arms and legs are bound, and he has clearly been the subject of much torture in abuse. The “diminutive” leader of the gathered giants shouts out to the crowd in the giant tongue. His voice booms as if enhanced by magic. I can’t tell what he is saying, but he is motioning towards the prisoner. It is then I notice a female giant in the crowd. She seems older and wiser than most of the other giants, perhaps an elder. I see that she is visibly horrified by the proceedings. Tears stream down her cheeks. The giant runt looks at her and laughs. Then he chants arcane words. A dark ray streaks out from his fingertip and hits the prisoner in the chest. Instantly the giant is disintegrated into a pile of ash. Then the runt casts another spell, and a gust of wind blows the ashes into the pit. The female elder wails in despair.
Iomodae has always encouraged her followers to cut down evil at its root. This giant wizard, and his monstrous allies are clearly such a vile root. Their will be no dishonour in killing them.
So I've been having a lot of trouble scheduling with my group the last several weeks, and I was pretty much ready to throw in the towel with this campaign. However it looks like we're going to give it another go this Saturday. I really would like to at least finish Fortress of the Stone Giants and then we'll see what happens after that. It would be nice to see this this campaign through to completion, but I'm not sure if that's in the cards.
Session #22, Fortress of the Stone Giants, Below Jorgenfist
Characters: Evelyn (aasimar, paladin/sorcerer/dragon disciple 11), Ronak (dwarf, monk 11), Rho (elf, rogue 11), Kovak (half orc, cleric/holy vindicator 11), Tonzay (gnome, bard 11)
Ronak stands watch at the mouth of Longtooth’s lair while his companions work on carving up the corpse of the dead dragon, taking trophies in the form of fangs, claws and hide. As the dwarf watches he sees a party of giants leave their fortress and start making their way across the plain towards Longtooth’s lair. Among the band he spots Lucrecia, Barl, Mokmorian and an armored giant, as well as about a dozen stone giant warriors. Ronak moves back to his companions and suggests they make their departure. They retreat into the small tunnels at the back of the dragon’s lair. Rho does what he can to cover their tracks. Here they make camp and rest.
Several hours into their rest, Ronak and Rho are on watch while Tonzay, Kovak and Evelynn sleep. Ronak hears a noise coming down the little tunnel way, and he suddenly spots an armored kobold with a spear and shield approaching them. The kobold doesn’t seem interested in talking. It merely snarls and charges Ronak. The little creature proves exceedingly tough for a kobold, but in the end it is still a kobold, and a kobold that is outnumbered five to one. Like most kobolds, this one has a strong survival instinct, and as soon as it realizes defeat is certain it surrenders.
The heroes take it prisoner, and engage in a lengthy interrogation and negotiation process. They learn that Mokmorian had sent it into the small tunnels with instructions to kill anyone it could find. Despite the fact that it was sent to kill them, they work out an arrangement of sorts, agreeing to spare its life and offer it freedom (and even potential employment) if it will help them defeat Mokmorian. The creature refuses to help them confront Mokmorian directly, but it does tell them about an alternate entrance into the heart of the giants’ subterranean lair via a cavern in the river gorge.
After resting the night the heroes leave the tunnels and trek through the wilderness to the gorge. They climb down to the river and hike along the rocky bank until finally they reach what they believe is the cave the kobold referred to. The cave is some fifty feet up the sheer face of the canyon. Tonzay uses a dimension door to teleport most of the heroes up, while Ronak climbs.
They find that the cave is occupied. The back portion is infested with swarms of crawling insects and filled with webbing, which they soon learn conceals giant, undead arachnid horrors. The surge out of the webbing and attack Evelynn, who had gone up ahead to inspect the webbing. She takes some nasty bite wounds, and falls back. Kovak then blasts them with a flame strike. The rest of the party joins the fight and quickly finishes the things. Only Evelynn sustains any significant injury, but her divine powers allow her to avoid the worst effects of their poison. With the webbing cleared away by the flame strike, they find the tunnel that the kobold had told them about at the back of the cave.
The tunnel is actually multiple tunnels and proves to be a maze of low, narrow passages that are rather difficult to navigate. Eventually the adventurers find their way a worked chamber somewhere in the center of the maze. Here they encounter a large band of vicious little fey called redcaps. The kobold had warned them about the redcaps, so they aren’t surprised by their presence. They had been told that the redcaps had being dwelling the complex before Mokmorian and the giants arrived, and the giants had displaced them into the small caves. The heroes had been hoping they might be able to convince the evil fey to help them attack the giants. Unfortunately, the red caps are difficult to negotiate with, as they are murderous bastards that don’t take kindly to trespassers. The leader of the vile fey insists that if they want to pass through Tonzay must give up his enchanted bow as tribute. As expected Tonzay refuses, and the red caps attack. Rho immediately puts a couple of arrows into the leader, and then Ronak and Evelynn burst forward and finish him off. The remainder of the red camps are shocked by the sudden death of their leader and the prowess of the adventurers. Some hold back, demoralized by the sudden demise of their leader, while others rush forward wanting to his death. The fey prove hard to kill, but the adventurers are more than capable of defending themselves against them, and after inflicting grievous injuries on several, they convince them that it is their best interest to let the heroes be on their way.
They navigate their way through the remainder of the tunnels, and finally they find their way into the larger halls that are now occupied by the giants. Ronak does some scouting and finds a tannery cave occupied by a trio of hulking, ogre warriors. He also discovers a forge cavern. Here he sees a fire giant repair weapons and armor. The fire giant is the same one they encountered working in the forge caves of the Kreeg clanhold. There is also a pair of stone giants busy affixing spearheads to long wooden shafts. Finally, he sees several dwarves in cages being forced to operate the bellows of the forge. This sight sets him off, especially when he notes that the giants have burned their beards off. He hurries back to his companions and leads them straight for the forge cave.
They use a silence spell to cover their approach. The giants are preoccupied with their work and don’t realize what is happening until the fire giant staggers as Rho puts a pair of arrows in his back. Ronak, Kovak and Evelynn charge him, and he bellows in pain and rage, draws his greatsword and takes a mighty cleave that wounds all three of his assailants. The stone giants get to their feet and pick up giant sized longspear, and they move to the fire giant’s aid.
Meanwhile the ogres in the neighboring room notice that something is amiss, and they head to the forge cave investigate. Rho calls out a warning (they are no longer in a silence zone), and Kovak breaks off from his companions to intercept them. Ronak rushes one of the stone giants, and Tonzay, who had been busy hasting the party, turns his attention the second stone giant and casts a hold monster spell. The magic works, and removes the threat of one of the giants. Evelynn and Rho finish the wounded fire giant, and then are faced with having to decide between helping Kovak or Ronak. They see that Ronak has the fight with the stone giant in hand, so they move to aid the half orc.
Unfortunately, they are too late. Kovak manages to get himself surrounded by ogre warriors, and though he fairs well initially, they soon land some brutal strikes with their deadly hooks. Just as Rho turns his bow on them, Kovak falls to the ground seemingly dead (-30+ hp- go hero points). Tonzay, Evelynn and Rho fight off the ogres, while Ronak dances around the stone giant, stinging him with flurries of blows from his iron like fists. One of the ogres manages to close in on Rho and gouge him with his hook, leaving the elf also on the verge of collapse (1 hp). Yet the heroes persevere, and eventually they fell the ogres and giants. Tonzay moves in to check on Kovak, and discovers that he miraculously clings to life (thanks to the aforementioned hero chips). The gnome bard expends the bulk of his healing magic, and revives him.
Kovak is just getting to his feet and using his own healing powers to get himself back into fighting form when Evelyn and Rho spot more giants coming. Two more stone giants arrive on the scene; whether this is by happenstance or in response to hearing fighting, is unclear. The heroes attack them before they have a chance to get a grasp on what is going on. Another quick fight erupts with Evelynn and Ronak engaging the giants in melee, and Tonzay and Rho firing on them with their bows. Before they can bring down the giants, Rho spies at least three more coming from the tunnel on the opposite end of the wide hall they are in. Ronak doesn’t want the giants to close in on Tonzay, Rho and Kovak, so he leaves Evelyn to finish the giant she is fighting and bolts across the room (monk speed). He intercepts the three giants, who are in the midst of taking in the carnage. They see the giant and ogre corpses scattered about the room, and they see that all the heroes are still alive and fighting. Though normally, they would be plenty confident against such smaller foes, this sight weakens their morale. One of them calls out, “We must warn Galenir,” and he then runs off. The second giant is right behind him, “I’ll come with you. Dorn hold them off,” leaving the third giant to stand against the party. This final giant isn’t up for that, and he too turns and runs, only to be brought down by the heroes (who were in the mood to kill some giants).
The heroes decide they best be on their way before a horde of giant reinforcements descends upon them. They free the captive dwarves and retreat back into the small tunnels where the red caps make their lair where they hope to find a place to rest and prepare for another foray.
I ran session #23 on Friday, but I still need to get to doing the journal for it. One more good session, and we might come close to wrapping this adventure up.
Looks like we're up against Mokmurian tomorrow night ourselves. It's taken forever, but win, lose or draw we wrap up FotSG then. Our GM keeps teasing that we won't make it.
Yeah I feel like this adventure has taken a long time. Our poor rogue started the adventure with a s~$% load of arrows, and now he's running really load, but since we they haven't had a means of getting back to civilization, they haven't been able to replenish their supplies at all.