Chronicles of Arcania: B/X Homebrew game.

Game Master Peet

Obviously these Gnolls are a bigger threat than we anticipated if they have wiped out all three factions of Cynidiceans....

It's worth mentioning that while the place has clearly been looted, there's no sign that a fight happened here other than the one you were involved in. There are no bloodstains and no dead bodies in here.

"The Brotherhood may have retreated further into the city after their battle with you, Ferrous. But these are only outposts; the factions are not wiped out. Still, it falls to us to fight the gnolls. I still like my plan. Chaos, fire, smoke, confusion, we know what's going on and they don't. And that scepter can take out a lot of them."
I actually think the plan is really good; depends to a degree on how disorganized the gnolls are, what plans they think up to counteract ours, and how well they can communicate that plan to each other in the chaos. If anybody has other ideas I'd like to hear them but I really want to end this soon rather than be caught between Zargon and the gnolls.

"If you really want to flee, we can Wizard Lock interior doors behind us. If they try to tunnel around them, they could collapse the pyramid on themselves -- though of course that could leave us trapped in here forever."

I'm with you Brathas.. just tell me where to swing my sword!

Let's return to the camp for now. We can use some healing and having Wallia rejoin with us will be helpful.

"I agree with Ferrous. There is little that we can do now. Let us bolster our forces and then launch a coordinated attack."

The group returns to collect the three remaining magi, who accompany them to the fourth tier. When the group gets ready to leave the main path and head to their camp, Auriga bids his farewells.

"I think we can make it from here if we move quickly and quietly. Those gnolls do not seem to have penetrated this far yet. I... appreciate your help. I hope to get some reinforcements and reclaim the shrine, but the three of us cannot hold it alone."

"Good luck. I'll come looking this way for you if I return."

With that, Auriga and his two acolytes head deeper into the pyramid.

12:00 PM, Day 9

Once back in Camp, the group sleeps late to allow the spellcasters who woke during the night to get eight hours of uninterrupted rest. After they rise and prepare their spells, you are ready to begin the new day.

Ana and Zynazyr: we will need to know what spells you are preparing for the day.

Everyone: you may now apply natural healing.

So what now?
* Head back to the surface to begin your attack on the gnolls?
* Find another way to seal the pyramid?
* Ignore them and explore deeper in the pyramid?
* Something else?

Wallia wakes up and after about ten minutes or so, notices that no one is starting to stir. He then drinks some water and has some rations until the rest of the group wakes up.

He then says, "Gods be praised. I noticed you have overslept, what is the situation?"

The non-spellcasters may have risen much earlier, but presumably would wait until Ana and Zynazyr are ready.

Biologically speaking, I assume they would catch up on the Zs too :)

The situation is dire Wallia. The Magi have been attacked with only 3 known survivors. There is no sign of surviving Maidens. The Gnoll war band from outside is responsible. They found a way to bypass our wizard's lock. Ferrous says it all with a firm sadness to his voice but it cracks a little when he continues. and we left a modest hoard of coins unattended yesterday. If we don't hear or see signs of the Maidens we may need to return.

Wallia says, "The gnolls show a level of craftiness and resourcefulness we had not anticipated. I sure dislike it when dinner makes itself more of a challenge than normal. Well, the Gods are behind us and these creatures shan't be long on this planet."

"I'm not eating the gnolls, Wallia. If you do, that's between you, your stomach, and your god. But you are right that they are very crafty and persistent, so we will have to be craftier. My plan is to create chaos, free the prisoners, hopefully kill one or both leaders, pick off scattered gnolls, and force the remainder to bunch up. They don't know we have a scepter than can paralyze them by the dozens if they do that. If need be and all that fails, we can do a fighting retreat into the pyramid and lock interior doors.
I don't know what magic you can call upon. Certainly your healing is useful. The gnoll witch-doctor can use a spell of Silence, which doomed the magi - perhaps you could silence him first, if our arrows fail to bring him down."

Wallia says, "I will make them into jerky so if we get desperate everyone can eat them. Sounds like a plan. Could we make some pujil stakes or drop caltrops or something to slow them down a bit.?"

What are Wallia's spells known? He is a spontaneous caster, correct? So doesn't know the whole range of spells? Does he know Silence? It could help not only prevent the witch-doctor from casting spells, but delay the gnolls in coordinating a response to our attack.
We also need Zynazyr to prep at least 1 Wizard Lock, so we can have a locked door we can pass through but the gnolls can't. There are two doors leading out from the central room on Tier 2; we can use the wand to lock the other, we only need to be able to pass through one of them.
"I don't think we have caltrops, and I don't want our own movements hampered by stakes. But I have another idea for a trap. We have both a scroll of Ventriloquism and my Mask of the Parakeet. We could lure many gnolls into a winding dead-end corridor, making them think we fled there, then Wizard Lock the door behind them so they are trapped and eventually starve to death. Hopefully we'll paralyze and kill them all before we need to fall back into the pyramid, but it's good to have backup plans."
I think it would be awesome to wipe out a tribe of gnolls with Ventriloquism and Wizard Lock. I know I overlooked them all the time as a kid with the Red Box.

That sounds devious... I like it you willy bastard Brathas!

"I will not stoop to eating gnoll flesh, no matter how hungry I am. They devour elves with relish and I will not be like that." Ana seems adamant.

"I agree. We have food for now, and there is food in the underground city. Once we deal with the gnolls we can move on to the city. I will not eat gnolls either, but Wallia seems to have some strange interest in it.
Anyway, once your spells are ready we should get to it. I don't think Sleep is much good against a group this large, as those who resist it can wake those who succumb. Most important to focus fire and kill the witch-doctor in case he can counter the scepter in some way.
Let's get all of the items that might be useful. The Ring of Sparks, Oil of Volatility in the Flask of Recovery, Oil of Smoldering, Potion of Invisibility, fireworks, the scepter, Wand of Wizard Lock, and anything useful I missed."
I think we have 2 charges left on the wand of Wizard Lock. Unless we've been changing the loot sheet as we use it. We locked the wizard's tomb at least once, and the exterior door to the pyramid. I would suggest locking the two doors off the central room on Tier 2 - the west one with a spell and the east one with a wand charge.

Ana shrugs. "I Have prepared two magical missile spells for today. That is the best that I can offer."

Ana shrugs. "I Have prepared two magical missile spells for today. That is the best that I can offer."

"Great. I think you will also be the one using the scepter, Ana. Whoever uses it will be a target, but unlike Zynazyr you have armor."

Wallia shrugs and says, "Food is food. What should I do?"

"I think you should heal our wounds to a degree before the battle starts, and stay ready to heal Ana if she should become wounded. Other than that, maybe take the other Oil of Smoldering or some fireworks to help with the initial distraction."
As to healing, has everybody applied their natural healing? Ana was down 5 (she would get 3 back if she hasn't applied it already), Ferrous was down 22 (would heal 4 if he hasn't applied it already).
We have two Oil of Smoldering and one Oil of Volatility. Put one of those in the Flask of Recovery. Start with the Oil of Volatility and the Ring of Sparks to ignite the witch-doctor's tent, and an Oil of Smoldering on the greatest concentration of gnolls. Save the other Oil of Smoldering to cover our retreat if needed.

Ana's hit points should now be correct.

So... looks like I need a map of the outside area. I'll get working on that. :)

Some Questions:
* Who has the ring of animal control? Keep in mind that using it will require total concentration, so whoever activates it can do nothing else while controlling the animal.
* Does someone want to "prepare spells" for Zynazyr? He seems to be MIA for the moment.

Ferrous grunts with distaste at the thought of eating a gnoll but offers up. I would eat a gnoll before I starved to death. And they have hyenas with them and those can be very tasty paired with the proper beer.

"Yes..." says Brathas, as divine inspiration strikes him, "They have hyenas and we have a Ring of Animal Control. We can have the hyenas attack the leaders."
What is the range, duration, and number of creatures affected by the ring? Seems like a good thing for Wallia to use, especially if he is in the third rank with good cover.
I can take a crack at Zynazyr's spells. Binding, Magic Missile, Shield, Invisibility, Wizard Lock. Does he have +1/day from an item or is that just Wallia?

I'll have to look up the range, but the ring can control a single medium-sized or larger or giant animal, or 1d6 small animals (note that a "giant rat" is small but still counts as a "giant" animal). A hyaena would be a medium animal.

The duration is as long as the user concentrates, and it can be used once per turn (basically once per encounter).

Wallia goes over to Ferrous and heals him with a lay on hands 1d4 ⇒ 3

"Ok, I will try to use this ring. It should be interesting."

Feeling some of his energy return at the touch of the Prophet Ferrous looks at Wallia with a smile. Thanks Wallia I'm sure you will handle it just fine.

Wallia says, "Should I give you some more healing or would it be wiser to have it in reserve for the assault?"

Pulls out his sword, I have prepared my slate of spells too he sayd with a wink as he clangs the sword on the shield.

Ah best save your spells for those who may need them later. Putting on a helmet the dwarf smiles and says. Did you just cast Charm Person Fistep because I hate you a little less now? The dwarf laughs and bangs his axe against Fistep's shield. Fistep may be needing those healing spells before the day is over.

Walia says, "Make sure you guys do some bobbing and weaving as well as swinging and stabbing. "

Guys, I have to work an extra double shift this weekend, I'm meeting someone tomorrow evening, and then I have my F2F pathfinder game on Sunday.

I'll have to do up an exterior map of the pyramid area, but with all this other stuff on my plate right now I won't be able to start the encounter until Monday at the earliest.

Feel free to make plans as to how you want to approach the gnolls, and we can move ahead when I get back.

Brathas is ready to approach invisibly to free prisoners. It would be best if the hyena nearest the slave pen is controlled by the ring at that point. He can be invisible if Zynazyr has the spell prepped (since Zynazyr is back he can prep his spells) or otherwise he can use a potion.
Other actions for people to do:
Ring of Animal Control (Wallia);
Oil of Volatility on the witch-doctor's tent, and Ring of Sparks to ignite it (Fistep?);
Oil of Smoldering on a concentration of gnolls (Ferrous?);
Sniping gnolls, especially leaders (everybody as possible);
Maybe summon a spectral warrior (Ana and Zynazyr; unsure about this);
Then, once the gnolls have formed up in some way, Ana uses the scepter.
Again, open to other ideas. This plan should result in them bunching up in a few rounds, but we can't be certain.

I am cool. Plus I can use my sling if I need to.

I am cool. Plus I can use my sling if I need to.

Only do that once the hyena you are controlling is dead. The ring requires concentration.

Sheating his sword, Fistep takes the ring and puts it on, then the oil. Let's do this thing!

I'll have to do up an exterior map of the pyramid area, but with all this other stuff on my plate right now I won't be able to start the encounter until Monday at the earliest.

Sorry guys, still working on the map. Had to cover for someone off sick yesterday and didn't get the chance to work on it.

no problem

Is everyone still here?

Yep, just waiting on the gnoll camp map.

Still here and waiting.

Guys, sorry to take so long.

Two new maps are up. I was originally trying to do one overall map but that was too large to be manageable.

The first map is an overview of the area showing the pyramid and the relative position of the gnoll camp, and has a scale of 20' per square. The second map is a map of the gnoll camp proper and has a scale of 5' per square.

I'll have a proper narrative post in a few hours. Right now I have to get ready for work.

12:50 PM, Day 9

Once again the group goes to the exit of the pyramid to see the situation. Things look more or less like they did before.

The area the gnolls have chosen for their camp looks like it is pitched in an area where the wind has blown most of the sand clear and dry earth is visible underneath. The result is that the piled sand on all sides means the camp is in a kind of bowl-shaped depression. This gives it some potection from the wind but makes it harder for the Gnolls to see out of.

The camp area also seems to be sitting in what was once the southwest corner of the main square in front of the pyramid. South and east of their position are remnants of ruined buildings that once stood in the city, and the gnolls seem to be using these walls to provide shade for their camels.

Just north of the area the camels are resting are the two pens, one for slaves, and one for hyaenas. Each has a thin wooden fence around it (the hyaena pen looks to be much sturdier than the slave pen), and some awnings hang above them to provide shade.

A campfire sits in the middle of the camp, though only a few embers smoulder in the heat of the day. A few gnolls stand around guarding various points in the camp, though they seem bored and distracted.

Brathas was unable to determine which gnolls are male and which are female. But he did notice that there seemed to be several "grades" of gnolls present.

Some of the gnolls look younger and wear no armor at all, and their weapons look very crude. Most of the gnolls seem a little larger and wear crude-looking leather armor and their weapons seem to be of better quality. A third group also carries shields and seems to give orders to the other gnolls. You decide to refer to these groups as "Youths," "Adults," and "Bosses." You have not seen anyone that looks like a spellcaster wandering around the camp, though you know they must exist. At the moment you do not see any of the Bosses wandering the camp either.

Okay, a few things:

I have put your tokens in the northwest corner of the map but there is no requirement that you approach from there. If you slip to the east of the stairs as you leave the pyramid you would be hidden from view and you could circle around through the ruins, effectively allowing you to approach from just about any direction and having cover until you are fairly close.

The sand is difficult to walk on but not as bad as full-blown difficult terrain. If you are walking on sand you count as having an encumbrance one level heavier than normal. So if your move is 40' it goes to 30', 30' goes to 20', 20' goes to 15', and 15' goes to 10'. If more than half of your move is on dirt then this is not a problem.

Obviously, most of the Gnolls are in the tents and not visible. Also, don't assume the number of slaves and camels are exactly right... I just put tokens there until it looked about right.

The hyaenas wear leather armor.

The ring of animal control does not have a listed range so let's say 60'.

So... any more plans? Which way do you want to approach the camp from?

Can we try to get the camels to stampede?

well we should maybe come from southwest by the 'youth'... spook the camels if we can, while brathas is invis and freeing the slaves. issue is that there isn't one hyeana nearby, but a pin of them.

Maybe wallia can control the hyeana on the south?

or maybe its better for brathas to go in and set teh tent a fire... you move much faster with stampeded camels for distraction.

slaves are pinned up, so might be easier to leave them pinned up until afterwards.

Can we use the ring to make a stampede and then use it on the hyenas or is it once a day?