Kingmaker: Legacies of Dust (Inactive)

Game Master Wolfspirit

Raven chuckles. "I wouldn't call these 'dragons,' 'Mina. Maybe dragonlets. Or mini-dragons? Dragonlings? Microdragons? We'll work out way up there eventually, though. I would like to be a bit less crunchy if we fight a big one."

"Oh I see. Since we are not really big heroes of the stories, our dragons are small and miniature. Once we get to be those big heroes, we'll face big and scary dragons?"

Alamina laughs for a moment, then shakes her head.

"On second thought, I don't really want to fight big scary dragons, that sounds dangerous and unpleasant."

Vorsirion tries to determine what they might do with the eggs to hatch them, but comes up short.

"The dragons are not dead yet. We could revive them, though I am not sure what we might do with them other than subdue them again," he says.

"The eggs could have some value, I suppose. We should finish exploring this area, then come back for this trove," he says.

knowledge arcana/planes/religion: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11

Nothing you find in the trove appears to be magical, although in addition to the typical smattering of coin and various gems, you do find a mundane, if ornate gold ring, that bears the inscription "When all is dust, our love will endure. -G.R."

Need a yes / no on reviving the wyrms, and what you do with the eggs.

"I don't see the point in keeping these creatures alive. Adult predators are notoriously difficult to keep under control, and it would only cause danger anywhere we brought it. The eggs, though, those could be very valuable. Perhaps our kobold allies have some insight into them, like how to raise them or if we should."

Elvara nods, though her expression is one of melancholy. "In an ideal world, we would find a way to save them and train them. However we don't live in an ideal world. I don't see that realistically happening. I agree with Alamina, we should get rid of them, but take the eggs. I know a thing or two about animals. Maybe we will be able to raise them."

Raven nods. "I concur.

I was waiting for Vorsirion to post, but feel free to read the Object Reading and respond.

Without aid, the two Tatzlwyrms expire, allowing the party to collect the treasures and eggs alike. After a bit more searching, it appears that anything else of note is either significant buried or lost to time and the elements.

Sorry, busy Friday. Yes, I'll share what I knew about the gold ring.

"I wonder if this gold ring belonged to our aristocrat's ancestors. If so, great treachery occurred in his family, which he may be interested to know."

You will also find great power in these methods...

Elvara nods, but then gets a thoughtful look. "Yeah, it's nice we found something. Though I had kinda hoped we would find something more here. Some letter or tome explaining what happened. Still, we are all unharmed and that at least is nice. We don't have anything more to do here, right? So we should probably return back."

"Did we finish charting the area? It seems a waste to come out and just fight a couple of mini-dragons. We may as well map the land so our new friends can start setting up shop."

Unless there is anything else you want to do in the area, you can spend some time exploring and return to Oleg's, the keep, or both. Your call. If there's a rule of two we'll move that way, otherwise I'll move things forward tomorrow.

Vorsirion frowns. "I believe we have found the former settlement, but there is not much here but the memories of treachery. Perhaps we should take the long way home and explore some additional terrain here."

How about finishing this hex, then exploring in a straight line back toward Oleg's (i.e. hitting 4 more hexes in green on the way home)?

Vorsirion's idea sounds good.

Alamina does not know much about these creatures, but chooses to believe it's intention when it says it wants a truce.

"Uh, guys, anyone know what we're dealing with here?"

Raven nods and makes a show of putting her hands up. "Know Common?" she asks slowly.

knowledge arcana: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13

Vorsirion examines the strange creatures, but can't quite place them.

"A truce? Must we not be at war to have a truce?" he asks them. "What are you doing here, and what are these buildings?" he adds.

With Quint gone we don't have much in the way of knowledges, we should probably take one or two each so we don't end up completely without ability to identify enemies.

Upon approaching the creatures Elvara is quick to cast a cantrip on herself.

"We don't mean harm against those who mean no harm to others. Be at ease. If you haven't done anything wrong nor plan to, we can talk in peace." Elvara hopes the weird creatures understand what she's trying to say.

diplomacy with guidance: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (6) + 13 = 19

The frog-man looks between the group, his head darting from face to face as if trying to overcompensate for lack of understanding of what you're saying. He holds up his webbed hands, continuing in broken common, loudly as if he was communicating with someone deaf... or slow to learn. "Me... boggard." He points to himself. "You... go." He makes a sweeping gesture with his webbed hands. "Slurk hungry!" He points to his amphibious companion, making a somewhat glare.

Elvara's words have seemed to calm him somewhat, more from the tone than the content, and he still regards the group dubiously with his enormous eyes.

Poke Thread. Any responses?

Still here. I think we're expecting something else to happen, honestly :P

Raven nods. "We go." She gestures away from the hut. "You want?"

"So, maybe we come back if we learn how to communicate? I don't know what language the creature speaks, but I'm confident one of us could master it eventually."

Even with Raven's simple words, you seem to have exhausted the frog-creature's limited mastery of Common. It doesn't seem outright hostile to you, although it clutches a spear in its strangely webbed hands, alert to any movement from the group.

To the side, the strange amphibian pet remains rigid, as if it is waiting for an action from the frog-man.

At the moment you're at a bit of stand off. You could try some more unconventional (non-verbal) means of communication, explore around and leave him behind for a later time, or jump to combat.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 1 = 10

Raven cautiously unsheathes Harbinger and lays it upon the boggy ground/ "I hope this is worth it. This is going to be days worth of cleaning," Raven mutters before raising her hands. "No hurt." Again making slow, nonthreatening movements, she takes off her backpack and takes out some of her trail rations. "Food?" She mimes eating the rations.

Vorsirion also keeps his weapon sheathed. Not understanding what the creature wants, he tries speaking a few words in elven and sylvan.

"What language do you speak?" he asks in both languages, hoping to be able to communicate with it better.

The frogman looks helplessly to Vorsirion, but seeming to get the intention he slowly responds in common with, "Me... Boggard...?" He gestures to himself then the party, then repeats a sentence in a croaking language with much more sureness, implying that the issue of communication seems more a lack of common language than a mental deficiency on the boggard's part.

Watching Raven pantomiming eating, the boggard licks his amphibious tongue in an exaggerated manner, stating, "Garuum.... hungry." Even more haltingly, "...Food..." He repeats the word, pointing at the ration. "Food." He repeats the word then points to one of the buildings, that has a covering over the entrance to keep direct sunlight out, and several reddish mushrooms grow.

He thinks for a moment, glancing from the sword on the ground, to the ration, back to his strange companion, then seems to decide. "Food... Go?" At the word 'go', however, he makes a shrug, and instead of pointing the way you came, he makes a gesture that includes the ruins."[/b]

Raven puzzles over the frogman's intentions for a moment. Slowly, she approaches the strange being and hands him the ration. Raven then rests her head on her hands and closes her eyes, makes a snoring sound, then opens her eyes and points to the ruins.

No nature knowledge here...

"I do not believe we share a common tongue," Vorsirion says. "But it seems he would like us to investigate the ruins. Which, given our mandate, seems to be an appropriate course of action."

continuing the pantomiming, the boggard takes a momment, then points to himself, then points to the larger ruined building (that doesn't have mushrooms evident) and tilts his head to his side, raising his hands under his head. He then thinks for a moment, points to the food, then points to you before repeating the motions, with a shrug.

You appear to have gained the at least grudgingly gained the acceptance of boggard if you wish to move on and explore the ruins.

Raven nods and slowly, carefully, picks up her sword and sheathes it, before moving to explore the ruins.

Alamina carefully takes a ration package out of her backpack and leaves it on the ground before the party heads into the ruins. She pantomimes the frog creature unwrapping the package and eating the contents.

Spreading her hands out wide, she bows to the creature before leaving with the team.

Vorsirion moves toward the ruins as well, his elven brached spear at the ready.

The threat defused, the party is able to make their way into the boggard's domain, noting the general meager conditions. The larger of the ruins holds a ramshackle shelter from the elements and a crude bed while the smaller ruins appears to be where the boggard ekes out a survival from mushrooms. To the side of the ruins, there is a rough pen and covering where the boggard's "pet" persumably is housed.

There isn't much else clearly of interest, though the party can rest there for the evening if they desire.

Hex Explored!

Once you leave, you continue on your trek through the Narlmarches. After an uneventful day of exploration and mapping, you discover a sign of civilization hidden away in the woods.

The thick tangle of brambles gives way into a large clearing in the woods, its border partially defined by ruined stone
pillars. The western face of the clearing is dominated by a looming, upthrust ridge of rock, nearly 300 feet across and rising to a moss-topped height of 100 feet at the center. The side of this towering boulder facing the clearing has been carved in the likeness of an immense elk, its antlers drooping down from its weathered face to frame a 50-footwide cave entrance. A flight of stone steps leads up to this cave entrance from the forest clearing—both the steps and elk face feel quite old and are thickly encrusted with layers of moss. A 50-foot-long oval pool sits in the middle of the clearing, its waters thick with algae.

Everyone except Elvara is able to detect the sounds of a... shuffling noise emanating from the cave, like a large creature was dragging its feet slowly along the rocks. Alamina and Smexy are able to make out that it sounds quadrapedal... but not like any animal they've ever heard.

Vorsirion surveys the odd carving on the towering boulder.

"I anticipated we had finished with the so-called 'Stag Lord,'" the elf observes, though once he hears the shuffling of feet, he holds a finger to his lips and drops his voice.

"I could sneak ahead and see what we are dealing with," he offers.

stealth: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (9) + 13 = 22 Should anyone think that's a good idea, I'll check it out and report back.

"This place is sacred to Erastil, and ancient indeed. There is something inside that place, something undead, but thinking. Take caution, indeed, this is no mindless beast craving living flesh."

Alamina makes sure her holy symbol is clearly displayed, and readies her crossbow.

Raven nods and unsheathes Harbinger. "Be careful. What Alamina said. If you die, scream loud enough so that we all know to run away."

Beat.

"That was a joke."

Vorsirion cocks an eyebrow at Alamina. "How can you tell?" he asks. "I sense nothing," he says, as if that should be enough.

"Perhaps, if that is indeed correct, we should approach it together. If it is an intelligent creature, it may have prepared itself for us."

Vorsirion slinks forward, moving from crumbling statuary to moss-overgrown pillar. The whole place stinks of decay and rot; even the pool appears stagnant and nothing that you can observe is actually living in this place.

Approaching the cave, you spot the hulk of a massive, slightly rotting hulk moving slowly. Exposed muscle under wretched skin and fur show it to have once been a bear, likely a grizzly from the size of it. It slowly orients its head around with red glowing eyes, not immediately sighting you, but seeming to be alert to some presence. It opens its mouth to show yellowed rotten teeth, and snuffs the air noisily.

You have the option of moving in to fight the undead (as a group) or leaving it here.

Once Vorsirion reports back...

Raven cups her chin and thinks for a moment. "I would normally let the abominable demon-undead bear thingy alone, but we have two Erastilite priests and their respective flocks back at the trading post. We will earn their respect if we purify a lost temple of theirs. I say we take it on."

Vorsirion nods. "It could be...problematic to leave it here."

The elf closes his eyes and points his blade at a loose patch of soil. A bony hand claws its way to the surface, followed by an arm, and finally an entire desiccated skeleton.

"Fight fire with fire..."

Using a focus point to summon my Necromatic Servant.

Raven shivers slightly as Vorsirion calls up his skeletal ally.

Alamina points to her ears at Vosirion's statement.

"I dunno, I just heard it. Felt it be kinda different than I expected."

Seeing the new undead growing from the ground, she shivers and makes the sign of the butterfly.

"Eww. That's something you actually learned how to do? Why, the undead are abominations of the natural order!"

She collects herself and prepares to fight the bear, if the rest of the party is keen on it.

"I bet those priests back home will be unhappy to see the condition if this place. It must have been abandoned for decades, if not centuries to get this bad."

For consistency, I had forgotten to use my alt profile when I summoned the skeleton, but my visage would have changed to that of an undead for a moment while summoning.

Vorsirion ignores Alamina's thoughts regarding undead, evidently having nothing to say contrary to her assertion.

"How should we engage this creature?"

The grove continues to house an unnatural quiet, without even bird's chirping. Then, in an eruption, the decaying remnants of the great bear shambles out of the cave, his half-constituted maw orienting towards the party, revealing red glowing eyes and yellowing teeth. It emits a Roawrrrrr as it rears up in an almost supernatural manner: there's no way a natural beast would be able to move with that ammount of limb decay.

Raven goes into a defensive stance, Harbinger out. "I think it's already engaging us. 'Mina, Elvara, make sure we're ready when the... thing comes out way. Vorsirion, you and your skeleton stand with me. And, 'Mina, believe me, the skeleton freaks me out too. Take it up with Vorsirion later, when we're not in imminent danger of being mauled by an undead bear."

Studied Target, targeting the bear.

Vorsirion sneers at his companions and raises his spear to engage the creature.

initiative?

Alamina loads a flaming crossbow bolt into her weapon and stands at the ready.

"Okay, so we're fighting a giant undead bear now. Anyone got any bear-be-gone tricks, other than shooting, stabbing, and magic?"

Temple

Clearly forewarned and forarmed, the party stares down the advancing monstrosity of a bear. It's red eyes are globes of madness and rage, it's slobbering and decaying maw a portent of destruction. It lumbers down the steps of the temple with an awkward, yet mobile gait for something missing muscle and sinew in many places.

Next up: Vorsirion, Alamina, Elvara, Smexy (Everyone!)

"Lady of Dreams, protect us and guide us, defend us from this monstrosity wearing undead flesh."

Alamina casts bless, granting everyone +1 to hit, +1 on saves vs fear for 2 minutes.

I did Target on the Bear earlier. I'm going to wait until Alamina makes me big to attack. Holding my action to charge at the bear once that happens.