Heroes for Highdelve - Private game (Inactive)

Game Master noral

You guys are awesome! :-D

You all move to the cave entrance.

This rock face towers nearly 30 feet and is punctuated in the middle with the dark opening of a cave mouth.

As you enter, the dank scent of moss hangs heavy in the air as the gloom in the cave thickens. Some daylight filters in to the mouth of the cave (the entryway is in low-light), but the caverns receding deeper in on either side are completely dark.

How do you want to deal with light, and what is your marching order/algorithm as you proceed into this cave?

Evanora leans forward, squinting into the darkness, and waves her left hand dismissively at the darkness. Four tiny will-o-wisps form out of nothingness to hover near the entrance. Bobbing up and down as if waiting for the party to proceed.

Dancing lights

Evanora's squishy,so she wants to be near the rear. Her hexes have a 30' range, so she will need to keep that in mind. I'm fine with our marching order slide.

Talion will stay close to the front of the formation, if not in the front, so that he can get to the action quickly.

Gunther already tries to light his torch when he sees the dancing light summoned by Evanora.

“That’s handy, no need for a torch then!” He comments as he put the torch back onto his backpack.

Before entering the cave, He wiped the bloodstain on his kriegmesser with his cloak. The dark red of the blood meshes with the vermillion hue of the fabric, creating a grim gradient.

”I’ll be at the vanguard as my armor can endure some hits. Also Goldie’s eyes are sharp and she can see in dim light.”

And with that Gunther steps first into the darkness, his mind filled with the horrors of Emerald spire, he remembers the dark and the fact that his lives almost gone without him knowing.

These cramped corridors smell like fungus and rot.

Ridges on the map represent sloping passages downward. Squares that are sloped are difficult terrain. Are you taking your time and exploring the area, or moving quickly to find the creature?

"I'll cover your rear." Talion advances behind Gunther, axe and shield at the ready.

Fighting against imperials from Molthune is one thing, but no one ever trained me for whatever the hell this is gonna be.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21

"Something's ahead of us. It sounds like it might be our monster. Stay on guard.

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12

”Point me to the source, Talion, I can’t hear anything beside the rumble of bats.”

Gunther will move cautiously, sword in hand, led by Talion’s direction.

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20

"The muffled roaring is very enticing, but remember, there is a 'mother' of some sort in here as well. She may be lurking in ambush. We should move slowly and keep an eye out for her as well "

perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

Right, Evanora's got the right of it, and I am not going to even begin to make a guess who is more dangerous. I could scout a bit, out to the edge of your light. I don't mind the darkness, and my sister and I used to poke our noses about in caves as kids...need to write her a letter when we get back to a Lodge, or a city, find out how the folks are doing...but there I go getting ahead of myself

"It's coming from deeper within the cave, so there's good odds that if we keep going the way we're going, we'll meet the beast. But Evanora's right, "mother" is still out there. Kebrin's idea of scouting isn't a bad one. He should be able to see better in the dark than the rest of us and he certainly should be quieter than those of us in armor."

At the fork on the cave, Gunther stops and ask the others.

“Where is the source if the sound? Left or right?”

“I’ll send Goldie to see beyond the turn if there are monster or enemies.”

Goldie would sneakily fly at half speed for about 40 ft and then go back to report.

Goldie’s Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13
Goldie’s Stealth: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

"I can't tell what direction it's coming from, so I'm guessing that the halls are all connected to one each other."

This must be what it felt like for the Molthuni. Going through unfamiliar territory, waiting for something to pop out from whichever direction and try to kill you. Heh, never thought that I'd ever have sympathy for the Imperials.

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12

Evanora peers into the the dim light for 'mother.' Despite the fear of being smashed by a two headed giant as soon as they round the bend, Evanora cannot suppress her smile.

The bird scouts ahead and suddenly hear a groan and the bird soon returns with some horror in its eyes.

After a couple of seconds of moving through the caverns and exploring, you hear the loud *snap* of a chain breaking, followed by a bellow of triumph and loud, thudding footsteps.

Suddenly, a large, two-headed beast comes into view, wielding a nasty-looking flail in one hand and holding the dead, crushed body of an aged woman in the other hand.

The two-headed giant is wearing a large pendant that you clearly recognize as the pendant that was granted by the dragon to the town of Highdelve.

But you also see that strange cords are attached to the amulet and it is blood-covered.

All over the Ettin’s body strange bloody runes are carved into its skin.

Initiative

Ini(Evanora): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26
Ini(Talion): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22
Init(Gunther Hawklance): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22]
Init(Kebrin): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

ini +1: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

Please note that it is dark in here. Those without low-light vision have problems due to concealment 20% at range. The stairs are difficult terrain.

Round 1

1. PATHFINDERS -> GO!
2. Ettin

#Ettin: 0 Damage

Evanora slips by her companions, taking special care on the slope, so that she does not fall. Seeing the giant is justoutside the range of her spells and hexes, she runs a finger down Gunther's shoulder. Unless I am mistaken that the difficult terrain is a 10 by 10 here.

Guidance. +1 attack roll, skill, or save within the next minute

Planes: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17

“Seems like the mother has been dealt with!”

Gunther then steps up unflinching toward the raging monster, both hand gripping his sword. He then challenges the ettin.

“Our combined strength will destroy you monstrous beast! Now attack as one!”

Gunther and Goldie will get +2 bonus to damage. All allies would get +1 to attack the ettin if Gunther currently threathening it(being adjacent to it)

Gunther then snaps his fingers and Goldie immediately flies toward the back of the ettin’s two head and starts biting them.

Bite: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8
damage: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

“Flanking strike!” yells Gunther.

Goldie now got a benefit of Precise Strike teamwork feat for the next 4 rounds.

Knowledge(local): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

Talion will double move, which should take him right to Gunther.

like Talion, Kebrin will put his effort into a sprint towards the front Using an outcropping from the stone wall as a stopping point that will force the Ettin past him to engage with the more direct foes in front of it, and trusting in lessons from decades prior to keep him safe from the giant.

he has a +4 dodge bonus to his AC against giant kind

You all advance! Goldie misses the large giant!

The two-headed giant shouts at you!!

But you all realize that it must be dizzy because it walks very strangely.

The Ettin drops the woman's lifeless body to the floor which leaves a bloody mess.

It holds its flail in two hands and swings in the direction of Kebrin and hits him right in the chest!!

flail, reach: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 201d10 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

The Ettin then steps back!

Round 2

1. PATHFINDERS -> GO!
2. Ettin

#Ettin: 0 Damage

Kebrin: -7

Wincing as Kebrin takes yet another hit, Evanora will move up and cast ill omen on the brute.

no save, roll twice and take the worse on his next roll.

Seeing the Ettin attacks Kebrin instead of him is infuriating.

“Fight me! You g$+!%@n coward! “

Gunther charges at the ettin that is distracted by goldie from the back of his heads.

Gunther’s kriegmesser: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (4) + 12 = 16
damage: 2d4 + 1d6 + 12 ⇒ (4, 3) + (3) + 12 = 22

Goldie’s bite: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12
damage: 1d4 + 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (1) + (3) + 2 = 6

Goldie’s claw: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20
damage: 1d4 + 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (4) + (3) + 2 = 9

Goldie’s claw: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17
damage: 1d4 + 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (3) + (1) + 2 = 6

The Ettin uses its reach to make an opportunity attack when the cavalier approaches but swings too high!

flail, reach: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 121d10 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4
Misfortune flail, reach: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 151d10 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

The Ettin is then cut severely ‘durch das Kriegsmesser’! Additionally, Goldie can scratch the two headed monster!!

“Arghhhhhh!!!!!“ the beast yells in pain.

The runes on its body are weakening it as it seems!! But it is fighting on!!

I wouldn't go about insulting a two-headed giant, but his armor is better than mine, so he can do whatever he wants

Talion moves up, hopes that the Ettin doesn't have Combat Reflexes, and attacks!

battleaxe: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17
damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

The pain in his chest seemed to be overwashed by adrenaline, stubbornness, and a hint of anger as well. As he darted forward past his allies in an attempt to give both heads more things to watch than they can handle. Thrusting with his gladius looking for a weak spot.

thrust: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23
confirm: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

dmg: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

Kebrin's battle axe has so much momentum that it almos severes the Ettin's leg and and Talion thrusts into the Ettin's groin region!!

After Goldie and Gunther hurt the Ettin these attacks are too much for it!!

You only hear a ...

"Erghhhh .... ahrghhrrhhrhh ..." and the large giant drops to the ground like a stone.

Clinging to the foul skin of the Ettin you find a beautiful, glittering golden pendant in the shape of dragon's head which was smeared with blood. You can easily search the rest of the cavern, finding nothing but filth.

Additionally, a ring and several Thassilonian relics are bound to the Ettin's right hand.

The woman that the Ettin dropped is probably Gilda Korgren, the mother of the Tiefling. She also has runes carved all over her body.

Evanora prepares her hex as she begins to move forward. Then, the giant drops. She pauses for a moment, perplexed. "That's it?". She shrugs and moves forward to inspect the brutes shinies.

As she passes Kebrin, "Drink another potion. Don't you become addicted though.". She gives him a wink.

arcana: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25

"Yup. Protection against dragons. Revenge? Robbery? Eh.". With another shrug, she scans the thassilonian devices with detect magic as she collects them, along with the amulet.

if I associate healing potions with getting , shot, stabbed, or having all of my ribs cracked, I don't think addiction is going to be a problem

Kebrin laughed a bit before taking one of the potions and swallowing it with a look of displeasure, and a lot of discomfort before it started to work through his system.
healing: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

well, do we want to take a look through the rest of the caves, see what our cultist left behind?

Evanora assumes that all items lost their magical properties during the ritual.

“Well, they aren’t that tough afterall.”

Gunther wipe his blade clean from the ettin’s blood.

”If we done here might as well we go back to the village, make sure the kids didn’t flee.”

After you have defeated the ettin and recovered the golden pendant, you emerge from the cave to find yourselves ... face to face with Aurelliax in her true form (picture in the slide deck).

She is a magnificent mature adult gold dragon whose presence dwarfs your own.

well damn

Kebrin was visibly taken aback looking up at the dragon. His mouth falling half open as he grasped for words that, surprising him actually came.

Right, Aurelliax I assume? I hope your being here means the kids made it back alright.

The dragon raises an eyebrow when hearing Kebrin’s tone ... silence follows for several seconds.

”Yes. Thank you, travelers, for protecting the people of Highdelve, and for recovering my amulet. Truly, you are the heroes these people needed. Let me commend you, as well, for sparing the lives of those children that belong to this town ... I will take care that they are loved and brought back to this community. You have something that belongs to me I believe!“

Evanora squints at Aurellix, while at the same time skirting behind Gunther and Talion. At the mention of the amulet, she works her way back to the front. "Yes. It is a bit bloodied and besmudged, but we have indeed retrieved it!". She holds it up as an offering, secretly hoping to be touched by the gold dragon.

You see the golden pendant levitate in the golden dragon’s direction and it vanishes when touching her scales.

She looks at you for a while.

”Please accept these as a token of my appreciation.“

Four statuettes of gold dragons with diamonds for eyes appear out of thin air and levitate to your hands.

Evanora turns away from the golden dragon and tries to discreetly cast detect magic on the statuette. She probably fails to be discreet.

Regardless of the result, she turns back to the dragon. "Thank you. I am glad that we could help. Keep an eye on those kids then, eh?"

It is magical.

You can see that she is content to see you appreciate the present which truly look identical to her perfect form.

”Now,” she says, unfurling her magnificent wings. ”would you care to ride on my back as I carry the cart of brightblooms, along with the children, back to Highdelve?”

"Oh. I believe I would!". She replies.

can I identify the statuette?

Gunther kneel in front of the Dragon.

“I’m Gunther, cavalier of the order of dragon. I’m honored by your presence o the mighty one.”

”I know who you are!“

After the ride of your life you land in Highdelve and can finally enjoy the jubilee!

You also see the dragon in human form when the town welcomes you all!
What you do with the rest of your time ... only you can tell! ;-)